Diasporas and Ethnic Identities in Africa

The EDO Ne Ekue Among the Northeast Yoruba, 1485-1995

Author: Uyilawa Usuanlele

Diasporas and Ethnic Identities in Africa

Using the Edo ne Ekue as a case study, this book examines Edo people during the pre-colonial period by shedding light on their political institutions, trading networks, and associations affiliated with the Benin royal imperial court while simultaneously being distinct from the court.

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Despite the enormous work on diasporas relating to Africa, the majority of this work focuses on trade diasporas located in West African groups, only mentioning the pre-colonial period in passing. Therefore, there is a need to redirect research on diasporas from within Africa to include non-economic diasporas during this time period. Diasporas and Ethnic Identity in Africa: The Edo ne Ekue among the Northeast Yoruba, 1485–1995 fills a gap by discussing the existence of diasporas in pre-colonial Africa that have been neglected by African scholars. Using the Edo ne Ekue as a case study, Uyilawa Usuanlele examines Edo people by shedding light on their political institutions, trading networks, and associations as autonomous and distinct within the Benin Kingdom. This book also discusses how the Edo ne Ekue simultaneously linked their institutions with the royal court of the Benin Kingdom at the expense of the local rulers of their host communities. Throughout this study, Usuanlele provides a better understanding of ethnic identity, state by state relations and their members outside their territorial boundaries to discover the dynamics of political, economic, and social changes within and between communities during and after pre-colonial times.

Critic Reviews

"As a foremost precolonial empire, colonial and colonized state, and post-colonial formation, Benin presents an important paradigm of autochthonous African development. In this book, Uyilawa Usuanlele, one of the leading scholars of Benin history, offers new perspectives on knowledge of Benin history, political economy, social formations, development trajectory, and especially the ability of the ancient kingdom to spread its power space through military might, enduring sociocultural exchanges and assimilation. Usuanlele does this through the rich exposition and analysis of the Edo ne kue phenomenon, one of the unexplored and mythical pillars of Benin's territorial and social prowess and greatness that has survived to this day in spite of colonial and post-colonial interventions and reconstructions."

"Only a few can claim the depth of knowledge and versatility of Uyilawa Usuanlele when it comes to Edo history. With scholarly research now in its fifth decade and a 'royal' embedding in all of Edo's institutions, the rich data provided within this book supplies a wonderful analysis on erudition. The results and the outcome are both extraordinary and profound."

"This study is an essential history that provides a deeper understanding of the Benin aftermath in Northeast Yorubaland, focusing on the survival of Edo Identity as Edo ne Ekue and its documentation as an African internal Diaspora group. Diasporas and Ethnic Identities in Africa moves far beyond a discussion of intergroup relations and processes to provide additional insights about Benin imperialism and the inexorable expansion of the Western frontier of the Benin Empire into Northeast Yorubaland."