Igala people

People	Àbó Igáláà
Country	Anẹ Igáláà

Igala People
Igáláà
	Territory of the Igala Kingdom
Total population
	3,500,000 (2020 estimate)
Regions with significant populations
	North Central (Nigeria), Middle Belt, parts of Southern Nigeria
Languages
	Igala
Religion
	Predominantly Islam (Sunni); Minority Christian
Related ethnic groups
	Nupe, Yoruba, Idoma, Edo, Igbo, Anioma, Jukun, Gbagyi

The Igala people are an ethnic group native to the region south of the confluence of the Niger and Benue Rivers in central Nigeria. The Igala people are located in an ecologically diverse region of Nigeria, ideal for the cultivation of crops,^[4] and have been influenced culturally by many surrounding cultures.

The Igala kingdom is ruled ceremonially and culturally by the Attah^[5] and has a long history of political warfare and campaigns with neighbouring groups along the Benue.^[6] Igala people traditionally worship the supreme being Ojo, as well as their divine ancestral spirits.^[7] Masquerades are an important aspect of Igala art and is prime example of the kingdom's cultural exchange with its neighbouring groups.^[8] Igala art, dating centuries back, also feature in Nigerian body decoration^[9] and cultural architecture.^[10]

Igala are a majority ethnic group in the southern and eastern lands of Kogi State and a major regional bloc in Kogi state politics. In times past, the Igala have held key state government positions.

While the present kingdom has diminished in size, Igala people and their culture have been an integral part of the formation of the communities along the Niger river, with many communities claiming origins from Idah, the ancestral home of the Igala. Minorities of the group exist in Edo, Delta, Anambra and Enugu states.

^ "Igala". Ethnologue. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
^ "Igala | people".
^ https://webarchive.archive.unhcr.org/20230530102543/https://www.refworld.org/docid/3df4be7f18.html
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[Igl-1] "Igala". Ethnologue. Retrieved 3 November 2023.

[2] "Igala | people".

[3] ttps://webarchive.archive.unhcr.org/20230530102543/https://www.refworld.org/docid/3df4be7f18.html

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Igáláà
Territory of the Igala Kingdom
Total population
3,500,000 (2020 estimate)^[1]
Regions with significant populations
North Central (Nigeria), Middle Belt, parts of Southern Nigeria
Languages
Igala
Religion
Predominantly Islam (Sunni) Minority Christian^[2]^[3]
Related ethnic groups
Nupe, Yoruba, Idoma, Edo, Igbo, Anioma, Jukun, Gbagyi