Oku people
 |
|
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 25,000 (0.5% of population]] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Sierra Leone, Gambia | |
| Languages | |
| Religion | |
| Sunni Islam (over 99%) | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Yoruba people |
The Oku people of Sierra Leone is a sub ethnic group of the Krio people of Sierra Leone The Oku people are the descendants of educated liberated Yoruba Muslims from Southwest Nigeria who came to Sierra Leone as settlers in the mid 19th century; and many intermarriage with the Krios, the descendants of freed African American and West Indian slaves.
The Oku are virtually all Muslims at over 99%, of the Sunni tradition of Islam, and are known for their deeply conservative Muslim tradition . The Oku traditions and culture are a combination of primarily Islamic and Western tradition. The Oku are famously known as the Krio Muslim.
The British colonial government provided official recognition to the Oku community as a distinctive community in Sierra Leone. Although the Sierra Leone government officially classified the Oku people as members of the Creole ethnic group.
The Oku people in Sierra Leone are mainly found in the capital Freetown, particularly in the Freetown neighborhood of Aberdeen Village, Fourah Bay and Fula Town. Most Oku people have Islamic first names and English last names. Most Oku people also have Yoruba middle names.
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.
The Oku people have a distinctive culture that has strong similarities with the Yoruba 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.
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Wikipedia