The Igala people are a West African ethnolinguistic group native to the region immediately south of the confluence of the Niger and Benue Rivers in central Nigeria.

The Igala kingdom is ruled ceremonially and culturally by the Attah[5] and has a long history of political warfare and campaigns with neighbouring groups along the Benue.

[6] Igala people traditionally worship the supreme being Ojo, as well as their divine ancestral spirits.

[7] Masquerades are an important aspect of Igala art and a prime example of the kingdom's cultural exchange with its neighbouring groups.

[8] Igala art, dating centuries back, also feature in Nigerian body decoration[9] and cultural architecture.

Their homeland, the former Igala Kingdom, is a triangular area of about 14,000 km2 (5,400 sq mi) in the angle formed by the Benue and Niger rivers.

The bulk of the Igala people reside in Kogi[citation needed] where they can be found in Idah, Igalamela/Odolu, Ajaka, Ofu, Olamaboro, Dekina, Bassa, Ankpa, Omala, Edo, Lokoja, Ibaji, and Ajaokuta Local Government.

Being located by the two main bodies of water in Nigeria brought an abundance of cultural influence from various communities such as Igbo, Yoruba, Edo, and Jukun.

Igala is located across the undulating, forested coastal region, and the dry savannah; the Guinea forest-savannah mosaic.

Atta Ameh Oboni is known to have been very brave and resolute because of his stiff resistance against the British and struggle to uphold the ancient traditions of Igala land.

[15][16] The Kingmakers forward the nominated name to the prime minister of the Igala kingdom, known as the Achadu oko-ata, for onward approval by the Kogi State Government.

[20] The Igala Central Government became weak leading up to the mid-nineteenth century, and up to the point of being taken over by the British.

The legend says that the hunter's camp became the original grounds for the Igala settlement and his family carried on the lineage of the area.

It is the goal of the Igala people to maintain a balanced relationship with their ancestors by honouring them through rituals and offerings.

It is believed that before a person is born, their destiny is decided by a choice they make before the creator, Ojo in the spirit world.

When a person dies, it is very important that their body is treated with the proper ritual practices to ensure that they will make it to the spirit world; this is accomplished through a burial ceremony that has three stages.

Masquerades are rituals that aim to create a balanced relationship between the world of the living, and the ancestors of the spiritual realm.

Igala masks feature symbolic markings that are meaningful in identifying political status and the culture's fashion.

Because these markings are not strict for each culture, and fashion changes over time, it is difficult for historians to rely on them to identify their place of origin.

Igala masquerade culture would not have been able to flourish without the economic support from trade controlled by the Igbo in the lower Niger River.

The Oloja dancer wears a wooden headdress made to look somewhat like a crocodile with fierce teeth and a protruding jaw.

At this point, the elders take turns performing a dance until another seven notes are signalled by the flute, summoning the Oloja dancer.

In Igala culture, most parts of the kingdom, like Ankpa, recurved three deep horizontal cuts on each side of their face beside the mouth as a way of identifying each other.

These impromptu designs often speak to socio-cultural messages or are the result of young members scribbling their names in patterns on the body.

This progress in acceptance and recognition for Nigerian film is due to the successful 1992 production, Living in Bondage.

[clarification needed] The objective for many Nigerian and Igala filmmakers is to bring African film into the same light as industries in Western countries.

This makes it difficult for Igala film makers working toward cultural preservation, as well as global exposure.