Kele people (Nigeria)

The Ukelle people make up roughly half of the population of the Yala Local Government Area in Cross River State, Nigeria. Ukelle people also live in Nigeria's Ebonyi (Effiom, Ntezi and Okpoto - who are also called Effiom or Uffiom) and Benue (Utonkon - who are called Uffia people) states respectively. The language of Ukelle people is Kukelle.

The major groups in Ukelle are: Wanihem (including Wanibolor), Wanikade (including Uzenyi), Wanokom (including Otikili) and Uzekwe (including Okom), all in North Ukelle. And Uzilagar (Ijiraga), Uzikatom, Uzokom (Ujokom) and Otiligom (Ntrigom) in South Ukelle - for those in Cross River State of Nigeria as well as Effiom (Uffiom) and Uffia in Ebonyi and Benue States of Nigeria.[1]

Contents

Language

Kukelle, the language of Ukelle people is grouped by some authorities as belonging to the Benue–Congo sub group of African Language.[2] However, E. Alagoa in Groundwork of Nigerian History further grouped Ukelle people as those who speak one of the Cross River languages.

The Lutheran Church of Nigeria, through its Literature Centre in Wanikade, translated the New Testament of the Bible into Kukelle in 1979.

History

The history of Ukelle is still sketchy. Some argue that her ancestors moved downwards from Benue state, others contend that her ancestors may have moved from the Igbo country. Ukelle people share sociocultural similarities with the neighbouring Igede people of Benue state and Yala people of Cross River state.[3] Major ceremonies such as marriage, burials and dances bear striking resemblances. Ukelle people refer to Yala people as Ollah, Igede people as Ollah-ewoh and the Idoma people of Benue state as Ollah-akpoto.

Location

Ukelle is bounded in the north by the Igede people of Benue state, in the south by the Izzi people of Ebonyi State and in the east by the Yala and Yatche people of Cross River State. Much of Ukelle land in Cross River State is presently rural and agrarian; However, development and urbanisation are creeping into Ukelle. The provision of electricity in north Ukelle and the construction of bridges into the hinterlands of Ukelle are signs of urbanisation. Yam (various species), cassava, rice and domesticated animals are the primary agricultural products of the Ukelle people.

Government and culture

In Ukelle land, the day-to-day Government authority at the local level reside in the village assembly (called ojilla). The village assembly is made up of the king or chief(s), the elders and the youths. In earlier times, a typical Ukelle community has the village square, ojilla at its center; and until any settlement of Ukelle people makes an ojilla, they are considered an appendage of the nearesCross River Statet community with an ojilla. In fact, the term ojilla is used interchangeably to refer to the village, its square or the village assembly.

The burial of an Ukelle man/woman is the responsibility of the deceased family and that of the village. A group of villages make up a clan (called esam); for example in Wanikade, there are three ESSAM: Ogumogum, Otuka and Opuolom respectively. Disputes within each village are adjudicated by the assembly, while disputes between villages within a clan are settled by the assembly of the clan. Disputes between villages in more than one ESSAM as well as matters such as capital punishment, economic trees, the forest, rivers etc. are settled or resolved at the general assembly called lutse. The king or chief wields more ceremonial powers than political powers.

References

  1. ^ P. Amauray Talbot, The Peoples of southern Nigeria; Volume 2 Enthnology. Frank Cass and Co, 1969
  2. ^ Greenberg, Joseph (1966). The Languages of Africa. Indiana University. 
  3. ^ E. J. Alagoa, Groundwork of Nigerian History; Obaro Ikime (ed) Heinemann Books, 1980.

Reuben Lomba Ikade is my name, am from Okakala Iyango Wanihem north Ukelle in Cross River State. With due respect to Ukelle people, am proud to be part of Ukelle people.