Uratta is a town with a proud history and heritage. At present, Uratta is the capital of Owerri North Local Government Area. Formerly, too. Uratta was the capital (headquarters) of the Oratta Clan, made up of 26 towns or communities in the old Owerri Division. The Oratta Clan, with a population of c. 35,000, in 1937, included Uratta, Owerri (capital of Imo State), Agbala, Egbu, Emekuku, Emii, Naze, Ihite, Awaka, Ngor Okpala, Ihiagwa, and so many other towns and communities that shared a sense of kinship and similarity of cultural values and practices. Under the old British Native
Court system, Uratta was also the seat of the Uratta Court, situated in the village of Owellu.
Uratta is made up of ten villages known alphabetically as Akwakuma, Amakohia, Okwu, Orji, Owalla, Owaellu, Umuallum, Umunahu, Umuoba, and Umuorii, In order of seniority, however, Umualum is regarded as the first son of Uratta, and thus serves as the spiritual headquarters of Uratta. Therefore, special recognition is given to Umuallum, despite its relatively small population, during religious and social/cultural ceremonies, such as Onwa Oru. It is worth noting, however, that originally, Uratta was made up of eight (villages, and hence the popular reference to Uratta as Uratta Ofo Asato. But oral tradition, however, states that Akwakuma and Amakohia were later incorporated into Uratta. and hence, the nomenclature of Uratta Ofo Iri. True or false, the legend is that Akwakuma, and Amakohia migrated from Umunahu and Owellu, respectively.
In time, both Akwakuma and Amakohia became integral parts of Uratta, and hence the nomenclature, Uratta Ofo Iri.
Furthermore, Uratta is subdivided into two sections: OBIBI and IHITAOHA. The villages in Obibi are: Umuallum, Umuorii, Umuoba, and Okwu. Ihitaoha, on the other hand, is made up of Owalla, Owaellu, Umunahu, Orji, Akwakuma, and Amakohia. Today, both Obibi and Ihitaoha have their traditional leaders—Nde Eze. Interestingly, Orji is the youngest of the Uratta villages, but it is nonetheless the most populous.
THE HISTORICAL QUESTION
Like their counterparts elsewhere, the educated Uratta elite seem overly preoccupied with the historical question “Where did we come from?” As a matter of fact, a respectable Uratta man recently confronted me with that question, and strongly urged me to undertake the study of the history (origin) of Uratta. Since it appears that the problem of origin has become the marker of identity, I promised to oblige. But it should be emphasized at this juncture that I had earlier attempted to do research on the history of Uratta. Unfortunately, my effort to collect the oral history of Uratta, that would have enabled me to attempt the reconstruction of the precolonial history of Uratta, was frustrated by the mindless roadblocks from some members of the Oha Uratta! Lack of cooperation from Uratta, therefore, led me to focus attention on Owerri, where the elders (Oha Owerri Nchi Ise) gave me a hero’s welcome. The result was the production of my book Tradition and Transformation in Eastern Nigeria: A Sociopolitical History of Owerri and Its Hinterland, 1902-1947.
At present, however, the available history of Uratta (a small pamphlet) is that written by an amateur local historian, the late P. D. Okoro, titled A Short History of Uratta. In practical terms, a scholarly history of Uratta, based on thorough historical investigation, remains in the doldrums! However, as already noted, the history of Uratta is promised, and might eventually materialize.