Eze Nri Ìfikuánim was the first king of the Nri Kingdom. According to Igbo oral tradition, his reign started in 1043 and ended in 1089 when he died. Eze Nri Ifikuanim, was the first Priest-King of the ancient Nri kingdom of Igboland. He was highly intelligent and scholarly. He traded with other kingdoms, including; Ethiopia, India, Egypt and many other kingdoms.
It is considered that the Nri kingdom is the centre of the Igbo culture. Nri and Aguleri where th Umueri-Igbo creation myth originates are in the territory of Umueri clan. The Umueri clan traces their lineage back to the patriarchal king-figure, ERI. Eri’s origin are unclear,though has been described as a “sky being” sent by Chukwu(God). Some writers claim that He ‘Eri’ was one of the sons of ‘Gad’ (who was one of the twelve sons of Jacob). The Nri history maybe divided into six main periods;the pre-Eri period (before 948CE), the Eri period (940-1041CE), migration and unification (1905-1252CE), the heyday of Nri hegemony (1253-1679CE), hegemony decline and collapse (1677-1936CE) and the sociocultural revival(1976-date).
Ifikuanim happened to be the first Eze Nri(king of Nri). It is said that he followed directly after Eri in 1043. According to the Igbo tradition, it is believed that upon the death of the Eze Nri, at least seven years would pass before a successor could be determined. The interval of seven years served as a divination period. They believe that the deceased Nri would show some signs as a means of communicating his successor.
It is said that the ‘Nri kingdom’ came into existence when ‘Nri’, the son of Eri who established the town of Nri, pleaded to Chukwu (the Great God) because of hunger. He was then ordered by Chukwu to cut off the head of his first son and daughter. This ritual was done to create a ‘blood bond’ between the Igbo and the earth deity, Ana. Before this was done, he (Nri) by order, marked ichi onto the foreheads of his first daughter and son. Coco yam, a crop managed by females, sprang from his daughter’s head, and yam, the Igbo peoples’ staple crop, sprung from his son’s head; Chukwu had taught Nri plant domestication. The Eze Nri’s first son and daughter were then required to undergo seven days scarification after birth, with the eze Nri’s daughter being the only female to receive ichi. After all these were achieved, Nri gained knowledge of the yam medicine (ogwu ji). In order to receive this knowledge received in exchange for annual tributes, people from other Igbo communities made pilgrimages to Nri.
