Let’s talk this one out. How much of Umuzocha village (in Awka) is known to be indigenous to Awka vs. how many people there are a mixture of Igala and Igbo, and likewise for Nsukka (I might’ve done a thread on this before, but contextually it kinda fits in here as well, even if just for comparison’s sake). Where does the Igala influence actually come from?

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I will only speak about Umuzocha. If Nsukka people are here, they will speak for themselves.

Umuzocha is not a mixed community in the sense that you seem to be thinking. There is no indigene-vs-settler, Igbo-vs-Igala dichotomy going on among us. We all are indigenes.

A brief background of Umuzocha people to make what I'm saying a little clearer:

Umuzocha is a splinter-group of a larger community in Awka known as Amachalla-na-Ato. Amachalla-na-Ato is wholly indigenous and has no memory of migrating from anywhere outside the boundaries of Awka, ie., they are autochthonous. When a group of blacksmiths from Agbaja-Udi area came and settled in Agulu-Awka, some lineages from Amachalla-na-Ato befriended the settler-smiths, learnt the art of smithing from them and took the name of Umuzocha. Thus of all the lineages in Amachalla-na-Ato, only the Umuzocha lineages are blacksmiths; the other lineages (Amudo and Amachalla) remained farmers.

Later, much later, during the age of itineracy, Umuzocha blacksmiths began travelling to hinterland Igala communities and the neighbouring Nsukka areas where they made and sold metal wares. Some of these travelling Umuzocha men married Igala women from the communities they sojourned in and had children who ( of course) were maternally of Igala descent.

There was no significant settling of Igala men in Umuzocha, apart from these wives that some Umuzocha men married. Igala men did not come here as traders, dyers or warriors - the way they did to some Nsukka communities. Absorption of female foreigners as wives does not give rise to mixed communities, as the tendency is for women to be absorbed and for whatever children they birthed to be raised as full members of their fathers' kingroup. This is why I say Umuzocha is not mixed in the sense you are thinking, and there is no indigene-vs-settler or mixed dichotomy.

I guess the absence of male Igala settlers in Umuzocha also accounts for why there are virtually no imprints of Igala culture on Umuzocha. The only Igala name that I know used in Umuzocha is Attah. Contrast this with Nsukka where there is a plethora of Igala or generic northern names - Asadu, Idoko, Abugu, Abba, Onoja, etc.

There is a masquerade-cum-deity that is said to have been brought by Umuzocha blacksmiths from Igala land. It is called Agunabo. If indeed it came from the Igala, it was repackaged and rebranded, because the name, for one, is an Ìgbò name and not Igala.

Long story short: Umuzocha is not mixed, in the sense of being a mixed Igbo-Igala community, with a group identifying as being of indigenous (Ìgbò) descent and another group identifying as being of settler (Igala) descent . No. It is a homogenous Ìgbò community. It is only mixed in the sense that every community is mixed - through intermarriage.

AjaanaOka:
I will only speak about Umuzocha. If Nsukka people are here, they will speak for themselves.

Umuzocha is not a mixed community in the sense that you seem to be thinking. There is no indigene-vs-settler, Igbo-vs-Igala dichotomy going on among us. We all are indigenes.

A brief background of Umuzocha people to make what I'm saying a little clearer:

Umuzocha is a splinter-group of a larger community in Awka known as Amachalla-na-Ato. Amachalla-na-Ato is wholly indigenous and has no memory of migrating from anywhere outside the boundaries of Awka, ie., they are autochthonous. When a group of blacksmiths from Agbaja-Udi area came and settled in Agulu-Awka, some lineages from Amachalla-na-Ato befriended the settler-smiths, learnt the art of smithing from them and took the name of Umuzocha. Thus of all the lineages in Amachalla-na-Ato, only the Umuzocha lineages are blacksmiths; the other lineages (Amudo and Amachalla) remained farmers.

Later, much later, during the age of itineracy, Umuzocha blacksmiths began travelling to hinterland Igala communities and the neighbouring Nsukka areas where they made and sold metal wares. Some of these travelling Umuzocha men married Igala women from the communities they sojourned in and had children who ( of course) were maternally of Igala descent.

There was no significant settling of Igala men in Umuzocha, apart from these wives that some Umuzocha men married. Igala men did not come here as traders, dyers or warriors - the way they did to some Nsukka communities. Absorption of female foreigners as wives does not give rise to mixed communities, as the tendency is for women to be absorbed and for whatever children they birthed to be raised as full members of their fathers' kingroup. This is why I say Umuzocha is not mixed in the sense you are thinking, and there is no indigene-vs-settler or mixed dichotomy.

I guess the absence of male Igala settlers in Umuzocha also accounts for why there are virtually no imprints of Igala culture on Umuzocha. The only Igala name that I know used in Umuzocha is Attah. Contrast this with Nsukka where there is a plethora of Igala or generic northern names - Asadu, Idoko, Abugu, Abba, Onoja, etc.

There is a masquerade-cum-deity that is said to have been brought by Umuzocha blacksmiths from Igala land. It is called Agunabo. If indeed it came from the Igala, it was repackaged and rebranded, because the name, for one, is an Ìgbò name and not Igala.

Long story short: Umuzocha is not mixed, in the sense of being a mixed Igbo-Igala community, with a group identifying as being of indigenous (Ìgbò) descent and another group identifying as being of settler (Igala) descent . No. It is a homogenous Ìgbò community. It is only mixed in the sense that every community is mixed - through intermarriage.

Thanks for the clear explanation of the Umuzocha community history.
When one studies the Igbo history especially the aspect that has to do with our relationship with Igala, one can observe a different pattern in the interaction between different Igbo clans with the Igalas. For instance, the Nsukka/Igala interaction which is the most investigated appears to be different with the Anambra/Kogi border communities. While in the Nsukka area there were structural Igala influences, in the Anambra area it appears to be mostly marital influences that happened without my knowledge on which side it tilts towards more.
In such intermarriages, it was noted from some sources that those Igala women married by men from these Anambra areas were Igbo speaking themselves. This had me thinking about who and who were actually Igalas originally back in the days and even today. There are some surnames that are shared mostly in that Igbo/Igala boundary that don't really sound Igala yet are widespread in southern Kogi. Could it be that those women where from such areas?
Examples of such surnames are: Alumona, Enemona, Enebeli, Ojugbeli, Onah, Ogbole etc.
I've been trying to identify the exact identity of those specifically with that surnames if they were a separate Igbo clan from Nsukkas or if they were actually Nsukka people or a separate Igala clan. Personally, I think they were a separate Igbo clan whose smaller identity saw them enveloped by the Igalas and as such took the Igala identity early enough. This might be the reason behind those ladies married to Anambra men speaking Igbo but claming they were Igalas. Those surnames didn't survive in Anambra today but you find them in Ukwuani, Enuani, Nsukka and Southern Igala territories.
It's my hope that you have an understanding of this topic especially what I wrote here.

AjaanaOka:
I will only speak about Umuzocha. If Nsukka people are here, they will speak for themselves.

Umuzocha is not a mixed community in the sense that you seem to be thinking. There is no indigene-vs-settler, Igbo-vs-Igala dichotomy going on among us. We all are indigenes.

A brief background of Umuzocha people to make what I'm saying a little clearer:

Umuzocha is a splinter-group of a larger community in Awka known as Amachalla-na-Ato. Amachalla-na-Ato is wholly indigenous and has no memory of migrating from anywhere outside the boundaries of Awka, ie., they are autochthonous. When a group of blacksmiths from Agbaja-Udi area came and settled in Agulu-Awka, some lineages from Amachalla-na-Ato befriended the settler-smiths, learnt the art of smithing from them and took the name of Umuzocha. Thus of all the lineages in Amachalla-na-Ato, only the Umuzocha lineages are blacksmiths; the other lineages (Amudo and Amachalla) remained farmers.

Later, much later, during the age of itineracy, Umuzocha blacksmiths began travelling to hinterland Igala communities and the neighbouring Nsukka areas where they made and sold metal wares. Some of these travelling Umuzocha men married Igala women from the communities they sojourned in and had children who ( of course) were maternally of Igala descent.

There was no significant settling of Igala men in Umuzocha, apart from these wives that some Umuzocha men married. Igala men did not come here as traders, dyers or warriors - the way they did to some Nsukka communities. Absorption of female foreigners as wives does not give rise to mixed communities, as the tendency is for women to be absorbed and for whatever children they birthed to be raised as full members of their fathers' kingroup. This is why I say Umuzocha is not mixed in the sense you are thinking, and there is no indigene-vs-settler or mixed dichotomy.

I guess the absence of male Igala settlers in Umuzocha also accounts for why there are virtually no imprints of Igala culture on Umuzocha. The only Igala name that I know used in Umuzocha is Attah. Contrast this with Nsukka where there is a plethora of Igala or generic northern names - Asadu, Idoko, Abugu, Abba, Onoja, etc.

There is a masquerade-cum-deity that is said to have been brought by Umuzocha blacksmiths from Igala land. It is called Agunabo. If indeed it came from the Igala, it was repackaged and rebranded, because the name, for one, is an Ìgbò name and not Igala.

Long story short: Umuzocha is not mixed, in the sense of being a mixed Igbo-Igala community, with a group identifying as being of indigenous (Ìgbò) descent and another group identifying as being of settler (Igala) descent . No. It is a homogenous Ìgbò community. It is only mixed in the sense that every community is mixed - through intermarriage.

Ah. I see.

Yujin:

There are some surnames that are shared mostly in that Igbo/Igala boundary that don't really sound Igala yet are widespread in southern Kogi. Could it be that those women where from such areas?
Examples of such surnames are: Alumona, Enemona, Enebeli, Ojugbeli, Onah, Ogbole etc.

Enebeli and Ojugbeli are actually Ukwuani/Aboh names. You will also find them among Ogbaru people in Anambra State who are cultural cousins of the Ukwuani. I do not know any Igala person who bears these names. But it there are, they borrowed them ultimately from Ukwuani.

Enemona is Igala. It has an Igala meaning and is used by Igala people till date.

The use of Alumona cuts across Nsukka and into the Oshimili-Aniocha axis of Delta State. I have no idea what it means, but the people I asked pointed to Igala as the source. If the name came from the Igala, then it has been altered in Igbo mouths, because the name in that form does not exist in Igala. The "-mona" ending is strongly suggestive of an Igala providence where a number of names with "-mona" endings do exist, eg., Ilemona and the already mentioned Enemona.

I've been trying to identify the exact identity of those specifically with that surnames if they were a separate Igbo clan from Nsukkas or if they were actually Nsukka people or a separate Igala clan. Personally, I think they were a separate Igbo clan whose smaller identity saw them enveloped by the Igalas and as such took the Igala identity early enough.

Well, the Ibaji people kind of fit what you're thinking here. These were a people on the border area between Kogi, Enugu and Anambra who are essentially a mixture of Igbo and Igala. They spoke both languages with equal facility; and ethnographic information from the last century and the late 19th century suggests that until the hardening of ethnic lines in late Colonial and post-Colonial times, they leaned more towards the Igbo, culturally. Their names seem to have been predominately Igbo (that is changing today), they took Ogbuefi titles and venerated Ikenga. They wouldn't have identified as Igala in precolonial times - but this doesn't mean they would have identified as Igbo either. They were simply Ibaji or Olu - as more hinterland Igbo called them.

So when you speak about some of these "Igala" women already speaking Igbo, you're probably speaking of the Ibaji people. There was a village in Awka that did marry quite a lot from Ibaji: Umubele Village. While Ụmụzocha travelled to Nsukka and the hinterland Igala villages (i.e., the non-riverine parts of Igala), Umubele travelled to the riverine areas north of Onitsha, covering the Anam communities, Ibaji and as far north Idah.

I did meet some of the last of the old generation of Ibaji women married to Umubele name, and I particularly remember one of them who went by a regular old-school Igbo name, but was known to everyone as 'nwanya Igala'.

AjaanaOka:


Enebeli and Ojugbeli are actually Ukwuani/Aboh names. You will also find them among Ogbaru people in Anambra State who are cultural cousins of the Ukwuani. I do not know any Igala person who bears these names. But it there are, they borrowed them ultimately from Ukwuani.

Enemona is Igala. It has an Igala meaning and is used by Igala people till date.

The use of Alumona cuts across Nsukka and into the Oshimili-Aniocha axis of Delta State. I have no idea what it means, but the people I asked pointed to Igala as the source. If the name came from the Igala, then it has been altered in Igbo mouths, because the name in that form does not exist in Igala. The "-mona" ending is strongly suggestive of an Igala providence where a number of names with "-mona" endings do exist, eg., Ilemona and the already mentioned Enemona.

I'm familiar with the name Alumona from my axis in Delta State. There was even an Obi of Issele Uku that was called that name. I think it has something to do with a masquerade that was imported from Igala. I have forgotten the details. I'll have to ask one of my guys from Oko that knows a lot about this things.

AjaanaOka:


Enebeli and Ojugbeli are actually Ukwuani/Aboh names. You will also find them among Ogbaru people in Anambra State who are cultural cousins of the Ukwuani. I do not know any Igala person who bears these names. But it there are, they borrowed them ultimately from Ukwuani.

Enemona is Igala. It has an Igala meaning and is used by Igala people till date.

The use of Alumona cuts across Nsukka and into the Oshimili-Aniocha axis of Delta State. I have no idea what it means, but the people I asked pointed to Igala as the source. If the name came from the Igala, then it has been altered in Igbo mouths, because the name in that form does not exist in Igala. The "-mona" ending is strongly suggestive of an Igala providence where a number of names with "-mona" endings do exist, eg., Ilemona and the already mentioned Enemona.


Well, the Ibaji people kind of fit what you're thinking here. These were a people on the border area between Kogi, Enugu and Anambra who are essentially a mixture of Igbo and Igala. They spoke both languages with equal facility; and ethnographic information from the last century and the late 19th century suggests that until the hardening of ethnic lines in late Colonial and post-Colonial times, they leaned more towards the Igbo, culturally. Their names seem to have been predominately Igbo (that is changing today), they took Ogbuefi titles and venerated Ikenga. They wouldn't have identified as Igala in precolonial times - but this doesn't mean they would have identified as Igbo either. They were simply Ibaji or Olu - as more hinterland Igbo called them.

So when you speak about some of these "Igala" women already speaking Igbo, you're probably speaking of the Ibaji people. There was a village in Awka that did marry quite a lot from Ibaji: Umubele Village. While Ụmụzocha travelled to Nsukka and the hinterland Igala villages (i.e., the non-riverine parts of Igala), Umubele travelled to the riverine areas north of Onitsha, covering the Anam communities, Ibaji and as far north Idah.

I did meet some of the last of the old generation of Ibaji women married to Umubele name, and I particularly remember one of them who went by a regular old-school Igbo name, but was known to everyone as 'nwanya Igala'.

Thanks for your response.
Talking about the Ibaji people, it is very clear they were more of Igbos than Igalas. The headquarters of Ibaji LGA is located in a community known as Onyedega which isn't far from Idah. Onyedega clearly has an Igbo origin as Igalas aren't known to use the prefix 'onye' in their names. The word 'odega' is another name that is found around that axis even into the Idoma area. We all know the popular comedian and actor, Francis Odega. Many Ibajis still bear Igbo names which they sandwich in the middle and leave it out in official functions due to the political climate in Kogi state. Many other communities in Abaji bear Igbo names till date apart from those ones that are clearly related to Nsukka people.
While studying the Igala history, it was stated that they migrated from the Kwararafa confederation and displaced a people known as the 'Okpotos' who were occupying the Idah environs. Could the Ibajis be the descendants of those 'Okpotos' who didn't flee and were absorbed by the Igalas? Could the Ibajis be a smaller Igbo group who were so influenced that they had a dual language at an earlier stage in history?
There are a people who still go by that name(Okpoto) not far from the Igala area. They can be found deep in Ebonyi and outlying of Benue states, their communities are none contiguous.

RedboneSmith:

?
What you saying, g?

Seriously, what was that, Redbone? This thread feels like something that might just be half up your street. Not so much the Umuzocha bit as where the thread ends up.

Probz:
Seriously, what was that, Redbone? This thread feels like something that might just be half up your street. Not so much the Umuzocha bit as where the thread ends up.

I'm confused. What?

RedboneSmith:


I'm confused. What?

As in, what was your initial blank response supposed to be and what are your overall thoughts about this thread considering you’re often draw to discussions like this and have significant Igala heritage?

Probz:


As in, what was your initial blank response supposed to be and what are your overall thoughts about this thread considering you’re often draw to discussions like this and have significant Igala heritage?

The blank response was a mistake. I was trying to quote Ajaanaoka but mistakenly sent a blank message.

This post is specific about Umuzocha. My knowledge of the place is virtually Nil.