Culture

The Ekpeye people have aged long hierarchical and stratified social structures from the families to the communities and clan, possibly due to their migration from a land of well-organized people like the Benin Empire.

One cultural trait of the people is the agglomeration of housing that forms a concentric compact pattern. The early families founded their housing quarter consisting of a family home for husband, wife/wives, and children. Thus, a family is made up of people of common ancestral lineage.
 

Social Structure

In the social structure of Ekpeye, the smallest political/social unit is the house called Elezhi or Udho and is headed by the eldest man called Nye-nwe-elezhi of Nye-nwe-udho. A number of such houses (udho) in a contiguous geographical area constitute a larger political unit or communal ward called Obodo. There are no physical or visible boundaries such as walls, fences, etc. to separate these obodos, in a particular community. A number of such obodos in a geographic area is called Ula, ruled by the Nye-new-ele or Nye-new-ul.

With the change in the administrational context of the present day, rulership is vested in the hand of an elected head, called Eze-new-ula.