The igalas have a yorubaiod language and features and now how do they tell if they are not from the yoruba kingdom that moved northwards and also part of the igbos around anambra north especially Aguleiri lga have their traditional diety with the igalas because they share comon border and with time of inter marrying they intergrated to settle
If you go to aguleiri they respect the igala man because their traditional and diety owes to the igala culture even some bear igala names not knowing that they may be igalas by origin maybe their grandfather setteled in that part of igboland long ago also for the idomas also
Ask your self

good question. another good question would be "do ijaws see themselves as yoruba?" the ijaws are in riverine communities from ondo to lagos. they claim oduduwa was adumu an ijaw man. the owner of saharareporters, even though a yoruba man, claims ijaw ancestry. and ijaw share names with yoruba.... eg, dabiri. but im yet to see any one ask if ijaw see themselves as yoruba. i guess if e nor be edo, e nor dey sweet. and i doubt if this thread will gather a lot of comments. yet people will say edo is overracted.

they seem related.

Igala in Anambra? Really?! Thats a brand new one.

Odunnu: Igala in Anambra? Really?! Thats a brand new one.

They are said to form 2 percent of the population in Anambra. They reside on the east bank of the Niger in the extreme north west of Anambra.

no dull your self poster. The igalas are not yoruba and never will. The fact that they have some things in comon in their language does not mean that they are the same. Those linguistic similarities exist becos they live close to each other and over time, borrowed some words.
The closest to the igalas in nigeria are the idomas. There are more similarities between the two than with any other person they are living close to.

Attah and Iduh, the progenitor of the two respective tribes were actually brothers. They came to nigeria at the same time after being denied their inheritance when their father died becos they were children of the last wife and were the youngest.

When they were leaving, they took along with them the powerful deities their father worshiped. Attah took the most potent one and that explains the so much power the igalas wield and particularly, the Attah. The attah can curse nature and it will obey him!

I dont know why people are saying this, the idomas are not igbos! They have never beign. Befor the igbos came to nigeria, the idomas where already here. Together with the igalas, we are one of the first people to come to nigeria

wen d truth is said ppl always want to cover it thatt is y edo own always generate more comment. because the yorubas are more they try to bury the truth.

Anambra igalas will lynch u to death if u call them yorubas oo, they are only igala by language but their towns have igbo names example igbo-ka-enyi and the indigenes answer igbo names through out, they are bilingual in igala and igbo. The truth is that igbos by history have no powerfull kings making wars or oppressing their ppl so many parts of northern igbo land in today anambra, enugu(especially nsukka) and kogi states were heavily settled by igala refugees fleeing from their war like kings just as their edo refugees fleeing from their king settled on western parts of igbo land. Over 95% of this communities no longer speak igala or practise igala culture but few still bear igala surnames. The communities were never igala by origin but igbo communities heavily settled by igala refugees fleeing from igala land.

abouzaid: Anambra igalas will lynch u to death if u call them yorubas oo, they are only igala by language but their towns have igbo names example igbo-ka-enyi and the indigenes answer igbo names through out, they are bilingual in igala and igbo. The truth is that igbos by history have no powerfull kings making wars or oppressing their ppl so many parts of northern igbo land in today anambra, enugu(especially nsukka) and kogi states were heavily settled by igala refugees fleeing from their war like kings just as their edo refugees fleeing from their king settled on western parts of igbo land. Over 95% of this communities no longer speak igala or practise igala culture but few still bear igala surnames. The communities were never igala by origin but igbo communities heavily settled by igala refugees fleeing from igala land.

Wellsaid bro am not saying I wanna call anambra igalas yorubas but all am trying to point out is that the igala language has fusion of igbos language also like the way they called their market days are all in igbo language,
Igala have four market days.

There are:

i Eke
ii Ede
iii Afor
iv Ukwor
also the other part of igala influence in oshimili lga area delta north the ebu people are igalas also may be they setteled there due to farming and also in edo north illushi town(ifeku island) which share comon. Border with ibaji lga area of southern kogi state are igalas and I belive they all came from idah which is the ancestry home of the igalas to settle around the river niger bank ,that's why I keep saying we are all one in origin in this world we share sometin in comon .Me Nago abga ko cho

@alh harem, today ur Yoruba,tomorrow ur nupe, the day after hausa, u even claimed igbo on the biafran thread and have stated ur state of origin as anambra. Do u want to claim igala now? I know u hate it when igbos are ever mentioned in good light but igalas and idomas are not Yoruba and are highly fused to the igbos to the extent that most ppl think the whole of idoma land are igbo catholics with a common language. I guess that will be painfull for u to bear. Yakwuri, ndo. Pls go back 2 the bini thread and continue recieving the spanking of ur life there. The igalas and idomas are an independent tribe of their own though we know which major tribe they will follow if nigeria ever breaks up.

@ abouzaid bia ebe a

You are playing dumb here. Igala and Idoma are independent ethnic groups and never ever have I claim them to be yoruba neither have I claimed Edo to be yoruba.

Yes Igalas and Idomas are Igbos, I could care less. I don't hate Igbos so stop this rubbish you are attributing to me. If Igala is apart of Biafra good !!!

I am angry because of this silly topics suggesting that Yorubas are claiming. The Op is an Igala man, so gini ka i na'ekwu maka ya.

alj harem: @ abouzaid bia ebe a

.

Yes Igalas and Idomas are Igbos, I could care less. I don't hate Igbos so stop this rubbish you are attributing to me. If Igala is apart of Biafra good !!!

I am angry because of this silly topics suggesting that Yorubas are claiming. The Op is an Igala man, so gini ka i na'ekwu maka ya.

Pls igala and idoma are a different tribe they can't be fully called igbos but all am trying to express is as an igala boy I have ties with igbo pple so much one will. Fink am igbo.especially the christains igalas and idomas

Revolva:
Pls igala and idoma are a different tribe they can't be fully called igbos but all am trying to express is as an igala boy I have ties with igbo pple so much one will. Fink am igbo.especially the christains igalas and idomas

Oma Igala, good you have found your lost cousins

I wish you the best, I wonder why you now started such a topic ?

You made it seem like you are yoruba and claiming igala to be yoruba, if you knew you were Igbo then why ask such questions ?

@alj harem
Are you an igala or wat well what part of igala land
Bro I never said and felt like am a yoruba or igbo boi and tryin to tell you that we southern igalas have traditions like igbos and the whole igala dialect is yorobaiod (have element of yoruba) in it ok

Revolva: @alj harem
Are you an igala or wat well what part of igala land
Bro I never said and felt like am a yoruba or igbo boi and tryin to tell you that we southern igalas have traditions like igbos and the whole igala dialect is yorobaiod (have element of yoruba) in it ok

Good, Oma Igala

In fact I want to learn more about Igalas now

Apart of market days you share with Igbos

and words you share with yorubas,

What other things do Igalas share with Igbo and Yoruba

Thanks

souldust: no dull your self poster. The igalas are not yoruba and never will. The fact that they have some things in comon in their language does not mean that they are the same. Those linguistic similarities exist becos they live close to each other and over time, borrowed some words.
The closest to the igalas in nigeria are the idomas. There are more similarities between the two than with any other person they are living close to.

Attah and Iduh, the progenitor of the two respective tribes were actually brothers. They came to nigeria at the same time after being denied their inheritance when their father died becos they were children of the last wife and were the youngest.

When they were leaving, they took along with them the powerful deities their father worshiped. Attah took the most potent one and that explains the so much power the igalas wield and particularly, the Attah. The attah can curse nature and it will obey him!

I dont know why people are saying this, the idomas are not igbos! They have never beign. Befor the igbos came to nigeria, the idomas where already here. Together with the igalas, we are one of the first people to come to nigeria

where did you get this trash from Idomas settled in the nigerian area before NRI Igbos You must be on some heavy dose of crack!!! Do you have prove of that ?

Chai Na wa for Nigeria

what the hell is the difference between an Idoma man and an Igbo man

Una go divide till kingdom come.

Every dot very group wants to be an ethnic group, wants to be a whole Nation on his own.

Dumb, Nigerians indeed

Very soon, Idoma and Igala too would break into fractions. Each declaring her own ethnic Nation

Pls wat does 'Tapa' mean? any relevance to 'Igala'?
Really want 2 know.
Thanks NLers!

alj harem: Chai Na wa for Nigeria

what the hell is the difference between an Idoma man and an Igbo man

Una go divide till kingdom come.

Every dot very group wants to be an ethnic group, wants to be a whole Nation on his own.

Dumb, Nigerians indeed

Very soon, Idoma and Igala too would break into fractions. Each declaring her own ethnic Nation

The Idoma are said to share words and certain customs with the Igbo people. For example, 'okolobia' and 'ada' both mean 'young man' and 'first daughter' in Idoma and Igbo, but I digress...

I once read some Nri mythology that said that the son of Eri (the supposed father of the Umueri people), Nri Ifikuanim, had a son (Onoja) who went on to found the kingdom of the Igala somewhere in modern-day Kogi state. I don't know how true this is, though.

Anyway let's get back to whether or not the Igala see themselves as Yoruba.

I have learnt a whole lot from this thread. Quite an interesting and informative thread

odumchi:

The Idoma are said to share words and certain customs with the Igbo people. For example, 'okolobia' and 'ada' both mean 'young man' and 'first daughter' in Idoma and Igbo, but I digress...

I once read some Nri mythology that said that the son of Eri (the supposed father of the Umueri people), Nri Ifikuanim, had a son (Onoja) who went on to found the kingdom of the Igala somewhere in modern-day Kogi state. I don't know how true this is, though.

Anyway let's get back to whether or not the Igala see themselves as Yoruba.

Nice one its the truth and @samafrik tapa are nupe people oo not igalas ok they are called tapa by yorubas as igbos are fondly called okoros ok and @alj harem
Please that all I know about how the average igala man has affilation to his igbos neigbours ok try visit aguleiri lga in anambra and see their diety and also visit idah in kogi you gonna find out that idah is just a stone throw by river to onitsha (not far)

^^^^^^

Thanks

Tapas are the nupes among Yorubas, yes they are Nupes but it is not the same context as Okoro. Thanks again

idoma and igbos are not one and never be one! It cannot happen lai lai.
You talked about okloboia and ada but let me tell you that there more hausa influences in idoma than there are igbo similarities. What about the following names and words: usman, aladi(sunday), yakubu, yahaya, audu, ademu(adamu), alemu(orange), sule, yunisa, waaka(uwanka), etc

the name ada is purely an igbo name. We bear it becos some part of our teritory shares boundry with Egbor and that boundry is the shortest we have with any of our neighbours. As a result of our geograhical closeness, we sometimes do have friends from that area and later decided to name or children after our igbo friends.

NB: we also bear abu. Now that doesnt sound like igbo does it? The names and words i mentioned earlier have connections with hausa not igbo!

So get it into your skwii; idoma and egbor are far apart the only relationship is the short, very short boundry we have
befor i forget. Those names i mentioned are not only answered by the idoma muslims but also by idomas who do not have anything to do with islam. They are names of my relatives.

^^^Thanks revolva.
Thanks alh harem.
Years back, drummers used 2 praise my family with d name each time we visited villag @ xmas, though we 'r frm Osun.
Learning ones ancestry cld b interestin... ges we r all related.
Our diversity of shd b celebrated.

I see more similarities between Igala names and Igbo than Yoruba. I most times confuse their typical native names with Igbos and Igbo history is linked with Igala. Many people that settled in Igbo communities especially around the Niger whom we call Igara were actually Igalas. Nri culture believes that the traditional ruler of Igala was of Nri origin.

Igala are an ethnic group of Nigeria. Igala practice a number of different religions, including animism, Christianity, and Islam.

The home of the Igala people is situated east of the river Niger and Benue confluence and astride the Niger in Lokoja, Kogi state of Nigeria. The area is approximately between latitude 6°30 and 8°40 north and longitude 6°30 and 7°40 east and covers an area of about 13,665 square kilometers (Oguagha P.A 1981) The Igala population is estimated at two million, they can also be found in Delta, Anambra and Edo States of Nigeria. The Igala language is closely related to the Yoruba and Itsekiri languages.

In Igala tradition, infants from some parts of the kingdom, like Ankpa receive three deep horizontal cuts on each side of the face, slightly above the corners of their mouths, as a way of identifying each other. However, this practice is becoming less common.

The view that Princess Amina of Zaria led the very first migration into Igalaland in the 12th century does not hold water. This is because Queen Amina was a 14th C figure and history has it that the Igala people were already settled in this area and were relating socio-culturally with the Igbos right from the ,7th and 9th century A.D. Moreover, the obvious absence of a legend relating to this princess and warrior .in Igalaland is a clear indication that it might not be true afterall that she actually reached Igala land. Stories on Igala Benin war and Igala-Jukun war, for instance. are very popular. The near dead silence on an Amina war leaves room for great doubts. Niven argues against the presupposition that she died at 'Atagara' (that is ldah) when he said: "she died at Atagara, probably a place iii the Gongola valley then under Kwararafa, not Idah. which is now known as Atagara.'

The linking of the Igala with Yemen In Arabia is another highly speculative opinion. This story was probably a device of the Muslims to Islamise Igala people. The people of Igala had long settled before the Galas entered Ethiopia. because tradition has it that it was only in the century A.D, that the Gala migration to Ethiopia took place. In addition, it is quite improbable that the Semite Galas would metamorphose into Negroes of the contemporary Igalaland overnight. The similarity in name is thereby merely coincidental.

The Mali connection remains baseless too because the similarities between the words "Mela" (nine of them) of Igala-Mela (the nine Igala kingmakers) is in no way attributable to “9” as originating from Mali. To the Igala mind, "nine" simply symbolizes perfectness.

Likewise, the supposition that the Igalas came out of the Fulanis, carries no weight, since "no tradition in Igala supports it. History attests to the fact that the Fulanis were still in the region of Senegal by the time the Igala were already having a "centralized state system ... in the 12" century.

That the Igala have a traditional link with the Benin kingdom is indubitable. There abound theories for instance, that support a Benin origin of Igala kingship. However, there was already in existence indigenous Igala people with their kingship systems before the arrival of the Benin kings. But it must be understood that at some stage of Igala history, the Benin people wielded some power of influence over them. The difference in their system of government alone is enough reason to prove that it is never true to say the entire Igala originated from Benin.

The tradition, which holds that the Igala has the same origin with the Yoruba seem to be a plausible one. This humble submission is based on the fact that the Igala language has a lot in common with the Yoruba. Okwoli supports this view when he said: "When people speak the same language. or related languages, there is every reason to believe that they have common origin or have met somewhere.

The Jukun link with the Igala is another very strong tradition that immediately calls for serious attention. Stories about the Jukun origin of Igala kingship, for instance, cannot be waved aside. That there were certain Jukun immigrants who came among the Igalas at some stage of the development of the Igala kingdom is quite evident It is even a common knowledge that the present ruling dynasty is Jukun.

Ultimately, therefore, there is no single account of the origin of the Iga1a people, which is unassailable However, one may agree with Boston that the different tradition "probably correspond to different phases of history in which the Yoruba link may be the most ancient, followed by the Benin connection, and most recently. some form of Jukun suzerainty'. In order not to continue swimming in this shark-infested waters of legends and traditions, we concluded that the Igala kingdom originated from within their immediate vicinity, namely. West Africa. As a matter of fact, before the advent of the colonial masters, about seven very prominent black. kingdoms were noticeable in the forest belt, thus, Ashanti, Dahomey. ]fe, Oyo, Bini, Igala and Jukun(Apa) kingdoms.

The Atta's scope of influence

With Atta Ayegba Om'Idoko, the kingdom was zoned in the 17th cetltury A.D. into smaller units in order to decentralize authority. Then in 1905 the British created the districts. These districts comprised Ankpa, Dekina, Egwume., Ejema, Imane. Iga, Ika, Ogwugwu, Ojokwu. Atabaka (Okpo), Biraidu (Abocho), Ife (Abejukolo). Odu, Iyale, Emekwutu, Okenyi, Ojokiti, As these districts were formed and "trustworthy relatives and followers" were sent to rule, these were given the 'traditional titles of "Onu" (the principal person or chief).

Some Igala tradition holds that an Atta gave the Nupes a Kingdom, He bestowed the rule of Nupe country to Edegi (Tsoede), one of the sons he had from a Nupe mother. He gave riches of various types to him and gave him different insignia of kingship: a bronze Canoe, twelve Nupe slaves. the bronze Okakachi (Trumpet) which are still being used by Northern Nigerian ~.state drums hung with brass belts and heavy iron chains and fetters which were endowed with strong magic power …, Tsoede or Edegi then became the ruler of the Nupe people and took the title of Etsu (King) and the Nupe kingdom became an ally to Igala,.

The Igalas are ruled by a father figure called the Attah. The word Attah means 'Father' and the full title of the ruler is 'Attah Igala', meaning, the Father of Igalas (the Igala word for King is Onu). Among the most revered Attahs of the Igala kingdom are Attah Ayegba Oma Idoko and Atta Ameh Oboni. According to oral tradition, Attah Ayegba Oma Idoko offered his most beloved daughter, Inikpi to ensure that the Igalas win a war of liberation from the Jukuns' dominance. Attah Ameh Oboni is known to be very brave and resolute. He is revered for his stiff resistance of the British and his struggles to uphold some ancient traditions of the Igalas. When he got wind of a plan to depose and exile him by the British, he committed suicide by hanging himself to forestall the plan, he is regarded by most Igalas as the last real Attah Igala. The present Atta is his highness, Atta Aliyu Ocheja Obaje.


http://igalaassociationusa.org/ViewContent.aspx?id=13

souldust: idoma and igbos are not one and never be one! It cannot happen lai lai.
You talked about okloboia and ada but let me tell you that there more hausa influences in idoma than there are igbo similarities. What about the following names and words: usman, aladi(sunday), yakubu, yahaya, audu, ademu(adamu), alemu(orange), sule, yunisa, waaka(uwanka), etc

the name ada is purely an igbo name. We bear it becos some part of our teritory shares boundry with Egbor and that boundry is the shortest we have with any of our neighbours. As a result of our geograhical closeness, we sometimes do have friends from that area and later decided to name or children after our igbo friends.

NB: we also bear abu. Now that doesnt sound like igbo does it? The names and words i mentioned earlier have connections with hausa not igbo!

So get it into your skwii; idoma and egbor are far apart the only relationship is the short, very short boundry we have
befor i forget. Those names i mentioned are not only answered by the idoma muslims but also by idomas who do not have anything to do with islam. They are names of my relatives.

We have heard you and no Igbo ever ever said we are related to you !!!!! We are just neighbors,shikena!!

souldust: idoma and igbos are not one and never be one! It cannot happen lai lai.
You talked about okloboia and ada but let me tell you that there more hausa influences in idoma than there are igbo similarities. What about the following names and words: usman, aladi(sunday), yakubu, yahaya, audu, ademu(adamu), alemu(orange), sule, yunisa, waaka(uwanka), etc
@souldust please these are influence of islam ok they are now originally idoma names ,idomas are synonymous with names like ujah,okopi,ochefu, ameh,amanyi,abah and I also realize that igalas also share some kind of names with idomas names like onoja,ameh,abah,eneojo,ene and many more inface idomas are children of igalas that the word idu oma (give a child) now develop to idoma modern days wish the idomas and igalas join force and create a state

souldust: idoma and igbos are not one and never be one! It cannot happen lai lai.
You talked about okloboia and ada but let me tell you that there more hausa influences in idoma than there are igbo similarities. What about the following names and words: usman, aladi(sunday), yakubu, yahaya, audu, ademu(adamu), alemu(orange), sule, yunisa, waaka(uwanka), etc

the name ada is purely an igbo name. We bear it becos some part of our teritory shares boundry with Egbor and that boundry is the shortest we have with any of our neighbours. As a result of our geograhical closeness, we sometimes do have friends from that area and later decided to name or children after our igbo friends.

NB: we also bear abu. Now that doesnt sound like igbo does it? The names and words i mentioned earlier have connections with hausa not igbo!

So get it into your skwii; idoma and egbor are far apart the only relationship is the short, very short boundry we have
befor i forget. Those names i mentioned are not only answered by the idoma muslims but also by idomas who do not have anything to do with islam. They are names of my relatives.

No Idomas do not have more in common with the hausa than the Igbo. Hausa land is nowhere near Idomaland so get your facts straight. Those names you mentioned are not HAUSA names but muslim names. Please behave yourself and go pick up a book and read.

Chyz*:


No Idomas do not have more in common with the hausa than the Igbo. Hausa land is nowhere near Idomaland so get your facts straight. Those names you mentioned are not HAUSA names but muslim names. Please behave yourself and go pick up a book and read.

Spot on.

@anddrew uweh
Yeah bro are you idoma?

I think people seem to mistaken this our Igbo ethnic group a lot. Including we Igbos. Igbo is like an octopus with arms spreading to almost its entire neighbors but still distinct from them.Igbos in the West are like Bini, Igbos in the North are like Idoma/Tiv/Igala, Igbos in the East are like Ibibio/Ejegam/Annang/Efik/. Igbos in the South are like Riverine people. Maybe Awka-Orlu-Okigwe area is free of much influence and could define our basic.