Nri, in
Anambra StateAnambra is a state in south-eastern Nigeria. Its state theme is "Light Of The Nation" Its boundaries are formed by Delta State to the west, Imo State to the south, Enugu State to the east and Kogi State to the north. The origin of the name is derived from the "Omambala River" which is easily called...
NigeriaNigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising thirty-six states and one Federal Capital Territory. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger...
, was a center of learning, religion, and commerce in pre-colonial
West AfricaWest Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries distributed over an area of approximately 5 million square km:*Benin...
and beyond. Historians have compared the significance of Nri, at its peak, to the religious cities of
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality , with over 2.7 million residents in , while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million...
or
MeccaMecca , sometimes spelled Makkah is the holiest meeting site of the Islamic religion. The city is modern, cosmopolitan and whilst being closed to non-Muslims is nonetheless ethnically diverse.Islamic tradition attributes the beginning of Mecca to Ishmael's descendants...
: it was the seat of a powerful and imperial state that influenced much of the territories inhabited by the Igbo of
AwkaAwka is the capital of Anambra State, Nigeria. The town is located in southeastern Nigeria in Igboland and lies along roads leading from Owerri, Umuahia, Onitsha, and Enugu. The area around Awka now mostly consists of wooded grassland. South of the town on the slopes of the Awka-Orlu Uplands are...
and
OnitshaOnitsha is a city, commercial centre and river port on the eastern bank of the Niger river in Anambra State, southeast Nigeria. As of 2005 Onitsha had an estimated population of 561,106...
to the east; the
EfikThe Efik people in the 1500s migrated down the Cross River from Cameroon and founded numerous settlements in the Creek Town-Duke Town and surrounding areas in Coastal Southeastern Nigeria or South Sothern Nigeria in present Cross River State of Nigeria...
, the Ibibios, and the
IjawIjaw are a collection of peoples indigenous mostly to the forest regions of the Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers States within the Niger Delta in Nigeria. Some are natives of Akwa-Ibom, Edo and Ondo states also in Nigeria...
s to the South;
NsukkaNsukka is a town and Local Government Area in South-East Nigeria in Enugu State. Other towns that share common border with Nsukka, such as Enugu Ezike and Obollo-Afor , Ede-Oballa, Uzo Uwani and Mkpologwu, now also claim the name Nsukka, hence they all collectively fall into the political zoning...
and southern
IgalaIgala are an ethnic group of Nigeria. Igala practice a number of different religions, including animism, Christianity, and Islam.The home of the Igala people is situated east of the river Niger and Benue confluence and astride the Niger in Lokoja...
to the north; and
OnitshaOnitsha is a city, commercial centre and river port on the eastern bank of the Niger river in Anambra State, southeast Nigeria. As of 2005 Onitsha had an estimated population of 561,106...
,
AsabaAsaba is the capital of Nigeria's Delta State, and has an estimated population of 723,745 .- Demographics :The city is an igbo city and comprised mainly of the Delta Igbos people, while some populations of Itsekiri, Urhobo, Isoko, Ijaw, and growing immigrantHausa and immigrantYoruba communities,...
, and the Bendel delta to the west.
Nri, in
Anambra StateAnambra is a state in south-eastern Nigeria. Its state theme is "Light Of The Nation" Its boundaries are formed by Delta State to the west, Imo State to the south, Enugu State to the east and Kogi State to the north. The origin of the name is derived from the "Omambala River" which is easily called...
NigeriaNigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising thirty-six states and one Federal Capital Territory. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger...
, was a center of learning, religion, and commerce in pre-colonial
West AfricaWest Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries distributed over an area of approximately 5 million square km:*Benin...
and beyond. Historians have compared the significance of Nri, at its peak, to the religious cities of
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality , with over 2.7 million residents in , while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million...
or
MeccaMecca , sometimes spelled Makkah is the holiest meeting site of the Islamic religion. The city is modern, cosmopolitan and whilst being closed to non-Muslims is nonetheless ethnically diverse.Islamic tradition attributes the beginning of Mecca to Ishmael's descendants...
: it was the seat of a powerful and imperial state that influenced much of the territories inhabited by the Igbo of
AwkaAwka is the capital of Anambra State, Nigeria. The town is located in southeastern Nigeria in Igboland and lies along roads leading from Owerri, Umuahia, Onitsha, and Enugu. The area around Awka now mostly consists of wooded grassland. South of the town on the slopes of the Awka-Orlu Uplands are...
and
OnitshaOnitsha is a city, commercial centre and river port on the eastern bank of the Niger river in Anambra State, southeast Nigeria. As of 2005 Onitsha had an estimated population of 561,106...
to the east; the
EfikThe Efik people in the 1500s migrated down the Cross River from Cameroon and founded numerous settlements in the Creek Town-Duke Town and surrounding areas in Coastal Southeastern Nigeria or South Sothern Nigeria in present Cross River State of Nigeria...
, the Ibibios, and the
IjawIjaw are a collection of peoples indigenous mostly to the forest regions of the Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers States within the Niger Delta in Nigeria. Some are natives of Akwa-Ibom, Edo and Ondo states also in Nigeria...
s to the South;
NsukkaNsukka is a town and Local Government Area in South-East Nigeria in Enugu State. Other towns that share common border with Nsukka, such as Enugu Ezike and Obollo-Afor , Ede-Oballa, Uzo Uwani and Mkpologwu, now also claim the name Nsukka, hence they all collectively fall into the political zoning...
and southern
IgalaIgala are an ethnic group of Nigeria. Igala practice a number of different religions, including animism, Christianity, and Islam.The home of the Igala people is situated east of the river Niger and Benue confluence and astride the Niger in Lokoja...
to the north; and
OnitshaOnitsha is a city, commercial centre and river port on the eastern bank of the Niger river in Anambra State, southeast Nigeria. As of 2005 Onitsha had an estimated population of 561,106...
,
AsabaAsaba is the capital of Nigeria's Delta State, and has an estimated population of 723,745 .- Demographics :The city is an igbo city and comprised mainly of the Delta Igbos people, while some populations of Itsekiri, Urhobo, Isoko, Ijaw, and growing immigrantHausa and immigrantYoruba communities,...
, and the Bendel delta to the west. The rulers of Nri did not use military conquest, but imposition of religious authority and control of commercial routes as tactics in the spread of their
city-stateA city-state is an independent republican country whose territory consists of a city which is not administered as part of another local government....
. Politically, Nri is known to be the most ancient origins of the
EzeEze is an Igbo word that means "king." A popular saying in Igbo is "Igbo enwe eze", which translates to "Igbo have no king." This popular saying does not, however, capture the complexity of Igbo societies as portrayed in many centuries of anthropological, sociological, and political research.Igbo...
kingship in Igbo societies. But Nri and its rulers were also known for their occultic religious
JujuA Juju in West Africa refers to the supernatural power ascribed to an object.Juju may also refer to:*Jùjú music, a style of Nigerian popular music, derived from traditional Yoruba percussion*Juju , an album by the band Gass...
, an institution that instilled both awe and fear in those who made pilgrimages to the
shrineA shrine is a holy or sacred place, which is dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint or similar figure of awe and respect, at which they are venerated or worshipped. Shrines often contain idols, relics, or other such objects associated with the figure being venerated...
. Commercially, Nri was against slave holding. "Osu" was the name of outcasts of other communities who migrated and were accepted in Nri. Some Osu became eunuchs. During the colonial period, Nri and the regions under its political, religious, or commercial control became international markets for palm oil. In the heart of Nri influence was the Igbo Ukwu bronze castings.
History
The origin of Nri people is still a subject of much speculation. What we know for sure is that the Nri clan existed from as far back as the 9th century. Nri (the founder of Nri clan) was the son of Eri (founder of
AguleriAguleri is a predominantly Catholic community in NigeriaVillages:- Ivite, Igboezunu, Eziagulu, Enugu :- homeland Ivite-otu,Igboezunu-otu,Eziagulu-otu & Enugu-otu:- riverine or Aguleri-otu...
) and had migrated to the present day Nri from Anambra (Ama-Mbala) river valley in Northern Igboland. Nri was said to have inherited spiritual powers from his father. The Nri people belong to the Umueri clans who trace their origins to Eri. Northern and Central Igboland, is the homeland of Igbo people.
Origin theory
Igbo mythology
Speculation starts when one starts to trace the origin of
EriEri can refer to:*Eri , a Japanese feminine given name*Erie International Airport in Erie, Pennsylvania, IATA airport code*Eri, a biblical figure* Eri , the progenitor of the Nri-Igbo*Eri, a type of silk from Assam, India...
, and this attracts different theories. In the Nri mythology, Eri descended from the sky, sent by God to make peace (settle disputes and cleanse abominations) and provide Igbo people food (yam and cocoyam) (10). Some historians speculate that Eri may have migrated to the Anambra area out of the
IgalaIgala are an ethnic group of Nigeria. Igala practice a number of different religions, including animism, Christianity, and Islam.The home of the Igala people is situated east of the river Niger and Benue confluence and astride the Niger in Lokoja...
dynasty of central Nigeria. But there is convincing evidence that Onoja Oboli, the founder of the Igala dynasty was actually another son of Eri.
See also
- Kingdom of Nri
The Kingdom of Nri was the West African medieval state of the Nri-Igbo, a subgroup of the Igbo people, and is the oldest kingdom in Nigeria. The Kingdom of Nri was unusual in the history of world government in that its leader exercised no military power over his subjects...
- Igbo people
Igbo people, also referred to as the Ibo, Ebo, Eboans or Heebo are an ethnic group living chiefly in southeastern and south Nigeria. They speak Igbo, which includes various Igboid languages and dialects; today, a majority of them speak English alongside Igbo as a result of British colonialism...
- List of rulers of Nri
- Igbo Ukwu
- History of Nigeria
-Early history:Recent archaeological research has shown that people were already living in southwestern Nigeria as early as 9000 BC and perhaps earlier at Ugwuelle-Uturu in southeastern Nigeria. Smelting furnaces at Taruga dating from the 4th century BC provide the oldest evidence of metalworking...
Sources
- Elizabeth Isichei, African before 1800 (London: Longman, 1984).
- Elizabeth Isichei, A History of the Igbo People (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 1976).
- Chikodi Anunobi, Nri Warriors of Peace (Zenith Publishers, January 2006)
- http://books.google.com/books?id=3C2tzBSAp3MC&pg=PA246&lpg=PA246&dq=nri+igbo+ukwu&source=web&ots=1gvnMpIuM-&sig=Femk-UEgQw2M_soZUAU3ZZ4GEv8
- http://www.nrikingdom.com/default.asp?id=history&mnu=hmnu
- http://essays.igbonet.com/EzeNriNriEnwelanaIIObidiegwuOnyeso/1005thIguAroNdIgbo/
- http://www.bookwire.com/bookwire/BowkerRecommends/Nov2005/nri.htm
- http://www.chikodianunobi.com/pages/PressRoom/Conversation_w_Cyril.htm
- http://www.kwenu.com/publications/anunobi/leadership_crises1.htm
- http://www.nrienweluana.com