Leadership
in Umuezeala Ancient Kingdom past and present
Maduawuchi
Stan Ogbonna
Abstract
Leadership in Umuezeala
Ancient Kingdom has always been by the elders. The first son of a family,
kindred, village or town was always the leader, though he is permitted to
transfer his role to a young brother after due consultations. This leadership
style has functioned effectively through the centuries. Umuezeala kingdom has
been adjusting well to every change in the socio-political leadership of the
Nigeria society without losing her leadership style. Through the imposition of the warrant chiefs
on the people the colonial masters took advantage of their existing leadership
system but could not destroy it. In
recent years the kingdom was split into four autonomous communities, but this
act did not divide the kingdom because the four traditional rulers respect the
leadership of the Eze of the autonomous community of the eldest son of Ezeala
the founder of the kingdom. Even in the present
democratic era, this ancient visionary leadership style of Umuezeala influences
the choice of who are elected into offices or presented to the government for
political appointments irrespective of party affiliation of the candidate. The purpose of this paper is to study why this
leadership style has survived through the centuries. A series of interviews were
conducted with the traditional heads, the traditional rulers, the elders and
the town union presidents of Umuezeala Ancient Kingdom for the purpose of this
paper. Adherence to the celebration of the Onwa ano ancient agrarian annual festival
has been the hinge that holds the people together enabling them to adjust to
the numerous political changes in the larger society, while holding fast to
their ancient leadership style. This annual festival promotes adherence to the
rule of law, mutual respect and brotherly love among the citizens of the kingdom.
Introduction
The people of
Umuezeala Ancient Kingdom have been faithful to their traditional leadership
style and ways of life in spite of the socio-political changes which have taken
place around them. No matter what type of government is in power in Nigeria,
they never deviated from the ancient leadership style by the elders. The
concept of leadership is extremely broad.
Hence, it is necessary to delineate this concept as it applies to this
paper. For the purpose of this study,
the concept of leadership will be ascribed to persons or group of persons who
enable the Umuezeala people to understand, accept celebrate and preserve their cultural
heritage. This paper is an effort to
explore how the people in leadership positions in Umuezeala Ancient kingdom
have enabled the people to preserve, hold on to and continue to celebrate their
cultural heritage. The definition of
culture by Edward Sapir is most appropriate here:
“The
so-called culture of a group of human beings, as it is ordinarily treated by
the cultural anthropologist, is essentially a systematic list of all the
socially inherited patterns of behavior” [1]
There will be an
effort to explore a list of the significant features of the cultural legacy of
Umuezeala Ancient kingdom. These are
some of the essential aspects of the life of the people of Umuezeala Ancient
kingdom which will be considered: the village assembly at the village square –
Obom/Ogboto which is still the judicial, executive and the legislative center for
the people of Umuezeala as it has been through the centuries. Its role in the
conscription process during the Nigeria-Biafra war tarnished the image of the
village council of elders for some time. Next is the village council of elders
– ndi-isi-ala. This is the final
decision making body of the village representing every family. The most important concept in the cultural
life of the people of Umuezeala ancient kingdom is Onwa-ano Umuezeala. This concept is so crucial that if it is
abandoned or done away with, Umuezeala Ancient kingdom could as well cease to
exist. The most recent concept in the life of the Umuezeala people is
autonomous community. In the middle of the
1970s, the Federal Military Government of Nigeria introduced the autonomous
community as a tier of government or leadership at the grassroots. At first
Umuezeala Ancient kingdom was only a part of Akanu/Ezeala autonomous
community. Hence, autonomous community
at that time did not make any difference in the life of the people of Umuezeala. Since then, the Umuezeala Ancient kingdom has
been split into four kingdoms or autonomous communities. This administrative system constituted a
challenge because four different kings were answerable Imo state Government
about the affairs of Umuezeala people.
This brought some changes into the leadership style as the four kings
must always act as one in the interest of the people of Umuezeala Ancient
kingdom. That notwithstanding, the features of Umuezeala Ancient kingdom is still
noticeable today and play significant roles in the life of its citizens.
Definitely its leaders are conscious of prime position of Umuezeala in the
cultural calendar of the people of the region. According
to Eze Aloysius Igwe, Ezeala 1 of Umuezeala Ama: “Abia na Ehime-Mbano, abia na
Okigwe, ana akwanyere Umuezeala ugwu, maka amara na ha jisiri Omenala ha ike
(In Ehime-Mbano and in Okigwe Umuezeala is respected because it is common
knowledge that they are a people who cherish their cultural heritage).” [2]
Statement of the problem
I received a phone call from home that became
a woke-up call and made me begin to doubt my earlier perceptions about the effectiveness
of the cultural leadership style of the people of Umuezeala. My younger brother
called sometime in 2013 to complain to me about the mistreatment he got from my
older brother. This was about his
inability to harvest the palm fruits from
the communal land when it was his turn to do so. He threatened to sue him at
the village assembly if he did not cease from interfering with his rights. Even
though I pleaded with him to wait until I could return Nigeria and settle their
differences, he still went ahead and sued our brother and made his case before
the people. This case did not involve the police or any court of law. I only knew that he carried out his threat
when a fight started between my younger brother and my nephew whose father was
sued while the case was in progress. That
was when one of my nephews called and told me that the case was in progress at
the village square and that his younger brother had attacked by my younger
brother who was the plaintiff. That
fight turned into another case before the people. After speaking with my two
brothers and the president of the village development union who was presiding
over the case, I obtained an adjournment and I promised to settle the case
myself on my return to Nigeria later in the year. This incident became an eye
opener and made me cast a doubt on all my former assumptions about cultural
leadership in Umuezeala. It became the incentive
for this study. This paper explored different aspects of leadership in the life
of the people of Umuezeala Ancient kingdom which have enabled them to hold on
to their cultural heritage.
The Research question
Why
have the people of Umuezeala Ancient kingdom clung to their ancient ways of
life in spite of the changes taking place around them?
The Origin of Umuezeala
Umuezeala
Ancient kingdom today has boundary in the South with Ihiteaforukwu in Ahiazu
Local Government Area and Umunumo and Agbaja to the North. Umualumaku/Umuihim
autonomous community is located in the East, while Umunakanu and Umueze 1
autonomous communities (in Ehime-Mbano Local Government Area) as well as
Umuelemai (in Isiala Mbano Local Government Area) to the West. The people of
the Umuezeala Ancient kingdom are the descendants of Ezeala, who was the second
son of the six sons of Ihim (corrupted to Ehime). The first son was Ihim whose
descendants are Umuihim. Eze, Agbaja,
Akanu and Kabia are the other sons of Ihim and brothers of Ezeala. Legend has it that Ihim gave his son Ezeala the
responsibility of making all decisions about the all-important agricultural calendar.
Until today, Ezeala and his descendants set and control the agricultural
calendar. His descendants determine the
beginning of the planting and harvest seasons. All the communities in the
region look up to Umuezeala and take a cue from them about decisions concerning
their New Yam festivals. This is the reason why Onwa Ano Umuezeala –the agrarian
festival has a prominent place in the lives of the people of Umuezeala.
Ezeala had seven sons:
1.
Opara whose descendants live in Umuopara;
2.
Ezike, whose descendants live in
Umuezike;
3.
Arighi, whose descendants in Umuarighi whose
descendants live in Umuarighi in Umuezeala Ama with no brethren in Umuezeala
Owerre, however, today’s Umuezeala Ogwara autonomous community that is located
between Umuezeala Ama and Umuezeala Owerre is said to have been originally part
of umuarighi.
4.
Agha whose descendants live in Umuagha;
5.
Dim whose descendants live in Umudim;
6.
Ebo whose descendants live in Umuebo;
7.
Eze whose descendants livein Umueze.
According
to Eze M.S.N Nwaneri:
“Formerly the entire Umuezeala community was living
and concentrated at today’s Umuezeala Ama. … But as population grew and the
need for more space became imperative, Umuezeala engaged other neighboring
towns in inter-town and inter-village wars in course of which more land areas
were gained and retained.” [3]
Those who remained in
the ancestral home constitute today’s Umuezeala Ama, while those who captured
and settled on acquired land is today’s Umuezeala Owerre. On account of this,
the same kindred names exist in both Umuezeala Ama and Umuezeala Owerre, (except
Umuarighi whose brothers made up Umuezeala Ogwara autonomous community) on
account of which there cannot be marriage between persons of the same kindred
name in both communities.
Obom the village square
Any
meaningful discussion about leadership in Umuezeala Ancient kingdom must start from
the village square. The village square has
been the basic unit of government in Umuezeala through the centuries. Obom/Ogboto –the village square is where the
elders from each kindred gather to represent the interest each family. After expressing the desires of their
families, the elders also must carry home with them the decisions of the
council of elders to be communicated to their individual families. What took place at Obom Umuopara Anyaro in
2013 is the genesis of this paper. In the
olden days, the Onyeisiala or the eldest member of the village council of elders
presided and summoned the elders to a meeting at the village square through the
town crier. The crier would go round the village beating his small wooden drum
–ekwe – especially during dinner time. The
announcement drum had a unique sound, which always caught the attention of
every villager when it is beaten. The crier’s drum commanded a special respect
that when it was heard everyone would stop talking and listened attentively,
because nobody could guess exactly what the crier was going to say. The
Onyeisiala presided over the village council in the olden days. However, since
the introduction of the autonomous community system of government, the village
assembly has become the development union.
The development union is lead by an elected president, who is the
chairman of every village meeting. The president is a member of the king’s
cabinet along with the Onyeisiala/Ojiofor (who is the oldest member of the
council of elders) or his designee. Nowadays, instead of the village crier, it
is the president of the development union who convenes meetings through text
messagesor telephone calls to the designated audience. As always, a regular village meeting starts
after breakfast, that is mid-morning on Afor Umuezeala market day. In the olden
days, the people of Umuezeala Owerre never went to the farm on their market
day, which is on Afor Umuezeala day.
They rather went to the Afor Umuezeala market. Hence, those meetings
took place on work-free days. The purpose of a meeting would determine who
should be in attendance. There can be a
general meeting for all adult male, where opinions are expressed either to
debate an executive decision, enact legislation or a judicial session to settle
a case. Besides the regular meetings, there were also the emergency meetings which
would often start very early in the morning. Generally these meetings had a restricted
attendance, where the elders from each take most executive decisions. Not even the Indirect Rule and the Warrant
Chief system of the colonial days could disrupt the effectiveness this
grassroots system of government. The leaders of Umuezeala Ancient kingdom were
able to hold on to their visionary leadership style. Hence, the village square
was always and has continued to be till today the center of all life events for
the governance of Umuezeala people. Hence, the common saying: “nzuko umunnadi
wu na ukwu achi di na obom” (the people will always meet under the sasswood
tree at the village square). It is important to note that the village assembly
always had a limited judicial power. According to the current president of
Umuoparanyaro development union, who is also the presiding officer of every
judicial session of the village assembly:
“Anyi anaghi ekpe ikpe onye gburu madu, onye zuru
ohi ma obu onye jiri egbe gaa ohi. Ihe anyi na ekpe wu ikpe oke oru, onye ghoro
mkpuru osisi onye ozo ya na onye ya na nwanne ya kogho isi.” (We do not preside
over murder cases, robbery or armed robbery.
We settle land boundary cases, harvesting another person’s fruits and
brotherly quarrels)[4].
These
qualities of a village assembly are not unique to Umuezeala. According to
Gloria Chukwu:
“Most Igbo
polities practiced village republican political system through councils of
elders and village assemblies.”[5]
The
annual registration of births is another special event that take place at the
village square. Within the sacred month
of Onwa Ano Umuezeala every parent must register the birth of any child born during
the past year. This is the okuko igbudu ceremony. The parents are
expected to state the birthday of a child to the best of their ability. The process of the registration ceremony
consists of the presentation to the people of a roasted rooster or a roasted
hen for a boy and a girl respectively. The meat of the registration chicken was
shared equally among every living member of Umuoparnyaro village. It is through this registration process that the
village assigned individuals to appropriate age groups. In the olden days, this
was the only tool the leadership used to determine the age groups to which individuals
were assigned for the different adult responsibilities. This included rates and taxation, as well as being
drafted for war in the olden days. Nowadays,
the Iwa Akwa ceremony has superseded Okuko Igbudu in the process of the
assignment of individuals to their respective age grades. Iwa Akwa ceremony will be discussed fully here
below in this paper.
Ndi
isi ala
In
ancient times, the eldest man in each kindred or his designee was a member of the
village council of elders. That elder is Onyeisiala or Ojiofor. This is still the practice today. According
to Eugene Anugom:
“Onyeisiala is same as Ojiofor. One is selected by
each kindred in Umuoparanyaro. As regards Umuezeala, the most senior from each
village comes. In our own case, it was Mr. Elegbuanya.”[6]
This
was and is still the basic legislative, executive and judicial tier of
government among the Igbo people. Should
there be a need for a new law or an adjustment to an existing one, Ndi isi ala
would have deliberated on it before it is presented to the men at Obom/ogboto or
the village assembly at the village square for a final deliberation and enactment
for the people. In the ancient days, this
body declared wars and decided what levy or tax the people will pay for any
particular need of the general public. Its members are responsible for the control of
the ritual calendars which govern the timing and execution of various agricultural
activities. As judges, they presided
over all the cases and settled all problems presented before them by the
people. In effect, the elders or
Ndi-isi-ala who represented each kindred effectively articulated the interests of
their families before the village assembly. The emphasis here is on the
leadership and representative nature of an elder to his people. Today, Ndi-isi-ala
still retains this status in all the autonomous communities that constituted
the Umuezeala Ancient kingdom. This great
power ascribed to the council of elders over their people was what the colonial
masters capitalized upon through the imposition of the Warrant Chief System and
Indirect Rule in Eastern Nigeria and the Igbo society. The colonial masters was
vested the power of the village elders on one single person – the Warrant
Chief. That was the reason why A.E
Afigbo asserted:
“Even when the Warrant Chief functioned as the
executive authority in his remote village, he did so as a member of the Native
Court which was really the local authority. Thus a description of the origin
and structure of the Warrant Chief System is indeed a description of the origin
and structure of the Native Court in its judicial, executive and legislative
aspect.”[7]
Things
have not always been easy for the council of elders. It had its hard times especially during the
civil war. At that time, several young people were dissatisfied with this
council. Hence, those young people dubbed the council of elders 'Ndi-oga-ahuta'
(them that go to bring us information i.e. undesirable news). For some time,
the council lost respect among the youth because they were no longer trusted by
many people. This was as a result of the
role some of its members played at that time. Some elders worked hard to ensure
that the military conscripts were neither their children nor members of their
immediate families. Many conscripts who
survived the war questioned the integrity of some elders and their ability to
render just judgment in the village assembly. This sad aftermath of the civil
war did not last very long when life returned to normal at the end of the civil
war. Moreover, some people who were the
wartime youth had become the elders in their families. Saddled with the responsibility of running
the affairs of the village, they became more understanding of the decisions of
their wartime elders.
Iwa
Akwa Wearing Cloth Ceremony
The
introduction of Iwa Akwa, the wearing cloth ceremony as the rite of passage
through which adolescents become adults is a significant example of the
exercise of its legislative power by the council of elders of Umuezeala Ancient
kingdom. About seventy years ago this
ceremony did not exist in Umuezeala kingdom.
However the elders of Umuezeala admired the practice of this ceremonial
rite of passage by their neighbors and decided to adopt it. It has endured
until today and very few people are aware that it was not one of the ancient
rituals, in spite of its prominent place in Umuezeala cultural heritage today. According to Eze Julius Okeagu:
“From available records, Iwa-Akwa wearing cloth
originated in Obowo L.G.A and spread to neighbouring communities such as
Umuakagu Nsu, Umualumaku and Umuezeala Owerre all in Ehime Mbano L.G.A. At a
point in time the other communities expressed the desire to start wearing cloth
ceremony like their neighbours as aforementioned in one of the Eke Umuezeala
Market days, the people assembled at one of their market squares to identify
and select young men for wearing cloth ceremony. The Iwa Akwa ceremony started
first in Umuezeala Kingdom in 1937.” [8]
Iwa
Akwa ceremony takes place every three years, unless there is a calamity or a
disaster such as wars. The leaders of
Umuezeala Ancient kingdom stipulated conditions which an individual must meet
in order to qualify for the Iwa Akwa ceremony. These are sexual maturity,
physical maturity, emotional maturity and economic independence. Hence the first phase of the Iwa Akwa ceremony
the identification and selection of the candidates. As far as possible, the candidates have to be
from the same age bracket. However, this
is not always the case as the nned of the community may warrant wider age rage
in an age group. According to Eze Julius Okeagu:
“This happens when there is a vacuum in some
kindreds whose youths fall short of the mandatory age limit and such kindreds
are desirous of being represented in that age group. It is important to note
that the process of identification and selection begin from the family level
which will forward the names of their candidates to the village council,
finally the village council will submit the list of candidates to the
traditional ruler and the council of elders who will ratify and give their seal
of approval.”[9]
Once
the preparations are completed, the date for the ceremony having been given
wide publicity with the community and beyond, the young men print invitation
cards and distribute to their possible guests. The ceremony demands that on the
appropriate market days, the celebrants will parade with fanfare on the
ancestral market days of Umuezeala namely; Eke Umuezeala, OrieUmuezeala, Afor
Umuezeala, and Nkwo Umuezeala. The ceremony ends with merriment in the homes of
the youths, who had just been admitted into the rank of adulthood.
Educational leadership
The
Umuezeala people, while being faithful to the traditions handed down to them
from their ancestors, are quick to perceive and embrace inevitable
changes. By 1927, forty two years after
the arrival of the Catholic missionaries to Onitsha, my father Pius Ogbonna was
already a primary school teacher and a lay missionary. As of 1955, St. Patrick’s central school
Umuezeala Owerre was one was one of the only three standard six primary schools
in the then Mbano county council. Moreover,
there were three other feeder schools in Umuezeala Owerre alone. Most of the
educated elite of Ehime and parts of Mbaise, attended St. Patrick’s
school. By 1966, other than Ezeoke Girls
Secondary school, Mercy Girls High School Umuezeala Owerre was the only
secondary school in Ehime-Mbano Local Area. When Ehime became a Roman Catholic
parish in 1953, the pastor first lived at Umuezeala Owerre and then Umuezeala
Ogwara before a permanent rectory was built years later.
Economic leadership
The
market was always the center of the economic life of the people. Prior to the year 1955, three major markets
within Umuezeala. These were Nkwo (nkwo ukwu) Umuezeala which is located in
Umuezeala Ama. It is situated close to the shrine of Opara Mba, a powerful
deity of Umuezeala Ancient kingdom. Next
is Ek e Umuezeala which was located between Umuezeala Ogwara, Umuopara Ogboama
and Umuebo. Here is also the location of
the shrine of Duruanyanwu, another major deity of umuezeala. Afor Umuezeala is in Umuezeala Owerre, and here
is the shrine of Ala Umuezeala. The smaller markets were Orie Umuopara and Afor
umutazi, in Umuezeala Owerre as well as Orie Umuezeala Ogwara and Nkwo Nta stuated
at the Shrine of Opara Emedo, the eldest deity of Umuezeala Ancient
Kingdom. In 1955, the elders of
Umuezeala Owerre and Umuezeala Ogwara made a major economic decision. They
merged into one all the market activities of Eke Umuezeala, Orie Umuezeala
Ogwara, Afor Umuezeala, Orie Umuopara and Afor Umutazi. The new market was to
hold on Orie Umuezeala market day and situated in Umudim Umuezeala Owerre at
the famous road junction known as Aba Branch. This market grew fast and was patronized from
as far away as Umuahia and Okigwe and became known as Orie Ehime. It is today the largest economic center in
Ehime Mbano Local Government Area. It is the visionary economic leadership of
the elders of Umuezeala, which made Aba-Branch located at Umudim Umuezeala
Owerre, the vibrant economic and the seat of the Ehime-Mbano Local Government
today.
Cultural Leadership - Onwa Ano
Umuezeala
As an agrarian society,
it is understandable that life in Umuezeala Ancient kingdom revolved around
agricultural seasons. The people of Umuezeala have always planned their life
activities around the planting and harvest seasons. Hence Onwa Ano Umuezeala is
the pivot that holds all the citizens of the Ancient kingdom together. Even
after the Umuezeala Ancient kingdom has been divided into four autonomous
communities or kingdoms, the people celebrate this annual harvest/New Yam
festival as one community. For that reason, the four traditional rulers of the
four autonomous communities of Umuezeala issue a joint media announcement to
herald the celebration of Onwa Ano Umuezeala. (See the appendix for sample
joint announcement).
Onwa
Ano Umuezeala is the ritual celebration of the
crop harvest; especially yam. Yam is the most prominent or the king of all the
crops in Igboland. Hence the New Yam festival is the feast of all feasts in
Igboland. August, the fourth month of our calendar, is the sacred month. ‘Ito
omu’ or ‘Igba ji omu’ (tying palm frond to the yam stem) ushers in the Onwa Ano festival. On this day, the priests of the various deities of Umuezeala and the
elders of the people would meet and share kola nut and palm wine. Among the other ceremonies of the festival
season are Ida Ekwekpuru, Mbom uzo or
Mbom Ama Ibu Ji Aro,Oma Arishi and Ite Ofe Awa.
“Traditionally
and culturally too, the Umuezeala Ancient kingdom has only one unifying culture
called (Iri ji and Mbom-Uzo), because it is the festival performed by all the communities
in the kingdom under one calendar.”[10]
Mbom uzo or Mbom
ama ceremony
Originally, Mbom
uzo was a religious ceremony to prepare the Umuezeala Ancient kingdom for the
arrival of goddess of fertility - Ahianjoku. The people of Uipuezeala expected
her to be present for the celebration of Iri Ji or New Yam festival. They
celebrate her arrival through Ibu Ji Aro Umuezeala ceremony. This ceremony
involves carrying a special yam tuber (the fattest yam that could be harvested
in the entire kingdom) to Nkwo Umuezeala market. The yam is decorated and
dressed with white cock tied to it, and then carried round Nkwo Umuezeala
market square amidst singing and dancing. They celebrate Ibu Ji Aro the next day
after Mbom Uzo, but more often, it occurs on the second Nkwo Umuezeala market
day after Mbom uzo. Mbom Uzo occurs in the middle of this holy month, and it is
the most significant and the most visible of all the ceremonies of the holy
month of Onwa Ano Umuezeala annual festival.
"This
is the most significant of all the ceremonies. It started in early morning on
an Afor
Ezuru
market day with clearing of traditional paths/roads by the next age grade to
wear
cloth.
Later in the day it is performed with fan fare and sorts of merriment."[11]
This is the
highlight of Onwa Ano Umuezeala, because it attracts visitors from outside the
Umuezeala Ancient kingdom. People come from everywhere to establish or
reestablish relationships with Umuezeala people. The schedule of this ceremony
is done in a way that people from the different autonomous communities of the
Umuezeala Ancient kingdom have the opportunity to exchange visits. This
exchange of visits among Umuezeala people is an ancient plan that strengthens
their fraternal bonds. On account of this, the leaders of the four autonomous
communities that constitute the Umuezeala Ancient kingdom annually issue a
joint schedule signed by the four kings and the chairman of the of the council
of elders - Ndi Isi Ala.
"On
agreement, a committee is set up to implement the decisions of the house. The
committee will officially inform members of the communities on the day
activities take off including other preparations for the festival. The
committee will also make radio announcement to create awareness, visit the
general public, well wishers and distant relations to grace the occasion
supposed to be rich with cultural ctivities."[12]
In spite of the
splitting of the Umuezeala Ancient kingdom, the four autonomous kingdoms or
communities until date have one calendar of events for the celebration of Onwa
Ano Umuezeala.
This is a
testimony of how the people's faith in their cultural heritage has been guiding
the leadership until today.
The four autonomous communities
At the
introduction of the autonomous community administrative system by the Federal
Military Government of Nigeria in the middle of the 970s, it did not matter
much to Umuezeala people in their ways of life. After all they were only a part
of Akanu/Ezeala autonomous community. They were free to operate their cultural
calendar which was different from that of the people Umunakanu with whom the
government merged them. However, as years went by, the Umuezeala Ancient
kingdom got split into four kingdoms or autonomous communities. This division into different kingdoms became
a cause for concern. In spite of these changes, the village assembly in
Umuezeala retains its legislative, executive and judicial powers. The council
of elders - ndi-isi-ala has become a liaison between the Eze - the king of the
autonomous community for consultative purposes. Its role changed from being the
final decision making body of the community to that of a buffer between the Eze
and the village assembly. The village assembly the new name of the village is
the Development Union. It has elected officers, and its president oversees the
affairs of the village. Since the village assembly is still a force to be
reckoned with, the king or the traditional ruler in Umuezeala today does not
have the same absolute powers the colonial masters conferred on the warrant
chiefs. The king is the liaison between autonomous community and the state
government. Nevertheless, he must rule these people in consultation with the
council of elders and the village assembly president. The people of Umuezeala
still perform several ancient rituals as their forefathers did regardless of
the fact that most of them are Christians. Their traditional ways of life have
served them so well that the people do not intend to abandon them. A significant incident in 2013 forced me to
reappraise my assumptions about the leadership style that has guided the people
of Umuezeala Ancient kingdom through the centuries.
Conclusion
This paper set out to investigate how the leaders of
Umuezeala Ancient kingdom have enabled their citizens to cherish, preserve and
celebrate their cultural heritage. The fact remains that their ancestors come
back to the community today; they will recognize own life activities being
replicated by their offspring in modern style. Not only is the village assembly
of the elders still operational, the leaders have even borrowed ceremonies like
Iwa Akwa/wearing cloth ceremony to support and enhance their existing practices.
Splitting the Ancient kingdom into four autonomous communities or kingdoms by
the Imo State government did not affect the unity of Umuezeala people and their
leaders. On the contrary, the Umuezeala Ancient kingdom is firmly united and
its leaders even more conscious of their prominent place in the regional
community. For her cultural calendar sets the pace for others who must
calculate either Onwa Asaa Umunumo or or Onwa Asato Nsu from Onwa Ano Umuezeala
in order to celebrate their New Yam festivals.
Appendix
One
UMUEZEALA ANCIENT' KINGDOM
EHIMEMBANO LGA IMO
STATE
IRI JI/ MBOM UZO
UMUEZEALA ANClENT KINGDOM
The Traditional Rulers, the CGC,
Traditional Village Heads and the;
entire Christian Communities in
Umuezeala Ancient Kingdom celebrate
the eating of the new
yam/clearing road festival from 18th August – Ist-
September, 2013.
We therefore wefcome all
relations, friends, in-laws and well-wishers to
this memorable annual event.
SCHEDULE OF
ACTIVITIES:
1. 18/8/2013: AFOREZURU MARKET
DAY (SUNDAY)
No outing for any body because we mourn the
passed to glory o
HRH Eze P.D.I. Uba, Ezeoha I of
Umuezeala-Ogwara
Autonomous Community. May his soul rest in
peace. Amen.
2. 20/8/2013:
EKE UMUEZEALA (TUESDAY)
Feasting day for Umuezeala Ogwara
Autonomous Community.
Umuebo and UmuoparaOgboama Villages.
3.22/8/2013:
AFOR UMUEZEALA (THURSDAY)
Feasting day for HRH Eze T.C. Iwnagwu Eze Aro II of Umuezeala
Autonomous Community.
Feasting day for HRH Eze J. U. Okeagu Eze Udoala I of Ezeala
Owerre/Ezike Autonomous Community. Also no outing. Every
body should remain indoors.
4. 27/8/2013:
NKWO UMUEZEALA (TUESDAY)
Carrying Ji-Aro Umuezeala to Nkwo Umuezeala
Market by
Umudim village headed by Nze Hyginus
Anamanwu in a low key
profile.
5. 28/8/2013:
EKE UMUEZEALA (WEDNESDAY)
Feasting day for HRH Eze Aloy O. Igweh
(KSM) Ezeala I of
Umuezeala Ama Autonomous Community.
Appendix
Two
[1] Edward Sapir "Cultural Anthropology and Psychiatry*
Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 27 (1932): 229-242 p.235. http://www.brocku.ca/MeadProject/Sapir/Sapir_1932_b.html
[2]
Eze Aloysius Igwe, Transcript of interview
of December 22, 2013.
[3]
Eze M.S.N Nwaneri, Celebrations for the
13th coronation Anniversary of His Royal highness Eze M.S.N Nwaneri,
Eze Aro 1 of Umuezeala 1989. P. 2
[4]
Christopher Onuha, Transcript of
interview December 31, 2013.
[5]
Gloria Chukwu The Intellectual
Traditions: Creative Conflict in African and African Diasporic Thought
Palgrave Macmillan (2013) p.172
[6]
Eugene Anugom, Transcript of telephone
Interview February 2014
[7]
Adiele Afifigbo, The Warrant Chief System
in Eastern Nigeria: Direct or Indirect Rule? Journal of the Historical
Society of Nigeria, vol 111 no 4 (1967) p. 684
[8] Eze
Julius U Okeagu History of wearing Cloth
(Iwa-Akwa) in Umuezeala Ancient Kingdom and the autonomous communities
Ehime 2009 p. 2
[9]
Ibid p.4
[10]
Eze Julius U Okeagu, Culture: Historical
Background of Clearing of Road/Eating of New yam (Iriji/Mbom uzo)Festival) in
Umuezeala United kingdom in Ehime Mbano
LGA Imo State. 2013 p.1
[11]
Ibid p. 5
[12]
Ibid p. 4
