The Ubulu-Ukwu kingdom that defeated Benin in 1750
By Fortune Ngozi Onwordi
Ubulu-Ukwu kingdom as one of the strongest allies of Benin kingdom had her city well planned with street lights and a King guided by Eunuchs.
This account is according to revelations from someone who saw the precolonial City of Ubulu-Ukwu.
After surviving a very famous Wąr with the Benin Kingdom in the 1750s, one will expect Ubulu-Ukwu to be desolate but that was not the case. The kingdom continued to thrive and build on the prestige of defeating Benin kingdom.
Although, beer parlour historians from Benin continue to peddle falsehood that Obi Olise was beh£aded but the joke is on them as no Ubulu-Ukwu king was ever K!lled.
Historians marvel at how well the ancient community of Ubulu Kingdom survived the onslaught of the Benin army without losing her monarchy or aesthetic appeal. The Bini version of the war tells how the Bini soldiers beheaded Ogie-Obolo (Obi Ubulu), whereas the Ubulu-Uku version holds that the war strategy of Ubulu Kingdom implied dressing up pseudo kings. Who did the Idu army behead and why did many Idu soldiers choose Ubulu Kingdom over their most respected Bini kingdom?
In examining The Benin Factor In The West Niger Igbo History, researcher and history scholar Professor Emmanuel Nwafor Mordi writes:
"Evidence does not suggest that the Ubulu-Ukwu monarchy was consequently weakened by the war with Benin.
"On the contrary, the reputation of the monarchy was enhanced. It built on its increased post- war stature to maintain and sustain an image and carriage that commanded the awe and admiration of subjects and outsiders alike".
The strengthening of Ubulu-Ukwu monarchy established her as one of the most respected kingdoms among the Enuani, Ụkwụani, Odiani, Olukwumis, Ika and others. That Ubulu-Ukwu Kingdom defeated the mighty Bini Kingdom boosted her morale to head the Ekwumekwu anti colonial resistance.
According to J. Spencer, a European missionary who was the first to provide an outsider's insight into Ubulu-Ukwu geography and Royal Palace in February 1878, Ubulu-Ukwu was carefully planned.
"The royal residence is a massive structure, built of mud, but so well-tempered that it could at first sight be taken for brick-work plastered over with mud. The whole building occupies a
whole square. Its walls are supported by gigantic pillars of wood and mud, placed in regular
succession, on the former of which are carved various grotesque figures.
"The front apartment is the council-hall, and a very commodious place; on both sides are raised mud seats for the
members of council, and in front is the throne, raised to conspicuous height above the rest. I
sat for about a quarter of an hour, waiting for the coming of the king, who at last made his
appearance, attended by twelve eunuchs, stark naked, carrying the sceptre and other insignia of royalty; the greater part of the nobility and gentry also followed in his train.
The king is a man of between thirty-five and forty and of noble appearance. His head was adorned with three tremendous feathers jauntily stuck on the coronet that graced his brow. His neck, arms, hands and feet were covered with costly beads that glittered in the distance like diamonds, his eyes are bold and piercing, and his thin lips, when shut, show a resolve of will never to be overrules. His general carriage bears that careless confidence that marks the character of a monarch whose slightest nod is the law of the realm (cited in Isichei, 1977: 268).
This visit happens to fall in the period of the reign of Obi Nwajei. In that time, every street (Ogbe) in Ubulu-Ukwu was policed day and night by well armed men.
Spencer further wrote in 1878 that:
“There are constructed several porches at the corners of the principal streets, where royal guards, armed with swords and muskets, are kept during the day, to see that order is established in the town”.
Photo: HRM Agbogidi Obi Okonkwo Ofulue (I), the Obi of Ubulu-Uku kingdom.
Image obtained from 'The Story of Ubulu Kingdom' by Esther Wright.
The Ubulu-Ukwu kingdom that defeated Benin in 1750
By Fortune Ngozi Onwordi
Ubulu-Ukwu kingdom as one of the strongest allies of Benin kingdom had her city well planned with street lights and a King guided by Eunuchs.
This account is according to revelations from someone who saw the precolonial City of Ubulu-Ukwu.
After surviving a very famous Wąr with the Benin Kingdom in the 1750s, one will expect Ubulu-Ukwu to be desolate but that was not the case. The kingdom continued to thrive and build on the prestige of defeating Benin kingdom.
Although, beer parlour historians from Benin continue to peddle falsehood that Obi Olise was beh£aded but the joke is on them as no Ubulu-Ukwu king was ever K!lled.
Historians marvel at how well the ancient community of Ubulu Kingdom survived the onslaught of the Benin army without losing her monarchy or aesthetic appeal. The Bini version of the war tells how the Bini soldiers beheaded Ogie-Obolo (Obi Ubulu), whereas the Ubulu-Uku version holds that the war strategy of Ubulu Kingdom implied dressing up pseudo kings. Who did the Idu army behead and why did many Idu soldiers choose Ubulu Kingdom over their most respected Bini kingdom?
In examining The Benin Factor In The West Niger Igbo History, researcher and history scholar Professor Emmanuel Nwafor Mordi writes:
"Evidence does not suggest that the Ubulu-Ukwu monarchy was consequently weakened by the war with Benin.
"On the contrary, the reputation of the monarchy was enhanced. It built on its increased post- war stature to maintain and sustain an image and carriage that commanded the awe and admiration of subjects and outsiders alike".
The strengthening of Ubulu-Ukwu monarchy established her as one of the most respected kingdoms among the Enuani, Ụkwụani, Odiani, Olukwumis, Ika and others. That Ubulu-Ukwu Kingdom defeated the mighty Bini Kingdom boosted her morale to head the Ekwumekwu anti colonial resistance.
According to J. Spencer, a European missionary who was the first to provide an outsider's insight into Ubulu-Ukwu geography and Royal Palace in February 1878, Ubulu-Ukwu was carefully planned.
"The royal residence is a massive structure, built of mud, but so well-tempered that it could at first sight be taken for brick-work plastered over with mud. The whole building occupies a
whole square. Its walls are supported by gigantic pillars of wood and mud, placed in regular
succession, on the former of which are carved various grotesque figures.
"The front apartment is the council-hall, and a very commodious place; on both sides are raised mud seats for the
members of council, and in front is the throne, raised to conspicuous height above the rest. I
sat for about a quarter of an hour, waiting for the coming of the king, who at last made his
appearance, attended by twelve eunuchs, stark naked, carrying the sceptre and other insignia of royalty; the greater part of the nobility and gentry also followed in his train.
The king is a man of between thirty-five and forty and of noble appearance. His head was adorned with three tremendous feathers jauntily stuck on the coronet that graced his brow. His neck, arms, hands and feet were covered with costly beads that glittered in the distance like diamonds, his eyes are bold and piercing, and his thin lips, when shut, show a resolve of will never to be overrules. His general carriage bears that careless confidence that marks the character of a monarch whose slightest nod is the law of the realm (cited in Isichei, 1977: 268).
This visit happens to fall in the period of the reign of Obi Nwajei. In that time, every street (Ogbe) in Ubulu-Ukwu was policed day and night by well armed men.
Spencer further wrote in 1878 that:
“There are constructed several porches at the corners of the principal streets, where royal guards, armed with swords and muskets, are kept during the day, to see that order is established in the town”.
Photo: HRM Agbogidi Obi Okonkwo Ofulue (I), the Obi of Ubulu-Uku kingdom.
Image obtained from 'The Story of Ubulu Kingdom' by Esther Wright.
