ABSTRACT
Pre-colonial Africa has been described inter alia a period of isolation; a dark era wherein no such thing as inter-group relations existed amongst African peoples. So widely was this view propagated by European scholars, that its discountenance has in recent times been a major facet of Nigerian historiography. Numerous Nigerian scholars have devoted enormous effort and resources in seeking to the eventual evaporation of such Euro-centric view of Africa (and indeed, Nigeria). Attempts have been made to disprove the isolation stance of the African peoples by uncovering the various webs of interaction that knitted the people together. Nigeria, not only had a historical past, but one that was highly operational and relevant to the development process of the people before the advent of the Europeans. To think dependent societies can exist without having some form of interactions exposes the myopia of these European “scholars”.
In Africa’s remote past, societies depended on one another. Differentials in geographical and resource endowment, for instance, necessitated the spinning of network of contacts and intermingling relationships amongst the peoples. the Ukwauni and the Urhobos manifested such contacts wherein a wide range of networks and links flourished.
It is clear from the traditions of origin that many of these groups came into contact with one another, and through various processes, mutual cultural borrowings existed. Indeed, an investigation of the socio-political relations of the Ukwauni and the Urhobos reveals that the people exchanged beliefs and practices during religious festivals, rituals, etc.
Another major aspect of socio-cultural relations was marriage. Marriages aided in establishing, cementing and promoting cross-cutting loyalties between the people. Also, because peace is a fundamental requirement for inter-group relations, war is often seen as an ‘unusual’ pattern of inter-group relations. However, its role as a factor of contact and interaction was equally important. Societies driven by distinct interests occasionally declared wars against each other. the Ukwauni and the Urhobos oral traditions are replete with examples of wars between their respective clans. Indeed, an eventual outcome of such war was the diffusion of political and socio-cultural ideas.
The economic variables of trade and commerce cannot be undermined. The people interacted with one another, exchanging what they had in abundance for that which they had little or none at all, so as to furnish their environment for a more meaningful survival. The Urhobos, for instance, exchanged their agricultural produce; yam, cassava, plantain, for the fish and salt of the riverine Itsekiris. Trade routes and markets were also established to facilitate such commercial transactions. Markets, not only provided functional platforms for economic contacts but also for other forms of social relations. Eventually, commercial activities in the area led to emergence of commercial centres such as in Warri, Ughelli, and Sapele.
Hence, from the findings in this study, one can conclude that the Ukwauni and the Urhobos shared a lot in common from the early times. The impacts of such common ties are exemplified in their cultural festivals, rituals, inter-marriages, customs and even dialect. The oral tradition of the Urhobos, Isoko, Itsekri, Ijo, Ukwuani, Benin and Aboh, attest to the existence and intensity of such inter-group relations in the pre-colonial period. From the foregoing therefore, one can make some reasonable conclusions such as: the the Ukwauni and the Urhobos aforementioned neighbours in the Niger Delta region had a common ancestry, notably Benin; they had socio-political relations made manifest in marriages, festivals, rituals, religious belief systems, political structures, war, etc; economic transactions i.e. trade was a highly significant aspect of their interaction.
Thus the nature of inter-group relations between the Ukwauni and the Urhobos in the pre-colonial period stresses mutuality, inter-dependency, autonomy and occasional conflicts. The insights inherent in this study reveals that the Niger Delta region was by no means a political or economic vacuum before the coming of the Europeans, rather the peoples of the region had various forms of inter-group relations.
