Igbomina (people)
The people of the Ìgbómìnà , also called Igbonna or Ogbonna in colloquial language , are a tribe of the Yoruba (people) who settle in southwestern Nigeria in the northern center of the Yoruba language area.
language
The Ìgbómìnà language is counted by linguistics to the group of the Central Yoruba dialects, one of the three dialect groups of the Yoruba language . It is spoken in the north of Oṣun state and in the east of Kwara state . At the periphery of the dialect area there are similarities with different Yoruba dialects: in the south and southeast that of Ekiti , in the south and southwest with that of Ijesha and in the west and northwest with that of Óyó .
Geographical distribution
The Ìgbómìnà live in three Local Government Areas (LGAs) , corresponding to the German districts, in the Kwara State namely Irepodun , Ifelodun and Isin, and in the two LGAs of the Oṣun State: Ifedayo and Ila . In addition to the aforementioned language-relevant Yoruba groups, the Yagba-Yoruba live in the east , the Nupe in the north and the Ibolo (language) -speaking inhabitants of the cities of Offa , Oyan and Okuku in the west .
Archeology and Oral Traditions
In the western area of the Ìgbómìnà, in the area of Esie near the villages of Ijara and Ofaro, over 800 stone sculptures were found, most of which have human form and are estimated to date from around 1100 AD.
Archaeological and linguistic traces suggest that the Ìgbómìnà appeared as predators among the neighboring populations with the exception of the Nupe and the Yagba. Oral tradition tells that in the period after Oduduwa both kings and normal hikers from Ile-Ife came to the land of the Ìgbómìnàs and the original rulers of the area and the population either expelled, annexed or submitted. On the other hand, representatives of the Óyó, Ijesha and Ekiti seem to have oppressed parts of the Ìgbómìnà by occupying the plains and displacing them into the hilly, less fertile parts of their homeland. These in turn seem to have passed the pressure on to the Nupe and the Yagba, but also to have lost parts of their own settlement area to them.
In some of the Ìgbómìnà clans there are still oral traditions, poems and hymns of praise to the respective lineages, which tell of conflicts, rebellions and wars as well as epidemics that scattered large parts of the population and forced migration.
History during colonial times
British colonial administration records from 1918 date the founding of the city of Igbaja to the late 17th or early 18th century, and in 1935 the Igbaja District Gazeteer mentioned the date 1750. By 1800 the supreme ruler of the Yoruba, the Alafin , had taken over Ìgbómìnà and installed a governor (Ajele) in Ilorin to represent his interests there.
Traditional economy, festivals and handicrafts
The Ìgbómìnà were known for their skills in agriculture and hunting. Furthermore, their leather work, their pottery and their wood carvings were famous e.g. B. the Elewe mask, which represented the Egungun , a representative of the ancestors, during special festivities .
literature
- DK Aiyedun: Pottery Making in Igbaja, Igbomina Area, Kwara State . Ahmadu Bello University , Zaria , Kaduna State, Nigeria
- Aridebisi A. Usman: Fragments of Stone Culptures from Igbomina, Central Nigeria , In: “Antiquity”, London, March 2004