All you need to know about Eze Nri Kingdom, By Emeka Obasi (Updated)

His Majesty Eze Obidiegwu Onyeasoh, MFR, JP, Nrienwalana II

For a start, on day of coronation, the Eze Nri will set last eyes on his mother – never to set eyes on her again. As well, he will leave his father’s house forever, never to set foot there again throughout the remaining days of his life. And most mystifying – he’ll go to his palace with the skull of his predecessor as his main staff of office, termed ofor na alo.

You heard right. Skull, real skull. When any Eze Nri dies, he will be sat with his throne seat inside a grave, then covered till neck. It means that his dead head is never buried. It stays like that for seven years when the next Eze will be coroneted. This new Eze takes the skull to a special hut built for it in the new palace. That hut can only be entered by the new Eze’s special aide called Adama.

So the present Eze, His Majesty Eze Obidiegwu Onyeasoh, MFR, JP, Nrienwalana II is in custody of the great His Majesty, Tabansi Udene’s skull.

The donts haven’t ended yet. Eze Nri will abandon wife/wives he ever had before coronation, never to see them again. He never shakes hands with anyone.

Soon after he is enthroned, the new Eze-Nri is made to start up a new life by marrying a new wife, who will in turn give birth to princes and princesses.

 In fact, any Eze Nri is regarded as a spirit. The traditional rituals during coronation more or less designate him as a spirit being.

Traditionally he never talks during cabinet sittings. He only uses a handy gong to indicate disagreement. A section of the Nri Constitution captured it on page 5 in Odinani II section thus – Eze Nri is the ruler in Nri town. Eze Nri is infallible because the decisions are borne by his council, not by him.

The children Eze Nri had before his coronation are regarded as his kindred. And whatever he had after his coronation and his obi as the Eze Nri will be inherited by his first son from the new wife. The next Eze will come from another village and its not chosen by hierarchy. But I heard that the current Eze Nri refused to marry another wife but instead remarried his wife