Idoma

▪ people

      inhabitants of the region east of the confluence of the Niger and Benue rivers in southern Nigeria. A number of peoples, including the Agala, Iyala, Okpoto, Nkum, and Iguwale, are classified as speakers of distinguishable Idoma dialects, which belong to the Kwa branch of the Niger-Congo family of languages. Within the dialect cluster there is a considerable degree of mutual intelligibility, though there is an absence of cultural and political unity among Idoma speakers.

      The basic social unit is the extended family, usually a man, his wives, their children, and the wives and children of his sons. Descent and inheritance are in the male line, and lineages are settled on identifiable tracts of land; clans may be formed by the larger lineages. The ancestor cult has been fundamental in indigenous Idoma religions.

      The land inhabited by the Idoma is nearly all orchard bush (tropical uplands with open woodland), sometimes becoming open grassland or rain forest.

      Idoma economy is characterized by rainy-season agriculture and dry-season hunting. Large and small markets are held in rotation within the various districts. Within the general area, crafts such as the weaving and dyeing of cotton cloth and blacksmithing have been developed.

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