Xy empire

The Ekumeku War and The Origin of Ekwensu

The British pe*******on into what is now known as Nigeria, were met with various forms of resistance throughout the country.
In the south, the British fought many wārs, in particular the wār against the Ijebu (a Yoruba group) in 1892, the Aro of Eastern Igboland in 1901–1902 and, the Anioma of Western Igboland in 1883–1914.

With the invasion of Ndoni in 1870 and bombardment of Onicha-Ado (Onitsha) on 2 November 1897, the stage was set for the greatest “Ekumeku war” that engulfed the whole of Anioma.

The Ekumeku Movement consisted of a series of uprisings against the rising power of the Royal Niger Company of the British Empire.

The Royal Niger Company (RNC) commandered by Major Festing engaged Ibusa in 1898, and in 1904 it was the people of Owa/Ukwunzu against the British in a wār that W. E. B. Crawford Coupland requested for more arms to crush the western Anioma communities. Owa once again engaged the British in 1906 in battle that S. O. Crewe löst his own life. On 2 November 1909, it was finally the turn of Ogwashi-Ukwu who matched the British. In this war the British sustained many casüalties with the dēath of H. C. Chapman.

Igbos were the first to develop agricultural tools such as hoes, machetes, and hunting tools such as spearheads, arrowheads, and other defensive wēapons through iron smelting. That was why blacksmithing was a widespread profession in Igboland in the pre-colonial period. For this reason, they were one the few African tribes that boldly went to wār against the colonial g0vernment. If you Look at the British map of the Southern Nigeria Protectorate, You will see that initially, the British g0vernment had no stations in Igboland. The Igbos believed they had enough wēapons to defend themselves, and they did. But what they didn't know was that the British had made advances in military technology and had even machine güns.

The Igbos were able to withstand them with the power of their great wārriors known as “Ekumeku warriors” in the wār that lasted for over 31 years.

The British were baffled by the strength of the Ekumeku warriors and began to enquire the source of their strength.
Later, they founded out that the wārriors were being motivated by the strength of their great deity called “Ekwensu”. The great deity was in charge of peace, justice and wār. The missionaries resolve and tagged the great Ekwensu “evil”.

There was no HELL and no DEVIL in Igbo cosmology. The ancient Igbo people invokes the spirit of Ekwensụ when they wanted to go to wār or when they needed a cunning initiative to outsmart other people.

Ekwensụ was a very aggressïve and vïolent god just like Ogun the Yoruba god of wär and or Kratos the Greek god of wär. The ancient Igbo only believed in Chukwu Abiama (god of Abraham),who was the supreme creator

Ekwensụ was not the Abrahamic devil depicted in the Bible, it's a different entity unlike IKENGA, NOME and ỌMEBE etc., Ekwensụ was the Igbo god of wär as Ikenga was the deity for wealth. And that’s why people who answers Ikenga are always walking with pride.
Ọmebe was showcased to answering the prayers of the barren women to give them child.
Nome was a deity for farm security.
And in those days if you visit such deities and if your prayers were granted, some people in appreciation will bear their child name after such deity such as Ikenga, Omebe, Nome and Ekwensụ etc. (eg., Cypren Ekwensu a novelist).

Igbos had no place for the devil in their beliefs. The missionaries convinced them that the devil they preached against was synonymous to Ekwensụ.
And as the preaching goes on, some people who were already answering the name, EKWENSỤ, found it difficult to change their name as people used it to make mọckery of them that they were answering DEVIL’s name. The people started abandoning Ekwensụ the Igbo god of wär by referring to him as the Biblical Lucifer and till date we still see Ekwensu as the biblical devil or satan.


____________________

I am Kwado Ezza, a proud graduate of Ebonyi State University.
A Creative Writer| Researcher | Storyteller| Educator:
I share insightful stories on research, untold histories, ancestrial transitions, powerful narrative of EZZA and Ebonyi people & other stories that shapes our community.

F0llow me for more forgotten histories, and cultural gems you won’t find elsewhere. ゚viralシfypシ゚viralシ

Imagine if fuel now turns 100
And bag of rice 20k followed by cement 50k 😂😂😂 watin concern me na to buy Pako build 😂

Nigerians with cruise I love this duo