Igwe of Nnewi kingdom

The Nnewi monarchy, like the British monarchy, is a traditional inheritance of the throne based on Patrilineality and sonship heredity. In Nnewi the traditional monarch is called the Igwe. The Igwe is born and not made or elected, and the institution of inheritance is the traditional right and Primogeniture privilege. The position is neither transferable nor negotiable.

There have been 20 monarchs of Nnewi Kingdom (see the List of Monarchy of the Nnewi). A Kingdom of Nnewi was formed around 1498 with the original settlement of Mmaku, the grandfather of Nnewi.The present reigning monarch is His Royal Highness Igwe Orizu III is the 20th monarch in the Nnofo Royal lineage.

An "igwe" is a king, basically, and this is a title used consistently throughout northern Igbo-speaking areas. The term is associated with the sky deity, pointing to the king's elevated status - also to his consecration/installation as something like a divinity on earth. The Igwe of Nnewi would be the king of the spirit of Nnewi; chi meaning spirit or life force. The primary cult of most northern Igbo towns is that of the Ana/Ani (the land goddess), and chi usually is considered to be a more human-scaled spirit. However, the term chi is part of one of the major deities of the north, Chineke - the ambigendered creative force that is often associated with Ani. (Ani is sometimes said to be married to Igwe - earth to sky. This divine marriage is also referenced in many northern Igbo royal systems.)

English-speaking Igbo frequently use the titles of English royalty ("His Royal Highness") to refer to their indigenous rulers .... The main thing to remember is that kings partake of the divinities in this region and are important ritual practitioners; any Igwe is also the head of the royal cult - and his ancestors are invoked on behalf of the entire town. Most northern Igbo kingships are not hereditary in a simple sense, however. There are kingly clans whose male members are eligible for kingship, and then there are kingmaker clans, whose elders have the task of "discovering" the new king during the interregnum. This is a process that is part-divination - and ofos might well be involved - and part hard-nosed indigenous politics (30 Nov. 2002).

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