• Source: Lejja

      • Lejja is a community comprising 33 villages in Enugu State of South-Eastern Nigeria. It is populated by the Igbo people and located about at 14 Kilometers from Nsukka. It is the location of a prehistoric archaeological site which contains iron smelting furnaces and slag that dates back to 2000 BC. The village square at Otobo ugwu is likely the first village square in Lejja contains over 800 blocks of slag weighs between 34 and 57 kg. Geophysical investigations have located buried iron slag in several other locations in the community.


      Religion


      There are two main religions in Lejja, which include Christianity and African tradition worshippers.


      Occupation


      Lejja is predominantly a community of farmers. Some of the local farm produce grown in the community are yam, cassava, coco yam, Nsukka yellow pepper and many vegetables. The produce is grown on a small to medium scale and thus farmers use mostly human labour for their farming activities.
      Another common occupation among the Lejja community is trading. Traders sell some of the local produce or they buy other farm produce from neighouring communities.


      Culture


      The town has many festivals and traditional events that are celebrated annually. One of such is the new yam festival, which is celebrated every year, following the farm harvest season. Another local cultural event is the masquerade event, which includes the Omaba and Odo only worn by men.


      Education


      Many primary and secondary schools are located in Lejja. The schools serve both the local community and other neighbouring communities. The Federal Government Girls' Collage Lejja was founded in 1995 and only admits girls both for junior and senior secondary schools in boarding school. The school is owned by the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Education. Another secondary school located in the community is the state-owned Community Secondary School, Lejja. For primary education, the Community Primary School Lejja serves the primary education needs of the community.


      Further reading


      Museums, archaeologists and indigenous people: archaeology and the public in Nigeria
      IRON TECHNOLOGY AND POLITICAL POWER: EXAMPLES FROM THE IRON SMELTING BELT OF NSUKKA AREA, ENUGU STATE, SOUTH-EASTERN NIGERIA by CHIDOZIE S. AGU and CHUKWUMA, C. OPATA, UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA


      See also


      Opi (archaeological site)
      Archaeology of Igbo-Ukwu


      External links


      Lejja, iron smelting kingdom


      References

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