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An Encyclopedia Of Animals In Igbo Language - Culture (5) - Nairaland

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Re: An Encyclopedia Of Animals In Igbo Language by Obiagu1(m): 10:07pm On May 20, 2012
odumchi:

Funny thing about this is that at my place, we call this 'isam' just like our Ibibio neighbors. I always thought that other Igbo people called it 'mfi' and that 'isam' was an Ibibio loan word.

I'm astonished to find out that our people call it the same thing.

I think it has Ibibio origin. I never knew the actual Igbo name, if we have one for it.
Re: An Encyclopedia Of Animals In Igbo Language by Obiagu1(m): 10:15pm On May 20, 2012
Catfish :: Okpo/Azuokpo

[img]http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQzTtq3H9p_XfMXNsAM1fCIL1h5OLka9mBWC9-mQqkI-DFnLEUULw[/img] [img]http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQSrAAN-z9SW-9Sgc7ZeYlLZ6M1yXYAjg578bCfbkrRP9vZSI9h[/img]
Re: An Encyclopedia Of Animals In Igbo Language by dubem3(m): 10:17pm On May 20, 2012
Odenigbo Aroli:

Inyinya is horse but i disagree with the part that Anambra towns doesnt understand each other! I strongly challenge you to name that town or close this case cos you obviously has little knowledge of Anambra groups unless if you are talking about the tiny Igalla village in northern Anambra. All Anambra dialects are intelligible amongst all the groups so I will advice you travel further.

you know,
you really sound like its a fight.
Relax! Its not a fight.
Neither am i saying that ANAMBRA towns do not understand themselves.
Go back and read what i said again.
I could easily have said 'there are towns in...'
i only used that to paint a picture and u yourself have attested to its existence.
Lets try to be more low toned when seeking clarification or redress. Lest our good intent be misunderstood.

As for that state, you'll be suprised how much i know it... Some peeps that grew up there would buy my knowledge of it, if i were to put it up for sale, so Nwanne ka uche gi diya Maka na abu'm onye njem.

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Re: An Encyclopedia Of Animals In Igbo Language by dubem3(m): 10:27pm On May 20, 2012
odumchi:

Funny thing about this is that at my place, we call this 'isam' just like our Ibibio neighbors. I always thought that other Igbo people called it 'mfi' and that 'isam' was an Ibibio loan word.

I'm astonished to find out that our people call it the same thing.

i don't really know about isam being an Igbo word we do not have a river in my place. Maybe i should leave it for the chief from my place to comment on. Odenigbo over to you.
Re: An Encyclopedia Of Animals In Igbo Language by Obiagu1(m): 10:31pm On May 20, 2012
dubem3:

you know,
you really sound like its a fight.
Relax! Its not a fight.
Neither am i saying that ANAMBRA towns do not understand themselves.
Go back and read what i said again.
I could easily have said 'there are towns in...'
i only used that to paint a picture and u yourself have attested to its existence.
Lets try to be more low toned when seeking clarification or redress. Lest our good intent be misunderstood.

As for that state, you'll be suprised how much i know it... Some peeps that grew up there would buy my knowledge of it, if i were to put it up for sale, so Nwanne ka uche gi diya Maka na abu'm onye njem.

My position on this is that most names for animals are universal in Igboland. Their variants are equally known universally except for someone that grew up in the village and never moved around.
In Igboland, situations like calling duck obogwu and the same name obogwu used for another entirely different bird like dove do not exist when dove already has a name.
When such issues are raised by someone, you should look into it and not just waive it aside as a mere dialect variation.

Sometimes it's irritating seeing something that's completely wrong and someone tries to tell you it's right, it's what we call it when in reality the person may not actually be vast about the names.
Re: An Encyclopedia Of Animals In Igbo Language by odumchi: 10:43pm On May 20, 2012
dubem3:

i don't really know about isam being an Igbo word we do not have a river in my place. Maybe i should leave it for the chief from my place to comment on. Odenigbo over to you.

Lol, I was told the Igbo word for it is 'mfi'.
Re: An Encyclopedia Of Animals In Igbo Language by OdenigboAroli(m): 10:52pm On May 20, 2012
dubem3:

you know,
you really sound like its a fight.
Relax! Its not a fight.
Neither am i saying that ANAMBRA towns do not understand themselves.
Go back and read what i said again.
I could easily have said 'there are towns in...'
i only used that to paint a picture and u yourself have attested to its existence.
Lets try to be more low toned when seeking clarification or redress. Lest our good intent be misunderstood.

As for that state, you'll be suprised how much i know it... Some peeps that grew up there would buy my knowledge of it, if i were to put it up for sale, so Nwanne ka uche gi diya Maka na abu'm onye njem.

It wasnt my intention to offend anybody but in that post that drew my attention you stated that there are some part of Anambra dialects that are unintelligible to the rest and I took to that claim 'cos I know my state very well. Lets not let this little exchanges derail this fantastic thread. Moving on....
Re: An Encyclopedia Of Animals In Igbo Language by OdenigboAroli(m): 10:56pm On May 20, 2012
dubem3:

i don't really know about isam being an Igbo word we do not have a river in my place. Maybe i should leave it for the chief from my place to comment on. Odenigbo over to you.

My knowledge of "isam" is very limited since I never tasted it before so Odenigbo cant do much.
Re: An Encyclopedia Of Animals In Igbo Language by ChinenyeN(m): 12:16am On May 21, 2012
Arguing over people's okwu ala though?

Anyway, I like this topic and would like for it to continue. This is quite an interesting topic. So far I've seen number of differences between Ngwa/Etche axis names and some of the names posted up here (at least for the names of the animals I do know). Let's keep this thread going.
Re: An Encyclopedia Of Animals In Igbo Language by OdenigboAroli(m): 12:30am On May 21, 2012
ChinenyeN: Arguing over people's okwu ala though?

Anyway, I like this topic and would like for it to continue. This is quite an interesting topic. So far I've seen number of differences between Ngwa/Etche axis names and some of the names posted up here (at least for the names of the animals I do know). Let's keep this thread going.

Here we go again! Look,nobody asked you about the differences between your ngwa and other dialects here,so we will appreciate if you make positive contribution instead of bringing your usual confusions here. I suggest you go and open as many thread about ngwa as you like and leave the Igbos the heck alone! Thanks!
Re: An Encyclopedia Of Animals In Igbo Language by ChinenyeN(m): 1:03am On May 21, 2012
My only intention with this topic is seeing how/where Ngwa/Etche axis differs from other axes. I really don't give a single oru what you've got to say. So, anyway, continuing on with the thread. . .

1 Like

Re: An Encyclopedia Of Animals In Igbo Language by tchaik(m): 9:10am On May 21, 2012
Pls pardon my ignorance, can one find Stag in Nigeria (in South East to be precise?)
Cos I do hear tales of hunters shooting 'Atu' (Stag)!
Re: An Encyclopedia Of Animals In Igbo Language by FACE(m): 10:28pm On May 22, 2012
Obiagu1:
I recognise that dialects differ but not when an animal is given a name that belongs to another animal.
I try to incorporate the different dialects if I know them. Alligator is found mainly in North America. Aghu/Aghi is actually a small alligator looking reptile; I can't find the name now. Just a little bigger than lizard.
Ijere is a type of ant and not a name for ants.
Camel is anyinya (there's nothing like [b]e[/b]nyinya). I don't know the name for a horse.
Calling Kite egbe by someone does not change its actual name. Kites remain Nkwo, ogankwo etc but not egbe. Egbe is bigger than kite (nkwo).

Obiagu, Kite is egbe and falcon is nkwo or ogankwo. While they are both birds of prey, egbe (kite) is subtle, forever soaring, seraching for and simply picking it's prey from the ground unawares, but the falcon (ogankwo) is a fighting bird and engages other birds and animals much bigger than itself.Inyinya is standard Igbo for horse while inyinya-ibu refers to donkey and maybe camel.

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Re: An Encyclopedia Of Animals In Igbo Language by OdenigboAroli(m): 3:33am On May 23, 2012
tchaik: Pls pardon my ignorance, can one find Stag in Nigeria (in South East to be precise?)
Cos I do hear tales of hunters shooting 'Atu' (Stag)!

There is this famous hunter from my town called "Ufele gbatulu enyi" ; He once killed a stag somewhere in the east but it was in the '70s and I dont think you can find them anymore.

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Re: An Encyclopedia Of Animals In Igbo Language by OdenigboAroli(m): 3:38am On May 23, 2012
FACE:
Obiagu, Kite is egbe and falcon is nkwo or ogankwo. While they are both birds of prey, egbe (kite) is subtle, forever soaring, seraching for and simply picking it's prey from the ground unawares, but the falcon (ogankwo) is a fighting bird and engages other birds and animals much bigger than itself.Inyinya is standard Igbo for horse while inyinya-ibu refers to donkey and maybe camel.

Great analysis Face ! Exactly the way my father explained the difference but is it "ogankwo" or agunkwo ? My father used the later. I guess its dialectical variables.

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Re: An Encyclopedia Of Animals In Igbo Language by Nobody: 1:21pm On Nov 01, 2012
0key: fly~ ijiji
snake~ agwo
snail~ eju or ejula
ant~ agbisi or ndanda
pig~ ezhi
scorpion~ akpi
python~ eke
monkey~ enwe
fish~ azu
horse~ inyinya
?hyena~ edi abali
hipopotamus~ enyi mmiri
dove~ nduru

Edi Abali is a Civet and not Hyena
Re: An Encyclopedia Of Animals In Igbo Language by Chibuhealth(f): 3:55pm On Sep 06, 2013
ifyalways: Lovely thread.
Mosquito :Anwu nta
Housefly :Ijiji
Boa :Eke
Boa constrictor :Eke Ogba
Cat :Nwa ologbo
Cow :Ehi/Efi
Praying mantis :Oku okpo
Bedbug : Chinchi
Earthworn :Idide
please what is Eluluu or Eluelu called in english. Those ants that forms straight line wen walking and it can bite very well.
Re: An Encyclopedia Of Animals In Igbo Language by Lanceslot(m): 8:19am On Aug 21, 2014
ifyalways: Lovely thread.
Mosquito :Anwu nta
Housefly :Ijiji
Boa :Eke
Boa constrictor :Eke Ogba
Cat :Nwa ologbo
Cow :Ehi/Efi
Praying mantis :Oku okpo
Bedbug : Chinchi
Earthworn :Idide
cat is known as onogbo or buusu.
Re: An Encyclopedia Of Animals In Igbo Language by Lanceslot(m): 8:31am On Aug 21, 2014
Obiagu1: Millipede :: Esu

[img]http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTZNqcHWLM_8UuI8h9eLdBTol-a6fipeHzJt8fyq6dsR8Fp-Onibw[/img]
we also call this ariri.
Re: An Encyclopedia Of Animals In Igbo Language by Lanceslot(m): 8:37am On Aug 21, 2014
odumchi:

Why not just accept the fact that people's dialects differ. There is not a universal word for everything in Igbo. Where I come from alligator is known as aghu, kite as egbe, and ant as ijere. And I'm pretty sure the central Igbo for kite is egbe. As for camel, I purposely left it as jaki since no one came up with an alternative for it. If you want it removed, I can do so.

We never had tigers in Igboland, true, but we never had horses and we still have a name for them. Like I said earlier, agu means 'leopard' but it was extended to mean 'tiger'. In fact, agu is just a term that refers to any fierce forest-dwelling cat.

For egbe meaning kite, refer to 1:04 in this video and you will see someone refering to kite as egbe.

http://www.youtube.com/v/l7xLAfKQZBA

Ant - aruru/ahuhu.
Ijere - soldier ant. Alligator is known as Oba in my side. Crocodile - Aguiyi.
Re: An Encyclopedia Of Animals In Igbo Language by Lanceslot(m): 8:50am On Aug 21, 2014
Obiagu1: Catfish :: Okpo/Azuokpo

[img]http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQzTtq3H9p_XfMXNsAM1fCIL1h5OLka9mBWC9-mQqkI-DFnLEUULw[/img] [img]http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQSrAAN-z9SW-9Sgc7ZeYlLZ6M1yXYAjg578bCfbkrRP9vZSI9h[/img]
Cat Fish - Atuma/echim. Okpo is a specie that has 3 pins.
Re: An Encyclopedia Of Animals In Igbo Language by ifyalways(f): 9:58am On Aug 21, 2014
Lanceslot: cat is known as onogbo or buusu.
In your hamlet or the whole of Igbo land undecided
Re: An Encyclopedia Of Animals In Igbo Language by Nelly821: 2:56pm On Apr 10, 2016
Please who knows what (Atani) is called in English?
"Atani.... that small animal that lives in a tree and it's believed to be seeing clean clear at night"
Re: An Encyclopedia Of Animals In Igbo Language by oshudu(m): 5:54pm On May 15, 2017
presido1:
Kite ---------- Agu nkwo
Lion ---------- Agu
Cat-------------Nwa ologbo, busss grin grin
Praying mantis-----------------ngbogo
Dove------------Nduru ala
Crocodile------- Agu iyi
Spider------------Udude
milipide ---------- Ariri
centipide-----------gbakuru nwoke gbakwuru nwanyi( If the thing bite a man he run to a woman shocked shocked shocked na wetin dem tell us then and we beleived)
Bat------------Usu
Ant---------------Ahuhu
Antelope----------------Ele
Goat----------------- ewu
Ram---------------------Ebule
Rabit---------------- Oke bekee
XXXXX----------------chekeleke( that white bed that gives white spot on the nails when wave at it)
Grasshoper-----------Ukpala or Okpoko
He Goat-------------- Mkpi
ETC
Re: An Encyclopedia Of Animals In Igbo Language by SUNNYsparkle: 7:46pm On May 16, 2017
odumchi:
Ant :: ijere (I think the central version is ndanda, though I'm not sure)



Antelope :: ele

[img]http://1.bp..com/-TWQ8D0G2CYg/TjdhNwB1MEI/AAAAAAAAAEg/rojD387wNXo/s1600/antelope4.jpg[/img]
General name for Ant is Agbusi, Ijere is Soldier ant, Mkpu is Termite, Ndanda is the tiny ant
Re: An Encyclopedia Of Animals In Igbo Language by SUNNYsparkle: 7:49pm On May 16, 2017
odumchi:
Alligator :: aghu (I'm not sure if this is the central one)



Ape :: uzontuzo

[img]http://1.bp..com/-FmZzTq4gQqM/TtDEVw3oYSI/AAAAAAAADis/TWoPMZKy9oo/s1600/gorilla.jpg[/img]
Alligator and Crocodile - Agu Mmiri, Hippoppotamus is Enyi Mmiri
Re: An Encyclopedia Of Animals In Igbo Language by SUNNYsparkle: 8:06pm On May 16, 2017
odumchi:
Alligator :: aghu (I'm not sure if this is the central one)



Ape :: uzontuzo

[img]http://1.bp..com/-FmZzTq4gQqM/TtDEVw3oYSI/AAAAAAAADis/TWoPMZKy9oo/s1600/gorilla.jpg[/img]
Alligator and Crocodile - Agu Mmiri, Hippoppotamus is Enyi Mmiri, Monkey is Enwe, Gorilla is Uzodimgba, Chimpanzee is Adaka, Baboon is also Adaka
Re: An Encyclopedia Of Animals In Igbo Language by SUNNYsparkle: 8:15pm On May 16, 2017
odumchi:


'Anhunhu/anwu' just refers to insects in general or maybe your dialect has a different name for it. Ant is 'ijere' or 'ijele' while rabbit is 'ewuta'. It would be cool if you could supply us with more animals.
Its a lie, Central Igbo has Ant as Agbusi, Rabbit/Guinea Pig as Oke Bekee, Giant Rat as Ewi/Ewii/Ewinta/Ewuta, Cane Rat as Nchi, Duiker as Mgbada, Porcubine as Ebi Ogwu, Chameleon as Ogwumagala, Tortoise as Mbe, Turtle as Mbe Mmrir, Toad - Awo, Frog - Akiri, Donkey - Inya, Horse - Inyinya, Peasant Bird - Ogazi, Bush Fowl - Okwa, Civet - Edi or Edi abali, Leopard - Agu, Lion - Odum
Re: An Encyclopedia Of Animals In Igbo Language by SUNNYsparkle: 8:19pm On May 16, 2017
odumchi:
Deer :: mgbada

[img]http://www.newbern-nc.info/images/deer-10.jpg[/img]
Its a lie, Duiker is Mgbada not Deer: Deer is still Ele
Re: An Encyclopedia Of Animals In Igbo Language by SUNNYsparkle: 8:20pm On May 16, 2017
odumchi:
Dog :: nkita

[img]http://3.bp..com/-y2oPlOUydOI/Tbb_Wq4vE5I/AAAAAAAAAEs/FfQmkc0iDU8/s1600/Australia%2527s+Wild+Dog+Dingo+PC+wallpaper.jpg[/img]

Donkey :: jaki

[img]http://1historyofgreekfood.files./2011/05/800px-donkey_crete_4-2004.jpg[/img]
Dnkey is Inya or Inyinya: Jaki is not an Igbo word
Re: An Encyclopedia Of Animals In Igbo Language by SUNNYsparkle: 8:23pm On May 16, 2017
odumchi:
Duck :: okuko ugbala (I don't know the central version of this)



Dove :: nduru

[img]http://www.birds.cornell.edu/crows/images/ECollar-Dove-305a.jpg[/img]
Cental Igbo Duck is Obogu or Oboguma: DOVE is Kpalakuku in Owerri side
Re: An Encyclopedia Of Animals In Igbo Language by SUNNYsparkle: 8:30pm On May 16, 2017
0key:
fly~ ijiji
snake~ agwo
snail~ eju or ejula
ant~ agbisi or ndanda
pig~ ezhi
scorpion~ akpi
python~ eke
monkey~ enwe
fish~ azu
horse~ inyinya
?hyena~ edi abali
hipopotamus~ enyi mmiri
dove~ nduru
Please Civet is Edi abali not tiger. I think theres an Igbo saying "Nduru na-egbu agwo" meaning Nduru that kills snakes: How then is dove Nduru?

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