Welcome • Sponsors • Conference Schedule •Panelist Handbook • Abstracts and Bios • Contact Us

Abstracts and Bios

Revisiting the Lagos Awori Frontier: Migrations and the 19th Transformation

Hakeem I. Tijani
Department of History & Political Science, University of St. Francis, Joliet, Illinois

Scholars and local historians have neglected the history of Awori people beyond Lagos Island. However, the study of migration and frontier transformation of Lagos Awori greatly illuminates the upheavals and cultural mixture of its population, with special relevance to its impact on nineteenth-century Yoruba hinterland warfare and socio-political transformation. The Lagos Awori-Yoruba frontier is the area west of Lagos Island and east of the Ogu-speaking people of Badagry. With the exception of some coastal and lagoon communities (Ojo, Ale-Araromi, and Iworo), the central communities are located in an interlocked area. The western Awori frontier on the other hand, historically consisted of settlements of about twenty-five square miles of land north of Badagry creek and west of the Ologe creek. This frontier merits sustained investigation because of its sustained migrations, historical peopling and settlement, cultural dynamics, and interaction with neighbors. In particular, it offers "hinterland migration narratives," demonstrates affinities across Awori groups, and highlights Benin/Ile-Ife connections. The paper focuses on the history of the Awori-Yoruba people, their culture, and society from the earliest times up to the late 19th century within the context of migration and frontier-history. It is a micro-study of the different Awori settlements (mostly) west of Lagos colony with emphasis on frontier development due to 19th century migrations.