Are you an EPFL student looking for a semester project?
Work with us on data science and visualisation projects, and deploy your project as an app on top of Graph Search.
Concept
Igala people
Summary
The Igala people are an ethnicity located in the region south of the confluence of the Niger and Benue Rivers. They are located in an ecologically diverse region of Nigeria, ideal for farming a wide array of crops, and have been influenced by many surrounding cultures. The Igala kingdom is ruled ceremonially and culturally by the Attah and has a long history of political warfare with neighboring groups along the Benue. Igala people worship the supreme being Ojo, as well as their divine ancestral spirits. Masquerades are an important aspect of Igala art and is prime example of how the kingdom was influenced by neighboring communities. Igala art dating centuries back, also feature in Nigerian body decoration and cultural architecture.
Igala are a majority ethnic group in the southern and eastern lands of Kogi State and a major tribe in Kogi state politics. In times past, the Igala have held key state government positions. While the present kingdom has diminished in size, Igala people and their culture have been an integral part of the formation of the communities along the Niger river, with many communities claiming origins from Idah, the ancestral home of the Igala. Minorities of the group exist in the surrounding states of Delta, Edo along the banks of the Niger as well as in the bordering communities in Anambra and Enugu.
The Igala Kingdom expanded beyond the present-day boundary. Their homeland, the former Igala Kingdom, is a triangular area of about in the angle formed by the Benue and Niger rivers. The area was formerly known as the Igala Division of Kabba province and is now part of Kogi State. It’s capital was Idah, in Kogi state. Igala people are mostly in Kogi state. They can be found in Idah, Igalamela/Odolu, Ajaka, Ofu, Olamaboro, Dekina, Bassa, Ankpa, Omala, Edo, Lokoja, Ibaji, and Ajaokuta Local Government — all in Kogi state, and in small populations in Anambra West, Enugu (primarily in the Nsukka senatorial zone excluding Ukehe in Igbo Etiti) and smaller groups in northern Delta (Ebu and Umuebu) as well as Agenebode and the riverine communities of Edo state.
Official source
About this result
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.