There are lots of misconceptions about this topic on the culture section right now. Nairalanders please come and share your knowledge.

This topic is both ill-conceived and poorly executed.

1. Ill-Conceived. No one has been arguing about owigiri. In short, the original discussion, which I can only presume prompted this topic of yours, was never about owigiri, but was instead about the Highlife musical genre expressions in Igboland. The issue of owigiri was introduced by Killayut 7 months after the original discussion began (and ended, if I might add).

2. Poorly Executed. I do not know how you managed to arrive at this dynamic of Igbo and Ijaw and origins of owigiri. In the original discussion that was revived by Killayut, Ghana was stated as the origin of the Highlife (not owigiri) musical genre that is played by Igbo musicians.

I believe you might want to reconsider your entire topic, because apparently, it too is based on a misconception.

from google, it seems to be ijaw.

also, on this thread, it was listed as ijaw:

https://www.nairaland.com/629287/which-tribe-hottest-dance-step/1

however, i'm speaking as an observer, i dont know anything about the topic.

ChinenyeN: This topic is both ill-conceived and poorly executed.

1. Ill-Conceived. No one has been arguing about owigiri. In short, the original discussion, which I can only presume prompted this topic of yours, was never about owigiri, but was instead about the Highlife musical genre expressions in Igboland. The issue of owigiri was introduced by Killayut 7 months after the original discussion began (and ended, if I might add).

2. Poorly Executed. I do not know how you managed to arrive at this dynamic of Igbo and Ijaw and origins of owigiri. In the original discussion that was revived by Killayut, Ghana was stated as the origin of the Highlife (not owigiri) musical genre that is played by Igbo musicians.

I believe you might want to reconsider your entire topic, because apparently, it too is based on a misconception.

Owigiri is the traditional funfair (dance , entertainment , merriment, Play , display , celebration of the Ijaw people ) It is a life style full of fun, enjoyment , eating out , drinking and general happiness. This kind of life style is what the English colonial master dubbed high life which was mistaken by other Africans to have caused by Laziness . This lifestyle is what made Port Harcourt the city of the Ijaw people to be the liveliest, sweetest and most attractive city in West AFRICA and perhaps in the whole of AFRICA. Port Harcourt became the center of entertainment attracting both Cameroonians , Ghanaians and even Sierra Leonians. The influence of the Ijaw culture and music in Ijaw and pidgin influenced others and the music pattern became known as HIGH LIFE since it goes with the life style of the natives.. The traditional music played in Ijaw funeral, marriage, beach carnival as in water regatta and other water masquerade IS THEN KNOWN AS HIGH LIFE MUSIC. Ghanaians who lived there took the music style to their country after making a lot of money in the villages and towns of Ijaw land where they played and entertained the locals who were just simple happy people that accepted every body including the numerous Igbos and Mbokos ( Efik, Ibibio, Annang and the South Western Cameroon pidgin speaking people ) Ijaws never commercialized the music since it is already their lifestyle. In Ijaw land formation of society(ies) called club or OGBO is our culture where the women mostly form the music club while the men just form the male club not necessarily for community development but for enjoyment and merriment. The music played in every session of these clubs is the HIGH LIFE MUSIC..This is the trend before the first white man has an idea about coming to AFRICA. The Akan of Ghana do not have such a high life lifestyle. The Igbos do not have such a high life lifestyle. Their culture is NEW YAM FESTIVAL..The Ijaw culture is Carnival. which the Eastern Ijaws call ALALI. The Carnival of the Caribbean black people is due to the Ijaw people among them.. EVERY BODY INCLUDING EARLY IGBO PEOPLE THAT LIVED OR GREW UP IN PORT HARCOURT RESPECT THE IJAWS FOR THEIR LIFE STYLE AND ENJOYED PORT HARCOURT . I do not see and can not see why the Igbos of this era hate the Ijaws so much.. OWIGIRI is what the ENGLISH MAN called high life..

It was out of OWIGIRI the AFRICAN raw gin popularly called ogogoro came about. It is the CULTURAL drink of the Ijaw people brewed by the IJAWS. Used in all their ceremonies.

Honestly, Killayut, you need to learn to read with comprehension and then respond appropriately. I am not claiming anything about owigiri. Honestly, I could care less about owigiri as a subject matter. The only thing I am doing here is trying to help Ijaw Citizen reconsider the basis and aim for this topic. It is apparently an extension of an argument that never happened, and that is what I want Ijaw Citizen to understand.

Now, if you want to make claims on "owigiri" and its relevance to Ijo, fine. If you've noticed, no one has argued owigiri with you in any way. However, highlife is a different matter. You cannot just make claims on highlife. Highlife is a musical genre that has been (and is) actually studied, so there is no reason whatsoever to take any of your conjectures seriously. Even if you decide to continue making claims, all available evidence shows a diffusion from Ghana to other West African countries, and the emergence of the genre itself is also heavily association with Ghana's period of social transformation right before independence. It will take more than simply saying: "Ghanaians who lived there [P.H.] took the music style to their country" to prove yourself right.

ChinenyeN: Honestly, Killayut, you need to learn to read with comprehension and then respond appropriately. I am not claiming anything about owigiri. Honestly, I could care less about owigiri as a subject matter. The only thing I am doing here is trying to help Ijaw Citizen reconsider the basis and aim for this topic. It is apparently an extension of an argument that never happened, and that is what I want Ijaw Citizen to understand.

Now, if you want to make claims on "owigiri" and its relevance to Ijo, fine. If you've noticed, no one has argued owigiri with you in any way. However, highlife is a different matter. You cannot just make claims on highlife. Highlife is a musical genre that has been (and is) actually studied, so there is no reason whatsoever to take any of your conjectures seriously. Even if you decide to continue making claims, all available evidence shows a diffusion from Ghana to other West African countries, and the emergence of the genre itself is also heavily association with Ghana's period of social transformation right before independence. It will take more than simply saying: "Ghanaians who lived there [P.H.] took the music style to their country" to prove yourself right.

This is a new thread that was posted yesterday. And the author wants to know the origin and perhaps everything about it. My response was inline. I was not really responding to your comment cos your comment itself was not relevant to the post.

I did not come here to argue. I have said what it is I needed to say, none of which I believe defies comprehension.

ChinenyeN the Igbo man!
Always running when nobody is pursuing you,
You just cornered yourself on the defensive when nobody is attacking you........I'm short of words.

ijaw citizen: ChinenyeN the Igbo man!
Always running when nobody is pursuing you,
You just cornered yourself on the defensive when nobody is attacking you........I'm short of words.

You gravely misconstrue my approach. Killayut has a tendency to read both out of context and without comprehension. He has consistently shown himself to be more concerned with proving his correctness than with having actual discourse in which thoughts are shared and intelligently discussed. As NL users have witnessed time and time again, engaging Killayut has proven to do nothing more than create an argument where there need not be one. Now, seeing as to how I did not come here for a needless argument, I won't engage Killayut any more than I need to. That's really all there is to it. If you choose, after this explanation, to continue misconstruing my approach, then that is you.

As it stands now, I have said all I need to say on highlife, in response to Killayut's conjecture. If I need to say more, I will.

Ph the city of the ijaws? Haha! Keep dreaming,i bet those bayelsa desperados thought the same,until they were force to come in terms with the fact that they have been mistaking yenegoa for Ph,when they woke up one day,and found out that they were no longer part of rivers state/ph.

Have you ever heard of "owigiri" originating from Igbos? Maybe when Igbo didn't really refer to a particular people, then it was assumed by some Europeans. There are Igbo dances that far outweigh Nigerian dances like the acrobatic "Atilogu" or"Nkpokiti". We can't forget the clever drum play of "Ogene" or "Opi" which all contribute to the uniqueness of Igbo highlife.

Everyone should appreciate their culture but not create confusion where there's none.

pazienza: Ph the city of the ijaws? Haha! Keep dreaming,i bet those bayelsa desperados thought the same,until they were force to come in terms with the fact that they have been mistaking yenegoa for Ph,when they woke up one day,and found out that they were no longer part of rivers state/ph.

IDIOT where were you Igbo people when Okrika and Kalabari fought in Ph.? YOU think Ph was oyigbo or rumubiakani? There were no even Ikweres there but Ijaws. And that was the sweet days of Ph. That is the area they call Ph and it is an okrika ijaw enclave.Idiot.


We are not talking about Ph of today where ABA will also soon be part of Ph. We are talking a.
about Ph of the 40s to 60 s.

pazienza: Ph the city of the ijaws? Haha! Keep dreaming,i bet those bayelsa desperados thought the same,until they were force to come in terms with the fact that they have been mistaking yenegoa for Ph,when they woke up one day,and found out that they were no longer part of rivers state/ph.

Dude,that's the trap,right there. To indulge you in senseless arguement. This is my first time of hearing that Ijaw invented "Highlife"....smh. well,whichever it is,I'm sure he doesn't mean the highlife played by the early Congolese,Ghanians and Igbos like Okonkwo Iyaji Asaa,Obiligbo,,the old Morocco Maduka and Ozoemena Nsugbe. These musicians I mentioned has one thing in common. They are all "Ekpili na Ogene" musicians before the influence of the Congolesse and Ghanians.

Odenigbo Aroli:

Dude,that's the trap,right there. To indulge you in senseless arguement. This is my first time of hearing that Ijaw invented "Highlife"....smh. well,whichever it is,I'm sure he doesn't mean the highlife played by the early Congolese,Ghanians and Igbos like Okonkwo Iyaji Asaa,Obiligbo,,the old Morocco Maduka and Ozoemena Nsugbe. These musicians I mentioned has one thing in common. They are all "Ekpili na Ogene" musicians before the influence of the Congolesse and Ghanians.

The word high life first of all is not the music. The word high life is a culture. Mann.. wHY ARE bLACK PEOPLE SO DUMB ? I ve been explaining this. High life is the way of life of the Niger delta people. To an average Igbo man, what ever he does not know, does not exist . Before Igbo people started coming to Port Harcourt, Ijaw life style has been called high life by the Europeans. The music played by these people is what they called high life music. And it is not those Igbo noise you mentioned.. You mentioned names like a kENYAN WOULD MENTION HIP HOP ARTISTS from Kenya and claim Kenyans to be originators OF HIGH LIFE.. Did Ras Kimono the Igbo man not play reggae music ? I am sure you d also claim Igbos to have started reggae music cos ras kimono played it. The general way of life of the Ijaws of the Niger delta as seen in Port Harcourt by the colonial masters is what they call high life and I ve explained it.

killayut:

The word high life first of all is not the music. The word high life is a culture. Mann.. wHY ARE bLACK PEOPLE SO DUMB ? I ve been explaining this. High life is the way of life of the Niger delta people. To an average Igbo man, what ever he does not know, does not exist . Before Igbo people started coming to Port Harcourt, Ijaw life style has been called high life by the Europeans. The music played by these people is what they called high life music. And it is not those Igbo noise you mentioned.. You mentioned names like a kENYAN WOULD MENTION HIP HOP ARTISTS from Kenya and claim Kenyans to be originators OF HIGH LIFE.. Did Ras Kimono the Igbo man not play reggae music ? I am sure you d also claim Igbos to have started reggae music cos ras kimono played it. The general way of life of the Ijaws of the Niger delta as seen in Port Harcourt by the colonial masters is what they call high life and I ve explained it.

The way you use Ijaw and Niger Delta seems an attempt of claiming a non-existent synonymous relationship. Ijaw is a component ethnic group of the Niger Delta and is completely different. Ijaw culture is not same as Bonny(A separate Ijaw sub-group) or Ikwerre(A separate Igbo sub-group) or Urhobo or Itsekiri or Andonni or Ogoni etc. Port-Harcourt was never an Ijaw town as recorded in history. It was built from the scratch by colonial masters with land donated by Okrika"Ijaw" and Ikwerre people. It lacks a culture of its own. Its just like someone from Gwari claiming in 2088 about Abuja culture in 2013. Ain't that silly?

In a nutshell Port-Harcourt though partly located on Ijawland is not a traditional Ijaw city. It has always been cosmopolitan.

Mr Abagworo, In you twisted imaginations you can divide and slice Ijaw people all you want but you must know we're immune to cuts. Ijaw people will always remain Ijaw people and Ijawland will always remain Ijawland whether you accept/comprehend it or not. All Ijaws are one and there is nothing you can do about it.

I understand you're confused because you seem to be in the middle of the storm of Igbo division and confusion; Oru Igbo, Ikwerre and mainland Igbo with some Ijaw grand parents and relatives married to Ijaws-all these from your own words.

As for those of you running when no one is pursuing you, here is a question to keep your adrenaline pumping; Why is an Igbo man from Imo state perading himself as "the king of Owigiri"?

LOL. Abagworo again. This man does not learn.

Abagworo:

The way you use Ijaw and Niger Delta seems an attempt of claiming a non-existent synonymous relationship. Ijaw is a component ethnic group of the Niger Delta and is completely different. Ijaw culture is not same as Bonny(A separate Ijaw sub-group) or Ikwerre(A separate Igbo sub-group) or Urhobo or Itsekiri or Andonni or Ogoni etc. Port-Harcourt was never an Ijaw town as recorded in history. It was built from the scratch by colonial masters with land donated by Okrika"Ijaw" and Ikwerre people. It lacks a culture of its own. Its just like someone from Gwari claiming in 2088 about Abuja culture in 2013. Ain't that silly?

In a nutshell Port-Harcourt though partly located on Ijawland is not a traditional Ijaw city. It has always been cosmopolitan.

ijaw citizen: As for those of you running when no one is pursuing you, here is a question to keep your adrenaline pumping; Why is an Igbo man from Imo state perading himself as "the king of Owigiri"?

Lol. You should have asked for clarification if that was your reason for the thread. Owigiri is his name and not the name of the music. A new genre of music arose in Owerri in the 90s which was eventually termed "Bongo" which is also the name of another evolutionary music from Tanzania or East Africa. Owigiri is the king of "Owerri Bongo" music.

People like Sunny Bobo, Engr Bruno(Arabanko), Obareze, Shama melody etc are "Bongo" artists.

ijaw citizen: Mr Abagworo, In you twisted imaginations you can divide and slice Ijaw people all you want but you must know we're immune to cuts. Ijaw people will always remain Ijaw people and Ijawland will always remain Ijawland whether you accept/comprehend it or not. All Ijaws are one and there is nothing you can do about it.

I understand you're confused because you seem to be in the middle of the storm of Igbo division and confusion; Oru Igbo, Ikwerre and mainland Igbo with some Ijaw grand parents and relatives married to Ijaws-all these from your own words.

I can't argue about Ijaw ethnic group as I am not one. I told you earlier that my Grandmother is from Nembe and that's that. I'm a proud Igbo man. You guys fail to understand Rivers State like you should, hence I've always believed you and killayut are Bayelsans. Going by the way killayut was dissected and mesmerized by kiwi99 on the Kalabari thread, you'll understand that he is not Kalabari. In Rivers State little was talked about this Ijaw or Igbo thing until recently when MEND was at its peak. If all Ijaw speaking people have concluded to sweep their differences aside and assume one ethnicity, then its a good thing. I also wish Igbo speaking people to do same and if possible unite with Ijaws, Hausas, Yorubas, Ibibios and all others. Ethnicity shouldn't be an issue in Nigeria.

if Igbo men here stop replying these Ijaws,the argument will stop immediately. Igbos have natural respects and should not be engaged in unecessary squabbles with the minority groups over little issues and thus,allowing them to enjoy their almost irrelevant contributions. The origin of a music/dance matters not much.what matters most is the advancement of such music/dance.The origin of any dance does not give money or honour or respect,what gives money or respect is the advancement of such music/dance or culture. So,we can allow Ijaws enjoy their great invention(Owigiri) as they claimed,continue with drinking originating from it while we make some dough out of it.

Sealeddeal: if Igbo men here stop replying these Ijaws,the argument will stop immediately. Igbos have natural respects and should not be engaged in unecessary squabbles with the minority groups over little issues and thus,allowing them to enjoy their almost irrelevant contributions. The origin of a music/dance matters not much.what matters most is the advancement of such music/dance.The origin of any dance does not give money or honour or respect,what gives money or respect is the advancement of such music/dance or culture. So,we can allow Ijaws enjoy their great invention(Owigiri) as they claimed,continue with drinking originating from it while we make some dough out of it.

CASE CLOSED!

Sealeddeal: if Igbo men here stop replying these Ijaws,the argument will stop immediately. Igbos have natural respects and should not be engaged in unecessary squabbles with the minority groups over little issues and thus,allowing them to enjoy their almost irrelevant contributions. The origin of a music/dance matters not much.what matters most is the advancement of such music/dance.The origin of any dance does not give money or honour or respect,what gives money or respect is the advancement of such music/dance or culture. So,we can allow Ijaws enjoy their great invention(Owigiri) as they claimed,continue with drinking originating from it while we make some dough out of it.

LOL. The origin does not matter indeed ? Why do you Igbos hate the Ijaws so damn much ?

killayut:

LOL. The origin does not matter indeed ? Why do you Igbos hate the Ijaws so damn much ?

Hate?where does that come from,have Igbo man ever taken what belonged to the IJAW or denied him his due in anyway?
answer honestly and search your concience before talking.

Abagworo:

I can't argue about Ijaw ethnic group as I am not one. I told you earlier that my Grandmother is from Nembe and that's that. I'm a proud Igbo man. You guys fail to understand Rivers State like you should, hence I've always believed you and killayut are Bayelsans. Going by the way killayut was dissected and mesmerized by kiwi99 on the Kalabari thread, you'll understand that he is not Kalabari. In Rivers State little was talked about this Ijaw or Igbo thing until recently when MEND was at its peak. If all Ijaw speaking people have concluded to sweep their differences aside and assume one ethnicity, then its a good thing. I also wish Igbo speaking people to do same and if possible unite with Ijaws, Hausas, Yorubas, Ibibios and all others. Ethnicity shouldn't be an issue in Nigeria.

I see you 'd appreciate a black man who claims Black Americans are not Africans going by your believe on Kiwi ..Anyway. There has never been anything like KALABARI tribe, Okrika tribe or Bonny tribe in the history of Nigeria. We have always been Ijaw tribe under the Nigerian tribal arrangement and Ijaw are what we are . Our Language is Ijaw and our Land is Ijaw. Our culture is Ijaw. Kalabari is just a political entity. Case closed.

Kiwi is from Bakana KALABARI.. AND check a web site that shows a BAKANA KALABARI man as chairman of the Ijaw Youths Council KALABARI branch
https://www.facebook.com/IjawYouthCouciliycKalabariClan/posts/468944056495696

Photo of Ijaw Youth Council Bonny ( Ibani ) Branch
http://www.nanngronline.com/picture/news-conference-by-ijaw-youths

ijaw Youth Council Joinkrama ( Ahoada West )(Engenni )
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/soc.culture.nigeria/xIDTiI7ENKU

IJAW YOUTH COUNCIL ABUA CHAPTER
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ijaw-youth-council-abua-chapter/161725563994532?ref=stream
https://www.facebook.com/pages/IJAW-Youth-Council-Abuja-Chapter/179702452106251


What else do you want ?

Videos of said music/cultural dance?