The Gun people (Goun in French), also known as Ogu or Egun, are a Gbe-speaking ethnic group in the Republic of Benin and southwestern Nigeria. They live mainly around Porto-Novo and the Ouémé region in Benin, and in Badagry and adjoining parts of Lagos and Ogun states in Nigeria. In Nigeria, the Ogu are one of the indigenous peoples of Lagos and Ogun states. Their language, Gun or Gungbe, belongs to the Gbe language continuum, which also includes Fon, Ewe and Aja.
The Gun kingdom of Porto-Novo grew from Aja lineages from Allada together with other local communities. The colonial boundary between Benin and Nigeria later divided related communities.
History According to anthropologist Marie-Josée Pineau-Jamous, the Gun kingdom of Porto-Novo grew from settlements of Aja lineages from Allada together with Tori, Peda, Seto and Wemenu groups. Oral traditions date its foundation to the late seventeenth century, while historians cited by Pineau-Jamous place it around 1730, after Dahomey conquered Allada. Porto-Novo became a centre of the Atlantic slave trade, attracting Yoruba traders, artisans and diviners, as well as freed settlers from Brazil. The kingdom retained its independence from Dahomey.
Historian A. I. Asiwaju connects the settlement of Aja-speaking communities in Nigeria with migrations during the Dahomean and Yoruba wars of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. These communities retained a distinct cultural identity after settling among Yoruba-speaking populations, while international boundaries separated them from related communities.
Distribution and livelihoods In Benin, Gun communities are concentrated around Porto-Novo and the surrounding Ouémé region. In Nigeria, Ogu communities live in Badagry, the Ipokia and Ado-Igbesa areas of Ogun State, and elsewhere in Yewa and Lagos.
Fishing has long been an important occupation in coastal Ogu communities. Women smoke fish for sale. Other occupations in Badagry include farming, weaving mats and baskets, building boats, making nets and producing coconut oil.
Language
Gun is one of the eastern varieties of the Gbe language continuum. In Badagry, the name Ogu is used for several local speech varieties, including Seto, Whla, Wheme, Toli, Thevi, Ganyin and Allada. According to the local government, Allada is the most widely used variety in Badagry town.
Language maintenance in Nigeria Some Ogu communities in Nigeria have shifted towards Yoruba. In a 2016 study in Ogun State, linguist Esther Senayon found that people's stated support for preserving Ogu did not always match their everyday use of the language. Her later study of family names in Lagos and Ogun states found changes in spelling and pronunciation that made Ogu names resemble Yoruba names. She linked these changes to language shift and pressure to identify with the majority population.
In October 2024, the Ogu General Assembly called for legislation to include Ogu in school curricula in Lagos and Ogun states. Its convener, Jendele Hungbo, criticised the requirement for Ogu pupils to study Yoruba instead of their own language. Lagos State has also used Ogu on its official X account.
Religion and cultural institutions Ogu communities in Nigeria include followers of traditional religion, Christianity and Islam.
Zangbeto Zangbeto is a masquerade institution involved in night watch and community security. In Badagry, it helps protect property and settle disputes, and also gives public performances. Its members include Christians and Muslims. The name combines the words for night and person and is commonly translated as a night watcher. Zangbeto is also found in Ogu communities around neighbouring Porto-Novo.
Music and performance Sato drumming is a ceremonial tradition in Badagry, particularly at funerals for elderly and prominent people. Performers strike the tall drums with long sticks, combining their playing with jumps and acrobatic movements.
Gangbe is a secular musical genre performed by married Ogu women at funerals, weddings, naming ceremonies and other community events. Its instruments include metal pans and bells. Gangbe groups also provide companionship and practical support to their members. Joseph Kunnuji describes gangbe as a source of creative expression for Ogu women and notes that its performers are ageing. He distinguishes it from ajogan, a sacred genre performed by women married into Ogu royal families.
Political representation in Nigeria Ogu organisations in Lagos and Ogun states have sought greater political representation and recognition as a distinct ethnic group. Joseph Kunnuji writes that Yoruba dominate Lagos State's political, economic and media institutions, while Ogu are often identified as a Yoruba subgroup.
In March 2014, the Gunuvi Rights Initiative of Nigeria (GRIN) protested the lack of Ogu representatives in Lagos State's six-member delegation to the National Conference. In a letter to Governor Babatunde Fashola dated 4 March, the group said the delegation should reflect the state's ethnic and cultural composition. It called the omission a sign of marginalisation and asked for an Ogu delegate to be included.
The Ogu Collective made a similar demand in a statement published on 4 March. It rejected treating the southwest as uniformly Yoruba and argued that Ogu communities had an equal right to present their own grievances at the conference. The collective called for at least one Ogu delegate from each state, including one of the eight places in the delegation announced by Ogun's governor, Ibikunle Amosun.
In June 2022, ahead of the 2023 state assembly election, the Bonu Student Support Movement urged the All Progressives Congress and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to back Solomon Bonu for Badagry Constituency I. The group described Bonu as an Ogu Christian and said the seat should rotate among Badagry's ethnic and religious communities and its different zones. Bonu won the constituency's seat in the Lagos State House of Assembly in March 2023.
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