#tribeoftheday

[banzaboiieatskilishi]

TRIBE OF THE DAY : Igbo tribe

The Igbo people also spelled Ibo and formerly also Iboe, Ebo, Eboe, Eboans, Heebo are a meta-ethnicity native to the present-day south-central and southeastern Nigeria and also Equatorial Guinea. 

There has been much speculation about the origins of the Igbo people, as it is unknown how exactly the group came to form. Geographically, the Igbo homeland is divided into two unequal sections by the Niger River an eastern (which is the larger of the two) and a western section. The Igbo people are one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa.

Igbo-speaking peoples can be divided into five geographically based subcultures: northern Igbo, southern Igbo, western Igbo, eastern Igbo, and northeastern Igbo. Each of these five can be further divided into subgroups based on specific locations and names. The northern or Onitsha Igbo are divided into the Nri-Awka of Onitsha and Awka; the Enugu of Nsukka, Udì, Awgu, and Okigwe; and those of the Onitsha town. The southern or Owerri Igbo are divided into the Isu-Ama of Okigwe, Orlu, and Owerri; the Oratta-Ikwerri of Owerri and Ahoada; the Ohuhu-Ngwa of Aba and Bende; and the Isu-Item of Bende and Okigwe. The western Igbo (Ndi Anioma, as they like to call themselves) are divided into the northern Ika of Ogwashi Uku and Agbor; the southern Ika or Kwale of Kwale; and the Riverrain of Ogwashi Uku, Onitsha, Owerri, and Ahoada. The eastern or Cross River Igbo are divided into the Ada (or Edda) of Afikpo, the Abam-Ohaffia of Bende and Okigwe, and the Aro of Aro. The northeastern Igbo include the Ogu Uku of Abakaliki and Afikpo.

now for some fun entertainment I found !

The kim-kim or Udu is a plosive aerophone (in this case implosive) and an idiophone of the Igbo of Nigeria. In the Igbo language, ùdù means 'vessel' or 'pot'. This is a hand percussion instrument and it is one of the most important instruments in Igbo music.

Early Udu drums were simply water jugs with an additional hole and were played by Igbo women for ceremonial purposes. Legend says that the Udu drum was made accidentally because a punched hole was on the side, making it useless. Instead of throwing it away, the owner started to drum it.(note I listen to a sample of this instrument its fire I wish I could add an audio file here but I'll but that in a different post)

now the music is fire what about the arts?

Masks have been used for a variety of purposes within Igbo culture in both historic and modern times. For specific segments of the Igbo population, some mask pairs have been traditionally interpreted as representing the duality of beauty and ugliness. The former being depicted as the maiden spirit and the latter as the elephant spirit.Anthropologist Simon Ottenberg also ties masquerade performances to a duality, but he sees their function as primarily relating to gender difference and the initiation ritual during which Igbo boys become men. Young women are excluded from performing and are, therefore, passive witnesses. The rituals associated with mask-wearing establish and maintain gender difference. Additionally, the experience of ritual mask-wearing is related to the alleviation of sexual and social anxieties that result from the boy moving from his childhood home and away from his mother.

Within some portions of northern Nigeria, Igbo communities continue to utilize masquerade events in order to maintain connections with the deceased. Masks become physical embodiments of those no longer living which facilitates the flow of blessings and knowledge between generations. Knowledge of the secret aspects of the ritual are limited to initiated men who then have access to the supernatural tools necessary to contend with pressing socio-cultural concerns. Overall, however, the ceremonies serve as the site for important processes of communal healing, continuity, and connection. Joy is intermixed with grief as the living are able to again interact with those that have been lost

The use of masks within Igbo culture has been usually portrayed as an uninterrupted tradition or as a tradition impossibly altered by cross-cultural interactions. More recent scholarship, however, perceives contemporary Igbo masquerade performance to be the product of selectively-adapted external influences that perpetuate the traditional aims of the activity. As such, they should not be considered new and unique art forms but rather the result of the adaptation of imported elements. Pre-colonial conceptions of aesthetic experience and artistic goals were re-worked and understood through new paradigms introduced by cross-cultural movements.

For contemporary viewers of masks within the context of museums, the inability to see such sculptures in motion as part of performances makes understanding difficult. The effect intended by the artist in terms of experience is limited to the one static perspective that display permits. The exhibiting of masks emphasizes the object itself which is not always the most important aspect of the multimedia and multisensory ritual performance.Without the full costume and the atmosphere of music, spoken or sung word, and physical movements, the full meaning of masks is lost. The same physical object, when placed in different performance contexts, can symbolize different things which makes interpretations difficult after collection.

Eze Nwanyi mask

Otherwise known as the Queen of Women, this mask represents a wealthy, senior wife and grandmother who commands enormous respect in the village. She embodies the ultimate feminine ideals of strength, wisdom, beauty, stature and dignity, and is a leader among women.

This mask is worn in performances that occur at funerals and ceremonies that purify the village and other communal places

Agbogho mmuo

Agbogho mmuo, or Maiden Spirit masquerades perform annually during the dry season in the Nri-Awka area of northern Igboland. At these performances men dance as adolescent girls, miming and exaggerating the girls' beauty and comportment. The performance is also accompanied by musicians who sing tributes to both real and spirit maidens. The following are examples of quotes that may be heard during a performance :

Mmanwu si n’igwe: The masked spirit from the sky

Udemu na lenu: My fame is potent

These masks showcase an ideal image of an Igbo maiden. This ideal is made up by the smallness of a young girl’s features and the whiteness of her complexion, which is an indication that the mask is a spirit. This whiteness is created using a chalk substance used for ritually marking the body in both West Africa and the African Diaspora. The chalky substance is also used in uli design, created and exhibited on the skin of Igbo women. Some maiden spirit masks have elaborate coiffeurs, embellished with representations of hair combs, and other objects, modeled after late 19th century ceremonial hairstyles.

(the art is amazing and it shows in the masquerades)

i do recommend checking out the different festivals yourself but ill talk about one here.

the new yam festival (this has multiple variants the one I was sent was the Abia igbo version)

Usually, at the beginning of the festival, the yams are offered to the gods and ancestors first before distributing them to the villagers. The ritual is performed either by the oldest man in the community or by the king or eminent titleholder. This man also offers the yams to god, deities, and ancestors by showing gratitude to the supreme deity for his protection and kindness in leading them from lean periods to the time of bountiful harvest without deaths resulting from hunger.After the prayer of thanksgiving to their god, they eat the first yam because It is believed that their position bestows the privilege of being intermediaries between their communities and the gods of the land. The rituals are meant to express the gratitude of the community to the gods for making the harvest possible, and they are widely followed despite more modern changes due to the influence of Christianity in the area. This, therefore, explains the three aspects of the Igbo worldview, that they are pragmatic, religious, and appreciative.

The day is symbolic of enjoyment after the cultivation season, and the plenty is shared with friends and well-wishers. A variety of festivities mark the eating of new yam. Folk dances, masquerades, parades, and parties create an experience that some participants characterize as "art"; the colorful festival is a spectacle of exhibited joy, thanks, and community display.

information from wikipedia and 101lastribes and the people that I mentioned below

There is must more to say about the Igbo people but I can't fit it all in one post but lets support some!

@prolaxzo247

@adannamdi

@ch1mmy-error

@moonlitmadame

@peculiarityy

@namari101

@regalun-street

@osinachies

@dorilefish

LETS CELEBRATE THE IGBO PEOPLE

[banzaboiieatskilishi]

TRIBE OF THE DAY : atyap

The Atyap people (Tyap: Á̠niet A̠tyap, singular: A̠tyotyap; Hausa exonym: Kataf, Katab) are an ethnic group that occupy part of the Zangon-Kataf, Kaura and Jema'a Local Government Areas of Kaduna State, Nigeria.

They speak the Tyap language, one of the West Plateau languages.

They derive their name from their language, Tyap, a descriptive name meaning people who speak Tyap. They are, however, addressed as Katab or Kataf by the Hausa due to a large amount of camwood (Katambari in Hausa and Gbandaad in Tyap) which they used as an important item of trade. 

The Katab are cluster of ethnic groups who live in Niger, Nasarawa and Kaduna states, and the Abuja Federal Capital territory of Nigeria. They were identified by colonial British ethnographer C. K. Meek as a “cultural complex” based on their common language and some shared traits such as wife-abduction, wearing of lip plugs, houses with peaked roofs, and headhunting. Katab subgroups include the Ataka, Ikulu, Jaba, Kachichere, Kagoma, Kagoro, Kaje, Kamantan, Katab and Morwa. They are popularly known as the people of Southern Zaria, which was a part of the former Zaria Emirate and later Zaria province, now Kaduna state. They also refer to themselves as Netzit. Katab is also the name of one of the ethnic groups within the cultural complex, who reside in the Zangon Kataf district of Kaduna state and refer to themselves as the Atyap. This summary focuses on the Katab subgroup, and on the neighboring Kagoro of the Kaura district in the same state. The geography of the region varies from flat fertile plains to rolling hills and high plateau. The Zangon Kataf district is described as undulating savannah grassland.

The Atyap occupy part of the area of the Nok culture, famous for its terra-cotta figurines. Whether they are related to the people that made these figurines cannot be determined.

Several iron smelting sites have been located in Atyap area. Most of these were found in the area of Gan and nearby settlements. The remains include slag, tuyeres and furnaces. In two sites in the Ayid-ma-pama (Tyap: A̠yit Mapama) on the banks of the Sanchinyirian stream and banks of Chen Fwuam at Atabad Atanyieang (Tyap: A̠ta̠bat A̠ta̠nyeang) the slag and tuyeres remains were particularly abundant in high heaps. This category of information is complemented by shallow caves and the rock shelter at Bakunkung Afang (9°55'N, 8°10'E) and Tswog Fwuam (9°51'N, 8°22'E) at Gan and Atabad-Atanyieang, respectively. The same study reveals several iron ore mining pits (9°58.5'N, 8°17, 85'E). More such pits have been identified in later search, suggesting that iron ore mining was intensive in the area.

The Katab are overwhelmingly farmers. Historically they have grown sorghum, dauro millet (Pennisetum glaucum), acha (fonio; Digitaria exilis, beans, groundnuts, yam, cassava, cocoyam, sweet potatoes, garden eggs, pumpkins, peppers, okra, benniseed (Sesamum radiatum), and kuud (karkashi in Hausa; Artemesia spp.). They also cultivated tree crops such as guava, pawpaw, mango, banana, oil palm, and raffia palm. Livestock included goats, chickens, dogs, and later horses, sheep and ducks. Millet is the staple food crop, and corn is grown for beer. Farms are owned and worked by individual households. Meals are eaten mid-day and after sunset, with a snack in the early morning usually made up of leftovers from the night before. Porridge and soup is the evening meal. Men and women eat separately. The agricultural season begins in April when the first rains appear; vegetables are planted in the household gardens (titam) and guinea corn in the fields. Millet is sown in the beginning of June, followed by acha, potatoes, cocoyam and risga (or rizga; Plectanthrus esculentus). The rainy season lasts from June to September, when yams are cultivated and other vegetables harvested. Grain crops are harvested, dried and stored at the start of the dry season which begins at the end of November. Dry season activities include house construction, road clearing, and hunting. Game included antelope, hare, rabbit, monkey, bush pig, baboon, and leopard.

Both men and women are honored by funeral rites. The Katab are buried in bottle-shaped graves and, depending on the tribe, the grave is sealed by a large stone, logs, or mud, and covered with the excavated soil to create a mound. Interment occurs within a day of the death. A widow will mourn by growing her hair and smearing herself with ochre for a period of two months, after which she is shaved bald and washed clean in the river. Secondary burials occur several years later. Some tribes believe in reincarnation. Witches were buried in the bush in open graves without ceremony. Most Katab believe in life after death; the Kagoro are an exception. Souls can turn into ghosts or are re-born into a descendant. Ghosts inhabit sacred groves where they are propitiated and consulted. Souls of dead enemies or game animals must we warded off with purification rites.

CLANS

One feature of the Atyap proper (a sub-group in the larger Atyap/Nienzit also spelt Nenzit/Netzit ethnolinguistic group) is the manner in which responsibilities are shared among its four clans, some of which has sub-clans and sub-responsibilities. The possession of totems, taboos and emblems which come in form of designs, structures and animals is another important aspect in the history and tradition of the Atyap people. According to oral tradition, all the four clans of the Atyap people have different emblems, totems and taboos and they vary from clan to clan and from sub-clan to sub-clan. This is considered as a common practice among the people because they most of the time used these emblems as a way of identification. Apart from the emblems and totems, some clans have certain animals or plants which they also consider as taboos and in some cases also used them for rituals. Oral tradition further has it that such animals are usually reverend in the area till date.

The exogamous belief within the clans that members of a clan had a common descent through one ancestor, prevented inter-marriages between members of the same clan. Inter-clan and inter-state marriage was encouraged.

The Aminyam clan

Not much is known about this clan but it has 2 sub-clans:

Aswon (Ason)

Afakan (Fakan)

Cows are considered as the Minyam's totem but the people have mystified a cow by seeing it as a hare with its ear as horns. These “horns” of the hare are locally called A̱ta̱m a̱swom and the Minyam clan members have high respect for them because they always touch the “horns” and swear by them when an offence is committed. Once the accused person swears, then nothing will be said or done again but to just wait for the outcome.

The A̱gbaat clan

It has 3 sub-clans:

A̱kpaisa

A̱kwak (Kakwak) and

Jei

They had primacy in both cavalry and archery warfare, handled the army. The Agbaat clan, especially the Jei sub-clan, was considered the best warriors both in Cavalry and archery warfare. Agbaat clan leader therefore became the commander-in-chief of the Atyap army. The post of "A̱tyutalyen", a military public relations officer who announced the commencement and termination of each war, was held by a member of the Agbaat clan The totem for the Agbaat clan is the large crocodile called Tsang. Oral tradition has it that the Agbaat consider the Tsang as their ‘friend’ and ‘brother’ and the relationship is also said to have developed when the Atyap people were fleeing from their enemies. As they moved, they got to a very big river which they could not cross and suddenly crocodiles appeared and formed a bridge for them to cross. When the other clans tried to cross by the same means, the crocodile swam away. This, according to oral tradition, explains why today, it is said that the Agbaat people can play with a crocodile without being harmed and given the respect the Agbaat people have for the crocodile, they bury its dead body when they find it killed anywhere. Similarly, when an Agbaat man accidentally kills a crocodile (Tsang), he must hurriedly run to a forest for some special medicine and ritual. But if the killing is by design, then it is believed that the entire clan will perish.

The A̱ku clan

The Aku clans were the custodians of the paraphernalia of the A̱bwoi and led in the rites for all New initiates and ceremonies. They performed initiation rites for all new initiates. To prepare adherents for initiations, their bodies were smeared with mahogany oil (A̱myia̱ a̱ko) and were forced to take exhaustive exercise before they were ushered into the shrine. They had to swear to keep all secretes related to the Abwoi. Abwoi communicated to the people using a dry shell of bamboo having two open ends. One end was covered with spider's web while t he other end was blown. It produced a mysterious sound interpreted to the people as the voice of a deceased ancestor. This human manipulation enabled the male elders of the society to control the behaviour and conscience of society. Abwoi leaves (Na̱nsham) a species of shea, were placed on farms and housetops to scare away thieves since the Abwoi were believed to be omnipresent and omniscient. Abwoi was thus, a unifying religious belief among the Atyap that wedded immense powers in a society whose secrets were kept through a web of spies and informants who reports the activities of saboteurs. Any revelation of Abwoi secrets could be meted with capital punishment. Women were also implored to keep society secrets, particularly, those related to way. To ensure that war secrets did not leak to the opponents, women were made to wear tswa a̱ywan (woven raffia ropes) for 6 months in a year. During this period, they were to refrain from gossips, “foreign” travel and late cooking. At the end of the period, it was marked by Song-A̱yet (or Swong A̱yet), celebrated in April, when women were free to wear fashionable dresses. These fashionable dresses included the A̱ta̱yep made of strips of leader and decorated with cowrie shells. The A̱yiyep, another version of this, had dyed ropes of raffia sewn together into loin cloth. Women also wore the Gyep ywan (lumber ornament) for the Song-A̱yet ceremony. It was woven from palm fibre into a thick made in the shape of a truncated cone or mushroom. It was tied round the waist using a projection from a cord. For men, the muzurwa was the major dress, which was made of tanned leather and properly oiled. The rich in society had the edges of this dress adorned with beads and cowries. The dress was tied round the waist with the aid of gindi (leather strap). By the late 18th century, a pair of short knickers called Dinari, made of cloth, became part of the men's attire. Men also had their hair plaited and at times decorated with cowrie shells. They wore raffia caps (A̱ka̱ta) decorated with dyed wool and ostrich feathers. Their bodies were painted with white chalk (A̱bwan) and red ochre (tswuo)

For the Aku clan, oral tradition has it that their emblem or totem is the ‘Male’ shea Tree (locally called Na̱nsham). The people's belief about this tree was that the tree can be felled, but its wood is not to be used for making fire for cooking. It is believed that if an Aku man eats food cooked with Na̱nsham wood his body would develop sores. Also, if a bunch of Na̱nsham leaves was placed at the door of a house, no Aku woman dared entered into such house because it was also considered a serious taboo. Nevertheless, if these inevetently happen, Dauke (2004) explained that certain rituals would be performed to cleanse the victims from such curses otherwise they would die.

The A̱shokwa (Shokwa) clan

The A̱shokwa clan were in-charge of rainmaking and flood control rites. It also has no sub-clans. The A̱shokwa for example, were in-charge of rites associated with rainmaking and control of floods. During dry spells in the rainy season, the A̱shokwa clan leader, the chief priest and Rainmaker had to perform rites for rainmaking. When rainfall was too high resulting in floods and destruction of houses and crops, the same officers of the clan were called up to perform rites related to control rain.

According to Achi (1981), the emblem or totem of the A̱shokwa clan was a lizard known as Tatong (ant-eater). According to them, A̱shokwa, the founder of the clan, was trying to lit his house, when suddenly the Tatong (appeared and asked) whom he was and where his relatives were. A̱shokwa told the Tatong that he had no relatives or kindred. The Tatong sympathized with A̱shokwa and assured him that ‘God’ would increase his family. This prophesy later came true, and A̱shokwa ordered all his children to rever the Tatong at all time. Henceforth, tradition also has it that the A̱shokwa clan began to regard the Tatong as a ‘relative’, and if they found its dead body anywhere they would bury it and give it all the respect it deserves, holding funeral for it as they do for their elderly persons.

Oral tradition further confirmed that, should an A̱shokwa man kill a Tatong accidentally, rain would fall, even in the middle of the dry season. This respect shown to the Tatong by the A̱shokwa is shared by most of the Atyap clans, these members of another clan who lived near the A̱shokwa and who accidentally killed a Tatong took its body to the A̱shokwa people for burial. It is claimed that the most binding oath an A̱shokwa can make is by the Tatong and they also do not name their siblings after their emblem animal.

Relationship between the clans

According to Gaje and Daye (Pers. Comm. 2008), the Aku and Ashokwa clans share closer affinity in contradistinction with their relationship with the other clans and sub-clans. Aku and Ashokwa clans have no sub clans probably because they chose not to emphasize the issue of subdivisions amongst themselves. This close relationship is traceable to their early arrival to their present settlement; the Aku and the Ashokwa were said to have arrived their present abode before the other clans and sub-clans. Dauke (2004) further pointed out that the Aku and the Ashokwa were legendarily “discovered” because they were “met” there by the other Atyap people who arrived later.

Several other legendary versions of oral tradition also exist on Atyap history of migration and settlement. First, it is said that after the Agbaat clan came and settled in their new place, one of the sub-clans of the Agbaat went on a hunting expedition and accidentally “came across” the Ashokwa clan along the River Kaduna performing certain religious rites. When the Ashokwa saw the Agbaat coming their way, they fled out of fear and the Agbaat pursued them. When the Agbaat finally caught the Ashokwa, they discovered that they speak the same (Tyap) language and share the same belief and thus accepted them as their brothers. Dauke (2004) also gave another version of the tradition on the “discovery” of the Aku and Ashokwa clans. According to him, the Aku were proverbially said to have “sprung out” from the hoof marks of the Agbaat horsemen as they pursued the Ashokwa. In other words, while the Agbaat were pursuing the Ashokwa, the hooves of their horsemen opened a termite's mound from where the Aku emanated. This explains why the Aku to date bear the nickname of “Bi̠n Cíncai”, which means, “relatives of the termites”. The above traditions and stories of the “discovery” of the Aku and Ashokwa clans, portray the fact that these two clans can likely be reconsidered as those representing the earlier migrants who first came and occupied the present Atyap land. However, oral tradition also has it that all the four clans and sub-clans of the Atyap people are presently found in their large number in many villages within the Atyap Chiefdom largely due to population increase and the need to stay closer to farmlands. They also inter-mingle with one another within most of the villages in Atyap land where the Akpaisa, the Jei and the Akwak (Kakwak) sub-clans of the Agbaat clan are found, including the Minyam villages.

(there is so much to learn about this tribe and the source I used was 101lasttribes.com)

LET'S CELEBRATE THE ATYAP PEOPLE

[banzaboiieatskilishi]

TRIBE OF THE DAY: ANNANG

The Annang or Anaang is a cultural and semi-Bantu speaking ethnic group that lives in the Coastal Southeast Nigeria (also known as Southeastern Nigeria or former Southeastern State of Nigeria).

The Annang people are the second largest ethnic group in Akwa Ibom State of Southeast Nigeria (Akwa Ibom State Local Government Areas), occupying eight out of the thirty one Local Government Areas in Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria viz: Ikot Ekpene, Obot Akara, Essien Udim, Abak, Etim Ekpo, Oruk Anam, Ika and Ukanafun. Persons of Annang ethnic group call themselves "Owo" or  (agwo Annang). The Annangs are known for the efficacy of their traditional spiritual powers (charms), prowess in trading, and their renown art. This extends to mural paintings, raffia, masks, cement sculptures, markets, ceremonies and exceptional food.

They were formerly located in the former Abak and Ikot Ekpene Divisions of the Annang Province, in the former Eastern Region of Nigeria. They have a common boundary with the Sudanic Igbo. They had to fight many wars against the Ngwa Igbo in order to preserve their territorial integrity and their farmlands (Udo 1983). Being always confronted with inter-tribal wars, the Annang people then not having access to sophisticated weapons always resorted to the reliance on spiritual powers to conquer their enemies. Reliance on spiritual beings for aid has become a way of life among the people. In their worldview, humans must always resorts to ‘higher’ spiritual beings for assistance.

The Annang territory lies between latitude 4.25 and 7 north and longitude 7.15 and 9.30 east (Enang 1979). The landscape is generally flat and low-lying with no point rising to 300 feet above sea level. There are two main seasons: the wet and rainy season which starts from April to October and the dry season from November to March. The typical rainfall pattern is bi-modal with a two week spell or break in August commonly referred to as “August Break”.

The harsh harmattan wind occurs between December and January. The area is generally humid. Vegetationally, the area lies within the rich forest zone which aids the growth of palm-wines trees, palm trees and huge lofty tropical vegetation (Ekong 1983). The huge lofty tropical trees are believed to be a soothing and natural habitat for witches. Curiously bent trees and rivers are often seen as coven for witches and other spiritual beings.

The Annang people are located in the Coastal Southeastern Nigeria and Southwestern Cameroon which was a part of the present Akwa Ibom State and Cross River State. However, during the then Nigerian Regional era, the then Eastern Region of Nigeria allowed Southwestern Cameroon to be partitioned out of Nigeria into Cameroon through the 1961 plebiscite. In this action the Annang, Efik and Ibibio people were divided into Nigeria and Cameroon.

They speak Annang language which belongs to Niger-Congo ethnolinguistic group. It is spoken by over 1.3 million Nigerians.  It has various dialects such as Abak, Ikot Ekpene, Ika, Ukanafun, Etim Ekpo, Obot Akara etc.

It is the Annang belief that the universe had its orgin from a divine supreme being who was self-begotten, Awasi-Ibom. He created Anyong (the sky) and Isong (the earth) and Inyang-Ibom (ocean). Both Anyong(sky) and Isong (earth) existed in the heavens while water was below. Tradition has it that Anyong (sky) and Isong (earth) were joined together.

Awasi-Ibom sent one of his creatures whose name is not mentioned to separate Anyong from Isong. This  creature had a human form but as a giant: about seven times the size of a normal human being that we know of today. The giant came with a tool and separated Anyong from Isong. And since that time, Anyong (sky) and Isong (earth) have been at constant enmity. Whenever Anyong (sky) covers Isong (earth) we have day and whenever Isong (earth) covers Anyong (sky) we have night. Awasi-Ibom ordered Anyong and its children (the heavenly bodies: sun, moon, stars, etc) to move upward while earth was ordered to more downward. While moving downward, earth (Isong) fell into massive water, the ocean (Akpa Ibom, the Annang name for the Atlantic Ocean). A section of it was submerged in the water and the portion that floated became the dry land. The giant went to bathe in the water after he had completed his work. He got drowned and died in the water. The particles of the decayed body of the giant, tradition holds, gave birth to the living animals and plants in both land and water. His teeth which were washed ashore germinated into many plants, shrubs and grasses. His bones became the rocks; his breath became the air and the wind. The insects which stuck to the decaying head (after having been washed ashore) grew up to become the land animals.

A certain animal “Ukpong-ajen” (wall gecko), which literally means “ soul of the child”, was seen licking the dust of the remains ( head) of the dead giant. Awasi-Ibom instructed Awasi-Isong to make a pot from a mixture of sand and water and put Ukpon-ajen (wall gecko) in there for eight days. Awasi-Ibom then sent “akuwe” (chameleon) to spy and monitor if AwasiIsong had carried out the orders, without allowing anyone to see him. Akuwe (chameleon), unseen by Awasi-Isong, inspected the work of Awasi-Isong and reported to Awasi-Ibom that the job had been done. On the eight day, Awasi-Ibom came and spat into the pot, and in the company of Awasi-Isong, broke the pot open. Suddenly, two hitherto unknown beings (male and female) emerged from the pot. Awasi-Isong asked the male being with a thunderous voice “ade anyie?” (who are you?), to which he answered with a small voice “nde agwo” ( I am a human being). Awasi-Ibom thundered” Agwo, du uwem” (human being keep on living!).

Anam LGA. It is pertinent to note that the Ikot Okoro Police station was set up because of this reason. The British convicted 96 people and executed 77 innocent people (Pratten, 2007). The Annang religion called Idiong was banned and the priests arrested. Articles and worship materials were publicly burnt and those who did not join Christianity automatically became suspects (Ette, 2007).

The Annangs have a history and reputation for their fearlessness and the ability of villages and clans to bind together to fight a common enemy. This is perhaps why they were able to thrive living so close to the Aro Confederacy's center, Arochukwu with its famed Ibini Ukpabi oracle. A particular interesting war group was the famous Oko- warriors. This war group was highly functional in the 1950s. The American anthropologist (messenger 1951:41) called them the "warrior Cult". These warriors were considered invulnerable to penetration of knives, spears and arrows. In various instances sharp machetes were tested on the body parts of members.

The Annangs suffered genocide in the Nigerian Civil War. The war lasted for three years (1967–1970) and the Annang lost a significant number of its people. The effect of the war and the resulting neglect of the Annang is now a serious political issue and a source of unrest in the area. The Annangs have been overlooked in the current state structure in the Nigerian system through which the country's oil wealth is shared. Repeated demands for the creation of a state for the Annang area have been ignored by the Nigerian authorities, while other areas that do not produce oil have been made states and therefore set up as a unit to receive the oil money. Like other minority groups in the volatile Niger Delta in Nigeria, history and culture are taking a back seat to issues of politics and justice but the Annangs continue to fight for their rights.

(source 101lasttribes.com)

LETS CELEBRATE THE ANNANG PEOPLE

[banzaboiieatskilishi]

TRIBE OF THE DAY : esan

The Esan people (Esan: Ẹ̀bhò Ẹ̀sán) are an ethnic group of south Nigeria who speak the Esan language.

The Esan are traditionally agriculturalists, trado-medical practitioners, mercenary warriors and hunters.

They cultivate palm trees, Irvingia gabonensis (erhonhiele), Cherry (Otien), bell pepper (akoh) coconut, betel nut, kola nut, black pear, avocado pear, yams, cocoyam, cassava, maize, rice, beans, groundnut, bananas, oranges, plantains, sugar cane, tomato, potato, okra, pineapple, paw paw, and various vegetables.

The modern Esan nation is believed to have been organized during the 15th century, when citizens, mostly nobles and princes, left the neighbouring Benin Empire for the northeast; there they formed communities and kingdoms called eguares among the aboriginal peoples whom they met there. There are on the whole 35 established kingdoms in Esanland, including Amahor, Ebelle, Egoro, Ewohimi, Ekekhenlen, Ekpoma, Ekpon, Emu, Ewu, Ewatto, Ewossa, Idoa, Ifeku, Igueben, Ilushi, Inyelen, Irrua, Ogwa, Ohordua, Okalo, Okhuesan, Onogholo, Opoji, Oria, Orowa, Uromi, Udo, Ugbegun, Ugboha, Ubiaja, Urhohi, Ugun, Ujiogba, Ukhun, and Uzea.

The Esan Kingdoms often warred among each other. Despite the wars, the Esans kept a homogenous culture which was chiefly influenced by the Benin Empire. However, these kingdoms were colonized, along with the Benin Empire, by the British Empire during September 1897, only gaining independence 63 years later in 1960 when Nigeria became independent from British Colonial rule. After independence, the Esan people have suffered from civil war, poverty, and lack of infrastructure.

The Esans primarily speak the Esan language, an Edoid language related to Edo, Urhobo, Owan language, Isoko, and Etsako. It is considered a regionally important language in Nigeria, and it is taught in primary schools in addition to being broadcast on radio and television. The Esan language is also recognized in the Census of the United Kingdom.

It is estimated that the Esan people who reside in Esanland number about one million to 1.5 million citizens in Nigeria, and there is a strong Esan diaspora.

The term Esan has been applied to the Esan people for thousands of years, and was used before contact with Europeans. It is believed by many historians that the name 'Esan' (originally, 'E san fia') owes its origin to Bini (meaning, 'they have fled' or 'they jumped away'). 'Ishan' is an Anglicized form of 'Esan', the result of colonial Britain's inability to properly pronounce the name of this ethnic group. It is believed that similar corruption has affected such Esan names as ubhẹkhẹ (now 'obeche' tree), uloko (now 'iroko' tree), Abhuluimẹn (now 'Aburime'), etc. Efforts have however been made to return to status quo ante.

For academic purpose, Esan refers to

the ethnic group that occupies central Edo State;

(plural unchanged) a person or the people collectively from this ethnic group;

the language of these people which, linguistically, is of the Kwa subdivision of the Niger-Congo language family;

something of, related to, or having Esan origin e.g. uro Esan (=Esan language), otọ Esan (=Esan land), ọghẹdẹ Esan (=Esan banana).

In the pre-colonial era, Esans carried a crow's foot tribal scar below their eyes

It is believed by many historians that the name 'Esan' (originally, 'E san fia') owes its origin to Bini (meaning, 'they have fled' or 'they jumped away'). 'Ishan' is an Anglicized form of 'Esan', the result of colonial Britain's inability to properly pronounce the name of this ethnic group. It is believed that similar corruption has affected such Esan names as ubhẹkhẹ (now 'obeche' tree), uloko (now 'iroko' tree), Abhuluimẹn (now 'Aburime'), etc. Efforts have however been made to return to status quo ante.

Esan speaks Esan, a tonal Edoid language which is a Kwa language that belongs to the larger Niger-Congo language phylum. Dictionaries and grammar texts of the Esan language are being produced, which may help the Esan appreciate their written language. There is a high level of illiteracy among the Esan, and a large number of dialects, including Ẹkpoma, Ewohimi, Ẹkpọn, and Ohordua. Most annual Esan Kings' Council meetings are largely conducted in English for this reason.

Esan has various dialects all of which stem from Bini and there is still close affinity between the Esan and the Bini, which leads to the common saying 'Esan ii gbi Ẹdo' meaning, Esan does not harm the Ẹdo (i.e. Bini). Esan are great poets, writers, singers, carvers, farmers, scholars, storytellers, etc. The folklore and history of the Esan tribe is worth re-visiting and attempt should be made to research the various ways that the villages are related to the Ẹdos, and others who may have occupied Ifeku Island many years ago. The Esan heritage is unique despite the variation of dialects.

Linguistic finding has shown the word ‘gbe’ to have the highest number of usages in Esan, with up to 76 different meanings in a normal dictionary. Names starting with the prefixes Ọsẹ; Ẹhi, Ẹhiz or Ẹhis; and Okoh (for male), Ọmọn (for female) are the commonest in Esan: Ẹhizọkhae, Ẹhizojie, Ẹhinọmẹn, Ẹhimanre, Ẹhizẹle, Ẹhimẹn, Ẹhikhayimẹntor, Ẹhikhayimẹnle, Ẹhijantor,Ehicheoya etc.; Ọsẹmundiamẹn, Ọsẹmhẹngbe, etc.; Okosun, Okojie, Okodugha, Okoemu, Okouromi, Okougbo, Okoepkẹn, Okoror, Okouruwa, Oriaifo etc. To any Oko-, 'Ọm-' the suffix of the name can be added to arrive of the female version e.g. Ọmosun, Ọmuromi, etc.

Traditionally, the native doctor called ‘Oboh’ is the preserver of the medicinal culture and beliefs of the Esan people, and also acts as the healer of the different ailments that befall the community and the people. They consult with the Oracle and proffer curative solutions to be carried out as prescribed by the spirit of whatever god been represented by traditional healer. In several cases, sacrifices to gods and deities accompanies the use of herbs, roots with other substances, depending on the ailment or based on the recommendation of the deity, in the treatment of an ailment. It is in this category that the use of ‘Uvinmi’ (literally meaning, to make an incisive mark using a sharp object) tattoo as a curative procedure is employed in the treatment of the disease called ‘Udeh’.

The Esan people migrated from the Bini Kingdom in Nigeria. The word Esan is a Bini word meaning "they jumped away, or they have fled." The name became the accepted name of the group of people who escaped from the reign of Oba Ewuare of Benin in the middle of the 15th century. During the 15th century, the Oba Ewuare of Benin had two sons that both tragically died on the same day. Oba Ewuare then declared for mourning the death of his sons to the whole kingdom that there shall be no sexual intercourse in the kingdom; no washing, sweeping of the houses or compound, drumming or dancing; and making of fire in the land. Oba Ewuare insisted that these laws be strictly adhered to for a period of three years as a mark of respect for his dead sons.

Many natives fled the Bini Kingdom unable to abide by these rules to join previous groups that had already migrated out of the kingdom years before (notably, the groups that had earlier formed Irrua, Uromi, and Ekpoma). Soon after, the Oba summoned a meeting of his subjects from various quarters and to his amazement, noticed that they had greatly diminished in numbers. When the Oba asked where his subjects had went to, he was told, "Ele san-fia" ("They have fled"). This later turned into E-san-fia and then Esan. When Oba Ewuare saw that his kingdom was quickly becoming depopulated, he revoked his laws but the migrations continued. Oba Ewuare tried to wage war against the migrants but this failed.

According to Jacob Egharevba, author of A Short History of Benin, the Oba conquered 201 towns and villages but he had to use diplomacy for many of the other scattered towns and villages in the forest in order to bring them under Benin rule. Thus, Oba Ewuare invited Esan leaders or their representatives to Benin for a truce. He enticed them with the idea of having an attachment to Benin City and of their having the honour of being called "Onojie", which means king. The future of Esan rested on the Esan who went to Benin and took the title of Onojie. It was not an easy decision for the Esan leaders to decide whether or not to go. Many feared Oba Ewuare but also did not want more military attacks against them. To reduce their fears, Benin promised military support for the Onojie to enforce authority over insubordinate subjects (Eweka, 1992: pp. 83-84). Only three leaders actually went to Benin in person.

All three were apparently men who had nothing to fear from the Oba due to various reasons. The first was Ekpereijie, the son of Oba Ohen's daughter and a sister to Oba Ewuare. The sister had been given to the leader of Irrua. Ekperejie came without fear because relations must have been cordial between Irrua and Benin.

The second was Alan of Ewohimi, the son of Ikimi who had left Benin prior to the reign of Oba Ewuare and as such was not considered as one of those who fled the city by the Oba. The third was Ijiebomen who left Benin for Ekpoma after the Oba had granted him leave (Eweka, 1992: p.169, 174). In contrast to those mentioned above, chief Okhirare of Ohordua, , had especially offended the Oba and would not risk his neck, so he sent his heir Odua to Benin (Eweka, 1992: p. 272).

His brother and leader of Emu also sent his son rather than risk his life. Three other Esan leaders dispatched brothers as their representatives to the meeting in Benin. Ede felt he was only less than the Oba by degrees and as such refused to honor the call. He then sent his junior brother to listen to what the Oba had to say. The leader of Ubgoha also asked his junior brother to go on his behalf. The leader of Uromi sent his junior brother to find out what the Oba had to say. Ewuare concealed his anger at the impertinent leaders in Esan since he was a skilled diplomat.

During the meeting, he told the visitors how they had migrated from Benin. He enthroned the Benin court traditions in Esan. The Oba bestowed the title of Onojie on those that were present at the meeting. This historic moment happened in 1463. Instantly, the Oba made them rulers of their communities and subservient only to the Oba. Above all, this noble title was not transferable to father, brother, or master, and once an Onojie, always an Onojie until death (Okojie, 1960: p.37).

Where Oba Ewuare had enthroned a proxy as Onojie except in Ewohimi, Irrua and Ekpoma, strife and hatred followed as the new leaders began to assert authority and control over the elders. Thus, the Oba wielded the numerous villages into large political entities that hitherto became known as chiefdoms, loosely knitted villages, ruled by the Enijie.

(i had fun drawing destiny again)

(sources used is 101lastribes.com and if you want to look at photos of esan ppl then look at esanland.org)

LETS CELEBRATE THE ESAN PEOPLE

[banzaboiieatskilishi]

TRIBE OF THE DAY : Basotho

The Sotho people, or Basotho, are a Bantu ethnic group of Southern Africa who speak Sesotho. They are native to modern Lesotho and South Africa. The Basotho have inhabited the region since around the fifth century CE and are closely related to other Bantu peoples of the region.

The modern Basotho identity emerged from the accomplished diplomacy of Moshoeshoe I who unified the disparate clans of Sotho–Tswana origin that had dispersed across southern Africa in the early 19th century. Most Basotho today live in Lesotho or South Africa, as the area of the Orange Free State was originally part of Moshoeshoe's nation (now Lesotho).

Ntsoana-Tsatsi  is believed to be the place of origin of the Sotho/Basotho people. It is both a mythical and physical place. The mythical aspect of it, as described by Ellenberger (1988) is a place from where the first Sotho people emerged.

They are believed to have come from the ground at Ntsoana-Tsatsi, where there is a lot of water and reeds. The geographical location of this place is believed to be Vrede in the Free State Province of South Africa, according to accounts by informants. It still carries this name and some Sotho people are still found in the area.

Early history. Bantu-speaking peoples had settled in what is now South Africa by about 500 CE. Separation from the Tswana is assumed to have taken place by the 14th century. The first historical references to the Basotho date to the 19th century. By that time, a series of Basotho kingdoms covered the southern portion of the plateau (Free State Province and parts of Gauteng). Basotho society was highly decentralized, and organized on the basis of kraals, or extended clans, each of which was ruled by a chief. Fiefdoms were united into loose confederations.

19th century. In the 1820s, refugees from the Zulu expansion under Shaka came into contact with the Basotho people residing on the highveld. In 1823, pressure caused one group of Basotho, the Kololo, to migrate north. They moved past the Okavango Swamp and across the Zambezi into Barotseland, which is now part of Zambia. In 1845, the Kololo conquered Barotseland.

At about the same time, the Boers began to encroach upon Basotho territory. After the Cape Colony was ceded to Britain at the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars, farmers who opted to leave the former Dutch colony were called the voortrekkers ("pioneers") and moved inland where they eventually established independent polities.

At the time of these developments, Moshoeshoe I gained control of the Basotho kingdoms of the southern highveld. Universally praised as a skilled diplomat and strategist, he moulded the disparate refugee groups escaping the Difaqane into a cohesive nation. His leadership allowed his small nation to survive the obstacles that destroyed other indigenous South African kingdoms during the 19th century, such as the Zulu hegemony, the inward expansion of the voortrekkers and the plans of imperial Britain.

In 1822, Moshoeshoe established the capital at Butha-Buthe, an easily defensible mountain in the northern Drakensberg mountain range, thus laying the foundations of the eventual Kingdom of Lesotho. His capital was later moved to Thaba Bosiu.

To deal with the encroaching voortrekker groups, Moshoeshoe encouraged French missionary activity in his kingdom. Missionaries sent by the Paris Evangelical Missionary Society provided the King with foreign affairs counsel and helped to facilitate the purchase of modern weapons.

Aside from acting as state ministers, missionaries (primarily Casalis and Arbousset) played a vital role in delineating Sesotho orthography and printing Sesotho language materials between 1837 and 1855. The first Sesotho translation of the Bible appeared in 1878.

In 1868, after losing the western lowlands to the Boers during the Free State–Basotho Wars, Moshoeshoe successfully appealed to Queen Victoria to proclaim Lesotho (then known as Basutoland) a protectorate of Britain. Accordingly, the British administration was established in Maseru, the site of Lesotho's current capital. Local chieftains retained power over internal affairs, while Britain was responsible for foreign affairs and the defense of the protectorate.

In 1869, the British sponsored a process to demarcate the borders of Basutoland. While many clans had territory within Basutoland, large numbers of Sesotho speakers resided in areas allocated to the Orange Free State, the sovereign voortrekker republic that bordered the Basotho kingdom.

The Sotho language, seSotho, is a Bantu language closely related to seTswana. Sotho utilizes click consonants in some words, while sePedi and seTswana do not have clicks. Sotho is spoken in the Kingdom of Lesotho and in South Africa. It is concentrated in the Free State, Gauteng and Eastern Cape Provinces, with small groups of speakers in Namibia and Zambia.

Sotho is 1 of the 11 official languages recognized by the South African Constitution and 7.9% of the South African population uses it as their home language. It is a tonal language governed by the noun, which is split into various classes. It is known as an agglutinating language (a combination of simple word elements to express a specific meaning), with many suffixes and prefixes used in sentence construction causing sound changes.

It is rich in proverbs, idioms, and special forms of address reserved for elders and in-laws. Currently, Sotho has two spelling systems, one in use in Lesotho and another in South Africa. For example, in Lesotho a common greeting is Khotso, le phela joang? (literally, "Peace, how are you?"). In South Africa, the word joang (how) is written jwang, and khotso is written kgotso.

Sotho was one of the first African languages to become a written language and therefore Sotho literature is extensive. South Sotho is comprised of the Fokeng, Tlokwa, Kwena, Phetla, Phuti, and Pulana dialects or varieties and according to scholars the written form was originally based on the Tlokwa dialect. Today the written language is mostly based on the Kwena and Fokeng dialects, although there are variations. Sesotho was transmuted into writing by the missionaries Casalis and Arbousset of the Paris Evangelical Mission who arrived at Thaba Bosiu in 1833. One of the first novels in a South African language was Chaka, written in Sotho by Thomas Mofolo in the early years of the twentieth century. It is still read today and has been translated into a number of languages.

(source used 101lasttribes.com but please if you have nothing to do research this tribe)

LETS CELEBRATE THE BASOTHO PEOPLE

[banzaboiieatskilishi]

TRIBE OF THE DAY: Bini

The Edo people, also referred to as the Benin people. are an Edoid-speaking ethnic group. They are prominently native to seven southern local government areas of Edo State, Nigeria. They are speakers of the Edo language and are the descendants of the founders of the Benin Kingdom, Ogiso Igodo. They are closely related to other Edoid ethnic groups, such as the Esan, the Etsakọ, the Isoko and Urhobo as well as other southern ethnic groups.

The names Benin and Bini are Portuguese corruptions, ultimately from the word Ubini, which came into use during the reign of Oba (ruler) Ewuare, c. 1440. Ubini is an Edo word meaning 'livable', used by Pa Idu, the progenitor of the Edo state people, to describe the area found as a livable locale during their sojourn from lower Egypt. Ubini was later corrupted to Bini by the mixed ethnicities living together at the centre; and further corrupted to Benin around 1485, when the Portuguese began trade relations with Oba Ewuare giving them coral beads, which the Edo people call 'Ivie'.

The term "Edo" is ubiquitous and can be unwieldy. It refers to place, dialect, language and people. Benin-City is called 'Edo'. Individuals from the Benin Kingdom call themselves "Oviedo" or "Ovioba". The Benin Kingdom was redefined (by the British) after the restoration of the monarchy in 1914 - and limited (by the British) to the new Benin Division (composed of Binis). Its major sub-regions included Iyek-Ovia, Iyek-Orhionmwon, and Iyek-Ogba. However, traditional culture and religion as well as sentimental attachments continue to grant the Oba of Benin spiritual and temporal authority and recognition far beyond these British administrative borders. The Benin empire extended westwards all the way to Wydah in Dahomey in its heyday - along with eastern influences along the Niger (western/ riverine Igbo).

CORE ELEMENTS COMMON TO ALL EDO-SPEAKING PEOPLE: a. The Village settlement is the basic political unit. Higher levels of organization include village-groups, tribes, sub-chiefdoms, chiefdoms and the kingdom itself. Villages consist of wards and patrilineal family clusters. b. The Male population is stratified into age-grades - youths, adults and elders. c. Kinship and lineage is patrilineal and based on primogeniture.

ELEMENTS THAT ARE NOT COMMON: a. Differential marriage payments among Etsako and some Ishans. (Full dowry confers all the children to the husband while partial payment allows the wife's father's family to own some children) b. Double descent system among some North-West Edos (individuals belong to both their patrilineal heritage as well as a looser matrilineal network). c. Three-tier age grades system among Urhobo/Isoko women. d. Multiple-tier age grade system among some northern Ivbiosakon and North-West Edo. e. Minor variations in political structure with different degrees of predominance of age-grades (Ivbiosakon/ North-West Edo), hereditary rulership (Bini/ Ishan) and fee-paying title associations (northern Edos and some Urhobos). Hereditary rule is also seen among some Urhobo, Isoko, Etsako, Onitsha and Aboh. Note that Benin-City in particular was exceptionally urbanized - hence the term "City".

(info found on 101lasttribes.com but for a deep dive go to edo-nation.net )

(it was fun drawing grace)

HERE ARE SOME ARTISTS FROM THIS TRIBE YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT

@bluboowashere

[banzaboiieatskilishi]

TRIBE OF THE DAY : Fon

The Fon people, also called Fon nu, Agadja or Dahomey, are a major African ethnic and linguistic group. They are the largest ethnic group in Benin found particularly in its south region; they are also found in southwest Nigeria and Togo. Their total population is estimated to be about 3,500,000 people, and they speak the Fon language, a member of the Gbe languages.

The history of the Fon people is linked to the Dahomey kingdom, a well-organized kingdom by the 17th century but one that shared more ancient roots with the Aja people. The Fon people traditionally were a culture of an oral tradition and had a well-developed polytheistic religious system. They were noted by early 19th-century European traders for their N'Nonmiton practice or Dahomey Amazons – which empowered their women to serve in the military, who decades later fought the French colonial forces in 1890.

Most Fon today live in villages and small towns in mud houses with corrugated iron gable roofs. Cities built by the Fon include Abomey, the historical capital city of Dahomey on what was historically referred to by Europeans as the Slave Coast. These cities became major commercial centres for the slave trade. A significant portion of the sugar plantations in the French West Indies, particularly Haiti, Dominican Republic and Trinidad, were populated with slaves that came from the Slave Coast, through the lands of Ewe and Fon people.

The Fon people refer to themselves as Fonnu, or sometimes as Danhomenu meaning a person of Dahomey, the precolonial Fon kingdom of the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries.

Oral history of the Fon and related ethnic groups traces their origins to the town of Tado, on the Mono River in present-day Togo. Herskovits (1967 vol. 1:167-169) records four origin stories, but the dominant one holds that Princess Aligbonon of Tado mated with a leopard and bore a son named Agasu, ancestor the Fon royal dynasty. In the sixteenth century, Agasu's descendants emigrated and founded a new kingdom in Allada, present-day Benin. Though there are questions about its veracity, the dominant myth holds that during the seventeenth century a dispute over the throne led to the emigration of two princes from Allada and the creation of two new kingdoms,one in Hogbonou (later Porto-Novo) and one in Kana (Bay 1998, Brunet and Giethlen 1900:54, David 1998:23, François 1906:30-31, Law 1997, Lombard 1967:72, Mattei 1895:176, Quenum 1999[1936]:14). Those settling in Kana became known as Fon, but remain closely related to the Gun people of Porto-Novo and the Ayizo of Allada. In Kana, the Fon encountered indigenous Yoruba-speaking peoples of the region before founding the kingdom of Dahomey. According to legend, a Fon leader killed the local Gedevi (Yoruba) ruler named Dan and planted a house post through his belly; the word Dahomey is derived from Dan-xo-mε (in the belly of Dan) (Bay 1998: 50, Le Herissé 1911:60, 278). In the seventeenth century, the Fon king Hwegbaja built a new palace near Kana and dug a deep protective trench around his home. This trench is called agbodo, and the town within became known as Agbo-mε. Abomey became the Fon capital and seat of the royal palace, a compound surrounded by five to ten meter high mud walls containing 7,000–8,000 residents, servants, and royal wives (Edgerton 2000:15). During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, European travelers' accounts of Abomey's royal court mention the lavish décor, wealth and status enjoyed by the King. The royalty went to great lengths to demonstrate its power and to impress visitors and citizens alike through bloody displays of terror, including human sacrifice (Burton 1864, Skertchly 1874, François 1906:86-87, Lombard 1967:85). In Europe, such gory accounts were read with curiosity and horror, fueling the justification for the eventual conquest of Dahomey. Visitors to Abomey also returned to Europe with fantastic tales of Abomey’s female soldiers whose ferocity and courage so impressed them that these warriors were likened to the mythical Greek "Amazons."'

In the eighteenth century, Dahomey expanded and took advantage of lucrative trade developing with European powers on the coast, especially after King Agaja defeated the southern kingdoms of Allada, Savi, and finally Ouidah by 1727 (David 1998: 31, Edgerton 2000: 38). Dahomey's most profitable trade was slavery, and there were frequent slave-raiding battles between Abomey and the Nago/Yoruba-speaking peoples to the East and North. These campaigns also brought Yoruba captives into the court of Dahomey, where they introduced Yoruba deities and other religious traditions to the Fon. Due to military casualties and slave exportation, between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries the population of Fon-related peoples fell from 511,000 to 280,000 (Manning 1982:32, see also Burton 1864:371, Edgerton 2000:39-40). Throughout the period of the Atlantic slave trade there were Portuguese, British and French trading posts in Ouidah (Quenum 1999[1936]:7), but by the mid-nineteenth century French interests gained the upper hand, establishing a permanent Catholic mission (Alladaye 2003, Clément 1996), developing the palm oil trade (Hargreaves 1966:17), and creating French protectorates near the coast. By 1890, tensions erupted into a series of skirmishes between French and Dahomean forces, leading to the French conquest of Dahomey in 1892. The French introduced schooling and public health, levied taxes, and used forced labor to build roads and railroads. By the middle of the twentieth century, forced labor was abandoned and the colony was granted elected representation in the French government, leading to its independence on August 1, 1960 (Agboton 1997, Pliya 1992, Ronen 1975). During this period, regionalism pitted northern Muslims against southern elites, while an enduring division also developed in the south between the Fon, Nago (Yoruba), and Gun peoples.

(the source is 101lasttribes.com but)

LETS CELEBRATE THE FON PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!

[banzaboiieatskilishi]

TRIBE OF THE DAY : Igbomina

Igbomina is a Yoruba sub-ethnic nation located in the northern axis of Yorubaland. Rooted in deep ancestral heritage and guided by resilient leadership, our people span the Local Government Areas of Ifelodun, Irepodun, Isin  and part of Oke-Ero in Kwara State and Ila and Ifedaye  in Osun State.

The Igbomina people are believed to have migrated from the ancient city of Ile-Ife. The name  Igbomina is derived from “Ogbo mi Mona,” referring to a spiritual cutlass (“Ada Ogbo”) that served as a pathfinder for their ancestors, eventually shortened to Igbomina.

Over 800 carved stones, mostly representing human figures, have been found around Esie in western Igbomina, Iji-Isin, Ijara and Ofaro villages. It is not known who created the sculptures, but they appear to have been created around 1100 AD.

Archaeological and linguistic evidence suggest that the Ìgbómìnà people may have predated the surrounding peoples except perhaps the Nupe and the Yagba. Ìgbómìnàland definitely predated the Oduduwa era as evidenced by oral traditions of royal and non-royal migrations from Oduduwa’s Ile-Ife which met existing dynasties in place but displaced, subsumed or subjugated them. It appears that aside from more recent conflicts in the last two centuries, the Oyo, Ijesha, and the Ekiti may have in more ancient times, pressured the Ìgbómìnà, captured territory in the plains and restricted them into the more rugged and lower-quality land of the Yoruba hills. The Ìgbómìnà, on the other hand, appear to have pressured the Nupe and the Yagba and taken territory away from them in places, but also losing territory to them in other places.

Major upheavals, conflicts and wars as well as epidemics have resulted in major ancient dispersals and migrations such as the Òbà diasporas documented in the oral history, oral poetry and lineage praise songs of several Ìgbómìnà clans. Some of the towns in Igbomina are known for historical events or things, an example is the Gegele hill in igbaja.

The Ilorin Provincial Gazetteer (1918) dates the settlement of Igbaja, one of the Igbomina towns, as late 17th or early 18th century, while the Igbaja District Gazetteer (1933–35) puts it about 1750 AD. By 1800, the Alafin (supreme ruler of Yoruba) had consolidated his power over the Igbomina and placed an Ajele (Governor) in Ilorin to safeguard his interests. The Sudan Interior Mission came to Oro Ago in 1911, to Agunjin before 1918, and to Oke Oyan, Igbaja, and Oke Aba in the 1920s. Starting in the 1930s, primary and secondary schools were established, resulting in changes to the traditional ways of life.

The Igbominas are by some classed with Qyos, and by others with Ekitis. It will, perhaps, be more correct to say they are Oyos with Ekiti sympathies. They occupy a midway position between the two ; and so their facial marks are parallel like those of Qyos, but long and far apart like those of Yagbas, yet not convergent in front. On the whole, speaking generally, the finer and more closely drawn lines, are more elegant than the same drawn bold, and too far apart.

Igbomina people speak a Central Yoruba dialect called Ìgbómìnà or Igbonna, a Yoruboid language that belongs to the larger Niger-Congo language group. Igbomina dialect is akin to the adjoining  Yagba, Ilésà, Ifẹ, Ekiti, Akurẹ, Ẹfọn, and Ijẹbu areas that are classified under Central Yoruba dialects of the larger Yoruboid languages.

Unlike Ilorin, which was and still is one of the major centres of narrow strip aso oke cloth weaving by Yoruba men, there were rather few narrow strip weavers among the Igbomina. Instead it was known for the wider cloths woven by women on the upright single heddle loom. As recently as the 1960s almost all Igbomina Yoruba households would have included one or more women weavers, producing cloths both for use within the family and for sale in the market.

Found only in a small group of villages called Isin near the town of Oke Onigbin (“the hill of snails”) elejo cloths were the most prestigious and complex of a series of cloths that a woman would weave in preparation for her daughter’s wedding and would present to the bride as part of her trousseau. Only in the wealthiest families  or those where the mother was a particularly skilled and dedicated weaver was the elejo wrapper produced, others made do with one or more of the simpler designs.

Woven from hand spun local cotton and dyed with indigo, these cloths varied in design, with some such as the above example combining the snake motif with others such as stylized animals and birds, the rectangular Koran board etcetera. They date from between about 1900 and 1950.

For all of them however the snake motif remained the dominant design feature, allowing us to distinguish these cloths from other styles of marriage cloth woven in neighbouring areas. In fact each locality, at least in this part of the Igbomina area, seems to have had it’s only distinctive variation on the prestige marriage cloth tradition. So far I have been able to identify only three or four of these through field collecting, while other styles I have found in markets remain to be pinned down to a specific geographical origin.

(sources used : https://omoibileigbomina.org (i love when the tribes have their own website) and 101lasttribes.com)

LETS CELEBRATE THE IGBOMINA PEOPLE