NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
Sunday, 24 October 2010
Written by Banji Aluko

Deep in the heart of the Igbo-speaking people in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State are Ugbodu and three other communities where Oluku mi, a derivative of Yoruba language, is the language of the people. BANJI ALUKO, who visited the communities, examines how close Oluku mi actually is to the Yoruba language and traces how the people came about the language.

HELLO, this writer said, while knocking at the door, and a young lady, emerging from the building, replied, ta ni yen? When the writer heard the reply, he taught it was a mere coincidence or that his ears were deceiving him. Of course, he had every reason to be surprised since he was not anywhere near the Yoruba enclave where such a reply can only be anticipated. After all, he was more than 100 kilometres away from the nearest Yoruba community; he was in Ugbodu, a town in Aniocha North Local government Area of Delta State.

While trying to decipher why the lady gave such a reply, what further followed put the writer in a more confused position. A girl of about five appeared and said, “mo fe ra biscuit.” Perhaps, the people are part of the Yoruba community living in the town, the writer guessed as he tried to find out from the lady.

“Are you a Yoruba woman; what is the meaning of ta ni yen?” The writer asked the questions at once. Reluctantly, she answered, “I am not Yoruba o, I am just speaking my language.” Apparently, she was not unaware of the similarity between her language and Yoruba language. The lady refused to entertain any further question about her language and asked him to go to the king’s palace or to the elders if he wanted to know more about the language.

At the palace, the elders still would not talk about the similarity between their language and Yoruba. They asked the writer to wait for the arrival of the king, who they said can only speak on the people, their language and their history.

The period of waiting for the king afforded one time to listen to the conversation and the discovery was nonetheless remarkable. Following closely the conversation between some elderly men and with a deep knowledge of Yoruba, one could establish a nexus between their speech and actions. In fact, some words and expressions could be understood.

Following their conversation with rapt attention, expressions such as Gbemu wa—bring palm wine, me wa nani—I didn’t come yesterday, me ri e—I didn’t see you, mu beer oka wa—bring one beer etc could be heard, albeit with an intonation slightly different from that of the Yorubas.

Seeing the desire of this writer to follow their talk, one man finally volunteered to explain the similarity between their language and Yoruba. “I believe you are a Yoruba man,” he said. He continued: “We are Oluku mi speakers but we speak a language that is very similar to Yoruba.” This he demonstrated by pointing out some words and expressions in their language (Oluku mi) which denote the same meanings as Yoruba.

He gave some examples such as ita—pepper, ogede lila—plantain, ogede keke—banana; ku wu se—what are you doing; ule house; osa – market; oma—child; o dowuo—see you tomorrow, e bo—welcome. After explaining some similarities between the languages, he still refused to talk about how the people of Ugbodu, in the middle of other Igbo speaking neighbours, came about Oluku mi. Like others, he maintained that only the traditional ruler of the town can speak about how Oluku mi became their language.

But after waiting endlessly for the king, his brother, Prince Adebowale Ochei, who later arrived the scene, volunteered to speak on behalf of the king, H.R.M. Ayo Isinyemeze, the Oloza (Obi) of Ugbodu. According to him, history gave it that the Ugbodu Oluku mi speaking people migrated from Owo/Akure axis in the present Ondo State between 9th and 11th century AD to settle down in Benin during the reign of King Ogiso of Benin.

He continued: “At this period in the history of the Benin Kingdom, the most neglected of the wife of the Ogiso gave birth to the heir apparent to the throne. After the woman gave birth to the child, a male, the nobles consulted the oracle and said that the oracle told them that the child should be killed for peace to reign in Benin Kingdom. At the end, the child was not killed as it was said that the child was too handsome to be killed, so a fowl was killed in his place.”

According to Ochei, this was the reason the Ugbodu people left Benin. “They felt that if a crown prince could be ordered for execution just like that, they could do worse things to strangers in their midst. As a result, they left Benin and came to Ewohimi, an Ishan speaking community in Edo State. Due to intra-tribal wars, they later left the place to settle down here in Ugbodu which is a shortened form of Ugbodumila, which means bush saved me in English Language.”

He further pointed out differences between Oluku mi and Yoruba. He said one notable difference is the changing of letter “j” in Yoruba words to “s” in Oluku mi as seen in words like oloja or oja which are rendered as olosa or osa and joko as soko.

With the movement of the people was the consequent change in their language as shown in their names. According to records compiled by Prince Humphrey Ojeabu Ochei, the immediate Olihen of Ugbodu, the first six Olozas bore Yoruba names namely Adeola, Aderemi, Ariyo, Odofin, Adetunji and Oyetunde. These early kings bore typical Yoruba names years and decades after the establishment of the Ugbodu Kingdom.

As the people gradually lost contact with their kinsmen back home, they began to gravitate towards the Benin and Edo communities. The resulting acculturative process gradually led to the adoption of Edo names among the people. Hence names such as Ogbomon, Ozolua, Izebuwa, Ogbelaka, Izedonwen, Osakpolor, Esigie Igbinadolor, Osaloua, Osamewamen and Ebor emerged as Olozas.

Since Ugbodu is surrounded by the Igbo-speaking Aniomas, it did not take much time before the Igbo Language started to interfere greatly on the people’s language. Accordingly, Igbo influence steadily and progressively made what has now become permanent inroad and considerable impact on the socio-cultural life as well as linguistic orientation of the Ugbodu people. With this, the Edo influence began to wane, resulting in the adoption of Igbo names in preference to Edo names. Thus from the middle of the 19th century, the general shift was from Edo to Igbo names. This can be seen in the names of Olozas, who ruled between the middle of the 19th century and late 20th century such as Dike, Ochei, Ezenweani and Isinyemeze.

Investigations conducted revealed that Ugbodu is not the only community where Oluku mi is spoken in Aniocha North Local Government as the language is also spoken in Ukwu-Nzu (Eko Efun), Ubulubu and Ogodo.

At Ukwu-Nzu, only few kilometres away from Ugbodu, the language is not also different. Although, the people are less emphatic about their history, nonetheless, the similarity between their language and Yoruba is evident in their names and greetings. “Oju e ma won ke,” meaning your face is scarce in Yoruba, was what a man said to his friend he accosted on the road. When Sunday Tribune approached the man, who gave his name as Ayo Oke, he shed light on his language and provided more examples between Oluku mi and Yoruba Language.

He said that “instead of saying e kaabo, we say e bo, meaning welcome and wa ni we yi, meaning come here;” He also gave example of words which virtually have the same meanings as the Yoruba language. Some of these include obe—stew; oni—today; ola—tomorrow; otunla—next tomorrow etc.

Another elder in the town, who spoke with Sunday Tribune, said that the name of Ukwu-Nzu before the Igbo Language “infiltrated” their language was Eko Efun (efun means chalk in Yoruba Language). He also attributed the efun in the name of their town to the rich prescence of white chalk in the town which he said the community was richly blessed with.

Presently, the biggest challenge for the people of Ugbodu and other Oluku mi-speaking communities is how to protect their language and culture in general. According to a native of Ugbodu, “the elders are more connected to the original Olukumi language than the youth. In fact, we have lost the real Oluku mi and what we have now is an Oluku mi that has been greatly altered by Igbo language. Most of the people who can really speak the language right now are the elders. Ordinarily, the real Oluku mi is like the Yoruba that is spoken in Owo in Ondo State. Someone from that place is expected to understand the language perfectly but right now someone from Owo might not be able to understand more than 50 per cent of our language. This language may die if care is not taken,” he said.

Another factor that also contributed to the decline of Olukumi, according to findings, is that there was a time in the past when an understanding of the Edo or Igbo language, was considered as a status symbol. According to an elder in the town, “An Oluku mi who spoke the two languages then was considered superior to others because it meant that he had travelled wide. This was the inferiority complex our people unwittingly created for themselves which we are trying to correct now.”

In protecting their language which is gradually being threatened, a revival process has been started. Part of this is that some of them now choose to give their children Oluku mi names and to sing and say prayers in Oluku mi. In some cases, some radical reformers and revivalists changed the names given to them by their parents from Igbo to Olukumi. The climax of the restoration process of their linguistic ethos and identity was the christening of the incumbent Oloza with an Olukumi name, Ayo.

Reacting to efforts aimed at protecting Oluku mi, Prince Adebowale said, “I am an Oluku mi man and I am proud of my language. I am not happy that Igbo language is interfering with our language. We are trying our best to correct the situation and part of that is what my brother (the Oloza) is doing by organising an Oluku mi reciting competition. We want to know the people who can speak the real Oluku mi without mixing it with Igbo or English.” As laudable as the task of protecting Oluku mi by the people of Ugbodu(mila) is, only time will tell how far they can go.

The Monarch of Ugbodu, HRM Ayo Isinyemeze II, the Oloza of Ugbodu
[img]http://nationalmirroronline.net/thumbnail.php?file=/H.R.M_Ayo_Isinyemeze__King_of_Ugbodu_306348011.jpg&size=article_large[/img]

Interesting

Everywhere you go, you see Yoruba

Unique cultures like the Olukumis develop through a mixture of several similar cultures and show to us that we have the capacity to unite with each other and make progress with one another. But the Tribal bigots just wont get this. Igbo's, Edo's, Yoruba's and many southern tribes share a lot of similarities which indicate that we have been interacting with one another before the tragedy of colonialism. Take a look at these linguistic examples;
Stone: Igbo- Okwute, Yoruba-Okuta,
What: Igbo-Gini, Yoruba-Kini,
Mouth: Igbo-Onu, Yoruba-Enu,
Body::Igbo-Aru, Yoruba-Ara,
Ear: Igbo-Nti, Yoruba-Eti.
Bag: Igbo-Akpati, Yoruba-Apo,
She is carrying a child: Igbo- Okponwa, Yoruba-Opomo[Though alphabetically different, their pronunciation are strikingly similar]
Even many Igbos easily pronounce Apogbon in Lagos as Akpamgbo[bag of bullets] though i dont know what the Yoruba Apogbon means.
These are just a few of our many similarities which no one can really explain how they came about. So why don't we forget our differences and celebrate our similarities. Zik once told Sarduana ; Let us forget our differences. "No!" Sarduana retorted, "Let us understand our differences". 55 years has passed on and we are yet to understand those differences of ours. Zik was right! Let us forget our differences and build on our similarities. That is the way forward for Nigeria!

wow
Enlightening

Mynd44:
Interesting

Honestly

If only we could see ourselves as one and not each other's enemy.

Nothing new. Yorubas are everywhere.

Ask Ghanaians. There are two Yoruba sub groups in Ghana.

We're just quiet and peaceful wherever we are.

Ilekeh:
Nothing new. Yorubas are everywhere.

Ask Ghanaians. There are two Yoruba sub groups in Ghana.

We're just quiet and peaceful wherever we are.

That of Delta state is very very unusual. That is why it is unique.

well, it is good they can still trace their history back to their yoruba roots.

Ilekeh:
Nothing new. Yorubas are everywhere.

Ask Ghanaians. There are two Yoruba sub groups in Ghana.

We're just quiet and peaceful wherever we are.

Can you name these two Yoruba subgroups in Ghana?

literarymathy:


That of Delta state is very very unusual. That is why it is unique.

How is very very unusual? It's not like Delta State is far from the South West. Besides there's another larger Yoruboid-speaking group in Delta. The Itsekiri. So what makes the Olukumi case unusual?

Umm,so enlightening.

One question though, Is it the same yorubas dat refused Migration and asking everyone else to go back to their various places/homelands that would have migrated?

something smells fishy here. Why is it that no one can give an account of the language except it be heard from the King?

I hope the king is not trying to impose a new identity to the people by bringing up the Oluku mi stuff.

All the same, if true, what happens? Cos obviously the land doesn't belong to them. Would they go back to Owu/Owo in Ondo? or Wil they keep growing and making headway into Delta so we could all really blend irrespective of our original origin?

Hmm, making sense though.

Wulfruna:


Can you name these two Yoruba subgroups in Ghana?

Ewe people,you can read about them.

Ilekeh:
Nothing new. Yorubas are everywhere.

Ask Ghanaians. There are two Yoruba sub groups in Ghana.

We're just quiet and peaceful wherever we are.

Ilekeh - there is nothing like Yorubas are everywhere!

The major problem is that most of you calling yourself Yoruba today do not understand or lack knowledge about the ORIGIN of the term/word "Yoruba" and when?why it was used to group different ethnic people in the mid 19th Century.

Here is the true origin of those people:

At the time the Great Benin Kingdom was ruling a vast part of Southern Nigeria, down to Lagos, and part of present day Middle Belt, including present day part of Cameroon and Benin Republic, slave raiding were always carried out by the Benin Warriors.

Those Yorubas were a combination of the Benin slaves and others who later fled from the incessant slave raiding and hide in the Bush. With time, they settled in their present abode.

NOTE: When you see Yoruba speaking people anywhere, as indigene, the right question you should ask is: How did they got there? Most of you guys engage in chest-beating because you do not have wider knowledge of the olden days. In the olden days, there was NO Yoruba as you have it today.

Slizbeat:
Umm,so enlightening.

One question though, Is it the same yorubas dat refused Migration and asking everyone else to go back to their various places/homelands that would have migrated?

something smells fishy here. Why is it that no one can give an account of the language except it be heard from the King?

I hope the king is not trying to impose a new identity to the people by bringing up the Oluku mi stuff.

All the same, if true, what happens? Cos obviously the land doesn't belong to them. Would they go back to Owu/Owo in Ondo? or Wil they keep growing and making headway into Delta so we could all really blend irrespective of our original origin?

Hmm, making sense though.

Slizbeat - the issue is that the TRUE Nigerian history has been mercilessly distorted by those who wrote "Yoruba History" to promote so-called falsehood of "Yoruba is one" and lies.

Please look above to read how those people got to that place in present day Delta state, many centuries ago.

Wulfruna:


How is very very unusual? It's not like Delta State is far from the South West. Besides there's another larger Yoruboid-speaking group in Delta. The Itsekiri. So what makes the Olukumi case unusual?

It is unusual because people are not aware and when they do, they find it surprising. Secondly the language is a proto-Yoruboid language as opposed to Itsekiri and their migratory history is a subject of fascination.

I did not know about this tribe in Delta state until now. They should forge a close tie with the Itshekiris who are known Yorubas. Having said this,oluku mi is not in anyway strange. Yorubas,especially during the slave era, were known as Oluku mi. Oluku mi (Yoruba) people are found almost everywhere in the carribeans (americas), predominantly in Brazil and Cuba. There are so many of them in Bahia,Brazil and yoruba culture is quite visible among these people. They worship Yoruba deities like Sango,Ogun,Osun etc and they also sing yoruba songs (Orin). This is why you don't have to speak portuguese to buy 'Akara' i.e bean cake in Bahia,Brazil. As a Yoruba,just walk up to the black woman(Brazilian) selling bean cake and say 'mo fe ra'kara- I want to buy bean cake. She understands you perfectly and she would even thank you by saying 'o se'! Oluku mi are Yoruba people anywhere in the world.

OROSUNBOLB:


Ewe people,you can read about them.

Aha! Exactly the answer I was expecting. I was also expecting the second Ghanaian 'Yoruba' subgroup to be Ga people.

Okay, here is what I want to tell you: The fact that these ethnic groups have traditions of origin (traditions are not 100% reliable anyway) linking them to the Yoruba area does not make them Yoruba.

Yoruba subgroups are groups that speak at least a Yoruboid language and practise Yoruba culture. The Ewe and the Ga do not speak languages that can be called Yoruba by any stretch. Neither is their culture Yoruba. They are full-fledged independent ethnic groups in their own right.

Calling them Yoruba subgroups is like calling the Issele people of Delta State a Bini subgroup because their traditions derive them from Benin.

They may have Yoruba ancestry but every olukunmi person that I have come across rings IGBO. I think its mostly a few elderly ones that still possess some Yoruba traits. Zeal of style plus is from there.

OROSUNBOLB:
I did not know about this tribe in Delta state until now. They should forge a close tie with the Itshekiris who are known Yorubas. Having said this,oluku mi is not in anyway strange. Yorubas,especially during the slave era, were known as Oluku mi. Oluku mi (Yoruba) people are found almost everywhere in the carribeans (americas), predominantly in Brazil and Cuba. There are so many of them in Bahia,Brazil and yoruba culture is quite visible among these people. They worship Yoruba deities like Sango,Ogun,Osun etc and they also sing yoruba songs (Orin). This is why you don't have to speak portuguese to buy 'Akara' i.e bean cake in Bahia,Brazil. As a Yoruba,just walk up to the black woman(Brazilian) selling bean cake and say 'mo fe ra'kara- I want to buy bean cake. She understands you perfectly and she would even thank you by saying 'o se'! Oluku mi are Yoruba people anywhere in the world.

OROSUNBOLB - Itsekiris are NOT Yorubas. Stop spewing tribal lies. I wonder when you guys will take scholarship serious to get yourself enlightened and educated about the history of Nigeria in the Olden days. How can you, who admitted you did not know about the existence of this people, now claiming Itsekiris are Yorubas? Isn't this funny?

NigerMan1:


OROSUNBOLB - Itsekiris are NOT Yorubas. Stop spewing tribal lies. I wonder when you guys will take scholarship serious to get yourself enlightened and educated about the history of Nigeria in the Olden days. How can you, who admitted you did not know about the existence of this people, now claiming Itsekiris are Yorubas? Isn't this funny?

madman1,

Yorubas are "Yoruba" not Benin slaves,

Let the ethnic Itshekiris speak for themselves.

You will always sorrow because you are a sad loser.

You can go on and invite your team members as usual

Then come back here and cry me a river.

absoluteSuccess:


madman1,

Yorubas are "Yoruba" not Benin slaves,

Let the ethnic Itshekiris speak for themselves.

You will always sorrow because you are a sad loser.

You can go on and invite your team members as usual

Then come back here and cry me a river.

absoluteSuccess - Whenever history is brought to the table you Yorubas find it difficult to bring scholarship to the table. True educated and knowledeable HISTORIANS do not recourse to insults and abuse to defend their points.

First did you read that story very well? Tell me the truth - is there anywhere you read (or heard) any of your so-called Yoruba Historians alluded to the fact that people from present day Yorubland are domiciled in present day Delta, via old Benin? Am sure you did not! Why? Because they carefully kept such historical truth from you guys, so they can continue to deceive you - about the lies called "YORUBA"

Again I asked you: "Have you ever accepted the fact that some of your so-called kinsmen are domiciled in Niger Delta? And remember all those places were once under the ruler-ship of the Oba of Benin"

Now this story came out, 100s of Yorubas read it and extremely FEW commented with tongues in your chic, while majority carefully passed off, without commenting. Even you, absoluteSuccess did not comment directly on this historical fact, but instead attacked one of my points!

For me, a story like this has shown that most part of Yoruba History are lies and fables. And I hope you will lesson your boastfulness and grandstanding. I hope your historians will not one day, coupled up lies that those towns are "yorubaland"

NOTE: Stop deceiving yourself, Yoruba is not one. The word/term Yoruba was a mid 19th century appellation to group you guys together. This is a fact of history, well recorded so no one can change it.

NigerMan1:


absoluteSuccess - Whenever history is brought to the table you Yorubas find it difficult to bring scholarship to the table. True educated and knowledeable HISTORIANS do not recourse to insults and abuse to defend their points.

First did you read that story very well? Tell me the truth - is there anywhere you read (or heard) any of your so-called Yoruba Historians alluded to the fact that people from present day Yorubland are domiciled in present day Delta, via old Benin? Am sure you did not! Why? Because they carefully kept such historical truth from you guys, so they can continue to deceive you - about the lies called "YORUBA"

Again I asked you: "Have you ever accepted the fact that some of your so-called kinsmen are domiciled in Niger Delta? And remember all those places were once under the ruler-ship of the Oba of Benin"

Now this story came out, 100s of Yorubas read it and extremely FEW commented with tongues in your chic, while majority carefully passed off, without commenting. Even you, absoluteSuccess did not comment directly on this historical fact, but instead attacked one of my points!

For me, a story like this has shown that most part of Yoruba History are lies and fables. And I hope you will lesson your boastfulness and grandstanding. I hope your historians will not one day, coupled up lies that those towns are "yorubaland"

NOTE: Stop deceiving yourself, Yoruba is not one. The word/term Yoruba was a mid 19th century appellation to group you guys together. This is a fact of history, well recorded so no one can change it.

One thing I know for sure is, as long as you are not Yoruba, you will struggle to rewrite the Yoruba history to fit it in to your monomaniac projections, pulling down Yoruba history to prove that you are something. Who are you?

If Yoruba grandstanding affects you, then you have found an everlasting sorrow, cause greatness will never depart from Yoruba, and day in day out you will keep hearing that name and get your reins sore with bad feelings.

I don't hate any tribe, so I can be happy at their success. Just keep looking for the ultimate vilification of the Yoruba race, when you finds it, the world will celebrate you and do away with the Yoruba.

You see, you have a calling.

K

Ok