DISCOVER THE MEANING OF AKALAKA
According to GIFT VINCENT EKINE in his article THE DISCOURSE ON THE MIGRATION HISTORY OF EKPEYE FROM BENIN; in the ancient time when the people of urhobo came from Benin in 1393 during the Oba Egbeka's reign, they first settled at Abraka and it's environs.To demonstrate their benin root,they used to call themselves "Kwu'raka,it means the people of Aka,an abbreviation of Ogbeka's name" ( Ebohon Osemwegie-1400 years of Benin kingdom from the era of Ogiso to Oba Erediauwa),Ekeh (20010 stated that the Urhobo language yields clues to the profile of any society and culture to which the Ogisos ruled.To begin with,the urhobo know this kings of the house of Eweka more distantly as Oba r'Aka, the king of benin.similarly,aisien equally posited that "The Urhobos call benin "Aka" a word which features in the names of some very ancient quarters in the city.theres the Ogbe'aka the quarter of the royal musicians,and adjacent to the palace itself and almost forming the a part of the Ogbe n'akka,where Oba akengbude retired to two hundred and twelve years ago,when he abdicated the throne because of old age in favour of his beloved son OBANOSA.When satisfactory explanation is forthcoming for the Urhobo name for Benin some light would have been thrown on many aspect of our common history that remains obscure at this present time". the aged obi of aboh oputa,told the writer in a medical visit of aboh town in 1964 that the aboh people came from the Ogbe quarters of Benin city.
Ekpeye, Urhobo, Engenni,Ogba, ikwerre and other groups of the Benin origin moved out of the Kingdom to settle in other parts of the Niger delta as defined today.the migration Pattern for the Ekpeye took them through the aboh areas in present day delta state.the encounter with the aboh stock would explain the reason for the linguistic relation between the Ekpeye, ikwerre and Ogba of rivers state and Ndokwa or Kwale people of delta state this relationship appear most significant between the Ekpeye and ikwerre whom it was claimed to share the same parentage.Another significant factor is seen from the point that the Ekpeye,ikwerre and Ogba claimed akalaka as their progenitor.this should be quite interesting since the urhobos also share in this claim, it is pertinent to say that urhobo reference to the benin as Ikhu'reka and the akalaka of the Ekpeye ikwerre and Ogba are the same.this assertion holds some relevance irrespective of the variance in the language between the urhobos and the later Ekpeye people.
The prefix Ikhu means people, collection of individual and Ikwu in the Ekpeye means same, especially as it refers to groups the Urhobo Identification of the binis as "Ikwu'ereka" leads credence to the claims of Benin ancestry by the Ekpeye and other groups as with their identification of the name akalaka Which possibly could be a corruption of the word in question.The name Aka laka or kaluka,wakala in the Ekpeye, ikwerre and Ogba history point to a singular direction IGODOMIGODO.
In that case,it's occurrence in the Urhobo language could not be A MERE coincidence.it further substantiates the claims of the Ekpeye and other people since in it's current use it is alien and does not form any meaning in their new EVOLVED languages. Aisien was of the view that "the difference which have appeared, highlighted the separate individual of each of the tribes of the race with non edo people (Ibos) which had been their earliest interaction since they left benin nd also had occasion to do business with through the age" Yet if the oral tradition of the Ekpeye people is insufficient in establishing their claims of benin relationship,then the assertion by no less a figure than the OMO'N OBA EREDIUWA,Oba of benin should be considered a MAJOR contribution to the this discourse. According to the Oba Erediauwa,"it was revealed to me that the Ahoada (Ekpeye) people were of the same stock with me ethnically,their ancestors having having migrated from Benin,my own home in the 16th century". therefore is the fact embedded in the revelation to the Oba is the existence in the Benin oral tradition a historical account with particular references to particular people with lineage to the benin which is exact in it's historical context and relevant with that of the Ekpeye people.
Comments