The Edoid languages are a few dozen languages spoken in southern Nigeria. Edoid-speaking ethnic groups are predominantly located in the States of Edo and Delta however, smaller Edoid-speaking communities are also present in the states of Ondo, Bayelsa, and Rivers. The term "Edoid" for the language group derives from its most widely spoken member, Edo, which is natively spoken in Southern Edo. Edoid languages collectively have approximately 10 million primary and secondary speakers.
The Edo people, also referred to as the Benin people, are an Edoid-speaking ethnic group. They are prominently native to the Edo South senatorial district which make up seven local government areas of Edo State, Nigeria. They are speakers of the Edo language and are the descendants of the founders of the Benin Kingdom, the Ogiso. They are closely related to other Edoid ethnic groups, such as the Esan, the Etsakọ, the Isoko, the Owan and the Urhobo as well as other southern ethnic groups.
The names Benin and Bini are Portuguese corruptions, ultimately from the word Ubini, which came into use during the reign of Oba (ruler) Ewuare, c. 1440. Ubini is an Edo word meaning 'livable', used by Pa Idu, the progenitor of the Edo state people, to describe the area found as a livable locale during their sojourn from Egypt. Ubini was later corrupted to Bini by the mixed ethnicities living together at the centre; and further corrupted to Benin around 1485, when the Portuguese began trade relations with Oba Ewuare giving them coral beads, which the Edo people call 'Ivie'.
The Igbo people (English: /ˈiːboʊ/ EE-boh, US also /ˈɪɡboʊ/ IG-boh; also spelled Ibo and historically also Iboe, Ebo, Eboe, Eboans, Heebo;natively Ńdị́ Ìgbò) are an ethnic group found in Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea. Their primary origin is found in modern-day Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo States, while others can be found in the Niger Delta and along the Cross River. The Igbo people are one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa.
The Igbo language is part of the Niger-Congo language family. Its regional dialects are mutually intelligible amidst the larger "Igboid" cluster.The Igbo homeland straddles the lower Niger River, east and south of the Edoid and Idomoid groups, and west of the Ibibioid (Cross River) cluster.
According to the language family tree classification by Ethnologue, Okpe, Urhobo and Uvwie, alongside Eruwa and Isoko, make up the five Southwestern Edoid languages of the Benue-Congo group. Quoting Johnstone (1993), Ethnologue puts the population of Urhobo people at 546,000, Okpe 25,400 (2000) and Uvwie 19,800 (2000). These three languages have geographically neighbouring languages: Izon and Itsekiri to the west and south, Ukwuani and Isoko to the east and Edo to the north. Thus, Isoko and Urhobo are similar languages that belong to the same linguistic family.
Owan is an ethnic group in the Northern part of Edo State, Nigeria. They are one of the Edoid peoples.
Owan is currently made up of two Local Government Areas, namely: Owan East and Owan West, including so many clans; notable amongst them are: Ihievbe, Emai people, Iuleha land, Ora, Igue, Uokha, Otuo, Ikhin, Ivbi-Mion, Ikao, Ivbi-adaobi, Ozalla, Uzebba etc. Owan was derived from the largest and longest river in the area which is known as Onwan/Owan. Onwanvbua was abbreviated as onwan, which means one who makes merry in affluence.
The Oba of Benin is the traditional ruler and the custodian of the culture of the Edo people and all Edoid people. The then Kingdom of Benin (not to be confused with the modern-day and unrelated Republic of Benin, which was then known as Dahomey) has continued to be mostly populated by the Edo (also known as Benin ethnic group). The dynasty is sometimes called the "Eweka dynasty", after its first ruler, Eweka I, and was preceded by the Ogiso monarchy.
In 1897, a British military force of approximately 1,200 men under the command of Sir Harry Rawson mounted the Benin punitive Expedition. The force was dispatched in retaliation to the ambush of a British party, at Ugbine village near Gwato on 4 January 1897 by a group of Benin soldiers who were acting without orders from the Oba; the ambush had led to the deaths of all but two of the British party. The British force captured the capital of the Kingdom of Benin, sacking and burning the city while forcing the Oba of Benin, Ovonramwen, into a six-month exile. The expeditionary force consisted of both indigenous soldiers and British officers based in colonial-era Nigeria. Numerous artworks (collectively known as the Benin Bronzes) looted from the city palace were sold off to defray the costs of the expedition. Ovonramwen died in 1914, his throne never having been restored to him. His son, grandson, and now his great-grandson have preserved their title and status as traditional rulers in modern-day Nigeria.