Defaka
Encyclopedia
The Defaka are a small ethnic group of south-eastern Nigeria
, numbering fewer than a thousand people. They live in the eastern part of the Niger Delta
, Rivers State, Bonny District; part of them in the Defaka ward of Nkoroo town in close relationship with the Nkoroo
people, and another part of them on the isolated island of Iwoma Nkoro, near Kono. Present neighbours of the Defaka, apart from the Nkoroo people, are: at Iwoma, the Ogoni people (speakers of Ogoni/Kana/Khana), and to the east, the Obolo
. The Defaka have a less cordial relationship with these peoples than with the Nkoroo.
The Defaka language
is thought to be most closely related to the Ijo languages, which is the basis for the Ijoid
language family first proposed by Jenewari (1983). Defaka is being rapidly pushed to extinction
as speakers are shifting
to the language of the Nkoroo people. All Defaka people speak Nkoroo; most use it as their primary language, even when talking with other Defaka speakers. At most 200 speakers of Defaka are left, mostly elderly people; as such, the language may already be moribund (or nearly so).
territory. Later they lived close to the Udekama (Degema) people in the Engenni area, and subsequently they entered the Bonny
territory to live at Abalama Olotombia, and later near Bodo
in Ogoni. They moved to Iyoba in the Andoni
country before establishing Olomama Nkoroo (Old town). From there, they finally moved to the present-day Nkoroo town. The Nkoroo people, neighbours of the Defaka and numbering about 4500, relate a similar tradition of migration. Thus, the Defaka and Nkoroo peoples have presumably been living together as neighbours prior to the establishment of Nkoroo town, perhaps even since the time that both of them were in the Okrika
territory.
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...
, numbering fewer than a thousand people. They live in the eastern part of the 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...
, Rivers State, Bonny District; part of them in the Defaka ward of Nkoroo town in close relationship with the Nkoroo
Nkoroo
Nkoroo is a town in the Bonny territory of Rivers State, Nigeria. It is the home of the Nkoroo people and the Nkoroo language....
people, and another part of them on the isolated island of Iwoma Nkoro, near Kono. Present neighbours of the Defaka, apart from the Nkoroo people, are: at Iwoma, the Ogoni people (speakers of Ogoni/Kana/Khana), and to the east, the Obolo
Andoni people
The Andoni people of Rivers State, of Nigeria, are considered to be an Ijaw tribe by some, a distinct ethnolinguistic group by others, and a people closely related to the Yoruba, Annang, Igbo, Ibibio and Efik people of Akwa Ibom State and Cross River State in Nigeria...
. The Defaka have a less cordial relationship with these peoples than with the Nkoroo.
The Defaka language
Defaka language
The Defaka language is an Ijoid branch of the Niger–Congo languages, spoken in Nigeria. It is an endangered language.Ethnically, the Defaka are distinct from the Nkoroo, but they have assimilated to Nkoroo culture to such a degree that their language seems to be the only sign of a distinct Defaka...
is thought to be most closely related to the Ijo languages, which is the basis for the Ijoid
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...
language family first proposed by Jenewari (1983). Defaka is being rapidly pushed to extinction
Extinct language
An extinct language is a language that no longer has any speakers., or that is no longer in current use. Extinct languages are sometimes contrasted with dead languages, which are still known and used in special contexts in written form, but not as ordinary spoken languages for everyday communication...
as speakers are shifting
Language shift
Language shift, sometimes referred to as language transfer or language replacement or assimilation, is the progressive process whereby a speech community of a language shifts to speaking another language. The rate of assimilation is the percentage of individuals with a given mother tongue who speak...
to the language of the Nkoroo people. All Defaka people speak Nkoroo; most use it as their primary language, even when talking with other Defaka speakers. At most 200 speakers of Defaka are left, mostly elderly people; as such, the language may already be moribund (or nearly so).
History
The Defaka have always been a people small in number, and their history is a long narrative of harassment by numerically superior neighbours and subsequent migrations. According to oral histories reported in Jenewari (1983), the original home of the Defaka was in the Iselema area (present-day Delta State). From there, they moved via the Central Delta into the Eastern Delta region, where they lived close to the Abuloma people in the OkrikaOkrika
Okrika is a port town in Rivers State, Nigeria, capital of the Local Government Area of the same name. The town is situated on a small island just south of Port Harcourt, making it a suburb of the much larger city....
territory. Later they lived close to the Udekama (Degema) people in the Engenni area, and subsequently they entered the Bonny
Bonny
Bonny is a town and a Local Government Area in Rivers State in southeast Nigeria, on the Bight of Biafra. It was also the capital of the Kingdom of Bonny. Traditionally it was a major trading post of the eastern delta....
territory to live at Abalama Olotombia, and later near Bodo
Bodo
- Locations :* Bodø, A city in Norway*Bodo, Alberta, a hamlet in Central Alberta, Canada, close to the Saskatchewan border.*Bodo , a town and commune in Côte d'Ivoire*BoDo, a district of Boise, ID; the name of which stems from Boise Downtown....
in Ogoni. They moved to Iyoba in the Andoni
Andoni
Andoni is a Local Government Area in Rivers State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Ngo.It has an area of 233 km² and a population of 211,009 at the 2006 census.The postal code of the area is 504....
country before establishing Olomama Nkoroo (Old town). From there, they finally moved to the present-day Nkoroo town. The Nkoroo people, neighbours of the Defaka and numbering about 4500, relate a similar tradition of migration. Thus, the Defaka and Nkoroo peoples have presumably been living together as neighbours prior to the establishment of Nkoroo town, perhaps even since the time that both of them were in the Okrika
Okrika
Okrika is a port town in Rivers State, Nigeria, capital of the Local Government Area of the same name. The town is situated on a small island just south of Port Harcourt, making it a suburb of the much larger city....
territory.
External links
- Defaka at UNESCO
- Defaka word lists and recordings at The UCLA Phonetics Lab.
- Defaka targeted by a proposal to document endangered languages.
- Defaka and Nkoroo a project to document Defaka and Nkoroo