The Eke-Uke Dog Narrative

The Eke-Uke Dog Narrative

Eke Uke, when used derogatorily, refers to local dogs , It sometimes used to refer to somebody that is archaic.

Uke is a town in Anambra state, Idemmili LGA, with Ojoto, Umuoji, Nnobi etc as its neighboring towns.

Just as every Igbo town has their own market named after the market day it mostly trades and associated with, the Uke market is named after it’s market day being Eke. Thus the Uke market is referred to as Eke-Uke just as other town’s market in Igboland are referred to by their market days e.g. Nkwo Igbokwu, Eke Okigwe, Eke ọnụ Imo, Ǹkwọ Achara, Ǹkwọ Nnewi, Orie Nimo, Afor Nnobi, Eke Awka , Eke Akpara etc.

The Eke Uke market in the 70s and 80s is very popular for dog business just as Afor Nnobi is currently known for goat and sheep business. All species of dog are found in this market. The lame dog, the fat dog, skinny, half-dead, vibrant dog etc.
But as the business has it then, the ugly dogs overpopulates the market.
With time, people started referring to ugly dogs as “Eke-Uke” And the name keeps transforming till date.