Jekri
The Itsekiri (also called the Isekiri, ''iJekri'', ''Itsekri'', ''Ishekiri'', or Itsekhiri) are an ethnic group who mainly inhabit Nigeria's Niger Delta area. They speak a Yoruboid languages, Yoruboid language and can be found in Ondo State, Ondo ...
'', ''Itsekri'', ''Ishekiri'', or Itsekhiri) are an
ethnic group
An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...
who mainly inhabit Nigeria's
Niger Delta
The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states, which include: all six states from the South South geopolitic ...
area. They speak a Yoruboid language and can be found in Ondo,
Edo
Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo.
Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...
and
Delta State
Delta is a States of Nigeria, state in the South South (Nigeria), South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Named after the Niger Delta—a large part of which is in the state—the state was formed from the former Bendel State, on 27 August 1 ...
. The Itsekiri population exceeds 1 million people, who live mainly in parts of Ondo, Edo and majorly in the
Warri South
Warri South is a Local Government Area of Delta State, Nigeria. Its headquarters is in the city of Warri.
It has an important sea port in the country and is the commercial nerve centre of the state, With Dr. Tidi Michael as the current local go ...
Nigeria
Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
Delta State
Delta is a States of Nigeria, state in the South South (Nigeria), South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Named after the Niger Delta—a large part of which is in the state—the state was formed from the former Bendel State, on 27 August 1 ...
Nigeria.
Other significant communities of Itsekiris can be found in parts of
Edo
Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo.
Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...
and Ondo states and in various other Nigerian cities including
Lagos
Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...
,
Benin City
Benin City serves as the Capital city, capital and largest
Metropolitan area, metropolitan centre of Edo State, situated in Nigeria, southern Nigeria. It ranks as the List of Nigerian cities by population, fourth-most populous city in Niger ...
,
Port Harcourt
Port Harcourt (Pidgin: ''Po-ta-kot or Pi-ta-kwa)'' is the capital and largest city of Rivers State in Nigeria. It is the fifth most populous city in Nigeria after Lagos, Kano, Ibadan and Benin. It lies along the Bonny River and is locate ...
and
Abuja
Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal G ...
. 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 people and
Edo
Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo.
Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...
peoples.
The Itsekiris traditionally refer to their land as the Kingdom of Warri or 'Iwere' as its proper name – which is geographically contiguous to the area covered by the three Warri local government districts. The area is a key centre of Nigeria's
crude oil
Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring u ...
and
natural gas
Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...
production and petroleum refining and the main town Warri (a multi-ethnic metropolis) forms the industrial and commercial nucleus of the Delta State region.
Ethnography
The
Itsekiri
The Itsekiri (also called the Isekiri, ''iJekri'', ''Itsekri'', ''Ishekiri'', or Itsekhiri) are an ethnic group who mainly inhabit Nigeria's Niger Delta area. They speak a Yoruboid languages, Yoruboid language and can be found in Ondo State, Ondo ...
are a people of mixed ethnic origins who speak a language very closely related to the Yoruba of south western Nigeria and the
Igala language
Igala or IGALA may refer to:
* IGALA, the International Gender and Language Association, an interdisciplinary academic organization
* Igala Kingdom, a pre-colonial West African state
* Igala language, a Volta–Niger language
* Igala people, a ...
of central Nigeria but which has also borrowed some cultural practice from the
Ijebu people
The Ìjẹ̀bú people are a Yoruba people, Yoruba subgroup hailing from Nigeria. located in the southwest of the country. The Ijebu people speak the Ijebu dialect of the Yoruba language.
Description
The Ijebu share boundaries on the north wit ...
, Ile-Ife and Benin. They engaged with the Portuguese in trade terminologies, as the Itsekiri were the first people in Nigeria to establish contact with the Portuguese who were exploring the West African coast, and also more recently, the 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 South-Eastern and South-South
Yorubaland
Yorubaland () is the homeland and cultural region of the Yoruba people in West Africa. It spans the modern-day countries of Nigeria, Togo and Benin, and covers a total land area of . Of this land area, 106,016 km2 (74.6%) lies within Niger ...
Akure
Akure is a city in south-western Nigeria. It is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Ondo State. The city had a population of 403,000 as of the 2006 population census. Its current population is estimated at 774,000.Ikale,
Ilaje
Ìlàje is a Local Government Area in Ondo State, South-West Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Igbokoda. The Ilajes are a distinct migratory coastal linguistic group of Yoruba peoples spread along the coastal belts of Ondo, Ogun, ...
Edo
Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo.
Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...
Ijaw Ijaw may refer to:
*Ijaw people
The Ijaw people, also known as the Izon people, are an ethnic group found in the Niger Delta region in Nigeria, with primary Population, population clusters in Bayelsa State, Bayelsa, Delta State, Delta, and River ...
. The Itsekiri today are mainly Christian (Protestant and Roman Catholic) by religion.
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 a hybrid of the many cultures that have influenced its 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
Centralisation or centralization (American English) is the process by which the activities of an organisation, particularly those regarding planning, decision-making, and framing strategies and policies, become concentrated within a particular ...
nation state from the 15th century onward.
History
The Itsekiri people are an ethnic group with a rich history that dates back almost a thousand years before the founding of the Kingdom of Warri. According to historical records, Itsekiri were formed by a group of Yoruba tribes who migrated to the
Niger delta
The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states, which include: all six states from the South South geopolitic ...
region.
The Yoruba tribes that made up the Itsekiri people were primarily from the Ijebu, Mahin/Ilaje, Ugbo, Owo/Ọ̀ghọ̀, igala and Ile-Ife regions. These groups were collectively known as the "Olukumi" people, with "Olukumi" translating to "my friend" in the itsekiri language. This name was used to refer to the Yoruba people for centuries.
A significant event in Itsekiri history occurred when Olu Ginuwa left the
Kingdom of Benin
The Kingdom of Benin, also known as Great Benin, is a traditional kingdom in southern Nigeria. It has no historical relation to the modern republic of Benin, which was known as Dahomey from the 17th century until 1975. The Kingdom of Benin's c ...
The Itsekiri, though they are a minority group within Nigeria, have one of the oldest histories of western education in
West Africa
West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...
, 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 a Itsekiri prince in 1600. and are noted for producing one of its earliest
university
A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
graduates – the Olu of Warri Kingdom, Olu Atuwatse I, Dom Domingo a 17th-century graduate of Coimbra University in Portugal.
Culture
The Itsekiris traditionally lived in a society that was governed by a monarchy (the Olu) and council of chiefs 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 'Oloyes and Olareajas' these were mainly drawn from noble houses including the Royal Houses and the Houses of Olgbotsere (Prime Minister or king maker) and Iyatsere (defence 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. In modern-day Itsekiri society the slave class no longer exists as all are considered free-born.
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 to 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.
Religion
Before the introduction of Christianity in the 16th century, like many other African groups, the Itsekiris largely followed a traditional form of religion known as Ebura-tsitse (based on ancestral worship) which has become embedded in modern-day traditional Itsekiri culture. Once the dominant form of western
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
in Itsekiriland for centuries, only a minority of Itsekiris are Roman Catholics today whilst the majority are
Protestants
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
notably
Baptist
Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...
and
Anglican
Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
.
Itsekiri language
Whilst genetically the Itsekiris are a complex mixture of the many different ethnicities and races that have settled in their area, the
Itsekiri language
The Itsekiri language is a major branch of the Yoruboid group of languages, which as a group, is a key member of the Volta–Niger sub-family of the Niger–Congo family of African languages. Itsekiri is spoken by nearly 1,000,000 people in Nig ...
is very closely related to the
Ilaje
Ìlàje is a Local Government Area in Ondo State, South-West Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Igbokoda. The Ilajes are a distinct migratory coastal linguistic group of Yoruba peoples spread along the coastal belts of Ondo, Ogun, ...
and other south-eastern Yoruba dialects and to the Igala. 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 even retaining archaic or lost elements of the proto Yoruba language due to its relative isolation in the Niger-Delta where it developed away from the main cluster of Yoruba language dialects.
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' for the regular 'ts' (sh) in the pronunciation of some individual Itsekiris, e.g. Chekiri instead of the standard Shekiri but these are individual pronunciation traits rather than dialectal differences. This may be a relic of past dialectal differences. The English language continues to exert a strong influence on the Itsekiri language both in influencing its development and in its widespread usage as a first language amongst the younger generation. Modern standard Yoruba (the variety spoken in Lagos) 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.
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.
FOM Atake
Franklin Oritse-Mueyiwa Atake (6 May 1926 – 1 March 2003) known by his initials FOM Atake was a Nigerian Jurist and Senate of Nigeria, Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from 1979 to 1983 during the Nigerian Second Republic.
Early life ...
, Nigerian Judge (1967–1977) and Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1979-1982)
* Ikenwoli Godfrey Emiko (Olu of Warri Kingdom)
* Nana Olomu (chief and merchant from the
Niger Delta
The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states, which include: all six states from the South South geopolitic ...