Elemaga is a small

farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in Ibere,

Ikwuano Ikwuano is a Local Government Area of Abia State, Nigeria. Its headquarters is in Isiala Oboro. The name 'Ikwuano' etymologically indicates that there are four different ancient kingdoms that make up the community called Ikwuano. These include ...

Abia State Abia is a state in the Southeastern region of Nigeria. The state's capital is Umuahia and its most populous city is Aba. Abia is bordered the west by Imo, east by Cross River, south by Rivers, northwest by Anambra and northeast by Enug ...

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, ...

. Elemaga is located in the center of Inyila, Isiala Ibere, Ahia Orie, Iberenta, Itunta and Obuoru at the food belt of Ibere, about 15 km southwest of

Umuahia Umuahia () is the capital city of Abia State in southeastern Nigeria. Umuahia is located along the rail road that lies between Port Harcourt to its south, and Enugu city to its north. Umuahia has a population of 359,230 according to the 2006 Ni ...

, the

capital. Elemaga is believed to be derived syntactically from the words ''Ele'' ("look"), ''Ma'' ("well") and ''Ga'' ("go") which literally means "look well before you go". Climate is tropical monsoon.

History

The history of Elemaga is still sketchy in general view of the Ibere community, where some argue that their

ancestors An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder, or a forebear, is a parent or ( recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from w ...

moved downward with the

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

tribes of Israel The Twelve Tribes of Israel ( , ) are described in the Hebrew Bible as being the descendants of Jacob, a Hebrew patriarch who was a son of Isaac and thereby a grandson of Abraham. Jacob, later known as Israel, had a total of twelve sons, from ...

who vacated

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

during the

mass movement Mass movement may refer to: * Mass movement (geology), the movement of rock and soil down slopes due to gravity * Mass movement (politics), a large-scale social movement * Mass movement (biology), a type of movement in the digestive system { ...

Pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...

's era before the colonial period. Others contend that the ancestors may have migrated with Olokoro/ Ibeku in

during the stone era.

Kindreds

Elemaga is composed of ''Ono-Mara-Ano'' (four clans), namely; • Umunyiaokwu • Ngboko • Nlialanyi • Agbommiri There are some other kinsmen in Ahaba, Ntalakwu and Bende in neighboring Bende Local Government Area also in

Government

Elemaga people receive day-to-day government

authority Authority is commonly understood as the legitimate power of a person or group of other people. In a civil state, ''authority'' may be practiced by legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government,''The New Fontana Dictionary of M ...

at a local level in Ama-ala (the village assembly), through the help of the

town crier A town crier, also called a bellman, is an officer of a royal court or public authority who makes public pronouncements as required. Duties and functions The town crier was used to make public announcements in the streets. Criers often dre ...

(PRO). The village assembly is made up of Onyeisi (the chief or village leader), the elders, men, women and youths. Since century back, Elemaga has maintained an Ama ogwu (village square) with the Agbala (sacred courtroom) at its centre. Agbala is an ancient special

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple level ...

. The term ''Agbala'' is used interchangeably to refer to village judiciary courtroom headed by Nna-Ezi (the oldest man).

Culture

The burial of an Elemaga man or woman is the responsibility of the deceased family and of the village. Umunna (the first male son in the family) and Umuada (the first daughters of the family) play an important role for the peaceful atmosphere of the village, by settling communal and family

disputes Controversy (, ) is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an oppo ...

such as farmland disputes, economic use of trees, sand and communal land. The fourth smallest village among the 14 villages of the Ibere

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

, it is richly surrounded with numerous

cultural Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

displays like the

Ekpe Ekpe, also known as Mgbe/Egbo ( Ekoi language: ''leopard''; derived from the Efik term for the same), is a West African secret society in Nigeria and Cameroon flourishing chiefly among the Ejagham. It is also found among a number of other ethni ...

Festival. Elemaga's cultural heritage is diverse, some of them are Itu Ogwu,

, Oboni, Okonko and many others. Elemaga people share sociocultural similarities with their neighbouring villages such as the

Festival,

New yam festival The New Yam Festival of the Igbo people (known as Orureshi in Idoma, or Iwa ji, Iri ji, Ike ji, or Otute depending on dialect) is an annual cultural festival by the Igbo people that is held at the end of the rainy season in early August.

, Oboni Dance, Ekpe masquerade, Okonko Dance and ''ubochi owu'' (resting market day). Major

ceremonies A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin . Religious and civil (secular) ceremoni ...

such as

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

burial Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

, and traditional

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

share striking resemblance among her relatives in the

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...

. The language of Elemaga Ibere is typical

Igbo language Igbo ( , ; Standard Igbo: ''Ásụ̀sụ́ Ìgbò'' ) is the principal native language cluster of the Igbo people, an ethnicity in the Southeastern part of Nigeria. Igbo languages are spoken by a total of 31 million people. The number of Igbo ...

with a sharp difference.

Religion

In contrast to what was believed a century ago, there is no evidence of pre-

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

significance in the small farming village of Elemaga Ibere though

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 ...

is now dominantly practiced.

Economy & Infrastructure

There are

farmers A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mi ...

hunters Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

and chiefs as well as

engineers Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while consider ...

lawyers A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as wel ...

bankers A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

lecturers Lecturer is an List of academic ranks, academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. ...

and business

merchants A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

. The 3,000 inhabitants work in cocoa

plantations Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tobacco ...

and

palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 36% of global oils produced from o ...

plantations which are the major sources of

income Income is the consumption and saving opportunity gained by an entity within a specified timeframe, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. Income is difficult to define conceptually and the definition may be different across fields. F ...

for their

livelihood A person's livelihood (derived from ''life-lode'', "way of life"; cf. OG ''lib-leit'') refers to their "means of securing the basic necessities (food, water, shelter and clothing) of life". Livelihood is defined as a set of activities essential ...

. They accommodate many

labourers A laborer ( or labourer) is a person who works in manual labor typed within the construction industry. There is a generic factory laborer which is defined separately as a factory worker. Laborers are in a working class of wage-earners in which ...

from neighbouring villages like Nkari in

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 ...

Enugu Enugu () verbally pronounced as "Enụgwụ" by the Igbo indigenes is a state in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by the states of Benue and Kogi, Ebonyi State to the east and southeast, Abia State to the so ...

Ebonyi Ebonyi () is a state in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north and northeast by Benue State, Enugu State to the west, Cross River State to the east and southeast, and Abia State to the southwest. Named after the Abo ...

, Bende,

Ohafia Ohafia refers to the town and local government area (LGA) of same name located in present-day Abia State, Nigeria. It is an Igbo-speaking town. The ancestral capital of Ohafia town is the centrally located village of Elu. The Ohafia Local Govern ...

and various other parts of the country and beyond. Their farm products are sold in Ahia Orie, Ahia Ndoro, Ahia Ariam and Ahia Ogwumabiri Ibeku, also known as

Modern Market. The community observes rest from its farming activities on the Nkwo market day. What could be referred to as one of the oldest primary school(s) ( Ahia Orie Central School) in the entire Ibere clan is situated in Elemaga. Development and

urbanisation Urbanization (or urbanisation in British English) is the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It can also ...

are rapidly coming to Elemaga. The provision of

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

and the Elemaga–Ibere road were traced back to

Orji Uzor Kalu Orji Uzor Kalu (born 21 April 1960) is a Nigerian politician and businessman who is the senator representing Abia North Senatorial District. He served as governor of Abia State from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2007. Kalu is the chairman of SLOK Hold ...

the former

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

. Tensions escalated in Elemaga, Itunta, Obuoru and her neighbouring villages on Elemaga

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...

sites and the famous

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

that links to the rich farming villages of Itunta, Obuoru and Nkalunta. The economic road is the shortest way of transporting their agricultural produce.

References

{{reflist Populated places in Abia State