Kingdom of Wukari

Origins

Wukari emerged as the main Jukun centre as the older Jukun power, Kwararafa, declined in the 18th century. Jukun tradition holds that the royal line moved south from earlier capitals such as Kororofa and Puje, and by about 1800 Wukari, south of the Benue river, was the seat of the paramount Jukun ruler.

Rule and society

The Aku Uka was a sacred king, surrounded by taboos and ritual, whose well-being was believed to govern the harvest and the rains; Jukun ritual kingship became a classic case in anthropology. Real administration lay with officials and the heads of related Jukun communities. The economy rested on farming, salt from the Benue valley and regional trade.

Decline and legacy

In the 19th century Wukari was hemmed in by the Muri Emirate and Fulani raids. It came under British control in the early 1900s within the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria, and the Aku Uka remains a traditional ruler in Taraba State.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.