Drusilla, I see my mistake! Thank you. First the science, now the reading, what will I confuse next

Chinani,

That's me most days. Smile.

mamaput,

I have a friend from Kenya, out in boston, who knew it was all over, when he tried to force the only Continental African child in his class to talk about his African culture.

The child had a fit! Almost coming to tears!

He said: I am African American. I am not African!

Drusilla:

mamaput,

I have a friend from Kenya, out in boston, who knew it was all over, when he tried to force the only Continental African child in his class to talk about his African culture.

The child had a fit! Almost coming to tears!

He said: I am African American. I am not African!

How old was the child? What grade?

I ask b/c Boston is a very racist city (let's not kid ourselves). Also, not being African/Nigerian, I don't think you can imagine the abuse African (Nigerian) children take up there in schools. . .

What right has your friend to force anyone?

chinani how do you think a mother or father will feel if they hear the child denying were they come from

How do you thik i will feel if my kids say "Am german but my mum is Nigerian" And in my case am only half Nigerian.
The two smaller ones say there mum is Nigerian only the big girl knows whats all about.
But guess what no one that has not seen me belives her

Chinani,

4th grade. If I remember correctly. So about 9 or 10 years old.

That is what my friend realized that day. He had no right.

There is more than one book out about the fact that every body wants to be a Blackman (African American)(without actually being a Blackman).

Heck, I have read articles from Ethipians in Israel which show these Black Jews in Isreal listening to rap music, feeling hope because if African Americans could make it, so could they.

Will Smith talked about on the BET award show, finding Tupac and Jayz's name scribbled on the wall of a shack in Madagascar.

Wouldn't it be ironic, when you look around America and every white kid in America is trying to look, sound and act like African Americans?

Black people across the world having hope because of us? All people around the world knowing who we are?

Black people in Australia and in India naming their civil rights groups: The Black Panthers to show solidarity with African Americans.

People of all races, singing our songs, trying to start their own rap tradition for their country.

Yet the African child in America will be told, he has nothing to do with this people?

That is illogical that an African child will ever accept such a thing. My friend realized that from seeing the child's bad reaction to the idea.

Interesting points and offpoints here. Concerning the argument that 80% of the slaves were Igbos, I think the most slaves were Yorubas for a few reasons:

First of all, I agree with this point:

food4tot:

Just curious, how come their language couldn't survive but Yoruba language survived. Your claims can be flawed. I know Igbo and ibibio where taken as slave but PLEASE, for the love of sanity don't tell me 80% of Nigerian slaves where igbo and ibibio.

How come the remaining 20%(I'm assuming yorubas would be in this mix) were able to make more impact on America? Dont you question your reasoning?

Then again, history also has it that Badagry, Lagos was one of the prime slave ports in West Africa. Has anyone been to the Slave Museum in Badagry? Try to visit the place, there are important artifacts on slavery there including chains/shackles with which slaves were tied. I think that speaks much of how highly pronounced it was in that side (Yorubaland).

If you look at the map of Nigeria, Yorubas are closest to the largest port in Nigeria which is Lagos. I'd assume they would be hardest hit because of that.
Also, a region was formerly called "Slave Coast"(the name says it all). "The Slave Coast is the name of the coastal areas of present Togo, Benin (formerly Dahomey) and western Nigeria, a fertile region of coastal Western Africa along the Bight of Benin."

So indeed, I think the slaves were mostly Yoruba people.

So so? Why do we need to know which tribe got robbed the most anyway?

mamaput:

chinani how do you think a mother or father will feel if they hear the child denying were they come from

How do you thik i will feel if my kids say "Am german but my mum is Nigerian" And in my case am only half Nigerian.
The two smaller ones say there mum is Nigerian only the big girl knows whats all about.
But guess what no one that has not seen me belives her

Have you ever read this biography, before? I read it, and it was really, really good. It's an self-made biography by an Afro-German named Hans J. Massaquoi. He was born in Germany, the product of a relationship between the son of an Liberian diplomat located in Germany, and an German nurse. He was born just a few years prior to the time the Nazi party took over the nation, forcing his father and the rest of his Liberian side of the family to flee the nation, and upon his fathers insistence, Hans and his mother stayed behind, with a promise from the father that he'd return to get them, a promise he never fulfilled until years after WW2 had ended, and Hans had grown up to be a nearly full grown man at the age of like 17 or so.  His life, and survival methods he used while living through the Evils of Nazi Geman society--- was pure entertainment and thrilling to take in.

The book also gives a very good insight into how the average joe within Germany during that period really felt about the whole system they lived under, and I was amazed by what I was reading in regards to that, in that it's nothing like the History Channel or other historical sources on the issue express.

For intense, I learned that few people, actually supported the Nazi party or ideals to all that great of an extent, especially amongst the older generations, who saw right threw the parties bullshit, unlike much of the youth who adamantly fed into it do to the heavy dose of glitz and glamored propaganda the party pushed out to them; and the parents couldn't say anything to them about it because the kids were being encouraged to spy on and tell on there parents to party representatives if they talked badly about the party.

Yet he talked about how many girls ang guys from around his neighborhood joined those Nazi kid leagues, and then soon dropped out, saying it was bullshit, a waste of time, and such. And the part of the book in where he comes in contacted with African-American solders after the war is a very good part of the book, in that these young solders become his first black friends ever, and black contacts since his Liberian family left Germany when the Nazi party took over.

Over all, I'll give it 4 1/4 STARZ out of the usual 5, and I here they started shooting a movie version of the book last year. It should be hot, can't wait to see it.

Here's a better rundown on the book:

Hans J. Massaquoi.

In his autobiography the author, former managing editor of Ebony, tells the story of his growing up in Hamburg. He was born in 1926 as son of a German mother and a high ranking officer of the consulate of Liberia, the only independent black African state at that time apart from Ethiopia. His grandfather was the Liberian consul-general to Hamburg. When his father and grandfather went back to Liberia in 1929, his mother decided to stay in Germany. She made their living working as a nurse, and she and the little boy had to move from the elegant villa to a modest cold-water apartment in the workers’quarter Barmbek.

In the 1930s only a few black people lived in Germany, most of them in the Rhine area, children of German mothers and French-African soldiers. During WW I France had recruited troops from her African colonies, mainly from Senegal. These children in the French-occupied Rhineland were called Franzosenkinder (French children).

In the northern part of Germany black people were so rare that most people never had seen one. Until the 1970s they were called Neger (negro), and it was not considered derogatory. When immigration from Africa grew, discussion about the “N word” grew as well. Today people from black Africa are called Africans, omitting the fact that Arabs also live on the African continent.

Considering this and the Nazi’s obsession to exterminate all non-Aryans, it is almost unbelievable that Hans Massaquoi had never suffered serious persecution by the authorities, although he was rebuffed when he applied for membership in the Hitler Jugend (Hitler Youth), while every young male German was obliged to be a member.

Destined to Witness, in German titled Neger, Neger, Schornsteinfeger (Negro, Negro, Chimney Sweep), was a great success in Germany, remaining on top of the bestselling list of the German weekly Der Spiegel for a couple of months. A screenplay has been adapted from the book and movie shooting started in 2005. The film will soon be seen on one of the major nationwide TV networks.

Hero,

I am going to get the book. It sounds really good. I am interested in what happenned to Blacks during the Holocaust. The numbers are coming back that 2 million of them may have died, when you count the wars against Germany in Africa.

I want to learn more information about this.

@Hero
No, I've never read it but I just wrote it down. Man, you got a better book list than Oprah right now.

mamaput:

chinani how do you think a mother or father will feel if they hear the child denying were they come from

How do you thik i will feel if my kids say "Am german but my mum is Nigerian" And in my case am only half Nigerian.
The two smaller ones say there mum is Nigerian only the big girl knows whats all about.
But guess what no one that has not seen me belives her

@Mamaput & Drusilla
I would not feel good about it at all. I want my children - don't have any currently - to feel that they're Nigerian too. But I would not feel good about the teacher either. It would be the teacher who I would have words with. WHy? Because I grew up the only Nigerian girl at my school. I know what it is to be African in America. And I know that the treatment is worse in the NE US than in Texas. There was a year - 2nd grade, 7 yrs old - where I just survived. Sure I made all A's but no one liked the African girl. So let every child have his weapon, his mode of survival. That man who questioned does not know if the other boy's beat him on the bus or whatever, so he should leave well enough alone. It is the parents who will be pained by his rejection of heritage. Let them deal with him. If they educate him & nuture him as a human being it will not be forever. You said "only the big girl knows what [it is] all about" . . . well I do not know you're children, this is pure innocent speculation but perhaps she knows b/c she is a big girl. I think ppl come into things by themselves. At 9, it is bit young to be making public demands, in this boys case.


My point was that the boy is still young & he just wants to fit in right now. It is not easy to be an apple among the acorns. You may almost thing you are an acorn too. It is the parents' child let them deal with it. It's their palava anyhow.

@Drusilla
Well one of the things that irks me about A.A.s is that most of them, particularly celebrities (w/ the exception of Oprah) only mention the Africa or the African Diaspora to comment on the adulation of African Americans. I suppose there's nothing else of merit for them to say about Africans, abi?

Well one of the things that irks me about A.A.s is that most of them, particularly celebrities (w/ the exception of Oprah) only mention the Africa or the African Diaspora to comment on the adulation of African Americans. I suppose there's nothing else of merit for them to say about Africans, abi?

Chinani,

Not quite.

African Americans teach around the world that whites are liars about Africa. Their liars about saying Africans never have done in them. Their liars about teaching that they brought civilization to Africa.

The list could go on and on.

This is what is going on when you see Afrocentrics fighting White scholars about African history.

Do you know that some whites say they will not call Black people -- African Americans?

You can find websites all over where whites say that they wish African Americans would go to Africa so they can come back and quit calling themselves anything but Americans.

We meet so many African Continental who have been taught not to believe in Africa, we have started to label them: AfriCANTS. (along with our own)

So many Africans who want whites back in Africa. While we think the exact opposite: Africa for Africans.

Look here on this board, I am arguing that Zimbabwe is doing the right thing breaking away from whites and giving back Africans the land.

The CA's are actually arguing that whites should own the land!

We actually have a term for the type of mental illness we consider that thinking to be:

Mentacide. (like suicide but where you have mentally committed suicide).

Now let me show you things that I did not mention before.

Will Smith brought up Tupac's name in Madagascar so that he could tell that huge Black audience this: We have to remember at all times, that we African Americans are being heard in more than America.

He was actually reprimanding us about the very thing. Watching what we say because we may be talking mess but it is influencing somebody far away.

Let me tell you what else Will Smith said:

God may visit other places but God lives in Africa.

Africa is our only goal.

That much seems as if it would be obvious.

We just have a serious problem with the idea that whites can and will help us.

So CA and AA sometimes have totally different views of how this thing is going to go down.

AfriCANTS <------------ I like that term. Might borrow it from you.

But I'd be wary to blame anyone (else) for an individual's mentality. Some people are quite content w/ their inferiority complex & would have one w/ or w/o white folks. It's a product of their personality & personal experiences.

Zimbabwe is a complicated case place. . .

Yes, now I remember the story. I watched Will Smith the night he said that though I didn't get the point at the time. What he's saying rings true. Neither him or his story deserves my criticism. He's doing something positive for the world.

Chinani,

I consider every Black person I meet, whether they be from Nigeria or America or Brazil to be a person who either knows or needs to know.

Reach one, Teach one.

I will tell you what Dr. Martin Luther King said:

When you tell Black people to wait to agitate for their civil rights, it is not the right time yet, it is because you do not have the foot on your neck. (letter from birmingham jail)

This applies to Zimbabwe and all of Africa.

Do you think that if we wait 20 years, Whites will really like it then and happily agree to give the stolen land back then?

Absolutely not. Their going to throw sanctions on us then and try to starve us out then too.

My point is, ain't nothing going to come easy.

We going to stumble, we going to fall, we going to get hurt.

But that is true a hundred years from now just as much as it is true now.

You have to crawl before you can walk. We all might as well face that right now.

Better the 40 years in the wilderness now, than 100 years from now still at this same point.

Please borrow the word Africant.

IAH:

Interesting points and offpoints here. Concerning the argument that 80% of the slaves were Igbos, I think the most slaves were Yorubas for a few reasons:

First of all, I agree with this point:

Then again, history also has it that Badagry, Lagos was one of the prime slave ports in West Africa. Has anyone been to the Slave Museum in Badagry? Try to visit the place, there are important artifacts on slavery there including chains/shackles with which slaves were tied. I think that speaks much of how highly pronounced it was in that side (Yorubaland).

If you look at the map of Nigeria, Yorubas are closest to the largest port in Nigeria which is Lagos. I'd assume they would be hardest hit because of that.
Also, a region was formerly called "Slave Coast"(the name says it all). "The Slave Coast is the name of the coastal areas of present Togo, Benin (formerly Dahomey) and western Nigeria, a fertile region of coastal Western Africa along the Bight of Benin."

So indeed, I think the slaves were mostly Yoruba people.

So so? Why do we need to know which tribe got robbed the most anyway?

THE EGBA YORUBA

(AN AFRICAN - AMERICAN LINK TO IGBO ORIGINS)

BY ISHAQ AL - SULAIMANI
(NWANNE DI NAMBA NDI IGBO)
ishaqa777@hotmail.com

ANYONE WHO HAS EVER TAKEN A SERIOUS INTEREST IN THE SLAVE TRADE AND THE TRIBAL ORIGINS OF AFRICAN - AMERICANS WOULD MOST LIKELY UNDERSTAND THAT THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT YORUBA ELEMENT AMONGST THE AFRICAN CAPTIVES WHO WERE TAKEN TO THE AMERICAS. THE PURPOSE OF THIS WRITING IS TO FURTHER SUPPORT RESEARCH THAT PROVES THAT THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE SLAVES BROUGHT TO THE AMERICAS WERE IGBOS BY ACKNOWLEDGING THE YORUBA ELEMENT TO BE IGBO AS WELL.

IN ADDITION TO THE MASSIVE AMOUNT OF IGBOS DOCUMENTED AND ACKNOWLEDGED TO HAVE BEEN SHIPPED DIRECTLY OUT OF THE IGBO DOMINATED AREAS OF THE NIGER DELTA,MILLIONS OF OTHERS WERE BROUGHT TO THE AMERICAS FROM IGBO SLAVE COLONIES WHICH WERE ESTABLISHED ALL OVER THE AFRICAN CONTINENT AND THUS ARRIVED UNDER A VARIETY OF NATIONAL AND TRIBAL LISTINGS. SLAVES CLASSIFIED AS ASHANTE WERE ACTUALLY IGBOS WHO WERE IMPORTED TO GHANA BY PORTUGUESE JEWISH SLAVE TRADERS TO WORK THE GOLD MINES. OTHERS LISTED AS ANGOLAN WERE ALSO IGBOS. SOME IGBOS WERE IMPORTED TO ANGOLA PRIOR TO THEIR ARRIVAL IN THE AMERICAS, OTHERS WERE BORN AND RAISED IN THE IGBO SLAVE COLONY OF ANGOLA. THE YORUBA CLASSIFICATION PROVED TO BE NO EXCEPTION TO THE RULE, AS THOSE SLAVES DOCUMENTED TO BE YORUBA WERE MORE SPECIFICALLY REFERRED TO AS EGBA yoruba were more specifically referred to as EGBA YORUBA. THE WORD EGBA IS A DERIVATION OF IGBO( EGBA,EGBO IGBO) AS THE EGBA YORUBA ARE OF IGBO ORIGINS.

SOUTHEAST NIGERIA MARKS THE LOCATION OF THE PRESENT DAY IGBO TRIBE. HOWEVER INITIALLY THE IGBO WERE THE RULERS OF THE ENTIRE SOUTH INCLUDING THE SOUTHWEST WHICH IS CURRENTLY CLASSIFIED AS YORUBA TERRITORY. THE YORUBA FIRST ENTERED THE SOUTHWEST PART OF NIGERIA AS INVADERS AND COLONIZERS OF THE ORIGINAL IGBO INHABITANTS WHO LATER BECAME KNOWN AS THE EGBA YORUBA. THE YORUBA(oyo,ijebu etc.) invasion was led by a man named ODUDWA WHO IS CONSIDERED TO BE THE " FOUNDING FATHER " OF THE PRESENT DAY YORUBA PEOPLE. TO THIS DAY YORUBA INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENTS STILL EXIST WITH THE HOPE OF ESTABLISHING THE INDEPENDENT YORUBA NATION OF WHICH THEY WISH TO CALL ODUDWA. THE DEFEAT AND CONQUEST OF THE IGBOS IN SOUTHWEST NIGERIA IS CELEBRATED EVERY YEAR BY THE YORUBA AT THE ANNUAL EID FESTIVAL(THE KINGDOM OF THE YORUBA - ROBERT SMITH 3RD EDITION UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN PRESS)

ONE OF THE LARGER YORUBA TRIBES ARE CALLED THE IJEBU. IT IS AN ESTABLISHED FACT THAT THE IJEBU WERE SELLING EGBA IN MASS NUMBERS DURING THE SLAVE TRADE. THE CITY IJEBU - IGBO STILL EXISTS IN THE YORUBA HEARTLAND WHICH NOT ONLY REFLECTS THE EARLIER IGBO HISTORY IN THE SOUTHWEST BUT FURTHER SERVES AS A MEMORY CONCERNING THE USAGE OF IGBO PRIOR TO THE TRANSFORMATION TO EGBA IN THAT PARTICULAR REGION. IN ADDITION TO THE EGBA THERE REMAINS A YORUBA TRIBE THAT LIVES IN THE KWARRA STATE WHICH CONTINUES TO USE THE MORE ORIGINAL IGBO AS PART OF THEIR TRIBAL NAME AS THEY ARE CALLED THE IGBO - MINA TRIBE. THE USAGE OF THE TERM EGBA WAS INSTITUTED TO DECLARE A STATE OF SECRECY AMONGST CERTAIN IGBOS. THE CURRENT IGBOS OF SOUTHEAST NIGERIA CONTINUE TO MAINTAIN EGBO AS A SECRET SOCIETY WHILE THE SAME TERM EGBA REFERS TO OTHER SECRET IGBO TRIBES.

1. EGBO - A SECRET SOCIETY AT ONE TIME EXISTING AS A POLITICAL BOND BETWEEN VARIOUS TOWNS ESPECIALLY EASTERN NIGERIA - WORLD BOOK DICTIONARY A - K 1974

2. EGBA - A CONFEDERATION OF NEGRO TRIBES NORTH OF THE SLAVE COAST- FUNK AND WAGNALS NEW STANDARD DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE - 1963

ALTHOUGH THE CONCEPT OF LEGBA VARIES IT BEGAN AS AN ANCESTRAL MEMORIAL DESIGNED TO MAINTAIN THE IGBO IDENTITY DURING TIMES WHEN TRHE IGBO DECLARED THEMSELVES TO BE IN A STATE OF SECRECY CALLED EGBA. LEGBA WAS NOT ONLY USED TO FEND OFF INVADING AFRICAN TRIBES BUT WAS ALSO ACTIVATED IN THE NEW WORLD TO COUNTER MODERN SLAVERY AND ITS ATTEMPTS TO WIPE OUT THE EGBA(igbo) IDENTITY OF THE CAPTIVES. THE DEITY LEGBA IS DESCRIBED IN YORUBA MYTHOLOGY AS THE DIVINE TRICKSTER WHO WIELDS GREAT POWER BECAUSE OF HIS ABILITY TO OUTWIT HIS FELLOW GODS. EVIDENCES OF LEGBA HAVE BEEN DOCUMENTED THROUGHOUT THE AMERICAS IN SUCH PLACES AS BRAZIL, GUIANA, TRINIDAD, HAITI AND NEW ORLEANS UNDER VARIOUS NAMES SUCH AS LEBBA, LEGBA, ELEGBARRA AND LIBA.

THE TERM ELEGBARRA OR LUGBARRA IS OF GREAT SIGNIFICANCE BECAUSE NOT ONLY DOES THE NAME APPEAR IN THE AMERICAS AMONGST THE EGBA SLAVES WHO ARE OF IGBO ORIGIN BUT IT IS ALSO THE NAME OF A TRIBE THAT LIVES IN SOUTHERN SUDAN AND NORTHERN UGANDA WHO ARE LIKEWISE RELATED TO THE IGBOS OF NIGERIA. WHEN TRAVELLING IN UGANDA I PERSONALLY MET A LUGBARRA MEDICAL DOCTOR WHO PREVIOUSLY STUDIED ALONGSIDE OF IGBOS FROM NIGERIA.THE LUGBARRA STATED THAT HE COULD UNDERSTAND MUCH OF THE IGBO LANGUAGE WHICH NATURALLY HAD MUCH IN COMMON WITH HIS OWN LUGBARRA TONGUE. THE DOCTOR WAS CONVINCED THAT THE LUGBARRA AND THE IGBO WERE DEFINITELY AKIN.THE LUGBARRA TRIBE LIVES ALONGSIDE OF AND ARE RELATED TO THE KAKWA TRIBE. IT IS FROM THE KAKWA THAT ACCOUNTS FOR THE USAGE OF KWA AMONGST THE IGBO. THIS INCLUDES BOTH THE IGBO AND EGBA LANGUAGES BEING CLASSIFIED AS KWA LANGUAGES AND SUCH NAMES AS THE KWA IBO RIVER.

IN 1967, HAITI BECAME THE ONLY COUNTRY OUTSIDE OF AFRICA TO RECOGNIZE BIAFRAN INDEPENDENCE.THIS WAS DUE TO THE HAITIANS MEMORY OF THEIR OWN IGBO REVOLUTIONARY PAST. THE NUMEROUS AND SUCCESSFUL SLAVE REVOLTS IN HAITI ARE CLEARLY ACKNOWLEDGED AND DOCUMENTED AS IGBO UPRISINGS, BUT YET WE FIND THE STRONGEST PRESENCE OF THE ANCESTRAL DEITY LEGBA AMONGST THE HAITIANS. IN HAITI LEGBA IS DESCRIBED AS THE MOST POWERFUL OF ALL OF THE LOA. HE IS THE GUARDIAN OF THE GATE BETWEEN THE MATERIAL AND SPIRITUAL WORLD. HE HAS GREAT WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE OF THE PAST AND THE FUTURE. EVERY RITUAL BEGINS WITH A SACRIFICE TO LEGBA. HE IS THE GUARDIAN OF THE SUN AND HIS COLOR IS BLACK. THE GUARDIAN OF THE SUN IS MOST LIKELY A CODE FOR THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN WHICH IS BIAFRA. IN SUMMARY THE SLAVES TAKEN TO THE AMERICAS AND CLASSIFIED AS YORUBA WERE EGBA MEANING IGBO.

When I saw the topic of this thread, I thot I'll see something descriptive of the link, or otherwise, between the Igbos in the South Eastern part of Nigeria, and their brothers? (or neighbours) in the South South - Rivers, Delta and maybe Bayelsa, Akwaibom, and Cross Rivers - if any.

But most of the entries to this thread have dwelt much on what I think is irrelevant (except of course, the author of the thread feels otherwise). Personally, I'll like to know if there's any serious link between the two igbo groups.

I know that the Ikwerres in Rivers state bears names similar to the Igbo's. But they claim they do not have any link with the Igbo's in the SE! Same goes for the folks in present day Ukwuani in Delta state. In fact, the Ukwuani's understand the general Igbo language pretty well, but their (Ukwuani) dialect is seldom understood by the Igbo's in the SE. I also heard that during the Civil War, the ''Igbo's'' in Delta state were somewhat massacred, and they protested that they were not Igbos in any way, as at that time. So, what's the difference between these two groups?

"Igbo" in Yoruba language  has many meanings, such as the "Ibo" tribe, a dense forest (jungle), weed, or marijuana. Yoruba is a tonal language, so one word can have many different meanings. This is in response to Hero's last post- too long to quote.


Second, let us not forget the slaves who were taken from other areas like the Congo, Gambia, and elsewhere. The Arabs raided first, before the Europeans. In ancient times, the Arabs even traded Europeans as well.  Alex Haley, the writer of "Roots" traced one of his ancestors to the Gambia.  I read about a British guy ( black and not African) who discovered via DNA tracing that one of his ancestors was a  Kanuri slave trader from Northern Nigeria. The Slave trade was not confined to the Nigeria coast, neither were slaves chiefly from Nigeria. This thing went on for centuries- let's be realistic.

@USnaigagrl~~~~

why should it matter to you who's lighter than who and who the white man perceived as beautiful? White men in general love the feel, touch and curviness off a black woman no matter where she's from. My question is why do ALL Igbo people look so much alike? I think it has to do with incest don't you think? I'm not Igbo but was married to one and have been to the country (IMO STATE) three times and it always amaze me how their features are homo geneous. Maybe someone can shed some light on this for me.

Jessilina

well u should ask ur father if he is igbo to tell u about igbo history
just like yorubas claim oduduwa came to existence with them and benin kingdom as his children
the igbos will tell u anyday they come from isreal that they r jews of some sort

well i dont know but i have come to belive that cos they have some similar xteristics with the jews, brilliancy, trickery and smartness dont forget good bizness men which the jews are also good at

i have really wondered why we are light skinned , i thot i could learn from the question until some yoruba folks decided to hijack it to tell us their history i just wonder why they luv igbos so much yet are skeptical about them

i have 4 light skinned siblings my cousins were almost albinos with dark hair, light brown eyes which made them look extra beautiful, and not real- u would think they have water spirit  

it is not a geographical thing cos we lie in the same plain with the yorubas so can someone with definite answer tell me how come this is so? or is the jew theory actually true?

i wish davidlan, babyosisi and other mature igbos in the thread could answer

Hello my fellow Nigerians, I'm not disputing any of these hypotheses which some of you’ve proposed. Nigerian love doing things in very complex ways without thinking of simple ways to do it first. May be this is one of the main reasons why our dear country is still in depression.

I was born in Kano State Northern Nigeria, and I knew my self to posses a chocolate skin. Thinking back 1991 when there was a huge ethnic/religious riot in Kano state, my family went back to Anambra state (Idemili South LGA) for a while for things to cool down.

We spent about 6months in Anambra State when I noticed that I was far lighter in complexion (my sisters noticed they where lighter also) then I was when I came from Kano State. Not only this, 2 of my sisters hair was longer and healthier than when they where in Kano.

I then asked my granny and mum why this was happening and they told me that it is because of the weather. Not only does it make you lighter it stimulates hair growth, that is why Igbos has got longer hair than their Yoruba neighbours.

When I was in Anambra state, I found out I sweated more which keeps my skin cool and moisturized instead of dry like when I was in Kano.

This is firsthand experience guys. What do all of think?

I'm Igbo and I won't say I'm lightskinned but I'm not dark either, sort of in between.

Anyway, it is true that Igbos tend to be lightskinned for some reason. Everybody on my dad's side of the family is extremely light for some reason and the same from my mom's side of the family except my mom and my grandmother. My grandmother is from Asaba,Delta State. Apparently, my granny's dark skin is what my mother picked up and 4 of my brothers/sisters picked it up too except my youngest sister who took up my dad's skin colour.

By the way, the idea that Igbos are all light isn't correct. There are a bunch of  dark Igbos too and they're not scarce, you see them everywhere. Visit the closest market where you live and you'll see them selling one thing or another. You can say that we have more light skinned people than other tribes but a majority of Igbos are definitely not light skinned like some people here are saying. A majority of us look just like regular black folks out there. End of story!

I have two excellent books for those who want to enrich their mind,that may add something to this discussion.

They are as follows:

Dreams of Africa in Alabama by Slyvaine Diouf
Exchanging Our Country Marks: Exchaning African Identities by Michael Gomez.

The Igbos and the West Central Africans are discussed in length as it relates to their presence in the US and how they evolved in to one people over time.

All i can say is that it's common in my part of Igboland to call somebody "blacky" and sometimes in offensive ways

The reason is that we have more light skinned than dark skinned people but science will one day tell us why it is so in our part of Africa

I am light skinned and so do the rest of my family

I did not sell any slave, neither was i there when they were sold

I have noticed that many African women are bleached.  Being an AA, I am used to seeing various hues of black folks among my own.  A bleached skins just stands out.  They have this unnatural skin coloring.

Also, I know what some AFricans refer to as light skin would not be considered light skinned in AA culture.  In fact the most beautiful Naijas I have seen generally are dark brown and black complexed.

People are African descent are pretty much screwed up in de head.  They have been taught to hate themselves and adore anything that is appears to African. 

P.S.  I do feel that it is people's right to identify how they want to.  I am not African per se, but I am an amalgam of various African people from long ago.  I consider myself a "new world" African of North America, specifically the US.  I know that sounds like a contradiction.  However, I don't have any emotional and psychological connection to any group on the African continent, but I acknowledge that I am a descendent of various AFricans who were brought to the US against their will.  Because of our experiences and history, this make us a seperate and distinct ethnic group.

Dru you are right.  African American popular culture influences the planet.  We just got it like that!    Yes the world knows who we are.  This is why I feel that we have so much influence, and we need to use it more positively.

In reference to the Igbos, I heard that during the 300 transatlantic slave period it was customary for the big men to offer their women sexually to the white men who came to their territories. It is just a rumor. I don't know if there is any fact to it. Could it be that these women produced offsprings from their sexual encounters?

BigSis:

I have noticed that many African women are bleached. Being an AA, I am used to seeing various hues of black folks among my own. A bleached skins just stands out. They have this unnatural skin coloring.

Also, I know what some AFricans refer to as light skin would not be considered light skinned in AA culture. In fact the most beautiful Naijas I have seen generally are dark brown and black complexed.

People are African descent are pretty much screwed up in de head. They have been taught to hate themselves and adore anything that is appears to African.

P.S. I do feel that it is people's right to identify how they want to. I am not African per se, but I am an amalgam of various African people from long ago. I consider myself a "new world" African of North America, specifically the US. I know that sounds like a contradiction. However, I don't have any emotional and psychological connection to any group on the African continent, but I acknowledge that I am a descendent of various AFricans who were brought to the US against their will. Because of our experiences and history, this make us a seperate and distinct ethnic group.

Dru you are right. African American popular culture influences the planet. We just got it like that! Yes the world knows who we are. This is why I feel that we have so much influence, and we need to use it more positively.

In reference to the Igbos, I heard that during the 300 transatlantic slave period it was customary for the big men to offer their women sexually to the white men who came to their territories. It is just a rumor. I don't know if there is any fact to it. Could it be that these women produced offsprings from their sexual encounters?

What a stupid post

I've read all the comments in this topic. interesting. I'm not an igbo. I've noticed some africans from nigeria have african names and surnames. some have english names. This idea was mentioned somewhere along the line.
According to chinani and others, there can be an admixture due to this. how did the english surnames derived from these africans from africa.

@ chinani, Iam suprised you seem to know alot about the Igbos and Yorubas yet you did not know the meaning of your name which is Igbo! Do not exercise yourself ignorantly in things too high for you. I was just passing by when I saw all you guys were writing here and decided to correct some ,istakes and point you towards making more inquiries and 'studying' more on this as I have done. Before you say anything I am a writer who always beleive in research and I have extensively done this on this and other topics. I even tried to help you sort out the meaning of your name with some suggestions, anyway read this write up below and make whatever you will of it.



ENCLOSED IS MY LATEST CONFERENCE PAPER ENTITLED; THE GREATER IGBO NATION( IDENTIFYING IGBO VARIANTS DURING THE ERA OF THE SLAVE TRADE. )



PLEASE INDICATE THAT ALL QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS CAN BE DIRECTED TO;



(AMIR) ISHAQ AL-SULAIMANI - DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH @

THE CULTURAL EDUCATION INSTITUTE - ishaqa777@hotmail.com






I AM SURE THAT YOU WILL FIND THE ENCLOSED ATTACHMENT PAPER MOST INTERESTING AND APPROPRIATE FOR YOUR WEB-SITE VIEWING.






ISHAQ AL-SULAIMANI

(CHIEF NWANNE DI NAMBA NDI IGBO )







THE GREATER IGBO NATION—IDENTIFYING IGBO VARIANTS DURING THE ERA OF THE SLAVE TRADE







By



Cultural Education Institute

of

New Jersey





























Ishaq D. Al-Sulaimani

Vernon (Alufiel) Grier, Ed.D
THE GREATER IGBO NATION-- IDENTIFYING IGBO VARIANTS DURING THE ERA OF THE SLAVE TRADE



I

INTRODUCTION



It is universally recognized that Igbo is the correct spelling of the tribe that currently comprises the majority of the inhabitants of southeastern Nigeria and of whom are readily associated with the Biafran revolution, however during the time of the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade the “Igbo Nation” was divided into a number of sub-tribe variant identities which were most commonly expressed in the Egbo, Egba Ebo and Ibo forms.

The contents of this Chapter establishes the identity of the captives taken from Africa to the Americas and enslaved were of Igbo origins. It further clarifies the role of the sub-tribe variants during the slave trade and their recognized status as being part of a once greater and more inclusive Igbo identity.

The majority of Igbo intellectuals continue to teach that the Igbo variants such as the Ibo, Ebo and Egbo are European corruptions of the exclusively indigenous and proper Igbo. In defense of their claim they often cite the words of James Africanus Beale Horton who states that the Igbo spelling is the original of the nation, while avoiding his more detailed description concerning the indigenous usages of Ibo, Ebo and Egbo as it relates to the inhabitants of various towns and regions.

“Egbo, Igbo, Ebo and Ibo are the various spellings met within books describing the race that inhabits part of the coast. Amongst the soft Isuama and Elugu the soft Ibo or Ebo is used but amongst the inhabitants of the coast such as Bonny and Okrika the harsher name Egbo is prevalent. In the interior north of the territory the nations are called Igbo which appears more the original name of the inhabitants.” (Horton 1969:154)

The altering of the name Igbo was initially implemented with the intent of establishing independence from the “Greater Igbo entity”, while at the same time maintaining the natural ancestral link with the main and originating body. The often hostile reaction and rejection on the part of the Igbo towards the seceding Egbo, Ebo and Ibo gradually weakened the bonds of brotherhood ultimately resulting in the emergence of such “non-Igbo” tribes as the Efik, Ibibio and Oron of Calabar, the Egba and Igbo-Mina of Yorubaland and the Ewe and Ga of Ghana and the Fongbe of Dahomey.

II

The altering of the letters in a name to create an independent identity such as that of Egbo, Ebo and Ibo which at some “ancient” point derived out of the original Igbo continued after the Biafran War in regards to the Iwerre people as pointed out by Professor Ben O. Nwabueze.

“It is well to note that of the Igbo border communities in Benue State as well as those in and around Port Hacourt now strenuously disclaims their Igbo Identity. This disclaimer is manifest in practical terms by the latter changing their names of their villages by prefixing them with a “R” so that Umuokoro becomes Rumuokoro, Umuigbo becomes Rumuigbo, Umumasi becomes Rumumasi, Umukorusha becomes Rumukorosha and so on. The intention is to make them not look or sound like Igbo names.”

Throughout this presentation I will be using Igbo as an umbrella term describing the tribe in a general sense and as a specific reference for the majority of the tribe presently inhabiting Southeastern Nigeria and of whom are readily associated with the Biafran revolution. Egbo will primarily refer to the Efik and Ibibio also known as the Cross River or Ekpe Tribes. The term Ebo will refer to the Igbo descended Mina Tribes of Ghana and Benin(Dahomey) which include the Ewe, Fon(Fongbe) and the Ga-Adangbe. The Ebo classification will also include the Igbo descended captives of Angola, while Ibo will be applied historically to the “Western Igbo” and those of Mozambique.

Egba will be used to describe the largest Igbo descended tribe living in Yorubaland (Southwest Nigeria) inhabiting the Osugun State, while Igbo-Mina will address another Igbo descended tribe living in the Kwara State of Yorubaland.

THE EGBO ARE IGBO

The majority of the captives taken to the Americas were from the coastal Egbo tribes and were referred to as Calabaris. Presently in Igboland they are known as the Efik, Ibibio, Oron and Ekoi, etc., and are well associated with a secret society known as the Egbo Society. Although the present day Efik and Ibibio living in Nigeria generally deny ancestral relations with the Igbo; this was not always the case as described by A.E. Afigbo, Professor of History at the University of Nsukka.

“Until three or four decades ago there were many Efik and Ibibio communities which proudly laid claims to Igbo origins but today would treat such suggestions as an affront. Here we find the classic example of the trick which time and political consciousness play on historical writings.”

The explorer William Balfour Baike writes in 1854 that the Efik mark was formerly the same as that used by some Igbos but more recently they have adopted another.

Egbo captives meaning those such as the Igbo descended Efik and Ibibio were targeted throughout the entire period of the slave trade beginning with the Spanish and Portuguese traders of the 16th century and continuing to arrive in the Americas throughout the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.

The Aro slave trading network of Arochukwu first established itself in 1620 with the intent of enslaving the Egbo tribes. In regards to this task they settled in the most southeastern corner of .Igboland, lands belonging to the semi-autonomous Egbo nation called Egbo-Shari. Once settled, the Aro began to emulate and infiltrate the Egbo leaders in an attempt to deceitfully manipulate and redirect their governing institutions into a slave trading operative.

The coastal Egbo who were generally known to the slave traders as Calabaris provided the majority of “Igbo descended” captives and were often referred to as KWA IBO. The general tendency to associate the Calabaris with “Igbo” is a result of the understanding that the Egbo tribes were related to the “Greater Igbo Nation” and therefore Herskovits refers to Calabari as a generic name for “Ibos” in the United States.

In Cuba it is understood that those known as Calabaris descended from the Egbo tribes such as the Efik and Ibibio. During the time of the slave trade the most powerful and numerous of the Egbo tribes were those known as THE KWA. In generalizing the Egbo Nation with the dominant Kwa tribe, all of the Egbo tribes were collectively known as Kwa Ibo. Through the dominance of the Kwa tribe, the Egbo Society was also known as the AbaKwa Society meaning of the Kwa people. To this day the Egbo Society continues to actively function in Cuba.

The Egbo Society communicates by using a secret Igbo writing system known as that of Nsibidi. Nsibidi symbols were recently discovered to be engraved on a number of African-American tombstones in Virginia. This most accurately attests to the Egbo ancestry of the deceased as these writings were sacredly maintained by the Egbo Society and were associated as Igbo through the understanding that the Egbo tribes were of Igbo origins. The word Mbakara which African captives used to describe the “white man” in the United States is of Egbo origins as it can be traced directly back to the Efik and Ibibio.

Egbo captives were so numerous and dominant in Virginia that some historians of the Colonial Era actually referred to Virginia as “Igboland”. By the 1700’s Virginia plantation owners gathered to discuss the “Igbo problem” as the hardworking but resistant Egbo are acknowledged to have dominated the Virginia trade. This further lends credence to the alleged Willie Lynch speech of 1712 which advocated the implementation of harsh measures of containment designed to eradicate Egbo culture and in turn slave resistance on all levels. The speech of proposals was delivered by Willie Lynch on the Bank of the James River in Virginia in 1712. 120 years later Nat Turner led a revolt in Virginia that killed approximately 60 whites. In accordance with his Igbo(Egbo) origins, Turner bestowed upon himself the honors of Odogo, a ceremonial ritual in which an Igbo warrior places feathers in his cap to signify the killing of a person of rank in war. After killing Hark Travis, the head of the Travis farm, Turner placed feathers in his cap and a red sash around his waist.

Douglas Chambers recently published a book which discusses the alleged role of the Igbo in the murder of President James Madison’s grandfather who was killed in Virginia. Igbo(Egbo) revolts were so frequent and intense throughout Virginia that it was understood that this revolutionary mentality on the part of the Egbo captives was an obvious reflection of Igbo culture as the Igbo proverb states;

“What saves also kills and what kills also saves.”

It is of interest to note that James Africanus Beale Horton who clearly understood the proper application and usage of the term Igbo and its sub-tribe variants such as the Egbo, Ibo and Ebo chose to dominantly use the Egbo variant when speaking of the tribe in general, while remaining in clear avoidance of using the Igbo spelling. This is obviously a reflection of his descendancy from coastal Egbo captives who were resettled in Sierra Leone.

“The Egboes are considered the most imitative and emulative people in the whole of Western Africa; place them where you will or introduce them to any manners of customs and you will find they easily adapt to them.”

“The population of Egbo is unknown.”

(Horton 1969:157)

THE EBO ARE IGBO

In accordance with his origins in the Essaka village of Benin, Olaudah Equiano referred to his people as being that of Ebo and never Igbo.

“The West Indies planters prefer the slaves of Benin or Eboe.”

“Deformity is indeed unknown amongst us. I mean that of shape. Numbers of natives of Eboe in London might be brought in support of this assertion for in regard to complexion ideas of beauty are wholly relative.” (Gates Jr. 1987:17)

The Ebo connection to Benin is further supported by Onyebuechi Amene who states the following;

“Ebo is a Benin name. It was the Binis that went to and from the Igala Royal families that took the name to Igala.”

“The Ebo family of Isiskre still retains their ancestral Bini names.”

Those captives who came to the Americas from Ghana and Benin(Dahomey) were those known as Ebo or the Mina tribes. In fact a Mina tribe remains in the Kwara State of Yorubaland and refer to themselves as Igbo-Mina using the original Igbo spelling of the name. It was the Portuguese Jewish slave traders who began selling Ebo captives from Benin to Ghana where they were used to work the Gold Mines. These traders coined the Ebo as “Mina tribes” meaning those destined for El-Mina, a Portuguese word meaning “The Mines”. El-Mina became central to the slave trade in Ghana. The Most powerful amongst the Ebo(Mina) to arrive in Ghana were those called Ewe.

The word Ewe derives from the Igbo name Eke. Eke in the Igbo culture refers to the feminine, motherly or birth giving attributes of the Supreme Deity Chineke. Through the interchangeable nature of the letters v and w Ewe is also pronounced with the v sound of Eve(Yeveh). It is from the life giving Eke, Ewe or Eve that a female lamb is called a Ewe and the mother of all humanity Eve.

Some reports estimate that over 3 million Ewe were brought to the American South alone. Amongst the followers of African religions in Cuba, Ewe refers to the life giving herbs, while in Haiti, the Ewe deity Nanan Boclou is remembered as the god of life giving herbs and medicine. The Ewe are closely related to the Mina tribe known as the Fon(Fongbe). In fact the word voodoo often associated with Haitian religious practice is a Fongbe word. The last Fon ruler of Dahomey was named Agbo. Agbo was exiled to Guinea where he remained until his death.

In 1967, Haiti became the only country outside of Africa to recognize the independent Igbo Republic of Biafra in secession from Nigeria. The vote of confidence in favor of Biafra on the part of this tine Caribbean nation was due to the Haitian’s memory of their own “Igbo” revolutionary past. The numerous and successful slave revolts in Haiti are clearly documented as “Igbo” uprisings but yet we find the strongest presence of the ancestral deity Legba(Eshu) amongst the Haitians. In Haiti Legba is described as the most powerful of all the Loa. He is the guardian of the sun and his color is black. The guardian of the sun is most likely a code for the “Land of the Rising Sun” which is an ancient Igbo reference for the Land of Biafra. The Igbo revolutionaries and devoutees of Legba(Eshu) in Haiti were in actuality the Igbo descended Mina tribes such as the Ewe and Fon(Fongbe) who are well associated with the worship and reverence for Legba.

The other major non-Akan Igbo descended tribe to be sold from Ghana are those known as the Ga. The Ga like the Ewe are known to have earlier “Nigerian” origins which more specifically equate with that of the Igbo. A section of Belize City is known as Ebo Town. Most of the African captives arriving in Belize were imported from Jamaica and in turn it is acknowledged that the African captives of Jamaica primarily came from Ghana. The Jamaican Festival Jonkonnu evolved out of the Ga Festival of Homowo and thus the African descended population of Jamaica can trace their Igbo origins through the Ga and the Ebo-Mina tribes as they became known.

Captives arriving in the Americas from Angola were also known as Ebo. The city Ebo still exists in Angola. The Gullah whose name derives from Angola are an African-American community who live on the Sea Isles off of the coast of Georgia and South Carolina areas which record a majority of Angolan captives. The Gullah are currently engaged in a strenuous battle to secure a memorial at a site called Ebo Landing. Ebo Landing was named in memory of the countless Ebo who drowned themselves in protest of their enslavement. Mr. Utsey is a Gullah meaning a descendant of Angolan-Ebo captives. He recently wrote to the Igbo Studies Association in quest of information concerning his lost Ebo identity. He stated that he was raised in an area which was approximately 45 minutes from Ebo Landing. D.N.A. testing has confirmed his Igbo (Ebo) origins.

The presence of Angolan captives in Virginia is reflected in such names as Angola Creek and the Angolan Quarter. What is of interest is the fact that there were many Angolans acknowledged to have been living in Virginia alongside of the Igbo(Egbo), however there is no evidence or documentation that indicates that the Angolans were any different in regards to submitting to enslavement in contrast to the Igbo(Egbo). In accordance with their Ebo culture the Angolan captives were known as runaways. In 1744, a runaway by the name of Angola Tom was captured in Orange County. This being similar to Jamaica where an advertisement for wanted slaves lists the two largest groups of runaways as being those of Igbo and Angola. Igbos and Angolans are acknowledged to have dominantly co-existed in Delaware without any distinguishing differences in temperament and behaviors particularly in response to enslavement.

With the abolition of the slave trade Igboland experienced the largest population increase in all of Africa. Since Igboland was the area most affected by the slave trade once left unmolested the population that supplied the most captives would naturally respond with the largest population increase. Angola on the other hand is noted as the area which experienced the largest population decrease after the slave trade ended. Being that Angola provided many captives for enslavement to the New World, a population increase similar to that which was experienced in Igboland would be expected unless of course the captives taken from Angola were not from the native population but were imported Ebos as advocated in this writing. It is also interesting that in the case of the Angolan and Mozambique captives they are generally identified in the classification of country as opposed to any specific tribe. Angola’s role as a Portuguese slave colony was confronted by Queen Nzinga who in 1624 declared all territory in Angola as free country, meaning that all captives reaching Angola would be declared free upon arrival. Queen Nzinga’s efforts only temporarily hindered the mission of the slave traders who continued to import and export Ebo throughout the course of the slave trade.



THE IBO ARE IGBO

Although Mozambique did become a Portuguese colony similar to that of Angola, the Ibo inhabitants had already been living there centuries before the arrival of the Europeans and were residing under the Ibo tribal heading. The Ibo of Mozambique are presently known as Chi-Mwani and speak a dialect called Ibo. In Mozambique there are two coastal cities named Ibo conveniently located for the importing and exporting of slaves. In their early attempts to colonize Mozambique the Portuguese established their first trading post on what is known as the Ibo Islands and by 1754 Ibo was chosen by the Portuguese as their main clearing house for slaves.

It is estimated that by 1807, 80% of the captives destined for the Americas were being imported from Angola, Mozambique and the Igbos of Biafra.

Beginning in the 16th century when the Spanish and Portuguese were in charge of the slave trade, they transported 15,000 slaves from Angola to America every year. The Ebos of Angola and the Ibos of Mozambique were classified amongst those of Congo. The Congo slaves began arriving in such places as Cuba in the 1500’s. The Portuguese began dispersing Igbo captives across Africa at the beginning of the slave trade in the 16th century. Thos sent to such places as San Thome and Gabon were of Ibo origins as acknowledged with the first recorded Ibo slave Caterina Ybou who like her fellow Ibo captives arrived at San Thome and Gabon to work on the newly established slave plantations. In Gabon Ibo runaways were so numerous that one of the largest mountains in Gabon became a place of hidden refuge known as Ibounji. It is acknowledged that most of the captives that came to San Thome and Gabon were from the Congo and in turn it is acknowledged that these captives were Ibo. Present day Congo cities such as Ibondo, Iboko and Ibola are reminiscent of the once numerous Ibo captive population.



THE EGBA ARE IGBO

Southwest Nigeria is commonly referred to as “Yorubaland” which is home to a mosaic of distinct tribes and tribal states who collectively form the present day Yoruba tribal identity, however the original Yoruba designation exclusively referred to the Oyo, a tribe who at one time lived amongst the Hausas in what is presently Northern Nigeria. In fact the word Yoruba is of Hausa origins.

Misrepresentations of Nigeria the Facts and the Figures by Yusef Bala Usman, PhD – Center for Democratic Development, Research and Training.

“The fact is that the earliest record we have of the use of the very name Yoruba was in the Hausa Language and it seems to have applied to the people of the Alfinate Oyo. Don Masani wrote a book on the Muslim scholars of the Yarriba.”

Over the centuries the Oyo were gradually driven southward where they in turn became the conquerors of the indigenous people of “Southwest Nigeria” who like their Southeastern counterparts were referred to as the Igbo. The Southwestern Igbo were protected by an army of masked warriors known as the Egbo or Egba. Olumida Lucas states that the name Egba is synonymous with Igbo. The Indigenous Igbo(Egba) lived in the forest area surrounding Ife. The name Ife derives from an Igbo system of “divination” called Ifa. It was at Ife that the Igbo(Egba) were first confronted by Odudwa who along with his youngest son Oranyan are remembered as the founders of the Oyo(Yoruba) Kingdom at Ife. At the time of Odudwa’s invasion the indigenous Igbo(Egba) resided under the leadership of Obatala whose name means the Oba or Obi Ala. Obi or Oba was initially an Igbo title of authority and Ala is the land deity of the Igbo. Amongst the Egbo tribes of Calabar the Oba appears in the form of the deity Obassi who is also called Abassi.

Like the indigenous forest dwelling Igbos, the present day Egbas are historically associated with the Obas. In fact the name of the Egba ruling council known as the Ogboni relates to the Igbo word Ogbonna which indirectly refers to an elder.



The Wikipedia Encyclopedia – “Yoruba”

“The numerous Egba communities found in the forests below Oyo’s Savannah region were a notable example of elected Obas though the Ogboni, a legislative judicial council of notable elders wielded the actual political power.”

(The Ogboni “Cult” played a central role in the Brazil slave rebellion of 1809.)

In their initial encounters the Oyo(Yoruba) were unable to penetrate the frightening Egba(Igbo) as these intimidating masked forest dwellers mastered the art of instilling fear into their opponents. In defense of their homeland the Egba(Igbo) went further in raiding and burning down the intruding Oyo(Yoruba) settlements in the town at Ife.

The Egba were first defeated through the scheming of a woman named Moremi who allowed herself to be captured as she used her beauty to seduce the Igbo(Egba) King into revealing the secrets of the masked Egba warriors. She later returned to the Oyo providing her countrymen with the necessary information needed to finally conquer the Igbo(Egba) Kingdom. This defeat of the Igbo(Egba) is celebrated every year at the annual Eid Festival of Ife.

In 1835, the Egba declared themselves to be independent of the Oyo(Yoruba) and in response the Oyo along with the Ijebu drove them out of Ibadan, Ife and other towns north of their present day capital of Abeokuta. As a result of contact between the Ijebu and the Indigenous Igbo the city Ijebu-Igbo was established. The founding of the Egba Kingdom of Abeokuta in 1837 is considered to be the last kingdom to be recognized within the “Yoruba federation of tribes”. By this time the term Yoruba had expanded beyond its original usage in referring to the Oyo and now generally applied to all of the inhabitants of Southwestern Nigeria.

The tradition of the masked Egba(Igbo) warriors is likewise documented in Southeast Nigeria amongst the followers of the Egbo Society of Calabar.



EGBO – A secret society at one time existing as a political bond between various towns especially Eastern Nigeria. – World Book Dictionary A-K 1974.

In 1876, the Scottish Presbyterian missionary Mary Slessor came to Calabar. According to the accountings of Ms. Slessor in the “Igbo” dominated areas a secret society known as Egbo went around in masks and beat people. She claimed to have chased a group of Egbo and tore off a mask. The image of Mary Slessor would later appear on the 10 pound British Monetary note. (The Egbo/Egba warriors seem to have a problem or weakness in defending themselves against foreign women. First Moremi in the west informs her people to burn the masks of the Egba(Igbo) warriors and later in the east Mary Slessor claims to have ripped a mask off of an Egbo man.)

The Egba of Abeokuta worship a deity called the Oro. Oro is a god who resides in a bush. In honor of Oro a sacred ceremony is performed at a secluded spot inside the bush. This ceremony is called Igbo Oro and is very similar to bush ceremonies observed by the Egbo Society of Calabar. There are many similar practices and rituals performed by both the Egba of “Yorubaland” and the Egbo Society of the east. In this regard it is of interest to note the name of the Biafran Officer from Ejagham(Calabar), the formidable Captain Ndom Egba.

Although the concept of Legba varies it began as an ancestral memorial designed to maintain the Egba identity during times of persecution and hardship. Legba is also known as Eshu and relates to the deity Isua which is honored in the Egbo Society as the Master of Ceremonies. Legba was also activated in the New World as a means to counter modern slavery and its attempts to wipe out the Egba identity of the captives. The deity is described in Yoruba mythology as the “Divine trickster” because of his ability to outwit his fellow gods. Evidences of Legba have been documented throughout the Americas in such places as Brazil, Guyana, Trinidad, Haiti and New Orleans under various names such as Lebba, Legba, Elegbara and Liba. It is the Igbo descended Mina tribes such as the Ewe and Fon who are most readily associated with the Legba variant.

The term Elegbara is of great significance because not only does the name appear in the Americas amongst Igbo descended captives meaning the Egba and the Mina tribes, but is also the name of a tribe that lives on the Southern Sudanese, Northern Ugandan border and of whom are likewise related to the Igbos of Nigeria as they are known by the variant of Elegbara being called the Lugbara. When traveling in Uganda I personally met a Lugbara Doctor of Medicine who previously studied alongside of Igbo students from Nigeria. The Lugbara man stated that he could understand much of the Igbo Language which held a great deal in common with his own Lugbara Tongue. Through numerous and prominent cultural and linguistic affinities the Lugbara man was definitely convinced that the Lugbara and the Igbo are akin.

Similar to the Igbo of the east, the western Igbo descended Egba were always known to be revolutionaries in continual revolt against the Colonial British authorities, European missionaries and their traditional Yoruba enemies being primarily that of the Oyo and Ijebu. In 1929 the Igbo market women of the east led a tax revolt against the Colonial British Government which became known as the Abia Women’s Tax Revolt. The Egba women carried out a similar tax revolt in 1947 known as the Abeokuta Women’s Tax Revolt of Egba Market Women. The Egba market women were led by Fumilayo Ransome Kuti, a teacher and wife of a prominent Egba educationalist. The protest of over 10,000 Egba women caused the governing authorities to abolish taxes on women for several years and the Alake who conspired with the Colonial authorities spent three years in exile in Oshogbo.

Many of the positive social and ethical traits which are often associated with the Igbo are historically documented as being characteristic of the Egba as well. Robert Campbell who along with Martin Robison Delaney signed a pact with Egba leaders for the right of resettlement of African-Americans to “Egbaland” states that the Egba are the most industrious people on the face of the earth. (Burton 1863:101)

James Africanus Beale Horton concerning the Egba(Akus) “It must be admitted without question that there are no people on the coast who are so hard working and so long suffering in proportion to what they expect in return.” He also went on to say that the Egba as a race are amongst the most industrious, persevering and hard working people on the coast of Africa. (Horton 1969:149)

In terms of education the Egba like the Igbo are deserving of great acclaim. The first Black-African to receive a Nobel Prize in Literature was an Egba man named Wole Soyinka who like the Igbo actively opposed the Nigerian Government during the Biafran War. Soyinka was detained by agents of the state between 1967 and 1969. In this regard Booker T. Washington whose middle name, Tanifeani, attests to Egba origins should be noted as the founder of the famous Tuskegee Institute.

In Brazil an organized Ibo revolt led to the establishment of the Independent “Ibo Republic” of Palmares which lasted 45 years. Being consistent with “Igbo resistance” Palmares ended in a massive suicide of Ibo warriors who preferred death to capture. The city Ibotirama testifies to a strong Ibo presence in the region, however as in the case of Haiti, Afro-Brazilian culture and religious practices are more readily associated with that of the “Yoruba”(Egba) including the worship of Legba.

Olukwumu is spoken in Brazil and interestingly enough in a few Western Ibo communities such as Anioma, Idumu-ogu, Ubulubu, Ugbodu, Ugboba and Okwumuzu. In fact communities bearing the name Olukwumu(Olukumi) still exist amongst the Western Ibo. Although this dialect cannot be found in the Yoruba heartland it remains in reference as a “lost dialect of the Yoruba Language”. All of the above clearly indicates that many of the captives in Brazil including those who successfully revolted in the establishment of Palmares were of western Ibo origins and like the Egba are being mistakenly classified as Yoruba. In Brazil the Western Ibo were accompanied by a massive importing of Ebos from Angola and Ibos from Mozambique, the latter further accounting for the dominant and preferable Ibo usage amongst the Brazilian captives.

In Cuba the Olukwumu were referred to as the Olukumi, Lukumi or Akumi. The Egba have traditionally resisted identification with the term Yoruba preferring to be called Egbas or Akus. Slaves in Cuba known as the Lukumi or Akumi meaning of the Egba people were well known for suicide resistance which often found them handing from the branches of the Guasima trees. This being very similar to the “Igbo” resisters of Haiti who were likewise remembered for suicide resistance as understood in the Haitian saying, Ebos pend cor a yo, meaning the Ebos hang themselves. The relationship between the names Olukwumu and Olukumi with that of Akumi(Aku or Egba) further solidifies the common origins which link the Western Ibo and the Egba peoples.

The Egba who like the Igbo were originally known as forest dwellers are acknowledged to have been at one time living east of their present day location. The process which led to the vanquished links of brotherhood between the Igbo and the Egba can be characterized by the often strained relations that currently exist between some of the eastern and western Igbo communities of today.

Biafran Nigerian World Message Board-JAN. 6th 2004 Efulefu of Western Kind.

“… lately some misguided Igbo people of Anioma/Ibusa (in short Western Igbo stock), have been making anti-Igbo noises. I read that a group of 419 purporting to represent Anioma and all Western Igbo issued a statement disavowing their Igboness… If you are from Western Igboland and you no longer wish to consider yourself Igbo you have only one option. Pack your damned bags and leave otherwise we are coming!!!”

History not only records the common origins of the Egba and the Igbo but their common destiny as they are identified as two groups most devastated by the slave trade which is expressed in the following;

“The Egba have suffered more than any other nation in West Africa from the depredation of the slave trade.” (Horton 1969:146)

“It is stated that a dispersion of the Egba in the 1st quarter of the 17th century scattered the exiled Egba to Sierra Leone, United States, Gambia Fernando Po, Hausa, Borneo, Central Africa, The Fezzan, Egypt and even Istanbul.” (Horton 1969:146)

“Igboland was one of the areas most affected by the slave trade. Igbos were exported as slaves throughout the whole period of the trade.” (Isichei 1973:45)

The Four African Societies of Modern Cuba represent the various elements which comprise the Igbo ancestry of African-Americans.



1. LUKUMI(EGBA) – The Lukumi Society whose name derives from Akumi meaning those of the Akus who are the Igbo descended Egba and their brethren the Ketu. They are often mistakenly referred to as Yoruba, an estimated 275,000 were brought to Cuba.

2. ARARA(EBO) – The Arara Society pertains to the Igbo descended Mina tribes who were designated to work the Gold Mines of Ghana and of whom were sold to the Americas from Sao George which became known as El-Mina (THE MINES). El-Mina was the center of the gold trade and the focus of the greater slave trade. The main Mina tribes of Ghana were the Igbo descended Ewe and Ga, while in Dahomey they were called (Fon (Fongbe) or Abo as in Abomey. The origins of the Mina tribes is maintained in the name of the Igbo-Mina tribe of The Kwara State in Yorubaland. Most Mina tribes were known as Ebo and approximately 200,000 arrived in Cuba.

3. The Egbo Society(EGBO) – The Egbo Society consists of the descendants of the coastal “Igbo Nation” of Egbo-Shari. The present day Efik and Ibibio are amongst the most prominent tribes to be historically associated with the Egbo Society, however during the time of the slave trade the largest and most powerful tribe within the Egbo nation were those known as the Kwa and thus the Egbo Society was also known as AbaKwa(Abacua). The majority of the Kwa were sold to the Americas during the Slave Trade. Slave traders often referred to the Egbo as Calabaris or Kwa Ibo. A division of the Egbo Society is called Ekpri Akata. Many present day Yorubas and Africans in general now derogatorily refer to African-Americans as Akata(Akuta). Since there was such a large number of Akata(Egbo) sold during the slave trade the term Akata became synonymously associated with those being enslaved. Approximately 240,000 Egbo were brought to Cuba.

4. BAKONGO(IBO/EBO) – The Congo Society is made up of the descendants of Ibo captives who arrived in the Americas from Angola(Ebo), Mozambique and the Congo and Gabon. Ibo captives were shipped to the Americas throughout the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. Their practices are often reflective of that of the slave-trading tribes of whom they encountered such as the Imbangala, MaKua and Lemba.



Bibliography



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,

Girl, don't even give European credit for Igbo being lightskin.
Igbo people are lightskin. it really doesn't matter. I'm reddish brown and so is my sister. My brother is dark and so is my dad and mom. Alot of my family members are lightskin especially from my mom side. I think it's just something on our blood(my mom's side has been igbo people with no admixture and yet that's the side with the most lightskin people and some that are albino and some that look 100% mixed with long hair. My mom's last born sister is like that. She looks mixed with long hair) and then she married this darksin igbo man and had kids with him and they came out looking darkskin. So i just think it's something in Igbo people blood that maybe skips generations. My father's side is mostly a mixture of other tribes(Igbo, idioma, fulani, etc) and his side is the one with most darkskin people and alittle lightskin people.
My greatgrandmother from my mom' side is lightskin as hell and my aunt is high yellow like damn(Her and my aunt look so much alike and had the same skin color). The first time i saw a picture of her, i was so suprised cause my grandmom looks nothing like her(looks 100% different just like my aunt's children loooks 100% different from her) (so i guess it's just something in our blood).

P.S: I don't understand why yoruba always get angry when we say we are Lightskin. It's not really something to get angry over about(you guys really don't have to say we bleach and all those bull jeez and start pointing out other features just to insult us, I mean Jeez). Lightskin or not, we are still Nigerians and i keep wondering what the hell is this igbo look they keep talking about? I've been watching Nigerian movie so fucking much so i could understand it. The igbo people in my family really don't have flat nose and all that, almost everyone in my family has small noses, we even joke around with that. Even my mothers lips are so small that it looks like a white girl lip. I thank God everyday that my father had big lip(well not like big big but you know the ones that actually look right) and he passed that gene down to all his kids.

It is apparent that most Igbos have no idea what the word Igbo means. They need to look West for the meaning since it is academic knowledge that the Igbo and Yoruba language are related. Yorubas too can look East to know the indepth meaning of some of their words.

Ndi Owerri for instance means People of Owerri.

Ndi Onitsha means people of Onitsha. And etc.


Come to the West in Yoruba land.

If I say Idi kan ni wa. It means we are from thesame family.

Idile Ajayi means family of Ajayi

Idile Adewale means family of Adewale

Idi generally means base. It also means arse. For instance Idi Araba means. The base of the Araba tree. Idi Agbon means the base of the Agbon tree and that is the name of General Tunde Idiagbon's father who was known for sitting at the base of the coconut tree in Ilorin. Baba Idiagbon.

So those are the uses in Yoruba land which is not at all different from its use as Ndi amongst Igbos. Ndi and Idi mean thesame thing.

So what does NdiGbo mean?
Come West for the meaning again.

Gbo is thesame as Gbogbo which means ALL in Yoruba language. It is sad that some Igbos say the word means Heebo or Hebrew.

So, when you say Ndigbo, it means 'Everybody' and Gbo kwenu means Everybody shout! The Yoruba will say Gbo yin e ke! Which is more or less thesame thing. The difference is more or less dialectical.


So in the past when Ndi Onitsha meet Ndi Owerri, Ndi, Enugu and etc. They address the congregation as NdiGbo which means Everybody. Break it down into Ndi- Family of and Gbo- All.