Isoko people

Isoko
Isoko girl
Total population
1,000,000[1] ()
Regions with significant populations
Isoko region (Nigeria)
Languages
Isoko
Religion
Christianity and Traditional African religions
Related ethnic groups
Urhobo, Bini, Esan, Afemai
Isoko mask

Isoko people are an ethnolinguistic group who inhabit the Isoko region of Delta State and Bayelsa State, Nigeria.[2] They are people of southern Nigeria, near the northwestern Niger delta.[3] Delta State and Bayelsa State are part of the 36 states of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The Isokos speak the Isoko language, a language of the Kwa branch of the Niger-Congo family[4] which is also very linguistically similar to the Urhobo language, Epie-Atissa language, Engenni language. James W. Welch asserted erroneously that Isoko language cluster is a dialect of Urhobo language.[5]

The Isoko culture is related to several cultures in the Niger-Delta - namely, Urhobo, Ijaw and Anioma.[1] Urhobo are related in language and culture, leading to the invaders erroneously labelling the Urhobo and Isoko cultural groups as Sobo.[4] This name was strongly rejected by both tribes.[6][7]

The Isoko ethnic group consist of nineteen clans ,namely: Uzere, Ozoro, Erowha, Owhe, Iyede, Okpe, Emede, Igbide, Emevor, Ofagbe, Ellu, Oyede, Umeh, Irri, Aviara, Olomoro, Enwhe, Okpolo and Oleh.[8]

  1. ^ "Isoko in Nigeria". Joshua Project. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  2. ^ The Isoko Tribe, James W. Welch
  3. ^ "Isoko | people | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Isoko | people". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  5. ^ Welch, James W. (1934). "The Isoko Tribe". Africa: Journal of the International African Institute. 7 (2): 160–173. doi:10.2307/1155529. JSTOR 1155529. S2CID 145669865.
  6. ^ "Isoko Kingdom in Delta Nigeria Guide". www.nigeriagalleria.com. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
  7. ^ Tobor, John Oghenero (2014). Urhobo Culture and the Amnesty Program in Niger Delta, Nigeria: An Ethnographic Case Study (Thesis). Walden University.
  8. ^ Okpevra, Uwomano Benjamin (19 August 2020). "A discourse on the history and identity of the Isoko of the Niger Delta of Nigeria". African Identities. 19 (4): 536–553. doi:10.1080/14725843.2020.1804828. ISSN 1472-5843. S2CID 225394849.