Oku people (Sierra Leone)
 | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 30,000 (0.5% of population]] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Sierra Leone, Gambia | |
| Languages | |
| Religion | |
| Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Yoruba people, Sierra Leone Creole people. |
The Oku people, or Aku people or Aku Mohammedans, are a community in Sierra Leone closely related to the Yoruba people of Nigeria. The Oku community has strong links to Aberdeen Village, Fourah Bay and Fula Town. The Oku people are mainly descended from Yoruba Liberated Africans who retained or were converted to the Islamic faith during the nineteenth century. Some scholars argue that the Oku people are a branch of the Sierra Leone Creole people, while other scholars refute this theory and argue that the Oku people are distinct from the Sierra Leone Creoles.
Origin
The Oku people are mainly descended from the Yoruba Liberated Africans that were resettled in Sierra Leone during the nineteenth century. These Liberated Africans formed a distinctive community based at Aberdeen village, Fourah Bay, and Fula Town. As early as the 1840s, there were references to 'Aku Mohammedans' and because the communities at Fourah Bay were distinctly of the Yoruba tribe, they were referred to as 'Aku' or 'Oku' Mohammedans.
Culture
The Oku people have a distinctive culture that has strong similarities with the Yoruba people and the Sierra Leone Creole people. The Aku often have Arabic first and last names, although some Oku people later adopted the names of prominent benefactors such as Savage or other European surnames to gain admission into the missionary schools. It is not uncommon for some elder members of the Oku community to speak the Yoruba language in addition to the Oku variety of the Krio language.
Relationship with the Sierra Leone Creole people
Some scholars argue that the Oku community is a branch of the Sierra Leone Creole people due to some similar surnames and cultural aspects such as Awujoh. However, other scholars consider the Oku community as a distinctive community that has cultural practices that Creoles do not practice such as female genital mutilation and specific Muslim tenets. Some scholars also argue that the Oku people are primarily of Yoruba descent, in contrast to the Creole community which is of mixed Liberated African, African American and West Indian descent.
Oku people
- Mohammed Sanusi Mustapha-A Sierra Leonean lawyer, businessman, and politician
- Abdul Tejan Cole-Human rights lawyer
- Madieu Williams-American football player
- Olumbe Bassir
- Isha Johansen
- Haja Afsatu Savage
- Abdul Rashid Thomas
- Ahmed Deen
Oku families
- Iscandri
- Osman
- Lewally
- Carew
- Cole
- Savage
Sources
- http://awoko.org/2008/02/18/%E2%80%9Cfoulah-tong%E2%80%9D-creole-or-yoruba-land/
- http://allafrica.com/stories/201405091729.html