Waawa
| Languages | |
|---|---|
| Waawa Igbo, Nigerian Pidgin | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity (majority Catholic, Anglican), Omenani | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Igbo, Nsukka |
The Waawa clan of Northern Igboland, also referred to as Ndi Waawa, Wawa People, are a unique sub-group of the Igbo people in Enugu State, Nigeria, consisting of several communities. Most notable among these is Agbaja and Ngwo which consists of peoples between the wooded lands of Awka (capital of Anambra State) to the rocky valleys of Enugu (capital of Enugu State). Agbaja is made up of communities in present-day Ngwo clan, Udi, Ezeagu, Igbo-Etiti, Oji River, greater Awgu, and Enugu East Local Government Areas. Other notable parts of Waawaland are Nkanu, Nsukka, Abia (not be confused with people from Abia State), Nike, and other communities in Enugu State, who all speak a unique dialect of Igbo Language called Waawa. The Waawa are most notably associated with Chief Onyeama of Eke, who was the paramount ruler of Agbaja in the early 20th Century.
Onyeama was born circa 1870s, the youngest of the ten children of Özö Omulu Onwusi, a polygamous titled man of means, and an only son of his mother – Chinazungwa Ijeonyeabo of nearby Ebe community. At 7, his father initiated him into the masquerade society. A puberty rite of passage, this showed the promise of the young man. Onyeama’s father passed thereafter. His mother also passed, probably killed for poisoning a man who had threatened her son Onyeama with violence.
Brought up by his half-brother, Amadiezeoha Nwankwo-Onwusi, Onyeama worked hard and made his mark in business. He traveled to famous Aro-controlled trading centers including Abiriba, Arochukwu, Arondizuogu, Bende, Oguta, Uburu, etc. When British rule reached Eke in 1908, Onyeama was rich enough to buy his way into the Ozo title society and to marry a local beauty, Afia Nwirediagu, and later Gwachi Ebue.
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Wikipedia