Elemaga is a small

farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peop ...

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

Ibere Ibere is one of the four clans in Ikwuano Local Government Area, Abia State, Nigeria. It borders Oboro to the west, Bende to the north, the Isuogu (Ariam/Usaka and Oloko) to the south and Nkari (a clan in Ini LGA) to the east. It is one of 1 ...

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 State ( ig, Ȯha Abia) is a state in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, it is bordered to the north and northeast by the states of Enugu, and Ebonyi, Imo State to the west, Cross River State to the east, Akwa Ibom State to ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya 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 G ...

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

, 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 Nige ...

, 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

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 ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

tribes of Israel The Twelve Tribes of Israel ( he, שִׁבְטֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל, translit=Šīḇṭēy Yīsrāʾēl, lit=Tribes of Israel) are, according to Hebrew scriptures, the descendants of the biblical patriarch Jacob, also known as Israel, thro ...

who vacated

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

during the mass movement of

Pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: '' pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until th ...

's era before the

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 a ...

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 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' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. Ju ...

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

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, villag ...

, it is richly surrounded with numerous

cultural Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tylor ...

displays like the Ekpe Festival. Elemaga's cultural heritage is diverse, some of them are Itu Ogwu, Ekpe, Oboni, Okonko and many others. Elemaga people share sociocultural similarities with their neighbouring villages such as the Ekpe Festival, New yam festival, 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 '' caerimonia''. Church and civil (secular ...

such as

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

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 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 origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews afte ...

. The language of Elemaga Ibere is typical

Igbo language Igbo ( , ; Igbo: ''Ásụ̀sụ́ Ìgbò'' ) is the principal native language cluster of the Igbo people, a meta-ethnicity from Southeastern Nigeria. The number of Igboid languages depends on how one classifies a language versus a dialect, ...

with a sharp difference.

Religion

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

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

significance in the small farming village of Elemaga Ibere though

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesu ...

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 ...

hunters Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler ...

and chiefs as well as

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

lawyers A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicitor ...

bankers A bank is a financial institution that accepts 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 markets. Becaus ...

, lecturers and business

merchants A merchant is a person who trades in Commodity, commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in commerce, business or trade. Merchants have operated fo ...

. The 3,000 inhabitants work in

cocoa Cocoa may refer to: Chocolate * Chocolate * ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree * Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao'' * Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter and ...

plantations A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Th ...

and

palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 33% of global oils produced fr ...

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 from neighbouring villages like Nkari in

Akwa Ibom Akwa Ibom State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered on the east by Cross River State, on the west by Rivers State and Abia State, and on the south by the Atlantic Ocean. The state takes its name from the Qua Iboe R ...

Enugu Enugu ( ; ) is the capital city of Enugu State in Nigeria. It is located in southeastern part of Nigeria. The city had a population of 820,000 according to the 2022 Nigerian census. The name ''Enugu'' is derived from the two Igbo words ''Én ...

, Ebonyi,

, Bende,

Ohafia Ohafia is an Igbo town in the Ohafia local government area (LGA) in Abia State, Nigeria. It is an Igbo speaking region. The ancestral capital of Ohafia town is the centrally located village of Elu. Ohafia Local Government Area, is an administrat ...

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

clan is situated in Elemaga. Development and urbanisation are rapidly coming to Elemaga. The provision of

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as describ ...

and the Elemaga–Ibere road were traced back to Orji Uzor Kalu the former

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

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

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is di ...

sites and the famous

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

that links to the rich farming villages of Itunta, Obuoro and Nkalunta. The economic road is the shortest way of transporting their agricultural produce. Elemaga people seek the attention of Abia State Government of Nigeria and International community for its urgent needs.

References

{{reflist Populated places in Abia State