12/04/2022
Igbo Kingdom
Nri Kingdom
10th century–1911
Nri's area of influence (green) with West Africa's modern borders
The Kingdom of Nri is considered to be the foundation of Igbo culture, and the oldest Kingdom in Nigeria.[27] Nri and Aguleri, where the Igbo creation myth originates, are in the territory of the Umueri clan, who trace their lineages back to the patriarchal king-figure, Eri.[28] Eri's origins are unclear, though he has been described as a "sky being" sent by Chukwu (God).[28][29] He has been characterized as having first given societal order to the people of Anambra.[29]
Archaeological evidence suggests that Nri hegemony in Igboland may go back as far as the 9th century,[30] and royal burials have been unearthed dating to at least the 10th century. Eri, the god-like founder of Nri, is believed to have settled the region around 948 with other related Igbo cultures following after in the 13th century.[31] The first Eze Nri (King of Nri), Ìfikuánim, followed directly after him. According to Igbo oral tradition, his reign started in 1043.[32] At least one historian puts Ìfikuánim's reign much later, around 1225.[33]
Each king traces his origin back to the founding ancestor, Eri. Each king is a ritual reproduction of Eri. The initiation rite of a new king shows that the ritual process of becoming Ezenri (Nri priest-king) follows closely the path traced by the hero in establishing the Nri kingdom.
— E. Elochukwu Uzukwu[29]
Nri and Aguleri and part of the Umueri clan, a cluster of Igbo village groups which traces its origins to a sky being called Eri, and, significantly, includes (from the viewpoint of its Igbo members) the neighbouring kingdom of Igala.
— Elizabeth Allo Isichei[34]
The Kingdom of Nri was a religio-polity, a sort of theocratic state, that developed in the central heartland of the Igbo region.[31] The Nri had a taboo symbolic code with six types. These included human (such as the birth of twins), animal (such as killing or eating of pythons
