The Gun people, also rendered Ogũ, Ogun and Egun, are an

ethnic group An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

located majorly in

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

and

Ogun State Ogun State is a state in southwestern Nigeria. Created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State. Ogun State borders Lagos State to the south, Oyo State and Osun State to the north, Ondo State to the east, and the Republic of Benin to the ...

in southwestern Nigeria, and

Ouémé Department Ouémé is one of the twelve departments of Benin, containing the capital of the country Porto Novo. It is subdivided into nine communes, each centred at one of the principal towns: Adjarra, Adjohoun, Aguégués, Akpro-Missérété, Avrankou, B ...

in the southeast of the Republic of Benin, who speak the Gun language. The Ogu account for about 15% of the indigenous population of

Lagos State Lagos State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Èkó) is a States of Nigeria, state in South West (Nigeria), southwestern Nigeria. Of the 36 States of Nigeria, states, it is both the List of Nigerian states by population, most populous and List of Nigerian state ...

and 6% of the total population of the Republic of Benin.

Origin

The Ogu people were settlers in the old

Dahomey The Kingdom of Dahomey () was a West African kingdom located within present-day Benin that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. Dahomey developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in the early 17th century and became a region ...

presently known as

Republic of Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Republic of Dahomey, Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burki ...

Oral history Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people wh ...

has it that the Ogu people are a descendant of those who migrated from Whydah, Allada and Weme which are now part of the Republic of Benin as a result of the Dahomean War that occurred during the 18th century. According to Mesawaku, a historian; the Ogu people migrated to

Badagry Badagry (traditionally Gbagli) also spelled Badagri, is a coastal town and Local Government Area (LGA) in Lagos State, Nigeria. It is quite close to the city of Lagos, and located on the north bank of Porto Novo Creek, an inland waterway that con ...

as early as the 15th century due to the need for security.

Geography and people

The Ogu people are found in

and in the

Yewa The Ẹgbado, now Yewa, are a subgroup of the Yoruba people and inhabit the eastern area of Ogun West Senatorial District, Ogun State, in south-west Nigeria, Africa. In 1995 they changed their name to the Yewa which comes from the Yewa River whi ...

and

Ipokia Ipokia is the metropolitan headquarters of Anago kingdom. It is an ancient kingdom in old Oyo empire. Unlike the other kingdoms, which had at one time or the other engaged in the internecine wars that ravaged Yorubaland in the nineteenth century, ...

region of Ogun State. They are also located in some parts of the

. Since their environment is surrounded by water, majority of Ogu people are into fishing, coconut processing and salt production while some are involved in trading and farming. The people of Ogu strongly believe in their traditions despite most of them being followers of other religions, they are seen worshipping a deity called

Zangbeto Zangbeto are the traditional voodoo guardians of the night among the Ogu (or Egun) people of Benin, Togo and Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the ...

.(A Nightman) . The Ogu people share similarities with the Yorubas owing to the fact that during the 17-18th the Dahomey Empire was under the

Oyo Empire The Oyo Empire was a powerful Yoruba empire of West Africa made up of parts of present-day eastern Benin and western Nigeria (including Southwest zone and the western half of Northcentral zone). It grew to become the largest Yoruba language, ...

rule, thus the strengthen relationship between both ethnicities.

Bibliography

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References

{{authority control Ethnic groups in Nigeria Ethnic groups in Benin