Radoillo: Correct me if I'm wrong, but

Ogie in Edo means king/chief/lord
And Iso in Edo means sky.

So that OGISO would mean Lord of the Sky.

Where then is this suggestion that Ogiso, the supposed title of the pre-Eweka rulers of Benin, is of Ijaw origin coming from?

eziza:

So you mean say for dis small kpangolo 9ja wey we dey so, you never hear of Obahiagbon the gammarian?

Ok ooo...

Obasohan
Obasogie
Obasuyi
Obakpolor
Obadigie
Obamwonyi
Obaretin
Igbinoba
Ikponmwonba
Ohonba
Obobaifo
Aiguobasiwin
Aikhionbare
Aiwerioba
Edoba
Enobakhare
Eghobamien

....just to name a few.

and oh btw, Oba is an Edo word!

Radoillo: @ Ijaw citizen,

The names of the first five Ogisos:

Igodo/Obagodo
Ere
Orire
Odia
Ighido

Do the names mean anything in Ijaw?
The last two sound Edo enough. Don't know about the first three.

(PS: My question isn't sarcastic. I understand neither Ijaw nor Edo)

alj harem: I mean binis still use Yoruba names such as Tunde, mayowa, omo, dele, Ojo, abeo etc so what's to say oba is not yoruba ?

alj harem: igodo is a word among aworis and egun

Ere means a statues or success

Orire means seeing success

It is clear that the bini ogiso were yorubas until odia

PhysicsQED: @ Radoillo, I'm not sure if your source for the names you listed was wikipedia, but if it was, my advice is to be a bit more wary about information obtained from there (or other not-so-official online sources). There was no Ogiso named Odia nor was there one named Ighido, and the actual list of the first five is different.

PhysicsQED: Actually Radoillo, I just saw the source of the Ogiso list that includes "Odia" and "Ighido" and it's some book with an alternate list of names of the Ogiso rulers. Anyway, that list isn't the one I'm familiar with, so I thought the names were just from wikipedia.

Radoillo:


Well, until you've heard the names pronounced, and heard what (if anything) they mean to Bini people, it may not be very wise to say they are of Yoruba or non-Edo origin.

For example, an igbo speaker may easily ascribe Igbo meanings to Igodo, Ere and Orire.

Radoillo: You must have guessed I'm Igbo. My interest is in Southern Nigerian history generally, especially the inter-relations between igbo-speaking peoples and their neighbours.

My profile picture doesn't really mean anything in particular. I just like how the 'artist' put sunshades on the sculpture.

Radoillo: You must have guessed I'm Igbo. My interest is in Southern Nigerian history generally, especially the inter-relations between igbo-speaking peoples and their neighbours.

My profile picture doesn't really mean anything in particular. I just like how the 'artist' put sunshades on the sculpture.

alj harem:

Not at all. I actually thought you were yoruba. Anyway whichever the case, you can read this

http://www.academia.edu/1903103/Between_the_Ogiso_and_Oba_Dynasties_An_Interpretation_of_Interregnum_in_the_Benin_Kingdom

Radoillo: @ Ijaw citizen,

The names of the first five Ogisos:

Igodo/Obagodo
Ere
Orire
Odia
Ighido

Do the names mean anything in Ijaw?
The last two sound Edo enough. Don't know about the first three.

The first three are Pure Ijaw.. matter of fact I am a descendant of the IGODO-AME of ancient KALABARI.. Ere in Ijaw means female or feminin and could also mean name.. Orire is also Ijaw but I can't find the meaning at this time...



(PS: My question isn't sarcastic. I understand neither Ijaw nor Edo)

ijaw citizen: OGINA is the supreme God in Ijaw religion, she is female. SO/SUO in Ijaw is not sky but HEAVEN. We Ijaws see ourselves as children of our mother Ogina, the supreme God, creator & God of the heavens (So/Suo)

OGISO has its origin in Ijaw that is why the earliest Ogisos bear Ijaw names, they don't have Bini names.

We Ijaws have always seen ourselves as sacred beings (not superior beings) and being direct offsprings the Almighty God who is a woman (female) in Ijaw spiritual culture. Hence even the name we call the christian (masculine) God is feminine: Tamara/Tamuno is actually a contraction of TEME ARA (ERE) meaning 'SHE WHO CREATED US"

Because of the spiritual nature of our envirinment & every aspect of our culture, our ancestral name is ORU which means 1) gods 2) ancient & sacred, as a mattter of fact it is a fusion of both being gods, sacred & ancient people.

You should know that even before Ijaw people became educated, anthropologist has studied & concluded that Ijaws are indeed the most ancient people in S/Nigeria and one of the most ancient in W/Africa. Before the time of Yoruba migration to Yoruba land and the formation of the Bini kingdom, Ijaws have been existing in the Niger Delta.

Ijaws history is awashed with tales of certain Ijaws migrating from BENIN AREA, that was basically the coming of the more stronger-land based Bini people, and they seized control of the Ogiso traditional rulership of the area.

killayut:

You are perfectly correct.. Names like SOTONYE By heavens sake or the will of nature, Sobiebo ( Sobiobo ) Originate from Heaven or natural . Soibifaa= The goodness of nature stays forever.... Ogi So is definitely Ijaw Ogina so is actually OGI NA SO in Eastern Ijaw dialect which means OGI SO or the God of heaven...

killayut:

You are perfectly correct.. Names like SOTONYE By heavens sake or the will of nature, Sobiebo ( Sobiobo ) Originate from Heaven or natural . Soibifaa= The goodness of nature stays forever.... Ogi So is definitely Ijaw Ogina so is actually OGI NA SO in Eastern Ijaw dialect which means OGI SO or the God of heaven...

olumidaie:

If I may ask, why is it that Ijaw history/origin is intertwinned with Yoruba? I am not here as a Ilaje-Yoruba dude to claim Ijaw; but to get the truth of the question.

Ijaw claim Ideresoake as a founding father. Ideresoake aslo known as Osangangan Obamakin (and nicknamed OKANBI: as he was Oduduwa only son for a long period of time), was the 2nd Ooni of Ife, after his father, Oduduwa. (check History of the Yorubas by S. Johnson).

Ogun, Oduduwa second son (from Oduduwa palace maid/servant; ORUNTO) is also claimed by Ijaws.

Finally, Adimula (Oduduwa grandson fondly called OWA OBOKUN: the SEA SEEKER) is somtimes called the father of the Ijaws. Some Ijaws claim that on his way to get salt/sea water to clear his father Oduduwa's blindness; he impregnated a woman whose ofspring was Ijo. Adimula later went to Ife to found Ilesa( Ile ti a sha).

These claims are usually postulated by the Apoi-Ijaws here in Ondo state, and other Ijaw sub-groups. It's even the accepted origin of Ijo on the net in most/all Ijaw sites.

As an Ijaw person, do you see these claims as facts? Do you have an alternative origin to it? Do you see it as a political move by some expansionist Yorubas to get hold, and LEGITIMACY of your oil: probably when the country dissolve as predicted
I need you answer. Thanks in advance!

olumidaie:

If I may ask, why is it that Ijaw history/origin is intertwinned with Yoruba? I am not here as a Ilaje-Yoruba dude to claim Ijaw; but to get the truth of the question.

Ijaw claim Ideresoake as a founding father. Ideresoake aslo known as Osangangan Obamakin (and nicknamed OKANBI: as he was Oduduwa only son for a long period of time), was the 2nd Ooni of Ife, after his father, Oduduwa. (check History of the Yorubas by S. Johnson).

Ogun, Oduduwa second son (from Oduduwa palace maid/servant; ORUNTO) is also claimed by Ijaws.

Finally, Adimula (Oduduwa grandson fondly called OWA OBOKUN: the SEA SEEKER) is somtimes called the father of the Ijaws. Some Ijaws claim that on his way to get salt/sea water to clear his father Oduduwa's blindness; he impregnated a woman whose ofspring was Ijo. Adimula later went to Ife to found Ilesa( Ile ti a sha).

These claims are usually postulated by the Apoi-Ijaws here in Ondo state, and other Ijaw sub-groups. It's even the accepted origin of Ijo on the net in most/all Ijaw sites.

As an Ijaw person, do you see these claims as facts? Do you have an alternative origin to it? Do you see it as a political move by some expansionist Yorubas to get hold, and LEGITIMACY of your oil: probably when the country dissolve as predicted
I need you answer. Thanks in advance!

macof:

I know Ijo(Ijaw) and Yoruba have a link. but its hard to believe this

The Ogisos of former bini have Ijaw names, that means Ijaw is older than Benin or Benin came from Ijaw. We know that Oranmiyan was the one that set the current benin kingdom displacing all Ogiso claim to Benin's throne. So now to say Oranmiyan's father(Okanbi) founded Ijaw seems impossible.

the most excepted theory would be that, some Ijaw tribes are mixed with Ijaw and yoruba. Not that the entire Ijaw is of Yoruba Origin

killayut:

Use the land of the Hausas for example.. Before the Fulanis came, The Hausas had 7 states but the Fulanis came and took over and established Islamic states INSTEAD removing the Hausa leadership and replacing it with EMIR.. That was change of DYNASTY..Today we have a breed of Hausa AND Fulani at many places just as we have pure Fulani and pure Hausa at other places.. The OGISO which was IJAW was replaced by the EDO and the Ijaw pushed south wards while many remained to be new breed of EDO / IJAW MIXTURE. You can see the Ijaws of GELEGELE and Ofunama AND JUST at the South of Benin city can not even trace when they arrived because they are very very ancient.

Now if you say Oranmiyan was the one that set the current Benin throne, how come the people do not speak Ife dialect or Language ? How did Edo language evolve if there were no tribe like Edo ?Oranmiyan may have been a single man who strayed in to Edo territory and was adopted by the Edos and made a King.. In Ijaw land we made an Igbo migrant a king in Opobo. It does not mean the Igbo man founded the kingdom of Opobo,Opobians are pure Ijaws..

macof: I didnt say there was no Edo group before Oranmiyan, wat I said was dat he displaced the former kings of the land and made his first son to continue, Edo is in no way yoruba but their kings are Yoruba