Yakö, also spelled Yako or Yakurr, people of the Cross River region of eastern Nigeria; they speak Luko, a language of the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo family.
The Yakö are mainly yam farmers; subsidiary crops include cocoyams (taro), corn (maize), okra, and pumpkin. The main cash crop is palm oil. The Yakö occupy compact villages divided into wards, each containing several patrilineal clans. Patrilineal descent governs rights to farmland, house sites, and cooperative labour. Men of the same patrilineal clan live together and cooperate in farming activities. The head of the clan arbitrates disputes, performs clan rituals, and represents the clan in external relations. The Yakö also recognize matrilineal descent, which governs the inheritance of transferable wealth, such as livestock and currency.