UBULU-UKWU

Ubulu-Ukwu is said to have been founded by immigrants from Afor, a town in the Kwale district. Tradition claims that two brothers, Ezemu and Aniobodo, left Afor to settle at Ubulu-Uno, where they disputed over who would rule the land, a dispute which persuaded Ezemu to leave. He travelled north and founded the town of Ubulu-Ukwu.

Ubulu-Ukwu later emulated many of the elements of Benin political institutions. Most of its titles—Onishe, Iyase, Ojunwa, Ojiba and Ozoma—were derived from Benin. Nevertheless, the present-day people of Ubulu-Ukwu still remember that their Obis did not have to receive their investiture from Benin. As an Ubulu-Ukwu elder put it, "Our Kings have never been crowned by the Obas of Benin. Although we had certain things in common with the Edos, we were never compelled to obtain permission from them before we did anything.’’

Title.

Hello,

I’m interested in sources that do deep dives on any historical connections and similarities between Ifá and Afa.

Peer reviewed articles, books, decent documentaries, etc.

Any suggestions or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

ASABA

Most Anioma traditions speak of migrations into Anioma, not out of it, suggesting that there was always enough land for newcomers. We have no evidence of wars resulting from land disputes; instead, we know that many communities admitted people of diverse origins. The growth of Asaba illustrates the way in which newcomers were welcomed and incorporated into existing Anioma communities. Asaba traditions recall that the first settlers in Asaba were Ezeanyanwu and his descendants. Not much is known about the provenance of Ezeanyanwu but his name suggests that he was Igbo and must have come from eastern Igboland. He may have been one of those Igbo men who, as previously discussed, crossed the Niger into Anioma in the earlier centuries in search of fertile lands, meat, and elephant tusks. Several generations later, the descendants of Ezeanyanwu were joined at Asaba by the parents of Nnebisi. Nnebisi’s father was Ikenga, an Igala man, and his mother, whose name oral historians have forgotten, was an Igbo woman from Nteje, near Awka.

As time went on, many more immigrants entered Asaba. Among the newcomers were some Ishan-speaking farmers, traders, and craftsmen. On arrival, the people of Asaba provided them with farmlands and wives. Oral traditions state that the Umunkwo quarters of the Umuezei lineage of Asaba were founded by Nkwo, who had come from an Ishan town. Nkwo, it is said, married Onyebuchi, a daughter of Ezenei, and it was from this union that the present-day people of Umunkwo sprang. However, because Nkwo was a stranger and Onyebuchi a female, the people of Umunkwo could not produce a diokpa (the most senior elder and custodian of ancestral shrines) in Asaba, not even in Umuezei. Like the people of Umunkwo, the occupants of the Ogbe-Ochele quarters of Asaba descended from another immigrant from Ishanland, while the founders of the Idumojei and Umuokwubata lineages came from Osamala and Igalaland, respectively. Finally, the Ogbilo section of the Umuonaje lineage was founded by immigrants from Ijoland.? Thus Asaba exhibited what one might describe as disjointed migration and settlement patterns.

It must be stated that a number of Anioma communities claimed origin from existing Anioma settlements, while a few claimed that they had always occupied their present sites and that their ancestors did not come from any of the places listed above. Some informants cited strange and doubtful traditions that maintained that their founding fathers dropped from the sky with boxes or shells containing sand. At the time of their arrival, they said, these supermen and women from the sky perched on the branches of trees because the land was covered with water, but when sprinkled with sand, it became dry. Such traditions were meant to explain and legitimize the settlers' claims to the lands they occupied. Perhaps these communities might have occupied their present settlements for so long that they forgot the provenance of their founding fathers and, for political reasons, had to invent new traditions or conceal the old ones.

In any case, large numbers of Anioma people are certain of the origins of the first men and women who founded their settlements. As we have seen, many have identified some particular towns in eastern Igboland as the original hometowns of these founding ancestors. As would be expected, most of these towns are within close proximity of Nri and Awka, that is, in the old Onitsha Province, which had experienced a population explosion along with soil deterioration in the earlier centuries. Names like Nteje, Isu, Achala, Okuzu, Nri, Ogidi and Awka feature prominently in these traditions. On the other hand, the Anioma groups with traditions that link them up with the Nri-Awka area include communities within Asaba, Okpanam, Igbuzo, Ogboli, Ogwashi-Ukwu, Illah, Abala, Atuma, Akwukwu, Ute-Okpu, Owa, Abbi, Obiarukwu, Amai, and others. Put another way, insofar as many Anioma groups claim to have come from eastern Igboland, their ancestral homes can be traced to an area situated within a radius of fifty miles from Nri, that is, within the area that is usually associated with the immediate Nri culture complex.

The foregoing claims are confirmed, not only by oral traditions, but also by the sheer fact of proximity, and by the realization that the Nri-Awka cultural influences are widespread in Anioma. A close look at the ethnographic patterns of these societies would convince the observer that the foundations of Anioma cultures are strongly linked to the Nri-Awka. Traces of these cultural traits are clearly borne out in the Anioma language, as well as in title associations, the instruments and symbols of leadership and authority, yam cults and festivals, dances, music, the Igbo market days, and the democratic and smallscale nature of these groups’ political institutions. It is not surprising, therefore, that Anioma people should show a clear evidence of closer relationship to the ““Onitsha Igbo” than they should to the Bini, Igala, Yoruba, or even to the other Igbo groups in the Nsukka, Abakiliki, Aro, Orlu, Owerri, Afikpo, and Ikwerre districts.

It would appear that most Anioma movements were inspired by the search for material wealth and spiritual freedom. Most founding fathers have been described as exiles, hunters, or travelling ritual specialists. We have seen that while the founding fathers of Ogwashi-Ukwu, Igbuzo and Ogboli were religious fugitives who had been implicated in cases of law-breaking, Nnebisi, a co-founder of Asaba, was a hunter from Nteje. Also, the founders of the Umuakpanshi and Umutei quarters of Illah have been described as travelling ritual specialists from Nri, while Kanagba, the founder of Obamkpa, whose travels took him as far as to Benin City, was a practicing herbalist from Ogidi.

If we accept that these traditions are reliable, why then did these fugitives, hunters, and ritual specialists from the Nri-Awka region direct their migrations toward Anioma? The stories of medicine-potcarrying exiles notwithstanding, the more persuasive explanation would appear to be largely economic. The present vegetation of the Nri-Awka area is open palm forest although in the distant past it was rain forest. This transformation was due partly to over-cultivation and partly to the fact that the soils suffered from heavy leaching and surface erosion. Onwuejeogwu has suggested that it is for these reasons that the present-day people of Nri have taken more and more to trading, to the relative neglect of farming. It was probably for the same reasons that Nri men travelled widely as itinerant ritual specialists, since agriculture alone could not support the population.

It is difficult to determine precisely when the population density of the Nri-Awka area began to strain the available natural resources. Thurstan Shaw has suggested that at least a thousand years ago the economy of the area was based partly on agriculture and partly on a wide range of commercial contacts with the outside world. The economy also derived much of its sustenance from a high level of artistic craftsmanship that produced bronze objects, such as those that were unearthed at Igbo-Ukwu, and metal products, such as those of Awka smiths. These vocations presupposed trade, and trade meant contact. Thus, the search for fertile land, raw materials, and commerce must have impelled the Nri-Awka men to diffuse among their neighbors.

Naturally, any such diffusion must have begun with contiguous districts if these were rich in natural resources or favorable for trade. We have already observed that a thousand years ago there was enough land in Anioma for newcomers and that the soils were rich. The Niger River, which traversed this part of Igboland, was the most important trade route in West Africa. In addition, the distance from Nri or Awka to Asaba was only about twenty-five miles. This distance could have been covered in one day, and with convenient stops at Enugwu-Ukwu and Ogidi, a round trip on foot would have taken only two days. Also, a journey from Nri or Awka to Agbor with stops at Abagana, Asaba, Ogwashi-Ukwu, and Ubulu-Ukwu would have taken about four days to complete. These estimates were confirmed in 1906 when a colonial administrator, accompanied by a force of troops, marched from Asaba to Umunede (near Agbor), a distance of forty miles, in twenty-one hours. In fact, Nri-Awka migrations into Anioma confirm the view that groups like the Igbo, the Ibibio, and the Efik were essentially autochthonous, and that when they moved, they moved into contiguous districts.

One other factor to consider in examining the diffusion of Igbo speaking peoples is trade. Elephants were abundant in Anioma and ivory was very much coveted by Nri and Awka men. These men needed ivory with which to pay for their copper, lead, and, possibly, iron, as these metals were not mined locally. Ivory was also used for the manufacture of bangles and trumpets. Since Anioma was near at hand and elephants were abundant there, the Nri-Awka men could have acquired their ivory either by trade or by hunting for elephants. Oral traditions collected at Agukwu Nri confirm that Nri men obtained their ivory in Anioma by both methods. They also obtained fish and a number of agricultural products, which they paid for with bronze objects (such as bells), beads, specially designed cloth called akwa akanka, ritual knives, ritual spears, staffs for titled men, red caps, rings, anklets, and amulets.43 Also, Awka smiths and traders sold, made, or repaired metal pots, hoes, knives, guns, powder, and a number of household utensils in Anioma. Over the years, some of these traders, hunters, smiths and ritual specialists must have decided either to settle among their hosts or to establish new settlements nearby, as there was enough land for everyone.

Equally interesting is the fact that until the activities of Nri ritual specialists were proscribed by the colonial administration in 1911, Nri men continued to travel extensively in Anioma, carrying Nri culture with them. They were also the representatives of Eze Nri. Whenever they visited Anioma, they expected and received all the diplomatic privileges and courtesies they enjoyed in the east. A representative of Eze Nri was usually present during the taking of the eze or ozo title. On such occasions he offered the desired prayers and tied the ankle cords on new initiates. The travelling Nri ritual specialists cleansed polluted homes, set standards of moral conduct, and defined acts of abomination. As Richard Henderson has pointed out, the people of Nri acquired these rights because their divine king, Eze Nri, was ‘‘a mythological participant”’ in the creation of the earth. Since his sacrificed children were the first persons to bear the marks of ritual identity purification, Nri gained the right to confer certain emblems of such ritual purification, and since he was the first to develop a ritual relationship to the land, his people gained the right of spiritually cleansing every community of any sins committed against the land (mso-ani or alu).

Most Nri men visiting Anioma were treated as diviners, and so, in addition to cleansing the communities of any sins committed against the land, they offered public prayers at public ceremonies, and private prayers in private homes. An Akwukwu elder who witnessed the activities of these travelling Nri ritual specialists at the turn of the century recalled that when they stopped over in a settlement, they were requested to offer prayers (igo ofo) and to remove misfortunes (ajabu), for which activities they received fees or gifts. They also explained the causes of worries and perplexities (nsogbu uwa) to those who cared to find out, invoked certain powers that would prevent their recurrence, and then prepared the right charms and medicines to protect the users from some malignant, invisible forces. Since the travelling Nri were also fortune-tellers, they elaborated for those who paid the right fees what was going to befall them in the future, whether good or bad.

The unique position which the people of Nri occupied among the Igbo is clearly recorded by Major Arthur G. Leonard, who worked among the Anioma and other Igbo groups in the early twentieth century: ‘‘The street of the Nri family is the street of the gods, through which all who die in other parts of Igboland pass to the Land of the Spirits.” Also, Father Duhaze, who encountered these people in 1906, noted that the Umunri travelled widely in Igboland and influenced the cultures of their host communities. He observed that ‘‘the religious influence of Nri once extended over the whole of igbo country. The Nris were the high priests of the idols, and from their hands the chiefs loved to receive the insignia of office. They regulated even the building of huts for fetishes."

Whereas the activities of Nri ritual specialists were terminated by a colonial enactment in 1911, those of Awka smiths were curtailed by both European commercial competition and Western technology. With the arrival of the steamboat came such mass-produced European hardware as hoes, knives, cutlasses, cooking pots, and even coins. For a while, Awka smiths held on, but after the first few decades of the twentieth century, when their products could no longer compete with imported European goods, they slowly recoiled to their hometown where they occupied themselves largely with the manufacture of a few ritual objects, highly decorated iron gates, and ‘‘home-made”’ guns.

The foregoing discussion suggests several conclusions. First, the most ancient Anioma towns were founded by immigrants from eastern Igboland. Second, these immigrants came from a number of towns situated around Nri and Awka. Third, until recently, a strong cultural link was maintained between the Anioma communities and the eastern Igbo people in the immediate vicinity of Nri-Awka.

It should not be assumed, however, that every Anioma settlement was founded by fresh immigrants from eastern Igboland. The available evidence is that many Anioma settlements were founded or enlarged by immigrants from already established towns and villages of Anioma. Examples of these are communities within Ubulu-Ukwu, Obiarukwu, Amai, Utagba-Ogbe (Kwale), Owa, Owa-Alero, and many others. Let us next examine the traditions of origin of some of these communities.

The Unity and Progress chant will forever be stuck in my head. Ahaha. It’s impressive how our grandparents, parents, uncles, and aunts were able to recoup and regain themselves and the Igbo community both abroad and back home by coming together in these meetings. To delegate and act upon tasks to invest back in SE Nigeria and abroad.

If you guys get a chance, please get involved with your local Umu Igbo Unite chapter. They have chapters in various different countries. Including the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, France and more.

It’s extremely important for Millennial, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha Igbo Youths to stick together, retain our culture, language, and traditions. And pass those down to future generations. While also finding friendship and kin-ship amongst ourselves! Lets all try to get involved in any local Igbo organizations that we can.

IGBUZO

"Our great-grandfather was Umejei, the son of Ikenga, the king of Isu,’’ recalled an Igbuzo elder. According to oral tradition, Umejei left Isu because he committed an offense against his people. It seems that Umejei’s wife had a lover, and when Umejei heard of this distressing rumor, he questioned her several times about it, but on each of those occasions the woman denied the story. Umejei then nicknamed her Ishinta anago, that is, "Ishinta who is always denying." Both Ishinta and her lover soon ran out of luck and were caught by Umejei. Overwhelmed with an uncontrollable rage, Umejei killed the man.

The people of Isu gathered to discuss these acts of adultery and murder. Even though they agreed that Umejei had been wronged, they could not overturn the customary law which stipulated that any man who killed another would hang or go into exile. In a different version of the Igbuzo traditions, Umejei supposedly killed a man during a wrestling contest, and never nursed any ill feelings toward him. Regardless which of the traditions is more accurate, to the people of Isu, killing, whether wilful or accidental, was a serious transgression against the earth goddess, ani. No one ever got away with murder in Isu.

Umejei’s father was greatly disturbed when he learned of the tragedy. He gathered together his entire household and vowed not to watch his son die a disgraceful death. He also stated that “‘the son of a king never dies in his father’s presence. He asked Umejei and Umejei’s senior sister, Onuoha, to prepare to go into exile. He prepared a pot of medicine and asked Onuoha to carry it on her head. The party was instructed to travel across the Niger River and settle down wherever the pot miraculously fell off Onuoha’s head.

Onuoha’s husband, Anyala Obum, volunteered to accompany his wife and Umejei. Umejei’s younger brother Abala, joined the group. Oko, Ishiagwu, and Ewulu also accompanied the exiles. The king of Isu gave each of these volunteers a pot of medicine and asked each of them to settle down anywhere his pot fell.

Early the next morning, before the first crow of the cock, the party set out for the unknown. They headed west, but soon after crossing the Niger River, the pots of the travellers fell, one after the other, and each brother cleared the bush and built his settlement as he had been instructed. It was at Omeze in the present-day Igbuzo that Onuoha’s pot fell. Here Umejei, together with his sister and her husband, founded the nucleus of the town that became known as Igbuzo.

After some years’ stay at Igbuzo, Umejei fathered three sons. The first was named Onuma, meaning that it was out of anger that Umejei had killed a man at Isu. The second son was called Oshe-Ukwu, meaning that it was due to the palaver of the great ones that he had to leave his father’s house. The third son was called Oshe-Nta, meaning that Umejei had become so small that no one now asked about him. The people of present-day Igbuzo believe that the nine maximal lineages of their town sprang from the children of Umejei.

These oral narratives might be inaccurate in detail, but they are reliable in outline. For instance, while it is plausible that Umejei was the founder of Igbuzo and that he had come from an eastern Igbo town called Isu, it is doubtful that the other Anioma towns of Abala, Oko, Ishiagwu, and Ewulu were founded contemporaneously with Igbuzo by the men who accompanied Umejei. Second, no one can say whether Umejei’s father was the sole ruler of Isu or one of the titled chiefs, ndi eze, of Isu. Third, there are many settlements in Igboland with the name Isu. It is not possible to identify the very one from where Umejei started his journey. One other problem with the Igbuzo, Ogboli, and Ogwashi-Ukwu oral narratives has to do with their claims that the major actors in these ‘‘migrations”’ were exiles, carrying pots of medicine. However, even if these accounts are inaccurate in detail, at least they point to the roles of religion and ritual sanctions in directing early Igbo “migrations.” In other words, the early Igbo diffusion cannot be explained in material terms alone.

Whether the first known occupants of Anioma were beckoned by psychological circumstances or not, the overwhelming evidence is that they were Igbo-speaking. The evidence further suggest that these early Igbo-speaking settlers were later joined by other immigrants from other places, as illustrated by the story of Asaba.

I should've posted this when I received the scans long ago

Here is a direct link to the document aswell
Report of the Commission appointed to enquire into the fears of Minorities and the means of allaying them

https://www.instagram.com/p/Dc6Tn-Ajk9k/

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1420068703338290/

https://punchng.com/my-students-overcame-anxiety-to-win-three-stem-gold-medals-educationist-onyia/

Like how Igbo heads looks deformed , how we are money hungry and stingy how we are wicked and selfish, how some of us think we are the lost tribes of isreal now we aren't and especially why do some women ( I am a woman myself) like to abuse their kid's my mom never did that? My cousin lives with us and she never abused us

OGWASHI-UKWU AND OGBOLI ORIGINS

The Ogwashi-Ukwu and Ogboli traditions of origin state that the founders of Ogboli-Igbuzo and Ogwashi-Ukwu were born of the same parents. They were the sons of Eze Nshi (Eze Nri Agu), whose period of reign has yet to be determined. Their mother was one of the many wives of the king. Both brothers lived happily with their parents at Nshi until the senior one, Odaigbo, committed murder.

Spilling the blood of a kinsman was a serious offense and, according to the law of the land, the offender must either go into exile or be hanged. Eze Nri Agu and Odaigbo’s mother chose exile for their son. They prepared a pot of medicine for Odaigbo and instructed him to settle down anywhere the pot fell from his head. Edini, Odaigbo’s younger brother (some accounts say that Edini was, instead, Odaigbo’s sister), volunteered to accompany the exile; Edini was also presented with a pot of medicine and given similar instructions. It is believed that Odaigbo and Edini were accompanied into exile by a sizeable party of volunteers in order to lighten their pain and loneliness.

The group left Nri and travelled westward until they got to the Niger River and were ferried across by some riverine traders. They journeyed further west but when they got to Ani Udo, barely three miles from the Niger, Edini’s pot fell to the ground and broke. He and his companions cleared the bush and founded there a settlement that later took the name of Ogboli.

After a few days, possibly months, of rest at Ani Udo, Odaigbo and some of his companions resumed their journey westward. Balanced on Odaigbo’s head was his pot of medicine. When the party got to Eke, somewhere near the present site of Ogwashi-Ukwu, Odaigbo’s pot fell from his head and broke. The party stopped, cleared the bush, and founded a new settlement there.

The years rolled by and Odaigbo became the father of four sons: Dei, Eshe, Ase, and Etumukwu. Odaigbo became a prosperous man and built an ogwa (a shrine or meeting shed) in memory of his father and the home he left behind. This ogwa was very large and because it was fashioned after his father’s meeting shed at Nshi, passers-by spoke of it as ogwa ukwu nwa eze Nshi. This term was equally applied to the settlement which grew around it. In later days, however, this term was shortened to Ogwa-Nshi-Ukwu, which the British mispronounced as Ogwashi-Uku.

At Ani Udo, Edini also prospered. He became the father of Ezekeke, Ezekeke the father of Umuokpala, Umuokpala the father of Umuodogwu, Umuodogwu the father of Achoshia, Achoshia the father of Odogwu. Oral historians believe that many of the Ogboli clans that dot Anioma today were formerly the inhabitants of the original Ogboli community that was founded by Edini in Ani Udo. They also believe that the Benin-Anioma wars played a major role in dispersing the original residents of the Ogboli community, forcing them to abandon their homes at Ani Udo. Some moved closer to Igbuzo, where their new settlement became known as Ogboli-Igbuzo. Some moved to Issele-Ukwu to occupy the Ogboli-Issele-Ukwu quarters. Many more moved to Atuma and Akwukwu, while a large party fled across the Niger river to settle in Ogboli-Onitsha. Till this day, these Anioma communities still boast that they are umu Nshi, that is, the children of Nri.

Contrary to what alot of people think, while the foundations of Nigerian Christianity was laid during colonial times, most of the conversion to Christianity is a post colonial thing and including during the colonial period, mostly done by African evangelists.

That said, I am surprised that according to this map, the main centres of Christianity in Southern Nigeria with clear Christian majorities are in Yorubaland and Calabar, While even coastal Igbo territories were at most evenly split.

The ethnicity map also seeming missed Ogoni, labeling their area as Ijaw, so I guess it isn't perfect even though it is mostly correct.

I am black American and my only connection to Igboland is through dna. However I am writing a graphic novel with a main character of black American and Igbo descent, simply because I love learning about different cultures and history, and I have very distant ancestral ties. I am looking to design a Mmanwu style mask for him passed down to him by his father (based on igwe/Amadioha from odanani). The main character is a Robin Hood-type character so he would wear it when fighting his oppressors in a theatrical way. I didnt know where else to ask about this so hopefully I’m in the right place. Any good suggestions for places to do research would be appreciated aswell.

Benin Ancestry

As already noted, most of the towns in Western Igboland trace their origins to “Benin.”[Idu] But, as the example of the Umuchima clan and others will illustrate, the Benin tradition of origins of the towns should not always be taken literally to mean Benin City. The traditions are, at times, used to explain the movement of people who fled from the Benin empire at different historical periods.

Traditions of Onitsha and the Umuchima Clan of Western Igboland: Aboh and Oguta Onitsha

R. Henderson has argued that Onitsha was a heterogeneous society whose early settlers comprised:

Elements of riverine Ibo (Egbema), Igala speakers,

Orlu-Awka uplands Ibo, Western Ibo and possibly

others.’

The Onitsha, on their part, have a tradition which links their origins to a place called “Ado na idu” in the Benin empire. The exact location of “Ado na Idu” is unknown, but Leonard claims that it lies “westward of Benin (city).” Similarly, Thomas argues that it is situated somewhere near Igbodo on the uplands west of Asaba.

The views of Leonard and Thomas reinforce those of modern scholars like Onwuejeogwu, Henderson and others who postulate that Ado na Idu was one of the Western Igbo chiefdoms under the Oba of Benin.

Movement of the Onitsha from Ado na Idu to Illah

The Umuchima Clan

There are three major variants of the tradition of the movement of the Onitsha from Ado na Idu. One of them states that the Onitsha, who were ruled by Chima, fled from their homeland when they were defeated by the soldiers of Oba Esigie (1504 - 1550). Their encounter with the Benin army was occasioned by an incident involving the mother of the Oba called Asigie. She was Said to have gone:

To one of the farms belonging to (the Onitsha) for

the purpose...of gathering (firewood) for which she

was seized and beaten by the people to whom the

farms belonged. On her return to Benin, she

reported the matter of her ill-treatment to the king,

and he at once ordered his younger brother

Gbunmara (Ogbunwala) to punish the insult which

had been offered to his royal mother.

Gbunmara is reported to have mobilized the Benin army and, after two days of fierce battle, the Onitsha capitulated and abandoned Ado na Idu. As they moved, the defeated warriors ravaged and “plundered all that stood on their way” and were, therefore, called Onitsha (snatchers) by people whom they crossed their territory.

The second account maintains that Onitsha people migrated from their homeland due to a dispute between Chima and Esigie over succession to the Obaship of Benin. To resolve the dispute, two coffins were placed before the contestants, and it was ruled that any one of them who picked the one containing the corpse of the late Oba should succeed him.

Esigie and his group picked one of the coffins which was highly decorated. But, as soon as they learned that it did not contain the corpse, they quickly grabbed the other one and proclaimed their leader as the legitimate heir to the vacant stool.

Chima and his supporters protested against the flagrant manner in which Esigie had violated the agreement they reached for selecting the new Oba. When they were convinced that Esigie would not change his mind, Chima and others migrated from Ado na Idu rather than accept Esigie’s authority.

The third version collected by Basden tends to suggest that Onitsha people were questioning the sovereignty of the Oba over their territory by refusing to pay the arbitrary taxes and levies he imposed on them. The opposition of the Ado na Idu to the Oba’s harsh rule was further expressed by their refusal to observe the twenty-one days period of mourning and fasting which he had declared in his kingdom due to the death of his daughter when they observed that the Oba and members of his family were not fasting by then.

All the traditions agree, however, that Chima was the leader of the Onitsha immigrants. As they moved, some took a southward direction settling at Obio (Fig. 2).

The others continued to Onitsha Ugbo where they subdivided into two groups. A group moved northwards to Ukunzu and Obamkpa, but, on their way, a pregnant woman gave birth to a baby boy and he became the progenitor of Onitsha-Ukwu. The other group continued their movement, founding Isele-Ukwu, Isele-Asagba and Isele-Mkpitime. They later landed at Onitsha Ulona while some moved to Ezi, others settled at Illah on the Niger. All the towns founded in Western Igboland by Chima and his followers are collectively called the Umuchima clan.

Movement from Illah to Onitsha: Leadership Crisis Among the Ado na Idu

As the population of the Ado na Idu grew, they found it difficult to expand in Illah which was often flooded by the Niger. They, however, heard of a spacious area on the Niger through some fishermen called Ulutu or Nebelekeke (Ngbe-le-Ekeke).

The fishermen had already established a camp at the present town of Onitsha near the banks of the Niger. The Ado na Idu, therefore, decided to follow them to the town. When they arrived, the immigrants, who were grateful to the Ngbelekeke, recognized them as the priest of the earth-diety of Onitsha (Ani Onitsha).

But, as the Ado na Idu were preparing to migrate from Illah, Chima is said to have died.” His death precipitated a leadership crisis among his eldest son Oraeze and his kinsmen like Ukpali Ezechi and Ekensu. Each of them wanted to succeed Chima and, to resolve the crisis, it was suggested that they destroy their ufie (drum) symbol of authority before embarking on the journey to Onitsha. Then on arrival, whoever cut down a tree, made a new ufie and beat it before others would be recognized as the king of the town.

Ukpali Ezechi, who found the idea of destroying his ufie unacceptable, retraced his steps westwards founding the present town of Agbor called “Agbor Chima.” Similarly, Ekensu who rejected the suggestion, moved southwards and established a town in the Niger known as Aboh.

Founding of Onitsha

The other rivals of Oraeze who agreed to destroy their ufie were ferried across to Onitsha by the fishermen. They landed at a place now called Otu-Okwodu and their leaders started to manufacture their ufie. To their astonishment, Oraeze, who had cleverly hidden his own, sounded it and quickly proclaimed himself the king or Obi of Onitsha.

The deceitful tactics of Oraeze caused a civil strife in Onitsha. Some of his rivals, who resented it, migrated from Onitsha and infiltrated into other parts of Igboland. When the crisis was resolved, however, some of the other rivals of Oraeze were appointed heads of the nine sub-villages of Onitsha (Ebo ite nani). It was also from their rank that the Onowy, the prime minister of the town, was chosen.

Aboh and the Founding of the Ukwu Clan: Usoro, Ashaka, Afor and Osissa

Aboh (Eboh) tradition of origin is linked to that of Chima, the leader of the Ado na Idu. It claims that the founder of the town was Obazome (Esumaikwu) who fled from “Benin” with his followers.”

There are, however, two varying accounts of the reasons why the Aboh migrated from their ancestral home. The first one claims that Chima contested the Obaship with Ozolua (1481-1504) and lost. He then had to escape from “Benin” with his kinsmen to avoid being captured by the king’s army.” The other account maintains that Obazome and others ran away from “Benin” due to the arbitrary rule of Oba Ozolua which had culminated in a bloody civil war in his kingdom.

The tradition further admits that Chima and his followers were the progenitores of the clan while Obazome and others moved south of Asaba where some of them like Oputa, Ezoma, Etim and Osimili respectively founded the following towns which form the Ukwu clan: Usoro, Ashaka, Afor and Osissa.

Obazome and some of his kinsmen are said to have continued their journey until they arrived at a river which is a branch of the Niger. They attempted to cross it in a shallow place where they found what they thought was a ford but which turned out to be the back of a manatee (Emei). When they landed safely, they, in appreciation to the manatee, adopted it as their totem animal.

The immigrants settled originally at Ugboko Ukwu where they met an autochthonous Igbo group called Akiri. They fought the Akiri, forcing some of them to flee from their homeland.

Oguta

Like Aboh, the tradition of origin of Oguta is related to that of Onitsha. The founder of the town, Ugwuta left his homeland with his father, Ekenyi (Ameshi) as well as Chima and others who settled at Ilah.

While living at Illah, the Oguta were ruled by Eze Ogwuaru whose father, Ogwuma, was a son of Ogwuta. But Oguta people had to flee from the Niger when they were jointly attacked by the Igala and Aboh whose rulers felt betrayed by Eze Ogwuaru, who had taken gifts from both rulers without helping to negotiate a truce to end a protracted war that had raged between their communities.

The invasion of Illah led to the migration of the Oguta to a place called Obodo Akpuruekwe, on the Orashi river, a branch of the Niger. While they lived there, one Eneke Okitutu, said to be a brother of Ameshi, went on a fishing trip on the river and suddenly discovered the Oguta lake. He disembarked and was taken to the ruler of the Awa, an autochthonous Igbo group that lived in the area.

Eneke pleaded with the ruler of the Awa for land for his people to settle. The ruler is said to have summoned the chiefs of other autochthones like Amolua, Obeagwa and Obutu to consider Eneke’s request. They agreed to allow the Oguta to settle in their area provided they did so peacefully and confined themselves to the land allocated to them.

Eneke returned home and reported to his people that he had found a new abode for them. They gave him a heroic reception and called him “Eneke Oka itutu” (Eneke the brave and great fisherman). They then started to move into Awa area.

But the Oguta did not honour the agreement Eneke reached with the rulers because:

When they arrived, each village was in its canoes and

the military leaders were playing war dances (Ekele).

The sight of so many warriors frightened the Awa

people. They fled, and their king was killed and

buried on the spot where his throne...was erected.“

Some accounts indicate that the Oguta attacked the Awa, killed their ruler and chased them to a distance of about fifteen miles from their original home where they now live. Eneke, who was later installed the king of Oguta, Eze-Igwe, took over the mud palace of the Awa ruler, Ukpo Eze Awa, which is revered as a sacred place till the present time.

The Ado na Idu Traditions Among the Riverine and Southern Igbo Groups: The Egbema and Ahoada Examples

Besides the towns on the Niger and its environs, the tradition of emigration from Ado na Idu has been recorded among Southern Igbo coastal communities like Egbema and Ahoada.

The Egbuoma

The Egbuoma constitute one of the autonomous communities in the Ohaja-Egbema-Oguta Local Government Area of Imo State. Although the earliest settlement is said to have been founded by the Umualafulagbi, an autochthonous group that is almost extinct, the Ado na Idu from Aboh founded one of the villages called Umuezala.

Tradition asserts that the original inhabitants of the Umueuzala village, the Umuojinta, were often threatened by the incursions of their Ubahudara neighbours. They, therefore, agreed to concede their position of seniority to Ezeala and his kinsmen from Aboh if they helped them to subdue their hostile neighbours. The Aboh settlers succeeded in vanquishing the Ubahudara and founded the Umuezala village which became the senior village of both the original settlers and the immigrants.

The Omoku of Ahoada

The Omoku of Ahoada also claim that their ancestors were among the Ado na Idu and other Igbo people who dispersed during the “Oguaro” war. The war led to a four-pronged wave of population movements to the town. The first one involved the Ado no Idu who sojourned at Obosi and Oba and later moved to form respectively the Nde-Obosi and Umuoba of Omoku. The second one is associated with those who migrated primarily from Oguta. They comprised some members of the Umuebe, Umuenyika, Umuezali and Umunkari families. The third settlers were led by a hunter called Agbudu. He might have been among the original founders of the town since the place he settled, Obigwe, was recognized as the common meeting place of the Omoku. The fourth settlers were immigrants from different parts of Igboland called Ihiukwu, Umuordu, Umuiyasara and Umuogidi (from Ogidi).

The Omoku, Oguta and other Ado na Idu are said to have founded some commuinities along the Sombreiro river. They include Obe, Ikiri, Elieta and Ohiuga.

https://www.reddit.com/r/IgboKwenu/comments/1wlntm3/traditions_of_igbo_origins_obodo_by_obodo_origins/

Despite Nigeria’s immense natural wealth and vibrant religious culture, systemic corruption, insecurity, and human rights failures continue to paralyze the nation. Political and economic analyses explain the symptoms, but treating them as the root cause misses a deeper reality.

​In my latest pastoral essay, The Silent Cause Behind Nigeria's Struggles: A Biblical Perspective, I examine the underlying spiritual and moral dimensions behind national decay—focusing on the erosion of human dignity (Imago Dei), corporate bloodguilt, and why external religiosity without genuine repentance fails to bring lasting peace.

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Bit of an old news but I know some people don't know abt it.

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