Igala

The Igala are a Volta-Niger people of the Niger-Benue confluence in central Nigeria, with their capital at Idah on the Niger. Their kingdom took shape in the sixteenth century under Abutu-Eje, and the Aji-Ata dynasty is listed from 1507; its rulers bore the title Atta, the first of whom, Ebulejonu, was a woman.

Between forest and savanna at the Niger-Benue meeting, Igalaland drew influence from the Yoruba, Edo and Jukun, its people farming, hunting and trading on the rivers. Early in the sixteenth century the Igala invaded Benin but were defeated by Oba Esigie, after which Benin influence, including brass mask styles, reached the Atta's court; later Atta Ayegba defeated the Jukun in war.

Igala religion centers on the high god Ojo, the ancestral spirits called Ibegwu and Ifa-style divination, with masquerade traditions echoing its Idoma and Edo neighbors.