babyosisi:

Do you know that delta folks not Delta Ibo, answer Okoro?
I have seen one and was shocked
I thought it was only Igbos
Isoko or somewhere
I would like a delta person from the non Igbo part to confirm this

Some isokos are actually anioma igbos that got isokonized,take for instance,the isoko people of ozoro. That might explain why they answer okoro too. Some of these people ancestors used to be igbo speaking.

Odunnu:
I am hausa and I am saying there isnt anything derogatory.

You are an Hausa


Olisa bi n'igwe!

Geomac:

I thought you know much about your history? Go and read more sir. berem is 100% right.

You need to read your history deeper than I thought. Who were better place in northern region of Nigeria to beg for anything, Igbo or Hausa? What did you think triggered the series of riots against Ndigbo in northern region? It is called envy.

Okoro means youngman/okorobia/a youth.

NRI PRIEST:

You are an Hausa


Olisa bi n'igwe!

Yea! You didnt know before?

Why would they ask Hausa people for water in Igbo?

ezeagu: Why would they ask Hausa people for water in Igbo?

Very good question...

I heard a different story.

I heard that the first Igbo man to get to the north, centuries ago( and not during civil war but centuries ago) was so tired and thirsty by the time he got there and the first house he knocked on, he asked the guy there to give him water.

This prolly happened between 100-300 yrs ago. And this makes sense bc the Hausas have been calling igbos nyamiri long before independence.

Are people sure nyamiri isn't an Hausa word?

ezeagu: Why would they ask Hausa people for water in Igbo?

You would not expect the Igbos that first reached the North to be fluent in Hausa.

English at least pidgin-English is used with foreigners. And if we're talking about pre-colonial then I don't really understand 1: how or why Igbo people are in Hausa areas when there are thousands of people and hundreds of miles between them; 2: How they were significant enough for many Hausa today to know they were the same as the Igbo of today and 3: How they even knew what Igbo was and wasn't since people didn't identify as Igbo back then.

ezeagu: English at least pidgin-English is used with foreigners. And if we're talking about pre-colonial then I don't really understand 1: how or why Igbo people are in Hausa areas when there are thousands of people and hundreds of miles between them; 2: How they were significant enough for many Hausa today to know they were the same as the Igbo of today and 3: How they even knew what Igbo was and wasn't since people didn't identify as Igbo back then.

Pidgin was not widespread in colonial period. Even now,the three major ethnic groups have difficulty with pidgin.
African Continental Bank,ACB, is called 'banki yanmiri' by the Hausa till this day. Ask a Kano resident about a popular stop by Bata.
To the Hausas,if a southerner,you are either Yoruba or Yanmiri(Igbo). Bendel came later but
only after explaining you were not Igbo. Some still do not know the difference. Of the Bendel people,only the Igbo speaking would say 'nyem miri' and have meaning.

I don't see it. Even if pidgin wasn't widespread, it's almost not heard that an Igbo person would speak Igbo to someone they know does not understand it. Many of those that travelled out of their town already knew how to speak English and that was the main communication between them and others. If it's from hearing Igbo people ask themselves then that's more understandable.

Ezeagu centuries ago I'm not sure out people had GPS or knew the map. This Igbo dude must have been doing business with the benue-plateau people and prolly missed his way and hit the core north. He prolly thought it was the same people he usually meets who prolly understand him. But it was a different tribe.
I'm just trying out possible scenarios

But whatever it is, I don't think pidgin English had developed by 1800. Do you? And so I stick to why I was told, that the first Igbo man to hit the north asked for water and it was centuries ago and not during the civil war.

@ezeagu when the first set of europeans came to igboland were they fluent in igbo language?were they greeting the locals ndewonu on arrival.
probably the only language the first set of igbo traders who went up north could speak then was igbo language even if they could speak english how many hausa could understand a word in english then...ba na gi turenci is still very comon in todays far north.

If an Igbo trader missed his way to the Hausa territory he had at least 300 miles of walking to do, and thousands of people to go through as well, including the Igala who were much more active then than Nigeria's current politics would show (they had wars with Igbo people).

Even if this 300 miles of missing-road happened, why would Hausa people pay attention to 2 or three people they saw probably over a period of every 20 or more years, seeing as the Igbo were irrelevant to them. I mean, it seems like everyone here is seeing pre-European Nigeria as this land filled with Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba and others who were well aware of their powers, which wasn't true.

Then there's the issue of how the Hausa back then even knew what Igbo was since Igbo people didn't call themselves Igbo, the Hausa did not know where these people would be coming from, so the Hausa of today would have had to know what Igbo was to be accurately calling the Igbo of today naymiri.

Nyamiri was given to the Igbo because they are relevant to the Hausa in the sense that Igbo people are a political threat to them, so this is why I believe this name is post-colonial. Unless someone has a source that has Hausa people calling Igbo people nyamiri before 1910 or even 1940 sef.

They may not need to travel 300miles. Could also be that the Hausa man in question came down to middle belt area to live or do business and had never met an Igbo before. And yes they weren't called igbos, so the Hausa didn't call him Igbo either. Simply called him nyamiri people.

Don't use 21st century mindset to view this. Back in the days people migrate 1000s of miles. Also when something strange is seen the news travel fast across the land. Like the first time whites came to igboland. People talked about the one or two people they saw to far away lands that have never even seen whites and never saw any for some years later.

We may never know but I believe it came from the words nyem Mmiri. And it wasn't 20th century

An Igbo wouldn't have been shocking to an Hausa all that time back. This word is definitely from the colonial period.

Odunnu:
Proudly Nigerian! Whichever one I choose, I can defend with supporting documents.

Gbam!

ezeagu: Why would they ask Hausa people for water in Igbo?

I wonder o,and during d civil war for dat matter?which igbo go remain for north,come get mind ask hausa for water?kai manam!na die I dey!