"A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots" - Marcus Garvey.The manuscript of this book was written by Victoria Aikoroje (my late sister) driven by her passionate interest in tracing and establishing the origin of her people - the Ora people. Unfortunately, she could not publish the work because her life on earth was suddenly cut short. She died in 1984 aged 25 years.I took up the responsibility and task of publishing her manuscript into this book for the following reasons:*To keep alive the name and research work of the author. *To ensure that her valuable efforts to provide a credible narration of the history, origin, and culture of the Ora people are not wasted as a result of her demise.*To let the present and future generations of Ora people know where they came from and that because of their roots, they and their children are indeed "princes" and "princesses" who belong to the royal family of the great Benin kingdom as revealed by Victoria's research work.I have done very minimal edits to the original manuscript in order to rearrange the flow of the content for easy reading.The manuscript was dated April 1983 and for this reason, some aspects of the content of the book (as would be expected) have over the intervening period experienced social, political, geographical and economic changes. This calls for the reader to consider the text in the book from the perspective of the author writing her story during the aforementioned period. Please read, enjoy, be informed and intrigued.

This book is full of exciting stories about the history of the people of Oza in Delta and Edo States in Nigeria. It introduces its fascinating history, culture, and customs to readers. Udo and Ubeni fought the Akpanigiakon war in 1487; Benin won the war under the kingship of Oba Oguola. After their defeat, Generals Oza, Omede, and Arihia fled to form Oza, Evbo Omede, and other villages. The book crystallizes the emergence of Oza Aibiokunla from Oza Nogogo by peaceful means and gradual process due to the maltreatment of the Ika people. Another factor was the search for fertile land for farming. The Oba of Benin recognizes the Ogisi of Oza Nogogoro and the Odion Oza of Oza Aibiokunla. The author dealt with the social-cultural and economic systems of the Oza people. The author spelled out the festivals, moonlight recreational games, marriage systems, death, burial, and funeral rites of the Oza people. Reading this book, you will learn a lot of insightful information about the Oza people, their fascinating history and customs