Northcote

Shrubbery as the focal point for the veneration of Ànà

Shrubbery is the focal point for the veneration of Ànà (Ala, Ali, Ani, Eli, Ali), the Earth Mother, at Nofia (Nawfia), in today’s Anambra State. Igbo customary law is based on the sanctions of Ànà. Photographed by Northcote Thomas, c. 1910-11.

An elder from Nsukwa, a Western Igbo community in the Enuani

Northcote Thomas’s photographs depict a man named Iyiazi with ichi scarification marks. They were taken in Nri in 1911.

Nri Obalike: The Eze Nri During Colonial Transformation (1889–1935)

Nri Obalike, the Eze Nri from Uruoji, ruled as the Eze Nri from 1889 to 1935, a period marked by significant political and cultural challenges in the north-central Igbo region. His reign coincided with the peak of British colonial expansion into Igboland, which brought about the systematic imposition of indirect rule and the restructuring of…