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Nigeria: The Ukwuani ethnic group and the annual Osunsukwa festival, which involves female genital mutilation

Information specifically referring to the Ukwuani ethnic group is limited, and no information regarding their annual Osunsukwa festival could be found among the documentary sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

The Ukwuani comprise one of the major ethnic groups of the Delta State region, the others being the Igbo (Asaba), Itsekiri, Ijaw, Isoko, Ika and Urhobo (This Day 17 Apr. 2002; NDC Nov. 2002; OnlineNigeria.com n.d.; UHS 2003).

The electronic version of Ethnologue: Languages of the World claims that the dialects called Ukwuani (Ukwani, Ukwali, Kwale), Aboh (Eboh) and Ndoni are spoken among 150,000 people in the regions of Delta State, Ndokwa Local Government Area (LGA), and Rivers State, Ahoada LGA (Jan. 2003). Ethnologue also notes that these dialects form a cluster within the Igbo language cluster (Jan. 2003).

Referring to the Delta region, a professor of anthropology at Franklin and Marshall College who has worked in Nigeria and written extensively on Igbo socio-cultural issues stated, in correspondence with the Research Directorate, that, "in terms of female initiation ceremonies that may include genital surgeries, this is one part of Nigeria where I would expect to see them" (27 Aug. 2003).

A United States Department of State report entitled Nigeria: Report on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) or Female Genital Cutting (FGC) based on the results of a 1997 study conducted by the Inter-African Committee of Nigeria on Harmful Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children (IAC), shows that 80 to 90 per cent of women in the Delta region undergo female genital mutilation (US 1 June 2001).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Associate professor of anthropology, Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, PA. 27 August 2003. Correspondence.

Ethnologue: Languages of the World. January 2003. 14th ed. Edited by Barbara F. Grimes and Joseph E. Grimes. "Ukwuani-Aboh-Ndoni: A Language of Nigeria." <http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=UKW> [Accessed 26 Aug. 2003]

Niger Delta Congress (NDC). November 2002. Urhobo Historical Society. "The Politics of Delta State Capital." <http://www.nigerdeltacongress.com/particles/politics_of_delta_state_capital.htm> [Accessed 26 Aug. 2003]

OnlineNigeria.com. n.d. "Tribes in Nigeria." <http://www.onlinenigeria.com/tribes/default2.asp> [Accessed 26 Aug. 2003]

This Day [Lagos]. 17 April 2002. "Battle for the Big Heart." (allAfrica.com/Dialog)

United States (US). 1 June 2001. United States Department of State. "Nigeria: Report on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) or Female Genital Cutting (FGC)." <http://www.state.gov/g/wi/rls/rep/crfgm/10106pf.htm> [Accessed 12 Feb. 2003]

Urhobo Historical Society (UHS). 2003. Albert Aweto. "The Main Ethnic Nationalities of the Niger Delta." <http://www.waado.org/NigerDelta/Maps/NgDeltaEthnic-Aweto.html> [Accessed 26 Aug. 2003]

Additional Sources Consulted

Dialog
Ethnic Groups Worldwide
IRB Databases
World Directory of Minorities

Internet sites, including:

Africa Online
AllAfrica.com
BBC News
Delta State
Edo Nation Online
Human Rights Forum
Human Rights Watch
Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN)
Nigeria Daily
Nigerian Nation
Motherland Nigeria
Vanguard

Search engine:

Google

Topics: Female Genital Mutilation (FGM),