Akwete
Akwete town is the headquarters of Ukwa East local government area of Abia state, Nigeria. Akwete is located 18 Kilometers northeast of the oil-rich city of Port Harcourt and 18 Kilometers southeast of the commercial city of Aba. Akwete is known in West Africa for its unique weaving.[1]
Akwete Ndoki | |
|---|---|
Town | |
| Nickname(s): Ndoki village | |
  Akwete Location in Nigeria | |
| Coordinates (NG): 4°53′14″N 7°21′26″E | |
| Country |  |
| State | Abia State |
| LGA | Ukwa East |
| Government | |
| • Type | Traditional |
| Population | |
| • Ethnicity | Igbo |
| • Religion | Christianity, Omenala |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (WAT) |
In the early 19th-century Akwete was one of the main destinations of Aro slave traders and they brought Igbo and other people they had enslaved or purchased from other enslavers to the coast. One of the people who was brought to Akwete by this trade was Jaja of Opobo who later became the king of the city-state of Opobo. Akwete was also involved in the palm oil trade, and when Jaja was brought there while enslaved in about 1830 the palm oil trade had become the main export trade of Akwete.[2]
References
- Akwete Cloth and Its Motifs, Marian Davis African Arts Vol. 7, No. 3 (Spring, 1974), pp. 22-25 Published by: UCLA James S. Coleman African Studies Center
- Sylvanus John Sodienye Cookey King Jaja of the Niger Delta: His Life and Times p. 28-29