Olukumi people


The Olukumi people are an ancient fragment of the Yoruba people, located in Aniocha North local government of Delta State, Nigeria. The Olukumi occupy eight communities west of the Niger river, and are together known today as the Odiani Clan in Aniomaland. Historically, the Odianis are the Yoruba clans in the Anioma cultural area. Ugbodu town is considered the historical headquarters of the Olukumi people and is traditionally headed by the Obi of Ugbodu. The present Obi is H.R.M. Oloza Ayo Isinyemeze. Olukumi villages select leaders through the Okpala Obi system, which was a borrowed feature from their neighbors, and is a fusion of the Obi rulership system gotten from Benin, and the Okpala system gotten from the Igbos. The Odianis today are known as Anioma people in Delta State together with the Ezechime who migrated from Edo land and Idumuje clan who migrated from Esan land.
The Anioma people are those from Aniocha, Ndokwa, Ika, and Oshimili areas of Delta State.

Geography

The Olukumi are native to an area just west of the Niger River's right bank. The area is rich in Chalk and Kaolin deposits which is known as "Nzu" in Igbo language and "Efun" in Yoruba, which has been traditionally mined and used by the people of the area for various cultural purposes.

Etymology

The word Olukumi means "My confidant" or "My friend" in Yoruba. Modern usage of the word remains just in the southern and eastern Yoruba dialects of Ijebu, Owé among the Okun people, Ekiti people, Owo, Akoko and the Igala, but has been largely replaced by the word Ore in the Western dialects, and by extension generalized Yoruba speech.

History

The Olukumis according to their own oral traditions are said to be migrants from either the migrants Owo, Akure or the Akoko areas of yorubaland depending on the Olukumi town in question. All the aforementioned towns are in Ondo State, in the eastern sections of Yorubaland. Ugbodu for instance claims to have received migrants in waves from the Owo and Akure axis. Ugbodu lore further claims that shortly after their migration from Owo/Akure, they settled in Benin, from where they left to settle in a place called Ewohimi, which is an Esan-speaking community and is today located in Edo State. From Ewohimi they settled in Ugbodu as a result of a war that threatened them. A quarter of Ugbodu town named Ologhosa was named after an Owo general who led the early settlers. They speak a variant of the Yoruba language which most closely resembles those of the South-Eastern Yoruba dialect grouping, which has surprisingly remained relatively intact, even hundreds of years in their new location after being detached from the main contiguous body of the Yoruba cultural area.
About three or four generations after the establishment, one Agbe said to be a relative of the founders of Usen, a town now in Edo state near the Ondo state boundary and the town of Okada moved eastwards and settled near the Ugbodu people. He and his group were attracted to a chalk site and thus settled there. This was the beginning of the town of Eko-Efun. Gradually, the Ukwu Nzu people began to earn revenue from the chalk mines and they for this reason were called a people settled on a chalk mining camp. "Ago or Eko Efun" would mean "chalk camp" in Yoruba.
Due to the subsequent blend and location of their settlements with the Enuani speakers , they today speak both the Olukumi dialect and Enuani dialect of Igbo language. In some of the villages, the Olukumi dialect is threatened, but the people are making active and conscious efforts to preserve the Olukumi language and culture. Some of these measures adopted by them have been aimed at ensuring the retention and rejuvenation of their Olukumi names by making sure Olukumi children bear the names. Some of the adults have changed their erstwhile non Olukumi names to Olukumi ones. Prayers and recitals in their native language are also being encouraged, while making conscious efforts at speaking the language to their children and in their communities as a whole. Out of all the towns that make up the Odiani clan, only Ugbodu and Ukwu-Nzu are bilingual,the rest are solely Enuani speaking communities.
According to a report published on the Sunday Tribune of October 24, 2010 by Banji Aluko, they have also started to organize recitation and oratory quizzes and competitions in Olukumi as a way of preserving the language for the future generations. Digital and written documentation of the language is also ongoing among linguists. Chief G B Nkemnacho, a lawyer of Olukumi origin, has over the past forty years, documented his people's history as told by the older generation, being the very people who lived through it. Prior to his groundbreaking work, most of this history has been in oral form passed from one generation to the next.

Olukumi Towns and Communities


s/nTownOriginsCommentUkwu Nzu is the Head of Odiani clan Funded Olukwumi Town.2Ugbodu Akure and Owo Traditional centre of Olukumi people. Founded by early settlers from Akure and Owo axis.
1Ukwu Nzu Ile-Ife via Usen After the founding of Usen town in Edo state by people from Ile ife, Agbe, the founder of Ukwu-Nzu is said to have come from there.----
3UbulubuPeople from Ugbodu and Eko EfunA relatively late Olukumi town said to have been founded in 1800 by some Ugbodu people later joined by others from Eko efun people.----
4Idumu Ogo----
5Ugboba ----
6Ogodor----
7Ogbe Onei Owo----
8Anioma----

Non Olukumi villages of Yoruba Origins


s/nTownOriginsComment
9Onichaku IleshaWas founded by a warrior called Jowasoro who migrated from Ilesha in Osun State.
10Ogbekenu villages of Onicha-UgboIkare-AkokoFounded by people from the Akoko area of Ondo state.

Notable Olukumi People