Kingship in Igbo land is a sacred and highly revered institution. Its awe-inspiring mysteries, myths, glamour and royalty have been major preoccupation among historians and experts in mores of the land. It is essentially a unifying factor and custodian of the people’s norms, beliefs and cultural heritage. Being a highly respected institution, a king’s life, in principle and practice, is significantly free from any form of blame.
Kingship is almost mystic in Igbo land. For instance, a king is seen a representative of the gods and is restricted by norms and traditions of the people from doing certain things, of which he must diligently observe.
In the past, a king cannot be seen beyond his palace. This, however, had to be reviewed to allow the king the luxury of carrying out his wider responsibilities, which cannot satisfactorily be done within the confines of the palace.
It is also a tradition in Igbo land that before a person aspires to become a king, his father must have been dead, for the simple reason that a king must not be subjected to the control of any person. He must be of impeccable character and free from all charges such as robbery, covetousness, indebtedness and drunkenness, among other crummy lifestyles.
The king embodies all virtues and the people see him as a symbol of purity. This is outwardly confirmed by the fact that kings in Igbo land always wear white regalia.
There are certain modes of behaviour which are characteristic of kings in Igbo land. For example, the king’s mouth cannot be seen while he is eating; neither does he eat in public places. He is regarded as a representative of the ancestors, who is above human errors and as such, is seen as an embodiment of truth and justice.
Apart from being a secular ruler, the king is also imbued with spiritual powers and authority. He is the High Priest, and therefore at the head of all traditional religious functions in the community.
The priestly duties of the king start in the early hours of the morning when the royal gong is sounded. He wakes and offers sacrifice to the gods on behalf of the people. After this, he retires to the palace to discharge his duties and receive homage from his subjects.
In the yesteryear, the royal household is usually administrated by three servants known as Ngbaloto Eze meaning the naked servants .They are responsible for the king’s needs and must be naked while attending to him. They are usually very young boys who are considered virgins. Their heads are uniquely shaved in a traditional manner. One serves as the king’s interpreter while the other two are always in attendance during an audience; standing at both sides of the king bearing the royal sword.
The wives and children of the king live apart from him. While he can see the children at all times, he can only see the wives only during the day. The king can marry as many wives as he desires, and cannot be asked to pay bride price for his would-be wife, though his in-laws are accorded great respect throughout the kingdom.
They are also secluded from the public and are restricted to their royal quarters, but friends and relations can pay visits to them. Male visitors can only see them during the day with the permission of the king and guided by one of the palace guards.
The process of being a king in Igbo land is extensive as it is expensive. In most communities, the kingship stool is rotational among royal families who take turns to produce the kings. But the age-long practice has often led to prolonged litigations that had torn most communities apart.
In the past, potential contenders to any throne were brought before the Chief Priest who consults the gods to know the best person to be crowned king and the outcome is accepted by all without complaint for fear of the anger of the gods.
In keeping with the tradition of secrecy that surrounds the affairs of the king, his illness and eventual death is kept secret from the public for a long time to allow the performance of all traditional rituals that precedes his burial to be performed.
The news of the king’s death is broken to his subjects in a metaphor-laden linguistic expression such as igwe ejiri or igwe ejiele, meaning the steel or iron is broken.
The Igwe’s second in command, the Onowu or traditional Prime Minister immediately assumes the office of the late king as a regent until a new king is appointed.
But with the advent of civilisation, the concept of kingship in Igbo land has changed. In our day, it is no longer the revered institution it used to be. Gone are the solemnity, sacredness and royalty of the throne. The process of selecting a king now is manipulated by politicians who can also depose any king at will.
There are also more reported cases of kingship tussle resulting from faulty selection processes than it used to be when the procedure was guided by established norms and traditions.
Kings have also abandoned their hallowed palaces to hobnob with politicians thereby desecrating the traditional institution. With more political roles trusted to kings, the original role of providing leadership at the community level has been abandoned, resulting in increased impunity among the people.
For instance, in Imo State, traditional rulers are no more restricted to their palaces from where they administer their kingdoms but are now given a new role that warrants them to participate in the day-to-day running of the government.
Their new role, encapsulated under the newly created Traditional Parliament of Imo State has given the monarchs the opportunity to collaborate with the government and the people in the process of development and improving the well-being of their subjects.
Commenting on the ‘dying’ traditional institution in Igbo land, Chief Ibeku Uzoaru, lamented that the once-revered institution has been hijacked and desecrated by politicians and money bags, stressing that except something urgent is done, Ndigbo will continue to grapple with kingship tussle.
The octogenarian said: “What you hear in Igbo land today is that Igbo enweghi eze, meaning Igbo does not have a king. This belief results from the republican nature of Igbo land where every male adult that has attained the age of 18 has the right to contribute or air his view at a community gathering at the village square.
“It was not so at the beginning but when people with questionable characters found their ways to the traditional throne using their wealth, the traditions of our people were destroyed.
“Today once a man makes enough money, he returns home to buy the traditional throne of his people, even though he was an ex-convict, who has questionable means of livelihood. This has cost the confidence of the people on the traditional institution. It was a taboo to see kings indicted in serious crimes such as robbery and kidnapping. In the past, kings were men of impeccable characters.”
Chief Uzoaru further criticised the polarisation of the institution. “It is now common in Igbo land to have a king in every village of few persons and this has weakened the once-powerful institution. The present-day kings are no less errand boys to politicians who assemble them to add colour to every little political gathering,” he said.
For Nze Njoku Anthony, the collapse of the traditional institution in Igbo land is responsible for the high rate of criminal activities in several communities.
“In the past, we never heard about crimes such as robbery, kidnapping, rape or any other heinous crime because they were regarded as sacrilege with serious consequences. But today, we are no longer guided by our traditions.
“What you have as kings today are mere ceremonial heads who do not even know the traditions of the people. This is so because there are interferences in the manner the kings are selected.
“For instance, if a community elects a king in line with their tradition, the government could have preference for another person who will be officially recognised as king and present Staff of Office to him,” he said.
