Urhobo people
Encyclopedia
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...
, near the northwestern Niger River
Niger River
The Niger River is the principal river of western Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in southeastern Guinea...
delta. The Urhobo is the major ethnic group in Delta State
Delta State
Delta State may refer to:*Delta State, a state in southern Nigeria.*Delta State , a Canadian animated television series.*Delta State University, a public university located in the U.S. state of Mississippi....
; the Delta State is one of the 36 states of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. They speak Urhobo
Urhobo language
Urhobo is one of the Edoid languages and is spoken by the Urhobo people of southern Nigeria.-Phonology:Urhobo has a conservative consonant inventory for an Edoid language...
, a language in Niger–Congo group
Niger–Congo languages
The Niger–Congo languages constitute one of the world's major language families, and Africa's largest in terms of geographical area, number of speakers, and number of distinct languages. They may constitute the world's largest language family in terms of distinct languages, although this question...
. The Isoko
Isoko people
Isoko people are an ethnolinguistic group that inhabits the Isoko region of Delta State, Nigeria.-Isoko Land:The Isoko Land is one of the most densely populated areas in Nigeria, with about 300 persons per square kilometre compared with the average of 198 for Delta State and 130 for Nigeria...
and Urhobo are related in language and culture, leading to the missionaries erroneously labelling both peoples as Sobo. This name was strongly rejected by both tribes. The Urhobo nation is made up of twenty sub-groups, including Okpe the largest of all Urhobo sub-groups? (disputable). The Urhobos are noted for having their own unique style of speaking Nigerian Pidgin English. Since their language is very demonstrative that translates into their style of speaking English and Pidgin English. As a result of their unique language style, their names are also unique. An example of a unique Urhobo name would be the name Onaodowan, belonging to the Onaodowan family from Warri.
Urhobo are over half a million according to the 1963 census in Nigeria and classified among the first ten major ethnic groups in Nigeria (Awolowo,1968 241–242). The word Urhobo refer to a group of people and not geographical territory. For example Agbon Urhobo. The Urhobo have social and cultural affinity to the Edo speaking people of Nigeria (Northcote Thomas, 1910). The Urhobo now live in a territory bounded by latitudes 6°and 5°,15° North and Longitudes 5°, 40° and 6°,25° East in the Bendel State of Nigeria. Their neighbours are the Isoko to the South East, the Itsekiri
Itsekiri
The Itsekiri are an ethnic group of Nigeria's Niger Delta area, Delta State. The Itsekiri presently number between 800,000–1,000,000 people and live mainly in the Warri South, Warri North and Warri South West local government districts of Delta State on the Atlantic Coast of Nigeria...
to the West, the Bini to the North, Ijaw to the South and Ukwani(kwale-Aboh) to the North East. The Urhobo territory consist of evergreen forest with many oil palm trees which provide the lucrative palm produce industry for which the Urhobo have some technological preserve. The territory is covered by a network of streams whose volumes of water and flow are directly concerned with the climatic season;wet season
Wet season
The the wet season, or rainy season, is the time of year, covering one or more months, when most of the average annual rainfall in a region occurs. The term green season is also sometimes used as a euphemism by tourist authorities. Areas with wet seasons are dispersed across portions of the...
(April–October) and dry season
Dry season
The dry season is a term commonly used when describing the weather in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which oscillates from the northern to the southern tropics over the course of the year...
(November–March)
History of Urhobo
Urhobo belong to the group of people whose written history is largely undocumented. There is almost an absence of EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an record on the Urhobo. The early European were preoccupied with economic interest on the coastal communities. However, in 1505, Pereira observed that in the hinterland beyond the Forcados River, lived the Subou or Sobo a name that is corrected to Urhobo in 1938. It is significant to note that the traditions of origin of the various Urhobo groups do not contain any specific reference to their ancestor other than that ' we are or we know are Urhobo' . The history of the Urhobo generally began from an Edo territory supposedly around where the ancient town of Udo and Benin City are currently located. At the end of the Ogiso dynasty, many Urhobo and Edo-groups left Udo in different directions, each at its own pace, in search of more peaceful territories. It was natural that in those compelling circumstances, peace loving and less powerful Edo-groups had to leave the territory to seek fortunes in less populated but more economically resourceful territories.
The Urhobo left under separate leaders in different directions to found separate governmental organization .Egharevba (1960:14), When some of the emigrant left Benin, they found in their destinations in Urhobo territory some Edo-speaking settlers. Each 22 socio-political unit was called a "clan" by earlier writers especially by British Colonial Officers in their various intelligence/assessment reports. The word Urhobo is used to describe the Urhobo group
Traditions among the Urhobo are replete with assertions of original dwellers and owners of their territory. These autonomous people were believed to be Urhobo, with no known history of migration from anywhere else. These tradition is without documentary or archaeological evidience. Bradbury (1957: 129) refers to Hubbard's 1948 suggestion that 'the distinctive characteristics of the various Urhobo and Isoko tribes are a result of the super imposition of Ijaw, Ibo and later Edo immigration upon on aboriginal strata already speaking Edo-type dialects'
While allowing for the absorption of immigrants and their language as well as for the impact of routes and group sojourns on the history of the Urhobo. Linguistic evidence provides a strong principle for integrating and validating other traditions of Urhobo origin (Thomas, 1910), (Thalbot,1926 vol IV:80). The absence of archaeological prehistoric evidence give credibility to the above traditions of Urhobo origin. The structure of Urhobo ideas and language as well as their culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
and other institutional forms imply historical links between them and their neighbours, particularly the Edo-speaking peoples, and other socio-linguistic groups in some yet undefined areas in the Sudan/Egypt
Indigenous government and politics
Urhobo are currently organized as political kingdoms, gerontocracy and plutocracies. Gerontocracy is the government by elders based on the age grade-system in the community while plutocracies is government by the rich and wealthy, an evolutionary state but retaining the elements of gerontocracy. Although it is not clear which kingship is older among the kingdoms, these kingship development reached their climax in the 1940s and 1950s.Urhobo politics and government structure occur at two levels (a) kingdom level (b) town level. Men and women in Urhobo are organized either by elders based on the age-grade system (gerontocracy) and based on rich and wealthy (plutocracies). An outline of Urhobo indigenous government and politics have the titles: Ovie (king) which is the highest political figure in the kingdom. He is the symbol of his kingdom, culture and of his royal predecessors. His councillors are Otota (Speaker), Ohoveworen or Okakoro,addressed collectively as Ilorogun (singular: Olorogun). Other title holders are the executioners (Ikoikpokpo) and warriors called Ogbu.There are other political titles peculiar to the different kingdoms. The judicial aspect of government among the Urhobo places a clear distinction between civil and criminal offences which ensure justice to the parties concerned.
Location
A bulk of the Urhobo people reside in the south western state of Delta in Nigeria also referred to as the Niger DeltaNiger 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...
. Many live in the Ughelli
Ughelli
Ughelli is a town in Delta State, Nigeria. The city of Ughelli has an 'Ovie', which is the traditional ruler. The indigenes of Ughelli town have a yearly celebration festival called 'Omanuku'...
local government region and in Warri
Warri, Nigeria
Warri is a major oil city in Delta State, Nigeria, with a population of over 300,000 people. The people of Warri are mainly the Urhobos, Itsekiris, and Ijaws, but other ethnic groups also live within the city. Warri is predominantly Christian, as is most of Southern Nigeria...
and Ethiope,and in Okpe and Sapele Local Government Areas. Their language is also called Urhobo which is a sub-group of the Edo language
Edo language
Edo is a Volta–Niger language spoken primarily in Edo State, Nigeria. It was and remains the primary language of the Edo people of Igodomigodo. The Igodomigodo kingdom was renamed Edo by Oba Eweka, after which the Edos refer to themselves as Oviedo 'child of Edo'...
which is also spoken by the Bini people (Benin-city).
Culture
The Urhobos live very close to and sometimes on the surface of the Niger riverNiger River
The Niger River is the principal river of western Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in southeastern Guinea...
. As such, most of their histories, mythologies, and philosophies are water-related. They have an annual fishing festival that includes masquerades, fishing, swimming contests, and dancing. There is also an annual, two-day, Ohworu festival in the southern part of the Urhobo area at which the Ohworhu water spirit and the Eravwe Oganga are displayed. The king in an Urhobo clan or kingdom is called the Ovie. His wife the queen is called Ovieya and his children Ọmọ Ovie (child of the king also known as prince and princes). Often nowadays, these names are also given to children without royal heritage by their parents. A number of Urhobo sub-groups have other titles other than Ovie, for example, the Okpe called their traditional ruler Orogie and Olomu called theirs Ohworode and Okere-Urhobo theirs Orosuen.
Marriage
Marriage is the union between man and woman which is culturally and morally acceptable in a society. Before marriage in Urhobo culture is said to be properly contracted, prayer's must be offered to the ancestors(Erivwin) and God(Oghene). The marriage ritual known as Udi Arhovwaje takes place in the ancestral home of the girl or a patrilineal relation of the girl as agreed by the family.On an agreed day, the fiance goes with his relatives and friends to the fiancee's father's home carrying drinks, salt,kolanut and things required from him by the girls family for the marriage ceremony. It is on that day that the girl's parents give their formal approval to the marriage and pour the gin brought by the fiance as libation to the father's ancestors to bless them with health, children and wealth. It is only after this marriage rites that the husband can claim a refund of money (bride price) if the marriage breaks down. It is believed that the ancestors were a witness to the marriage. It is only the physical body that is sent to her husband in the marriage, her Erhi(spirit double) remain in family home. This explains why she is brought back to her family home when she dies.
In the ancestral home of the man, the wife is welcomed into the family by the eldest member of the family. Here she was expected to confess all her love affairs during and after her betrothal to her husband (if any) and she can now be absolved from all her wrong doings. Henceforth, she becomes a full member of her husband's family and is now protected by the Erivwin. This rites symbolizes an agreement between the wife and Erivwin.
If the wife later proves unfaithful she will be punished by the supernatural(Erivwin) and this is believed to be the reason why married Urhobo women are very faithful to their husbands.
Urhobo calendar
Urhobo Okpo (week) is made up of four days which regulates market cycles, religious worship, marriages and other community life. The four day's of the Urhobo week are:Edewo,Ediruo,Eduhre,Edebi.In Urhobo mythology, Edewo and Eduhre are sacred days to divinities, spirits and ancestors. Most market days are held on these days, ancestors are venerated on Edewo. Most traditional religious rituals are held on Eduhre.
Divinities(spirits) are believed to be very active in the farmlands and forests on Edewo and Eduhre. Therefore, farmers in most Urhobo communities rarely go to farm so as not to disturb the spirits. The twelve months of the Urhobo calender year are equally significant.
- Ovuikpe -----------------January
- Ava ------------------------February
- Arha ----------------------March
- Ane -----------------------April
- Arhiori -------------------May
- Asa -----------------------June
- Eghwre ------------------July
- Orianre -------------------August
- Urhiori -------------------September
- Ehwe --------------------October
- Ushovo ------------------November
- Ururuowe' ---------------December
Most of the annual festivals are held during the months of Asa,Eghwre,Orianre and Urhiori because these are the months of crop harvest and farming activities is at its lowest. Most farmers are free to partake in festivities. These are also periods to honour the spiritual forces that brought good harvest and the gods of the land. Religion controls life style in traditional communities in Urhoboland.
Food
As with most tribes in Nigeria, a certain food is considered to belong to or originate from a particular tribe as in pounded yam and egusi soup from the Igbos, EbaEba
Ẹbà is a staple food eaten in West Africa, particularly in the Southern parts of Nigeria made from cassava flour, known in West Africa as gari....
and Ogbono soup (sometimes referred to as Ogbolo soup by people of Esan or Etsakor descent). For the Urhobos there are two foods considered Urhobo in nature. They are: Ukhodo (a yam
Yam (vegetable)
Yam is the common name for some species in the genus Dioscorea . These are perennial herbaceous vines cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania...
and unripe plantain
Plantain
Plantain is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa. The fruit they produce is generally used for cooking, in contrast to the soft, sweet banana...
dish sometimes cooked with lemon grass and potash
Potash
Potash is the common name for various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form. In some rare cases, potash can be formed with traces of organic materials such as plant remains, and this was the major historical source for it before the industrial era...
) and Starch (actual name of this staple is not often used) Ogwho soup (palm oil soup). The starch
Starch
Starch or amylum is a carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined together by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by all green plants as an energy store...
is made from cassava
Cassava
Cassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...
plant. It is heated and stirred into a thick mound with palm oil
Palm oil
Palm oil, coconut oil and palm kernel oil are edible plant oils derived from the fruits of palm trees. Palm oil is extracted from the pulp of the fruit of the oil palm Elaeis guineensis; palm kernel oil is derived from the kernel of the oil palm and coconut oil is derived from the kernel of the...
added to give the starch its unique orange-yellow colour. The Ogwho soup is composed of smoked or dried fish, unique spices, potash and oil palm juice. Other palm nut oil soups include amiedi pr banga, which is also eaten with starch and or garri.
Banga soup is also a delicacy made from palm kernel.
Population
There are approximately 1,000,000 Urhobo peoplehttp://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/toc/people/Urhobo.html. Some sources put the number at approximately 1.5 millionhttp://www.waado.org/Geography/UrhoboGeography-Aweto.htm.Religion
The main focus of Urhobo traditional religion are the adoration of Oghene (Almighty God) the supreme deity and recognition of Edjo and Erhan(divinities)Some of these divinities could be regarded as personified attributes of Oghene. The veneration of ancestors, believe in diverse spirits, apart from those of the major divinities and the ancestors. The Urhobo also worship God with Orhen (white chalk).If an Urhobo feels oppressed by someone, he appeals to Oghene,who he believe to be an impartial judge, to adjudicate between him and his opponent. Urhobo divinities can be classified into four main categories, which probably coincide with the historical development of the people. These are guidian divinities, war divinities, prosperity divinities and fertility and ethical divinities. It should boe noted that the fundamental factor and manifestation of all divinites in Urhobo religion is Oghene.Erivwin which is the cult of ancestors and predecessors (Esemo and Iniemo) is another important element in Urhobo belief system. The dead are believed to be living and are looked upon as active members of the family and watch over the affair of the living members of their family. The Urhobo's believe in the duality of man. Man consist of two beings:
- Physical body - Ugboma
- Spiritual body - Erhi
It is the Erhi(spirit man) that declares man's destiny and controls the self realization of man's destiny before he incarnate into this world.Erhi also controls the total well being(Ufuoma) of the man. Oghene(GOD) is like a constitutional Monarch who set his seal on the path of destiny set by a man's spirit (Erhi).
In the spirit world (Erivwin) man's destiny is ratified and sealed. In the final journey of the spirit man(Erhi) after transition, the Urhobo believe the physical body(Ugboma) decays while the spirit man(Erhi) is indestructible and goes back to join s the ancestors in the spirit realm. The elaborate and symbolic burial rites are meant to prepare the departed Erhi for happy re-union with the ancestors in the spirit world.
However, the influence of western civilization and Christianity is fast becoming an acceptable religion in most Urhobo communities.
Epha divination, similar to the Yoruba
Yoruba people
The Yoruba people are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...
Ifá
Ifá
Ifá refers to the system of divination and the verses of the literary corpus known as the Odú Ifá. Yoruba religion identifies Orunmila as the Grand Priest; as that which revealed Oracle divinity to the world...
and practiced by many West African ethnic groups, is practised with strings of cowries. Urhobos also practice Christianity, with many belonging to Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
and new evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
denominations. There are 1,261 ejo (deities), including the one-handed, one-legged mirror-holding whirlwind-god Aziza.
Notable Urhobo People
- Blessing OkagbareBlessing OkagbareBlessing Okagbare is a Nigerian long and triple jumper and short sprinter.In May 2007, at the All-Africa Games trials in Lagos, she established a Nigerian record of 14.13 metres in the triple jump. At the 2007 All-Africa Games she won the silver medal in the long jump and finished fourth in the...
, Olympic bronze medalist. - Michael IbruMichael IbruMichael Ibru is a prominent Nigerian businessman from Agbarha-Otor, Delta State. He is the head of the Ibru Organization, one of the largest conglomerates in Nigeria. As a traditional chieftain of his homeland, Ibru bears the tribal honourific Olorogun and often uses it as a pre-nominal style...
, prominent Nigerian businessman - David EjoorDavid EjoorMajor-General David Akpode Ejoor rcds psc is a retired Nigerian Army officer and politician. He was once governor of the now-defunct Mid-Western Region. David Ejoor was the governor of the Mid-Western State of Nigeria, during the Biafra Civil War. He then served as Chief of Army Staff from January...
, retired Nigerian Army and governor of the now-defunct Mid-Western Region - Felix IbruFelix IbruOlorogun Felix Ovudoroye Ibru is a Nigerian architect, Senator and former First democratic Governor of Delta State. Currently he holds the position of President General of the Urhobo Progressive Union ....
, a Nigerian architect, Senator and former First democratic Governor of Delta State - Hon. Justice J.O. Akpovi, Illustrious veteran of the Bench and former chief judge of Delta State.
- Richard Mofe DamijoRichard Mofe DamijoRichard Mofe Damijo is a Nigerian actor and politician. In 2005 he won the African Movie Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Since January 2009 he is the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism in Delta State, Nigeria.- Early life :Mofe-Damijo was born in Warri, Delta State, Nigeria...
, actor and politician - Ben OkriBen OkriBen Okri OBE FRSL is a Nigerian poet and novelist. Okri has become the leading figure of his generation of Nigerian writers who have largely abandoned the social and historical themes of Chinua Achebe, and brought together modernist narrative strategies and Nigerian oral and literary...
, poet and novelist - Gamaliel OnosodeGamaliel OnosodeGamaliel Offoritsenere Onosode is a Nigerian technocrat, administrator and a former presidential candidate of the All Nigeria People's Party of Nigeria. Educated at the Government College, Ughelli and the University of Ibadan, he emerged in the 1970s, as one of Nigeria's leading educated chief...
, Nigerian technocrat and a leading boardroom player in Nigeria's corporate environment. - Tanure OjaideTanure OjaideTanure Ojaide is a prolific Nigerian poet and writer. He is noted for his unique stylistic vision and for his intense criticism of imperialism, religion, and other issues....
, poet and writer - Harris EghaghaHarris EghaghaBrigadier General Harris Otadafevwerha Deodemise Eghagha was appointed Military Governor of Ogun State, Nigeria from July 1978 to October 1979 during the military regime of General Olusegun Obasanjo, handing over power to the elected governor Olabisi Onabanjo at the start of the Nigerian Second...
, Career Soldier and Diplomat - Great Ovedje Ogboru, businessman and politician.
- Bruce OnobrakpeyaBruce OnobrakpeyaBruce Obomeyoma Onobrakpeya is a Nigerian printmaker, painter and sculptor. He has exhibited at the Tate Modern in London, the National Museum of African Art of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C...
, Africa's foremost visual artist, Sculptor and painter