Guys....enjoy this video, we will talk about it later. Pay attention to the words they are saying, they are using liturgy Yoruba, not street vernacular and you can clearly see in their rites and even outfit and adornments a very close affinity to Afro Asia than a Benue-Congo rites of worship and devotion.

I am throwing out an open invitation to all those who dispute Yoruba's origin is proto-semitic to come in and submit counter evidence to this video.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS_IBMQhx5A&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Dudu_Negro:

Lol....I know you got your pen and paper taking notes. I need your voice. Write Seun and tell him topics such as this need a different repository away from the general culture section. It is without doubt cultural but it is granular and specific. There's a lot im holding back because of its openess. Will you do that? Negro flashes you a smile...:-)

jeez!
You make it sound like i'm in business with Seun..
i don't know nothing dude!
Talk to the mods...maybe they'll help your cause...
Still enjoying the thread btw...

Dudu_Negro: Terra Cotta,

How can you know what is factual and what is falsehood when you have refused to open yourself to the totality of Yoruba history and origin or the decoding of the meanings behind the words and letters outside of what you were taught in classroom?

Here's the difference between our points of view--I don't know what is factual and what is falsehood. I'm fairly confident that I've spent more time "opening myself to the totality of Yoruba history and origin" than the average person and certainly more so than the average scholar. There's no point bragging about experiences or qualifications on the Internet since we're all faceless, but I'd be happy to discuss the orisa, Irunmole, orun, Ifa etc in personal and scholarly detail if time permits.

Linguistic is not language but rather it is the study of the evolution of language. The root methodology of analysing a tongue was made possible so humanity can benefit from the study and it is left open for further development and creativity. When dumbos like you say the use of a methodology should be exclusive to only the practitioners in the field it says a lot about your understanding of why you even went to school to begin with.

I can't repay your insults with the same type of language because it's precisely the reason why I don't participate in this forum anymore. There are enough things to do in the day besides trading insults with people I'll never meet. Suffice to say, your assumptions are wrong, I'm not a professional linguist and I've never claimed to be. I have a background in anthropology that includes linguistics but that's not my job and it's not my speciality. I just happen to respect people who spend the time to produce peer-reviewed research.

Academic work is for progress and not for ego attachment. My use of the root methodolojgy is beneficial because many people can read this thread and undrstand what they did not understand before .

I'm sorry to say that your use of these methods is not beneficial if you rely on them to justify your religious interpretations. You have a vested interest in finding a link between Arabic and Yoruba because you come from a Muslim background (I believe; feel free to correct me if I'm wrong). My interest in Yoruba culture is specific and focuses on Yoruba people; it doesn't rely on a similarity to other prestigious groups elsewhere or a particular religious faith. Anyone who is not a Muslim should take your conclusions with a grain of salt. That's where my interest in commenting on this topic ends. You may very well turn out to be a linguistic idiot savant who finds connections that all the other Yoruba-speaking linguists, Semitic scholars etc. have missed. If so, I'll wish you well and remember this discussion. Until then, however, your ideas shouldn't be regarded as facts or scholarship but as religious dogma and faith-based arguments.

Your linguistic profession and academic laurel is useless to the people in NL if you are not teachibg us what you know and improving our awareness.

It's far from useless if I spend time correcting wrong information. I registered on Nairaland seven years ago, I think; the experience was mostly a disappointment so I don't come back very often. Anyone who's interested in Yoruba culture or its West African relatives can learn more truth from Google in 10 minutes than from this forum. There's a great introduction to Yoruba art here, for anyone interested:
http://www.kean.edu/~gallery/docs/Yoruba%20Art%20Catalogue.pdf

So I challenge you to serve this community by bringing us your own independent knowledge on the area of language and culture.

Thanks for the challenge. I'll contribute when I have the time and inclination. What I definitely try to do is correct misinformation on here, which is worse than ignorance in my book. The Yoruba have produced world-class cultural achievements; I don't see any reason to think their culture was reliant on contacts with the Middle East anymore than I would think that Ife was inspired by the Mayans. Ile-Ife produced unique art, religion, cuisine etc--its closest neighbors in modern-day West Africa would be the logical place to look for relatives, if that's your interest. If you have a strong preference for searching for connections with Islam, Japan, Greece, Scandinavia or other far-flung locales, you should be honest enough to ask yourself why that is. It reminds me of people from one of our neighboring ethnic groups who have nothing good to say about Yoruba culture, yet spend all their time commenting on Yoruba-related discussions here. These are both signs of an inferiority complex and insufficient interest in understanding our common West African heritage, in my opinion.

Ife, its descendants and their many cousins in West Africa are fascinating enough for me on their own terms. If they turn out to be related to Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley and the Inca temple builders after future rigorous research, I'd be glad to read that. Until that time, I'm happy to focus on the reliable conclusion of scholars who don't have an agenda.

Peer review is subjective........every field of professionaal work suffer from researches which at first receive broad applause and acceptance but turn out afterwars to be stained with bias. The archives of academic work and scholarship is filled with these kind of reports and models. i can bring you traiflow of discussios that strongly challenge and dismiss the Benue-Congo classification that you continously reference as authoritative for your profession.

You sound sobber now after ealizing that you are only of many people in here with accomlished backgrounds. You are not the police of what is correct or wrong in the discussion of Yoruba roots. If you have a counter evidence to what i produce then share and silence me........butto charge me with falsehod is acarrying your ego too far into areas that it has no business being in.

I respect your tenure in NL, we are not here just to discuss and bash one anoteher thee are moments when we also teach and learn from one anoyher and you cannot say that what I have so far put out with this thread is uneducative or is misleading. If I say Yoruba is Afro Asiatic its because I observe it in the language, the rites of worship, the arts, the matches one for one in the root words and meaning. It may not be what Europeans agree to but this is what the people themaelves show in their culture to be. You cannot blame me for disagreing with the Eurocentric clasification and agreing with what the people say they are.........and this is a repeat , you have done this twice before in other ropics of discussion. Its time you quit!

Here is link to the debate flow..........

http://asiapacificuniverse.com/pkm/ling.htm

Lets get back on topic....... the video I attached had a title " Orunmila Isese".

Who is Isese? Could this be Isis?

The worshippers say " Aboru, boye.....aboye, bosise". I see two names - Horus and Isis.

We will talk some more later.

Well, the last post finalizes my contribution on the thread. It is open for discussion, thoughts, critique, questions......

I will be on the sideline watching when I have time to log in.

We should take into consideration that the transliteration of ancient texts from Egypt, Israel, Assyria, Mesopotamia, etc into English scripts has been done by Amorites (oyinbo) who, in their attempts at identity theft, refused to seek inputs from the native peoples of the associated cultures. Hence many, especially those of us who use borrowed HELLenist (Greco-Roman) orthography, may not initially see the connection between Isese and Isis, and the likes. I have noticed that when the HELLenist transliterate nouns from these cultures into theirs, they truncate vowels from nouns that end in such and add consonants to nouns that end in vowels, probably (my opinion )for the purpose of deceitfully making these nouns similar to those of their languages. Added to this is the poor translation by the HELLenists. Other examples abound e.g. Daodu-Daud/Dawood/David (they say it means "beloved), Aare-Aaron (they don't know), Ifa-Ephod, Eshu-Yeshu (an exception; they say it means "Yewe saves" but then replaced it in their cloned texts with "Jesus" for which no demonstration of equivalency has been provided because it just doesn't exist), Edo-Edom, Adimu-Adam, and many more. Thus it is possible that there is nothing like Isis but Isese, which native Egyptians should be able to confirm.

Perhaps it would help for the native speakers to study the similar words by comparing the contexts (areas of anthropology excluding linguistics) in which they are used. In this regard I would have loved to help with Isese-Isis and Aboru-Horus but my Yoruba is yet poor.

From https://www.nairaland.com/1029829/where-jesus-christ-between-age#11954522

mkmyers45: Well, the bible is quite shady on this topic and makes it very difficult for us to understand what really happened but i draw my own analogy from the fact that jesus supposedly lived in egypt and the greater similarities between his life and acts and that of Osiris/Horus

HORUS/OSIRIS of Egypt
The legends of Osiris/Horus go back thousands of years, and many people over the millennia have thought Osiris to be a real person, some claiming he lived up to
22,000 years ago.
The cult of Osiris, Isis and Horus was widespread in the ancient
world, including in Rome. In the Egyptian myth, Horus and his
once-and-future Father, Osiris, are frequently interchangeable, as in “I and my Father are one.” Concerning Osiris, Walker says:
Of all savior-gods worshipped at the beginning of the Christian era, Osiris may have contributed more details to the evolving Christ figure than any other. Already very old in Egypt, Osiris was identified with nearly every other Egyptian god and was on the way to absorbing them all. He had well over 200 divine names. He was called the Lord of Lords, King of Kings, God of Gods.

· Horus was born of the virgin Isis-Meri on December 25th in a cave/manger with his birth being announced by a star in the East and attended by three wise men.
· His earthly father was named “Seb” (“Joseph”).
· He was of royal descent.
· At age 12, he was a child teacher in the Temple, and at 30, he was
baptized, having disappeared for 18 years.
· Horus was baptized in the river Eridanus or Iarutana (Jordan) by “Anup the Baptizer” (“John the Baptist”), who was decapitated.
· He had 12 disciples, two of whom were his “witnesses” and were
named “Anup” and “Aan” (the two “Johns”).
· He performed miracles, exorcised demons and raised El-Azarus (“El-
Osiris”), from the dead.
· Horus walked on water.
· His personal epithet was “Iusa,” the “ever-becoming son” of “Ptah,”
the “Father.” He was thus called “Holy Child.”
· He delivered a “Sermon on the Mount” and his followers recounted
the “Sayings of Iusa.”
· Horus was transfigured on the Mount.
· He was crucified between two thieves, buried for three days in a
tomb, and resurrected.
· He was also the “Way, the Truth, the Light,” “Messiah,” “God’s
Anointed Son,” the “Son of Man,” the “Good Shepherd,” the “Lamb of
God,” the “Word made flesh,” the “Word of Truth,” etc.
· He was “the Fisher” and was associated with the Fish (“Ichthys”),
Lamb and Lion.
· He came to fulfill the Law.
· Horus was called “the KRST,” or “Anointed One.”
· Like Jesus, “Horus was supposed to reign one thousand years.”
Furthermore, inscribed about 3,500 years ago on the walls of the Temple at Luxor were images of the Annunciation, Immaculate Conception, Birth and Adoration of Horus, with Thoth announcing to the Virgin Isis that she will conceive
Horus; with Kneph, the “Holy Ghost,” impregnating the virgin; and with the infant being attended by three kings, or magi, bearing gifts. In addition, in the catacombs at Rome are pictures of the baby Horus being held by the virgin mother Isis—the original “Madonna and Child.” As Massey says:
It was the gnostic art that reproduced the Hathor-Meri and Horus of Egypt as the Virgin and child-Christ of Rome . . . You poor idiotai, said the Gnostics [to the early Christians], you have mistaken the mysteries of old for modern history, and accepted literally all that was only meant mystically.
Moreover, A. Churchward relates another aspect of the Egyptian religion found in Catholicism:
We see in the ancient Catholic churches, over the main altar, an equilateral triangle, and within it an eye. The addition of the eye to the triangle originated in Egypt—“the all seeing eye of Osiris.”

I have tried to study Osiris and i find that pre-jesus pharaohs and gods made refernece to Osiris/Horus way before jesus was born so i wonder if Jesus's true life story is known or was it just copy,edit and paste

How safe is the comparison of the roots of Yoruba and Semitic words since the language of the former is tonal and references of the latter have mostly been compiled by oyinbo people who aren't aware that the original languages spoken in the Levant were/are likewise tonal?

Could the word "owner" be derived from "Ooni"?

Since the Egun who are a coastal people are the descendants of the ancient coastal Aegean people after whom the Aegean sea is named, the descendants of Mizraim (Egypt; Genesis 10:13-14), their vocabulary should be quite useful for this thread.

Proof of the deceitful anthropological studies by the Amorites can be seen in their reference work "Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible" in which the roots of Biblical nouns are discussed and which many have been led to believe as factual. Here, they acknowledge that the name of Olodumare is, according to their transliteration, EHYE AND YEH (written in Yoruba as Iye and Ye), but still write the name fully as Yahweh instead of Yehweh (written in Yoruba as Yewe). Another is the acknowledgement that the Messiah's name is Yeshu(a) but coupled with the insistence without proof that Jesus is Yeshu(a), and that they've not been able to show any equivalency between Messiah and Christ. Also, they intentionally refused to discuss the word "Amen"/"Amin" because there was nothing like that in the original texts as they replaced Ashe with Amen. The discussion of "Amen" would have exposed their fraud/abomination. Support for this is given in Exodus 3:14 where Iye describes Himself as the EHYE ASHER EHYE, written in Yoruba as IYE ASHE IYE.

Amor4ce,

Im always thankful for your presence and contributions on these subjects.

Yoruba is the specimen......a member tribe of the original uni-tongued population of mankind that witnessed the flood . Isis is what the Egyptian Isese is called by Greek. All our learning today is done usingn Greko-Latin letters so there is no escaping contact with mutated words that are by many degrees spun away from the authentic. Eshu, transformed to Jesus, is another one of such many words. Yoruba itself in the flux of many exchanges brought about by wars, trade and so on....has undergone drastic shift from the Noahdic era and must admit that the Yoruba we speak today is many degrees changed from that spoken say in 1600......much more in the age of Noah. Bearing this in mind, I consciously and consistently refer to it as Old Hebrew whenever I do root translation.

I would love sometime soon to discuss the essence of Eshu, not on this thread. There are two parts to his story. 1, the concept of duality; 2, the 1-2-3 theory of divinity. Both are repeatedly emphasized in Ifa. Ifa is gaining popularity with yhe Europeans and there is still many areas in it they are yet to understand but trust me when thry get a good grasp of the essrnces and its significance it will be snatched from us. They will build temples and give it European names......they will create a different liturgy ana canon for it and we will be paying them to re-teach it to us. They will become the babalawos to the world.

....need some sleep!

Thanks to you guys , pls keep it coming.
What about:

Omoluabi (Omo ti oluwa bi), Children created by God,

Omolowabi (Omo ti oluwa bi) Children created by God,

Omo nowa bi (Omo ti Noah bi) The children of Noah

Israel (not actual name/rendition) was already being HELLenized, having being occupied by the Seleucids (Greeks) and later by the Romans. The HELLenists had been comparing IYE and ESHU to their gods and many Israelites had begun to refer to ESHU as Kristos (an appellation applied to Zeus) and as Zeus. Also, many had begun to adopt HELLenist (western) lifestyles (eg names, clubbing, dressing, societies, etc) and travel to HELLenist lands for greener pastures but were forgetting the name ESHU, much like what has been happening for the past 500 years. One of the reasons ESHU (Orunmila) came was to remind His people of His name and the name of Olodumare,not to introduce Christianity as His followers would never have called Him 'Christ' or 'Lord'. He also came to remind them of the teachings of Ifa, to remind them of who they are, and this can be confirmed by comparing His message with Ifa liturgy. Within a generation (40 years) after His ascension and in line with His prophecis, the Romans destroyed the Temple and built theirs of Zeus (Jupiter) on that site and began a racial genocide in the Levant, but their Zeus temple was later destroyed, perhaps during an earthquake. These violent people who took 'heaven' by force and cloned Scriptural/Biblical manuscripts, replacing ESHU with IeZeus/Jesus. Thus, Christianity is based on deceit and violence and has never been of ESHU, and attempts at comparing ESHU to Jesus - Truth to fraud - are impossible.

By IYE's doing, we have been witnessing similar patterns of these events as many of our people have been getting westernized and despise ESHU. Thankfully, many are turning back to Him and His teachings in Ifa and this time the West will get some serious whooping. Please when you do decide to discuss ESHU can you include the other six - seven spirits of Orunmila (Rev 3:1).

Back to topic: Support for the argument about the proto-Semitic origin of the Yoruba language has been given by Prof Rasheed Ijaola of Igbinedion University as recorded in the following interview which was published on page 26 of the Guardian, Saturday May 26, 2012.

[size=14pt]‘Yoruba Was the Language Of Adam And Eve’[/size]



THE Dean, College of Law, Igbinedion University Okada, Edo State, Prof. Rasheed Ijaodola, is a Professor of Law, with Masters degrees in Christian Religious Studies and History. Ijaodola, who aims to bag PhD in both disciplines before attaining the age of 60, recently published two books outside law, his core discipline – Yoruba as Language of Eden’ and ‘Ownership of Jerusalem: Linking the Jebusites of Jerusalem with the Ijebus of Nigeria?’ He spoke with ABIODUN FAGBEMI in Ilorin about his attraction to the two subjects, hinging it on their continued relevance to knowledge.

What informed your recent publications on disciplines outside Law, especially those on ‘Yoruba as Language of Eden’ and ‘Ownership of Jerusalem: Linking the Jebusites of Jerusalem with the Ijebus of Nigeria?’

My publications are based on research. Though I am into Law, I love History, Literature and Bible Knowledge. If you combine law with all these subjects, one would be able to command language, which is the tool of law and advocacy. Also, one would be able to make very apt and interesting allusions.

For instance, the great Lord Denning was asked a question about his mastery of English Language and he replied that he gave it to Shakespeare, adding that he had read Shakespeare plays several times. It is true that Shakespeare’s writings are very rich in history, science, religion, law; take any subject in the world, it is covered by Shakespeare. From his writings, you will see that Shakespeare travelled widely and touched the contemporary issues of his time. No one was before him and none was after him in that line. Yet, it is very surprising that Nigerian education planners are de-emphasising the works of William Shakespeare in our post-primary schools in place of our own writers. But I am of the view that if we do away with his works, we will end up killing Literature in English.

But don’t you think your proposition could negatively affect the growth of local authors?

We have fine writers in Nigeria and Africa. We have fine novels like Things fall Apart, The Concubine, Songs of Lawino, to mention just a few. Our educational system in the past where these traditional books were read in conjunction with Shakespeare’s books was better. We should not abandon his works if we must have a breakthrough.

If you are very good in literature, you will be very good in Law; you will be methodical and be able to observe and pick your words carefully. History also has this advantage in law. Law itself is history. It has its background, it is dynamic and it continues to grow. Our society at its background has its beginning, so its law. To properly appreciate law, emphasis must be placed on its developmental process. So, History cannot be ignored.

If you are versed in History and Literature in English, you will enlighten your Law. They are related and interwoven. A good law teacher should be able to make references to these subjects. A good advocate should be able to make references to these subjects in the process of advocacy in court.

Why again would you recommend Bible Knowledge for those intending to study Law?

The master of them all is Bible Knowledge, not even History or Literature in English. It is the encyclopedia of knowledge in experience and spiritualism. The Bible contains very good, fine alluring prose and poetry.

The Bible is in fact a voice of reasoning, and a forest of History that cannot be depleted. For example, see what the power of the tongue caused the Biblical Jews and the whole world today.

Upon the death of Solomon, the Biblical Jews went to King Rehoboam, the son of Solomon to lessen their burdens. But he replied them that the burden he would impose on them would be heavier than that of his father. Hear him: “My father chastised you with whip, but I will chastise you with scorpions.” This led to prompt division of Israel as a nation. They proclaimed: “What portions have we in David? What inheritances have we in the son of Jesse? To your tents oh! Israel.” The divided Israel became a prey to their enemies and gradually, they were taken into captivity. They became scattered around the world including Africa. During the Second World War, Hittler of Germany killed over six million Jews. The international community waded into it and they were settled in Palestine in 1947. But till date, there is no peace in the land. All these happened because of the error of the tongue of some 3,000 years ago.

So while studying the Bible, I came across the problem of language at the Tower of Babel and the whereabouts of the Jebusites. These people were dislodged from Jerusalem over 300,000 years ago by Biblical David. While reading the story of Adam and Eve in the Bible and the development of the human race, I came across a very interesting subject, which is the language of men at creation, or the language with which men communicated among themselves at the beginning of time. The Bible tells us that during the period, there was only one language on earth before the episode at Babel where God confused the language of men and scattered them all over the Plain of Sinai accompanied with multiplicity of languages. By that time, there were no Arabs, Jews, Europeans, Egyptians and so on. One would then wonder what that single language could be.

Having examined the nature of the Garden of Eden, it is probable through its geographical location and climatic conditions, anthropological facts and findings of the scholars that the garden was somewhere in Africa. In fact, the language, if carefully examined, could be the language of the Yorubas of Africa. I mean, the language of Eden; the first language on earth could be Yoruba. Time will reveal this. That is what my first book is all about.

In your second publication you traced the Nigerian Ijebus to the Biblical Jebusites. How and why?

The second book discusses the problem of Jerusalem that had been in existence long before the father of Arabs and Jews came from Ur of Chaldean, Mesopotamia to settle in Palestine. The settlers at Jerusalem were known as Jebusites. Some believe that Jerusalem was the place that God first created. We are told in the Book of Kings that over 3,000 years ago, King David attacked Jerusalem, captured it and made it the capital of a United Israel. It was such that the Jebusites were destroyed and scattered and were never heard of again. However, we heard of some remnants of the Jebusites working in King Solomon’s labour force. We also heard how King Solomon had bought the land on which he built Solomon’s Temple from one Aroon. At this point, the Bible never referred to the land again.

Because of the proximity of Egypt to Palestine, it was believed that the scattered Jebusites could have escaped to Egypt, down Nigeria and some other parts of Africa. If you study Yoruba history very well, you will see the connection between Egypt and Yoruba, especially Ile Ife.

In my research, I discovered that the Jebus of Jerusalem that were dislodged by King David are most likely to be the Ijebus of Nigeria today. The History of the Yorubas by Samuel Johnson that the Ijebus were the social people from the goddess of the sea cannot be true in view of very convincing, compelling and concrete evidence that they must have been part of the people who jumped into African bush when the sword of David entered Jebusite over 3,000 years ago. I presented this as a seminar for my PhD at University of Ilorin. But my supervisor, late Prof Ade Dopamu said the write up was controversial. But in my own view, there is nothing controversial in an attempt to jump a little above the story of Oduduwa to see if his origin was Palestine. After all, a part of the history of the Yorubas linked Yorubas with Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Another story linked Oduduwa with the Biblical Limrod. The great hunter had a link with Noa and Jerusalem as well.

We have also traced the fabled Queen Sheba who visited King Solomon from a place Jesus Christ described as the end of the earth to Ijebu-Ode. Her tomb is a tourist attraction previously under the Federal Government but now transferred to state government. The Yoruba name of Queen Sheba is ‘Balikisu Shugbo’. Balikisu or Biliqis is an Arabian name.

We can’t afford to ignore evidence that tend to really show the truth of our origin or beginning. If a nation’s great grandfather was an ape in the past and there is an evidence now to prove this, let us have the courage to state it. But my own research has shown that there are links between the Yorubas, Edos, Itsekiris and other areas with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jews and Palestine. There is the need to further carry out research on these races to see more of the links yet to be established.

Again, out of these races, the only language that can be broken into different sub-dialects is the Yoruba language. You have the varieties of the language as: Akoko, Ibolo, Igbomina, Ekiti, Ijesha, Ijebu, Okun Ibarapa and so on. There is no language on earth that has the flexibility of Yoruba language. Other languages like Edo and Itsekiri must have developed the ways other languages or dialects in Yoruba developed. In Itsekiri, you hear names that are Yoruba like Obasuwa, Obasuyi and so on.

One would have thought that you would dissipate your energies on legal matters. Why the interest in these other disciplines?

Though I am a Professor of Law, I am interested in these subjects. I want to be referred to tomorrow as a professor of Law, History and Christian Religious knowledge. So, having gotten PhD in law, I want to have it also in Christian religious knowledge and History. I am almost completing that of my Christian Knowledge, and I am putting in for PhD in History. These feats I want to achieve before I am 60 years of age. After 60, I may go abroad and pursue PhD in Literature and Economics as well. I studied all these subjects in my Higher School Certificate level and have Masters degrees in them.

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=87228:yoruba-was-the-language-of-adam-and-eve&catid=105:saturday-magazine&Itemid=566

Dude ^^^

You are not making sense. Sit aside wih your bad belle and allow people interested in discovering words and meanings in their language to enjoy this thread abeg. Go tell Professor Ijaodola that he cannot talk about the Afro Asiatic root of Yoruba because he is a lawyer and not a linguist. Whoever told you only linguist can discuas and analyse words and meanings. Im going to ask you again......point to any word listed on this thred that is wrong. If you cannot bring knowledge to share with the people and you cannot fault the ones i shared then whats your purpose here beside bad belle?

Oshumare said something about the dead burying the dead, and not presenting swine with marbles.

........it is why i hold a lot back, the swine has no appreciation for value and will roll the pearls in the mud.

Obatala = Bethel? Recall the Biblical narrative (Genesis 28:10-22) of Jacob's dream in which he saw a ladder (chain?) extending from heaven to earth, and how upon waking named the place Bethel (verse 19) which the oyinbo translators translated as 'House of God'. That was Jacob's first encounter, the first time Ela appeared to Him and in a dream. Various translations have been provided for 'Obatala', one of which is 'King of Vision' and the encounter was in a vision. This hypothesis of mine would seem to be in conflict with Jacobs action upon awaking of pouring oil (palm?) on the rock he used as a pillow since Obatala's devotees avoid palm oil. It could be argued that 'Bethel' is the name of a place, not a person, but then there's the Osun grove. Perhaps 'Bethel' is such a grove (not sure if the actual word is 'igbodu'). The common consonant root would then be b-t-l.

The Hausawa are seen as Afro-Asiatic and see the Yoruba as one of the seven illegitimate states. Both have similar dressing, similar drums, similar tribal marks, and have that common 'wa' suffix: Gobirawa of Gobir, Borgurawa of Borgu, Zamfarawa of Zamfara, Bagazawa of ancient Baghdad, and Oduduwa the Yoruba progenitor, etc. Oyo history has it that there was a time Nupe sacked Oyo and the latter fled to Borgu whose king and people hosted them because they (Borgurawa) recalled that the Yoruba came out of them.

Various studies have been put forth that demonstrate the fraud of 'modern hebrew' which is proof that the oyinbo people who call themselves jews are indo-european, and that their translation and transliteration of ancient texts with the use of tools like consonant roots coupled with subsequent anthropological studies are just based on deceit and deranged. Many oyinbo-founded universities around the world support this fraud and their anthropological research and syllabuses are deliberately skewed in this regard. Below is a list of some texts detailing such and I suggest that interested people get their copies before they are suppressed further:

Wexler, P. 2002. Two-Tiered Relexification in Yiddish: Jews, Sorbs, Khazars, and the Kiev-Polessian Dialect. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
* Wexler, P. 1996. The Non-Jewish Origins of the Sephardic Jews. Albany: State University of New York.
* Wexler, P. 1993. The Ashkenazic Jews: A Slavo-Turkic People in Search of a Jewish Identity. Columbus: Slavica.
* Wexler, P. 1992. The Balkan Substratum of Yiddish: A Reassessment of the Unique Romance and Greek Components. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz.
* Wexler, P. 1991. The Schizoid Nature of Modern Hebrew: A Slavic Language in Search of a Semitic Past. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz.
* Wexler, P. 1991. Yiddish - The Fifteenth Slavic Language. International Journal of the Sociology of Language 91.
* Wexler, P. (ed.). 1990. Studies in Yiddish Linguistics. T�bingen: Max Niemeyer.
* Wexler, P. 1989. Judeo-Romance Linguistics: A Bibliography (Latin, Italo-, Gallo-, Ibero- and Rhaeto- Romance, (except Castilian). New York: Garland.
* Wexler, P. 1988. Three Heirs to a Judeo-Latin Legacy: Judeo-Ibero-Romance, Yiddish and Rotwelsch. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz.
* Welxer, P. 1987. Explorations in Judeo-Slavic Linguistics. Leiden: Brill

This review was first published in THE GUARDIAN of Saturday June 18, 2005 (pages 22-23). I could not find an online copy so I typed it out unedited and scanned the pictures.

[size=16pt]The Man Who Rewrote Genesis[/size]

Septuagenarian Modupe Oduyoye is an exegete, language expert, polyglot etc., all rolled into one. In this piece, Yemi Ogunsola examines how this international scholar explores many African and Semitic languages to shed new light on the Book of Genesis and many difficult Yoruba words.

BY YEMI OGUNSOLA

Modupe Oduyoye When in 1972, Modupe Oduyoye, language expert and exegete, unleashed his book “The Vocabulary of Yoruba Religious Discourse” on the public, it sent shock waves throughout the linguistic community. Exegetes are experts who undertake critical study of texts, especially the Bible.
[img]http://yemitom.files./2012/04/modupe-oduyoye.png?w=225&h=300[/img]
Oduyoye’s theories were bold, daring. He seemed to harbor no reverence for any hallowed folk etymology, but what his phonological tools told him. He challenged and often discreditedmany conventional etymological conclusions of the time.

However, his arguments were difficult to fault. They were intellectually water-tight and many times air-tight.

For one, they demolished once and for all, all notions that a ‘monolingual” approach is sufficient to find the root meanings (etymology) of difficult words in Yoruba – or any language for that matter. In many of his explanations of Yoruba words, Oduyoye drew from languages from outside Yoruba.

Secondly, Oduyoye demonstrated most vividly, the relationship, already acknowledged by language experts, between Semitic languages like Hebrew, Akkadian, Aramaic, Ugaritic, and many African languages like Hausa, Tiv. Efik, Yoruba, Ibibio, Igbo, Fon, Twi etc.

Oduyoye’s book was actually in response to the publication in 1969 of the report of the first consultation of African theologians held in Ibadan in 1966 with the title: “Biblical Revelations and African Beliefs.”

The report was subsequently recommended for the General Assembly of the All African Congress of Churches in September 1969. Oduyoye read and reviewed the publication.

Contributors to the conference included eminent scholars like the late Professor Bolaji idowu; Rev. E.A.A. Adegbola and Monsignor (Ezeanya. Oduyoye wasn’t very satisfied with many of the conclusions.Now he joined the “fray” armed to the teeth.

Oduyoye had studied Hebrew at Yale in 1964, Comparative Semitic Linguistics at the Linguistics Institute of the Linguistics Society of America on a grant from the American Council of Learned Societies in 1965, Arabic at Yale from 1965 to 1966 and Middle Egyptian in London from 1969 to1970. Added to this was his intimate knowledge of the traditions of his people, the Yoruba, a considerable knowledge of many Nigerian and African languages and a passionate curiosity about words and their origins. So Oduyoye undertook a review of the theological conference with the best tools.

While the scholars who contributed papers at the conference put up commendable efforts, Oduyoye could see that they were sorely limited by their, mostly monolingual tools.Oduyoye’s tool was different. It was comparative theology at its keenest. With profuse references to linguistic authorities in Afro-Asiatic (Hamito-Semitic) languages, Oduyoye sliced through hitherto impregnable words with the cold objectivity of an intellectual guillotine.

Who, for instance, would fault Oduyoye when he pointed out that Igbo “dibia” (medicine man) is cognate (has the same origin) with Arabic “tibia” (Physicnan, doctor)? Or that Yoruba ajo is cognate with Hebrew Haj and Arabic Hajj? And that “Alhaji” is cognate with Yoruba Alejo?

You see, in philology, (the scientific study of the nature and growth of words and languages) consonants like k, l, s, t, etc are the tell-tale that give away the relationships between words. These consonants are to words what bones are to fossils. Though vowels (the flesh) may decay or change as words travel over time and space, the consonants (bones) remain. It is these consonants (consonantal roots) that philologists use to track words to find their meanings or genealogy.

But then, some consonants are “liquid”, that is, change form from language to language.Thus, when the English word “guava” gets to Yoruba-speaking peoples, the consonant “v”, being absent Yoruba pronounciation becomes “b” or “f””. So guava becomes “goba” or “gofa”. Similarly “l” often becomes “r”, “s” becomes”sh” (e.g. among Ibadan indigenes) or “th” or even “z”.Philologists look out for these consonantal changes (liquidity) in the “detective work of tracking words.

Armed with these basic rules of comparative philology, Oduyoye tracked the irun-prefix in Yoruba Irunmale

(divinities) hitherto thought to be “400” to the Arabic” word harem and Hebrew herem both of which convey the idea of “sacred” or “holy”. The r-m-consonantal roots are clear, but the “h” is missing in Yoruba, Oduyoye says, because “Yoruba nouns generally do not begin with an /h/ or any h-type sound.”

From Ijebu “Lisa” (chief of first rank) to Igbo “Olise” (“God” as in Olisemeka) to “Lesa” among the Ambo of Malawi, the Barotse, the Bemba, the Kaonde, Lala, Lamba, Oduyoye, tracks the “l-s” consonantal root (which liquid forms are r-s” “l-z” “r-th” which all convey the idea of “head” “chief” first”) to Hebrew “rosh” (first) to Arabic “ras,” Aramaic “resh” and Akkadian “rishu”. And to Yoruba “Orisha”. In fact Hebrew “Harison-iym” is translated “Ancestors” in Psalm 79.8 of the Jerusalem Bibe Oduyoye says, the “-iym” being a mere plural suffix in Hebrew

Oduyoye also laces Yoruba Religious Discourse, with interesting “linguistic gossips in the foot notes like generous crumbs of stock-fish in an already delicious Osiki soup.

However, Oduyoye’s glaring success did not get into his head. He acknowledged the pioneering efforts of eminent scholars like Archdeacon Olumide Lucas (who was teacher to his father) with whom he actually corresponded while writing the book: ‘The thoughtful restudy of past scholarship is not criticism for the sake of criticism, but an attempt to elucidate the principles involved in the discovery of truth… in doing this, however, it is right that we express our gratitude and respect to those whose work is being used and restudied, and, without whose pioneering zeal and daring,the present evaluation will not have been attempted.” Oduyoye wrote, quoting yet another authority.

So when seven years later, in August 1979, the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Odogbolu, (now in Ogun State) the Rt. Rev. I.B.O. Akintemi, invited Oduyoye to lead a series of Bible studies at the diocese’s clergy schools, it was an opportunity to take apart Genesis 1 – 11 with the scalpel of Hamito-semitic (Afro Asiatic) philology.

Puzzles usually glossed over by other interpreters came under Oduyoye’s scrutiny. “Why” Oduyoye asks, “does the Hebrew language have a world with a plural suffix (-iym) as its word for “God” when Hebrew religion is anti-polytheistic?”

“Who,” Oduyoye asks “are the sons of the Gods of Genesis 6:1?”

Traditional interpretation will say “angels” or “Israelites”, but Oduyoye says “no” to both.

Hear Oduyoye “And thus I dug up the questions those obvious in the English version and those patent only to one who reads from the Hebrews text. The true nature of the literary corpus we were studying thus becomes clear, and the need for interpretation could not be questioned…” The result, expectedly, was extraordinary. And for the , it was fascinating, if a mite disturbing. What would these unusual interpretation do to the faith of Christians? One of them wondered aloud.

Oduyoye’s response was simple: “Christian preaching certainly needs a stronger pillar to lean upon than a basis of obscurantism.”

Oduyoye himself was and remains an eminent member of the Church having served in many capacities, including being the literature secretary of the Christian Council of Nigeria.

Oduyoye had first informed his cleric students that. Hebrew, the original language of the Old Testament texts and other Semitic languages like Aramaic, Akkadian, MEgyptian, Ugarithic etc all belong to the same Afro-Asiatic (Hamito Semitic) language group as many Africa languages like Hausa, Efik, Ibiobio, Yoruba, Igbo Fulfide, Twi, Fon etc. Thus, in seeking explanations to passages of Genesis 1- 11, Oduyoye drew from these languages.

Having equipped himself with considerable acquaintance with many African languages, Oduyoye stood, as it were, at a vantage point where he has an unusually panoramic view of the innards of these languages. The substance of this Bible studies, Oduyoye later compiled in a book with the title: “The Sons of the Gods and the Daughters of Men.”

On the whole, the 132- page book, published in 1984 by Orbis Books, Maryknoll, New York, impresses upon the reader that Genesis 1 – 11 contains a lot of folk or popular etymology as “tall stories for popular consumption” which are told not for their basis in fact but by way of the lay man’s attempt to explain things that are obscure to him.

Oduyoye had dealt at length with the problem of folk etymology in Yoruba Religious Discourse. In it, he cited the drum signal used then to reproduce the intonation pattern of the English statement: “This is the Nigerian Broadcasting Service.” Which some Yoruba folk erroneously interprete as

“Ninu Ikoko dudu la ti n se’be. It is inside a black pot that we cook stew”

He then cites such popular etymology in the Book of Genesis:

“that Eve was so named because she was the mother of all life; that Isaac was so named because he grabbed his twin brother by the heels while they were still in the womb; that Cain was so named because the mother said at birth” I have acquired a man with the help of God”… that Marah was so named because there Israelites found the water bitter”

“Babel” for instance, which according to the Bible, was derived from the fact that it is where God confused the tongue of men..

First, Oduyoye dismissed the claim that the whole world had one language by reminding us that earlier in Gen 10 we had been told that the son of Yaphet, Ham and Shem had been classified according to their different tongues.

Confused in Hebrew is “balal”. But the Genesis writers are saying that “Babel” (b-b-l) is derived from Balal (b-l-l).

Oduyoye says “no”. “The (writer of Genesis) is basing etymology on a single leg of sound similarity without any consideration for the other leg of meaning similarity. Hebrew “balal” means “mingle” mix, confuse, confound cognate therefore with Chichewa ideophone “balala-balala” scatter, disperse.

“Here, etymology has two legs to stand upon. Phonology and semantics. But what does Babel” mean? “Babel is Hebrew. It is the name of the Babylonian capital whose only gate was memorably designed with religious motiffs. It came to be known by the Babylonians as baab ilu the gate of God.’ Babel could therefore not be so called because Yahweh balal the speech of all the earth.” Oduyoye then goes blunt: “The etymology of Genesis 1-11 are based on fancy, not fact. They serve the purpose of mythology, not that of linguistics or philology. As far as the Genesis writers were concerned, a word in a strange language must connote something similar in a similar- sounding word in Hebrew. The semantic tour de force produces a good story, and in mythology, the story is the end.”

Oduyoye also drew attention to how Genesis writers borrowed generously form polytheistic mythology, but then superimposed their own brand of “monotheistic theology” on it. Genesis 2:4 for instance talks of the towledot (genealogy) of the heavens and the earth.

A genealogy gives the list of children just like in the genealogy Shem. But the Genesis writers, Oduyoye says, don’t want to hear talk of “sons and daughters” born of heaven and earth, which inevitably implies procreation . Instead they introduced YHWH (Yahweh/Jehovah) as a solo creator. “To introduce YHWH ‘eloh-iym into an ancient mythology in which the male heaven and the female earth were procreative agents—- persons or spirit or gods—- is to turn mythology into (Hebrew) theology,”Oduyoye comments.

Other glimpses of mythology shows in statements like that in Gen 6: that ‘the sons of the gods (heaven) married the daughters of men (earth) and gave birth to gibbor-iym (powerful ones).

In essence, what Genesis writers did is to rewrite mythology to suit their own religious (theological) purpose—- which is to push Yahweh as the sole creator who moulds (forms).
[img]http://yemitom.files./2012/04/modupe-oduyoye1.png?w=300&h=258[/img]
Another major record in the Bible which gives away this doctoring of ancient mythology is the very first sentence in the Bible. In the original Hebrew Bible, it reads:

“In the beginning eloh-iym (the gods) created the heavens and the earth. “Why,” Oduyoye asks does the Hebrew language have a word with a plural suffix (-iym) as its word for ‘God’ When Hebrew religion is anti-polytheistic?”

In repainting the existing picture of the polytheistic mythology of the time the Genesis writers left many patches of the old paint. And in several cases, the old paint shows from underneath the new.

Later translators of the Hebrew into Greek had to grapple with this tell-tale ambiguities. And in their efforts, they messed up many translations.

For instance, though Hebrews/Judaists insist that Yahweh is the only God, they left words like ­Ben-ey ha-eloh-iym (sons of the gods) in places like Genesis 6. Where do these fit in Hebrew theology? Who are the gods and who are their sons?

Oduyoye however tells us that such “sons of the gods” are not unknown in African tradition. He quotes Joshua N. Kudajie. Aspects of Religion and Morality in Ghanaian Traditional Society with particular reference to the Ga Adangme.”:

“The sons and daughters of Naa Nyamo (Ga “Father God”) are known to us as jemawoji ‘the gods of the world’. They are powerful and intelligent beings who walk about the world, but they have their own abodes in the seas, Lagoons, mountains and other natural objects. Having been delegated by Naa nyamo to be his vicegerents, they are in active contact with the world of nature in man.”

Oduyoye now compares this extract with Job 1:6:

“Now there was a day when ben-ey ha elo-iym (sons of the lords) came to present themselves before YHWH and Satan also came among them…..”

Oduyoye then draws the inference that ben-ey ha eloh-iym are” divine beings like Satan (Ngas go sot ‘the people of knowledge and power’) “We can not escape the answer that ben-ey ha eloh-iym in Gen 6 refers so to the same divine beings whom the Ga of Ghana know as jemawoji, whom the Akan of Ghana know as abosom….”

Then he adds: “The two examples of divine beings named in genesis and Job (Nimrod and Satan) are reflected in West Africa.

as Yoruba Lamurudu, a legendary hero and
as Ngas go sot “persons of knowledge and power.” In Yoruba these would be the Orisa.

So, how do translators of Hebrew Genesis to Greek cope with these mythological beings?

Badly: They gave different translations to the same words.

Hear oduyoye “The Septuagint (bible) renders ben-ey ha eloh-iym into Greek as hoi angeloitou theou “messengers of God” in Job 1:6 but as hoi huioi tou theou “the sons of God” in Gen. 6:2….”

A freak word which never existed in English was also introduced: “angel”.

“Those who know the ordinary meaning of Greek angeloi know that it means only “messe

ngers” just as Hebrew male’ak-iym means ‘messengers” ordinarily.

“But when mythical thinking enters into it, Greek angeloi and Hebrew male’alk-iym are rendered into English as angels… the Jews who translated the Hebrew Bible (old Testament) into Greek in Alexandria avoided the mythology of ben-ey ha eloh-iym in Gen.6:1 and Job 1:6 but gave us another myth —- that of angels…”

Perhaps some of Oduyoye’s most sensitive remarks are on what he calls “anti-Hamitism” — hatred for the descendants of Ham and Canaanites in the Genesis accounts. Why rain curses on Canaan when it was Ham who by accident saw his drunken father’s (Noah) unclothedness? Oduyoye asks.

Many Bible readers will gloss over this anomaly or rationalize it. But not Oduyoye. It is a ploy to justify the annihilation of theCanaanites, he says:

“The truth is that the story is one of many told by the Hebrews to ridicule nations against whom they harbor a grudge.”

Four of such nations, he says are

*Egypt because of what one of its Pharaohs did to the ancestors of the Jews:

*Canaan who the Jews considered “Idolaters” and therefore could be annihilated in the name of Yahweh

*Moab whom the Hebrews say were born from an incestuous relationship between Lot and his two daughters;

*Babel whom the Jews considered too ambitious and therefore sees the ruins of its imposing ziggurats as punishment from Heaven.

Earlier, Odoyoye had also dealt with another personalty whom he said the Hebrew writers tried to run down because of his greatness: Nimrod, a blackman (Kushite) whom, quoting Genesis, oduyoye described as one of the gibbor-iym (Yoruba al-agbara) cited in Genesis as the ‘first on Earth to be a mighty man.”

Nimrod, according to Oduyoye is actually Yoruba Lamurudu (N-m-d / l-m-d) and he was the first empire builder whose kingdom spread from Babylon ot Nineveh.

“Given this anterior greatness of the Kushite Nimrod, the first gibbor, the writers of Genesis did with Nimrod what they did with Nebuchadnezzar: For no reason other than his greatness, they stated that Nimrod’s greatness was offensive to God (Yahweh).”

Then he adds; “The fact is that the jews had never been great (except during the empire of David and Solomon). On the contrary, they had suffered from great nations many of these included in the kingdom/empire of Nimrod. Babylonians… Assyrians”

Oduyoye return again and again to this issue of racism shown by the Jews in their records. On page 100, he declares: “It is the business of blacks to expose the inherent anti-Hamitism, which resulted in the paradigmatic extermination of the Canaanites by those who,when the tide is turned, have been complaining of anti-Semitism.”

Then Oduyoye zeroes in on the Nigerian situation: “We are asked not to believe that the Abore have any relationship with the ‘iber-iym, and yet what the Iber-iym did to the Canaanites in the name of Yahweh the Abore have done to the sons of Kush from Sokoto to Ilorin in the name of Allah.”

Citing the –b-r consonantal root among other evidence, Oduyoye had told us in the opening of Chapter 7 (page 63) that the Hebrew and Fulani (Bororo) have a common origin: “Eber is the name of the ancestors of the ben-ey Eber “sons of Eber.” These were, in the Bible, the ‘iber-iym ‘the Hebrews.

“Eber, the name of their ancestor is comparable to the name by which the wandering Fulani of West Africa are known: Abore in Nigeria (Borno) and in Chad, Bororo in Nigeria (Adamawa… Their language is called ful-ful-de in Nigeria.”

The ‘b-r root in the name ‘Eber and in the name ‘iber-iym (Hebrews), Oduyoye says occur in Hebrew ‘abar ‘(cross over, trespass, pass on, past by); twi boro (to trespass); Yoruba afara (bridge); Ibara (ford); Ibara-mu (Across the nose); eburu [Shortcut (across an area)].

Oduyoye then declares: “the ‘iber-iym, (Hebrews)go that name because being nomads, they were always passing by the cities of the Canaanites and never settling among them ‘-b-r means “pass on, pass by in judges 19: 12b, 18 and in Ruth 4:1

The sons of the Gods and The daughters of Men is a many-layered work which value continues to be uncovered with repeated reading.

Many more fascinating information are enclosed in its pages: like the link between Adamu Orisa (of the Awori Eyo masquerade in Lagos State) and Hebrew r’ison Adam, the link between Qayin (Cain) and Ogun the Yoruba Patron Saint of Smiths.

The latter link is particularly interesting in its detective nature. On the latter, Oduyoye notes that Hebrew Qayin is cognate with the Arabic word for smith(s) qayn/quyun.

Reminding us of the q/g/k consonantal liquidity, Oduyoye says the words are cognate with the Yoruba Ogun and Fon Gun both meaning “patron saint of smiths.” Other cognates include Hamn kuno (Investor of iron smelting) and Ebira Egene (the caste of Smiths)

He reminds us too tat the name Akin (valiant man) is most prevalent in Ondo which shares the n-d consonantal root with the land of Nod to which Qayn headed after leaving Eden. And is there a link between the city of Hanok (Enoch) and the Nok culture of Jos Plateau in Nigeria? And can the name Yoruba be a distant relation of Europa?

While the book’s appendix gives further detail on some words already tackled in the body-proper and summarises the main pillars of Oduyoye’s arguments, the index is a mini Afro-Anglo-Semitic dictionary.

ELA is the only Opitan and I know of no other who can "correct misconceptions about Yoruba culture, language, history etc." A true omo Oodua would not claim to be ELA, only ELA can.

PeterKbaba: Thanks to you guys , pls keep it coming.
What about:

Omoluabi (Omo ti oluwa bi), Children created by God,

Omolowabi (Omo ti oluwa bi) Children created by God,

Omo nowa bi (Omo ti Noah bi) The children of Noah

Omoluabi = Omo ti Noah bi.

TerraCotta:

I'm going to keep this simple, since you seem to think I'm being too complex. Re-read what I wrote. I don't think it's possible for me to be any clearer than that.





I would happily tell him that if he was a member of Nairaland purporting to teach Yoruba language and history. He's wrong if he thinks Arabic, Hebrew and Yoruba are related languages and so are you.

You may want to re-read another portion of my post. It's quoted below:



The pages I linked to show you the numbers one through ten in Afro-Asiatic languages and Niger-Congo languages. You'll notice right away that Yoruba has little in common with the other Afro-Asiatic ones and lots with the other Niger-Congo ones, specifically the YEAI group. That's easy evidence that you don't need to be a specialist or scholar to understand or accept.

The companion you're relying on for support is almost certainly not Yoruba, by the way. I'm speechless that you can't tell he's a complete troll. That's not my business though; all I'm here for is to correct misconceptions about Yoruba culture, language, history etc. I've done my best now, and I won't be wasting my time or my "bad belle" with this thread any further .

Yes, please S T E P, bye bye!

Amor4ce,

Interesting coverage on Oduyoye. After reading the article and his refrences to Genesis I went into sacred texts and re-read the Yoruba section where the palace of Ooni gave an official narrative on the story of creation in Ile-Ife , I then picked up a Bible and read the story of creation in Genesis........I came upon a new discovery that may change my earlier statement about Levi and Ife being the same. Here it is and please give your thoughts on it.

In the case of Lamurudu being Nimrod, it is overwhelmingly accepted that they are one and same person except the letter N transitioned into L for Yoruba tongue. In your earlier post on how the various Canaanite vowels and consonants were robbed and fixed variously to gain a Romanized/Jewish form I was convinced that the original name for that individual was the Yoruba version - Lamurudu - and the popularly known version - Nimrod - was a fix.

That being the case, we can safely assume Ile Ife, popularly known and called the cradle of mankind, as an original name. If we fix it by taking out the letters "l" and "f" and putting in their place " n" and "v" respectively as the Greeks would have done it we will produce "Ine Ive.

To the Yorubas, Ile Ife is the beginning of the nation. It was founded when GOD dispatched Oduduwa to descend upon the primordial water with a mission and a message for mankind. Oduduwa is also the son of Lamurudu.

The Children of Israel also lay claim to a location they deem their beginning and call it Nineveh, the birth place of Abram and a province under the dominion and sovereingty of Nimrod.

The Yoruba story is pre-Noahdic, the Jewish story is post-Noahdic. Clearly, the two stories are one and the same separated in timelines.

If Ile Ife is the original, then its current location in Western Nigeria as the origin of the Yorubas should not be in dispute. The placement of Yoruba as a native and origin of Afro Asia is delusional and crazy man's attempt to rewrite the beginnings of a race. Well, not so fast!

The Ooni's palace has giben an official narrative in which there is no doubt that Yoruba race began in Ile Ife (actually mankind began in Ile Ife) but it stopped short of explicitly naming the geo location where that Ile Ife was.......however, the narrative, in the aftermath of hewing land out of water and becoming successful on the land, implicitly gave numerous hints pointing that the events occurred at a place consistent with the land of Afro Asia.

Beside the Ooni's narrative, The Awujale of Ijebuland, an esteemed and elite ruling member of Yorubaland, has said repeatedly that the Ijebus are a people of Afro Asia beginning and that Queen Sheba, King Solomon's wife and with whom she had a child was an Ijebu Queen.

Mr Oduyoye mentioned Adamu Orisa (rison Adamu in Hebrew) ........ Adamu Orisa was originally an Ijebu deity. It was brought to Lagos from Ijebuland by Malaki and his brother Ejilu during the reign of Erelu Kekere as Queen of Lagos. Why is Malaki in posession of a deity and how is it he has proprietary custody to transfer its ownership? That's a lot of power! It's because Malaki itself is a dynasty that can be traced upward to Solomon. The Hebrew version of the name is Malek or Malecch.
[
Alaafin of Oyo is also reported to have said in an interview that Yoruba is not native to this land we are currently on. I have searched but not found this interview, I probably not using the correct keyword in my search.

Then there is the story of Oranyan leading a war campaign from Katunga for a return to Afro Asia to avenge the exiled people.

So in conclusion,

1. Ile Ife is true
2. Ile Ife is the beginning and cradle of Yoruba and indeed of mankind
3. Ile Ife in Nigeria is a settled recreation of Ile Ife in Afro Asia
4. Ile Ife is what is now called Nineveh.

....oooh, meant to add, thank you for the articles and please share more. Im still reading through some of the links on who, why and how the original tongue was robbed of its form.

I still need time to digest your post, but for now:

Recently, I have thought about the possible reason for Ethiopia being listed as among the nations that would attack Eshu's restored people in about 1,000 years time, according to the prophecy in Ezekiel 38. I suspect that the nation may have been involved in the scam of Christianity. The Malaki-Ijebu link which you pointed out may raises some questions about the Ethiopian royal dynasty. Perhaps we should look more at Oke Eri (mount of evidence; why was it named thus? are there lots of archaeological and anthropological evidence right under our noses?).

How about we search for Hausa cognates of Nineveh and Ife?

It seems Edo(m) chiefs used to be known by a title similar to or same as 'Alaafin':
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0006_0_05562.html

History until Its Conquest by David

From the information contained in Genesis 36, it may be learned that the Edomites were governed by chiefs (allufim) and kings in the period which preceded its conquest by David. The question arises as to whether chiefs and kings ruled at one and the same time, the kings being only the most powerful of the chiefs, or whether there were two periods, a first of chiefs and a subsequent one of kings. It appears that two periods should be distinguished, the "period of the chiefs" and the "period of the kings," typologically paralleling the "period of the judges" and the "period of the monarchy" in Israel.


THE PERIOD OF THE CHIEFS (Allufim)

It appears that the chiefs were the heads of the thousands (alafim), which were tribes or clans (in the broad sense of the word), and later, heads of regions. This form of organization was prevalent among nomadic tribes. Actually, only 11 chiefs of Edom are mentioned, but there is reason to accept the opinion that a 12th name, which is found in the Septuagint, was left out. The tradition of the 12-fold organization in Edom is based on, and confirmed by, the organization of other tribes which are closely related to Edom in terms of race and origin. This 12-fold organization is found among the Nahorites (Gen. 22:20–24), the Ishmaelites (25:13–15), and the Israelites, and it is M. Noth's opinion that this system is based on "principles such as were customary in tribal societies which were still lacking settled political institutions" (Noth, Hist Isr, 87; for details).

There's a version of the creation story which has Oduduwa as restoring the earth after the flood (http://ifatraining.weebly.com/library.html).

In Judeo/Christian faith there are two orders of Priesthood - The Aaronite Priesthood and The Melchizedek Priesthood.

Ogboni is part of the Melchizedek Order. All the migrants - Yoruba, Egba, Ekiti, Ijebu, Edo, Itsekiri, .....and so on belong in the Melchizedek order.

It is more pronounced in the Ijebus because of their Canaanite roots, the race endowed with the bag of arts and secrets, "Laba".

The Ijebu Malaki is an attribute to Melchizedek.

Let us go back to the Adamu Orisa issue. Adamu Orisa is the orisha of the Eyos in Lagos and the lead Eyo group is what we call "OkoLaba" - that is....the bearer of the "bag of wisdom". On Eyo day, a member of the group carries the bag around his neck in front of the Eyos. This bag is their authority as the most senior Eyo. ...they must make two important stops, first at Ita Ado and second one at Idito. On this stop they pay homage to Malaki and Ejilu. Adimu itself comes out much later at night and wraps up the ceremony. He is accompanied by Ogbonis to stop first at Idito and last at Ita Ado and pay homage to Malaki and Ejilu.

There is a strong connection between Yorubaland and the rites of worship and faith with the pre-Israelite world order.

See this link also. http://jandyongenesis..com/2009/07/jebusites-unveiled.html?m=1

I have been following this thread since its inception, and I can boldly say it has been educational.
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But still wanna point out to the OP and contributors that ur theories are based on what somepeople have RECORDED based on researches, perceptions and theories....some are based on selfish interests that are unaccountable.....in days to come, someone will google and come about these pieces of information here on NL for the purpose of reference.
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The issue of origin has been a problem....some wanna claim the sole responsibility of origin.
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It was once said that Igbo language was culled from Yoruba Language with the help of Bishop Ajayo Crowther (the man that translated English Bible into Yoruba's)
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Okay, I once read from man, Dr. Brimmy A.U. Olaokere stating the relationship between the Edo people and the Yorubas.
-He made mention of Obadiah (Father of Edo,2nd born), Mosere(Father of Yoruba, 1st born), Iwode(an Engineer that designed the four pyramids in Sudan, last born)) and Isabel(Mother of Hausa, Yrd born) being children of Amusere from Sudan.
-He said the Isrealites were from Ethiopia. ''Due to draught that lasted for 5years, Yoruba people migrated from Sudan to the place now called Maiduguri. They crossed over the lake Chad over tiver Benue to Kwara State, and moved down to Oyo, then to Ogbomoso and to Ile-Ife.
Obadiahs(Edo) followed Mosere and settled in Lagos until the year 300 BC when the Portugese attacked them, but conquered by the Obadiah.''
-He also said that the Edo and Benin are related, and the Calendar (mali) was invented by the Fulanis.
-Being that 822 languages in africa were coined from the yoruba language (he made mention of Swahilli) and NOK (from which Chinese Originated) culture being established in Jos by the Yorubas,.....Yoruba invented Mathematics via ''ayo'' where zero is being defined to be void.
- First University was in Mali and started by the Yorubas where people went to learn for 40 years......
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My point, many theories have been put forward to tackle ''ORIGIN OF LANGUAGE & TRIBE'' ...they MIGHT be true (not disputing them), but I will rather read these and them for educational purpose!
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Im enjoying the thread, pls dont misconstrue me.....I love HISTORY, but I do make sure it affects not my belief!
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Its insightful and surprising to read that what happened to Jesus about 2012 years ago (might) have happened about 22,000 years ago!

Ayo,

This is a very good feedback and I appreciate the positive critique. You are correct some of the materials online about origin of Yoruba are outright insane. I am consciously aware of how what I put here might affect awareness and knowledge therefore I strip off personal theories of my own and follow as much as I can in the lead of the words, root consonants and rites that Im showcasing. My purpose is that of a matchmaker......there are thousands of Yoruba words that are given interpretation and meaning vaguely using concept instead of function. English is a conceptual language, Yoruba is not. Yoruba is strictly a functional tongue but our philosophical changes through contact with English language and the need to be versatile in usage and communication has adversely impacted our intimacy with the nature of our own mother tongue. We are applying techniques used in translating meanings in English language to translate Yoruba.

I will give you an example.......alantakun - spider. Very functional! There is no where else in the Benue- Congo class of languages where this word occur or share meaning. However, if you go to Arabic you find it in there both in structure and meaning and is called alankabut. Some people say it was borrowed from Islam culture inttoduced to Yorubaland by Hausa/Fulani and Mali/Songhay, so should not the word equally exist in these donor cultures? Surprisingly it does not! That speaks volume. As you inspect words in Yoruba you continously see this pattern where words do not share structure and meaning in the Benue-Congo but are bonded securely with words and meanings in AfroAsia, whether it is Old Hebrew or Arabic.

It is true that at one time there was unanimous conclusion that Yoruba is a Benue-Congo tongue, however, new discoveries by world renowned scholars have produced unbiased communication to the effect that Yoruba is an AfroAsia tongue and culture.

Whatever you get here on the topic of this discussion is self-evident and proves itself. I dont need to provide proof for it, I just need to place a match.
Another example is the Irunmole Isese worship. This is a homage to the primordial beginning and an authentic Yoruba rite. Of all the people and culture of the world, beside the Yorubas, where else do people worship in this custom? There is only one and its AfroAsia. What proof do we need to convince us that this act is not native to Benue-Congo ?

In our newly gained academic evolutions and expanded power of reasoning we risk alienating ourselves from the meaning of life and environment if we substitute "functional truths" with "conceptual proofs".

Dudu_Negro:
I will give you an example.......alantakun - spider. Very functional! There is no where else in the Benue- Congo class of languages where this word occur or share meaning. However, if you go to Arabic you find it in there both in structure and meaning and is called alankabut. Some people say it was borrowed from Islam culture inttoduced to Yorubaland by Hausa/Fulani and Mali/Songhay, so should not the word equally exist in these donor cultures? Surprisingly it does not! That speaks volume. As you inspect words in Yoruba you continously see this pattern where words do not share structure and meaning in the Benue-Congo but are bonded securely with words and meanings in AfroAsia, whether it is Old Hebrew or Arabic.

What would you interpret "alansasa" (alansàsà) to mean in Yoruba?

Also, what would you say "ẹlẹnọ" means in Yoruba?

Physics, both are variations of alantakun - spider. There are various specie of spider and I suspect these variations may be attributes to thay effect.

Ejo for instance is a generic name for snake and you have different names to identify particular type.

Okay, they may just be variations according to type/species, but you do see a connection between "alansasa" and "anansi" (a word for spider in some other west African languages), right?

It is widely accepted that "aku" was an earlier identity used to describe Yorubas. It is actually "eku". It is one of the most frequently used word in our vernacular. Lets look at some.....

Time of day greetings
Eku Aji ...... to someone just waking up
Eku Ida'kutu .....greeting at dawn
Eku Aaro.......greeting after sunrise but before midday
Eku Asan......greeting at midday
Eku Irole........greeting between the sun waning and setting.
Eku Ale.........greeting at dusk or sunset
Eku Ash'ale.....greeting at late night

Time of season greetings
Eku Erun.......greeting for dry spell
Eku Ojo..........greeting for rainy aeason
Eku Oye.........greeting for cold season
Eku Oru..........greeting for summer
Eku Odun.....greeting for end of one calendar event and beginning of another

Festive greetings
Eku Odun.....greeting for witnessing a new calendar beginning
Eku Ase........greeting to the cooks preparing meals
Eku Idaraya.......greeting to the entertainers at a social gathering
Eku Ijo........gteeting to dancers
Eku Inawo.......greeting to the event sponsor
Eku Eyan......greeting to the guests
Eku Iyawo......greeting to newly weds
Eku Ewu omo.....greeting to new parents

For care and wellbeing
Eku Itoju.......greeting to the care provider
Eku Alafia......greeting for weelbeing
Eku Amodi.....greeting to the patient (sick)
Eku Ironu........greeting to the patients family in acknowledgement of their sacrifice and fortitude. It can also be applied to the patient.
Eku Ewu.......greeting to one delivered from fatality

Casual encounters greetings
Eku Ikale.......greeting to one lounging
Eku Lakaye......greeting to acknowledge logic
Eku Oye.......greeting to acknowledge insight or wisdom
Eku Agba.......greeting to acknowledge wisdom or age
Eku Ile...........gteeting to those left in stewardship of the home
Eku Abo........welcoming those back who had been away from the household
Eku Ipalemo.....greeting in anticipation of an event
Eku Ijoko.........greeting to those gathered at a meeting or social event
Eku Atijo...........greeting in a reunion after a short break
Eku lailai............greeting in a reunion after a long break
Eku Ai' r'eni, ai' bere eni...........greeting in a reunion with a long lost friend or relative
Eku Aisun...........greeting to one who stayed up allnight for whatever reason. If the staying up was for all night sex then you should give a proper greeting - eku ibasun!


Let me stop here and say this is a typical "day in the life of a Yoruba"........it is wrapped around the word "eku". So what is the function of EKU in our custom?

If you know answer give it to us.

PhysicsQED: Okay, they may just be variations according to type/species, but you do see a connection between "alansasa" and "anansi" (a word for spider in some other west African languages), right?

Of course I do but how does that discredit my point that Yoruba is AfroAsiaif it retained its connectiin for spider in the root with proto semitic?
The anansi name share could have been the gains to Yoruba post settlement. There is no disputig that we gained some words from the aborigenes but equally there cannot be denial of the migrant element.