Ebira
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Ebira, also spelt Igbira or Igbirra, is an ethno-linguistic group of Nigeria. Majority of Ebira's are from Kogi State. Other groups of Ebira can be found in Edo State (Ebira - Etuno), Abaji (Ebira - Koto), Nasarawa State (Ebira - Toto).
They are the scion of the Igala. Like the Igala, they have their dwelling in Nigeria's Middle Belt region. Faned as skilled weavers one thing that has trailed this ethnic group in recent times is the multiplicity of the ways their name is spelt.
The history of the Ebira history is tied to that of their neighbors, the Jukun and the Igala. Oral history claims that they originally came from the east and entered Nigeria between the Mandarra highlands and Lake Chad sometime during the last thousand years. It is believed that Igala broke away from Jukun, and the Ebira broke away from the Igala. According to oral tradition, Ohimnagedu established the first Ebira chiefdom at Panda and was given the royal staff by the Ata of Idah, the Igala leader at the time. Ritual connections, however, were still maintained with Jukun. Ebira consists of two smaller groups. The first, the northern Ebira, the second, the southern Ebira, claims to have broken away from the main group around 1850 during the time of the Fulani-led holy wars.
Ebira are mainly farmers. The primary crops grown for export are yam and cassava. Guinea corn is an important local commodity as the staple of most meals and is used in the brewing of beer. Other crops include rice, millet, cow peas, and groundnuts. Goats, sheep, cows, and pigs are also raised for local consumption. Due to the abundance of rivers and streams on the Niger-Benue plateau, fishing is conducted by individual households, and in recent years, larger fish farms have been developed by private and public firms.
The northern Ebira traditionally had a highly centralized government that recognized a chief who inherited his power in a patrilineal fashion. The supreme Ebira chief was divine and resided at Panda. Numerous local chiefs who were the heads of royal families reported to him, producing what was in effect a miniature confederacy. The head chief received tributes from local chiefs, and in return he sent gifts. The Ebira state system was similar to that of the Igala. The southern Ebira group was somewhat less centralized than their northern cousins. Their governing system acknowledges local leaders for each of the five founding families, but does not recognize a supreme chief.
Ebira pay homage and respect to the dead, which consists of those dead and those yet to be born. As was stated above, many of the ritual practices associated with the Ebira are directly related to those of the Jukun, their distant ancestors. Although political power often rests in the hands of the patriclan, religious power usually is in the hands of the matriclan. This arrangement allows for a balance of power between kin and also allows kinship relationships to be extended. Religious rituals are held in an effort to achieve balance between the dead, the god, bush spirits, and the living. .-- 07:46, 12 July 2006 (UTC)Umoru Micheal Eneji
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