Narrowing towards Oraeri from the Igboukwu axis, one feels the calm and serene aura as you enter Oraeri the only Nri community in Aguata Local Government. The town is made up of five villages namely: Ebenator, Obu-uno, Umunri Ofia, Obinri and Umudike which borders Akwaeze in the North, Aguluzigbo in the East, Igboukwu in the South, Ichida in the west and Adazi-Enu in the Northwest. Welcome to Oraeri, a land known for peace and the people highly receptive and warmly.
The traditional ruler, HRH Ezenri Emmanuel O. Nriagu, Ezenriagu II and Ezenri XXIst, was a civil servant, a former PG, former Secretary General of the town Union with a sound educational background and a deep rooted catholic faith.
In this interview with Jonekay Echezonachukwu Emejulu and Ijeoma Ekwusi held at the Ezenri’s palace ground, Ofia Ezenri Oraeri, he dwelt on the ancient background of the Oraeri people. He also mirrors on the reason Oraeri is regarded as the Spiritual Arbiter cum Avatar of Igboland. He mentioned the lingering land dispute in the community by one of the villages and the court’s verdict. He also reveals on his nouveu plans for the Ofia Oraeri, among others.
Oraeri sounds similar to other Eri towns by virtue of the parent name ‘Eri’. So kindly tell us on how Oraeri was formed?
The history of the town emanated from the Jews. It was believed that the first occupant (Jews) spoke in the Hebrew language until further generations were born and thus had a corrupted version of the language, which has come to be known as the Ibo language. Both languages have so many similarities. The behavioural patterns between the Jews and the Igbos have so many commonalities, like the circumcision is done on the eight day. Both have four days (izu) in the week, which are the Eke, Afor, Oye and Nkwo unlike the western clime which has 7 days in a week.
Also, in the Bible, Gad and Eri are being mentioned as the descendants of Jacob, the grandson of Abraham. In a documented research by the English Archeologists, Thurstan Shaw, showing that the apparent Igbo-ukwu archaeological site were those of the ancient Nri-Eri kingdom of Ora-eri that lost the archaeological sites to the Igbo-ukwus during the war. Under Igboukwu’s name, the site became popularized although it is still known to the Igbo-ukwus, that the sites truly belonged to the Ora-Eri people. This is so because it is the Ora-Eri alone that has the Eze-Nri-Eri priest- kings. Thurstan Shaw who excavated the sites acknowledged the fact that the said archaeological sites where Eze-Nri of Ora-Eri lived “… surely represent something exceptional … The repository does not contain vessels and ornaments in everyday use, nor did the burial chamber contain the remains of an ordinary commoner.”
He went to show that the said Eze-Nri–Eri, “Divine Kingship” has “a considerable vesting of social and spiritual power and prestige,” and of course with the “accumulated wealth” and unique history behind it.
To this end, according to Ora-Eri tradition of origin, the first Eze-Nri was Eri, who beget Menri Eri the 2nd, who consecrated his two sons as the next Eze-Nri. Two separate dynasties of Ora-Eri and Agukwu came into being. Namoko was responsible for Ora-Eri line, while Ifiukwuanim for Agukwu. And then Avo who was the Ezenri-Nri the fifth, it sprang in that succession until Ezenri the 21st which I am till date.
The Ezenri is not hereditary but by divine intuition; who will become the next Ezenri after the demise of a particular Ezenri is by divine revelation. So many mysterious things begin to happen to a chosen one until he is eventually crowned as the Ezenri.
The Ancient palace of the Ezenri is housed in a miraculous forest enclave known as Ofia eri Ezenri, a land where no palm tree can ever thrive in the soil. A spectacular feature of the forest is that there are two special Iroko trees that stand at the entrance gate to the palace that dated back to so many centuries. This wonderful forest was the abode of 20 generations of Ezenris.
They have a traditional seat which they normally sit on in their Obi called Mgbidi. Before one enters the Ezenri’s palace, there is a barricade where women are not expected to cross called the Ejete-ebe. Here only a man can pass through to the palace. It has been observed from time immemorial till now.
In Oraeri kingdom, an Ezenri cannot see a corpse, right from the first Ezenri to myself have adhered to this practice. Any ambulance carrying a corpse is not expected to pass through the Ofia Ora-Eri. They can only convey the corpse either from behind or other adjoining streets but not passing through the Ezenri’s palace to the adjoining roads.
It is forbidden by the law of the land. Where an Ezenri accidentally stumbles on a corpse, it requires series of spiritual cleansing to ward off imminent or future doom for the land.
Oral mythology has it that when the 6th Ezenri, Ezennagu first got up one morning to inspect his palm fruits in the palace ground, he stumbled on a corpse. While ritually purifying himself he consulted his spiritual adviser, Okpala (head of the Adamas) and requested that no palm tree should ever spring from the soil again. And from thenceforth till the present, no palm tree has ever sprung forth from the Ofia Oraeri soil. To this day every attempt to grow palm tree in that portion of land has failed, defiling every scientific explanation.
Now the Adamas, who are ritual Priests, and are bestowed with unilateral power to crown the Ezenri, when an Ezenri goes to meet his ancestors they hold forte until a new Ezenri is crowned and within that period there is a ceremony they perform called the Ncheta Ezenri (remembrance of the Ezenri). However the highest title an Adama can attain is an Okpala.
The principal duty of the Oraeri people is that they act as the priest of the Nri people. Anywhere sacrilege is commited in any part of Igboland like suicide that is termed a sacrilege it is the Oraeri people that have over the years been bestowed with this singular authority to perform such sacrifices of removing the corpse. The Ezenri will give authority to any Oraeri man to expunge any sacrilege. It is part of our inheritance from Israel; hence we are from the Israeli genealogy (agburulo).
Again when such abominable act is committed in such community, the people of the town have no right to touch the dead body, otherwise they will face the wrath of the gods. It is only an Oraeri indigene that is mandated to remove the corpse. And that practice still stands till date.
Without mincing word, I will tell you that where the present Awka prison is sited today was a big mystical forest. When the government wanted to develop the place, so many people were called and could not pull down the forest owing to its mystical powers. It was the Oraeri people that were invited, who performed the traditional rites before it was further developed. It was documented and stored in the historical archives of the state.
The symbol of authority and power of a typical Oraeri man is the Ofo. Ofo symbol is gotten from the Ofo tree which is not easily found as it does not grow anyhow or anywhere. The symbol falls naturally on its own from the parent tree. It is a symbol of justice and equity in Igboland.
Anyone who holds an ofo must be sure to be upright and just. The ofo has the power to react negatively to the holder if he is found wanting or corrupt.
Another sacred object is the Otunsi which is a sacred immunizer. This is the spiritual force which the Nri people use to perform all their perfunctory functions and traditional rites centuries ago all the other Nri towns including surrounding communities used to come to Oraeri to pay homage (Ibu-Ihu) to the Ezenri which he equally reciprocated as he fetes the visitors with yam seedlings and a peculiar kind of manure that makes for high yield of fertility which they use in their farms. Anyi is the name of the special ingredient added to the yam to make it yield well; it is similar to the modern-day fertilizer. It is only the Oraeri people that knows and performs this act.
The aforesaid festival went on repeatedly for some years until the towns started having their own festival. Now what some communities in Igboland refer to as Ofala is called Onwa asato (8 months) in our dialect. This is because ofala is not our language, it was borrowed. This year we couldn’t observe the onwa asato owing to the land dispute case that was still being heard in the court. I thank God that it has been ruled in our favour and by God’s grace next year we shall be celebrating the annual onwa asato festival in Oraeri ancient kingdom.
Is the Ezenri only peculiar to the Oraeri kingdom?
At the moment, in Igboland, the Ezenri is peculiar to only the Oraeri and Agukwu Nri towns.
There is no predominant Ezenri that is superior or inferior to any of the Eri towns except for those that has special function like the Oraeri that handles such spiritual deposits of Nri tradition vis a vis other Nri communities with their own peculiarities.
Agukwu Nri before now was referred to as Agukwu. It was in 1968 that they began bearing the name, Nri. The Nri people are seen scattered all over Igboland and across the Niger as far as Ogwashi-Uku. Some pockets of the Oraeri people can be traced to Amichi, Awka-Etiti, Nnewi – where a large mass is concentrated, among others.
This is informed by the virtue of the primary role they perform which is the traditional functions they carry in diverse towns and so many in the process formed some kindred hence became part of that town while still performing such roles in the town like conferring of traditional titles.
So what is common to these Nri towns?
We all have a common way of ichi Ozo (conferring of the Nze na Ozo title). The process of the ozo title rites are similar; we are also very good in yam cultivation.
How about the dwarfs (Nwakanshi) popularly associated with the Nri dynasties?
These are people who were believed to be associated with evil omen or taboo in the olden days and anywhere they are born, in any part of Igbo land, it is the Oraeri people who were called to cleanse the land and to further forestall such occurrences in that land.
Finally they (Oraeri people) carried the dwarfs to the Eze-Nri where they were allowed to serve in the palace of the Eze-Nri where they were normally seen and protected. With the advent of Christianity most of them started locating their ancestral homes and those born with some defects were no longer seen as omen. Majority of them intermarried with those of normal growth and bore children with sound health and normal body growth.
I have resolved that when the Oraeri kingdom finally restructures and put in place a museum with befitting tourism facilities in the Ofia Oraeri, we will have to locate and bring back the dwarfs who are willing to come.
There was an instance of one dwarf who was traced by his people here in our kingdom to take back to his birth place but resisted his kindred whom came for him accusing them of pulling a deliberate ploy to murder him. Saying if not why are they bothered about him especially now that he has adapted to the land (Oraeri). He concluded that he knows no other place and other people. He instructed them to take their leave and let him be. Here, the dwarfs are free to marry and live a normal life.
Earlier on you made mention of a prevailing crisis in your community for some time now. Can you throw more light on that?
Actually one of the villages in Oraeri laid a claim on the Ofiaeri Oraeri (Oraeri forest) which is the abode of the traditional stool in the community. Their contention was that they have been producing the Eze-Nri in 9 consecutive successions and as such felt that it is their bona fide right to produce the 21st Eze-Nri.
By tradition I am supposed to be installed at the Ofia Eri Oraeri where my predecessors were also installed. Before my installation we did not know that some people had other plans up their sleeves as they did not want me to be installed there, they went to court and filed an interlocutory injunction refraining me from being crowned at that place; that is, the two lands of Ofia Eri and eventually we had to go to court.
It was by December 23rd 2016, we were in court to contest the land, luckily for the community, and the judge ruled that I should be crowned in the Ofia Eri only on that 31st of December. I was then installed. The Judge ordered that I should come back early this year to start the process of determining who owns those two lands.
We continued going to court until October 25th 2017 when the Judgement was finally given in the favour of our community. The verdict was that the community owns the lands. The Ofia Eri Oraeri was been contested by some of our brothers from the third village, the Umunri Ofia village.
They said that the lands belong to them and that we can only enter there to do the installation by taking permission from them. We disagreed because these lands of Eze-Nri Oraeri were bequeathed to the community by our founding father, Eze-Nri Avo, Eze-Nri the 5th. Although the verdict has been given in the favour of the community but personally I do not see it as a victory because we are all brothers and one cannot have victory in court over one’s brother. However, it is just that the truth is now known for the benefit of our future generations.
Culled from OrientDailyNews
