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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.〔 == Igwe of Nnewi == 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). In Nnewi however, The kingship is a traditional and hereditary monarchy with a tetrarchy system whereby the four quarters of Nnewi has an Obi who has autonomous jurisdiction to his quarter alone.〔 But the Igwe is the Isi obi (head of the Obis) and hence the Igwe, which literally translates as the heavenly one or highness as he is the holder of the Ofo, the religious and political symbol. He is born and not made or elected, and the institution of inheritance is the traditional right and privilege. He is also an Obi. Obi is the title held by ruling chiefs; it is the equivalent of a duke in the nobility. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Igwe of Nnewi kingdom」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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