Naked truth

THE INTERMARRIAGE HISTORICAL AND TRADITIONAL RECORDS FROM THE IGEDE AND THE TIV NATION

Why do Igede and Tiv people traditionally avoid intermarrying?

This taboo was initiated during my teenage years, I grew up seeing two different people with different traditional backgrounds who used to be friends before but due to the conflict between them.
As the dispute escalated, they adopted an ancient law, died, and left the historical Taboo untouched.
And now the ancient law has come to be a parasite in our system of children. We are finding it difficult to do away with the rules, but as it stands now, both tribes are sick with the spirituality and traditional norms but no way to do away with the situation.
This so-called taboo limited many and caged young people's feelings, suffering over the ancient law of their fathers.

The Tiv and Igede people were the best of neighboring ethnic groups in Benue State, Nigeria.
Who share cultural similarities, and tribes do engage in intermarital activities from time and eat together as one big family and celebrate festivals together.
Many writers wrote a lot of horrible stories about this history to market their content, but this is beyond the creativity of fun or caricature. But to be realistic the differences between the Tiv and Igede people came as a result of the Land Dispute.

I have been moving around up and down in putting this piece of work together to dig out the details of how it was.
I interview both parties before writing the article.
Under normal circumstances intermarriages bring peace and unity, for instance “if the head of the TIV family Marry’s from IGEDE land and the TIV people are planning to lodge in war upon her people, she will cry out and manage to claim the situation down at Night with the husband same as TIV too, that’s how it is and that’s how it should be.

This conflict has been ongoing for over 20 years, and the land dispute flared up in 1997 over a boundary land of the Igede people of Oju Local Government and the Tiv people of Konshisha Local Government.
The Historical conflict resulted in a war between the two traditional groups. According to the Igede elder I spoke to, he said “In the process of the war a pregnant woman lost her life, which grieved and sorrowed at heart the elders and kings who vowed never to intermarry with the Tiv people again (Cultural differences.)

Igede and Tiv have distinct cultures, languages, and traditions, which can create barriers for understanding each other but that shouldn't be a barrier to intermarriage because, the Tiv people intermarry with the people of Idoma, the elder brothers of the Igede people.
Nevertheless, Tiv and Igede people have been into marrita activities from time before their so-called traditional taboo stepped in. I would love to share a true life story of an Igede man called Peter Eje and a Tiv lady called Dooshima Tyôdoo

There lives a man called Peter Eje, a humble and ambitious young Igede man, from Oju local government, close to the boundary of Tivland. He was known for his quiet strength and deep respect for tradition but he was also one who questioned things silently. One fateful day, while visiting his cousin at Akperan Oshi Polytechnic Gboko local government, he met a lady called Dooshima Tyôdoo, a spirited and intelligent Tiv lady, whose laughter could silence quarrels and whose heart was as wide as the River Benue.

Their eyes met during a church youth meeting. Peter couldn’t understand why he felt so drawn to her. Maybe it was her grace, her faith, or the way she spoke his name softly, as if it were a prayer. They became friends, then closer. By the end of the year, they were in love.

Peter and Dooshima knew their love would not be easily accepted. Their tribes though neighbors had old wounds. The elders whispered about “barriers,” “purity,” and “customs.” Yet, the two young lovers believed love could conquer that.

They met in secret, under mango trees and by the riverside, sharing stories, dreams, and prayers. Dooshima would often say, “Love is not a tribe. Love is a soul.” And Peter would respond, “Then let our souls marry, even if our bodies are forbidden.”

After two years of quiet courtship, Peter decided to tell his parents. He had saved money, completed his NYSC, and was ready to marry.

Peter’s father, Pa Eje, a respected Igede elder, sat quietly after hearing his son’s words. Then he spoke in a deep, firm voice:

“You want to marry a Tiv girl? Have you forgotten what they did to our people during the land dispute? Have you lost your mind? Our ancestors will not sleep if you bring her home.”

Peter tried to explain that Dooshima was not her tribe’s history. She was kind, hardworking, and God-fearing. But his words fell on ears hardened by history. His mother cried, saying the ancestors would curse their lineage.

Even when Dooshima’s family heard about the rejection, they were hurt but not surprised. Her father, Chief Tyôdoo, said, “Let them carry their pain and tradition. But let them know they rejected gold.”

Peter begged, pleaded, and even considered eloping. But Dooshima, with tears in her eyes, held his hands one last time under the stars and said:
“If we must part to bring peace, then let it be. But I will never stop loving you even if I marry another.

Ten years passed. Peter remained unmarried. He became a teacher and community advocate, working to bridge cultural gaps between the Tiv and Igede. He often spoke about how tribalism had stolen joy from generations.

One day, during a peace conference between Tiv and Igede elders, Peter stood to speak. And among the guests was a woman, dressed in soft blue, seated quietly at the back of Dooshima, now a widow, with a young daughter beside her.

Their eyes met again, like it was the first time. Nothing was said. But a new chapter began that day not just for Peter and Dooshima, but for both tribes, as the wall of ignorance began to crack.

The Tiv and Igede people of Benue State were once brothers and sisters until some no friend of peace who represents Destruction introduced the barbaric tradition that forbids intermarriage between Tiv and Igede people. This tradition has no justifiable reason for its existence.
In my interview with some of the elders, I came to discover that, the TIV people had no Ancestral Vow to forbid intermarriage between That’s why some TIV young men go ahead and marry IGEDE ladies without a spiritual issue But never a day an IGEDE man will intend asking for a TIV lady let talkless of hand in marriage.

In one of my IGEDE people I was told that the IGEDE Ancestors made a vow over themselves and that of their children and unborn children, never to marry Tiv people to their land and then sacrifices were involved, to tell you how bad the situation was.
Been a son of the land ( IGEDE) whether you find the true lover of your life, but as far as she is A TIV girl then no marriage will take place. Look at how painful it is. The history was not more than a land dispute, the land dispute conflict was the main point of the ancestral disagreement over the intermarriage vow. No one should deceive you that it was discrimination or differences of traditional background that brought in the marriage barrier. No, it was a land dispute, but no this has to be terminated.

I have seen real lovers who built their love and relationship strong like that of the Titanic love story but were heartbroken because of this ancient and ancestral vow. How can we date but not marry? Please let's restore peace and unity in our land.

Write by : Naked truth, to throw more light on the hidden truth of the history on intermarrag of the people Tiv and Igede .

~Naked truth~
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