List of rulers of Nri

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The following is a list of rulers of Nri. The title of the ruler of Nri is eze Nri. The eze held religious and political authority over the Kingdom of Nri in a fashion comparable with that of the pope. The Nri culture is believed to stretch back to around the 10th century, however, its recorded kings goes back to the early 13th century. The power of the eze Nri and the kingdom as a whole ended in 1911 with the last independent monarch being forced to submit to British rule at gunpoint. Nevertheless, the title of eze Nri has survived into the 21st century.

Contents

[edit] Selection

The eze Nri was chosen by the Nze and Nzemabua (state leadership) and had to be recognized by the general public. Prior to being crowned, he could not have a living father. The potential eze Nri also had to prove he was the choice of God (Chukwu), Eri (founder of Nri), the ancestors and spirits (alusi) through revelations and visions confirmed by diviners. After this, he had to travel to Aguleri to obtain a lump of clay from the bottom of the Anambra River used to make the ritual pot (odudu) for the shrine to Nri Menri.[1] After various other rituals such as causing the magical ripening of a fruit palm and undergoing a ritual burial and reviving, the eze Nri was proclaimed and saluted as igwe (meaning "heavenly one").[2]

[edit] Reigns

It is difficult to trace the exact dates for an individual eze Nri, because there was an interrugnum after each one's death. During this time, the priests of the eze Nri waited for someone to manifest the signs indicating they were the next priest-king.[3]

[edit] List of recorded Eze Nri

  • Ìfikuánim (c. 1225)[4]
  • Nàmóke (c. 1300)[5]
  • Buífè (c. 1375)[6]
  • Jìmófo I (1425-1530)[7]
  • Fenunu (c. 1530-1630)[8]
  • Agua (r. ca. 1630-1635)[9]
  • Àlíke and Àpia (1635-1710)[10]
  • Èzimílo (r. ca. 1710-1725)[11]
  • Èwenétem (r. ca. 1725-1775)[12]
  • Nwankpo (r. ca 1775-1790)[13]
  • Ènweleána (r. ca. 1790-1889)[14]
  • Òbalíke (1889-1926)[15]
  • Mégube Òkpóko (1935-1947); contested by Jìmófo II[16]
  • Jìmófo II (1947-1980)[17]
  • Ènweleána II Obidiegwu Onyeso (1988-current)[18]

[edit] See also

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Uzukwu, page 98
  2. ^ Uzukwu, page 99
  3. ^ Isichei, page 246
  4. ^ Chambers, page 33
  5. ^ Chambers, page 33
  6. ^ Chambers, page 33
  7. ^ Chambers, page 33
  8. ^ Chambers, page 33
  9. ^ Chambers, page 33
  10. ^ Chambers, page 33
  11. ^ Chambers, page 34
  12. ^ Chambers, page 34
  13. ^ Chambers, page 253
  14. ^ Chambers, page 34
  15. ^ Chambers, page 35
  16. ^ Chambers, page 252
  17. ^ Chambers, page 252
  18. ^ Chambers, page 35

[edit] Sources

  • Chambers, Douglas (2005). Murder At Montpelier: Igbo Africans In Virginia. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 325 pages. ISBN 1-57806-706-5. 
  • Isichei, Elizabeth Allo (1997). A History of African Societies to 1870. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 588 pages. ISBN 0-521-45599-5. 
  • Uzukwu, E. Elochukwu (1997). Worship as Body Language: Introduction to Christian Worship: An African Orientation. Collegeville: Liturgial Press, 384 Pages. ISBN 0-81466-151-3.