Socio-political System

Eleme is not a Kingdom, but rather a territory occupied by related clans in a cofederal relationship. The head of the tribe is known as Oneh Eh Eleme (Chief of Eleme). Beneath him are the paramount rulers of each of the two major clans Oneh Eh Nchia (Chief of Nchia) and Oneh Eh Odido (Chief of Odido). Each clan is further divided into small communties (and then further into areas of the community). The traditional ruler of each community is known as Oneh Eh Eta (Town Chief).

Eleme towns/villages and districts within them are presided over by a number of further chiefs with varying levels of authority, and boundaries between such areas are drawn on this basis. Geographically, many of the villages are contiguous with the next, and in such circumstances it is often unclear to Eleme residents where village boundaries occur. Within each community, Eleme people typically live in compounds consisting of one or more buildings occupied by a family group and sometimes, additional tenants. Housing ranges from structures made from cinder blocks (breeze blocks) with corrugated metal roofing to traditional palm-thatched huts made from dried mud and wattle. Larger compounds often consist of a mixture of these buildings, and house a number of different generations of the same family.

Clans

Eleme has two clans, Odido and Nchia, each with their own dialect. Odido and Nchia can be easily understood by speakers of the opposing dialect. The Nchia dialect is spoken in the Western areas of the Eleme territory and the Odido dialect is spoken in the East and Southeast regions.

Village	Clan
Agbonchia	Nchia
Akpajo	Nchia
Alesa	Nchia
Aleto	Nchia
Alode	Nchia
Ogale	Nchia
Ebubu	Odido
Ekporo	Odido
Eteo	Odido
Onne	Odido

Education

Education in Eleme is mainly carried out in English and very limited opportunities are given to incorporate the Eleme language into the studies of school children. While literacy in English is afforded to those who stay in education long enough, very few people can read and write in Eleme adequately. Even those who are highly literate in English may express difficulties in reading and writing Eleme. One of the main reasons literacy levels are so low is that teachers and would-be teachers have been given no formal literacy training in Eleme (Obele 1998: 1-2). Therefore, despite the standardization of the Eleme orthography and the introduction of literacy materials under the auspices of the River Readers Project (a government funded literacy programme instantiated in the early 1970s), literacy levels remain low.

Religion

The vast majority of Eleme people are Christians, usually belonging to a church related in some way to the Church of Nigeria. New churches are constantly being built, representing the ever growing presence of Christianity in Nigeria. The Church in Eleme forms the backbone of moral education outside the family. It also represents the centre of social networks within the community.

Young Eleme Christians typically belong to the Eleme division of the Anglican Youth Fellowship, an organisation with centres in participating communities across the Niger Delta and beyond. The AFY regularly holds training days and organises events to encourage understanding and knowledge of the Christian faith in the next generation of Nigerian Christians.

In addition to Christianity, reflecting the diversity of Nigeria, other religions are also practised in Eleme. Most notably these are Islam and traditional (animist) beliefs. While the introduction of Christianity has undoubtedly led to a greater number of monogamous marriages in the region, polygamy and Christianity do not appear to be regarded as mutually exclusive in some families. Traditional animist beliefs are upheld by the majority of the population, including those who identify themselves as Christians. Marriages in Eleme are traditionally polygamous and commonly exogamous with both other Ogoni and non-Ogoni groups across the Niger Delta. For more on Eleme marriage rituals visit the Eleme culture page.