Royal Prerogatives: The position of the Obi in a kingdom is one of outstanding power and authority. He is the father of his people and the symbol of unity. He is the central figure in all the kingdom’s activities, and generator of traditional wisdom. New discoveries are channelled through him to the people, and those that created innovations are promptly rewarded with conferment of honours for having distinguished themselves. His person is sacred and people bow to him in complete reverence.
The Obi is the personification of the people, socially, culturally, traditionally or otherwise; and he is often called by the name of the whole kingdom. He has the first choice of land for cultivation. He is said to own the land, meaning that he is the custodian of all the land in his kingdom. He presides over the highest ‘court’, disburses the kingdom’s wealth, controls age groups, the titled men and women, orders for any gatherings, and imposes penalties on offenders. As the custodian of the local tradition, he is the final authority and the interpreter of the custom of his people.
The Obi plays a great part in the religious life of his people. He is the leader and representative of his people in important ceremonies of the season, purifications, initiations and welfare. His magic or medicines are of the greatest importance in kingdom crises. He has his medicines-men, they work under his order and supervision. However, there are important Councils of his Chiefs and other functionaries who serve greatly to limit actual exercise of the Obi’s power. In recent times, the Executive of the Kingdom Union has lending hand to these Councils. “A King is a King by grace of his people.” Only by the harmonious co-operation of the Obi, the Chief, elders, the Ilotu, etc, will the life of the people be happy in the community. The Obi is therefore, a constitutional ruler.
Royal Obligations: Not only are there royal prerogatives, there are also royal obligations of an Obi. ‘Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown’. The king is surrounded by multitudinous taboos that may have made his life wearisome. The King exists for the well-being of his people.
The duties of an Obi take up an immense amount of time if performed conscientiously, a respondent told the author. He has to receive complaints and give his ears to all his subjects, whatever their ranks. He has to listen to his Chiefs, and he represents his people in agreements and meetings with government functionaries, other communities and peoples, etc. He is not absolute, and must consult his advisers. But he has to keep abreast with all the affairs of importance, for nothing can be done in the kingdom, or for the kingdom without the Obi.
But today, many of the customs are changing. The expansion of towns to villages, of villages into quarters and quarters into many Idumu or Ogbe has made it almost impossible for the traditional authority to operate as before. The dawn of civilization, representative governments, the introduction of democratic elections, the rise of wealthy traders, workers and businessmen, the use of European forms of justice, and above all, the introduction of the Western system of education, all have shaken the old system in every Ika kingdom. And yet, some of the olden days’ ceremonials and authority remain.
The Royal Funeral: Many things reveal the demise of an Obi in Ika more than the funeral announcements of his death. Even if the Obi is sick, it is kept secret and his subjects and other people still come to salute him and bring cases for arbitration. Messages are sent from the Obi and impressions are that all is well. When he eventually passes on, he is immediately buried because it is against the tradition to keep the Obi’s remains in a morgue. Ika oral tradition has it that an Obi is interred in his full regalia with a lot of wealth to help him in the journey to the after world. Some say the head of an Obi is buried differently from the trunk. This is not authoritative as a respondent said, because the people who actually know how an Obi is buried do not say a world about it.
Like in Benin, elaborate circumlocutions are often used to avoid saying that an Obi is dead. Phrases like a ‘mighty tree has fallen, the chalk has broken, it is night, the house is broken, the lion is at large, ali esusuhu, and so on, are often used. The Obi so regarded as semi divine during his life, becomes apotheosized at death, and enters the rank of the clan’s royal ancestors. In the after world, he is thought of as enjoying royal rank still, and hence the sacrifices made on annual or special occasions are to increase his retinue, send him messages about his family and kingdom on earth then to ensure his continued favour to his children.
NOTE:
In case of deformity by illness after accession, an Obi was bound to abdicate peacefully.
Regents must not wear the Crown, sit on the throne or observe any festival ceremony. They carry Ebeni sword and not Ada, which is the prerogative of the Obi alone.
In the olden days, materials for service and mutual aid were farm produce, animals, money, allowing one’s child to serve the Obi or elderly persons for some period as a token of loyalty and love.
King’s mother: In the olden days, and for fear of nepotism, Ika custom forbade Obi’s mother to be alive while her son was on the throne. It was believed that she would disturb the Obi to act honestly and impartially. This was stopped with the advent of the Europeans.
Chieftaincy Titles in Ika
Chieftaincy Titles in Ika carry with them tremendous social respect and obligations. Socially, the holders belong to the noble men’s rank in their kingdoms. A social status is marked out by the honour accorded to those holding the position. For example, they take precedence in all public entertainments and feasts irrespective of their age; they are exempted from communal labour in their kingdoms. In the olden days, time and age were important yard-sticks in determining the hierarchy of respect. An elderly man almost always took precedence over a young man in say, the council of elders. Among the title-holders, the order of precedence was determined strictly by the chronological order in which titles were conferred.
Three categories of Chieftaincy Titles can be distinguished in Ika kingdoms viz: the Rank Titles, Ihaime Titles and Social Chieftaincy Titles.
In some kingdoms, the Rank Title Status are reserved for the oldest men, Inyenchen, of some quarters or villages. The posts have religious functions and the holders are the kingmakers. The Rank Titles are hereditary in a kingdom. Assistant District Officer, Mr. Macrae Simpson observed that in all such cases where the rank titles are hereditary, the quarter or village is demographically separated from its neighbours and situated on the clan boundary, and originated as an outpost under the command of a leader to whom the Obi gave a title.
Ihaime: The Benin influence is most apparent in the existence of hierarchy of hereditary or non-hereditary officials and Chiefs found around the Obi or Okparan-Uku. These groups of ‘nobles’ are known in Ika by the collective name of Ihaime (Ohaime, singular). Every Ohaime has a definite ceremonial duty to perform in the day-to-day running of the palace and the operation of the Obi or Okparan-Uku’s affairs. In addition to these ceremonial duties, each Ohaime is an ex-officio member of the inner Council, and acts in the nature of a ‘Privy Councillor’. It is through the Ihaime that an Obi or Okparan-Uku administers the kingdom. They are intermediaries between the Obi or Okparan-Uku and the elders of the towns and villages.
Title-Holders: This may be termed Social Chiefs. This category of chieftaincy titles is not new developments in Ikaland. Ika tradition has it that in the olden days, people were honoured by the Obi or Okparan-Uku with chieftaincy titles and honours, like ibe ejije, for brave deeds, and devotion to justice or duty.
They assist in the maintenance of peace and order in the community in different capacities at different levels. However, much as these title-holders may come from different lineages or villages, they are not representatives of these units. They are only to act as the ‘eye’ of the Obi or Okparan-Uku in their different villages and Idumu or Ogbe.
To be continued…
