The Esan Tribe

A Photo Essay by Christiana Okoyomo

Background Information

The Esan people are an ethic group if southeastern Nigeria, they are from Edo state and have a population of over 1 million making u less then 1% of the total population of Nigeria. Esan people speak the language Esan, Esan's ae known for their rich culture heritage traditional festivals and artistic expressions. Esan People have rich traditions of music, dance and folklore passed down from generation to generation. The Esan people blend tradition and more modern values to express their culture. Currently many Esans fear that their language might disappear due to people not teaching their children how to speak it, but many have been creating groups to preserve the culture. It is Important to show case this culture which a on the verge of disappearing.

Photo 1 Caption: Igbabonelimwin an acrobatic, masquerade dance-theatre common with the Esan people of Edo State of Nigeria. The word means “clapping for the spirit”. Igbabonelimhin is a compound word for 'Igbabo' which literary means to clap and 'Elimlin' which means Spirit. In this photo a person or spirt is in masquerade dancing while people sing and clap in the background

Photo 2 Caption: he picture is of an Esan Bride, her family, and friends

Esan people have traditional weddings in which the bride's wear red beads on their heads, wrists, and neck, they usually have their hair tied up with African threading with a usually a red wrapper or dress for the ceremony

Photo 3 Caption: Jollof is an extremely popular dish throughout west Africa and has become a staple in Esan culture. The rice is made with tomatoes peppers onions and Nigerian spices served with a assortments of meat

Photos 4 & 5 Caption: The drum in the picture is known as a talking drum to play you hold the strings of the drum together and hit the drum with the stick to play. It is talked a talking drum due to the drum's sounds sounding similar to someone talking

Picture 6 caption; This is a pictue of the Edo State flag The 3 stars and Red repesent the bloodshed of fallen edo warriors, green for vegetarition and geograhphy, White for peace, The stars aslo repesent 3 stars represent the people of Benin, Esan, and Afemai.