The Urhobo People of Udu and Ughievwen

A study of African sub-cultures in Nigeria’s western Niger Delta. The progenitors of the Urhobo people are believed to have migrated in pre-historic times from Aka, now known as Benin, to seek refuge in the dense rainforests of Nigeria’s Niger Delta. In this isolation, the ancestors were able to conquer the rainforest notwithstanding the presence of wild and dangerous animals. Politically, no outside authorities had sought to control the affairs of the Urhobo people before the rise of the Ẹwẹka Dynasty of modern Benin in 1440, and the arrival of Portuguese sailors at the Atlantic coast of West Africa in 1482. Yet, as noteworthy as the struggle for survival is in Urhobo history, the accounts of the painstaking undertakings have been largely ignored in much of imperial historiography. Neither has there been any ample recognition of the achievements made during the era of the Urhobo Renaissance (the 1930s-1950s). The era was known for the efforts made by Urhobo people in seizing the opportunities offered by British colonial rule to lift themselves from obscurity, into the limelight as citizens and active participants in the affairs of a modern state. This book is intended to cure the historical record. It is an attempt at the social history of a people. The sub-cultural units of Udu and Ughiẹvwen are chosen as the collective prototype to help highlight the socio-political life of the people. Udu and Ughiẹvwen are widely regarded as cultural centres of Urhobo people largely because both units have been successful in preserving many elements of Urhobo history and culture that seem to be dying away in other sub-cultures of the Urhobo people.