Upper Cross · Nigeria’s peoples

Ufia

The Ufia are the people of Utonkon district in Ado LGA, southern Benue.

At a glance

Where do the Ufia people live?: Their homeland is in Ado in Benue State, across 1 local government area.
What language do the Ufia speak?: Korring (K'ufia dialect), a language of the Upper Cross family (Atlantic-Congo › Volta-Congo › Benue-Congo › Delta Cross › Upper Cross).
Who is the traditional ruler of the Ufia?: Olong Wu'fia (Ulonga Ufia), seated at Ado.

Overview

The Ufia are the people of Utonkon district in Ado LGA, southern Benue. They speak K'ufia, a dialect of Korring, the language of the Ukelle of Cross River and the Orring of Ebonyi, not Idoma. Their tradition brings them north from the Yala country through Ebonyi to Utonkon in the early 1500s. They count themselves part of the Idoma nation, and whether that makes them Idoma is argued among the Ufia themselves.^[2],[1],[3]Disputed

Where the Ufia live

Local government areas by state. Homeland: the group is the majority. Shared area: a large share of a mixed area. Smaller presence: present, but a small share.

Benue
- Ado(Shared area)

Areas are approximate and show where people live. They are not claims of land ownership.

Communities beyond the homeland

Utonkon

Ado, Benue State: Watuolo, Ogedegi, Amanda, Ameka Rijo.^[2],[8]High confidence

Ufia tradition, as Ijogi tells it, has them settle first in the present Yala LGA of Cross River, then move through Ebonyi, where their Orring kin still live at Ntezi, Okpoto, Amuda and Effium, and reach Utonkon in the early 1500s after wars with the Ezza and Igbo. In the order of settlement he gives, the Akweya came first, then the Igede and the Ufia, and Igumale last, on land given up by the Ufia and Agila. Catholic missionaries reached Utonkon in 1922 and founded St Paul's parish.^[3],[2],[7]

Farmers of yam, cassava and maize. The New Yam festival (Richi) and the Jokah masquerade festival mark the harvest.^[2]

Language

Korring (K'ufia dialect), a language of the Upper Cross family (Atlantic-Congo › Volta-Congo › Benue-Congo › Delta Cross › Upper Cross). ISO 639-3: org.^{[1],[2],[3],[4],[5]}Disputed

Traditional ruler

Olong Wu'fia (Ulonga Ufia), seated at Ado.^[3],[6]Medium confidence

Sources

Every claim carries a confidence level: high (well attested), medium (one source or approximate) or disputed (sources disagree).