Igala People in the Usa

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Geographical Location: Igala is the language spoken by the people located within the triangle formed by the confluence of the rivers Niger and Benue in Kogi State of Nigeria. 'The Igala people are found east of the confluence of these rivers. The land is bounded on the west by River Niger, on the east by Enugu State, the south by Anambra State,on the north Benue/Nassarawa States. It is 120 kilometers wide and 160 kilometers long. It is located approximately between latitudes 6°30' and 8° north and longitudes 6°30' and 7°40' East and covers an area of about 13,665 square kilometers. The population of the Igala people is estimated at two million in the late 1990s. The people are evenly distributed all over the land but with ldah, Anyigba and Ankpa more densely populated. The Igala are also sparsely found in Edo, Delta, Anambra and Enugu States. But the huge bulk ofthe people are in Idah, Ankpa, Dekina, Omala, Olamaboro, Ofu, Igalamela/Odolu, lbaji, Bassa (and even Lokoja and Ajaokuta) Local Government Areas of Kogi State. The boundary of the land was by far larger than it isin our time. The traditional limits of the land included: 'The greater part of ldomaland, Nsukka area, Kogi, Anambra area (North of Onitsba).... The Atta of Igala formerly exercised suzerainty over them. The Igala are unmistakably the major language group in Kogi State of Nigeria today. . Igalaland could be said to be a sort of terminus. It is located strategically at the natural cross-roads in Nigeria. Owing to this reason, it has been influenced both positively and negatively by trends of events as it is pulled in different directions. By and large, it has enjoyed some degree of encounter with the Yoruba, Edo (Benin), Jukun, Idoma, Nupe, Igbo, Hausa, Igbirra, Bassa-kwomo and Bassa-nge. This experience naturally left certain imprints on the tradition or culture of the

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