It’s the third largest in the state after Tiv and Idoma.
IIt comprises Obi and Oju Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state as well as parts of Konshisha and Gwer West LGAs.
Igede womenIgede men
Igede people are also in Nigeria’s Cross River and Ebonyi States.
Other Igede communities exist in Osun State and Ogun State.
Igbos and Igede have more cultural similarities than the other ethnic grloups in Nigeria. The Igede people settled down in several parts of Igbo land, hence why they borrowed several of their names as well.
Oju The Oju Local Government Area was created in 1976 and shares boundaries with present-day Obi, Ado, Konshisha and Gwer East Local Government Areas of Benue State, Ebonyi and Izzi Local Government Areas of Ebonyi State, and Yala Local Government Area of Cross River State. It is headquartered in Oju town.
Obi Obi Local Government Area was created in 1996 and has its headquarters at Obarike-Ito.
Obarike-Ito
The local government area derives its name from the Obi stream that flows in the area and shares boundary with Ado, Otukpo and Oju local government areas of Benue State.
History, origin of Igede people
Igede trace their origin to Sabon Gida Ora in Edo state.
They are said to be the descendants of Agba, a high chief in Sabon Gida Ora.
A skirmish between the Igede and the natives of Ora led to their migration from that region to present-day Benue state through Nsukka in Enugu state.
This historical event in Igede history is commonly recounted in song and drama, for instance the record and drama piece “Ego ny’Igede”.
Archive records indicate that they migrated from Ogoja province and have increasingly adopted the culture and practices of the Idoma.
Music and dance
Igede music genres include:
Ogirinye Known as the dance of war for the real and heroic men.
Akata The youth music band.
Aita The entertainment music.
More Some parts of Igede like the Uwokwu and Irabi-Ito have the Ebwoh festival music etc.
Some music genres have a masquerade that makes each of the music band different.
Akpang
Akpang is a traditional belief that the Akpang spirit helps neutralizes evil forces.
It is believed among some Igede that Akpang has the power to punish anybody who conceive evil against another.
Some feel the tradition served as a watchdog and also prevents people from engaging in witchcraft, money ritual, etc, with the believe that such person will die.
Christianity brought enlightment and many discarded those traditional practices they felt are bad
Foods
Igede people have variety of foods however their topmost favorite food is pounded yam and sesame (beniseed) soup (Oho Nye hia).
There are other foods like Ihile, Egbe nyi chwo, Egbei and more.
Igede people like preparing their soup with spices like okpehe, ikparenge, afu nyi wowo.
The spices give their soup a great taste.
Some other soups are prepared with variety of items like bitter leaf, melon, groundnut, oteaje, okro among others.
Dress
Igede cultural, traditional attire has three colours: Blue, black and white.
The cultural dress distinguishes Igede people from other tribes in the Nigeria.
The symbolic dress is also demonstrated at the palace of the paramount leader (King) of Igede people.
Meaning of Igede dress colors The colours on Igede cultural dress and the meaning are as follows:
Blue The blue colour refers to ‘peace’.
A crave for a peaceful life.
Black The black colour stands for “agriculture’.
Igedes are largely happy farmers.
White The white colour epitomizes ‘purity’.
Igede administrative areas
Igede administrative areas, units or divisions include:
