History and Origin of the Idoma people

The Idoma are an ethno-linguistic
group that primarily inhabit the lower
western areas of Benue State, Nigeria ,
and kindred groups can be found in
Cross Rivers State and Nasarawa State
in Nigeria. The Idoma language is
classified in the Akweya subgroup of
the Idomoid languages of the Volta–
Niger family . The Akweya subgroup is
closely related to the Yatye-Akpa sub-
group. The bulk of the territory is
inland, south of river Benue, some
seventy-two kilometers east of its
confluence with river Niger. The Idoma
are known to be warriors' and 'hunters
of class, but hospitable and peace-
loving. The greater part of Idomaland
remained largely unknown to the West
until the 1920s, leaving much of the
colorful traditional culture of the Idoma
intact. The population of the Idoma is
estimated to be about 3.5 million.
Origin
Traditional history
The history of the Idoma people
precedes the history of Benue state
(created 1976) and the history of the
Republic of Nigeria (created 1960). Oral
tradition and dance is the primary
method of which history has been
passed in Idomaland and is considered
a central cultural institution. From a
young age Idoma children usually learn
from their elders stories of old and are
brought up around extended families,
which make multiple historical
resources available. When prompted
Idomas generally will proudly tell you
where they are from, and it's not
uncommon for Idoma to be able to
recite at least four generations of their
progenitors. Historically, being unable
to answer the emblematic question
"Who is your father?" disqualified one
from important roles and titles in
Idomaland. Quite naturally, a number of
villages trace origins to single ancestors
and further, several Idoma groups trace
their heritage to one common ancestor,
considered the "father" of the different
groups. According to traditional history,
Iduh, the father of the Idoma had
several children who each established
different areas. Hence the expression:
"Iduh the father of Idoma." "Iduh the
father of Idoma Iduh who begot all the
Idoma He also begot the following
children: Ananawoogeno who begot the
children of Igwumale; Olinaogwu who
begot the people of Ugboju; Idum who
begot the people of Adoka; Agabi who
begot the people of Otukpo; Eje who
begot the people of Oglewu; Ebeibi who
begot the people of Umogidi in Adoka,
and Ode who begot the people of Yala "
While there may be some truth to the
above, the Idoma cannot be said to
have a unitary origin. Many Idoma
groups and village subsets have their
own histories complete with stories
about how their people arrived at their
current location. As one can imagine,
the ever-changing of people through
time makes it difficult to study Idoma
history.
Scholarly history
Scholars have combined oral history
with genealogical data and analysis of
kinship totems to trace the roots of the
Idoma people as a whole. One notable
Idoma scholar E.O. Erim cites
genealogical data, collected from most
modern groups in Idoma suggesting
that they derive from several ethnic
groups, each with different historical
origin. Furthermore, the available
genealogies indicate the existence of
diverse ethnic groups who descended
from ancestors other than Idu. In
several of these cases, the claim of
common descent is backed by both
extensive genealogical connections and
possession of common kinship totems.
Erim contends that while Idu was
certainly a migration leader—he was
not the "father" of the Idoma in the
sense implied in the above traditions.
These two considerations make it
difficult to simply accept the view that
every group in Idomaland is descended
from Idu. Many Idoma kindred claim an
ancestral homeland called Apa, north-
east of present day Idomaland due to
pressures of Northern invaders as
recently as 300 years ago. The
historical Apa was part of the ancient
Kwararafa Kingdom (Okolofa
Kingdom), a confederacy of several
peoples. Informants in other ethnic
groups have corroborated existence of
this kingdom, chiefly the Jukun who
also believe they once ruled a
confederacy called Kwararafa. In the
Hausa book Kano Chronicle it is
mentioned that Zaria, under Queen
Amina conquered all towns as far as
Kwarafara in the 15th century. At
present, there is a Local Government
Area in Benue State called Apa and is
said to be the home of those who made
the first migration from the historical
kingdom. For many Idoma nationalists
today, the name Apa elicits sentiments
of a past glory, and some in the
political sphere have gone as far as
suggesting it should become the name
of a new Idoma state. Other scholars
point to historical and linguistic
evidence that suggests that Idoma have
ties with the Igala people to the west,
concluding that the two nations came
from a common ancestor. Among this
group, there are those who believe both
ethnic groups fled the same kingdom at
some point in history. It is interesting to
note that many traditional Idoma
spiritual chants and "secret" tongues
spoken during traditional ceremonies
are actually Igala dialects and there are
some Idoma themselves who assert
their Igala ancestry. There are yet other
Idoma groups notably in the southern
regions, which claim their ancestors
arrived at their present location from
Northern fringes of Igboland as a result
of land disputes. Scholars believe these
people had most likely fled Apa too,
settled and resettled.
As suggested, a number of factors
make it difficult to study Idoma
historical origins of the Idoma people
as a whole. In any event, it could be
said that despite their heterogeneous
origins, trading, marriage, language
and other interactions among the
Idoma have cultivated traditions and
shaped a rich cultural identity distinctly
their own.