Origin of Isiugwu

 

      

    The full name of the community Isiugwu Ejagu Ozzi Enugu Ezike Oba.

Isiugwu is a community in Umuozzi in Enugu Ezike, Igbo Eze North Local Government Area of Enugu State. It is situated at the Northern side of Enugu Ezike, bounded on east and south by Igogoro, on the West by Aji, all in Enugu Ezike, and north by Ofante in Kogi state

      The name Isiugwu was derived from the living location Ishi Ugwu (head or top of the hill). Ejagu is the real name of what is called Isiugwu. Ejagu is the first son of his mother called Ozzi. He is the only son of Ozzi that bears name of his mother (Ejagu Ozzi).

He lived with his parents at Ekposi .He was a hunter, this implies that he was moving around Ekposi in search of animals. He used Igbo made catapults called"Aburukpa".He equally made use of sticks,stones and bare hands.When the father (Ezike oba ) noticed the eagerness of him to hunt,he made little bow and some arrows for him. And this made him to go far in search of animals.

Ejagu used or rather remarked his footmarks by leaving little sticks wherever he passed to ease his way back.

One day he went up the hill and looked around. Northwards, he saw a big forest from a far and he decided to go to the forest in search of animals to hunt.The journey took him months before he reach the forest, because he killed some animals and took them back to his father at Ekposi. There were many animals in the forest.

On the first day in that forest, he killed many and couldn't convey all back home, this amounted to leaving some of the animals killed in the forest. He later found out that before he comes back to collect them, that other bigger animals had fed up on them. This indicates that he suffered both in hunting and conveying them(animals killed) to his parents at Ekposi. Ejagu went back to the forest and killed many animals but this time he was clever, he decided to roast them in the forest.So,he settled under one big tree in half middle of the forest called"Okijaokwunye".He made the tree his rest place after hunting. Roasting the meat, eased  the conveying of it back to Ekposi where his parents resides. He was moving around in search of animals to hunt in that forest, this continues till one fateful day ,he looked westward and saw smoke going up the sky. This terrified him because he thought it was a big animal coming with smoke.He wanted running but what gave him courage was his sharp tactics to defend himself as a hunter, so he kept watching until he realized that the smoke was stationery. When he went back home and tell the story, his mother Ozzi advice him to know what was there in the hut.

On his second visit, he went and greeted the man and his wife. They welcomed him and offered him drinking water .He told the man how he was in the forest suffering and about his resting place in half middle of the forest. The man projected fear in him by telling him "I have been living here since "when he went back home, he told story on how he found the man and also there discussions. His father advice him again to go back to the man which he did as instructed.He asked the man his name,the man said "Ogili". Ejagu had to visit ogili always after hunting with meat.Due to constant offering of meat, Ogili asked "why do you stay alone" Can't you come and stay with us? Ejagu told him he have to go home and inform his parents.His parents agreed since they are humans.From that day,he stayed with them. One day Mr Ogili told Ejagu"it would be better you have your own hut,around so  we could live together" 

He responded positively to Ogili's injuction.He asked Ogili to show him where he can build his own around one hill near Ogili's hut called"hill of Ugwuoji".Ogili waved Eastward by the corner of the hill,where he later built his own hut by the end of that hill.Ogili don't know his name and he call him "onyeishiugwu" each time he wants him to come and welcome visitors or for food. He would ask his wife to call him "onye ishiugwu". So Ogili and his wife were calling Ejagu"Onyeishiugwu"meaning"somebody living at the end of the hill".The name they were calling him overshadowed his real name Ejagu,Others including his parents started calling him the same name.This is how the real name got lost.So as time passes by Ishiugwu was changed to Isiugwu as it is called today, hence the reason we are called Isiugwu today and not Ejagu Ozzi.(Coined from "the man Ejagu as the originator" by Nze Aloysius Abugu)