Mmiata Anam

Mmiata Anam is one of the towns in Anam, Anambra West Local Government Area of Anambra State, southeastern Nigeria. Mmiata is the largest town in Anambra West, and has an estimated population of 98,000.

It is bordered by Aboegbu and Umueze Anam to the south, Ezichi River to the east across which lies such towns such as Iyiora and Umuoba III, Inoma-Akator and Nzam in the western flank.

Despite the fact that there was no written record about the past up till the end of the 19th century, some elders still remembered a lot of things about themselves and their surroundings as was handed down to them from their ancestors, and have advantage of being able to store those facts in their memories and passing them down from generation to generation.

According to the already mentioned tradition, Mmiata Anam was founded in the 18th century by some group of hunters from Aguleri, Nando and Anaku, all in Igboland and in the now Omambala region of Anambra State. These hunters met several times in the hunting ground and especially at "Ọda", where they rested after their hunting expeditions. As a result of that, they became familiar with one another and having seen that there were many resources in the land including economic trees, many species of animals and fishes, fertile areas to cultivate and the place as a safe one to stay away from some troubles at home. Therefore, they settled there and not only brought some of their immediate family members but urged others including their friends to join them.

They called the settlement "Ụmụanata" or "Mmụanata", in Anam dialect (the coming together of siblings). The name was later changed to Mmiata, which suggests one unity, one people. Because of the increase in their population, Mmiata encroached towards Umueze's former location (Aboh) as well as pushed towards Nzam in Olu in search of more agricultural lands and fish ponds. That push caused the war between Mmiata and Nzam which Olu people urged their sons and daughters to go to war, with their usual saying that, "if a fish is seized from one Olu person it will mean that it has been seized from the whole Olu".

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Wikipedia