“Igbo enwe eze” is a common Igbo saying that is as ancient as the people. It translates to “There is no king in Igboland” but the story of the Aros and the confederacy they built counter this notion. You could still claim they are no kings to which you open yourself to a more forceful term, they are conquerors.
The story of Aro hegemony in Igboland during pre-colonial times is one that has been disputed and embellished over the years. It has been contended by Igbo historians and scholars. Different accounts abound of the reign and the hold of the Aro confederacy on Igbo land.
Today we go back in time to tell the story of the power and reach of the Aros in Igboland, the land of the long juju that gave the Europeans a tough time.
Aro Migration
As with every people, the Aros were said to have migrated to their present settlement around 1500.
According to a widely known account of the Arochuchukwu origin, the present land of Arochukwu was occupied initially by the Ibibio people who migrated to the area around 300 AD from the Benue valley, they founded the settlement of Obong Okon Ita and Ibom. Several years later, the first Igbo tribe led by one Agwu Inobia arrived and penetrated the Ibibio territory and founded his own settlement.
As we see among divergent groups domiciled in one area, fights are bound to happen – it soon ensued between the Igbo clan who referred to themselves as the Eze-Agwu clan, and their Ibibio landlords over the age-long issue of land. The communal clash went back and forth.
Igala and Igbo – cultural, geographical, and social relationship
The Aro-Ibibio war got to a stalemate, the Eze-Agwu clan involved a priest from the Edda clan of the Northeastern Igbo, Nnachi. Nnachi in turn invited another clan of warriors from the east of Cross River, identified as Akpa people. The Akpa forces lead by Osim and Akuma Nnubi helped the Eze-Agwu clan conquer the remaining Ibibio territory.
After the conquest of the territory, an alliance of nineteen settlements (old and new) in the area was formed which gave birth to the Arochukwu Kingdom around 1650-1700. According to the account, the first King (Eze Aro) to rule the new allied Aro kingdom was a man named Akuma. After him, Oke Nnachi the son of Nnachi the priest took over, and ever since his descendants have ruled the throne to this day.
According to this version of the history of the Aros, after the Arochukwu kingdom has been firmly rooted, by the mid-18th century they started dispersing to other parts of Igbo land. Several Aro business families moved from their original settlement, penetrating into the Igbo hinterland and areas surrounding it.
These Are Aro Communities In Igboland:
* Aro Atani: present day Anambra State
* Aro Ndi-onyemobi In Oguta, Imo State
* Aro Abiaziem: In Oguta, Imo State
* Aro Nzerem: Ebonyi State
* Aro Amokwe: In Udi, Enugu State
* Aro Isiopko: In Ikwere, River State
* Aro Igwurita: In Ikwere, River State
* Aro Chinda: In Obio-Akpor, River State
* Aro Ajatakiri: In Ikwuano, Umuahia, Abia State
* Aro Achara: In Ama-Asa Isiala Ngwa, Abia State
* Aro Ume Nkpe: In Isiala Ngwa, Abia State
* Aro Nbawsi: In Isiala Ngwa, Abia State
* Aro Omoba: In Isiala Ngwa, Abia State
* Aro Okporoenyi: In Ikwuano, Abia State
* Aro Iyama: In Ikwuano, Abia State
* Aro Amuru: In Ikwuano, Abia State
* Aro Ndi-Izuogu: In Ideato, Imo State
* Aro Ndi-Ikelionwu: In Orumba, Anambra State
* Aro Ajali: In Orumba Anambra State
* Aro Isuochi: present day Abia State
* Aro Abagana: Anambra State
* Aro Oru: Imo State
* Aro Nempi: Imo State
* Aro Ngwa: Abia State
* Aro Ezeagu: Enugu State
* Aro Achi: Enugu State
* Aro Oboro Ite:
* Aro Kalabari: River state
* Aro Opobo: Rivers state
* Aro Uturu: Abia state
* Aro Anwu Anwu: In Umudurunna Abba Nwangele, Imo state
* Aro Okija: In Ihiala, Anambra state
* Aro Izombe: Abia State.
* The Aros in Nkwere: Imo State
Etc.
The Aros’ movement was made necessary as they played a major role in the slave trade and also served as agents of Ibina Ukpabi Oracle, once the most dreaded deity in Igbo land. The dread surrounding the Ibina-Ukpabi and its famed powers was like a shield over the Aro Kingdom; it gave them an air of untouchable which served as access to all the length and breadth of Igbo land without hindrance or opposition.
They also employed the services of mercenaries from neighboring communities of Ohafia, Abam, and Edda. These warriors made them invisible as they moved about their business of acting as middlemen, thus the Arochukwu kingdom amassed wealth wielding great economic and spiritual power over other Igbo communities.
Other accounts of the history of the Arochukwu kingdom abound slightly varying in the narrative at the same time agreeing in several aspects like the migration of the Eze-Agwu clan, the chief priest, and his Edda lineage, the Akpa warriors, and the Ibibio settlement.
The Aro Hegemony
At the height of the Aro confederacy unequaled in wealth, alliance, and oracle presence, the aro influence spread across Igboland.
Mid-18th century, top Aro families had already established themselves as the middlemen for business across the shores with early Europeans. Their prominent business at that time was the slave trade, hence, it was necessary that they had to travel and penetrate into the hinterland of Igboland, somehow canvassing humans for sale.
As a tribe that is deeply spiritually conscious, the Aro’s intimidated neighboring Igbo communities further with Ibini Ukpabi famously known as Long Juju. Ibini Ukpabi was dreaded far and wide for his swift judgment, it further gave the Aros an air of mystery and superiority.
The Ibini Ukpabi was unquestionably the most famous oracle in Igbo, and it was through it that the Aro caretakers became universally recognized and revered across Igbo territory. Some historians claim that the Aro’s were the most well-known commercial traders in the Igbo hinterland in this way.
Five Most Ancient Town In Igboland
The influence of their deity (Ibini Ukpabi), the migration, and their military alliance with strong Igbo militarized communities (Ohafia, Abam, Abiriba, Afikpo, etc.) quickly established the Aro Confederacy as a regional economic power.
Some historians have however argued the alleged Aro hegemony on Igbo land. According to the arguments, the Aro had no other business going for them except the booming slave trade at that time and the influence they wield was the random sharing of some European wares to their allied communities in slave-raiding which in no way transcended to a hegemony.
These historians still maintained the analogy that the pre-colonial Igbo government was decentralized and that the zenith of the Aro influence was the slave trade era in which they enjoyed a monopoly. As Afigbo noted, “in eastern Igbo land, the Aro dominated directly in the distribution of foreign goods as well as in the assembling of slaves for sale to the coastal middlemen. He pointed out that; the wealth of the Aro oligarchy and its ascendency was based on the slave trade”
In the wake of the 20th century, however, the assumed Aro hegemony was threatened by the penetration of the Britons. The fear of losing their only monopoly and influence set in. This lead to the famed Anglo-Aro war of 1901 to 1902.
The Aro put up a good fight but there is no winning for someone with majorly machetes and bows and arrows in a gunfight.
The Aros did have power and reach in the pre-colonial Igbo era, but then one can argue that it was very limited.
Follow us on Twitter
Post Disclaimer
The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author and forum participants on this website do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of Anaedo Online or official policies of the Anaedo Online.