02/06/2025
This article is a bit long but try to read to the end
For the question in last paragraph
Yes
Ishi,eshi,nri,eri we are all the same people.
That is why if some our so called historians claim they are igala,I will just be laughing..
The only people from Idah in our place are also Igbo people from ancient Idah especially the popular Asadu family which igala later turn to achadu
NẸ̀ MGBẸ́ ND'ISHI
There were a people usually referred to as the "Ìshì" people in Nsukka. The word Ìshì is often used to refer to the early people who founded the various ancient republics of Nsukka. They were believed to have the secret knowledge of the land. This is why when referring to their time, our people would say "Nẹ mgbẹ́ Nd'ị̀shị̀." The eldest male of any village in Nsukka is called "Onye-ìshì." It should be noted that "Onye-ị̀shị̀" is a singular version of "Nd'ishi" which is plural.
Going to the history lane, Professor Shelton in his "Igbo-Igala Borderland" has noted that the Nri people of Anambra were called the people of "Nshi" by the aboriginal Nsukka. There is the story of Ezeọ̀kpaka nwa Eze Nshị in Eha-Alumona today who was believed to have migrated from Nshi (Nri) in Anambra. That particular village of Ezeọ̀kpaka traces their lineage to Nshi.
Follow me further. In Nsukka town of Ishi Aya Nategna, Ezeoguda is considered the eldest village just as Ụmụezeke is considered the oldest village in Ọbụkpa. The Nsukka version of the story is that the Nshi (Nri) people were sought far and wide (probably because of their spiritual mysticism) in those days of yore for the institution of the title system that would governed the newly founded republics. This was because, in order to survive from the incessant slave raiding, different villages were coming together to form a village group. This is what led to the formation of such village groups as Ọbụkpa, Ovoko, Eha-Alumona, Nsukka and so on.
For the story of Nsukka, it's said that when the people of Nri came and the different villages (or kindreds) had gathered, the people of Nri demanded for Kolanut and that they would not do anything unless a Kolanut was presented with which they would be use for the opening prayer, ị́gọ́ ọfọ. They said if the Kolanut was not presented, they would not do anything. It was said that there was no Kolanut and the whole ceremony was at the verge of collapsing until a particular man from Ezeoguda was able to provide kolanut from his bag. For this reason, according to the story, the Nri people pronounced the Ezeoguda people the eldest. It was a position "vested" on them by these Nshi people and not that they were actually the eldest. Then, the people of Nshi instituted the Eze title for them and then shared other functions for other villages. This was what was also said of Ọbụkpa but Ọbụkpa's story is silent on who demanded for kolanut and subsequently made Ụmụezeke the eldest. Recall that there's a village called Ụmụezeke in Adaba, Ụzọ-Ụ́wánị̀ Local Government Area of Enugu State.
During the Onunu ceremony of the Nsukka people, the festival culminates with the sending of a parcel of meat to the Nshi people in the faraway land.
The word Ìshì is used as these people of the knowledgeable past who did things accurately as it should be done. This is why if an elder wants to validate a practice or a decision in Nsukka, he would say "Ya bụ kẹ eshi eme ye nẹ mgbẹ́ Nd'ishi (this is house it was done in the time of Ị̀shị̀ people). Subsequently, Nd'ị̀shị̀ is now used to refer to our ancestors, the earliest of our forefathers who founded each of our republics.
However, why the word "Ìshì?" My question is: Can it be said that Ị̀shị̀ is a corruption of Nshi which was a term used to refer to the Nri people by our forefathers
ugwuanyi
