Swiping Perennial Famine with Exotic Crops in Pre-Colonial Nigeria: The Case of Esan People in Edo State

Abstract

KEYWORDS Exotic; swipe; perennial; ABSTRACT Famine or food shortages are attributed to lack of adequate storage, man made and natural disasters. Famine could also be induced by alteration in environment and population growth. Perennial described locally in Esan as ukhumun was a circle of natural events in which surplus usually gave way to scarcity. Famine or ukhumun, lasted from April to September which surplus usually gave way to scarcity. Ukhumun, lasted from April to September when there was little to eat, the latter month marking the beginning of yam harvest. Scarcity during was sometimes aggravated when there was draught okae or locust iriso invasion before harvest. During ukhumun or famine, yam the staple crop lost its crumby texture and became rubber-like, difficult to pound into ema or soft yam paste as food for the young and the old. Crop failure or poor harvest therefore merely aggravated the consequences of ukhumun because according to Esan traditions Ukhumun fi bha gbon fibhelin min, aiye miebale meaning famine was in the land of the living and in that of the spirits and there was no more food to eat. This statement usually prefixed all folk stories in Esan as it emphasized the need for wisdom and caution to sustain the growth of communities. To fill the period of scarcity before harvest, some exotic crops like plantain, maize, cocoyam and fruits were adopted into Esan agriculture especially from the 15 th century. There was an increase in the quantity and variety of available food as well as expansion of farm size to accommodate the new.