Tower Of Babel? C’River
Clan Where Men,
Women Speak In
Different Tongues
By: Boniface Nzama on July 6, 2013 -
1:19am
The biblical Tower of Babel seems to have
been replicated in Ubang community of
Cross River State where men and women
speak in different tongues. The
community is located in the northern
senatorial district of the state.
When LEADERSHIP Weekend first heard
of the development, it assumed it was
fiction, but, during a visit to the area, it
turned out to be real.
In fact, the neighbouring communities and
residents of the state consider the people
of Ubang as unique and an endangered
species.
LEADERSHIP Weekend discovered Ubang
is a community where even a man and his
sister of the same parents grow up to
speak different languages, but merely
understand each other. Natives of the
community disclosed that other tribes
regard them as “an uncelebrated tourism
spot on Planet Earth”.
Situated in the south-west region in
Obudu local government area, Ubang has
over the years fought the state
government to recognise it as a tourist
attraction.
The clan head of the community, Chief
Friday Ade, told LEADERSHIP Weekend
that their agitation was based on the
unique nature of his people, “as no other
community in the entire world may have
two languages separating the man from
the woman”.
He said across the world differences exist
between man and woman only by their
sexes, but in Ubang the dissimilarities
have transcended the sexes, as the men
have words for communication different
from their women’s.
Citing some examples, Chief Ade said the
men call yam kitong while in the women’s
dialect it is called irue. According to him,
human leg is okpo or kufue in men’s
language while the women call it oba.
Other examples are: cup - nko for men
and ogbala for women; goat - ibue and
obe; head of any mammal - rissi and rishi;
dog - kabu and okwakwe respectively.
There are, however, some similarities, but
different pronunciations, he said.
Ade said if showcased on the global
tourism map, the language may attract
researchers, tourists and foreign
investors from various parts of the world
to the state, as many people may like to
visit the area to see the wonders and
beauty of nature.
Other traditional rulers, including Chief
Jonah Iyang, also spoke on the issue. The
monarchs said they were convinced that
the language will attract foreign
investment not only to the state, but to
the entire Nigeria as foreigners and
researchers would visit the country and
spend hard currencies on businesses and
leisure.
Asked why the men speak a different
dialect from women, Chief Ade said the
mystery was beyond human explanation,
declaring that it was a natural trait whose
origin their forefathers were unable to
unravel.
“Only nature can explain, because no
human being can give concise reason for
such a mystery. The beauty of it is that the
man and the woman understand each
other without an interpreter,” Chief Ade
said
He said it was only believed that the
language originated from the building of
the Tower of Babel in the Bible -- in the
book of Genesis chapter 11 when mankind
attempted to erect a tower that would
reach heaven for them to see God and his
throne.
After God had caused confusion among
the builders who allegedly represented all
nations of the world by creating many
languages which saw them speaking
differently, he said, the Ubang people
were apparently the most disobedient
group that wanted to continue with the
building project, hence God decided to
unleash further confusion between them
by giving the man and woman two
separate languages.
Convinced that the uncommon language
was an act of God, he said that in one of
the Ubang mountains called Okwe
Asirikwe, there was a gigantic rock
bearing a supernatural footprint, which
no one has been able to unravel the
source.
He said no human being, living or dead,
has the size of the footprint, which makes
residents believe that it was the footprint
of God.
On the language, he said it was amazing
that the male child in the area from birth
would naturally grow up and adopt the
men’s language; the same for the female
child without any form of orientation.
Another royal father, Chief Olivet Ibang,
said the confusion might have occurred
when God created the world and was
sharing languages to each community.
After assigning a particular language to
each geographical entity, he said it was
apparent that two languages were left
over, and He decided to give the Ubang
people two languages
Despite the dissimilarities, he said, both
sexes understand each other with ease
and co-exist peacefully and intermarry
among the three ancestral villages.
The three ancestral villages were said to
include Okiro, Ofambe and Okweriseng.
They practise rotational clan-headship.
The royal fathers of the agrarian
community lamented that Ubang has been
neglected by successive governments in
the state “as we have no access road,
drinkable water, health facilities,
electricity and good schools for our
wards, despite that we are an endangered
species

N kan nbe.

This is seriously amazing!!!

It is the women's fault

Tower of babel doesn't exist. God is flesh he doesn't have a footprint