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African-Americans And Their Igbo Roots - Culture (7) - Nairaland

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Why Some S-southerners Denounce Their Igbo Heritage - Obi Of Asaba / The Love-Hate Relationship Between Africans, African Americans And Islanders / Why Do Ikwerre Igbos Reject Their Igbo Identity? (2) (3) (4)

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Re: African-Americans And Their Igbo Roots by Nobody: 11:42pm On Jan 13, 2013
Blyss, dt article you quoted up there is complete NONSENSE!!
What you and the writer probably don't know is that, the word 'igbo' has a meaning in yoruba and it means bush/forest and can be aptly used to refer to ppl living in the forest.
To suggest that ijebu-igbo is actually referring to igbo tribe is as ridiculous as it is insulting.
The pronouciation of those two words differ completely and in case of the yoruba word 'igbo' its meaning is known, but the word 'igbo' in igbo language cannot be defined, so, please, there are no igbo people in southwest Nigeria.
P.s am not concerned about who got shipped off the most or not, just don't mix things up.

3 Likes

Re: African-Americans And Their Igbo Roots by Blyss: 4:46am On Jan 14, 2013
Josh090: Blyss, dt article you quoted up there is complete NONSENSE!!
What you and the writer probably don't know is that, the word 'igbo' has a meaning in yoruba and it means bush/forest and can be aptly used to refer to ppl living in the forest.
To suggest that ijebu-igbo is actually referring to igbo tribe is as ridiculous as it is insulting.
The pronouciation of those two words differ completely and in case of the yoruba word 'igbo' its meaning is known, but the word 'igbo' in igbo language cannot be defined, so, please, there are no igbo people in southwest Nigeria.
P.s am not concerned about who got shipped off the most or not, just don't mix things up.

Well, it's your word against the work of much more knowledgeable historians and other forms of specialist on this issue than you. That was only one of several sources I've come across stating the same FACTS as presented in the piece I've posted. smiley

1 Like

Re: African-Americans And Their Igbo Roots by Nobody: 7:27am On Jan 14, 2013
Blyss:

Well, it's your word against the work of much more knowledgeable historians and other forms of specialist on this issue than you. That was only one of several sources I've come across stating the same FACTS as presented in the piece I've posted. smiley
So, inside your mind now, you know the limit of my knowledge.
The whole theory is hinged on the fact that some people in ife were called igbo(forest), and the rest is just conjectural BS!
If I wake up one day and write that igbo etiti people in enugu are actually from forest of ekiti, I hope you'll believe that too right? SMH
There are no igbo people in southwest Nigeria
Re: African-Americans And Their Igbo Roots by Blyss: 8:32am On Jan 14, 2013
Josh090:
So, inside your mind now, you know the limit of my knowledge.
The whole theory is hinged on the fact that some people in ife were called igbo(forest), and the rest is just conjectural BS!
If I wake up one day and write that igbo etiti people in enugu are actually from forest of ekiti, I hope you'll believe that too right? SMH
There are no igbo people in southwest Nigeria

LOL. There are no Igbo people in SW Nigeria? cheesy What a joke!! There are hundreds of thousands if not millions in Lagos alone.
Re: African-Americans And Their Igbo Roots by Nobody: 11:23am On Jan 14, 2013
Blyss:

LOL. There are no Igbo people in SW Nigeria? cheesy What a joke!! There are hundreds of thousands if not millions in Lagos alone.
In what context are we debating?
You're a joker!
Are the igbos in lagos indigenous to lagos?

1 Like

Re: African-Americans And Their Igbo Roots by Blyss: 3:39pm On Jan 14, 2013
Josh090:
In what context are we debating?
You're a joker!
Are the igbos in lagos indigenous to lagos?

No, but that is of no regard to the statement you made. smiley
Re: African-Americans And Their Igbo Roots by Nobody: 3:53pm On Jan 14, 2013
Blyss:

No, but that is of no regard to the statement you made. smiley
If you can't understand what I meant, that's your own wahala.
Aint you suppose to be AA? Why are you behaving like willy willy?
Re: African-Americans And Their Igbo Roots by Blyss: 8:51pm On Jan 14, 2013
Josh090:
If you can't understand what I meant, that's your own wahala.
Aint you suppose to be AA? Why are you behaving like willy willy?

Willy willy?.. What the hell is that?
Re: African-Americans And Their Igbo Roots by Nobody: 9:37pm On Jan 14, 2013
Blyss:

Willy willy?.. What the hell is that?
Go to politics section and find out about him. You'll understand your similarities.
Re: African-Americans And Their Igbo Roots by SAFO(m): 3:57pm On Jan 15, 2013
Blyss:

No, but that is of no regard to the statement you made. smiley

So your stance is that of a strawman argument?

BTW - Josh is 100% correct, so his point is very much valid.
Re: African-Americans And Their Igbo Roots by Blyss: 7:20pm On Jan 15, 2013
SAFO:

So your stance is that of a strawman argument?

BTW - Josh is 100% correct, so his point is very much valid.

I've shown some of my evidence, where's yours. smiley
Re: African-Americans And Their Igbo Roots by bigfrancis21: 12:24am On Jan 17, 2013
To support Blyss.
History has it that the original settlers of Abeokuta, a stony/hilly area in the heart of Yorubaland were the Igbo (Egba) people. Due to the stony nature of the area, the Igbo natives named it 'ebe okwute' meaning 'place of stone'. On the outskirts of the area were huge forests. These egba people had a secret masquerade society called 'egbo', where the society members wore masks and went about beating up and instilling fear on people. (It is worthy to note here that this same masquerade group was found all over igbo land and Margaret Thatcher, in her memoir of her journey in calabar during the pre-colonial/colonial days, noted that '...there were the egbo masquerade in calabar who were from the Igbo hinterland that wore masks and went about beating up people. One day I personally approached one beat him up and tore off his mask...') They were highly feared as they were thought by the people to be spirit beings. They lived in the forests. However, they had a soft spot for women, history recalls. Also occurring at this same time was the southernward movement of the Yoruba people after having been expelled from their Oyo kingdom by the Hausa. These runaways tried to penetrate through the forest area but met the egbo masquerade and retreated and observed these 'spirit beings'. They then noticed they were weak when it came to women and the yoruba runaways then sent a daughter of theirs, 'Moremi' to seduce these spirit beings and find out their secret if they were truly spirits or humans. She was successful and went back to her tribesmen with her story. Then they launched a heavy attack and succeeded in overpowering the egbo masquerades, having known they were mere mortals not spirits, and chased away many of the natives eastward and settled in the area. The place name got corrupted to 'abe okuta'. Interestingly, abeokuta still retains its Igbo meaning in Yoruba today. This is the same Igbo sub-group (egba) that was quoted in the post Blyss posted.
Any yoruba person here who disputes the abeokuta name meaning should then tell me what Abeokuta means.
Former Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo is an egba man from Abeokuta and anybody who has observed him knows that he is purely Igbo in character, not behaving like the average Yoruba in most ways. This Igbo character abounds mostly in his ambition, and high level of common sense. During his presidential tenure, rumours were rife then that he was an Igbo man given his egba (abeokuta) origin.
Re: African-Americans And Their Igbo Roots by Nobody: 12:46am On Jan 17, 2013
^^^hahaha, bros, abeg no vex o, u dey smoke pawpaw leaf?
How does Egba equal igbo?
How does Abe(under) Okuta(rock) equal that nonsense u wrote up there?
Do you even know anything about abeokuta @ all? This one you're saying abeokuta means place of stone? I no fit laff finish!!grin
The egba people ran from the slave raiders of ibadan and dahomey and took refuge under the olumo rock that was why the place was called Abeokuta, you hear!!
You people shld just stop with claiming other people, haba, now you're telling me people in calabar were Igbo too, kilode??
P.s what do you mean by a typical yoruba behavior? E be like say u no well.
Re: African-Americans And Their Igbo Roots by bigfrancis21: 1:17am On Jan 17, 2013
Any piece of evidence to underlie your 'dahomey' origin claim? We need references and not hearsays, dude. Grow up.
Re: African-Americans And Their Igbo Roots by Blyss: 2:49am On Jan 17, 2013
bigfrancis21: Any piece of evidence to underlie your 'dahomey' origin claim? We need references and not hearsays, dude. Grow up.

Word. I asked him or that other one the same question. Still no response. smiley
Re: African-Americans And Their Igbo Roots by Nobody: 7:46am On Jan 17, 2013
Blyss:

Word. I asked him or that other one the same question. Still no response. smiley
The egba people left the old owu kingdom(I never said frm dahomey) to seek refuge under the Olumo rock, a natural defense position (people are stil under the rock till date, if you go there you'll learn about the people).
http://apollo5.bournemouth.ac.uk/africanlegacy/orile_owu.htm
But it shows you don't know anything about yoruba people, the nonsense article you posted posited that ile-ife (osun) people were Igbo, now you're seeking evidence to know egba (ogun) people not even ijebu-igbo are not igbo.
Bigfrancis, read my post again, did I say they were from dahomey?
And it is you who wrote a bunch of hearsays, mixing all sort of things up.
When are you people going to claim hausaland too?
Re: African-Americans And Their Igbo Roots by bigfrancis21: 8:57am On Jan 17, 2013
Josh090:
The egba people left the old owu kingdom(I never said frm dahomey) to seek refuge under the Olumo rock, a natural defense position (people are stil under the rock till date, if you go there you'll learn about the people).
http://apollo5.bournemouth.ac.uk/africanlegacy/orile_owu.htm
But it shows you don't know anything about yoruba people, the nonsense article you posted posited that ile-ife (osun) people were Igbo, now you're seeking evidence to know egba (ogun) people not even ijebu-igbo are not igbo.
Bigfrancis, read my post again, did I say they were from dahomey?
And it is you who wrote a bunch of hearsays, mixing all sort of things up.
When are you people going to claim hausaland too?
The article you posted says almost the same thing with what I said previously. It states that the yoruba invaders penetrated the forests and settled in abeokuta. Or you think the area was not habited by people before the invasion?
I never mentioned ile-ife. I only mentioned egba. Of course you do know that there are dissenting voices within abeokuta that believe their original founding fathers were an Igbo sub group before the yoruba invaders invaded and supplanted the people.
Evidence of the Igbo origins of egba in abeokuta and igbo mina in kwara state.
http://moorishamerica.m.webs.com/site/mobile?dm_path=%2Fthegreaterigbonation.htm&fw_sig=ed0c0e8b10f5d4478f6eaee6c5e43ed5&fw_sig_api_key=522b0eedffc137c934fc7268582d53a1&fw_sig_permission_level=0&fw_sig_access_token=5dfb153627ad596cec06529bd7a3ff0dee228d43&fw_sig_social=1&fw_sig_site=69600716&fw_sig_time=1358409978233&fw_sig_premium=1&fw_sig_is_admin=0&fw_sig_url=http://moorishamerica.webs.com/&fw_sig_session_key=f84efe9d742529f7c5ce0b467053bb0d054606e09ac5c738044bfabec6b6b645-69600716&fw_sig_tier=1&fw_sig_potential_abuse=1&fw_sig_permissions=none&fb_sig_network=fw#3121
Re: African-Americans And Their Igbo Roots by Nobody: 9:12am On Jan 17, 2013
I was addressing both you and blyss.
How does the article support your claim of igbo aborigene?
At least you now understand that abeokuta does not mean "place of stone" but rather "under the rock(olumo)", and its not a corruption of any Igbo word.
Can you please show me an Egba man that says he's fore fathers name is Emeka?
Again, it was the old owu kingdom that was beseiged by ibadan and dahomey raiders that made the people move to present day Abeokuta.
There were no igbo people anywhere southwest of Nigeria.
Re: African-Americans And Their Igbo Roots by bigfrancis21: 9:22am On Jan 17, 2013
The original name was ebe okwute or place of stone/rock. In igbo okwute means rock or stone, depending on what you're referring to. Like I said, abeokuta is a corruption of the former name.
On the Igbo-egba link, Bishop T. Ð Jakes, a black american, dug into his family history and discovered they were igbo (egba) from a name, Tanifeani, that was very common to the old egba people then. He further underwent DNA testing and the result came out Igbo! Igbo!! Igbo!!! He couldn't have been any happier.
Re: African-Americans And Their Igbo Roots by Nobody: 9:44am On Jan 17, 2013
^^^
Yeah same way, onitsha is a corruption of orisha, the original people of anambra are oyo yoruba spreading through itshekiri to lukumi to onicha, down to enugu-'enu gun' which originally means -long mouth'.
So, we are all the same people migrating from one place to another. Ekiti people can still be found in enugu up till today in igbo etiti (corruption of ekiti).
Yeah, I found your dealertongue
Re: African-Americans And Their Igbo Roots by bigfrancis21: 10:10am On Jan 17, 2013
Josh090: ^^^
Yeah same way, onitsha is a corruption of orisha, the original people of anambra are oyo yoruba spreading through itshekiri to lukumi to onicha, down to enugu-'enu gun' which originally means -long mouth'.
So, we are all the same people migrating from one place to another. Ekiti people can still be found in enugu up till today in igbo etiti (corruption of ekiti).
Yeah, I found your dealertongue
What trash! I can't believe I'm arguing with you. For your information, onitsha is the wrongful spelling of onicha - a name commonly found in the entire igboland from onicha-ugbo in the delta Igbo area down to onicha Lga in Ebonyi state, deep in the igbo heartland. Onicha doesn't mean 'orisha' in any way and orisha is just the yoruba equivalent of the Igbo 'olisa' which means God. Enugu is the anglicized form of enu ugwu meaning mountain top. Enugu state is very hilly! Lmao
Igbo-etiti? Lmao. If it were a yoruba enclave why does it bear 'igbo'? Loll. You are so silly. Etiti means 'middle' in igbo land. Igbo etiti meaning therefore Igbo people living in the middle. It might also interest you that etiti in the owerri dialect is 'ekiti'! According to carbon dating, the Igbo people have been present in Africa for a very long long time, since around 9AD, long enough to not have originated from any other african tribe. The same carbon dating put yoruba as third in line, coming after Igbo and another african tribe. The original Igbo territories were much larger than today's extending to as far as southwest of present Nigeria.
You should also know that the Yoruba never initially occupied the whole of southwest. Their original homeland was the old oyo kingdom, which was situated up in the North close to Hausaland, not until after they were expelled and chased away from their old kingdom by the Hausa did the Yoruba people begin migrating southwards, penetrating and invading the southern area.
Have you ever wondered why 'lukumi' dialect, also called old yoruba, is not spoken or found anywhere in or near yorubaland but rather spoken also with Igbo in the heart of Igboland (Ukwunzu community in delta Igbo)?? This is a strong indication that some early founding fathers of the Yoruba may have originated from igbo land (Ukwunzu) and migrated westwards, and evolving the language.
Re: African-Americans And Their Igbo Roots by Nobody: 10:51am On Jan 17, 2013
^^^SMH
Re: African-Americans And Their Igbo Roots by Nobody: 10:57am On Jan 17, 2013
You'll have us believe that egba is corruption of igbo, but you won't admit that onitsha is orisha...hehehe
Igbo etiti which should have read inu(inside) igbo(forest) ekiti, is a yoruba enclave....LMAO. You won't want to hear that would you?
I think its best if we all start claiming each others lands and people this way. Enu-gun was originally a yoruba enclave until the invasion of nri kingdom in early 14th century!
Re: African-Americans And Their Igbo Roots by bigfrancis21: 11:00am On Jan 17, 2013
There's a big difference between my post and yours. Mine is founded on facts and I have references. Yours don't have a single back-up. Of course you won't have any links to support your claims because they are very false.
Moreover, I'm not claiming yorubaland, I'm only depositing it as it is just as history posits.
Re: African-Americans And Their Igbo Roots by Nobody: 11:17am On Jan 17, 2013
Native Onitshans speak a dialect of the Igbo language with several Benin/Yoruba words such as "Obi" (of Onitsha) and "Oba" (of Benin). In fact, the word Onitsha (Onicha) is a corruption of the god "Orisha." The bini name for River Niger is Ohinmwin. The Onicha Igbo call it "Orinmili." In a few years, we will have DNA tests that proves (or disproves) the Onitsha-Benin-Yoruba connection.

In fact, a lost dialect of the Yoruba language, called Olukwumu, is spoken in Brazil and in a few Igbo communities named Anioma, Idumu-Ogu, Ubulubu, Ugboba, Ugbodu, and Ukwunzu (M. A. Onwuejeogwu, 1987 Ahiajoku Lecture). The absence Olukwumu in core Yoruba land proves that these communities are the Lost Yoruba Tribe that were fleeing from slave raiders.
http://emeagwali.com/photos/yoruba/photo-essay-on-yoruba.html
Re: African-Americans And Their Igbo Roots by Nobody: 11:26am On Jan 17, 2013
On a serious note, go and read about the egba or any yoruba group they have their history intact and they know who they are and where their from, stop making the mistake of thinking the word 'igbo' is referring to Igbo people east of Niger, it isn't!
http://www.insidewatchafrica.com/abeokuta-a-city-founded-under-the-rock/
Re: African-Americans And Their Igbo Roots by bigfrancis21: 11:34am On Jan 17, 2013
Josh090:
Native Onitshans speak a dialect of the Igbo language with several Benin/Yoruba words such as "Obi" (of Onitsha) and "Oba" (of Benin). In fact, the word Onitsha (Onicha) is a corruption of the god "Orisha." The bini name for River Niger is Ohinmwin. The Onicha Igbo call it "Orinmili." In a few years, we will have DNA tests that proves (or disproves) the Onitsha-Benin-Yoruba connection.

In fact, a lost dialect of the Yoruba language, called Olukwumu, is spoken in Brazil and in a few Igbo communities named Anioma, Idumu-Ogu, Ubulubu, Ugboba, Ugbodu, and Ukwunzu (M. A. Onwuejeogwu, 1987 Ahiajoku Lecture). The absence Olukwumu in core Yoruba land proves that these communities are the Lost Yoruba Tribe that were fleeing from slave raiders.
http://emeagwali.com/photos/yoruba/photo-essay-on-yoruba.html
Hahaha. Emeagwali is a proud igbo man who attends the World Igbo Congress regularly in the US. There is no yoruba connection to onitsha at all. In fact the onitsha igbo i know and speak is very 100% Igbo. Obi is an Igbo word o. Lmao. If at all onitsha has outside relations with any tribe it is the Edo, not Yoruba. Western Igbo communities and Edo may share some words between languages which is a normal thing. Same goes for Nsukka/Idoma people that share common words such as 'attah' and 'ada', and the Abiriba/ohafia and ibibio people along the abia/akwa ibom border that share many words and bear each other's names respectively. In abia its common to see someone with names such as 'Bassey Ogbonna' from Abiriba who speaks nothing else but Igbo and is proud Igbo. In akwa ibom you also see people with names such as Nonso Ibanga who speaks Ibibio and Igbo as well.
Also, this link you posted hasn't proven anything. It is his own personal assumption. No place in Igboland claims origin to Yorubaland. Not even one. Lol. Also, olukwumi is spoken today mainly in Ukwunzu and maybe Ugbodu by a few, especially the elderly, as a second language. However, the natives still identify as Igbo. Igbo is spoken all over the town and they have an Obi of Ukwunzu as traditional leader.
And please let's have the DNA test done. At least that would shut some ignorant mouths here up.
Re: African-Americans And Their Igbo Roots by bigfrancis21: 11:43am On Jan 17, 2013
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.
http://messageboard.biafranigeriaworld.com/ultimatebb.cgi/ubb/get_topic/f/1/t/001324.html
Re: African-Americans And Their Igbo Roots by Nobody: 11:45am On Jan 17, 2013
Dude, I know, its ridiculous, just as you are also claiming egba people are igbo, that too is ridiculous.
But seeing that you don't understand sarcasm, don't worry, believe what you must.
Re: African-Americans And Their Igbo Roots by bigfrancis21: 11:51am On Jan 17, 2013
Josh090: Dude, I know, its ridiculous, just as you are also claiming egba people are igbo, that too is ridiculous.
But seeing that you don't understand sarcasm, don't worry, believe what you must.
Hahaha! Does it mean you've finally caved in? Lmao. I guess the massive evidence did the job. Lolll
Re: African-Americans And Their Igbo Roots by Nobody: 2:01pm On Jan 19, 2013
bigfrancis21:
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.
http://messageboard.biafranigeriaworld.com/ultimatebb.cgi/ubb/get_topic/f/1/t/001324.html


[size=48pt]YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING![/size]

WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU? Are you trying to tell me that the Yoruba and Ghanaian (Akan) ppls sent to the new world were Igbos?! shocked You must really think ppl are stupid! angry You're tripping BIG TIME!
Re: African-Americans And Their Igbo Roots by Nobody: 2:18pm On Jan 19, 2013
bigfrancis21:
Yes, there's a Yoruba village in South Carolina. Equally, there's an Igbo village in Staunton, Virginia that was built to commemorate the huge presence of Igbo slaves during the slave trade. While the Yoruba village had its idea brought up by a Yoruba professor in one of the US universities the Igbo village was pioneered entirely by the staff of Virginia museum.


Yes, more african americans may fawn over yoruba practices more than igbo practices. Reason being this: the Yoruba people are deeply engrained in tradition and thus have many diverse traditional practices. This is their main feature. The Igbo people, on the other hand, are much less traditional, easily prone to change, leaving culture behind. Whenever afro-caribbeans/african americans seek to connect to africa they want to see the african culture in its beauty and entirety, and the yoruba practices quickly comes into mind. This is so because they need practices/values purely african to hold on to, not values mixed with european/western influences - influences that serve to remind them of white colonialism. They need african values/history to identify with which they can show off to their white brothers. The yoruba tradition quickly provides this with its many inherent aspects. This accounts for the yoruba popularity among the AAs.


However, this in no way means the Yoruba constituted the majority of slaves in the US.
The tendency of the yoruba to hold on to their customs/beliefs accounts for the survival of their practices in the caribbean and South America which the slaves carried with themselves while being shipped off. These contemporary yoruba/catholic practices in the caribbean serve as a link/connection back to 'mama africa' for the afro-caribbeans. It reminds them of their african heritage.
Interestingly, these afro-caribbeans still identify with their current nationalities and not with Kongo, Akan, Yoruba, etc.


Then, the survival of these yoruba practices lead many people to erroneously believe they were the majority slaves of all african slaves. This is entirely false. Like my sister, Kails, earlier mentioned, the Yoruba were shipped in large numbers much later during the close of the slave trade after it was abolished. Their arrival in the caribbean provided a connection back to 'mama africa' for the other tribes slaves who had been present for a long time in the Caribbean and had forgotten and lost all connection to Africa. For the Yoruba, their connections and traditions were still fresh in their memories. However, more Yoruba slaves returned back to Africa than did any other tribe, which indicates that their numbers in the caribbean could have been lesser than quoted in arrival records.

Below is an image of slave trade numbers by the british recorded between 1690 and 1807. The highest slaves sold at any point in the slave trade were the Igbo (bight of biafra). The overwhelmingly high percentage from the Bight of Biafra region indicates that igbo slaves were the most favored by the british slave traders and were shipped off in large numbers consistently during the slave trade.

Also attached is another picture of the database of slave ethnic nationalities recorded by another source between 1701 and 1800. This evidence is consistent with the former.

@bold true!! which is why it's ridiculous for some folks on here to claim afro. brazilians are mostly yoruba when they are actually mostly descendants from kongo and Mozambique. Their music, dance, features and bloodline prove this to be true. Some only practice/d yoruba traditions to connect to africa.

@blue are you proud of this?! grin

@red...perhaps in nigeria, but ever? no.
as for the igbo majority don't get to happy over that. some sites tell different stories/results. BTW igbos are not the only people who occupy the bright of biafra region. other east nigerian and west cameroonian tribes are found there sir. not just igbos.

btw what kind of competition is this anyway? do you realize you guys are admitting to selling your own blood in high numbers?!

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