IHIAGWA AND NEKEDE BROTHERHOOD REVISITED
"Uzi na Aboshi" This name
suggests brotherhood and equality of Ihiagwa and Nekede towns. Also the
towns have similar customs. For instance, the domestication of bitches is
forbidden by the two towns while this is practiced by their neighbours.
This practice was because Ezereokam, the
eldest son of Ede, was bitten to
death by a bitch. Ede, therefore, decried that no bitch should ever find
shelter in their town Nekede. Ihiagwa, being the brother to Nekede, decided also
not to keep anything that will be dangerous to their own brother. Nekede
must have returned this brotherly love when they fought side by side with
Ihiagwa against Obibi during the war of grains (Ogu Mpkuru oka).
Ihiagwa is made up of eight villages. Of the eight, Iriamogu is the eldest and produces the leader of the Oha (Ezeario). But the name Oche, as prefix or suffix, depicts ancestry. Thus, names like Nkaramoche, Umuadamoche, etc, depicts old age. Nkaramoche is said to be the first settlement in Ihiagwa. In umuelem, Umuadamoche is said to be the eldest. Mboke is called 'Ebechu' for stemming the menacing advance of invaders from Ara. Little is known about the early stage of life of these villages.
The relationship between Ihiagwa and Nekede, and Ihiagwa and Aros, should be carefully looked into. When much is known about these issues, the prominence of Ihiagwa amongst her neighbours will become eloquent and incontestable.
( The above is an excerpt from an article written by G. A. AMADI FROM THE OHA IHIAGWA CULTURAL MAGAZINE MAIDEN ISSUE Published in 1982 by the Ihiagwa Student Association at University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN))