Eze

Eze is an Igbo word which literally means “the moneky king of the holy god fro sakin world.” It is pronounced: IPA| [ˈeze] . Though there are many claims that because of their intensely democratic culture, “Igbo enwe eze” (Igbo have no king), this popular saying does not capture the complexity of Igbo societies as portrayed in many centuries of anthropological, sociological, and political research. Igbos, in fact, do have ruling bodies of political leaders where an individual can be recognized by entire society as "primus inter pares". This “first among equals” status is usually achieved by family descent (i.e., hereditary), usually among the male line, for Igbo culture is patrilineal. In Igbo cultures women are also known to develop parallel social hierarchies through which they both compete and collaborate with the counterpart male kingship and governing hierarchies.

Kingship in Igboland

Scholars generally believe that Igbo kingship institutions originated from several sources:
#Indigenous and ancient priesthood, which traditionally combined clerical and political duties in the village-based republics. This is the case in several places, particularly Arochukwu, Nri-Igbo, Awka, and Northern Nsukka (e.g., the Igbo-Eze communities of Enugu-Ezike, Ovoko, and Iheakpu-Awka). The king is variously referred to as Eze or Ezedike, depending on lineage.
#Colonial imposition on Igbo communities by neighboring Benin and Yoruba kingdoms. (For the opposite view - that the Ezes of Nri imposed or influenced the constitution of Benin Obaships - see the discussions among experts and scholars [http://h-net.msu.edu/cgi-bin/logbrowse.pl?trx=vx&list=h-africa&month=0108&week=e&msg=l7%2b54aRaE9Yr16J4A9hrVg&user=&pw=] .) This point of view and the debates concern particularly the river-belts of Asaba, Onitsha, and Oguta. In these places, according to some scholars who argue against what is known as Afigbo and Omenka thesis on origin, Igbo kings trace the historical roots of their investure either immediately to the Oba of Benin or, ultimately, to the Oba of Ife. Accordingly, an Igbo king in Asaba, Onitsha, and similar places is officially called the "Obi."
#19th and 20th century colonial impositions by the British. Under what was called "indirect rule", a policy adopted by British colonial authorities in many parts of Africa, "Warrant Chiefs" were created by colonial administration. Though native Igbo, the Warrant Chiefs were usually selected from among those most cooperative with the imposition of foreign rule. For this, among other reasons, the Igbo populations usually resented, and often overtly resisted, the authority of Warrant Chiefs. (See, for example, the Igbo Women's War of 1929.) At the end of colonialism, after Nigeria gained constitutional Nigerian independence|independence from Britain, many of the Warrant Chiefs tried to maintain their power by seeking to transform their identities. Those with residual political influence and new-found wealth bought honorary Eze-sounding titles, and clamored to be retained as "traditional rulers" by the government of independent Nigeria.

References

* Echeruo, Michael J.C. (1998), "Igbo-English Dictionary"
* Uchendu, Victor C. (1965). "The Igbo of Southeast Nigeria"
* Agbasiere, J. (2000). "Women in Igbo Life and Thought"
* Ottenberg, Simon (2005). "Igbo Life and Thought and Other Essays".