Igala people
 Igala territory |
|
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 800,000 (1989) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Nigeria | |
| Languages | |
| Igala | |
| Religion | |
| Islam, Christianity | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Idoma, Igbo, Ebira, Esan |
The previous content of this page or section has been identified as posing a potential copyright issue, as a copy or modification of the text from the source(s) below, and is now listed on (listing):
Unless the copyright status of the text on this page is clarified, the problematic text or the entire page may be deleted one week after the time of its listing.
Temporarily, the original posting is still accessible for viewing in the page history.
Your rewrite should be placed on this page, where it will be available for an administrator or clerk to review it at the end of the listing period. .
If you have tagged the article for investigation, please complete the following steps:
The Igala are an ethnic group of Nigeria. The home of the Igala people is situated east of the river Niger and Benue confluence and astride the Niger in Lokoja, Kogi state of Nigeria with its headquarters in Idah. The area is approximately between latitude 6°30 and 8°40 north and longitude 6°30 and 7°40 east and covers an area of about 13,665 square kilometers (Oguagha P.A 1981) The Igala population is estimated at ten million, they can also be found in Delta, Anambra, Enugu and Edo States of Nigeria.
The traditional Igala society is largely agrarian, although fishing is also a mainstay of the people especially the Igala's of the riverine Idah area. The Igala before the 19th century inhabited the entire triangular tract of territory on the left bank of the Benue and Niger about 100 kilometers above and below their confluence. Settlements of the Igala speaking peoples were also located on the right bank of the Niger below the confluence opposite Etobe. The dynasties of the Igbirra kingdoms of Panda and Igu, the rulers of the Alago kingdom of Doma, Attama and Eze of the Nsukka area in north-west Igboland on the border of the Igala, as well as the Oku of Ikiri in the north-east Yorubaland claim either that their founding ancestors came from Idah, or derive the legitimacy of the offices from the Atta of Igala. Dynasties apart, the clans of the Igbirra Tao (Okene area), the Osomari Igbo south of Onitsha, some clans of the Idoma and Agatu claim migrations from Igala territory. Thus, the histories of the Nupe and Igala (and indirectly of the Kwararafa(Jukun))provide a general framework for the history of the people of the Niger - Benue confluence area. Boston (1968) believes that the central geographical location of the Igala people has exposed them to a wide variety of linguistic as well as cultural influences from other ethnic groups in the country. Notable among these are the Igbira, the Bini, the Igbo, the Hausa, the Idoma and the Yoruba ethnic groups. The languages of the Igala and Idoma bear a close resemblance. Igala and Igbo have important historical, ancestral and cultural relationships.
...
Wikipedia