Arogbo clan
Encyclopedia
The Arogbo tribe of the Ijaw people live in southeastern Ondo State
, Nigeria
.
Historically, the Arogbo have had trading contacts with neighboring Ijaw tribes (Apoi, Egbema) and the Ijebu
and Ilaje
Yoruba. Most Arogbo are bilingual, speaking dialects of both the Yoruba
and Ijaw languages
. Historically, the Arogbo acted as middle men in the slave trade, selling captives from the interior to Europeans. The Arogbo migrated to their present location from the town of Gbaran in the central Niger Delta
. Worship of the god Egbesu is particularly strong among the Arogbo.
The Arogbo are in present day Ondo State. The founding ancestors of the Arogbo were part of the same migration from Ujo-Gbaran town. After a brief stop at Oproza, led by Perebeinmo they went on to Ukparomo (now occupied by the towns of Akpata, Opuba, Ajapa, and Ukpe). They stayed here for some time, about the length of the reign of two Agadagbas (military priest-rulers of the shrine of Egbesu). They then moved to the present site of Arogbo. From this place descendants spread out to found the Arogbo Ebe. It was from Arogbo that some ancestors migrated northwards up the old course of the Forcados river and settled near the site of Patani. Living nearby in the upland region were proto Edo or Efa people called Erowha. These ancestors later on intermarried with them and gave birth to the Uvwei and Effurun (Efferun or Efferu the ancestor of the Effurun or Ephron was a descendent of Gbaran) sections of Urhobo people.
During the time of the expansion of the Benin kingdom (1550), the Benin invaded Ukoruama (Lagos). The Arogbo sent soldiers to defend the Ijo living in that region. Their army camp became known as Idumu-Arogbo later shortened to Idumagbo. The Arogbo also successful halted the advance of the Benin army into the western delta and subsequently the whole of the Izon Ibe. The foundation of the Arogbo Ebe is clearly pre-14th century AD. The ancestors of the Arogbo lived at Ujo-Gbaran between 700 – 1100 AD. Along with the ancestors of the Gbaramatu and Tuomo they moved to the Escravos region, while the Arogbo ancestors moved further west.
Ondo State
Ondo State, Nigeria was created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State. It originally included what is now Ekiti State, which was split off in 1996. Akure is the state capital.-Government and society:...
, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
.
Historically, the Arogbo have had trading contacts with neighboring Ijaw tribes (Apoi, Egbema) and the Ijebu
Ijebu
Ijebu was a Yoruba kingdom in pre-colonial Nigeria. It formed around the fifteenth century. According to legend, its ruling dynasty was founded by Obanta of Ile-Ife...
and Ilaje
Ilaje
Ilaje is a Local Government Area in Ondo State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Igbokoda.It has an area of 1,318 km² and a population of 290,615 at the 2006 census.The postal code of the area is 352....
Yoruba. Most Arogbo are bilingual, speaking dialects of both the Yoruba
Yoruba language
Yorùbá is a Niger–Congo language spoken in West Africa by approximately 20 million speakers. The native tongue of the Yoruba people, it is spoken, among other languages, in Nigeria, Benin, and Togo and in communities in other parts of Africa, Europe and the Americas...
and Ijaw languages
Ijoid languages
The Ijoid languages are spoken by the Ịjọ and Defaka peoples of the Niger Delta, who number about ten million. The most populous language by far is Izon, with about a million speakers, followed by Okrike-Kalabari with over a half million. The family is generally divided in two branches, Ịjọ and...
. Historically, the Arogbo acted as middle men in the slave trade, selling captives from the interior to Europeans. The Arogbo migrated to their present location from the town of Gbaran in the central Niger Delta
Niger Delta
The Niger Delta, the delta of the Niger River in Nigeria, is a densely populated region sometimes called the Oil Rivers because it was once a major producer of palm oil...
. Worship of the god Egbesu is particularly strong among the Arogbo.
The Arogbo are in present day Ondo State. The founding ancestors of the Arogbo were part of the same migration from Ujo-Gbaran town. After a brief stop at Oproza, led by Perebeinmo they went on to Ukparomo (now occupied by the towns of Akpata, Opuba, Ajapa, and Ukpe). They stayed here for some time, about the length of the reign of two Agadagbas (military priest-rulers of the shrine of Egbesu). They then moved to the present site of Arogbo. From this place descendants spread out to found the Arogbo Ebe. It was from Arogbo that some ancestors migrated northwards up the old course of the Forcados river and settled near the site of Patani. Living nearby in the upland region were proto Edo or Efa people called Erowha. These ancestors later on intermarried with them and gave birth to the Uvwei and Effurun (Efferun or Efferu the ancestor of the Effurun or Ephron was a descendent of Gbaran) sections of Urhobo people.
During the time of the expansion of the Benin kingdom (1550), the Benin invaded Ukoruama (Lagos). The Arogbo sent soldiers to defend the Ijo living in that region. Their army camp became known as Idumu-Arogbo later shortened to Idumagbo. The Arogbo also successful halted the advance of the Benin army into the western delta and subsequently the whole of the Izon Ibe. The foundation of the Arogbo Ebe is clearly pre-14th century AD. The ancestors of the Arogbo lived at Ujo-Gbaran between 700 – 1100 AD. Along with the ancestors of the Gbaramatu and Tuomo they moved to the Escravos region, while the Arogbo ancestors moved further west.