The Ukelle people (''Ba'kelle'') make up roughly half of the population of the Yala Local Government Area in

Cross River State Cross River State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Named for the Cross River, the state was formed from the eastern part of the Eastern Region on 27 May 1967. The state has its capital as Calabar and is bordered to ...

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, ...

. The language of the Ukelle people is Kukelle belonging to the Kukelle-Korring language family. The major groups among the Ukelle are: * North Ukelle in

: The subgroups here are Wanihem (including Wanibolor), Wanikade (including Uzenyi), Wanokom (including Otikili) and Uzekwe (including Okom). * South Ukelle in Cross River State: Subgroups are Uzilagar (Ijiraga), Uzikatom, Uzokom (Ujokom) and Otiligom (Ntrigom). Ba'kelle are closely related to: * Orring people of Effium (Uffium), Ntezi (Eteji),

Amuda Amuda (, ) is a town in Al Hasakah Governorate in northeastern Syria close to the Syria–Turkey border. As a result of the ongoing civil war, Amuda is currently under the civil control of the AANES and military control of the SDF. History ...

(Idzem) and Okpoto in

Ebonyi State Ebonyi () is a States of Nigeria, state in the South East (Nigeria), 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 Stat ...

. * Utonkon (also known as Uffia or Wanffia) in

Benue State Benue is a State in the North Central Nigeria, North Central region of Nigeria. It is popularly referred to as part of the Middle belt. It has an estimated population of about 4,253,641 in List of Nigerian states by population, the 2006 census. ...

Language

Kukelle, the language of Ukelle people is grouped by some authorities as belonging to the Benue–Congo sub group of African Languages. However, E. Alagoa in ''Groundwork of Nigerian History'' further stated that Ukelle people who speak one of the

Cross River languages The Cross River or Delta–Cross languages are a branch of the Benue–Congo language family spoken in south-easternmost Nigeria, with some speakers in south-westernmost Cameroon. The branch was first formulated by Joseph Greenberg; it is one of ...

. The Lutheran Church of Nigeria, through its Literature Centre in Wanikade, translated the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

of the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

into Kukelle in 1979 using a Latin script.

History

The history of Ukelle is still sketchy. Some argue that their ancestors moved downwards from Benue state, others contend that the ancestors may have moved from the Igbo country, displaced by the arrival of the Igbos. Ukelle people share sociocultural similarities with the neighbouring

Igede The Igede people are a Nigerian ethnic group in Benue State of Nigeria. They are native to the Oju and Obi local government areas of Benue State, Nigeria, where 2006 population figures stand at an estimated 267,198 people. However, many Igede pe ...

people of Benue state and Yala people of Cross River state. Major ceremonies such as marriage, burials and dances bear striking resemblances . Ukelle people refer to Yala people as Ollah, Igede people as Ollah-ewoh and the

Idoma people The Idomas are a people that primarily inhabit the lower western areas of Benue State, Nigeria, and some of them can be found in Taraba State, Cross River State, Enugu State, Kogi State and Nasarawa State in Nigeria. The Idoma language is cla ...

of Benue state as Ollah-akpoto .

Location

The primary Ukelle region is bounded in the north by the Igede people of Benue state, in the south and west by the

Izzi people Izzi is a North Eastern Igbo people, Igbo sub-group, in Igboland, South Eastern, Nigeria. It is also the name of the territory in which they live - Izzi (Ebonyi), Izzi Local Government Area. They speak the Izi language, Izzi dialect. Izzi is spo ...

and in the east by the Yala and Yatche people of

. Much of Ukelle land in Cross River State is agrarian. However, development and urbanisation are coming into Ukelle. The provision of electricity in north Ukelle and the construction of bridges into the hinterlands of Ukelle are signs of urbanisation . Yam (various species),

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...

, rice and domesticated animals are the primary agricultural products of the Ukelle people.

Government and culture

In the Ukelle region, the day-to-day Government authority at the local level resides in the village assembly (called ''ojilla''). The village assembly is made up of the king or one or more chiefs, the elders and the youths. In earlier times, a typical Ukelle community had a village square, with the ''ojilla'' at its center. Until any settlement of Ukelle people makes an ''ojilla'', they are considered an appendage of the nearest community with an ''ojilla''. In fact, the term ''ojilla'' is used interchangeably to refer to the village, its square or the village assembly. A group of villages make up a clan (called an ''essam''). For example, in Wanikade, there are three essam: ''Ogumogum'', ''Otuka'' and ''Opuolom'' respectively. Traditionally, disputes within each village are adjudicated by the assembly, while disputes between villages within a clan are settled by the assembly of the clan. Disputes between villages in more than one essam as well as matters such as

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...

, economic use of trees, the forest, rivers etc. are resolved at the general assembly called ''lutse''. The king (''ubet'') or chief (''uyini'') wields ceremonial power rather than political power . Burial ceremonies (''kulu'') for deceased persons in Ukelle is the traditional responsibility of the family and of the village . The Ukelle people are linked to the constitutional government by six wards of Yala local government, namely Ijiraga, Njrigom, Wanokom, Wanikade and Wanihem. Ukelle also has a representative in the Cross River State House of Assembly.

Festivals

The Ukelle people celebrate several festivals, the most prominent of which is the New Yam festival () which is celebrated to mark the beginning of the harvest season. Before , minor harvest of biannual crops and vegetables may take place as well as harvest of small farms close to homes.

Conflicts

The last two decades have seen an upsurge in violent conflicts over land and resources involving the Ukelle. Notable conflicts include the Ukelle - Izzi crisis and Wanihem - Wanikade conflict. Increased conflicts may be related to the increasing resource requirements of a growing population. The absence of substantial military or police forces within the Ukelle homeland have been identified as contributing factors which the Cross River State government has tried to address. In addition the National Boundary Commission has failed to properly demarcate the appropriate boundaries.

References

{{authority control Ethnic groups in Nigeria