The Bariba people, self designation Baatonu (plural Baatombu), are the principal inhabitants of Borgou and Alibori Departments, Benin, and cofounders of the Borgu kingdom of what is now northeast Benin and west-central Nigeria. In Nigeria, they are found spread between western Kwara State and the Borgu section of Niger State. There are perhaps a million Bariba, 70% of them in Benin, where they are the fourth largest ethnic group and comprise approximately 1/11 of the population (9.2%).
The Bariba are concentrated primarily in the north-east of the country, especially around the city of Nikki, which is considered the traditional Bariba capital. At the end of the 18th century, they became independent from the Yoruba of Oyo and formed several kingdoms in the Borgou region. The colonization of Benin (then Dahomey) by the French at the end of the 19th century, and the imposition of an Anglo-French artificial border, ended Bariba trade in the region.
One of their noted festivals is the annual Gani festival of which horse riding is a prominent element.
The Bariba people hold an important place in the history of the country. During the late 19th century, Baribawas known to constitute independent statesand dominate with kingdomsin cities like Nikki and Kandi in the northeast of the country. In the town of Pehunko, there are approximately 200,000 Bariba people out of 365,000 inhabitants.
Agriculture is the dominant occupation for the Bariba. They grow corn, sorghum, rice, cotton, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts and some poultry and livestock. Religion plays an important role in the Bariba tribe and they are primarily Islamic. However, a number of Bariba communities have their own indigenous beliefs.
Language
History
Origins
According to some versions of their history, the Wasangari first settled in the region of Nikki-Wenu around 1480, it having been occupied from 1350 by the Baatonu natives. Coming from the East, they initially settled in Bussa in what is now Nigeria, where Kisra, the legendary Wasangari horseman from Persia had formed an alliance with Mansa Doro left Bussa for Nikki-Wenu with his groom Sero, the son of Kisra who entrusted Mansa Doro with the education of Sero. Before leaving the region again to join Kisra, Mansa Doro nominated his protégé Sero as the new chief. Decked out in hunting attire, the groom was established by the populations of Nikki-Wenu as Sounon Sero, King of Nikki.
Sime Dobidia, father of the dynasties
Sabi Sime, the youngest son of Sounon Sero, later became Sime Dobidia, and through marriages with the native clans Baatonu, Boko and Hausa, founded the dynasties of the Empire of Nikki. His sons, endowed with the royal emblems of trumpets and white spurs, took control of villages of their respective mothers. Those parental ties were the basis of the political structure established by the Wasangari.
The royal dynasties are founded by:
Sero Baguiri, the ancestor of the dynasty of the Karawe
Kpe Gounon Kaba Wouko, the ancestor of the dynasty of the Gbassi
Sero Kpera I, the ancestor of the dynasty of the Makararou
Kpe Lafia Gamabrou, the ancestor of the dynasty of Lafiarou
Sero Kora Bakarou, the ancestor of the dynasty of Korakou
Society
Caste system
The Bariba society features the caste divisions typical of the West African region. There are caste divisions.