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69-454: The kingdom was a haven for all those who had been rejected in their communities and also a place where slaves were set free from their bondage. Nri expanded through converts gaining neighboring communities' allegiance, not by force. Nri's royal founder, Eri , is said to be a 'sky being' that came down to earth and then established civilization. One of the better-known remnants of the Nri civilization

138-637: A Berber language, in which "gher" means "watercourse", confusion could easily arise. Pliny connected these two rivers as one long watercourse which flowed (via lakes and underground sections) into the Nile, a notion which persisted in the Arab and European worlds – and further added the Senegal River as the "Ger" – until the 19th century. While the true course of the Niger was presumably known to locals, it

207-413: A fourth of Igboland and beyond. Nri's influence in much of northwestern and western Igboland lasted from the reigns of the fourth eze Nri to that of the ninth. After that, patterns of conflict emerged that existed from the tenth to the fourteenth reigns, which probably reflected the monetary importance of the slave trade . Outside-world influence was not going to be halted by native religious doctrine in

276-568: A man takes the title of ozo . Also he and his successor’s would have the privilege of making the Oguji, or yam medicine, each year for ensuring a plentiful supply of yams in all surrounding towns, or in all towns that subjected themselves to the Eze Nri. For this medicine all the surrounding towns would come in and pay tribute and Umunmdri people then could travel unarmed through the world and no one would attack or harm them" Niger River This

345-456: A part of the kingdom about 18 kilometres (11 mi) south of Nri itself, practiced bronze casting techniques using elephant-head motifs. The bronzes of Igbo-Ukwu are often compared to those of Ife and Benin , but they come from a different tradition and are associated with the eze Nri by descendants of Eri. In fact, the earliest body of Nigerian bronzes has been unearthed in Igbo territory to

414-547: A series of ranked titles called Ozo and Nze . Men with these titles were known as mbùríchi and became an extension of the Nri's religio-political system. They controlled the means for agriculture and determined guilt or innocence in disputes. Both the Ndi Nri priests and mbùríchi nobility belonged to the Ikénga , the right hand. The Ìkénga god was one dedicated to achievement and power, both of which were associated with

483-523: A title system. Igbo west of the Niger River and on its east bank developed kingship, governing states such as Aboh , Onitsha and Oguta , their title Obi , apparently from the Benin Empire's Oba (this is debatable however, because the word "obi" in most Igbo dialects literally means "heart" and may be a metaphorical reference to kingship, rather than a loanword from Yoruba or Edo ). This

552-407: Is an accepted version of this page (Period: 1971–2000)7,922.3 m /s (279,770 cu ft/s) The Niger River ( / ˈ n aɪ dʒ ər / NY -jər ; French : (le) fleuve Niger [(lə) flœv niʒɛʁ] ) is the main river of West Africa , extending about 4,180 kilometres (2,600 miles). Its drainage basin is 2,117,700 km (817,600 sq mi) in area. Its source

621-889: Is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mali , Niger , on the border with Benin and then through Nigeria , discharging through a massive delta , known as the Niger Delta , into the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean . The Niger is the third-longest river in Africa, exceeded by the Nile and the Congo River . Its main tributary

690-568: Is manifested in the Igbo ukwu artifacts. Nri's culture permanently influenced the Northern and Western Igbo, especially through religion and taboos. The kingdom appears to have passed its peak in the 18th century, encroached upon by the rise of the Benin and Igala kingdom, and later the Atlantic slave trade , but it appears to have maintained its authority well into the 16th century, remnants of

759-596: Is not debatable and to clarify this, Obi has 3 different meanings in Igboland and Igbo languages depending on how you pronounce it; òbi means the first born of every family thus the eldest in the family. õbi is a thatched hut which every wealthy man built to receive visitors. In Igbo land a man will build his hut and a hut or huts for his wife or wives. The hut is where Igbo men received their peers who come to visit and to talk about farming and trade. Lasty, obi means heart and none of these has any reference or anything to do with

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828-477: Is part of the larger African massive physiographic division. The Niger River basin, located in western Africa , covers 7.5% of the continent and spreads over ten countries. Niger River basin: areas and rainfall by country within the basin rainfall in the basin (mm) Hydrometric stations on the Niger River kilometer (rkm) (m) (km ) start Average, minimum and maximum discharge of

897-707: Is said to be the original legendary cultural head of the Umu-eri groups of the Igbo people . Eri established a community in the middle of Anambra river valley (at Eri-aka) in Aguleri where he married two wives. The first wife, Nneamakụ, bore him five children. The first was Agulu, the founder of Aguleri (The ancestral head of Eri Kingdom clans) (the Ezeora dynasty that has produced 34 kings till date in Enugwu Aguleri),

966-657: Is the Benue River . The Niger has different names in the different languages of the region: The earliest use of the name "Niger" for the river is by Leo Africanus in his Della descrittione dell’Africa et delle cose notabili che ivi sono , published in Italian in 1550. Nevertheless, "Nigris" was already the name of a river in West Africa, as mentioned by Pliny the Elder and Solinus, among others. Whether this river

1035-573: Is unclear, though he has been described as a "sky being" sent by Chukwu (God). He is credited with first giving societal order to the people of Anambra . Nri history may be divided into six main periods: the pre-Eri period, the Eri period, migration and unification, the heyday of Nri influence, decline and collapse and the Socio-culture Revival (1974—Present). Author Onwuejeogwu suggested that Nri influence in Igboland may go back as far as

1104-540: The eze hierarchy persisted until the establishment of Colonial Nigeria in 1911, and it continues to exist as one of the traditional states within modern Nigeria . The Nri kingdom is a kingdom within the Igbo area of Nigeria. Nri and Aguleri, where the Umueri-Igbo creation myth originates, are in the territory of the Umu-Eri clan, who trace their lineages back to the patriarchal king-figure, Eri . Eri's origin

1173-498: The Kainji Dam , Shiroro Dam , Zungeru Dam , and Jebba Dam are used to generate hydropower. The water resources of the Niger River are under pressure because of increased water abstraction for irrigation. The construction of dams for hydropower generation is underway or envisaged in order to alleviate chronic power shortages in the countries of the Niger basin. The FAO estimates the irrigation potential of all countries in

1242-591: The Scramble for Africa at the end of the 19th century. As part of the West Africa Sahel region, Niger River has a hot climate characterized by very high temperatures year-round; a long, intense dry season from October–May; and a brief, irregular rainy season linked to the West African monsoon. The Niger River is a relatively clear river, carrying only a tenth as much sediment as the Nile because

1311-588: The Wadi Ghir on the north-western edge of the Tuat , along the borders of modern Morocco and Algeria . This would likely have been as far as Ptolemy would have had consistent records. The Ni-Ger was likely speculation, although the name stuck as that of a river south of the Mediterranean's "known world". Suetonius reports Romans traveling to the "Ger", although in reporting any river's name derived from

1380-456: The eze to speak directly to all the communities under him. Ritual scarification in Nri was known as Ichi of which there are two styles; the Nri style, and the Agbaja style. In the Nri style, the carved line ran from the center of the forehead down to the chin. A second line ran across the face, from the right cheek to the left. This was repeated to obtain a pattern meant to imitate the rays of

1449-444: The 12th century, and royal burials have been unearthed dating to at least the 9th century. According to other authors, Eri, the god-like founder of Nri, is believed to have settled the region around the 1500s. The first eze Nri (King of Nri), Ìfikuánim , follows directly after him. According to Angulu (1981), oral tradition suggests an accession of Eri in 1043. Chambers (2005) places Ìfikuánim's reign at around 1225 CE. In 1911,

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1518-425: The 18th-century visits of Mungo Park , who travelled down the Niger River and visited the great Sahelian empires of his day, that Europeans correctly identified the course of the Niger and extended the name to its entire course. The modern nations of Nigeria and Niger take their names from the river, marking contesting national claims by colonial powers of the "upper", "lower" and "middle" Niger river basin during

1587-592: The 1980s. The Niger takes one of the most unusual routes of any major river, a boomerang shape that baffled geographers for two centuries. Its source ( Tembakounda ) is 240 km (150 mi) inland from the Atlantic Ocean, but the river runs directly away from the sea into the Sahara Desert , then takes a sharp right turn near the ancient city of Timbuktu and heads southeast to the Gulf of Guinea . This strange geography apparently came about because

1656-705: The Igbo peoples' staple crop, sprung from his son's head; Chukwu had taught Nri plant domestication. From this, the eze Nri's first son and daughter were required to undergo scarification's seven days after birth, with the eze Nri's daughter being the only female to receive ichi. Nri, the son of Eri, also gained knowledge of the yam medicine ( ogwu ji ). People from other Igbo communities made pilgrimages to Nri in order to receive this knowledge received in exchange for annual tributes. [REDACTED] Media related to Kingdom of Nri at Wikimedia Commons 6°9.4′N 7°1.6′E  /  6.1567°N 7.0267°E  / 6.1567; 7.0267 Eri (divine king) Eri

1725-568: The Igbo religion had to abide by the rules of the faith and obey its representative on earth. An important symbol among the Nri religion was the omu , a tender palm frond , used to sacralize and restrain. It was used as protection for traveling delegations or safeguarding certain objects; a person or object carrying an omu twig was considered protected. The influence of these symbols and institutions extended well beyond Nri, and this unique Igbo socio-political system proved capable of controlling areas wider than villages or towns. For many centuries,

1794-571: The Inner Delta between Ségou and Timbuktu to seepage and evaporation. The water from the Bani River , which flows into the Delta at Mopti , does not compensate for the losses. The average loss is estimated at 31 km /year but varies considerably between years. The river is then joined by various tributaries but also loses more water to evaporation. The quantity of water entering Nigeria

1863-654: The Interior of Africa . Park proposed a theory that the Niger and Congo were the same river. Although the Niger Delta would seem like an obvious candidate, it was a maze of streams and swamps that did not look like the head of a great river. He died in 1806 on a second expedition attempting to prove the Niger-Congo connection. The theory became the leading one in Europe. Several failed expeditions followed; however

1932-493: The Kingdom of Nri. Nri oral tradition states that a bounty of yams and cocoyams could be given to the eze Nri, while blessings were given in return. It was believed that Nri's influence and bountiful amount of food was a reward for the ruler's blessings. Above all, Nri was a holy land for those Igbo who followed its edicts. It served as a place where sins and taboos could be absolved just by entering it. Even Igbo living far from

2001-412: The Niger River at Koulikoro (Upper Niger), Niamey (Middle Niger) and Lokoja (Lower Niger). Period from 2000/06/01 to 2024/05/31. Average discharge of the Niger River at Niger Delta (period from 2010 to 2018): Niger River at Lokoja average, minimum and maximum discharge (1946 to 2023): The main tributaries from the mouth: tributary tributary (km) (km ) (m /s) At

2070-467: The Niger River is two ancient rivers joined together. The upper Niger, from the source west of Timbuktu to the bend in the current river near Timbuktu , once emptied into a now dry lake to the east northeast of Timbuktu, while the lower Niger started to the south of Timbuktu and flowed south into the Gulf of Guinea. Over time upstream erosion by the lower Niger resulted in stream capture of the upper Niger by

2139-481: The Niger bend region also brought Islam to the region in approximately the 14th century CE. Much of the northern Niger basin remains Muslim today, although the southern reaches of the river tend to be Christian. Classical writings on the interior of the Sahara begin with Ptolemy , who mentions two rivers in the desert: the "Gir" (Γειρ) and farther south, the "Nigir" (Νιγειρ). The first has been since identified as

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2208-700: The Niger's headwaters lie in ancient rocks that provide little silt . Like the Nile, the Niger floods yearly; this begins in September, peaks in November, and finishes by May. An unusual feature of the river is the Inner Niger Delta , which forms where its gradient suddenly decreases. The result is a region of braided streams , marshes , and large lakes; the seasonal floods make the Delta extremely productive for both fishing and agriculture. The river loses nearly two-thirds of its potential flow in

2277-526: The Ududu-eze, the royal scepter. There, the process of paying of homage to all the necessary shrines/deities in Aguleri by the new Eze Nri, visitation to Menri's tomb at Ama-Okpu, collection of Ofo, purification of the virgin boy to receive the clay from the chosen diver from Umuezeora in Aguleri, sitting on the throne of Eri at Obu-Gad in Enugwu Aguleri by the new Eze-Nri before going back to Nri on

2346-541: The beginning of the river near Kissidougou in Guinea, walking at first till a raft could be used, then changing to various local crafts as the river broadened and changed. Two of them reached the ocean on March 25, 1947, with Ponty having left the expedition at Niamey , somewhat past the halfway mark. They carried a 16mm movie camera , the resulting footage giving Rouch his first two ethnographic documentaries: "Au pays des mages noirs", and "La chasse à l’hippopotame". A camera

2415-659: The center of power would send abnormal children to Nri for ritual cleansing rather than having them killed, as was sometimes the case for dwarfs or children who cut their top teeth before their lower teeth. Nri people believed that the sun was the dwelling place of Anyanwu (Light) and Agbala (Fertility). Agbala was the collective spirit of all holy beings (human and nonhuman). Agbala was the perfect agent of Chukwu or Chineke (the Creator God) and chose its human and nonhuman agents only by their merit; it knew no politics. It transcended religion, culture and gender, and worked with

2484-400: The ceremony to show their loyalty. At the end the Eze Nri would give the representatives a yam medicine and a blessing of fertility for their communities. The festival was seen as a day of peace and certain activities were prohibited such as the planting of crops before the day of the ceremony, the splitting of wood and unnecessary noise. Igu Aro was a regular event that gave an opportunity for

2553-431: The earth from human crimes. The ndi Nri exercised authority over wide areas of Igboland and had the power to install the next eze Nri . Areas under Nri influence, called Odinani Nri, were open to Ndi Nri traveling within them to perform rituals and ensure bountiful harvest or restore harmony in local affairs. Local men within the odinani Nri could represent the eze Nri and share his moral authority by purchasing

2622-509: The earth. After the assignment, the Awka blacksmith was given ọfọ as a mark of authority for his smithing profession. While Eri lived, Chukwu fed him and his people with azu-igwe. But this special food ceased after the death of Eri. Nri, one of his sons, complained to Chukwu for food. Chukwu ordered Nri to sacrifice his first son and daughter and bury them in separate graves. Nri complied with it. Later after three Igbo-weeks (12 days) yam grew from

2691-568: The east of the Niger River at a site dated to the 9th century, making it older than Ife. It appears that Nri had an artistic as well as religious influence on the lower Niger. Sculptures found there are bronze like those at Igbo-Ukwu. The great sculptures of the Benin Empire, by contrast, were almost always brass with, over time, increasingly greater percentages of zinc added. The bronzes of Igbo-Ukwu pay special attention to detail depicting birds, snails, chameleons, and other natural aspects of

2760-746: The end of the African humid period around 5,500 years before present, the modern Sahara Desert, once a savanna , underwent desertification . As plant species sharply declined, humans migrated to the fertile Niger River bend region, with abundant resources including plants for grazing and fish. Like in the Fertile Crescent , many food crops were domesticated in the Niger River region, including yams , African rice ( Oryza glaberrima ), and pearl millet . The Sahara aridification may have triggered, or at least accelerated, these domestications. Agriculture, as well as fishing and animal husbandry, led to

2829-454: The face of the slave trade's economic opportunities. Nri influence declined after the start of the 18th century. Still, it survived in a much-reduced, and weakened form until 1911, when an expedition carried out by British colonial troops forced the reigning eze Nri to renounce the ritual power of the religion known as the ìkénga , ending the kingdom of Nri as a political power. Nearly all communities in Igboland were organized according to

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2898-465: The grave in the seven or more years ensuing upon his death. Regardless of the actual date, this period marks the beginning of Nri kingship as a centralized institution. Expansion of the kingdom of Nri was achieved by sending mbùríchi , or converts, to other settlements. Allegiance to the eze Nri was obtained not by military force but through ritual oath. Religious authority was vested in the local king, and ties were maintained by traveling mbùríchi . By

2967-432: The grave of the son and coco yam from that of the daughter. When Nri and his people ate these, they slept for the first time; later still Nri killed a male and a female slave burying them separately. Again, after Izu Ato, an oil palm grew from the grave of the male slave, and a bread fruit tree (ukwa) from that of the female-slave. With this new food supply, Nri and his people ate and prospered. Chukwu asked him to distribute

3036-441: The humble and the truthful. They believed Anyanwu, The Light, to be the symbol of human perfection that all must seek and Agbala was entrusted to lead man there. Nri tradition was based on the concept of peace, truth and harmony. It spread this ideology through the ritualistic Ozo traders who maintained Nri influence by traveling and spreading Nri practices such as the " Ikenga " to other communities. These men were identified through

3105-411: The late 16th century, Nri influence extended well beyond the nuclear northern Igbo region to Igbo settlements on the west bank of the Niger and communities affected by the Benin Empire . There is strong evidence to indicate Igbo influence well beyond the Igbo region to Benin and Southern Igala areas like Idah before the arrival of the Nri. At its height, the kingdom of Nri had influence in over roughly

3174-578: The lower Niger. The northern part of the river, known as the Niger bend , is an important area because it is the major river and source of water in that part of the Sahara. This made it the focal point of trade across the western Sahara and the centre of the Sahelian kingdoms of Mali and Gao . The surrounding Niger River Basin is one of the distinct physiographic sections of the Sudan province, which in turn

3243-509: The mystery of the Niger would not be solved for another 25 years, in 1830, when Richard Lander and his brother became the first Europeans to follow the course of the Niger to the ocean. In 1946, three Frenchmen, Jean Sauvy, Pierre Ponty and movie maker Jean Rouch , former civil servants in the African French colonies , set out to travel the entire length of the river, as no one else seemed to have done previously. They travelled from

3312-425: The names of 19 eze Nri were recorded, but the list is not easily converted into chronological terms because of long interregnums between installations. Tradition held that at least seven years would pass upon the death of the eze Nri before a successor could be determined; the interregnum served as a period of divination of signs from the deceased eze Nri, who would communicate his choice of successor from beyond

3381-464: The new food items to all people but Nri refused because he bought them at the cost of sacrificing his own children and slaves. Nri and Chukwu made an agreement. According to M. D. W. Jeffreys (1956:123), a tradition has it that: "As a reward for distributing food to the other towns, Nri would have the right of cleansing every town of an abomination (nso) or breach, and of tying the Ngulu (ankle cords) when

3450-668: The oba of the Edo Benin Kingdom. The Igbo of Nri, on the other hand, developed a state system sustained by ritual power. The Kingdom of Nri was a religio-polity, a sort of theocratic state, that developed in the central heartland of the Igbo region. The Nri had a taboo symbolic code with six types. These included human (such as twins ), animal, object, temporal, behavioral, speech and place taboos. The rules regarding these taboos were used to educate and govern Nri's subjects. This meant that, while certain Igbo may have lived under different formal administration, all followers of

3519-405: The people within the Nri related areas were committed to peace. This religious pacifism was rooted in a belief that violence was an abomination which polluted the earth. Instead, the eze Nri could declare a form of excommunication from the odinani Nri against those who violated specific taboos. Members of the Ikénga could isolate entire communities via this form of ritual siege. The eze Nri

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3588-424: The right hand. Nri maintained its vast authority well into the 16th century. The peace mandated by the Nri religion and enforced by the presence of the mbùríchi allowed trade to flourish. Items such as horses, which did not survive in tsetse fly -infested Nri, and seashells, which would have to be transported a long ways due to Nri's distance from the coast, have been found depicted in Nri's bronze. A Nri dignitary

3657-504: The rise of settlements like Djenné-Djenno in the Inner Delta, now a World Heritage Site . The region of the Niger bend, in the Sahel , was a key origin and destination for trans-Saharan trade , fueling the wealth of great empires such as the Ghana , Mali, and Songhai Empires . Major trading ports along the river, including Timbuktu and Gao, became centers of learning and culture. Trade to

3726-418: The ritual facial scarifications they had undergone. Nri believed in cleansing and purifying the earth (a supernatural force to Nri called Ana and Ajana ) of human abominations and crimes. The Igu Aro festival (counting of the year) was a royal festival the eze Nri used to maintain his influence over the communities under his authority. Each of these communities sent representatives to pay tribute during

3795-410: The river Niger. As Timbuktu was the southern end of the principal Trans-Saharan trade route to the western Mediterranean , it was the source of most European knowledge of the region. Medieval European maps applied the name Niger to the middle reaches of the river, in modern Mali, but Quorra ( Kworra ) to the lower reaches in modern Nigeria , as these were not recognized at the time as being

3864-692: The river – the myth connecting the Niger to the Nile persisted. Many European expeditions to plot the river were unsuccessful. In 1788 the African Association was formed in England to promote the exploration of Africa in the hopes of locating the Niger, and in June 1796 the Scottish explorer Mungo Park was the first European to lay eyes on the middle portion of the river since antiquity (and perhaps ever). He wrote an account in 1799, Travels in

3933-474: The same river. When European colonial powers began to send ships along the west coast of Africa in the 16th and 17th centuries, the Senegal River was often postulated to be the seaward end of the Niger. The Niger Delta, pouring into the Atlantic through mangrove swamps and thousands of distributaries along more than 160 kilometres (100 mi), was thought to be coastal wetlands. It was only with

4002-583: The second was Menri, the founder of Umunri / Kingdom of Nri , followed by Onugu, the founder of Igbariam and Ogbodulu, the founder of Amanuke. The fifth one was a daughter called Iguedo, who is said to have borne the founders of Nteje , and Awkuzu , Ogbunike , Umuleri , Nando and Ogboli in Onitsha. When Eri was sent by Chukwu from the sky to the earth, he sat on an ant-hill because he saw watery marshy earth. When Eri complained to Chukwu, Chukwu sent an Awka blacksmith with his fiery bellows and charcoal to dry

4071-501: The seventh day to undergo a symbolic burial and exhumation, then finally be anointed with white clay, a symbol of purity. Upon his death, he was buried seated in a wood-lined chamber. The eze Nri was in all aspects a divine ruler. While the eze Nri lived relatively secluded from his followers, he employed a group of officials called ndi Nri. These were ritual specialists, easily identifiable by facial scarifications or ichi , who traveled with ritual staffs of peace in order to purify

4140-410: The sun. In the Agbaja style, circles and semicircular patterns are added to the initial incisions to represent the moon. These scarifications were given to the representatives of the eze Nri; the mbùríchi . The scarification's were Nri's way of honoring the sun that they worshiped and was a form of ritual purification. Scarification had its origins in Nri mythology. Nri, the son of Eri who established

4209-457: The town of Nri, was said to have pleaded to Chukwu (the Great God) because of hunger. Chukwu then ordered him to cut off his first son's and daughter's heads and plant them, creating a 'blood bond' between the Igbo and the earth deity, Ana . Before doing so, Nri was ordered to mark ichi onto their two foreheads. Coco yam , a crop managed by females, sprang from his daughter's head, and yam,

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4278-447: The world such as a hatching bird. Other pieces include gourds and vessels which were often given handles. The pieces are so fine that small insects were included on the surfaces of some while others have what looks like bronze wires decorated around them. None of these extra details were made separately; the bronzes were all one piece. Igbo-Ukwu gave the evidence of an early bronze casting tradition in Nri. Religious beliefs were central to

4347-463: Was a mystery to the outside world until the late 18th century. The connection to the Nile River was made not simply because this was then known as the great river of " Aethiopia " (by which all lands south of the desert were called by Classical writers), but because the Nile like the Niger flooded every summer. Through the descriptions of Leo Africanus and even Ibn Battuta – despite his visit to

4416-453: Was considered free. Nri had a network of internal and external trade, which its economy was partly based on. Other aspects of Nri's economy were hunting and agriculture. Eri, the sky being, was the first to 'count' the days by their names, eke , oye , afor and nkwo , which were the names of their four governing spirits. Eri revealed the opportunity of time to the Igbo, who would use the days for exchanging goods and knowledge. Igbo-Ukwu ,

4485-524: Was estimated at 25 km /year before the 1980s and at 13.5 km /year during the 1980s. The most important tributary is the Benue River which merges with the Niger at Lokoja in Nigeria. The total volume of tributaries in Nigeria is six times higher than the inflow into Nigeria, with a flow near the mouth of the river standing at 177.0 km /year before the 1980s and 147.3 km /year during

4554-511: Was the same as the actual Niger, or rather the river also known as Ger (currently known as Oued Guir, in Morocco), is a matter of discussion. This Nigris was said to divide "Africa proper" from the land of the (Western) Ethiopians to the south, and its name (as well as that of the river Ger) might well come from the Berber phrase gr-n-grwn meaning "river of rivers", as the current Tuareg name for

4623-507: Was the title of the ruler of Nri with ritual and mystic (but not military) power. He was a ritual figure rather than a king in the traditional sense. The eze Nri was chosen after an interregnum period while the electors waited for supernatural powers to manifest in the new eze Nri. He was installed after a symbolic journey to Aguleri on the Anambra River . The authorities must be notified prior to commencement of this journey to obtain

4692-434: Was unearthed with ivory, also indicating a wealth in trade existed among the Nri. Another source of income would have been the income brought back by traveling mbùríchi . Unlike in many African economies of the period, Nri did not practice slave ownership or trade. Certain parts of the Nri domain, did not recognize slavery and served as a sanctuary. After the selection of the tenth eze Nri, any slave who set foot on Nri soil

4761-743: Was used to illustrate Rouch's subsequent book "Le Niger En Pirogue" (Fernand Nathan, 1954), as well as Sauvy's "Descente du Niger" (L'Harmattan, 2001). A typewriter was brought as well, on which Ponty produced newspaper articles he mailed out whenever possible. The water in the Niger River basin is partially regulated through dams. In Mali the Sélingué Dam on the Sankarani River is mainly used for hydropower but also permits irrigation. Two diversion dams, one at Sotuba just downstream of Bamako , and one at Markala , just downstream of Ségou , are used to irrigate about 54,000 hectares. In Nigeria

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