The Ijaw were one of the first Nigerians to have contact with Westerners and were active as go-betweens in the slave trade between visiting Europeans and the peoples of the interior, particularly in the era before the discovery of quinine, when West Africa was still known as the White Man's Graveyard because of the endemic presence of malaria. Urhobo traditional marriage is unique to Urhobo culture and traditions. Ijaw religious beliefs hold that water spirits are like humans in having personal strengths and shortcomings, and that humans dwell among the water spirits before being born. Obviously, there are various customs, practices and traditions associated with them. They are known for their colorful beadwork and elaborate pottery, often decorated with geometric designs or representations of creatures such as crocodiles. Art & Culture, LifeStyle, Relationships. typeof a&&""!==a?a:null}e=l(e);h(e,function(e){var g=k(e),h=g.split(". It is considered an Eastern Ijaw language, related to Kalabari clan, which is located on the eastern side of the Niger-Delta. [12] Nembe, Brass and Akassa (Akaha) dialects represent Southeast Ijo (Izon). They speak languages of the Ijoid branch of the Niger-Congo language family. Another contributing factor to this human capital flight is the abject poverty in their homeland of the Niger Delta, resulting from decades of neglect by the Nigerian government and oil companies in spite of continuous petroleum prospecting in this region since the 1950s. The primary division between the Ijo languages is that between Eastern Ijo and Western Ijo, the most important of the former group of languages being Izon, which is spoken by about ten million people.. Apoi (Western) Ondo. The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes. Ijaw cultur really has a lot of things to offer, cause the history of Ijaw and its culture itself is fascinating and runs deeply, despite the fact it is poorly studied. [3] They are also found in other Nigerian states like Ondo, and Edo State. READ ALSO: Nigerian traditional art and culture. Sweet potatoes, pumpkins, eggplants, breadfruit are common products as well. 2004. About half of the population living in the north are Muslim; another 40 percent, in the south, are Christian. Nigerias culture is made up of several ethnic groups that speak 527 different languages. const schemaOrgItemList = { A traditionalist, Mr. Samuel Idukedoumene Ekpemupolo has expressed fear that the Ijaw language, its culture and other vital organs of the tradition will become extinct if nothing is done practically to promote and preserve the Ijaw language and its cultural heritage now. The Ijaw also have elaborate traditional religious practices of their own. Kalabari is the name of one of the Ijaw clans that reside on the eastern side of the Niger-Delta (Abonnema, Buguma, Bakana, Degema etc.) who form a major group in Rivers State. Abuja has been the capital city of Nigeria since 1991. The Ijaw people are resilient and proud. All these languages belong to the Ijoid section of the NigerCongo language family. As early as the 15 th century , the Ijaw people were linked to areas of sea trade routes. Some of the kin-based trading lineages that arose among the Ijaws developed into substantial corporations which were known as "houses"; each house had an elected leader as well as a fleet of war canoes for use in protecting trade and fighting rivals. The Ijaw traditional wedding is one that emphasizes the culture of its people. With the advent of oil and gas exploration in their territory, some are employed in that sector. dlApi = Object.assign(dlApi, { At military roadblocks, local residents were severely beaten or detained. History of the Ijaw people and their migration is an interesting one due to what they belief in which was seen as an example in the life of King Jaja of Opob. Studies in Urhobo Culture offers diverse perspectives on the culture of the Urhobo people of Nigerias Niger Delta. The archaeological record is a useful complement to oral traditions and written sources, but Ceremony is an integral part of the Ijaw culture and this includes marriage ceremony, burial ceremony or They take on most of the household chores, caring for both mom and baby. ");if(2!==h.length)throw Error("irregulari contents of the attribute data-run-module: "+g);var n=h[0],l=h[1];a([n],function(a){c(function(){var c;if(q(e)&&!1===b(e).isRun())if(b(e).setAsRun(),a&&"function"===typeof a[l])e.setAttribute(f+"-isrun","1"),c=a[l](e,function(a){b(e).setValue(a)}),"undefined"!==typeof c&&(d(50,g),b(e).setValue(c));else throw c='No function "'+l+'" in module : '+n,e.setAttribute(f+"-isrun",c),Error(c);})})})}, Whether the search engine is google or yahoo or any other, information about various aspects of Ijaw culture, traditions, and existence is very limited. In times past, being fat is equivalent to being prosperous and healthy. Bananas, pineapples, oranges, mangoes, lemons, papayas are common among fruits. g&&d(16,b);else{if("https://"===b.substr(0,8)||"http://"===b.substr(0,7)||"//"===b.substr(0,2))return b;for(var f in a)if(0===b.indexOf(f+"/")){f=b.replace(f,a[f]);if(b!==f)return u(e)?f+". padding: 0 !important; In the northern areas, the traditional dress of Ijaw is an elongated tunic, which is usually worn with baggy trousers. var e=[];d(a);return e}function q(a){a=a.getAttribute(f);return"string"===typeof a&&""!==a}var f="data-run-module",x="runnerBoxElementProp"+(new Date).getTime(),c=function(){if("function"===typeof window.requestAnimationFrame)return window.requestAnimationFrame;for(var a=["ms","moz","webkit","o"],b=null,c=0;c