The Ohori (sometimes called Ije) are a subgroup of the

Yoruba people The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...

of West Africa. The local domain of the Ohori is South-eastern Benin north of Pobè town expanding westwards to and west of the

Ouémé River The Ouémé River, also known as the Weme River, is a river in Benin. It rises in the Atakora Mountains, and is about long. It flows past the towns of Carnotville and Ouémé to a large delta on the Gulf of Guinea near the seaport city of Coto ...

. Often, Ohoris, together with groups of Ifonyis, Aworis and Ketus are known collectively as '

Nagos The word Nagos refers to all Brazilian Yoruba people, their African descendants, Yoruba myth, ritual, and cosmological patterns. ''Nagos'' derives from the word ''anago'', a term Fon-speaking people used to describe Yoruba-speaking people from ...

" in Benin.

Geography

Ohori areas are bound by various Yoruba subgroups to the North, East and South. Egbados (Yewas) are to be found towards the East, the Ifonyis bound them to the South, while to their Northern boundary are the Ketus. They are bounded by the Gbe speaking Fon/Mahi group towards the West.

History

The Ohori natural environment is a naturally swampy/marshy waterlogged depression (Kumi swamp) with what could be described as adverse physical conditions, therefore the area had historically been a safe haven for people fleeing persecution from the larger entities of

Ketu KETU (1120 AM) is a radio station licensed to serve Catoosa, Oklahoma. The station is owned by Antonio Perez, through licensee Radio Las Americas Arkansas, LLC. The station was licensed originally to Atoka, Oklahoma, and operated for many years ...

, Oyo and others. Because of their relative inaccessibility during the rainy season, the Ohori were considered by their neighbours to be among the most conservative Yoruba, and their speech is quite distinct. By the 19th century, Ohori area fell under an area of French colonial ambitions. Unfavorable policies by the French led to an Ohori uprising. By 1914, there was a full-scale rebellion against French rule. The rebellion was brutally crushed and Ohori-Ije the main town was totally destroyed. After that, a large population of Ohori began mass migrations to the British-ruled Nigeria to the east. By their own classifications the Ohoris can be subdivided into two groups: The ''Ohori-Ije'' who live in the great samps between Ipobe and Ketu, and the ''Ohori-Ketu'' who can be destribed as the 'drylanders'

Dialect

The local Ohori speech is known as Ede Ije which is mutually intelligible to speakers of other dialectal forms of

Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...

. According to Ethnologue, ''Ede Ije'' has a 91% lexical similarity with ''Ede Nago'', and an 85% similarity with spoken Yoruba of

Porto-Novo Porto-Novo (Portuguese: "New Port", , ; yo, Àjàṣẹ́, ), also known as Hogbonu and Ajashe, is the capital of Benin. The commune covers an area of and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people. Situated on an inlet of the Gulf of Gu ...

. Although even more dialectal levelling is taking place among the Ohori with increasing social and geographical mobility, as they become more exposed to more popular forms of Yoruba, as well as through increasing Education and Media exposure.

References

{{Reflist Yoruba subgroups