African Journal of
History and Culture

  • Abbreviation: Afr. J. Hist. Cult.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 2141-6672
  • DOI: 10.5897/AJHC
  • Start Year: 2009
  • Published Articles: 197

Article in Press

IN SEARCH OF OUR HISTORY: THE ORIGIN OF THE EGGON CENTRALIZED TRADITIONAL CHIEFTAINCY INSTITUTION

Aaron Kuje

  •  Received: 27 April 2021
  •  Accepted: 24 August 2021
Culture is the totality of what a people are and what they believe. Any society, therefore, that undermines its culture touches the very soul of their existence. To this extent, culture must be invigorated from one generation to the other to avoid extinction. The Eggon nation from the beginning has been endowed with very rich Mythical history but over the years there have been a tendency to lose all of it at the altar of modernity. Several Scholars have made attempts to rediscover, express and promote the culture of the Eggon people as embodied in its language, customs and Costumes but piecemeal or fragmented manner, which have not produced the desired intention. This effort is to harmonize together a document that will go a long way to provide the present and future generations specifically, a chronological history of ‘The Origin of the Eggon Centralized Traditional Chieftaincy Institution’. This effort is also timely in view of the fact that many of our Older Generations are passing away when our ancient customs and traditions have not been properly documented. Cultural rediscovery and revival among our people has also become very important today in view of the massive cross cultural interactions taking place among Eggon and other ethnic nationalities which is gradually adulterating our values and language. An ethnic group that yields to this pressure easily loses its cultural heritage and by so doing, its identity. This ugly trend must be resisted by Eggon sons and daughters living today in order to reposition Eggon people for a greater tomorrow. The Eggon people are domiciled and indigenous to; and are the predominant tribe in Nasarawa state. They are found in all the Local Government Areas of the State in a sizeable population. Nasarawa state is located at the central part of Nigeria otherwise known as North-Central Nigeria. The Eggon people are also settled in different parts of Nigeria and overseas. They are mostly agrarian, and few decades ago went into trading, business and have great passion for Western education.

Keywords: Eggon history, eggon nasarawa state