Akunakuna

The Akunakuna are an ethnic group of Nigeria and Cameroon, closely related to the Efik and Ibibio peoples,[1] mostly inhabiting the area around the Cross River. Recent figures have indicated there are over three hundred fifty thousand Akunakuna people.[1][2]

The area of the Cross River where the Akunakuna people live (as of 1885)

Name

The Igbo word akwünaakwüna, originally referring to a town where the Akunakuna people live, was Anglicized to Akunakuna.[3] This exonym takes no account for what the Akunakuna people actually call themselves in the Gwune language, agwaGwunɛ, though, they are related.[4] According to the book New Dimensions in African Linguistics and Languages, During World War I, married and unmarried women were recruited to serve in the West African Frontier Force and later in the Expeditionary Force into Igboland as cooks and as soldiers' comfort. Ever since then, the word akwüna, shortened from akwünaakwüna, has referred to a prostitute.[3] The name akunakuna can be alternatively spelled as Agwa'agune,[5] Akuraakura, or Akura:kura.[4]

History

In 1846, the Umon attacked some Akunakuna canoes on the Cross River that were going to trade with the Efik, who had previously traded for European luxury goods.[5] This was used by the Akunakuna as a Casus Belli to go to war with the Umon. Though the war lasted for years, the Akunakuna eventually lost. Under the negotiation of the Efik, the result was as follows, the Akunakuna had to pay an annual tribute to the king of Umon, in return for "keeping peace over the river".[6] In 1888, a treaty was written with Akunakuna leaders giving the British full control to their land.[7]

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References
  1. "Akunakuna - Oxford Reference". Retrieved 2017-07-19.
  2. Appiah, Kwame Anthony and Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Africana, 1st edition. New York: Basic Civitas Books, ISBN 0-465-00071-1.
  3. Kotey, Paul (1999). New Dimensions in African Linguistics and Languages. Asmara, Eritrea: Africa World Press Inc. p. 297. ISBN 0-86543-664-9.
  4. Dalby, David (1969). African Language Review, Volume 4. London: Routledge Publishing Group. p. 124. ISBN 978-0-714-62332-0.
  5. Transactions. Ghana: Historical Society of Ghana. 1972. p. 28.
  6. Afigbo, Adiele (2005). Nigerian History, Politics and Affairs: The Collected Essays of Adiele Afigbo. Asmara, Eritrea: Africa World Press Inc. p. 163. ISBN 1-59221-324-3.
  7. Parliamentary Papers, Volume 74. London: The Parliament of Great Britain. 1888. p. 97.
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