Idoa Community
Idoa is an Esan[1][2] community situated in Esan West Local Government area in Edo State of Nigeria. The city, an Esan tribe, stretches through the highlands and plains of central Edo State, it is 120 kilometres north of Benin City, the capital of Edo State, Nigeria, having boundaries with Ileh-Ekpoma in the West, Ukhun in the South, Ewu in the East and Agbede in the North. They are mainly farmers and they grow crops like yam, rice, cassava, cocoyam and cocoa.
The city of Idoa is currently made up of the following five clans vis-a-vis: Afuku-N'Edo, Afokolo, Atologua Ubi and Ofie.
OCCUPATION
The Idoa People are mainly agrarian in nature, major crops grown are Yams, Cassava, Rice, Cassava. Their land is very fertile and crop yields during planting season are high.
RELIGION
Idoa people originally are herbalists. During the reign of HRH Ifidon in the late 1890s Islamic Religion was introduced to the community with the assistance of Oba Momodu I of Agbede and the first mosque was built in 1918. Today we have Islam, Christian and other Religions in the community and we live together happily.
HISTORY OF IDOA[3] KINGDOM
In 1460 AD, Oba Ewuare passed laws of mourning that prohibited sexual intercourse, bathing, drumming, dancing, and cooking. These laws proved too restrictive for many citizens, and these citizens fled the kingdom to Esanland. This exodus shaped Esanland's modern cultural identity and gave rise to the term "Esan," or "refugee." Oral tradition has heavily supported this theory. Prominent Esan and Edo historians have collected stories about this migration[4]
During this Migration[5], it was said that, three brothers left Benin (EDO) Kingdom – Ojie-Ekpende, Udah and Ojieosan – and moved towards the Northside called Ukukuruku. Udah stayed at Ekunma (Ekpoma), and told his brothers and their followers to move further and ordered them that Ojie-Ekpende was stronger than Ojieosan, that the weaker should stay closer to him and the stronger should move further with his men (meaning Ojie-Ekpende should move further), among whom was Okolo, the father of Ojie-A:men. But this Okolo could not get to Odoa (Idoa) land.
Among Ojie-Ekpende's companions was his wife named Urabi. They settled in this land but later discovered that a group of people were already living there. But with the supremacy of the EDO PEOPLE all over the land of Edo Region he was respected by his group and those he met. Ojie-Ekpende's men were Ojie-Amen (Ojiamen), Oghodor, Okokhun. These men had wives except Ojiamen who lost his father on their way to Odoa (Idoa). Some months later a warrior also from Edo traced his friend Ojie-Ekpende to the land of Odoa. His name is Iijekhea. The leader of this Edo group, by name Ojie-Ekpende, gave birth to four sons and a daughter by names: Ebe-Ehirakha-Okogimen, Enabohifor, Okpikhor and Ailmonka while the daughter was called Udumen. This Udumen was given to Ojiamen as a wife.
History puts it that the warrior by name Ijie-Akhea founded Atuogwa & Ofie though some said that he came with Ofie. But one thing to note is that they are brothers and are close to each other in their ways of life.
FESTIVALS IN IDOA COMMUNITY
As in all Esan land, festivals are carried out periodically which is a means of social interaction and promoting unity among the people[6][7]
Iluoror Festival (this holds in February every year) it is also called the New Yam Festival.
The festival is as old as the existence of the community. It marks the beginning of the planting season, to appreciate the gods for the success of the last year’s planting season and to appease the gods for strength for the next planting season.
In ancient times, the first meal is Native Beans (ihihea) eaten either with water yam. After which every household pounds yam and slaughters animals like he-goats, rams, native cows as their ability carries them. From there everyone goes to the palace for display of traditional dance according to their groups.
The first dance in the night the day before Iluoror is
Igbudu dance (originated from Benin) dance done by men, women, children both young and old.
Ebolo dance (Native Doctors dance).
Igbabonelimi[8][9] (acrobatic dance male only) dance.
Asono Dance (acrobatic dance for both male and female).
Hunters dance (Ehizoko).
Ilo dance (general traditional aigbenojie dance).
Ijeleghe dance[10] (dance by adult men and young girls: men drum for the young girls).
Oleke dance (dance by both adult men and women) items used for the dance are okoise (Shekere[11]), gong, native trumpet (akala).
During this celebration fair maidens get decent suitors. All inlaws far and at home pay homage to their suitors.
Ilukpe festival (Held June every year) it is a thanksgiving festival. In this festival sons and daughters offer thanksgiving to their late fathers and it is normally done on eke (ize) market day. Every first son of the father and mother slaughters a he-goat and a woman slaughters a hen...
If it’s a polygamous house the first son of the late man has to slaughter the he-goat and send the right leg that contains the tail and send it to the most senior living uncle, while his or her junior siblings will do the same to him.
The whole meat will be used for cooking.
How is the sacrifice done:
The senior child, first son takes his he-goat to the living uncle to slaughter and offer prayers for him, while his or her junior have to come to his house and he will now slaughter their meat and pray for them.
Every person has to go and cook with the meat and call the family to eat from each other from house to house.
All meat will be gathered in the senior man’s house and shared. But in recent times, we now share meat where we eat.
Dance in the Ilukpe festival are
Okede dance, Iyayi (Igbe) and Igbudu dance.
References
- ↑ Osagie, Joseph Inegbenebho (2014-04-20). "Colonial Conquest and Resistance: The Case of Esan People of Benin Province of Nigeria". Canadian Social Science. 10 (4): 82–89. doi:10.3968/%x. ISSN 1923-6697.
- ↑ Ofure, Ikoyo-Eweto Evarista (2016-01-01). "A proposed order of historical emergence of Esan speech varieties". Dialectologia et Geolinguistica. 24 (1). doi:10.1515/dialect-2016-0008. ISSN 0942-4040.
- ↑ "IDOA". www.esanland.org. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
- ↑ Webster, James B.; Ogbomo, Onaiwu W. (1997/01). "Chronological Problems in C.G. Okojie's Esan Narrative Traditions". History in Africa. 24: 345–362. doi:10.2307/3172035. ISSN 0361-5413. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ "brief History of esan people". Archived from the original on 2017-08-08.
- ↑ Egbefo, Dawood Omolumen (2017). "The role of agriculture in economic development and inter-group relations in pre-colonial esan economy". Research Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences. 8 (2): 139. doi:10.5958/2321-5828.2017.00020.1. ISSN 0975-6795.
- ↑ Dawood Omolumen Egbefo & Aghalino, S. O., (OCT. 2012,). AND CONCORD_ A STUDY OF PRE-COLONIAL PEACE BUILDING PROCESS IN ESAN LAND, NIGERIA..pdf "CONFLICT AND CONCORD_ A STUDY OF PRE-COLONIAL PEACE BUILDING PROCESS IN ESAN LAND, NIGERIA" Check
|url=value (help) (PDF). INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PEACE AND CONFLICT STUDIES (IJPCS). VOL. 1, NO. 1,: 36–51. line feed character in|journal=at position 52 (help); Check date values in:|date=(help)CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list (link) - ↑ "Festivals And Traditional Dance in Esan, Edo state Nigeria". edoworld.net. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
- ↑ User, Super. "Igbabonelimi". ebudincommunity.com. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
- ↑ "THE PLACE OF DANCE IN ESAN WEST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF EDO STATE: A CASE STUDY OF IGBABONELIMIN OF OKPEBHO TOWN". www.grossarchive.com. Retrieved 2018-11-13. line feed character in
|title=at position 70 (help) - ↑ "Shekere", Wikipedia, 2018-11-08, retrieved 2018-11-13
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- ↑ Webster, James B.; Ogbomo, Onaiwu W. (1997). "Chronological Problems in C.G. Okojie's Esan Narrative Traditions". History in Africa. 24: 345–362. doi:10.2307/3172035.
