Onyishi

Onyishi is a common term or name normally taken as surname or title by person/persons whose father is the most eldest in a village or one who is the most eldest in Nsukka or its villages.

In otherwords, Onyishi simply means the oldest,head or leader be it man or woman.In normal Nsukka settings,once an adult be it man or woman becomes the oldest in his or her village, he/she picks up the title Onyishi. For one to be Onyishi in a village, the person be the most eldest in that village. The person in question has to host the entire village and well wishers after which he will be given the staff of office just like the ceremonial mace but here it's called Aruah in Nsukka culture. The Aruah is only for the men whereas the most oldest women receive nothing as their staff of office. Onyishi is never campaigned for and it's believed to be a thing of nature.

The Aruah, in the recent years has been disputed by some Christians who claim it is a form of idolatry thus giving their colleagues crucifix on attaining such age.

The Aruah which is about 200 by 4 cm in length and width respectively is four in number. The aruah is carried in bulk by the village head daily to his ancestral home commonly called Obu (i.e. Palace) in the mornings. On getting to the Obu (palace), he prays in the presence of the Aruah using kola nut and left the Aruah there till the dusk time. In the evening, the Onyishi goes back to the Obu and return the Aruah back home. This practice continues like this until the present Onyishi dies.

This practice has been in existence for centuries. In Nsukka or Nru Nsukka precisely, you can get an aruah that is over hundreds of years though not yet recorded due to the late arrival of the needed technologies in Nsukka. Thus, making the family name onyishi very common to the Nsukka people.

According to one Mr.Atugwu Kenechukwu from Nru Nsukka he said that every Onyishi in Nsukka has a mode of dressing which is normally a red cap with a red feather (called "awu") from a special bird, fixed on it, a short stick gotten from a known tree called Oho, and a hand bag. In every gathering an Onyishi must always hold that oho in his hand whenever he speaks on matters concerning the people. For emphasis sake, he said that no village is recognized in Nsukka without an Onyishi as its head.

...
Wikipedia