isale_gan2:

Alhj,
I don't know why anyone would think such a thing.  Seriously.  In the past, all the people accusing every new poster of being Ezeuche seemed way off to me, but this one is really something else.  Me and FStranger

don't worry i know u are not fstranger

p square

namfav:

p square

Would have lived depending on which part of Igbo land the were born in.
Namfav stop being ignorant, was it not the Fulanis who slaughtered people and forced them to convert all in the name of religion?

saiyaman:

Would have lived depending on which part of Igbo land the were born in.
Namfav stop being ignorant, was it not the Fulanis who slaughtered people and forced them to convert all in the name of religion?

i'm not being ignorant, it's the truth

by the way it's wrong, fulanis did not slaughter people and forced them to accept any religion

namfav:

i'm not being ignorant, it's the truth 

by the way it's wrong, fulanis did not slaughter people and forced them to accept any religion

Shaihu Usman dan Fodio (Arabic: عثمان بن فودي ، عثمان دان فوديو‎), born Usuman ɓii Foduye, (also referred to as Shaikh Usman Ibn Fodio, Shehu Uthman Dan Fuduye, or Shehu Usman dan Fodio, 1754–1817) was the founder of the Sokoto Caliphate in 1809, a religious teacher, writer and Islamic promoter. Dan Fodio was one of a class of urbanized ethnic Fulani living in the Hausa States in what is today northern Nigeria. A teacher of the Maliki school of law and the Qadiriyyah order of Sufism, he lived in the city-state of Gobir until 1802 when, motivated by his reformist ideas and under increased repression by local authorities, he led his followers into exile. This exile began a political and social revolution which spread from Gobir throughout modern Nigeria and Cameroon, and was echoed in an ethnicly Fula-led Jihad movement across West Africa. Dan Fodio declined much of the pomp of rulership, and while developing contacts with religious reformists and Jihad leaders across Africa, he soon passed actual leadership of the Sokoto state to his son, Muhammed Bello.

The Fula or Fulani jihads, were a series of independent but loosely connected events across West Africa between the late 17th century and European colonization, in which Muslim Fulas took control of various parts of the region. It is also sometimes referred to as "Fulani revolution."

A jihad state is a territory that was established by political and religious Muslim leaders who conquer a region by offensive war, invoking jihad ("struggle" in Arabic).

So they just asked the people to convert to Islam willingly

True for certain areas of Igbo land not every Igbo person did the samething, stop being stupid.

shehu fodio didn't force or kill people, please do research on him and just stop denying this tradition, it is not certain areas but most areas

namfav:

shehu fodio didn't force or kill people, please do research on him and just stop denying this tradition, it is not certain areas but most areas

I just gave you a link that says otherwise and I'm not denying it but its not as wide spread as you would like to claim it was, of all the ethnic groups in Nigeria the Igbo were the most fragmented so what occurred in one Igbo clan did not mean it occurred in another.

Shehu was elected the leader and called Amir al-Mu'minin or Sarkin Muslimin and the
call for jihad against pagans and half Muslims was made. Twelve flag bearers were initially sent
to act his commander to Zaria and Katsina with the most difficult battle against Gobir that was
eventually won. Kano and Zazzau remained hesitant but were won over and the rest of the states
were sent letters to invite and join the cause of truth against falsehood.The Jihad ended in 1808

SO what did he do talk to them over a cup of tea?

As for the killing of twins, the jury is still out on the scale and frequency of that practice, and even on the truth of its occurrence in most parts of Igboland. As this researcher notes:

''Nobody, not even Igbo renegades who seek to be relevant by distorting and fighting Igbo history, culture and traditions have shown a shred of evidence that killing of twins was a general and an accepted practice among the Igbos. What most Igbos can swear to is that they heard that Igbos killed twins. Nobody has been able to give strong evidence that it was an Igbo practice. Caliben Ike Okonkwo, a specialist surgeon; the Chairman of the Governing Council of the Igbo-Israel Union; one of the most important Igbo cultural organizations, had a grandmother who was a twin. The grandmother and her twin died in their nineties. They were not killed. And Caliben says that there is no story that there were attempts to kill them. Interestingly they were born during the period that killing of twins is speculated to be at its zenith among the Igbos. Yet today the Igbos, as the people that have been known as ha Ibri, and Ibo, are now known, believe without any reservation that the Igbos were killing twins. Very likely the Igbos heard from the colonialists that the Igbos killed twins, and accepted, and internalized the story, because they had gradually degenerated to believing that whatever the colonialists said was sacred.''


http://igboisrael..com/2010/06/lecturers-on-how-igbo-israel-treated.html

that reasoning is even more funny, how can someone tell you you kill twins and accept it, just admit it happened and you changed it, we will understand, alot of things were done back then, some people did not even have clothes, the were just naked

Rossikk:

As for the killing of twins, the jury is still out on the scale and frequency of that practice, and even on the truth of its occurrence in most parts of Igboland. As this researcher notes:

''Nobody, not even Igbo renegades who seek to be relevant by distorting and fighting Igbo history, culture and traditions have shown a shred of evidence that killing of twins was a general and an accepted practice among the Igbos. What most Igbos can swear to is that they heard that Igbos killed twins. Nobody has been able to give strong evidence that it was an Igbo practice. Caliben Ike Okonkwo, a specialist surgeon; the Chairman of the Governing Council of the Igbo-Israel Union; one of the most important Igbo cultural organizations, had a grandmother who was a twin. The grandmother and her twin died in their nineties. They were not killed. And Caliben says that there is no story that there were attempts to kill them. Interestingly they were born during the period that killing of twins is speculated to be at its zenith among the Igbos. Yet today the Igbos, as the people that have been known as ha Ibri, and Ibo, are now known, believe without any reservation that the Igbos were killing twins. Very likely the Igbos heard from the colonialists that the Igbos killed twins, and accepted, and internalized the story, because they had gradually degenerated to believing that whatever the colonialists said was sacred.''


http://igboisrael..com/2010/06/lecturers-on-how-igbo-israel-treated.html

Igbos did not kill twins. Just a small section in the Arochukwu area killed twins. Killing of twins did not happen from Umuahia to Agbo or Nsukka. I wonder where the poster got this information.

contradiction, so those "small section" are not ibo, you can argue that some practicies are only confined in certain areas but they are still ibo, it is well recorded that twins were killed, stop contradicting yourself and admit

Abagworo:

Igbos did not kill twins. Just a small section [/b]in the Arochukwu area [b]killed twins. Killing of twins did not happen from Umuahia to Agbo or Nsukka.  I wonder where the poster got this information.

Fuckery as usual. . .

namfav:

contradiction, so those "small section" are not ibo, you can argue that some practicies are only confined in certain areas but they are still ibo, it is well recorded that twins were killed, stop contradicting yourself and admit

Contradiction, so those "small section" are not Nigerians, you can argue that some practices are only confined to certain areas but they are still Nigerians.
It is also not wrong to say that all Nigerians killed twins in the past.since a section of our country did.Stop contradicting yourself.

Rossikk:

As for the killing of twins, the jury is still out on the scale and frequency of that practice, and even on the truth of its occurrence in most parts of Igboland. As this researcher notes:

''Nobody, not even Igbo renegades who seek to be relevant by distorting and fighting Igbo history, culture and traditions have shown a shred of evidence that killing of twins was a general and an accepted practice among the Igbos. What most Igbos can swear to is that they heard that Igbos killed twins. Nobody has been able to give strong evidence that it was an Igbo practice. Caliben Ike Okonkwo, a specialist surgeon; the Chairman of the Governing Council of the Igbo-Israel Union; one of the most important Igbo cultural organizations, had a grandmother who was a twin. The grandmother and her twin died in their nineties. They were not killed. And Caliben says that there is no story that there were attempts to kill them. Interestingly they were born during the period that killing of twins is speculated to be at its zenith among the Igbos. Yet today the Igbos, as the people that have been known as ha Ibri, and Ibo, are now known, believe without any reservation that the Igbos were killing twins. Very likely the Igbos heard from the colonialists that the Igbos killed twins, and accepted, and internalized the story, because they had gradually degenerated to believing that whatever the colonialists said was sacred.''


http://igboisrael..com/2010/06/lecturers-on-how-igbo-israel-treated.html

I didnt want to comment on this topic. I couldnt help it when I saw this response and the bold part. haaaaa!! what the , I thought all the and the were nothing but some shyyt. . . .but this tops it all!!! what the hell. . . .

. . ,   .you know what?  Id rather stand accused of killing twins than to flatter my conscience with that re/tarded admission.  what the     

Andre, your people consider oyibo sacred and admitted to whatever he says you are?   Hold on. . . . ."oyibo", "ibo", kinda sound similar!  tell Onlytruth to come here. 

Not all Igbo clans practiced twin killing it was mainly the ones in areas bordering Ibibioland. Twins were killed simply because it was seen as an abomination for humans to give multiple births since multiple births were seen as thing only for animals.

, Very likely the Igbos heard from the colonialists that the Igbos killed twins, and accepted, and internalized the story, because they had gradually degenerated to believing that whatever the colonialists said was sacred.''

Odumchi, you are a sensible person. Speak to this, what kind of nonsense is this? Is this true that ibos did this?

it is heartbreaking that in this age, people believe that

odumchi:

Not all Igbo clans practiced twin killing it was mainly the ones in areas bordering Ibibioland. Twins were killed simply because it was seen as an abomination for humans to give multiple births since multiple births were seen as thing only for animals.

There is no evidence that twins were killed in igboland except from what the colonialists say. However I do believe that it might have happened. Igbos are still doing abominations today in the name of tradition.
Now if it had happened, my guess would be that it was because the father would have believed that his wife cheated on him with another man and one of the babies is not his. He cannot stand the ridicule of the community to be raising what they believe is another man's bastard son. So like they still do in most muslim cultures, honour killings are performed. The babies are killed in order to purge the dishonour from the family. This also serves as a lesson to the mother and also to other women who might be tempted to sleep with another man.

This is the most plausible explanation I can think of but is a personal opinion.

Hmm, very interesting, I guess U learn something everyday, What is the big deal with having twins? I have twin boys and many of my cousins do too,

namfav:

it is heartbreaking that in this age, people believe that

The same way it's heartbreaking that in this age in Sokoto people's arms are amputated because of petty robbery. It's tradition.

Just to add. . . It's been over a hundred years since twin killing was abolished in Igboland South-eastern Nigeria.

Dudu_Negro:

Odumchi, you are a sensible person.  Speak to this, what kind of nonsense is this?  Is this true that ibos did this?

I don't know what significance that quotation has. Where are you pulling it from and what is it's context?

Logic Mind:

There is no evidence that twins were killed in igboland except from what the colonialists say. However I do believe that it might have happened. Igbos are still doing abominations today in the name of tradition.
Now if it had happened, my guess would be that it was because the father would have believed that his wife cheated on him with another man and one of the babies is not his. He cannot stand the ridicule of the community to be raising what they believe is another man's bastard son. So like they still do in most muslim cultures, honour killings are performed. The babies are killed in order to purge the dishonour from the family. This also serves as a lesson to the mother and also to other women who might be tempted to sleep with another man.

This is the most plausible explanation I can think of but is a personal opinion.

I don't even know where to begin

I never heard of Igbo people killing twins till I stumbled on NL.
What I was told in primary school was Mary Slessor stopped the killing of twins in the calabar region.

Even if it were true that Igbos killed twins in the past, I find interesting that in a cultural forum meant to highlight positives of individual tribes, negatives are ascribed to Igbos in particular.

Never mind that virtually all of Nigerian tribes have engaged in  barbaric acts - such as kings feasting on dead bodies/being buried with dead bodies/human heads, human sacrifices, cannibalism [even as recent as last year], propensity to commit Jihad-like killings, killing of twins (by other groups).

And yet - this is where it gets ironic and hypocritical - other groups are not placed on trial for this on culture page.

As I said in another thread, it seems that Igbos are held to high moral standards that everyone else in Nigeria is exempt from.

Nnenna1:

Even if it were true that Igbos killed twins in the past, I find interesting that in a cultural forum meant to highlight positives of individual tribes, negatives are ascribed to Igbos in particular.

Never mind that virtually all of Nigerian tribes have engaged in  barbaric acts - such as kings feasting on dead bodies/being buried with dead bodies/human heads, human sacrifices, cannibalism [even as recent as last year], propensity to commit Jihad-like killings, killing of twins (by other groups).

And yet - this is where it gets ironic and hypocritical - other groups are not placed on trial for this on culture page.

As I said in another thread, it seems that Igbos are held to high moral standards that everyone else in Nigeria is exempt from.

Tribalism is a disease.

BlackPikiN:

I never heard of Igbo people killing twins till I stumbled on NL.
What I was told in primary school was Mary Slessor stopped the killing of twins in the calabar region.

She worked first among the Efik and Okoyong and then worked in Ibibioland and finally Arochukwu. In fact, there is a Mary Slessor memorial college in Arochukwu dedicated to her.

Nnenna1:

I find interesting that in a cultural forum meant to highlight positives of individual tribes,

If one starts with a completely false premise to begin with, it's easy to start believing whatever other stuff one constructs on top of that. There is nothing anywhere indicating that this forum is meant specifically to highlight positives. One would want to dwell on the positives rather than the negatives, but there's nothing stopping people from discussing negatives.

negatives are ascribed to Igbos in particular.

Can you actually produce examples of what it is you're talking about?

This forum (the culture section) is pretty neutral, and if you go through the pages of the forum, you'll find that there is not some "Igbo persecution" trend going on anywhere.

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-830677.0.html

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-740108.0.html

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-776967.0.html

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-59913.0.html

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-633917.0.html

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-133044.0.html

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-783250.0.html

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-783572.0.html

This stuff is all in your head. The culture section is an equal opportunity forum with regard to discussing practices or trends that can be viewed negatively and it clearly has been for a while.

Whatever the intentions of the threadstarter may actually have been, there was no particular reason that the thread had to have any animosity or ill feeling in subsequent posts, since the OP did not even start the thread on a critical or denigrating note and people could either have ignored him or supplied him with an answer to his question.

Nigerians are just too tribalistic. The poster could have written about any other tribe, it does not mean he/she has an issue with the ibos or yorubas etc. This is a forum where all issues should be discussed sensibly.

No igbo man or woman knows why twins were killed probably because such was never part of their culture past and present.

Besides, I have read Mary Slessor's story extensively, she was posted to several communities in present day south-south region of Nigeria. Calabar to be precise was the place she stopped the killing of twins. I don't know why some fake historians decided to extend the story to encompass today's south-eastern Nigeria.

What were practised in igbo land pre-colonial/colonial period are still practised today. If twins killings was a practice then, it would still be practised today.

gbaky_floor:
No igbo man or woman knows why twins were killed probably because such was never part of their culture past and present.

Besides, I have read Mary Slessor's story extensively, she was posted to several communities in present day south-south region of Nigeria. Calabar to be precise was the place she stopped the killing of twins. I don't know why some fake historians decided to extend the story to encompass today's south-eastern Nigeria.

What were practised in igbo land pre-colonial/colonial period are still practised today. If twins killings was a practice then, it would still be practised today.

As an Igbo, you should understand the diversity of Igbo culture. The truth is that Igbos have suffered in the hands of both historians and Local propaganda. Sometimes it is Igbos themselves that create the propaganda against other Igbo clans not knowing that people outside Igboland will eventually regard them as a general Igbo trait.

That said, some Igbo clans in the Cross river area who shared cultural affinity with Ibibio were involved in killing of twins, but the bulk of Igbos in central Igbo area honored twins instead.

@Abagworo, I beg to differ a little. Cross Rivers state doesn't have Igbos as the indigenous tribe(s). Rather Igbo settlers from Igbo communities whom were either banished from their towns of origin or were craftsmen/traders.

That being said, such Igbo settlers were actually practising the culture of the people they inhabit their land.

Thus the Igbo clan(whom are termed Igbos because of their names and language) in Cross Rivers isn't practising Igbo tradition but rather adapted the ibibio traditions as theirs.

The real Igbo communities are regarded as those from Abia, Anambra, Enugu, Imo and Ebonyi states(there are some Igbos that will claim Igbos from some communities in Ebonyi state are not full breed Igbos)