Borgu
Borgu is a region in western Nigeria and in the north of the Republic of Benin . In the Anglo-French Convention of 1898 it was divided between Great Britain and France . The inhabitants of Borgu are the Bariba and the Borgawa . In the west it is roughly congruent with the departments Borgou and Alibori in Benin, in the east it is bordered by the Niger River .
History: Kisra legend
According to the Kisra legend, told all over Borgu, the small kingdoms of the country were founded by Kisra, a hero who immigrated from Birnin Kisra ("City of Kisra") in Arabia in an unknown time. It is believed that the kingdoms of Illo, Bussa and Nikki were founded by his brothers. Other descendants of the immigrants are said to have formed the ruling aristocracy of the Wasangari .
Todays situation
Despite the division by the colonial border, close ties still exist between the various small kingdoms of Borgu in Benin and Nigeria. The three main kingdoms are Bussa, Illo and Nikki. Bussa is traditionally regarded as the cultural center of Borgus, Nikki as the political center and Illo as the commercial center.
bibliography
- Adekunle, Julius O .: Politics and Society in Nigeria's Middle Belt: Borgu and the Emergence of a Political Identity , Trenton, NY, 2004.
- Kuba, Richard: Wasangari and Wangara: Borgu and his neighbors in historical perspective , Hamburg 1996.
- Lombard, Jacques: Structures de type féodal en Afrique noire: Étude des relations sociales chez les Bariba , Paris 1965.
- Stewart, Marjorie: Borgu and its Kingdoms , Lewiston 1993.
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 11 ° 0 ′ 0 ″ N , 3 ° 30 ′ 0 ″ E