Esan Language: A Journey into the Literary and Cultural Heritage of the Esan people
Imagine holding in your hand a book written in your ancestral tongue, not a translation, but your own language, expressed in your rhythm, your tone, your memory. Now imagine that book speaking to you, not just of words and grammar, but of the earth beneath your feet, the ancestors walking beside you, the drumbeat in your blood.
Learn How to Leverage Your Story through our Story To Asset Framework.
That is the kind of intimate return home that the Esan language offers, not only to those living in Esanland, but to our African diasporan brothers and sisters who carry a piece of Africa in their DNA, their dreams, their questions, and their yearning.
This story is about more than a language; it is about culture, heritage, memory, and belonging. And if you come from the African diaspora, looking for roots, voices, stories that connect you to the continent and tradition, then the journey into the Esan world matters greatly.
Origins: The Story of the Esan People
The Esan people, known in their own language as Ẹ̀bhò Ẹ̀sán, are an ethnic group in Edo State, southern Nigeria, connected historically to the great Benin Empire. The name “Esan” itself derived from the phrase “E sán fía”, meaning “they have fled” or “they jumped away” speaks of exile, migration, independence. In the 15th century, noble families and citizens of the Benin Empire left for the northeast, founding 35 kingdoms in Esanland.
For the diaspora reader: this origin story will feel familiar. It echoes the tales of exile and separation, of migration and reconstruction, that we live through even today. It reminds us of the power in movement, but also the power in returning, reclaiming, rooting ourselves firmly again.
The Language: Esan as Literary Heritage
Language is more than a tool, it is memory, worldview, the way a people think, feel and imagine. The Esan language is an Edoid language of the Niger-Congo family, with many dialects and a rich, sometimes under-recognised, textual presence.
Scholars list dialects such as Ekpoma (Iruekpen), Ewatto, Igueben, Ilushi, Irrua, Ogwa Ujogba, Ohordua, Ubiaja, Udo, Ugbegun, Ugboha, Uromi and Uzea. Each dialect carries slight differences in pronunciation, vocabulary or orthography.
But more than that: Esan is written. Dictionaries and grammar texts are being produced. The alphabet is Latin-based (25 letters) plus 10 digraphs, and 5 vowels making it accessible and ready for learners and readers.
- Letters: a, b, d, e, ẹ, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, ọ, p, r, s, t, u, v, w, y, z.
- Digraphs: bh, gb, gh, kh, kp, kw (rarely used), mh, nw, ny, sh.
- Vowels: a, e, ẹ, i, o, ọ, u.
For diasporans, this matters deeply: you’re not dealing only with an oral relic, but a language with a living textual presence, something you can learn, read, engage with.
Culture & Literary Tradition: Proverbs, Storytelling, Dance
To understand Esan literary heritage is to understand the culture that animates it.
- Proverbs and Indigenous Knowledge: A recent scholarly study shows Esan proverbs are rich conveyors of indigenous knowledge, ethics, worldview covering health beliefs, social norms, cosmology, art.
- Oral Tradition and Performance: The culture of Esan is alive in dance, storytelling, masquerade. One key example: the acrobatic dance-theatre called Igbabonelimhin (literally “clapping for the spirit”).
- Agriculture, Ritual, Totems: The Esan way of life, farming, hunting, herbal medicine, understanding of ancestral spirits, totemic taboos feeds directly into language, story, identity.
For the diasporan reader: this is a reminder that language doesn’t float above culture, it is woven into the land, the song, the dance, the ritual. To engage with the Esan literary heritage is to engage with those rhythms.
Transmission, Challenge and Hope
No heritage is static; we are inheriting something that’s alive, and that means both hope and responsibility. The Esan language, while strong regionally and taught in schools in Esanland, faces challenges.
Pronouns
Nearly all Esan pronouns have plural forms different from singular as seen in the following table:
| Singular | Plural |
| imẹn (I, me) | iman (we, us) |
| uwẹ (you) | ibha (you, or Pidgin English ‘una’) |
| ọle (he, him) | ele (they, them) |
| ọlle (she, her) | elle (they, them) |
| ọhle (it) | ehle (they, them) |
| no English equivalent: | |
| – | Aaha |
| otuan [preceding human figure] | ituan [preceding human figures]b |
| ukpọlec | ikpọlec |
Some younger speakers may prefer English or Pidgin; dialectal variation complicates standardisation; and dispersal of people makes community use harder.
But there is hope: teaching has begun, dictionaries exist, diaspora associations are active. For example, the Esan Association of Edmonton formed in 2016 by Esan people in Canada, explicitly to preserve culture and identity.
See also Strengthening Diaspora-Local Relations: How Group Tours Encourage Cultural Exchange
For you in the diaspora, this means you are part of the story, not outside it. You can help keep the language alive, you can learn it, you can transmit it. You can reclaim heritage rather than simply receive it.
Why It Speaks to the African Diaspora
Let me be direct: If you are from the African diaspora and you’re looking for deeper roots, for a culture you can engage with, not as tourist, but as inheritor then the Esan story invites you. Here’s why:
- Authenticity of Voice: Esan is not one of the globally famous “big” African languages; it’s a niche, a special gem. By discovering and engaging with it, you reclaim a voice that is less visible, less commodified, more rooted.
- Literature That Waits for You: There are dictionaries, grammars, proverbs. You can read in Esan, or at least begin. That’s a bridge into a living heritage.
- Cultural Depth: The language is embedded in dance, ritual, proverbs, totems. By exploring Esan you are opening a door to a whole worldview, not just vocabulary.
- Diasporan Link: Because there are Esan diasporan communities, you are rediscovering parts of yourself through others. You join a network of reclamation and belonging.
- Participation and Renewal: This is not only about what has been preserved—it’s about what you can contribute. The Esan heritage invites your curiosity, your engagement, your voice.
How You Can Engage, A Practical Pathway
If you feel a stir inside you Yes, I want to reach toward this, then here’s a roadmap:
- Start small: learn basic Esan words, greetings, simple proverbs.
- Seek the resources: online dictionaries, the alphabet (Latin letters and digraphs) for Esan.
- Explore cultural media: videos of Igbabonelimhin dance, Esan storytelling.
- Connect with diasporan Esan associations (for example in Canada, US, UK) or Esan speaking scholars.
- Translate or document: take a proverb, learn its meaning in English, reflect on how it speaks to you.
- Share with your community: bring that story into your family, diaspora network, whatever place you are.
- Consider creative engagement: write, record, perform in Esan, or co-produce digital media in or about Esan.
A Story to Carry With You
In the heart of Esanland stands the idea that the spirit of our ancestors walks with us. In the dance of Igbabonelimhin, a young man springs into the air, flips, drums thunder, the mask moves, he is both dancer and spirit.
In the proverb, a line from Esan folklore warns: “One who does not ask questions does not know the path of his father.” (not an exact quote, but the essence). In the language itself, a word like gbe in Esan can mean up to 76 different things depending on context, a single root with many branches.
When you trace yourself in that field, what you are doing is more than genealogy. You are stepping into a rhythm older than your migration.
You are meeting your grandfather’s language, your grandmother’s proverbs, your great-grandmother’s farming soil, your great-great-uncle’s drumbeat. And you are not only receiving, you are responding. You say: Yes, I belong. I learn. I carry. I add.
In Conclusion
The Esan language and culture offer a profound opportunity for reconnection: a language with roots, dialects, story; a culture rich with proverbs, dance, ritual; a heritage in motion, not just in the past. For the African diasporan yearning for identity, depth, belonging: Esan invites you in.
See also Memory as Heritage: How to Protect the Esan Identity Through Education
This is not a passive heritage. It asks you to learn, to speak, to share. From the farmland of Esanland to the diaspora across continents, the story of the Esan people is yours to explore. Pick up a dictionary.
Listen for a proverb. Watch a dance. Say the name of your ancestor in Esan. The words may be new. But your heart already recognises them.
If you like, I can find five Esan proverbs with English translation and commentary, so you can feel the pulse of the language. Would you like that?
