Aliwe
Aliwe | |
|---|---|
| Known for | Female ancestral figure in Tiv oral tradition |
| Spouse | Takuruku |
| Children | Tiv |
Aliwe is a woman in traditional Tiv genealogies, said to be the wife of Takuruku, the ancestral figure associated with the origins of the Tiv people of central Nigeria. According to the Anyamazenga tradition on Tiv origins, Takuruku married Aliwe, and they had a son named Tiv, who became the ancestral figure from whom the Tiv people take their name.[1]
Traditional genealogy
[edit]Details of the Tiv oral tradition vary. In one version, Aliwe is described as Takuruku's wife and the mother of the Tiv. The Tiv then married Ayaaya, and tradition says he had children named Gbe, Anadendem, Ipusu, and Ichongo. Gbe is said to have left the family, whereas Anadendem died without children, so that Ipusu and Ichongo became the main ancestral lines of the Tiv people.[1]
According to another account given by Terngu Sylvanus Nomishan, Takuruku married Aliwe and had two sons, Tiv and Uke; in this version, Tiv afterwards separated from his family and set up a community with his wife Ayaaya, and their sons Ipusu and Ichongo became the ancestors of the two main divisions of the Tiv society.[2]
The genealogy differs across Tiv traditions; some versions offer different accounts of Tiv ancestry and vary in the number and identities of his descendants. As a result, scholars have treated these accounts as oral traditions about Tiv origins rather than as independently verified historical genealogies.[2][3]
Historical status
[edit]There is no independent documentary evidence that proves Aliwe was a historically real person; her importance is mainly due to the Tiv oral traditions concerning ancestry and origin. According to these traditions, she holds a significant place in the genealogy which goes from Takuruku to the Tiv, and then on to the Ipusu and Ichongo ancestral lines.
References
[edit]- 1 2 Lanshima, Cletus A. (2016). "African Traditional Systems of Conflict Resolution". The African Anthropologist. 20 (1–2): 262–291.
- 1 2 Nomishan, Terngu Sylvanus (2020). "Perspectives on the Origin, Genealogical Narration, Early Migrations and Settlement Morphology of the Tiv of Central Nigeria". International Journal of Academic Pedagogical Research. 4 (8): 26–32.
- ↑ Weor, Jonathan Tyosar (2012). Interpreting the Passover in the Exodus Tradition amongst the Tiv as a Narrative Concerning Origin and Migration (Doctoral dissertation). Stellenbosch University.