History Made as Bonny Kingdom Witnesses First Iria by A Queen

The annals of history turn a significant turn on Saturday, December 18, 2025 as the wife of the Natural Ruler and Amanyanabo of Bonny Kingdom, Queen Paula Tamunoipirinye William Dappa Pepple became the first of Bonny Kingdom to perform the Iria (initiation into womanhood) Ceremony.

The ceremony, which saw her husband, His Majesty, King Edward Asimini William Dappa Pepple III, CON, JP, DSSRS, Perekule XI, dancing by her side to cheer her up, took place at the Ikuba Nungo in Bonny, Rivers State, before a mammoth crowd.

The Iria Ceremony is a significant traditional rite of passage for young women in Bonny, Opobo, Kalabari and Okrika, sub groups of the larger Ijaw ethnic group in Nigeria’s delta region.

Bonny, Opobo, Kalabari and Okrika are both kingdoms and ethnic nationalities in their own rights but subsumed under the Ijaw ethnic nationality.

The ceremony which is strictly for women marks a transition to womanhood with cultural, spiritual, and social elements, including purification, public display, and training in domestic duties, granting them respect and privileges as a mature woman, now known after the ceremony as Iriabo.

Checks by Kristina Reports indicate that it involves stages like a fattening room, symbolic dressing, and teachings by elders, preparing them for marriage and community life, with specific rites for different age groups: Kala-Egerebite, Opu-Egerebite and Bibite.

Kristina Reports learnt that in the history of Bonny Kingdom which began around the 12th century, no queen of Bonny had performed the ceremony while actively in that status as they all performed theirs while in youthful ages.

Also, the only Queen to have ruled Bonny, Queen Kambasa had hers done while she was younger before ascending the throne.

Queen Paula thus now becomes the first to perform the ceremony while actively the wife of the Amanyanabo of Bonny Kingdom, and would now also be succinctly referred to as Iriabo.

In attendance were the Chairman of Bonny LGA, Amasenibo Abinye Pepple, visiting traditional rulers, chiefs and heads of Bonny Kingdom chieftaincy houses, titled citizens of Bonny Kingdom, captains of industry, and other guests.