Emai people

The Emai people are a group of people that inhabit a sizable part of Afenmai land in the northwest Edo state of Nigeria. They are a people of Edo extraction currently scattered around the Owan River. Emai territory is bounded on the south by Erah, on the west by Ora, on the east by Ihievbe and on the north by the peoples of Uokha and Ake. All of these groups of people are bounded by ancestry to a common founder, a person called Imah.

Imah (or Imaran) was believed to be born to an Ubini, Prince Kuoboyuwa, around the fourteenth century AD (circa 1415). His father was the eldest son of Oba Ewuare and heir apparent to the throne. Young Imah, emotionally shattered by the sudden death of his father, found life miserable in the palace household, and with his grandfather's blessing decided to migrate with his immediate family.

The young troubled prince found a home at Ugboha (a word meaning "near home" or "by the okha tree") close to the present-day ancient town of Uokha. The Uokha people, also of Ubini extraction, are located near the Kukuruku Hills of what is today Ihievbe-Ogben town close to Edoland. The area is believed to have been unclaimed and uninhabited at that period of time. Amidst this thickly dense forestation Imah made a home for his family. It came to be called Eko-Imah or Ehe-Imah which means "Imah's camp" or "Imah's place." Over time this was corrupted to Emai (meaning "our own" or "our land is good").

At one time the place was dominated by the okha trees common in the Nigerian Guinea savannah belt. Imah is said to have been cured mysteriously by one of these trees when he was ill, thus giving the town of Uokha its name. This is the origin of the Eseokhai festival, commemorating the trees that had given Imah both refuge on his journey and a cure for his ailment.

Imah was survived by a son, Uzuanbi. In his old age Imah decided to return to the land of his ancestors in Ubini, leaving Uzuanbi and his family behind. Shortly afterward, word reached Uzuanbi of the death of his father in Ubini. This forced Uzuanbi to return to Ubini to perform his father's burial rites. On the completion of these rites he returned with two wives, Odidi and Oron. While Odidi had three children, Oron was reportedly barren. The children of Odidi were Owunno, Oruamen and Urle.

Today the people of Emai occupy the towns of Uanhumi, Ovbiwun, Afuze, Eteye, Ogute, Evbiamen, Evbiamen Ugboha, Okpohunmi, Ojavun and Ojavun-Ago. Due to the need for expansion and the growing population of the Emai people they were forced to move southward, which resulted in clashes with neighboring clans. An example is the famous skirmish with the people of Erah which ensued in a war; this memory remains as the famous war of "Ogodo bi Isagua" (meaning "war of mud and death") which forced the Erah people to move further south. This war was mainly fought by the descendants of Urle and Erah while the movement of Ogute from Emai-Ugbowa led to the expulsion of the Uhonmora Ora peoples and the founding of Ogute and Ago Ojavun to the Eme-ora borders.

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Wikipedia