Orhuwhorun
The Orhuwhorun people
“Ogba kwo Orhuwhorun mue en” which means an attempt formed to capture her people can not succeed. This old saying was birthed in 1901 after George Eyube died from an accidental shot fired from his own pistol during a patrol from Orokpo to Orhuwhorun in an attempt of bringing the people under firmer control.
The Orhuwhorun people are sometimes referred to as Ugbede and Obodo people, they reside in the northeastern part of Udu Local Government Area of Delta State Nigeria.
The land is surrounded by neighbouring communities. Ekete in the north, Owhrode in the south, Egini in the east, and Usieffrun (Urhiephron) in the west. Some communities like Ovwian, Arhagba, and Igbogidi form boundaries in the south-west and the south-east of Orhuwhorun.
According to the 2006 census figures, Udu local government has a population of 142480 and Orhuwhorun is inclusive. Orhuwhorun has grown to be the second most prominent and fast-developing town in the Udu environment, due to the establishment of the Delta Steel Company housing complex built in the 1970s for its workers. With this township Orhuwhorun developed and moved from being a rural area to an urban center.
The Urhobo language predominantly spoken by them is known as Udu.
In customs, they have a distinct annual festival that includes, Unueje, "Chechegbe" masquerade, and an annual epha female festival" literally known as "emeteyavwon" and "jabojawo" at which initiated daughters parade the streets of the town half-naked to mark the coming of a new age.
They also have themselves an autonomous kingdom which was obtained from Aka (Benin) by a man named Okaka from eyenduvwon now Ekrovie quarters around the year 1715 to 1717. The king in Orhuwhorun as in every other Urhobo community is called the Ovie and greeted as Oghievworo! Oghievworo!! Osieran!!! wo su ton, and he is assisted by the council of chiefs and elders (Iletu, Ilorogun, Igbu-irue and Irehren).
Account of migration
Oral interviews and myths from legends and published sources have it that Orhuwhorun founding father named Omiere migrated from the present-day Uwheru in Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State. They migrated around the 15th century to the present-day Otor-udu. Omiere and his group were not the only migrants that moved out from Uwheru. Owerhiave and his wife Ekperhie left Uwheru around the same time the Omiere party left and founded Ekwerhe in Agbarho. Also, Enyuto, a part of Oyede in Isoko, was said to have moved out from Uwheru at the same time when Omiere migrated. Another man also migrated from Uwheru and formed a part of Ibredeni in the Ndokwa local Government Area of Delta State.
Villages that migrated from Uwheru formed Amassama and Kokori and Ibredeni in the Kwale division. There was a war between the Omieres and the Ijaws in which Egi and Sogun, the two Ijaw warriors were killed in retaliation for the death of a man in Omiere's camp. This conflict led to the migration of Omiere and his people to the present-day Udu Local Government area.
Migration from Uwheru to Otor-Udu
According to oral myths, the present-day Otor-udu is where Omiere and his family first settled following a clash with the ijaw warriors. The family traveled south and pitched a camp near the present-day Otorogo gas plant. Before long, they had another problem of insecurity with Ovo. Ovo was the rebel supreme commander of the fighting force of Udu. He was said to be envious of Omiere's military might. At one time Ovo had a secret plan to wipe out Omiere and his people. He made the Orhuwhorun (Omiere) people dig a big hole in the ground and work in it. While the Omiere people were busy in the pit, he poured buckets of boiling water into the pit with the intention to roast them alive. Unfortunately for him, Omiere escaped with his family and pushed further north again to a new place called Owhrode.
However, the Orhuwhorun people are believed to have settled in Otor-Udu before the Udu party came. The relics and confirmation of the first arrivals in the area is the belief of the Orhuwhorun man, that the remaining Udu groups came much later and so whenever the other Udu groups want to talk about the Orhuwhorun man, they respectfully refer to them as “Orhuwhorun -ekpako” which means the Orhuwhorun people are seniors This is a common belief among the people that gives authenticity to the longevity of the Orhuwhorun people in the Udu environment.
The present-day Owhrode community in Udu local government area of Delta state, about 2 kilometers south away from the present abode of Orhuwhorun was where Omiere moved his family to and settled temporarily for some years after he escaped from Ovo leadership force. Here, he removed his residence further to find their present location which was named after one of the earlier arrivals as Ugbede, and later changed to Obodo before changing finally to Orhuwhorun in 1976. The name Orhuwhorun is a corrupt form of Orho-Ughweru which literary means a village from Uwheru.
Their migration from Owhrode to their present abode was necessitated by water scarcity. In other words, they moved out from Owhrode in search of a regular water supply. It was this unbearable situation that made the Omiere people move their residence further south in search of land that has rivers and streams. This natural quest to get a better form of existence drove them further toward their present abode Orhuwhorun where they saw a natural permanent water supply that they were looking for
The Orhuwhorun anthem
Ukpe tere, ovie ka tota meke tota, Orhuwhorun yo-orhe, oke unueje kelere, Ovie kiriare, echa-bo-ronye ewokpahon, Iletu te’ irheren, ayen-je kiria kele, Igbu-iwrhe ebovo, ilorogun kebewoba, Orere-jobi, avwitiyin roro ma, Ovie avwen kiriare, Ewrho ogodor jobi kpasa,
Oyovwi r’ Okaka oduvie r’ Orhuwhorun.
Orhuwhorun gini yovwi, Ofo-orere avwi-owohor Ovie avwen kiriare
Eh ya eh eh...
Arho oyen etogbe eh not
English translation.
The season is due for the king to speak before others, Orhuwhorun proclaims, festival season is near. The king is seated, together with the nobles. Warriors, votaries, and Chiefs converse with one another declaring, Our king is crowned and seated, His works are due with admiration. Thanks to Okaka who bequeathed us royalty.
Stanza two
The land is blessed and is fit to be called a home, Our king is crowned, his judgments are fair, Join me rejoice (repeatedly
Further reading
- O. Ikime: Niger Delta Rivalry, Itsekiri Urhobo Relations and the Europeans presence 1884–193. London; Longman Group Limited 1969.
- Perkins Foss: where gods and mortals meet; Continuity and Renewal in Urhobo Art, New York: Museum for African Art and Snoeck Publishers 2004
- G.G Darah: Battle of songs: Udje tradition of the Urhobo. Lagos Malthouse Press Limited 2005.
- Otite Onigue: The Urhobo people: Second Edition, Ibadan: Shaneson C.I. Limited, 2003 pg 74.
- Derm, Lambert: Intelligent Report on Uwheru clan 1932 National Archive Ibadan
- Urhobo Vanguard dated 18. 2004
- June 2013: letter to the Editor by Gibson Ogheneochuko Fenfe in a form of a rejoinder to a paid advert in the Vanguard newspaper dated May 7, 2013, by the Udu people in Great Britain and Ireland.
- Treaty with Kings and Chiefs of Obodo, Intelligence Report on Obodo clan 1930 The treaty can be found in Ref No. 406 of 1886, dated 27 May 1895, and drawn up between her Brittanic Majesty and Kings and Chiefs of Obodo. It was in the customary form in which treaties of peace, commerce, and protection were drafted at the time and embodied the usual nine articles. It was signed by the Vice-consul of the Niger protectorate, Major W.E.B Copland-Crawford on behalf of Her Brittanic Majesty and by eight ‘Soi-distance’ Chiefs of Obodo.
- 2013: letter to the Editor by Gibson Ogheneochuko Fenfe in a form of a rejoinder to a paid advert in the Vanguard newspaper dated May 7, 2013, by the Udu people in Great Britain and Ireland.
References
- Orhuwhorun Monarch Visit Oba of Benin. (2012) Retrieved from Urhobo Times Press Ltd
- Letter to Editor. (2013) Retrieved from . Urhobo Vanguard.