SUMMARY
In summary, the economic activities of the Pre-colonial Isoko people were unique and dynamic and was greatly influenced by the geographical and climatic conditions of their territory. The people reside in much of the coastal regions of present day Nigeria and share boundaries or territories with the Urhobos, Ukwanis and Ijaws. There are various traditions of origin of the people, but the most recognized theories are those that claim that the people migrated from Benin, during the reign of Oba Ozolua between 1483 and 1514, while others maintain that the people migrated peacefully from Benin before Oba Ozolua reign. Other traditions of origin either claim that the Isoko people migrated as a sub-group from the Urhobos, or that they were an already established people who resided in their current abode, but were influenced greatly by their Urhobo and Itsekiri neigbours.
The Isoko people formed a single social or political unit, and local communities remained autonomous, although they were classified and constituted under the age grade systems, with the Olotus and Ototas at the helm of affairs due to their knowledge, wisdom and charismatic personalities. But in some parts, of Isokoland, the people were ruled by ‘Ovies’, i.e. kings who were constituted to serve as the monarchical rulers to the people, and fashioned in such a way as to emulate the monarchical system of the Benin Kingdom. The people were also worshippers of African Traditional religion which includes belief in a creator god i.e. Oghene and his messangers in spirits, and in ancestral worship. Diviners were consulted to explain failures in any activity, on occasions of illness or death, and before economic activities were carried out. Belief in witchcraft was also rife during this period. Also, female circumcision was common, as it also connoted a wealthy status of the girl’s family, due to the pomp and pageantry of the event.
