Isoko people in the context of "Ijaw people"

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⭐ Core Definition: Isoko people

The Isokos are an ethnolinguistic group who inhabit the Isoko region of Delta State and Bayelsa State, Nigeria. They are people of southern Nigeria, near the northwestern Niger delta. They speak the Isoko language – a language of the Kwa branch of the Niger-Congo family.

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

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Isoko people in the context of Edo people

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'.

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