The Anambra River (

Igbo Igbo may refer to: * Igbo people, an ethnic group of Nigeria * Igbo language, their language * anything related to Igboland, a cultural region in Nigeria See also * Ibo (disambiguation) * Igbo mythology * Igbo music * Igbo art * * Igbo-Ukwu, a ...

: Ọmambala) flows into the

Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through ...

and is found in

Anambra Anambra State is a Nigerian state, located in the southeastern region of the country. The state was created on August 27, 1991. Anambra state is bounded by Delta State to the west, Imo State to the south, Enugu State to the east and Kogi Stat ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. The river is the most important feeder of the River Niger below Lokoja. The flow of the Ọmambala River is released into the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

through various outlets forming the

Niger Delta The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states, which include: all six states from the South South geopolitic ...

region.

Anambra River Region and Culture

Omambala was the name of the ancient goddess whose river runs from the Uzo-uwa-ani underworld to Aguleri, Anam, Nsugbe and Onicha axis, where it connects with Nkisi & Niger-kwora/Mgbakili Rivers in their journey to the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, according to the indigenous people. The Ezu and Ezichi rivers also flow into Anambra river at Agbanabo and Oda respectively. There are several myths and mysteries surrounding Omambala which led to different interpretations by many tribes and nationalities, hence the pronunciation of Omambala as Anambra by the earlier European explorers. Before the creation of states, Omambala was formerly used to refer to the area comprising present-day Anambra, parts of

Kogi Kogi State is a state in the North Central region of Nigeria, bordered to the west by the states of Ekiti and Kwara, to the north by the Federal Capital Territory, to the northeast by Nasarawa State, to the northwest by Niger State, to th ...

, Enugu and

Ebonyi Abakaliki is a Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, Nigeria. It's headquarters are in the town of Nkaliki. It has an area of 443 km and a population of 126,837 based on the census conducted i2006. Thehe postal code A postal code (a ...

states by the indigenous people of that area. Currently, indigenous people from Aguleri, Anam, Nsugbe, Umueri, Anaku,

Nteje Nteje is the headquarters of Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra State, Nigeria. It is situated about 25 kilometres north-east of Onitsha by land route. It is located on the map along the longitude 6.45°E and the latitude 6.14°N. The land is f ...

Umunya Umunya is an Olu Town and one of the five communities that make up Oyi Local Government Area (LGA) of Anambra State Nigeria. It is bordered by six neighbors: Ifite-Dunu, Awkuzu, Nteje, Nkwelle-Ezunaka, Ogbunike, and Umudioka. In the south lies U ...

, Nando, Igbariam, Nkwelle-Ezunanka, Nzam, Awkuzu, Ogidi,

Ogbunike Ogbunike is a town in the Oyi local government area of Anambra State, Nigeria. Location It is located about 15 kilometers east of Onitsha. The Onitsha-Enugu expressway cuts through its northern border. The town is bordered on the east by Umud ...

, the Ayamelum clan, as well as others, make claims to the Omambala heritage. Omambala people have distinct dialects, customs, traditions and ethnophilosophical values with many mystical and esoteric belief systems that place a strong value on spiritualism over capitalism, and are held together by an eternal bond of custom, language, religious tradition and the Omambala River. This is due to the strong bond and attachment that exists between them and their natural

cosmology Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', and in 1731 taken up in Latin by German philosopher ...

and ecosystem. The socio-economic, socio-cultural and socio-political influence of the Omambala region extends to parts of Edo,

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also ...

, Imo, Rivers,

Abia Abia or ABIA may refer to: ABIA * Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, in Austin, Texas, United States * Australian Book Industry Awards, national literary and industry awards People * Abia (name) * Abia (mythology), the nursemaid of Glenus ...

Taraba Taraba can refer to: * Taraba State * Taraba River The Taraba River is a river in Taraba State, Nigeria, a tributary of the Benue River. It joins the Benue on a floodplain 10 km wide and 50 km across. The major towns along the River Tar ...

, Benue, Niger,

Nasarawa Nasarawa is a Local Government Area in Nasarawa State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Nasarawa, located at 8°32'N 7°42'E, with a population of 30,949 (as of 2016). The local government area has an area of 5,704 km and a populat ...

Plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...

Akwa-Ibom Akwa Ibom State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered on the east by Cross River State, on the west by Rivers State and Abia State, and on the south by the Atlantic Ocean. The state takes its name from the Qua Iboe R ...

& Cross-Rivers States of Nigeria and as far as

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesChad,

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

, Mali, Central African Republic, etc.

References

Rivers of Nigeria Anambra State {{Nigeria-river-stub