Knock knock. Is anybody home?

Not an esan but am interested about learning about the tribe

Me sef, so I am waiting for more comments.

[b]Esan (pronounced /aysan/) is one of the major ethnic groups in Edo State, South-south geopolitical zone of Nigeria. It is believed by many historians that the name 'Esan' (originally, 'E san fia') owes its origin to Bini (meaning, 'they have fled' or 'they jumped away'). 'Ishan' is an Anglicized form of 'Esan', the result of colonial Britain's inability to properly pronounce the name of this ethnic group. It is believed that similar corruption has affected such Esan names as ubhẹkhẹ (now 'obeche' tree), uloko (now 'iroko' tree), Abhuluimẹn (now 'Aburime'), etc. Efforts have however been made to return to stutus quo ante. For academic purpose, Esan refers to (1) the ethnic group that occupies central Edo State; (2) (plural unchanged) a person or the people collectively from this ethnic group; (3) the language of these people which, linguistically, is of the Kwa subdivision of the Niger-Congo language family; (4) something of, related to, or having Esan origin e.g. uro Esan (=Esan language), otọ Esan (=Esan land), ọghẹdẹ Esan (=Esan banana).

A total of thirty four kingdoms (large villages/townships ruled traditionally by monarchs) make up Esan and many of them seem to have their own oral versions of the origin of Esan as well as its own starting point in history. One of the most popular of these is the one advocated by the group much of which constitutes the now defunct Agbazilo, one of the two former local government administrative units in Esan.

According to the Agbazilo group, made up mainly of Uromi and Uzea, Esan came into being when one of the children of Bini’s Queen Oakha and Ojiso Owodo, Prince Uzia Asokpodudu (Ojiso Owodo’s crown prince and heir apparent) founded Uzea in about 1188 AD after they fled their father's (the Ojiso's) palace following the death sentence passed on their mother, Queen Oakha, who was alleged to have committed adultery with a Bini chief, Ovior. The duo of Ozogbo and Oigi, Asokpodudu's younger brothers, escaped along with him and the mother. It is believed that not only did Prince Asokpodudu (the founder of Uzea Kingdom) escape with the mother, Oakha, relations and some palace servants, he also left with his father’s (the king's) royal trident, ‘Uziziẹnghain’, the Ojiso’s heir loom.

The Uziziẹnghain used to be the royal regalia with which the Ojiso dynasty was founded. Ozogbo later left Asokpodudu in his base in what is today known as Uzea to found Ẹgbele in present-day Uromi while Oigi went and establish a settlement with his mother, Oakha, which is today known as Ẹkperi (outside Esan land). 'Ikhio' is an annual feast celebrated in Uzea in remembrance of Oakha. While Queen Oakha and her children fled northward of Bini, Chief Ovior, her alleged lover, fled eastward to a settlement he established, which is today known as Obior (probably a corruption of 'Ovior'), near Asaba, Delta State capital.(1)

This is believed by some to be the very beginning of Esan, though the Irrua group may not readily accede to this historical contention. The very name 'Esan' was not applied to this people until the arrival of other emigrants from Bini, who fled Oba Ewuare's brutal reign. The Oba (Bini monarch) had decreed: "No making of fire to cook; no cleaning of homes; no procreation; no washing of clothes." Unable to abide by these rules, many natives fled the Bini Kingdom. When the king sought to know where many of his subjects had gone, he was told, "Ele san fia" ("They have fled", thus giving rise to 'E-san-fia' and later 'Esan'.(2)

In other words, the name Esan was never borne by the earlier group until the arrival of the later groups. Other groups, such as Ekpoma, left Bini later to establish bases where they occupy presently. Except some historical contention to the effect that Esan has always been where they are presently, or that Bini in fact migrated from Esan to its present abode, Esan in this sense is a group/tribe of 'fled/jumped away' people from Bini for various reasons and at different periods in history. Esan largely remains a migrants' settlement just like the New World. This position has made some historians to argue that the Agbazilo group, Uromi and Uzea, are a pre-Esan group which has decided to coexist under the same banner of Esan. It was within this same group, in Uzea, that Oba Ozolua met his waterloo and buried in Ugboha's Otokhimhin, originally called 'Oto-ukhimhin' (the land of Ukhimhin tree). This is the origin of the popular saying among Esan that "Oba ii de Esan, Ozolua ii ri Edo" meaning, "A Benin monarch does not visit Esan just as King Ozolua (of Benin) will not return to Benin."

Esan land is bordered to the south by Benin City, to the south-east by Agbor, to the north and east by Etsako, to the west by River Niger. From Ewu to Benin City, the State capital, is 100 km long. No accurate demographic data of the people is available and the various local governments in Esan appear to lack reliable information in this direction. The people populate areas such as Uromi, Ewatto, Igueben, Irrua, Ubiaja, Ebele, Ehor, Ekpoma, Ewu, etc in central Edo State, South-South Nigeria. It has flat landscape, one lacking in rocks and mountains, and good for agricultural purpose. Rubber tree (used for the production of plastic products) and palm tree rank highest among Esan trees. The land's variety of fruits range from mango, orange, grape, pineapple, guava, cashew, banana, plantain, black pear, avocado pear, lime to walnut and even more. Cassava, yam, cocoa yam, sweet potato, pepper, okra and rice are some of its farm produce. It has numerous streams that are too small to afford fishing.

Replete with different dialects, Esan language is quite unintelligible to even many native speakers. For instance, the Esan word for person (or, somebody) is variously called by the different kingdoms' dialects as ọria (by Uromi, etc), ọhia (by Uzea, etc), ọyia (by Unea, etc), ọhan (by Ugbọha, etc). This obvious difficulty associated with speaking others' dialects other than one's mother dialect has given rise to the widespread use of Pidgin English, which is the local patois, a mishmash of Portuguese, English and Nigeria's local languages.

During the era of the military,the Esan had between five to six high ranking military, naval, and police officers as governors (administrators) of various states around the country at different occasions, a feat that owed much to their learning, sociability and especially their loyalty. Chief Ikimi and Chief Anenih have been known to occupy the position of chairman of two national parties — NRC and SDP — respectively.

Esan Day is celebrated at the Tafawa Balewa square, Lagos every December. During the occasions names of prominent Esan figures are read to loud ovation. Esan believe in self help, thus assisting to reach villages and towns to achieve development. Some prominent Esan are Chief Anthony Enahoro, who raised the motion for the independence of Nigeria; Peter Enahoro, who wrote How to be a Nigerian, Saintmoses Eromosele, international poet and novelist who wrote his bluckbuster first novel, "THE WINDS OF LIFE" at the age of sixteen and while still in secondary school; Tony Anenih, a top Nigerian politician and former minister of Works and Housing. Others include the late Ambrose Alli, Governor of Bendel State; Bishop Ekpu; Engr. Joshua Iboaya; Anthony Cardinal Okogie; late first lady Stella Obasanjo; Sonny Okosun, a famous musician; writers Aba Aburime I and Odia Ofeimu; Chief Tom Ikimi, a politician and former foreign affairs minister (during the reign of Gen. Sani Abacha); former Lagos state police commissioner, Oyakhilomen; former vice president of Nigeria, Augustus Aikhonmu (retired Real Admiral); former deputy commissioner of Lagos state Vincent Airebamen; Rev. Chris Oyakhilomen; late [(Justice Omosun)], former Chief Justice of the Gambia and legal luminary; etc.

Esan are fun-loving people who have various festivities and ritualistic traditions. Their folktales and folklores serve as forms of learning and entertainment, like the famous igbabonẹlimhin and akhuẹ. They have prominent traditional rulers who keep order and sanity in a complex society where beauty and manners are intertwined. Despite the long-term impact of Christianity among Esan, the people are largely traditional in that a large number still practise traditional beliefs in the form of worship of ancestral spirits and other gods. A large percentage of Esan are Christians, mostly Catholic and recently of other denominations. Esan has various dialects all of which stem from Bini and there is still close affinity between the Esan and the Bini, which leads to the common saying "Esan ii gbi Ẹdo" meaning, Esan does not harm the Ẹdo (i.e. Bini).

Esan boasts of some renowned scholars, writers, singers, wood-carvers, storytellers, politicians, etc. The folklore and history of Esan are worth revisiting and attempt should be made to research on the various ways that the villages are related to Bini and other groups who may have occupied Ifeku Island many years ago. The Esan heritage is unique despite the variation of dialects. It has been contended that a handful of Esan families are known to possess Portuguese ancestry, resulting from links harking back to the 16th Century when Portuguese sailors, missionaries and tradesman first entered the Bini Kingdom via the coast. British arrived Bini in the wake of the Portuguese numerous expeditions to, and intercourse with, Bini.

There is a small Esan community currently residing in Upstate New York, more specifically in Rochester, New York. This small community is governed by Papa Bear, a prominent Esan elder. Like any other community there is the local town fool, the Esan named Jesse.[/b]


Esan Local Government Areas in Edo State
The autonomous clans/kingdoms in Esan land are currently administratively arranged as follows under the current five local government areas:

(1) Esan-North-East LGA, Uromi: Uromi, Uzea

(2) Esan Central LGA, Irrua: Irrua, Ugbegun, Okpoji, Idoa, Ewu

(3) Esan West LGA, Ekpoma: Ekpoma, Urohi, Ukhun, Egoro

(4) Esan South East LGA, Ubiaja: Ubiaja, Ewohimhin, Emulu, Ohordua, Ẹbhoato, Okhuesan, Orowa, Ugboha, Oria, lllushi, Onogholo

(5) Igueben LGA, Igueben: Igueben, Ebele, Amaho, Ẹbhosa, Udo, Ekpon, Ujorgba, Ogwa, Ugun, Okalo


[edit] Esan Proverbs
Esan, like many of the tribes south of the Sahara, is rich in proverbs. ‘Itan’ is the Esan word for proverb (plural: ‘itanh’). Being a polysemous word, ‘itan’ also means insinuation or innuendo. To differentiate which one is being employed in a speech, the verb that precedes the Esan noun would always be the deciding factor: “kpa itanh” means “speak in proverbs” while “fi itan” means “insinuate, make allusion.” This collection of Esan proverbs is by no means exhaustive, since the use of proverbs is a common feature among nearly all Esan. When placed beside any of the proverbs below, the acronym ‘LIT’ means Lost in Translation, which is to suggest that that particular proverb couldn’t be translated to be true to its original meaning. For instance, the proverb “Ojie kha la le ọ’ ki zi ọgbọn” is a short form of “Ojie kha la le ọ’ ki zi ọgbọn ọhle ojie Udakpa da yọ ni Aah khue alogbo rẹkhan ọle.” If translated, it would be “A king’s ascension to the throne is initially followed with fundamental changes, which was the reason the king of Udakpa ordered to be escorted with musical instruments.”). Besides being lengthy, the reader who has little knowledge of Udakpa in South-East Esan – and the many political changes that have transformed it – will fail to grasp the message in the proverb. When rendered in Esan language, however, the proverb offers some literary appeal and reminisces the distant past of that ancient community. Also, italicized phrases in the English translations are additional information which is meant to aid easy understanding, especially of non-Esan and those who aren’t so good at appreciating adages. Where a proverb has an English equivalent, it is given and preceded with the conjunction ‘Or’ and the abbreviation cf (compare).

Ose ii gba ni usẹnbhokhan. ( A young man's beauty is never without defects.)

Eji Aah nyẹlẹn ọhle Aah khọ. (People resemble where they live.)

Udo ni Aah daghe ọ' vade ii degbi ọrhia bhi ẹlo. (A missile that one sees coming does not blind one.)

Aah ii fi ini bhi otọ kha khin oha-ọtan. (Do not go hunting for squirrel while you have an elephant as a catch.)

Aah ii di isira ọnọ khin eni khin ẹkpẹn. Or, Aah ii khin ẹkpẹn man ọnọ khin eni. (You don’t change to a tiger in the presence of one who can change to an elephant.)

Amẹn ni ọrhia la muọn ii gbera ọle a. (The water one would drink can never flow past one.)

Aah ii yi ọbhẹnbhẹn khui ọkhọh
[b][/b]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esan

Thanks comfort

finally comfort has made a sensible post!

;d ;d

.

Nigerian fans identify your self. By being patriotic to our own league. We can do it, remember its the only league we have got. Ranger's fc 4 life

comfort, u do history? how u take know all these ones
U try sha

wikipedia.

me i be proper Ishan boy from Ekp

Esan gbe Edo
Edo gbe Esan

i hail oh

I've noticed some Bini people have Yoruba names

Akoko-Edo.

i am a proud Esan girl from lgueben LGA

Oh mine home mine home, the cradle of Esan land,the Largest LGA in Esan Land(both in population and land mass),the 7th largest LGA in Edo state,but the poorest in infrastructural development.

4) Esan South East LGA, Ubiaja: Ubiaja, Ewohimhin, Emu, Ohordua, Ẹwatto, Okhuesan, Orowa, Ugboha, Oria, lllushi, Onogholo

tpia:

nice.

A lot of people fled Benin in those days sha.

Its a wonder anyone was left in the city.

tpia, are u esan ? 


fled for what and why were they fleeing?

anytime i c this thread to travel go home go dey hungry me

I am proudly esan. I hail from Uromi, Esan North east. Any one curious about esan people, we are just too much. The language is musical and we open, friendly and a lil' crafty but na wetin person need to survive for naija. No be so?!

Yes o! Esan people, who knows this dish, omiebe? (did i get the spelling?) It's also called black soup, I know it should be for food section but I am just wondering cos I need the name of the leaf used in the soup bad bad.

Ejadamen:

I am proudly esan. I hail from Uromi, Esan North east. Any one curious about esan people, we are just too much. The language is musical and we open, friendly and a lil' crafty but na wetin person need to survive for naija. No be so?!

Yes o! Esan people, who knows this dish, omiebe? (did i get the spelling?) It's also called black soup, I know it should be for food section but I am just wondering cos I need the name of the leaf used in the soup bad bad.

You mean bitter leaf soup?

@ michelin89, no i do not mean bitter leaf soup. It's a soup that is made from a combination of palm kernel concentrate and a leaf that is grinded. Everything is boiled together. It's called omiebe and looks very dark green. It's an Esan dish that's why i am asking here. I don't know the name of the leaf used.

Ejadamen:

@ michelin89, no i do not mean bitter leaf soup. It's a soup that is made from a combination of palm kernel concentrate and a leaf that is grinded. Everything is boiled together. It's called omiebe and looks very dark green. It's an Esan dish that's why i am asking here. I don't know the name of the leaf used.

Yeah I think it's bitter leaf. All I know is that it's very sweet to eat but very difficult to prepare. As the name suggests, you must wash the leaf to eliminate some of its bitterness or you might have difficulties eating it.

Sliced bitter lear is also used as spices for egusi, okoro and ogbono. Yeah we Ishan like that leaf a lot.

, wen can i c my home?

michelin89:

Yeah I think it's bitter leaf. All I know is that it's very sweet to eat but very difficult to prepare. As the name suggests, you must wash the leaf to eliminate some of its bitterness or you might have difficulties eating it.

Sliced bitter lear is also used as spices for egusi, okoro and ogbono. Yeah we Ishan like that leaf a lot.

@ michelin89, i am positive it is not bitter leaf. I watched my mom prepare this soup when i was little and we never washed it like bitter leaf, rather we blend it, the leaf is a bit peppery not bitter at all. I know bitter leaf,it is definitely not bitter leaf. I have asked my mother for the name of this leaf and she said she doesn't know the name but knows it when she sees it in the market. I think I'll make enquiries at the food section.

benincitys:

i am a proud Esan girl from lgueben LGA

Me too! Home sweet home . . .

Yes I am Esan person residing in the United States from Uromi. You ca reach me at viclee009@yahoo.com

maedan:

Me too! Home sweet home . . .

are you from lgueben we maybe sisters

benincitys:

are you from lgueben we maybe sisters

i say i be igueben girl, u still dey ask . My family house is in Uzebu quaters as far as I remember. it's been a while, but as kids we used to go home a lot for hols. Wow, it was fun! All that red sand and wide open spaces . . .Those were the good days abeg!

@topic
Yeah one very stubborn-stronghead-war head

she is the author of this thread

mukina2:

@topic
Yeah one very stubborn-stronghead-war head

she is the author of this thread

You this woman eh

michelin89:

You this woman eh 

You too fight

mukina2:

You too fight

I have just got myself a new stalker: Tpiah! The girl nor wan let me be!