Kalabari

The Kalabari are an Ijoid ethnic group located in the western Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Originally, they were known as the Awome.

The Kalabari people are purely Ijaw speaking settlers who came from the Bini fringes of Ijaw land from the lineage of a certain man called Mein Owei. The people were originally fishermen before the coming of the Portuguese to the West African coastline who opened up trade relations and later carried on the slave trade.

The Kalabari, like most Nigerian coastline tribes, were wealthy as a result of their interactions with the Europeans. The wealthiest of the large families had access to early western education and culture and stood out in early Nigeria. However, they had little influence in Nigeria's political structure until recently.