Let's Talk African History: Nigeria

[The Odum of Ala Igbo]

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ORIGINS OF THE HAUSA STATES

• Each city had a surrounding wall, residences for the ruling family, quarters for traders and enough agricultural land to feed the population during a siege. Outside the walls were slave villages, free Hausa villages and dispersed family compounds. The city states were never united and thus, could not challenge Bornu. But, they maintained their sovereignty. All Bornu could do was exact tribute. The Hausa were also competing with the Junkun (Kwararafa) to the south and the Nupe too.
• The city states attracted non-Hausa to their walls. Fulbe, Tuareg, Kanuri, Dyula, Songhai, Arabs and North African Berbers. Most were assimilated - a Hausa cultural trait. This trait helped the Hausa expand and absorb Niger-Congo peoples. Islam also strengthened bonds, despite arriving late. But the Hausa were not fully converted to Islam at that time. A Hausa diaspora began in the 16th century CE across West africa. Hausa metal, textile and leather workers are found across the Sudan.

 

[The Odum of Ala Igbo]

• The Edo-speaking peoples founded Benin city-state around 1000 CE as they moved from the savanna into the forest region. They created high density villages after clearing forests to keep sleeping sickness at bay. Power was highly centralized within an a commercial elite class wo traded with the Hausa, Songhai, Yoruba and the fishing communities of the Niger Delta. The Benin expanded through war - typically against the Ijoid peoples.

 

[The Odum of Ala Igbo]

HISTORIC IGBO TRADE ROUTES

 

[The Odum of Ala Igbo]

 

[Warthog]

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ORIGINS OF THE HAUSA STATES

• Each city had a surrounding wall, residences for the ruling family, quarters for traders and enough agricultural land to feed the population during a siege. Outside the walls were slave villages, free Hausa villages and dispersed family compounds. The city states were never united and thus, could not challenge Bornu. But, they maintained their sovereignty. All Bornu could do was exact tribute. The Hausa were also competing with the Junkun (Kwararafa) to the south and the Nupe too.
• The city states attracted non-Hausa to their walls. Fulbe, Tuareg, Kanuri, Dyula, Songhai, Arabs and North African Berbers. Most were assimilated - a Hausa cultural trait. This trait helped the Hausa expand and absorb Niger-Congo peoples. Islam also strengthened bonds, despite arriving late. But the Hausa were not fully converted to Islam at that time. A Hausa diaspora began in the 16th century CE across West africa. Hausa metal, textile and leather workers are found across the Sudan.

The Legendary Queen Amina

 

[The Odum of Ala Igbo]

LINGUISTIC FAMILY TREE OF WEST AFRICA (NOTE THAT YORUBA, IGBO, EDO etc.) HAVE A COMMON LINGUISTIC ORIGIN

 

[The Odum of Ala Igbo]

MORE ON 'WEST BENUE CONGO'

The groups that expanded to break apart the previously dispersed East Benue-Congo groups in the central part of Nigeria were predominantly those now distinguished as the “West-Benue-Congo” group of languages (though on the map at left, they are called “Volta-Niger”.. This means (following the historical inferences about cultivation outlined above) that this speech-community moved from the Nigerian plateau south toward and into the rain forest, and that the speakers of their proto-languages began differentiating into their separate but overall contiguous locations, from their center of historical gravity lying somewhere in the area surrounding the confluence of the Niger and Benue Rivers.

Within the major group are four main divisions in terms of linguistic difference: YEAI, Akpes, Ayere-Ahan, and NOI. Of these, the middle two in the diagram — Akpes and Ayeere-Ahan, are (in recent times) language islands contained within a surrounding Yoruba-speaking “sea”. The same applies to Akokoid (within the YEAI group). This suggests that these groups moved into the forest prior to the Yoruboid group, who subsequently expanded further, in several directions, eventually engulfing them.

Since the Edoid (in very pale green) and Igboid groups show a solid geographical distribution running into the forest, it makes sense to infer that these two groups moved into that domain first, more or less paralleling each other. The Yoruboid expansion, which includes both Yoruba and Igala languages and which came to border (and to some extent enfold) both the Edo and Igbo groups, poses special questions in light of its very widespread distribution. Robin Horton (1979) presented a diagram interpreting the expansion of its major divisions, utilizing the comparative linguistics study of Akinkugbe (1978) and Obayemi’s (1976) earlier suggestions.52 In the map below, I show a rough version of that diagram, together with suggested movements for the other main divisions of West-Benue-Congo (setting aside the small encapsulated groups just discussed).

 

[The Odum of Ala Igbo]

The last branch of “West-Benue-Congo”, labelled “NOI” on the diagram (for Nupe-Oko-Idoma), shows a similar center of gravity around the Confluence, Nupe with a movement to the north, Idoma to the southeast, and Oko perhaps no movement at all (it is a small group located southwest of the Confluence, now encapsulated by Yoruba and Nupe speakers).

One might question whether a “West-Benue-Congo” dispersion might be better viewed as occurring from a location further west than the one suggested above by Blench for “East-Benue-Congo”, but our authorities seem to be adamant in regarding this as the linguistic home for both the East and the West branch. Williamson in her “Benue-Congo Overview” of 1989 (p. 272) identified the Niger-Benue confluence as the focal point for the entire Benue-Congo homeland (both West and East), while Blench (2004) strongly emphasizes

 

[Warthog]

LINGUISTIC FAMILY TREE OF WEST AFRICA (NOTE THAT YORUBA, IGBO, EDO etc.) HAVE A COMMON LINGUISTIC ORIGIN

West Benue-Congo is now called Volta-Niger. Also the Gbe languages are part of the language branch as well.

 

[The Odum of Ala Igbo]

West Benue-Congo is now called Volta-Niger. Also the Gbe languages are part of the language branch as well.

We can deduce that ancestrally, tens of millions of West Africans had their ancestors come out of Central Nigeria. Nigeria, along with Senegal/Mauretania/Mali is a locus of West African history

 

[Bawon Samedi]

lol... I doubt the Kanem Empire was THAT massive...

 

[Warthog]

We can deduce that ancestrally, tens of millions of West Africans had their ancestors come out of Central Nigeria. Nigeria, along with Senegal/Mauretania/Mali is a locus of West African history

Perhaps.
However we're talking about a timespan of many thousands of years.
I mean I kinda agree with you about many West Africans descending from ancient/neolithic Nigerians. Y-DNA E1b1a7* and E1b1a7a* seems to have arose in Nigeria about 9000 years ago.
Y-DNA E1b1a7* and E1b1a7a* seem to be found among West Africans in the Guinean Forest regions and was part of the Bantu expansion 4kya.
Infact among West Africans there seem to be 2 distinct autosomal ancestries (still they are very much similar to each other):
A 'Sudano-Sahelian' Autosomal (Mainly found among the Dogon, Malians, Senegambians, Fulanis etc.)
A 'Sudano-Guinean autosomal (Highest concentration among Nigerians)

 

[Bawon Samedi]

I doubt many West Africans descend from Neolithic Nigerians. Especially not Mande people.

 

[Warthog]

I doubt many West Africans descend from Neolithic Nigerians. Especially not Mande people.

I won't rule it out completely.
Y-DNA E1b1a7a* seems to be very much a Sudano-Guinean coastal marker. Granted, It's rarely found in the Sahel. The best guesses of where it appeared first is Nigeria.

 

[Bawon Samedi]

I won't rule it out completely.
Y-DNA E1b1a7a* seems to be very much a Sudano-Guinean coastal marker. Granted, It's rarely found in the Sahel. The best guesses of where it appeared first is Nigeria.

E1b1a7a doesn't speak for all West Africans or Niger-Congo speakers. The oldest settlements in West Africa seem to be in the Sahel i.e Mali and Mauritania. Even the oldest pottery. Everything hints at a North to south migration since the Green Sahara. Even the ancestors of the Sonnike lived more Northern. Not only that but Ounanian culture(which many West Africans descend from) started in the Western Sahara.

Nigeria having the oldest iron working, settlements and West Africans coming from there always had holes in it.;..