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ORIGIN OF ITAM PEOPLE, AKWA IBOM STATE

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The history of Etam (Itam) has a tribe of Israel which began far back in the 16th century under the control of a dynasty whose ruler took the title of Atta (king). The origin can be traced from the long era of dispersion of the Jews among nations. From this time on tradition disclosed that many Itam Jews migrated to find the promised land of their ancestors in Europe, America and Africa, particularly in Nigeria. Subsequently they migrated to the South East tribal kingdom of Nigeria where Itam tribe is an integral point. The origin of Itam is riddle with myth and legends of oral tradition since there are no written records to corroborate by oral testimonies, one is inclined to use his discretion to select and interpret the various accounts.
          One tradition has it that Itam originated from Usak Edet in the modern republic of Cameroon.  According to this source, Usak Edet is known among the Ibibio people as efik afaha (literally meaning the pond from where all afaha people including itam people came). Another tradition has it that Itam originated from ikono. The Atta (king) ruled in confederacy of Itam kingdom and enjoyed great wealth mostly derived from palm oil and slaves for which they were greatly respected by their subjects. The father of Itam Ikon was crowed a chief of significance he named his son Itam Obong from the clan got it name. Another tradition has it that Itam was made up of three (3) different village groups, all tracing their ancestry to a common father ‘Itam; who had 3 sons namely Ekit, Afaha and Ibiaku which was mentioned earlier. Ekit unfortunately hadn’t many children while the others had especially Ibiaku since Ekit was the heir to the father’s legacy, he stayed closed to the father and his sons founded the village under Ekritam while Afaha and Ibiaku sons formed villages under their father’s name. The Isu Awaitam (custodian of Awaitam oracles) said this was the reason why Ekritam village are king makers in itam.
Migration of the People of Itam
History has it that Itam people migrated in different waves from Palestine across the Cyprus island of Mediterrian coast into the ancient city of Cyrene in North Africa. E. A. Udo maintained that the claim by some Ibibio related groups that their original homes is in Palestine, Egypt, Sudan and unknown places in Niger Delta, Ghana ,Igbo land etc is not factual since their political economic religious institution, law enforcement agencies, judicial instrument and word root are identical. The Itam people as tradition revealed are Ibibio Ibritam descendant who further migrated to mainland cross river coastal region of Nigeria. This region was declared an independent colony called Akwa Obio Ukwa Ibom Ibritam (big country of Ibibio).
          The Ibibio people including Itam who occupy the south Eastern part of Nigeria have been considered to be perhaps the earliest settlers in their present location. So long they settled in the area that most of the inhabitants have no recollections of having migrated from anywhere. Talking about the occupants of the Ibibio area, Daniel emphasized that their ancestors migrated from far country up the cross river and given the fact that the cross river takes it rise in the Cameroon mountain and flows for Nigeria,  Daniel also remark the Cameroon borders as the cradle home land of the Ibibio people.
          Henry Nau, a pioneer missionary of the Lutheran mission who worked with the Ibibio obscenely that the Ibibio godfather or ancestors might have migrated from the cameroon.
          Kenneth dike in reviewing the people of the Niger Delta which include the Ibibio area observed that all the inhabitants including the Ibibio, Efik and Ijaw were Migrant from the Cameroon highlands.
The same postulation have been expressed by Barry Floyd who wrote that “it is most probable that the Ibibio migrated to their present area from the Cameroon uplands to the east and from the cross river estuary, moved up rulers as well as westward (in land and along the coastal swamps); until checked by other tribes.
          However, they have been fragmentation that the people never really did migrate from any particular place to their present location, but instead, it was an intra-clan movement. Itam had always been part and parcel of Ibibio land and was much larger than it presently is, not until a border clash with chuwku in the North, which sent them on a movement towards south eastward; further inland. It was later argued that since the base of their deity ‘Awaitam’ is here it would have been impossible to move this from its location.
          After a long period interactions the Itam Ukwa Ibom developed into what was called Enyong division in the then Eastern regional government in Nigeria which by extension is what are now called Itu, Ini, Ikono, Akamkpa, Odukpani and Ibibio Ibom Local Government Areas (six Eastern Ibibio Ibom Ibritam Traditional Government).
Geographical Location
The Ibibio people of Itam are found in Akwa Ibom of present Nigeria and are made up of the related Annang community, Eket, Oron communities. The Ibibio people are located in South Eastern Nigeria also known as coastal South Eastern. Prior to the existence of Nigeria, the Ibibio were self governed and they became part of Eastern Nigeria under the British Colonial Rule. Itam one of the principal villages in Ibibio land located in the present ITU Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. It covers an area of over 3.156km2  her present boundaries are with Ibiono Ibom, Uruan, Ini, Ikono and Uyo local governed areas. Itam consists of forty seven villages which can be grouped into three sub-groups namely North Itam, East Itam and West Itam.
The north Itam group comprises of 10 villages, the east Itam group consists of eighteen (18) villages while the west Itam group consists of nineteen (19) villages. It is believed that the issue of clanship for Itam is of colonial making, created by the colonial masters for administrative convenience. The present forty seven village’s structure for Itam also had colonial roots since there was a proliferation of villages to meet up the forty seven village’s requirement for clanship. Naturally, Itam is hilly, and the area is dissected by few hills numerous streams and a river. The region consists of fertile farm land with numerous great coconut trees, oil trees and raffia trees with their crown of feathered leaves towering high above other small trees. Itam situates in the heart of the rain forest belt and vegetation stretching over and beyond which now exist in primeval state. The geographical condition has never constituted a problem to the unity of Itam.

Expansion of Territories
Language: Ibibio people developed their language which they derived from ancient Semito language of the Jews. At bantu, Ibibio started learning and speaking Semito Hematic language of the Europeans Negros, considered to be the racial type native of south Africa for purpose of business interaction with the Portuguese traders who were navigators at the coastal region of the Mediterranean sea and the Indian ocean.
The Semito language was/is the language spoken by Ibibios, Annang, Aro Ukwu(Igbo) Efiks, Ekoi-Ukwa(Ikom) And Oro with slight variances in Hebraic dialects. For a while and during colonial period, the Semito Hebraic dialects spoken by the tribe in Bantu was replaced with the original Semito-Aphakah as the principal language of the Ibibio spoken by Itam people.
 Itam derived its name from Semito Etam language of the Jews and of which every Itaminan is an “Ibru”, a white man of Aartata Bini Aphakah ancient kingdom that constitutes the grand Awaitam Deity. Awaitam came as a grand ancestor of Saint Quentin and Atta Asurua Ibritam, arising from the twelve branches of “Akwa-Akpa Atta Ibritam’s river” (shortly called Attabrinyang by our people) that joined from the Ukana-Offot Awaitam royal kingdom. This ancestral itam royal kingdom was/is headed by the Atta (king) called Oku Oone Awaitam, the custodian of the ancestral kingship stool of itam clan.
Another scholar in his book “history of Itam people” talks about how the name Itam was derived which was founded by a brave hunter called Itam who came to the area from the central Ibibioland, probably from Ikono Area. That following inter group wars in Ikono in central Ibibio land, people were scattered and Itam in search of a peaceful settlement to carry out his hunting and farming activities came to occupy the present Itam which was named after him. At his new settlement, the tradition has it that Itam had three sons namely Afaha, Ekit Itam and Ibiaku.
Also another postulation was that Itam were a group of hunting and fishing people who lived somewhere around the coastal plain of the Cameroon republic but who either for want of a new environment, or owing to a spirit of adventure, or both or even as a result of possible hostility in the area decided to move away through the rivers to where they find themselves today. Itam must have been the man who directed the movement of some Ibibio groups to the new settlement in Itam, from then the people decided to name the new settlement after him.
After all, Itam in Ibibio language means both crown and a child born at the time his father was installed as a chief. Therefore Itam was a prince in central Ibibioland.

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  1. Unknown26 May 2020 at 16:21

    Nice write-up. Do you have verifiable sources to back up the facts in your narratives?

    ReplyDelete

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