The Obolo people, also known as the Andoni or Doni, is an Ijoid tribe in 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 of Nigeria. Obolo people are of

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 ...

ancestry and are primarily found in

Rivers A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of its course if it ru ...

and

Akwa Ibom Akwa Ibom is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. It borders Cross River State to the east, Rivers State and Abia State to the west and north-west, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. The state takes its name from the Qua ...

State. The Obolo occupy the longest stretch of the Cross River Basin of the Niger Delta mangrove belt, which also houses the largest

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

and

gas Gas is a state of matter that has neither a fixed volume nor a fixed shape and is a compressible fluid. A ''pure gas'' is made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon) or molecules of either a single type of atom ( elements such as ...

deposits in the

Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea (French language, French: ''Golfe de Guinée''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Golfo de Guinea''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Golfo da Guiné'') is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez i ...

History and origin

The

documentation Documentation is any communicable material that is used to describe, explain or instruct regarding some attributes of an object, system or procedure, such as its parts, assembly, installation, maintenance, and use. As a form of knowledge managem ...

of the origin and the migration of the Obolo people is sparse and fragmented. The earliest data on Obolo

migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

is from around

12th century BC The 12th century BC is the period from 1200 to 1101 BC. The Late Bronze Age collapse in the ancient Near East and eastern Mediterranean is often considered to begin in this century. Events * 1200 BC: the first civilization in Central and Nort ...

. Obolo people (Andoni, Idoni or Indo) existed before the colonial era and commercial contacts with European traders. They interacted with the Bonny,

Okrika Okrika is a town in Rivers State, Nigeria, and serves as the headquarters of Okrika Local Government Area. It is situated on an island south of Port Harcourt, functioning as a suburb of the city. The inhabitants of Okrika LGA are of Ijaw descent ...

, Kalabari, Nkoro, and Ibono people in what is now

Ibeno Ibeno is located in the south of Nigeria and is a Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. Ibeno town lies on the eastern side of the Kwa Ibo River about from the river mouth, and is one of the largest fishing settlements on the Nigerian coas ...

, as well as with the Okoro-utip and Mkpanak people of Ibeno. In the past, the Obolo people frequently fought wars with the

Kingdom of Bonny The Kingdom of Bonny, otherwise known as Grand Bonny, is a Nigerian traditional state, traditional state based on the town of Bonny, Nigeria, Bonny in Rivers State, Nigeria. In the pre-colonial period, it was an important slave trading port, late ...

and the Ogoni people, though they generally maintain good relations with the latter. The Obolo people have migrated and settled in various parts of

and

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 ...

at large.

1904 British expedition

Prior to the British colonial era, the Obolo people were among the first to come in contact with the

Europeans Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common ancestry, language, faith, historical continuity, etc. There are ...

and traded mainly with the Portuguese. They worshipped a

national deity A national god or tribal god is a guardian deity whose special concern is supposed to be the safety and well-being of an 'ethnic group' (''nation''). This is contrasted with other guardian figures such as family gods responsible for the well-be ...

called Yok-Obolo, the founder and spiritual head of the Obolo people, said to have been elevated to a god status upon death.

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 ...

was already accepted in Obolo land long before 1699. When John Barbot visited Dony Town (Andoni) in 1699, he observed that the King of Dony Town accepted

and

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

s were regularly sent from

Sao Tome SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Serb Autonomous Regions (''Srpska autonomna oblast'', SAO), during the breakup of ...

and

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

to him to act as ministers. The king of Dony Town also spoke Portuguese. Nonetheless, the Yok-Obolo was still feared among neighboring tribes, who spread rumors of their ferocity in battle even to the British. In 1869, King Jaja had to take an oath of allegiance to the Yok-Obolo before he was allowed to establish his new town Opobo (1870) in the

Andoni Andoni is a Local Government Area in Rivers State, Nigeria. Its headquarters is located in Ngo-Town. It has an area of over 233 km and a population of over 311,500 at the last census. The postal code of the area is 504. The current Executive ...

territory. This was against the wishes of Bishop Ajayi Crowther, who lamented that King Jaja was entering the "Heart of Darkness" when he came to Obolo in 1869 for treaty

negotiation Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more parties to resolve points of difference, gain an advantage for an individual or Collective bargaining, collective, or craft outcomes to satisfy various interests. The parties aspire to agree on m ...

s with the Obolos. In response to the stories about the Obolo, British colonial authorities decided to send a punitive expedition against them in 1904. The expedition was led by Captain A.A. Whitehouse, with the aim of destroying Obolo as a political entity and reducing their influence among neighboring tribes in the Niger Delta. Upon arrival, Whitehouse and his military team went straight to Alabie Town ( Agwut-Obolo), burned, and destroyed the high altar of the deity of the Obolo

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...

, Yok-Obolo, and the site of the House of Skulls with over 2000 skulls of Obolo enemies killed in wars. After destroying the House of Skulls and the Shrine of Yok-Obolo, the British split

into six parts, each attached to one of the six Native Courts in the Niger Delta, hoping to destroy the Obolo politically. Some of the

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

arts and crafts collected by the British during this expedition are still on display in the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

Language

The Obolo people speak the

Obolo language Obolo (or Andoni) is a major Cross River language of Nigeria. It is the most divergent language in the Lower Cross (LC) subgroup of Cross River, which is a branch of Benue-Congo. ''Obolo'' is the indigenous name of a community in the eastern Del ...

. The Obolo language contributes to the identity of the people of

and

Eastern Obolo Eastern Obolo (or Obolo agan̄ Mbum-ura in the native Obolo language) is a Local Government Areas of Nigeria, Local Government Area (LGA) in southern Nigeria, with its headquarters at Okoroete. It is a coastal local government area in Akwa Ibom St ...

. It is one of the 535 languages in

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, ...

and belongs to the Lower Cross River language sub-branch of the Delta Cross branches of the Eastern Division of South Central Niger Congo language family.

Traditions

The Nwantam masquerade, celebrated every year on January 1, is among the highlights of Obolo festivities, which they share with the

Opobo Opobo is a community in Rivers state, South South region of Nigeria that was founded in 1870 . The people of Opobo are a mixture of the Ndoki tribe, Ndoki clan of the Igbo people and the Ibani clan of the Ijaw ethnic group. Their native languages ...

, Nkoro, and Bonny. Their ancient practices include a writing system known as

nsibidi Nsibidi (also known as Nsibiri, Nchibiddi or Nchibiddy) is a system of symbols or proto-writing developed by the Ekpe secret society that traversed the southeastern part of Nigeria. They are classified as pictograms, though there have been sugges ...

. The annual fishing festival Ijok-Irin, celebrated every 5th of July, is unique to the people of Unyeada Kingdom, and marks the end of the annual traditional fishing season between

July July is the seventh month of the year in the Julian calendar, Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. It was named by the Roman Senate in honour of Roman general Julius Caesar in 44 B.C., being the month of his birth. Before the ...

and

August August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Southern Hemisphere, August is the seasonal equivalent of February in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, August ...

. Fishermen, especially migrant fishermen, return home from long expeditions far into the

to present their biggest catch (usually smoked dried) to the King of Unyeada kingdom (Okaan-Ama). The highlight of the Ijok-Irin festival is the

net casting NET may refer to: Broadcast media United States * National Educational Television, the predecessor of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States * National Empowerment Television, a politically conservative cable TV network ...

(''Ogbo-njin'')

competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indi ...

. This ancient, elaborately

choreographed Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer creates choreographies thr ...

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

method is peculiar to Unyeada people, and features net casting

fishermen A fisherman or fisher is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishermen may be professional or recr ...

arranged in two opposite rows of 30 canoes or more. When a whistle-blower signals, the paddling of the

canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...

s from the opposite direction drives schools of fish into the middle, before the

cast their nets in

synchronization Synchronization is the coordination of events to operate a system in unison. For example, the Conductor (music), conductor of an orchestra keeps the orchestra synchronized or ''in time''. Systems that operate with all parts in synchrony are sa ...

, ensuring a large catch. In recent years, the festival has been

rebranded Rebranding is a marketing strategy in which a new name, term, symbol, design, concept or combination thereof is created for an established brand with the intention of developing a new, differentiated identity in the minds of consumers, investors ...

to increase its potential for

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of nature-oriented tourism intended to contribute to the Ecological conservation, conservation of the natural environment, generally defined as being minimally impactful, and including providing both contributions to conserv ...

. Present day ''

'' or ''Obolo'' people follow Christianity and most parts have fully incorporated it into their culture while some still worship local god/gods.

Economy

Obolo territory, which spans from the Eastern Obolo territory in

Akwa Ibom State Akwa Ibom is a States of Nigeria, state in the South South, South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. It borders Cross River State to the east, Rivers State and Abia State to the west and north-west, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. The state ...

Bight of Bonny The Bight of Biafra, also known as the Bight of Bonny, is a bight off the west- central African coast, in the easternmost part of the Gulf of Guinea. This "bight" has also sometimes been erroneously referred to as the "Bight of Africa" because i ...

Rivers State Rivers is a states of Nigeria, state in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria (Old Eastern Region). Formed on 27 May 1967, when it was split from the former Eastern Region, Nigeria, Eastern Region, Rivers State borders include Imo State, Im ...

, has significant natural resources. Part of Nigeria's

and

revenue In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of product (business), goods and services related to the primary operations of a business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some compan ...

comes from the Obolo land.

Notable people

* Anthony Nted Emmanuel, former president, Maritime Workers' Union of Nigeria * Rufus Godwins, former

solicitor general A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...

of Rivers State and the current head of

Rivers State Civil Service The Rivers State Civil Service (RSCS) is the body of professional civil servants entrusted with the responsibility of carrying out the policies of the Rivers State government in relation to infrastructural development and social service delivery. ...

* Ikuinyi O. Ibani, former speaker,

Rivers State House of Assembly Rivers State House of Assembly is the legislative branch of the Government of Rivers State inaugurated in 1979. It is a unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one hous ...

Tele Ikuru Telenyem Renner Ikuru (born 24 February 1966), commonly known as Tele Ikuru, is a Nigerian engineer and politician. He was first elected Deputy Governor of Rivers State in 2007 on a PDP ticket with Gov. Celestine Omehia. After the court annulled ...

, former Deputy Governor of Rivers State * Matilda Lambert, Nigerian actress, filmmaker * King Otuo Ogbalakon, 17th-century Obolo warrior-king/Okaan-Obolo II *

Ugbana Oyet Ugbana Oyet (born September 1976) is a Nigerian-born British chartered engineer and the current Serjeant at Arms of the House of Commons (United Kingdom), Serjeant-at-Arms of the House of Commons. Oyet is the first black Serjeant-at-Arms. Early ...

, sergeant at arms,

House of Commons of the United Kingdom The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

* Prince

Uche Secondus Prince Uche Secondus (born 22 March 1955) is a Nigerian businessman, politician, and elder statesman who was the former chairman of the PDP National Working Committee in 2017 and was suspended by the party in 2021. Secondus was acting chairman ...

, former national chairman, People's Democratic Party (PDP) * Ezekiel Warigbani, youth advocate, former governorship candidate of APDA in 2019 Rivers State gubernatorial election

References

{{Authority control Oron people Ijaw Indigenous peoples of Rivers State