Ibiniukpabi: Futile Search For A Slave God

BY 

NDUKA NWOSU

 Mazi Okoronkwo tried to explain the reason for his apparent indifference or even fear at the prospects of any deal with the god. His forebears may have had a relationship with Ibiniukpabi. His parents obviously did not and since he was not a follower of the god, there could be dire consequences trading in a zone lesser gods fear to walk. The tour guide eventually offered to lead the long trek to the Gate of No Return, as the boundary separating the shrine from the abode of human beings was called. At this point, trepidation and guilt haunted the mind. 

The insistence on this journey to see the slave god maybe the perfect example of a curious fool who like the deaf fly, followed the roasted plantain to hell fire. But the guide and his assistant were full of confidence and willingness to get to the root of the matter. Afterall Ibiniukpabi has worshippers and people in search of one favour or the other seek after him to provide an answer to their problems. As the journey progressed, it was clear the shrine, a probable cave in a thick forest may not be accessed at least for today. It was already late into the afternoon about 3.00pm and the rays of the sun were blazing down the valley leading to the shrine. A canopy of thick forests formed above the head and allowed the sun's rays to gently descend on us as only the chirping sound of birds and the occasional clatter of other animals disturbed the stillness of the day.  

A long gulley described our movement down the valley, The Tour guide explained. This is no ordinary gulley, he said. It was the route or pathway designed for the slaves. Through it they traced their way to the shrine of Ibiniukpabi before their final departure to their new masters. Before the trip got to this point, Emmanuel Udorie, also a staff and prince of the Aro royalty, had played back to the adventures of Omenuko a book written by Peter Nwana, more like the adventures of a liberated slave in the early part of the 20th century. Going into this valley now was like reliving in part, the life and times of Omenuko.

 The walk now brought the quartet which included a rented photographer to a river whose confluence emanated from another village across the vicinity of the god and probably continued to Enyong River in Calabar, a close neighbour to Arochukwu. Again the tour guide explained. In the days of old, faithfuls of Ibiniukpabi often used camwood to turn the gentle sail of the river to a silhouette of red, creating the impression that a victim has been sacrificed just to satisfy the desire of suppliers whose sole intention was to sacrifice such unfortunate souls to the god. The quartet crossed the river and came face to face with a thick forest and the tour came to an abrupt halt. But the tour guide offered to help by cutting down the forest to enable us move further. But this was an impracticable task almost impossible, which would have lasted for a day or two.  

At this stage, one remembered Mazi Okoronkwu's earlier statement that no body has seen Ibiniukpabi which literally translates to God's abode. Have you seen God before? he asked. Meaning perhaps Ibiniukpabi is actually non-existent as a physical structure. The tour guide insisted it did exist as a cave in a place called Bianko before it moved to its present abode in Ibom. No doubt the shrine will be a major source of attraction to tourists bound for the centenary. And unlike the early colonial invaders, visitors hope that after a long wait, the mystery of the Long Juju will not take long to unfold. The invaders were rushing to behold the juju and its esoteric gnosis or rare knowledge, and after a long and futile search, concluded that this must be a long juju indeed.

In the book Building on The Debris Of A Great Past Okoro Ijoma, an Arotologist and Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, hinted that of great importance in Aro history is the people's oracle-Ibiniukpabi or the Long Juju by European records. Based on oral literature, noted Ijoma, the impression was created that Ibiniukpabi was used for the recruitment of slaves and the manipulation of religious fears of other Nigerian peoples. 

The geographical position of Arochukwu of course made it impossible for the oracle to serve as a conduit for any large percentage of slaves sold at the coast. Ijoma added that the influence of the oracle aided the Aro in their trading network, spread over the Southeastern Nigeria and beyond, but it served more than Aro interest. "Outside Arochukwu," he wrote, "the services of the oracle were used in settling disputes. In the 1850s, for example, appeal was made to the oracle over a succession dispute in Kalabariland in Rivers State. Other such examples abound. Pilgrims came from far and near in search of help and relief from the oracle."  

Today more than 90 per cent of the Aros worship the God of the ancient Jewish kingdom, Jehovah. But the influence of the Long Juju is a pride of their ancient heritage. Beyond the Long Juju, Aro history is replete with conquests and the founding of new settlements and colonies, the most prominent today being Aro Ndizuogu which has grown larger than the fatherland. Izuogu, founder of Arondizuogu, according to Udorie, was like many Aro men of his time, a long distance trader whose deals took him to Okigwe and its environs in the present Imo State. At one of such adventures, Izuogu was returning home when some mischievous indigenes of Umulolo made mockery of his huge frame, topless from the waist to the shoulders, with his breasts flapping like a woman's and attracting scorn from these 'foreigners.' Angered by this barbaric act, Izuogu returned home to relate his experience to Iheme and Awa his brothers. 

They went to their maternal home - Ohafia, Abam and Abiriba and recruited mercenaries to fight Umulolo, conquered them and inherited the place. However, Chief Isaac Onoh Ezeogo XIII of Agbagwu has a different version to the early beginnings of Arondizugu. Mazi Izuogu was a trader between Umuduru and Egbeaguru and Akokwa. The people of Umuduru, a small town in Imo State, were surrounded by bigger towns such as Umuobom, Isiekenesi Nsuokpor, Umulolo, Osina and Akokwa. Umulolo complained to their partner Izuogu that these other towns always came asking for indigenes for their ritual sacrifice. 

Like a good ambassador Izuogu appealed to them to stop this inhuman act and go to the open market and purchase slaves for their human sacrifice. When the response fell on deaf ears, Izuogu recruited mercenaries from Ohafia, Abam, Afikpo and Aro and fought the oppressors, driving them away from their abode occupying a 17-mile square expanse of land known today as Aro Ndizuogu. Izuogu deployed members of his family and brothers to live in the new territory to ensure that his invaders did not come back. The Ezeogo corroborates the two stories, endorsing them as authentic while the earlier one was a lesser reason for the attack. 

Today, the Aros from Izuogu's stock boast of great minds who have made the mother nation proud. Flamboyant politician and statesman Kingsley Mbadiwe, business tycoon Green Mbadiwe, Mazi Mbonu Ojike, Chief L.N. Obioha father of Ralph Obioha, eminent economist Professor Green Nwakwo and former member of the House of Representative Chief C.C. Onwuenu father of Onyeka Onwenu are names among the many prominent Aro men and women whose exploits have done Izuogu proud. Aro expedition, Chief Onoh relates, also went beyond Ndizuogu to Anambra State in the present territories known as Ihiala, Abagana, Ndi Ikeliionwu Ajali, Owu. 

In one of such outings, the Aro hail recruited mercenaries from Ohafia and Abam to fight the Nteje community. On their return they wanted a settlement at a centre surrounded by such villages as Abacha, Nimo, Enugu, Nawfva, Enugu Ukwu, Ukpo. Dunukofia and Ukwule. These villages protested at the idea of a settlement and asked these 'Orofia, Abam and Aro' warriors to leave and hence the chorus Abam Ga Ana or, Abam must go... Today, Abagana is a major Aro settlement with such prominent names as E.C. Ezekwesili, Ezekwe and renowned Igbo literature icon F.C. Ogbalu. Mazi Okoronkwo also corroborating the Abagana phenomenon with Chief Onoh's accounts, told the story of how the Aros recruited mercenaries to fight the invading army from Onitsha. 

Their exploits were halted by the advent of the Scottish mission but that encounter left an Aro settlement known as the Ndi Nwachukwu in that vicinity. According to Nwankwo, Iheme comes from Amankwu village while his grandfather hailed from Oro and is a descendant of Oke Nnachi the royal dynasty whose first son is Oke. Added, the ceremonial 'Prime Minister,' "we come from Ubughu Ugwu village, the first village in Arochukwu. Recalled Nwankwo, Izuogu could have been coming home from Ora village in Okigwe when he encountered scorn and mockery in a town called Ibura. 

In spite of his report to the village head who also laughed at his frame, no remorse was evident. So he issued them a seven day ultimatum to apologise to him or face the consequences. Thereafter, he met his elder brother also an offspring of Oke and gathered mercenaries to do battle against his enemies. Okonkwo remembers Izuogua's return was celebrated with the sound of the Ikoro drum whose dance pattern is only for a hero who has a human head to show for it. "Ikoro music beats to the dance of greatness and conquest with evidence of a human head with blood drifting. You don't come out to dance to its beat except you have a human head as evidence of your exploits at war. 

Then you had on your arm the beards of a he-goat and the marks of white chalk on your body as you dance to the beats of greatness." With over 150 settlements across the old Eastern Nigeria, the Aro in Diaspora still recognise and pay homage to the fatherland and some of the prominent sons sit in the Eze Aro's cabinet. Professors Vincent Ike of Aro Ndi Ikelionwu and Humphrey Nwosu of Aro Ajali all in Anambra State sit with the Okpankpo in the Eze Aro's cabinet. Occasions such as the Ikeji (New Yam Festival) and the on-going centenary are moments of re-union and like the Jewish Yon Kippur, the Aros observe the Avosu purification rites the Aro equivalent of sacred days in anticipation of the Orie Egbugbu, a day the ancestors come down to earth, to wine and dine with their offspring on earth, in a covenant of renewal and blessings. T

he Aro boast of a systematic form of democratic governance that was already in place before the advent of the British, what Okoronkwo called government by theocracy emanating from a religion woven around Ibiniukpabi. In that system was the mercentilist section, a department of war to protect Aro interests and the seat of government. All these virtues were represented by the Omuro or Aro coat of arms whose symbols include a sword and gun representing war, an eagle which is representative of sovereignty and the fresh tendril of a palm frond (omu) representing peace, a crown representing the seat of power, royalty and governance.  

Under Ibiniukpabi were the lesser gods such as Inyam Avia who named the various market days as Orie Afor, Nkwo and Nke and with the Calabar seaport close to them many Aro businessmen settled in Duke Town to carry out their trading bargains. Unfortunately for the distinguished Aro contribution to civilisation is the issue of slave trade and the killing of twins and their mothers as well as children whose early set of teeth formed from the upper dental region. These were considered anathema and death was the answer. 

Mazi Okoronkwo defended the issue of slave trade by passing the blame to suppliers. Said he, "we did not solicit for this market or business. Since we were only acting as middlemen for bigger players around. Eastern Nigeria Oboro in Umuahia, these people, for example, took a greater share of the slave market. On the issue of twins, the principle was that only animals were allowed to bear many children at the same time, not humans." He forgot, however, that in the Old Testament, Jacob and Esau were born twins and God did not order them killed. Even till now there are two schools of thought in Aro one advocating a return to the old principle of governance where these crude rules hold sway; representing this group is the Eze Ibom Issi, the XVIII, Mazi Kanu Nwakanu Okereke who ascended the throne at 36. He also is the custodian of the cult of Mgbala Ekpe, a masquerade which carries out judicial and law enforcement functions. 

According to Mazi Okereke, the Ekpe masquerade in the old oracle represented authority where villages or individuals at war and other forms of conflict came to the Ekpe fraternity to resolve the issues. The white cloth or palm frond heading is often the symbol of authority and when involved must be obeyed or "the offender will face the wrath of the gods." The Eze-Aro himself stands between the past and the present, between Christianity and paganism although he is a communicant by faith. He calls his subjects unique. "Aro is a very different community," said Eze Aro, "we are unique by history and ancestry. We are three kindreds and we work together like the brothers we are. 

This is a place from where many settlements emerged but it is almost not possible to mention any Aro in Diaspora whose ancestral village is not here. Their names are often preceded by Aro." For Eze Aro the fact that the white man came with the Bible on one hand and a sword on the other is no reason why our own religion branded "paganism" by other people, should be discarded and thrown to the winds. But of course he is not in any way referring to the primitive brutish state of the jungle principles when blood was spilled and twins and slaves sacrificed to the pagan god Ibiniukpabi. Between the Eze Nri and Eze Aro is the contest of who is the progenitor and custodian of Igbo culture, origin and heritage. The Eze Nri traces his ancestry to Egypt and recalls his ancestors during the exodus migrated to Sudan down to the present Igboland where they finally settled with their ancestral pagan worship of idols and carved images called Arusi. The Aros also have Arusi what Mazi Okoronkwo calls the several names for the lesser gods referring to Ifejoku (god of harvest) Inyam, Avia, mercantilism Kanu and Kamalu (god of thunder) as examples. Notes Udorie, "Aros brought Nri people to prominence. Nris produced dwarfs at a time Aros were already trading with the Portugese. It was abominable to have dwarves in Igboland and such dwarves were used for cleansing and purification rites. An Nri dwarf was used to carry out these rites of purification against unclean spirits since no disinfectant could carry out the spiritual assignment. An Nri dressed with a helmet, an eagle's feather attached to it, set out to dance and confront the spint in a purification ritual." But the dwarves are only a section of Nri which has a carefully chronicled history of its kingdom and ancestry just like the Aro. 

So the battle rages as each claims to have custody of the Ofo, an instrument of Igbo covenant and sacrament between man and the gods. Ijoma, just like many scholars of Aro history Kenneth Dike and Ekejuba for instance, tries to capture the Aro experience as that of people who were pre-eminently long distance traders, using the Aro roads before the British invasion of Igboland. They engaged in distributive trade and when slaves were the major article of trade, like businessmen before and after them, they took advantage of the lucrative nature of the trade. It was in the process of the prosecution of the trade that Aro 'colonies' were established. The contributions of these Aro communities to the social, economic, political and cultural life of the peoples of Southeastern Nigeria cannot be over-emphasized. Because of the dominant position of the Aro in the affairs of the area, there arose the Aro problem in the last two decades of the 19th century. Unlike Udorie and Okonkwo, Ijoma provides a thesis and anti-thesis for the Aro venture in business without passing the buck to the supply side. He recognises the Aro Problem as the synthesis of supply and demand which occupied the minds of the British officials and traders at the period and this was how to replace the influence of the Aro with that of the British. The Aro were conceived as an obstacle to British penetration of the interior Southeastern Nigeria. And in the last decade of the 19th century, the British came to the conclusion that military action was not only necessary but urgent. 

This urgency gained strength with stories of inhuman treatment and blood spillage coming from Aro slave camps and degradation of the less fortunate communities. For these reasons Arochukwu was invaded at the end of 1901 and by January 1, 1902 Ijoma concludes, the town was over-run by the invaders using their superior weaponry. What was considered a curse from the gods became a blessing in disguise. The new masters came with Christianity and education from which prominent Aro citizens benefited. Sir Alvan Ikoku a great-educationist and statesman founded Aggrey Memorial College which became a fore-runner of higher education in Eastern Nigeria. Dr Nwakanma Okoro rose to the height of President of the Nigerian Bar Association and fought the Imo state gubernatorial race with Dr. Sam Mbakwe,. Mazi S.G. Ikoku of course was a prominent politician who served his fatherland in various capacities and Professor Chimere Ikoku rose to be the vice-chancellor of the University of Nigeria Nsukka.

Today, a new breed of Aro men led by such prominent names as Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, Mazi Kanu Ivi and Honourable Mao Ohuabunwa are fighting for the infrastructural development of Arochukwu. When this is achieved part of the centenary objectives would have been accomplished, paving way for the greater goal of setting Aro as a showpiece for tourism and industrial development.

April 2002