Obi (ruler)

An obi is the central building in an Igbo homestead, one used most commonly as a place for the reception of guests. As such, it can also be looked at symbolically as a metaphor for the most important part, or heart, of any given place. In fact, due to this, it is otherwise almost exclusively taken to be an title amongst the tribe, meaning either elder in the first instance or chief in the second.

...
Wikipedia