Itsekiri people

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Itsekiri
Ira Iwere
Children dancers known as omoko dance.jpg
Total population
c. 1,072,000 [1] [2]
Languages
Religion
Traditional religion 12%
Related ethnic groups
Yoruba people, Edo people, Igala people

The Itsekiri (also called the Isekiri, Jekri, Itsekri and Ishekiri and historically as Warree and all its variant spellings), [3] are an ethnic group who mainly inhabit the western Niger Delta area in Edo and Delta states. [4] The Itsekiri speak a Yoruboid language and number around 1.1 million people, [2] concentrated mainly in the Warri South, Warri North and Warri South West local government districts of Delta State as well as the adjoining portions of Edo and Ondo on the Atlantic coast of Nigeria. [5] The Itsekiri ethnic homeland covers an area of around 3,836 km².

Contents

Large Itsekiri indigenous communities and populations can also be found in seven other local government areas of Delta state outside the aforementioned places, namely in; Okpe, Uvwie, Udu, Sapele, Ethiope West, Ethiope East and Burutu areas in the Delta central and Delta south senatorial districts of Delta State, Nigeria. [6] [7] [8]

Other significant communities of migrated Itsekiris can be found resident in various Nigerian cities including; Lagos, Benin City, Port Harcourt and Abuja. Many people of Itsekiri descent also reside in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. The Itsekiris are closely related to the Yoruba of South Western Nigeria and also close to the Urhobo and Edo peoples. [9] The Itsekiris traditionally refer to their land as the Kingdom of Warri or 'Iwere' as its proper name – which is geographically conterminous with the area covered by the three Warri local government districts. The area is a key centre of Nigeria's crude oil and natural gas production and petroleum refining and the main town of Warri (a multi-ethnic metropolis) forms the industrial and commercial nucleus of the Delta State region. [10]

Ethnography

An expository on the Itsekiri people by a chief (Ojoye) of the Warri Kingdom

The Itsekiri are a people of mixed ethnic origins who speak a language very closely related to the Yoruba of south western Nigeria and more remotely to the Igala language of central Nigeria. [11] They exhibit a blend of cultural practices from the Ilaje, Ijebu, Ife and Benin peoples. Historically, they engaged early with the Portuguese during the European Age of Discovery, leading to the infusion of portuguese trade terminologies. The Itsekiri were one of the first people in what is now Nigeria to establish contact with the Portuguese who were exploring the West African coast. More recently, they also established relations with the British/English. Although linguistically related to the Yoruba and Igala ethnic groups, modern day Itsekiris, through centuries of intermingling, are of mixed ethnic origins. They are most closely related to the Southeastern Yorubaland sub-groups, namely - Ijebu, Akure, Ikale, Ilaje, Ondo and Owo, the Edo people, the ife and the olukumi of Delta North. The Itsekiri today are mainly Christian (Protestant and Roman Catholic) by religion. [12]

Thus, having had six centuries of direct cultural exposure to Western Christianity and other African influences, contemporary Itsekiri language and culture has successfully evolved into what may be termed "a hybrid of the many cultures" that have influenced its history and development. Similarly, owing to the complex genetic mix of most Itsekiris over the centuries, many individuals self-identifying as Itsekiri would usually be a complex mix of any of the aforementioned ethnic and racial groups. Thus, modern day Itsekiris may be the only southern Nigerian ethnic group to be almost totally heterogeneous (mixed) in its genetic composition. The total absence of any dialectal variation in the Itsekiri language is also unique for the region and is most likely the result of the early coalescing of the Itsekiri people into a small and highly centralised nation state from the 15th century (1400s) onward. [13]

History

Early Origins

The Itsekiri people are an ethnic group with a rich history that dates back several centuries before the founding of the Kingdom of Warri. According to oral traditions and records from Itsekiri historians like J.O.S Ayomike, Itsekiris were formed by several groups of tribes who spoke Yoruba dialects and practiced Yoruba religion [3] which migrated in early antiquity into the western Niger delta region and established several communities, among them; Inorin, Ugborodo, Irigbo, Ureju and Omadino. [14] These Yoruba groups are remembered today and referred to as Umale or Egungun , spirits or mythical beings, [3] [15] and the period as the Egungun or Umale period, since not much was documented in writing during this period of early Itsekiri history, making much of the recounting of their epoch semi-mythical in nature. [16] [17]

These umale people are believed in Itsekiri society to be the owners of the blue coris beads. Some of them refused to submit to the authority of Olu Iginuwa by paying tribute, and are said to have gotten into canoes and 'disappeared' into the creeks, never to return or be seen again. Others, such as Itsekiri himself (after whom the country was named, and who was also part of the pre-Ginuwa Umale group) chose to remain and accept the lordship. [18] These oral traditions are likely allegorical accounts describing the complex inter-group relations between the incoming royal group and the aboriginal group of Yoruba stock already 'on ground', but with no centralized kingship structure.

The Yoruba tribes that made up the Itsekiri people were primarily from the Ijebu, Mahin, Ugbo, Owo (Ọ̀ghọ̀), Igala and Ile-Ife regions. These groups were collectively known by the ethnonym "Olukumi", with "Olukumi" translating to mean "my friend" in the itsekiri language. This name was used to refer to the Yoruba people for centuries. [19]

The Yoruba connection of the Itsekiri was noted and recorded by several historians and European scholars of the exploratory and colonial period.

The ethnologist Henry Ling Roth, in his work Great Benin: Its Customs, Art and Horrors (1903), observed:

It is curious that though the Jekri chiefs were undoubtedly of Benin origin, and of the royal line, the Jekri people are evidently more Yoruba than Benin. [20]

A British Parliamentary report from 1893 similarly stated:

The Jakri tribe occupies the lower part of the Benin River, extending to the Forcados to the southward, and to the Mahin country to the northward. The tribe is distinct from the Benin and Sobo people, but is said to be connected with the Yorubas. [21]

Likewise, Captain H. L. Gallwey, British Vice-Consul in the Niger Coast Protectorate, wrote in 1893:

First we come to the Jakris, who are connected in race and language with the Yoruba people, extending from the Mahin country on the west to the Forcados on the east, and inland about as far as Sapele. [22]

Formation of the Warri Kingdom

A significant event in Itsekiri history occurred sometime before the year 1480 when Olu Ginuwa left the Kingdom of Benin due to a royal imbroglio within the palace, to found the Kingdom of Warri in the creeks of the western Niger river delta and was able to successfully coalesce the different pre-existing communities into a single kingdom with the capital at Okotomu Irigbo, later renamed Ode-Itsekiri. Shortly after this time, some Benin people who were chasing after Olu Ginuwa joined the pre-existing aboriginal Yoruba group in the area and founded the settlement of Okere. [23]

The Kingdom of Warri has continued on to the present day with the Olu, Ogiame Atuwatse III currently ruling as the king of Warri Kingdom. The Warri Kingdom's historical capital is Ode-Itsekiri (also called "Big Warri" or "Ale Iwerre"), although the monarch's main palace is in the main tonship of Warri. [24]

Itsekiris today

The Itsekiri, though a minority group within Nigeria, have one of the oldest histories of western education in West Africa, and the Itsekiri in particular have a sense of pride associated with western education. In the Warri Kingdom, one the earliest instances of the pursuit of a western education by a Nigerian was by an Itsekiri prince in 1600. [25] and are noted for producing one of its earliest university graduates – the Olu of Warri Kingdom, Olu Atuwatse I, Dom Domingo [26] who graduated from Coimbra University, Portugal in the year 1611. [3]

Culture

The Itsekiris traditionally lived in a society that was governed by a monarch (the Olu) and a council of chiefs (the Ojoyes) [27] who form the nobility or aristocracy. Itsekiri society itself was organised along the lines of an upper class made up of the royal family and the aristocracy – the 'Oloye and Olare-Aja'. These were mainly drawn from noble houses including the Royal houses and the houses of Olgbotsere (traditional Prime minister or 'King maker') and Iyatsere (Defence or war minister). The middle class or Omajaja were free-born Itsekiris or burghers. As a result of the institution of slavery and the slave trade there was a third class 'Oton-Eru' or those descended from the slave class whose ancestors had come from elsewhere and settled in Itsekiriland as indentured or slave labourers. [28] In modern-day Itsekiri society the slave class no longer exists as all are considered free-born. In line with this evolution, the use of the term Omajaja was also formally abolished from the Itsekiri vocabulary by the Olu of Warri, Olu Atuwatse III CFR. [29] [30]

Traditionally, Itsekiri men wear a long sleeved shirt called a Kemeje, tie a George wrapper around their waist and wear a hat with a feather stuck onto it. The women wear a blouse and also tie a George wrapper around their waist. They wear colourful head gears known as 'Nes' (scarf) or coral beads. Itsekiris are also famed for their traditional fishing skills, melodious songs, gracefully fluid traditional dances and colourful masquerades and boat regattas. [31] Annual Itsekiri festivals include; Awankere or Umale Okere and Ghigho Aghofen (Palace watch).

Religion

Before the introduction of Christianity in the 16th century, [32] like many other African groups, the Itsekiris largely followed a traditional form of religion known as Ebura-tsitse (spirit and ancestor worship) which has become embedded in modern-day traditional Itsekiri culture. They believe in an omnipotent but aloof supreme being or 'God' called Oritse, [15] while some of the most prominent deities include; Umale Okun , the deity of the sea and owner of wealth and prosperity whose main centre of worship is in the village of Ogheye by the sea; [15] Ife (Ifa) , the all-knowing oracle whose corpus is divided into 256 Esen (verses); Ogun or Àdá, the deity of war and hunting associated with Ire, [15] [33] and whose symbol is a sword. Ogun is believed to have paved the path for the other gods; Alẹ, the earth god associated with the literal ground; the Ebura, which are legendary beings, creatures and entities; the Umale which are ancestral spirits and primordial forces; [3] [15] and Origho or Ori, literally meaning 'head' which is the personal or family deity of every Itsekiri individual. [34]

Roman Catholicism, though the earliest and dominant form of western Christianity in Itsekiriland for centuries, [3] [35] is practised by only a minority of Itsekiris today with the majority being Protestants notably Baptists and Anglicans.

Itsekiri language

Yoruboid
Geographic
distribution		 Togo, Benin, Western, Southern and Central Nigeria
Linguistic classification Niger–Congo?
Subdivisions
Language codes
Glottolog yoru1244  (Yoruboid)

Whilst the modern Itsekiris are a complex mixture of the many different ethnicities and races that have settled in their area over time, the Itsekiri language is very closely related to the Ilaje and other south-eastern Yoruba dialects and more remotely to the Igala. [36] It has also been influenced significantly by the Bini, Portuguese and English languages due to centuries of interaction with people from those nations. However, it remains a key branch of the Yoruboid family of languages, [37] even retaining some archaic or lost elements of Yoruba from the Proto-Yoruba language period due to its relative isolation in the Niger-Delta where it developed away from the main cluster of Yoruba language dialects.[ citation needed ]

Unlike nearly all key Nigerian Languages, the Itsekiri language does not have dialects and is uniformly spoken with little or no variance in pronunciation apart from the use of 'ch' in place of the regular 'ts' (sh) in the Idiolect (personal pronunciation nuances) of some individual Itsekiris, e.g. iCHekiri instead of the standard iSHekiri (the name of the ethnic group) or CHaninomi instead of the standard SHaninomi (an Itsekiri name meaning 'have mercy on me'). However, these are individual pronunciation traits rather than any wide reaching dialectal differences. This may or may not be a relic of past dialectal differences during the period before consolidation of the various Yoruba groups into one (Ethnogenesis of the Itsekiri), for instance, the particular trait (Use of [CH] in place of [SH]) is a key feature in the dialect of the Owo Yoruba group. In modern times, both the English language and Nigerian Pidgin continue to exert strong influences on the Itsekiri language, both influencing its development and in their widespread usage as first languages amongst the younger generation, leading to gradual language loss. [38] Modern standard Yoruba (the variety spoken in urban western Nigeria) also appears to be influencing the Itsekiri language partly due to the similarity between both languages and the ease of absorbing colloquial Yoruba terms by the large Itsekiri population living in Western Nigerian cities. Itsekiri is now taught in local schools up to university degree level in Nigeria. [3]

There are a number of semi-autonomous Itsekiri communities such as Ugborodo, Koko, Omadino and Obodo whose history predates the 15th-century establishment of the Warri Kingdom. The Ugborodo community claims direct descent from the Ijebu a major Yoruba sub-ethnic group. [39]

Notable people

References

  1. ↑ "Itsekiri in Nigeria".
  2. 1 2 Isekiri of Nigeria peoplegroups.org
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Ayenbi 2024.
  4. ↑ "Itsekiri | people".
  5. ↑ "Itsekiri in Nigeria".
  6. ↑ "IPAF wants Ugbolokposo to produce next Uvwie LGA Chairman, renaming of FUPRE". Vanguard. 13 September 2021.
  7. ↑ "9th Edition of Ghigho Aghofen – Efurokpe Community". 27 February 2024.
  8. ↑ "Olu of Warri hosts 10th Ghigho Aghofen in Warri". Vanguard. 22 June 2024.
  9. ↑ "Itsekiri Kingdom Town in Delta Nigeria Guide". www.nigeriagalleria.com. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  10. ↑ "Itsekiri people: Kingdom History and culture of the Iwere". Pulse Nigeria. 25 March 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  11. ↑ "Benue-Congo languages".
  12. ↑ Pasquier, Michael (21 November 2017), "French Missionary Priests and Borderlands Catholicism in the Diocese of Bardstown during the Early Nineteenth Century" , Borderland Narratives, University Press of Florida, doi:10.5744/florida/9780813054957.003.0007, ISBN   9780813054957 , retrieved 4 June 2022
  13. ↑ "History of the Itsekiri People | Culture | Economy | Naijabiography". Naijabiography Media. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  14. ↑ "The Itsekiris- By Village Of Origin". Itsekiri National Association. 5 December 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 Bradbury 2017.
  16. ↑ Ayomike, J. O. S. (1988). A History of Warri. Ilupeju Press. p. 111.
  17. ↑ Lloyd, P. C. (1963). "The Itsekiri in the Nineteenth Century; An Outline Social History" . The Journal of African History. 4 (2): 207–231. doi:10.1017/S0021853700004035. ISSN   0021-8537. JSTOR   179535.
  18. ↑ Nigeria, Historical Society of (1981). Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria. Historical Society of Nigeria. p. 120.
  19. ↑ Sagay, J. O. (1980). The Warri Kingdom. Progress Publishers. pp. Page 2.
  20. ↑ Roth, Henry Ling (1903). Great Benin: Its Customs, Art and Horrors. Halifax: Francis & Taylor. p. 66.
  21. ↑ Africa. No. 11 (1893). Correspondence respecting the affairs of the West Coast of Africa (Report). Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. 1893. pp. 42–43.
  22. ↑ Gallwey, H. L. (1893). "Journeys in the Benin Country, West Africa". The Geographical Journal. 1 (2): 122–130. doi:10.2307/1774190. JSTOR   1774190.
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  25. ↑ Guides to Materials for West African History in European Archives. University of London, Althone Press. 1962. p. 79.
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  28. ↑ A History of Itsekiri, William A Moore
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  37. ↑ Ethnologue Languages of the World Sixteenth edition 2009
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