Eze

Eze (pronounced [ézè]) is an Igbo word which means King. Such words as Igwe and Obi plus others are used by Igbo people as titles of respect and homage to the Eze. Igwe is derived from the Igbo word Igwekala or Eluigwekala, "the sky or heaven above the sky is higher or bigger than land", implying that the Eze is a higher servant of the people. Obi is normally the centre building for receiving visitors in an Igbo leader's or man's homestead; and when used as a title of respect for the Eze, Obi implies: "the one who sits in the throne house or heart of the Kingdom."

In Igbo tradition and culture, the Eze is normally an absolute Monarch advised by a council of chiefs or elders whom he appoints based on their good standing within the community. A popular saying in Igbo is "Igbo enwe eze", which translates to "the Igbo have no king." This popular saying does not, however, capture the complexity of Igbo societies as portrayed in many centuries of anthropological, sociological and political research.

Eze (king)

In Igboland, an Eze is the king or ruler of a kingdom or a city-state. It is cognate with Obi and Igwe. Before the incursion of the British colonialists, Igboland was mostly made up of independent city-states which were governed not by kings, but by a council of elders, usually the eldest men in the community or the most successful farmers.

However, in a bid to establish a firm control across Igboland, the colonialists introduced Warrant Chiefs to lord over each independent community. These Warrant Chiefs had considerable political power as they collected taxes on behalf of the colonialists and often served as the link between them and the locals.

Seeking to maintain their noble positions in their various communities after the colonialists left in the 1960s, these Warrant Chiefs transmuted into monarchs, with most of their responsibilities stripped. Left with little political power and responsibilities, their influence waned. Nowadays, they serve as the custodians of the culture and traditions of their various communities.

Book of Ezekiel

The Book of Ezekiel is the third of the Major Prophets in the Tanakh and one of the major prophetic books in the Old Testament, following Isaiah and Jeremiah. According to the book itself, it records seven visions of the prophet Ezekiel, exiled in Babylon, during the 22 years 593-571 BCE, although it is the product of a long and complex history and does not necessarily preserve the very words of the prophet. The visions, and the book, are structured around three themes: (1) Judgment on Israel (chapters 1–24); (2) Judgment on the nations (chapters 25–32); and (3) Future blessings for Israel (chapters 33–48). Its themes include the concepts of the presence of God, purity, Israel as a divine community, and individual responsibility to God. Its later influence has included the development of mystical and apocalyptic traditions in Second Temple and rabbinic Judaism and Christianity.

Structure

Ezekiel has the broad three-fold structure found in a number of the prophetic books: oracles of woe against the prophet's own people, followed by oracles against Israel's neighbours, ending in prophecies of hope and salvation: