20/09/2025
Every ancestor had an ancestor.
Some Anambra indigenes often display a superiority complex when dealing with other Igbo groups. This attitude reflects a high level of ignorance about the wider cosmologies of the world.
Eri/Nri, as a typology, also had ancestors. There can never be conclusive evidence or discussion about one person descending from an astral plane to become Eri. Human reproduction has always existed—no one came from nothing.
Some of the stories about Eri as the first Igbo ancestor are similar to the Genesis creation accounts in the Christian Bible. They are myths meant to explain the origin of life within the cosmology of a people. Such stories cannot be taken literally, or else beliefs will be mistaken for facts. Today, archaeologists have traced the origin of humans to many locations, including Igboland. Catherine Acholonu, for instance, did tremendous academic work to argue that the Igbo existed before the biblical Adam. Comparing existence with myths in religious texts, while referencing other researchers who also analyzed these traditions, shows how religion (belief systems) played a central role in humanity’s early understanding of the world—a role that continues today.
Many archaeological sites and underground locations in Igboland remain unexplored, leaving gaps in our understanding of the earliest ancestors and their origins. Most of our current conclusions are based on limited knowledge, while further discoveries still await exploration.
Eri stories remain largely within the realm of belief, even though scholars have documented them to give them academic weight. The origin of humanity, however, remains an ongoing research subject with no end in sight. Even Eri must have been told of his own ancestors, for no human being descended from the sky to begin life on Earth. Those who claim that Eri came from astral planes actually reinforce the point—belief in occurrences that defy the natural human life cycle. Every human is born. Thus, Eri represents a typology of an early man who lived in a particular place. No single person can exclusively be called “Eri,” because human existence has been continuous for millions of years.
The claim that present-day Anambra State was the original home of Eri is still rooted in myth, and much of the documentation surrounding it is based on this myth. No one has conclusively proven that humanity originated in a specific place. We simply trace our roots back as far as memory and record allow, and the same was true for the people of Eri’s time. Humans have always been aware of socio-political stratification, which is inherent in our nature as social beings. Humanity also longs for identity, which leads us to seek reference points in history to explain our origins. This desire drives the study of ancestry. Yet, the paradox remains that even the ancestors we claim as our “first ancestors” also traced their lineage to earlier forebears. Eri, too, had ancestors.
This is why the subject of Eri should not be limited to one person but understood as a typology of early man. The world has evolved, and today science and technology have deepened our knowledge. While we respect the limited historical references available to us, no Igbo person should feel superior to another of the same ancestry simply because of claims of origin. These points of reference are primarily socio-political constructs of human identity.
No Igbo person is superior to another. I am not “more Igbo” than someone born of Igbo ancestors in China or Australia—for even my ancestors had ancestors. In essence, Anambra may not have been the first home of the so-called “primordial Igbo ancestor,” Eri, because Eri is a typology, not a single entity. Migration has always been part of human existence for millions of years. Where we live today and claim as aboriginal land may have been inhabited by humans long before us. With the limited information available, we use these reference points to create a sense of belonging, just like other peoples and tribes.
Stories of origin are often shaped by socio-political motives—whether for asserting superiority or for establishing social order.
