According to Wikipedia, ‘primogeniture’ is defined as “the right, by law or custom, of the first-born child to inherit the parent’s entire or main estate.” In Igala culture, inheritance rights are limited to a father’s property or title, if he held a kingship or traditional chieftaincy title before his death. Throughout Igala kingship history, the principle of primogeniture has been breached on several occasions. At one time, a younger sibling unexpectedly ascended to the throne […]
The Psychology of African Royal Cognomens
Merriam Webster Dictionary (1828) defines ‘cognomen’ as a “distinguishing nickname or epithet.” In several cultures of the world, boys that have just attained puberty are likely to seek attention, particularly from their female counterparts. Their innate AGM (Attention-Getting Mechanism) triggers the adolescence crushes that they exhibit, including taking ego-massaging nick-names. An excited teenage boy is wont to declare: “Òmi àkpòlì” (I, the tempest). Another may take the appellation of “Ọ̀kákwū” (Hippopotamus) or “Ọ̀nyẹ̀” (Crocodile). All […]
King-Designate Converting To Divinity
Miles Clifford, in his book, A Nigerian Chiefdom: Notes on the Igala Tribe in Nigeria and their “Divine King,” juxtaposes “the Idah chiefdom…and the Jukun chiefdom of Wukari,” This is not surprising, considering the long cultural association that the two groups had shared in Medieval times of Apa or Kwararafa confederacy. C.K. Meek, in A Sudanese Kingdom: An Ethnological Study of the Jukun-speaking Peoples of Nigeria, remarks that “According to early British explorers of the […]