The Okrika People

Okrika, a coastal nation is believed to have been founded in the 9 Century AD and  was first a gerontocracy led by the patriarch Oko in Okopiri, considered the cradle of  th Okrika. This system continued till the 13 Century AD when the military class took  th over leadership till the 16 Century AD. The Okrika City-State at the time comprised of Okrika (as the capital city), Ogoloma, Ogu, Bolo, Abuloma, Ibaka, Ogbogbo, Isaka, Ele and surrounding villages. Okrika became a monarchy in the 17 Century AD. The kings of Okrika, the Amanyanabo, were sovereign along with those of Bonny,  Andoni,  Kalabari and Nembe.  The people of Okrika were mainly fishermen, traders  and farmers.  Fenibeso was the chief deity in Okrika amongst others like Odobiri the deity of good fortune. There were no restrictions on the worship  of any god and religion was a powerful means of  cohesion. In terms of trade Okrika was immense  and was the major supplier of foodstuff to Bonny. The manila was the local denomination.


The War Canoe Houses

The Okrika city state had no standing army in the contemporary sense. The defence of the city state against external  aggression was the responsibility of the  king and his Chiefs (Warinyanabo or Waridabo) who headed  the War-Canoe Houses (Omuaru-wari). In a period of war, each  chief commanded the War-Canoe  belonging to his House.  In the modern sense the Amanyanabo was the Commander-in-Chief as  head of state and all the Chiefs of the War-Canoe houses swore allegiance to him.  The strength of each War-Canoe House in Okrika depended on the man-power of  the House. Classes  (mumbu)  existed within each War-Canoe House to allow  progression based on hard work. Decisions within the War-Canoe House were  democratic.


The Sekini



Marriage and Family



The Rites of Coronation

Okrika’s  tradition had no room for a Crown Prince and there was no  provision for an heir apparent. The practice of rotation within the  Ado Royal Family existed and was practised.  To become the Amanyanabo, the candidate must first  be made a chief of the Ado Royal War-Canoe House.  Then the candidate had to be ratified by the Sekeni  before he was installed by the Egweme, the  king- makers.



Traditional Worship and the Advent of Christianity

Christianity was alien to Okrika and its neighbouring  coastal city-states. The worship of traditional deities held  sway. The citizens were devoted to the deities as evident in  precise rituals and observances. There was the practice of  spiritism, the belief that the dead were still alive but in another sphere and so were appeased through libation and sacrifice. Fenibeso was the chief deity of Okrika, though occasionally there was  recourse to Ibini Ukpabi, the long juju of the Arochukwu in the Ibo  hinterland for oracular pronouncement over disputes, much like the Oracle of  Delphi in Greece. The traditional religion had no dissenters till the advent of Christianity  and the onslaught of European  colonization.  Christian  Missionaries were convinced that  the Africans would become civilized only if they became Christians and adopted European  ways. This thought became an inseparable  companion of the propagation of the gospel  and sought to purge the worship of deities and foster the reform of manners. This  indoctrination meant that a schism erupted between the traditional  worshippers and the  Christians which led to several conflicts, most notable the trial of Atorudibo, the priest of  Odobiri and the burning of the first church in 1883.