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Oluwa/Osanobuwa/Osebruwa: Any Ancient Connection? by TonySpike: 6:09am On Nov 03, 2012
(1) Oluwa (Yoruba): Lord, Deity king, a name for God Almighty.
(2) Osanobuwa (Bini): Deity King, a name for God
(3) Osebruwa (Igbo): a name for God, maker of Heaven and Earth.

As amazing as these sound, there's a strong evidence of religious diffusion among the major Southern nationalities of Nigeria. The keyword that strings all these God-names is "UWA". What does UWA mean? Where did it originate from? How did it find a way into the religious worship of various Southern nationalities?

We will start this thread by taking a look at the semitic roots of these names. Although, this topic has partially featured on Nairaland in different forms, I will try to be objective this time around.
Re: Oluwa/Osanobuwa/Osebruwa: Any Ancient Connection? by TonySpike: 6:23am On Nov 03, 2012
Firstly, the prefix "EL" is the designated name for Yahweh in ancient Hebrew (EVRH), meaning, "I shall be". In Aramaic, It was also used alongside "AH" to describe God (Elah), the creator of all things. In ancient Hebrew, this was written as "ElOAH", a singular term to "ELOHIM". In arabic, the divine name is "ILAH" or in modernised form "ALLAH".

Now, let's come to Nigeria, the closest form to Hebrew's ELOAH is the Yoruba's OLUWA and Igbo's OSEBRUWA. Definitely, UWA is the corrupted form of OAH. This leaves us with OL (Yoruba) mapped to EL (Hebrew).
Re: Oluwa/Osanobuwa/Osebruwa: Any Ancient Connection? by TonySpike: 6:37am On Nov 03, 2012
Now is there any other evidence(s) linking "EL" to other divine names? Yes, there are three more divine names in old Yoruba religious worship where the name starts with "EL" or "OL". Firstly, we have OLodumare, OLuaye and OLuorun. Evidently, this name is of semitic origin. I have not been able to find evidence of other examples of "EL" yet in the Bini and Igbo religious worship apart from the divine names listed above for each nationality.

It does appear the name must have first appeared with a wave of semitic migration into the Southern lands long ago. The divine name ELOAH appears to have last been used in the Old Testament biblical era. It is reputed to have been used frequently at times before the great Jewish exile into Babylon. The name vanished for over 40 years only to appear after the Jewish return to their homeland. It appears the origin of this divine name dates back to the pre-Mosaic era. It was used prominently for religious worship during the Davidic and Solomonic reign.
Re: Oluwa/Osanobuwa/Osebruwa: Any Ancient Connection? by TonySpike: 6:38am On Nov 03, 2012
To be continued. Stay tuned. Comments and discussions are welcomed.
Re: Oluwa/Osanobuwa/Osebruwa: Any Ancient Connection? by ifyalways(f): 12:10pm On Nov 03, 2012
Theories!

I don't know about others but certainly "zeluwa" means an entirely different thing in Igbo and have no correlation to your theory.

However,"Osebuwa" which is a shortened form of 'olisabuwa' might fit in. Even at that, the use of 'Olisa' for Chi in Igboland is limited to Anambra, delta. Never seen an Imo, abia etc indigene using the olisa word.

Back to your theory,
Re: Oluwa/Osanobuwa/Osebruwa: Any Ancient Connection? by TonySpike: 12:28pm On Nov 03, 2012
ifyalways: Theories!

I don't know about others but certainly "zeluwa" means an entirely different thing in Igbo and have no correlation to your theory.

However,"Osebuwa" which is a shortened form of 'olisabuwa' might fit in. Even at that, the use of 'Olisa' for Chi in Igboland is limited to Anambra, delta. Never seen an Imo, abia etc indigene using the olisa word.

Back to your theory,

Well, I'm only trying to key a missing historical link. I'm still coming to the reason(s) why the word isn't widespread in Igboland like CHUKWU/CHI. From what you've said, I think you should somewhat agree with me that OSEBRUWA is a divine name for God, albeit limited in use to some areas.
Re: Oluwa/Osanobuwa/Osebruwa: Any Ancient Connection? by ifyalways(f): 12:34pm On Nov 03, 2012
Zeluwa means beware/wary/careful with the world.

Zelu/zeru= be careful, beware

Uwa= world
Re: Oluwa/Osanobuwa/Osebruwa: Any Ancient Connection? by bokohalal(m): 1:23pm On Nov 03, 2012
I am sure ELohor(Isoko/Urhobo) is Semitic.
Re: Oluwa/Osanobuwa/Osebruwa: Any Ancient Connection? by TonySpike: 2:04pm On Nov 03, 2012
ifyalways: Zeluwa means beware/wary/careful with the world.

Zelu/zeru= be careful, beware

Uwa= world

Thanks for the correction. I think I got it all mixed-up, my apologies. I picked up some Igbo language a few years back during my short stay in Enugu. It appears I ignorantly classified ZELUWA and OSEBRUWA as one and the same. The corrections have been effected on my posts so far. So, we are now left with OSEBRUWA which is linked to OLUWA and OSANOBUWA.
Re: Oluwa/Osanobuwa/Osebruwa: Any Ancient Connection? by TonySpike: 2:10pm On Nov 03, 2012
bokohalal: I am sure ELohor(Isoko/Urhobo) is Semitic.

Can you please tell me what Elohor means in Isoko/Urhobo? Is it the divine equivalent of God?
Re: Oluwa/Osanobuwa/Osebruwa: Any Ancient Connection? by odumchi: 2:40pm On Nov 03, 2012
Tony Spike:

Well, I'm only trying to key a missing historical link. I'm still coming to the reason(s) why the word isn't widespread in Igboland like CHUKWU/CHI.

In Igbo land, the name for God changes as you go from place to place. In Imo, Abia, Rivers, and Ebonyi, people call God: Obasi di na elu/Eke kere uwa/Chukwu Abiama. While in Enugu, Delta, and Anambra, as Ify pointed out, God is called Olisa/Ose/Olisabuluwa/Osa. A section of Delta state also calls God Oselobua/Osonobua.

However, at the same time, God is recognized as Chukwu/Chineke/Chileke throughout Igboland because of the Igbo belief in the existence of a supreme deity.

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Re: Oluwa/Osanobuwa/Osebruwa: Any Ancient Connection? by bokohalal(m): 3:12pm On Nov 03, 2012
Tony Spike:

Can you please tell me what Elohor means in Isoko/Urhobo? Is it the divine equivalent of God?

Certainly not. Since you trace every EL In Yoruba to the Bible I decided to give you one in another Nigerian language that would make nonsense of your theory.
Re: Oluwa/Osanobuwa/Osebruwa: Any Ancient Connection? by TonySpike: 3:33pm On Nov 03, 2012
odumchi:

In Igbo land, the name for God changes as you go from place to place. In Imo, Abia, Rivers, and Ebonyi, people call God: Obasi di na elu/Eke kere uwa/Chukwu Abiama. While in Enugu, Delta, and Anambra, as Ify pointed out, God is called Olisa/Ose/Olisabuluwa/Osa. A section of Delta state also calls God Oselobua/Osonobua.

However, at the same time, God is recognized as Chukwu/Chineke/Chileke throughout Igboland because of the Igbo belief in the existence of a supreme deity.

Thanks, Odumchi. The main reason why OSEBRUWA is mainly used by Igbos in Anambra and Delta (Western Igbos) is possibly due to their proximity to Bini Kingdom. The cultures and traditions of Igbos around those areas are said to be infused with lots of Bini influence. Which brings me to the next question. The divine names, OSANOBUWA and OLUWA, are particular used in the two ancient kingdoms of Bini and Yoruba/Oyo respectively. This is no coincidence, as both kingdoms at one time, shared royal and traditional history. This brings us to the question of originality which is quite obscure to me. I am tempted to propose that word came from the Yoruba end, as the name is more widespread in Yorubaland. However, I cannot at this time come to a conclusion.
Re: Oluwa/Osanobuwa/Osebruwa: Any Ancient Connection? by TonySpike: 3:45pm On Nov 03, 2012
bokohalal:

Certainly not. Since you trace every EL In Yoruba to the Bible I decided to give you one in another Nigerian language that would make nonsense of your theory.

Well, this is not the time for us to start cyclical argument. For now, it might be a theory but I can tell you that it is much more than a theory. Can EL (Semitic) and OLU (Yoruba) be just a coincidence? Could that word suddenly pop-out from nowhere in the Yoruba religion? Is it also coincident that OLUWA and ELOAH represent divine names of God in two geographically distant cultures? Let's think of the possibilities, and if eventually the theory is wrong, we have nothing to lose. Thanks.
Re: Oluwa/Osanobuwa/Osebruwa: Any Ancient Connection? by odumchi: 3:53pm On Nov 03, 2012
Tony Spike:

Thanks, Odumchi. The main reason why OSEBRUWA is mainly used by Igbos in Anambra and Delta (Western Igbos) is possibly due to their proximity to Bini Kingdom. The cultures and traditions of Igbos around those areas are said to be infused with lots of Bini influence. Which brings me to the next question. The divine names, OSANOBUWA and OLUWA, are particular used in the two ancient kingdoms of Bini and Yoruba/Oyo respectively. This is no coincidence, as both kingdoms at one time, shared royal and traditional history. This brings us to the question of originality which is quite obscure to me. I am tempted to propose that word came from the Yoruba end, as the name is more widespread in Yorubaland. However, I cannot at this time come to a conclusion.

You're right about it being a result of proximity and influence. In fact, the Igbo in parts of Abia and Rivers call God Obasi because of their interactions with the Ibibio/Annang who call God Abasi. However, the universal Igbo name for God is Chi.
Re: Oluwa/Osanobuwa/Osebruwa: Any Ancient Connection? by Abagworo(m): 4:25pm On Nov 03, 2012
ifyalways: Theories!

I don't know about others but certainly "zeluwa" means an entirely different thing in Igbo and have no correlation to your theory.

However,"Osebuwa" which is a shortened form of 'olisabuwa' might fit in. Even at that, the use of 'Olisa' for Chi in Igboland is limited to Anambra, delta. Never seen an Imo, abia etc indigene using the olisa word.

Back to your theory,

However in Imo State we do use "Orisa" in place of "Olisa" . That's. Why you have such surnames as Orisa, Nworisa, Orisakwe etc.

This link is from an incident in the heart of Isuland(Isuama) which is the corest Igbo part of Imo State with zero influence from any non-Igbo culture.

http://nigeriahornnewspapers.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=263%3Ayou-are-a-liar-group-tells-nwangele-pdp-chairman&catid=49%3Acommunity-news&Itemid=55

The leadership of New Nwangele Youth Initiative (NNYI) has described as bundle of lies, the utterances of the chairman of Peoples Democratic Party PDP Nwangele Chapter Hon. Justin Amadi against Hon. Ugonna Ozurigbo in some newspapers recently.
The National President of the group Comrade Onyemauche Nwaorisa stated this during a press briefing in Owerri on Monday.
Comrade Nworisa who described the sudden outburst of Hon. Amadi against OZB as a byproduct of greed and selfishness, maintained that it is unfortunate that Hon. Amadi decided to distract Hon. Ozurigbo over nothing, pointing out that after elections what matters is good governance not the political platform.
Re: Oluwa/Osanobuwa/Osebruwa: Any Ancient Connection? by ifyalways(f): 6:51pm On Nov 03, 2012
bokohalal:

Certainly not. Since you trace every EL In Yoruba to the Bible I decided to give you one in another Nigerian language that would make nonsense of your theory.
lmao
Mean you. Trust the OP to come up with some more nonsensical theory.
Re: Oluwa/Osanobuwa/Osebruwa: Any Ancient Connection? by ifyalways(f): 8:08pm On Nov 03, 2012
You are right.
Abagworo:

However in Imo State we do use "Orisa" in place of "Olisa" . That's. Why you have such surnames as Orisa, Nworisa, Orisakwe etc.

This link is from an incident in the heart of Isuland(Isuama) which is the corest Igbo part of Imo State with zero influence from any non-Igbo culture.

http://nigeriahornnewspapers.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=263%3Ayou-are-a-liar-group-tells-nwangele-pdp-chairman&catid=49%3Acommunity-news&Itemid=55

The leadership of New Nwangele Youth Initiative (NNYI) has described as bundle of lies, the utterances of the chairman of Peoples Democratic Party PDP Nwangele Chapter Hon. Justin Amadi against Hon. Ugonna Ozurigbo in some newspapers recently.
The National President of the group Comrade Onyemauche Nwaorisa stated this during a press briefing in Owerri on Monday.
Comrade Nworisa who described the sudden outburst of Hon. Amadi against OZB as a byproduct of greed and selfishness, maintained that it is unfortunate that Hon. Amadi decided to distract Hon. Ozurigbo over nothing, pointing out that after elections what matters is good governance not the political platform.
Re: Oluwa/Osanobuwa/Osebruwa: Any Ancient Connection? by Abagworo(m): 9:40pm On Nov 03, 2012
Tony Spike:

Thanks, Odumchi. The main reason why OSEBRUWA is mainly used by Igbos in Anambra and Delta (Western Igbos) is possibly due to their proximity to Bini Kingdom. The cultures and traditions of Igbos around those areas are said to be infused with lots of Bini influence. Which brings me to the next question. The divine names, OSANOBUWA and OLUWA, are particular used in the two ancient kingdoms of Bini and Yoruba/Oyo respectively. This is no coincidence, as both kingdoms at one time, shared royal and traditional history. This brings us to the question of originality which is quite obscure to me. I am tempted to propose that word came from the Yoruba end, as the name is more widespread in Yorubaland. However, I cannot at this time come to a conclusion.
Re: Oluwa/Osanobuwa/Osebruwa: Any Ancient Connection? by amor4ce(m): 11:11pm On Nov 23, 2012
The connection is probably wa not uwa. Check out names from the North and middle belt e.g Shuluwa, Gobirawa, Zamfarawa, Adamawa, Oduduwa etc

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