Nri is an
ancient Igbo city-state in Anambra State Nigeria. The Kingdom of Nri was a center of
learning, religion, and commerce in pre-colonial West Africa. Historians
have compared the significance of Nri, at its peak, to the religious cities
of Rome or Mecca: it was the seat of a powerful and imperial
state that influenced much of the territories inhabited by
the Igbo of Awka and Onitsha to the east;
the Efik, the Ibibio, and the Ijaw to the
South; Nsukka and southernIgala to the north; and Asaba,
and the Anioma to the west. The rulers of Nri did not use military
conquest, but used religious authority and control of commercial routes as
tactics in the spread of their city-state. Politically, Nri is known to be
the most ancient origins of the Eze kingship
in Igbo societies. But Nri and its rulers were also known for their
occult religious Juju, an institution that instilled both awe and fear in
those who made pilgrimages to the shrine.
Commercially, Nri was against slave
holding. "Osu" was the name of outcasts of other communities who
migrated and were accepted in Nri. Some Osu became eunuchs. During the
colonial period, Nri and the regions under its political, religious, or
commercial control became international markets for palm oil. In the heart of
Nri influence was the Igbo Ukwu bronze castings.
