(also Ijaw; self-designation, Ije), a people living in southern Nigeria in the delta of the Niger River. Population, approximately 800,000 (1967 estimate). The Ijo’s language is conventionally attributed to the Guinean group of languages. The majority of the Ijo are Christians, but some retain the local traditional beliefs. At the beginning of the 15th century, the Ijo founded the city of Bonny, which was one of the centers of the slave trade in West Africa. The principal occupations are tropical agriculture (yams, manioc, and sweet potato), gathering the fruit of the oil palm, and fishing.