History

The Ekiti people are aboriginal, culturally homogeneous and highly intellectual Yoruba-speaking people that form a sub-group of the larger Yoruba ethnic group of West Africa, particularly in Nigeria and some part of Benin. Ekiti people who are well-known for their diverse and quality of traditional arts, music, poetry and witty sayings reside predominantly in the Ekiti State of Western Nigeria.

Ekiti  people are one of the largest historical subgroups of the larger Yoruba people of West Africa, located in Nigeria. They are classified as a Central Yoruba group, alongside the Ijesha, Igbomina, Yagba and Ifes. Ekiti State is populated exclusively by Ekiti people;  however, it is but a segment of the historic territorial domain of Ekiti-speaking groups, which historically included towns in Ondo State such as Akure (the current capital and largest city of Ondo State), Ilara-Mokin, Ijare, and Igbara-oke. Ogbagi, Irun, Ese, Oyin, Igasi, Afin and Eriti in the Akoko region,as well as some towns in Kwara State, are also culturally Ekiti, although belong in other states today. 

The name Ekiti is a derivation of an earlier term, Okiti, which means “Hilly” in Yoruba, as characterized by the generally hilly terrain of the areas which the Ekiti inhabit.