Takuruku (also Takuluku) is an ancestral figure in the oral traditions and cosmology of the Tiv people of central Nigeria. In the Anyamazenga tradition concerning the origin of the Tiv, he is stated to be the son of Anyamazenga and the father of the Tiv.
Traditional genealogy In the Anyamazenga tradition, Anyamazenga married a woman whose name is not given and had a son named Takuruku. Takuruku then married Aliwe and had a child named Tiv. Tiv next married Ayaaya, who, according to this version, had four children: Gbe, Anadendem, Ipusu and Ichongo. Gbe, the eldest, is said to have left the family and abandoned the tradition, while Anadendem died without children; Ipusu and Ichongo thereafter became the two main ancestral lines through which the Tiv genealogy is traditionally traced. Terngu Sylvanus Nomishan also gives a related but somewhat different version: in his version, Takuruku married Aliwe and had two sons, Tiv and Uke, and Tiv later left his family to found a community with his wife Ayaaya, with whom he had Ipusu and Ichongo.
Role in Tiv tradition Takuruku holds a more complicated position in Tiv tradition than simply being the father of the Tiv in genealogical terms. The accounts of Tiv cosmology compiled by Paul Bohannan show considerable variation regarding Takuruku and his relationship with Aondo, the supreme or sky deity in Tiv belief. In some traditions, Takuruku is depicted as an original deity who came before Aondo; in others, he is said to be the brother of Aondo or the founder of humanity. One tradition recorded by Bohannan presents Takuruku as the first man, whose wife was Olenolen and who had children, among them the ancestral figures of various peoples. Takuruku also occupies a complex and contested position in Tiv traditions of origin. J. Orkar identified four principal versions concerning his identity and relationship to the origin of the Tiv people. In one version, Takuruku is presented as the wife of Aondo, who gives birth to Tiv and Uke; in a second, Takuruku is a male figure, married to Olenolen or, in other accounts, Aliwe; in a third, Takuruku is described as an original deity who created Aondo, who in turn created humanity; and in a fourth, Takuruku is presented as Aondo's brother and the first progenitor of the Tiv. Orkar further notes that other Tiv oral traditions identify figures including Shon, Anyamazenga, Karagbe, Gbe, Akem and Awanger rather than Takuruku as the father or progenitor of Tiv. These traditions also differ over Tiv's descendants, with some accounts naming Ipusu, Ichongo and Gbe, while others name Poor, Ipusu and Ichongo. Orkar concluded that this diversity creates considerable ambiguity in accounts of Tiv origins and leaves the subject open to further historical investigation. When a traditional announcement is made about a death or a funeral invocation is carried out, Takuruku is mentioned alongside Anyamazenga and Azenga as an ancestral figure awaiting the deceased relatives. Because of this association, some scholars describe Takuruku as a primordial or great ancestor in Tiv traditional beliefs rather than merely a genealogical predecessor.
Variants of the tradition No single version of Tiv tradition provides a universally accepted account of who Takuruku was or his connection with the Tiv. In some traditions, Takuruku is said to be the father of the Tiv; in others, Awange or Shon is stated to be Tiv's father. A study of Tiv origins notes that the question of the group's ancestry has caused considerable disagreement among scholars and oral historians. Some accounts also ascribe a supernatural character to Takuruku. The earlier ethnographic accounts compiled by Bohannan mention traditions in which Takuruku is linked with the creation of humanity and with Aondo, whereas in other traditions he is regarded mainly as an ancestral figure. These differences stem from the oral transmission of Tiv traditions and the various genealogical and cosmological interpretations maintained among Tiv communities.
Historical status No documentary or archaeological evidence establishes Takuruku as a historically identifiable person, and his importance comes mainly from Tiv oral traditions about ancestry, origins, and cosmology. As a result, archaeological and historical studies treat stories about Takuruku and other ancestral figures as sources for understanding Tiv historical memory, while distinguishing them from independently verifiable evidence. In the Anyamazenga genealogy, however, Takuruku holds a central position: Anyamazenga begot Takuruku, who in turn begot Tiv, and Tiv begot Ipusu and Ichongo, with Aliwe traditionally regarded as Takuruku's wife and Ayaaya as Tiv's wife.
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