The Female King of Colonial Nigeria: Ahebi Ugbabe

ONE Oge Nwatakili: The Time of Childhood, ca. 1880–1895

C one Oge Nwatakili: The Time of Childhood, ca. 1880–1895 Umunne na Umunna: Genealogy and naming in the ohom eguru elechi Clan What has survived of Ahebi Ugbabe’s family genealogy is at best imprecise and at worst sketchy. However, much like the Igbo philosophy of naming, igu afa, the Ugbabe family observed a similar ethos in their selection of names for their descendants. The family’s choice of names tell us something about the circumstances of birth, as well as the prevailing events or conditions occurring at the time of a child’s birth, thus serving to inform and document in its own way, something of the history of this particular family. Ahebi’s oldest remembered ancestor was Ohom Eguru Elechi. I have been unable to fully deconstruct the meanings behind this name. However, we know that Eguru means “blacksmith” and that it was a name often given as a praise-name,1 while Elechi asks the question, “Where is tomorrow?” or “Where is my chi?” Ohom Eguru Elechi was a man steeped in the mysteries of the occult. For it was said that whoever knew him would dare not cross or walk behind him because of his involvement with the supernatural.2 It is to this great ancestor that Ahebi’s commitment to the occult can be traced and attributed. It is not clear, however, nor can it be ascertained with any kind of exactness, when Ohom Eguru Elechi lived, a gap that does not unduly bother the owners of the history, who remember him as having lived oge gbo—“during the early days” or at least “a long time ago.” Ahebi’s paternal grandmother, Ayibi Nwa Owo of Ohom Eguru Elechi, is easier to place in historical time, because she is but two generations removed from Ahebi Ugbabe (whom I estimate was born during the latter part of the nineteenth century).3 Therefore, it is with approximate precision that one is able to place the birth of Ayibi Nwa Owo (who was said to have come from the town of Unadu at the outskirts of Umuida4 ) in the mid-nineteenth century. Furthermore, the town where Ahebi’s paternal grandmother and mother were born (be ikwu 38 THE FEMALE KING OF COLONIAL NIGERIA nne Ahebi), as we will see below, played a crucial role in the upbringing and framing of the child Ahebi. The process and performance of naming among the Igbo allows us another glimpse into Ahebi’s ancestry, for the word nwa in Igbo means “child.” Ahebi’s paternal grandmother, Ayibi Nwa Owo, was therefore, as her name revealed, Ayibi, “child of” Owo, sex unknown. It was this Owo, Ahebi’s great-grandparent, who most likely lived in the early nineteenth century and was most directly related to the spiritually powerful Ohom Eguru Elechi.5 The name Ayibi Nwa Owo has roots in both the Igbo and Igala languages. Therefore, it would be impossible for us to pinpoint the linguistic origin of Ahebi’s great-grandparent with absolute certainty. We are, however, certain of some facts: First, that the town of Owo’s birth was situated on the outskirts of the old Nsukka Division, sharing common boundaries with Igala country, a detail that further blurs the exact origin of this ancestor. Second, that Ahebi’s known lineage is littered with Igala ancestry, a point I will discuss more fully in the next few paragraphs. In my search for meaning, I consulted with both Igbo and Igala linguists. Igala historian and author P. E. Okwoli was of the view that “Ayibi” and perhaps “Ahebi” could have been derived from the Hausa/Arabic names for “Saturday”—Dan Asabe (male) or Assibi, Asabe (female).6 In this positioning, “Ayibi” or “Ahebi” would mean “a child born on Saturday.” In its Igala derivation, the name “Owo”— which also has both Igbo and Igala roots, as far as I can discern—refers either to the word for “hand”7 or to the ceremony of Idel Fitri and Idel Kabir and is most probably given to a child born during these ceremonies .8 Therefore, when we consider the Igala-derived variables, “Ayibi Nwa Owo” could mean “a child born on Saturday who is the daughter of a child born during the Idel Fitri or Idel Kabir ceremony.” Ahebi Ugbabe was born to Ugbabe Ayibi, a farmer and palm-wine tapper from Umuida, Enugu-Ezike, and Anekwu Ameh, a farmer and trader from Unadu, located on the outskirts of Enugu-Ezike. Ahebi...