I have always wondered y Yoruba's,particularly their men like d head of fish so much.I mean those days when I was still in school & yet 2 bcum d BIG BOY I am 2day(4 my mind),I had lots of yoruba friends whom I rolled with.I noticed dat whenever we went 2 d caffeteria(buka) 2 feed d african way,they always requested 4 ori eja(fish head).I have always wondered y they love it so much because 2 my rational mind it's all bone and no flesh.I mean u really have 2 dig deep and search all d nooks and crannies b4 u find some flesh 2 put in d mouth.I have also noticed this trend in d larger society in their men.Why is this so?Is the answer rooted in some tradition and cultural belief.Pls,feel free 2 drop 'ur comments,reasons and opinions.I'll particularly like 2 hear 4rm d Yoruba's and pls no wise cracks and offensive comments 'cos if u do i'll give u
some strokes of verbal KOBOKO.

I am shocked you didn’t know this. Well today is your lucky day my friend because I’m about to blow your mind away.

First of all have you ever heard of Yemoja? No? Well she is a Yoruba Goddess of fertility. . . you know what that means right? No? That’s okay, I’ll tell you, fertility means to be fruitful, be productive and this is what Yemoja stands for - She gifts women with the ability to bear children. The name Yemoja means the mother whose children are like fishes. . . not in the literal sense of course but in number. Do you know the average number of babies a fish can have at a time? Okay, I don’t know the answer to that but I know it’s a lot.

Anyway, This is Yemoja. . . not only is she the goddess of fertility, she is also a shape shifter. I don’t have to explain what that means right? I mean it is pretty self-explanatory, a’ight just in case. . . a shape shifter is someone who shifts shapes. Back to Yemoja, when word got out on how powerful she was, people. . . mostly men from all over the place came looking for her, some wanted to marry her so they can be assured of reproducing and thus spreading their seeds, you know how men are with their egos- The more children I have, the more man I am hoo, hoo. hoo ^{Chauvinistic pigs}. Others wanted to kill her. . . again because of their egos- How dare a woman hold the power of keeping the human race alive! Whaa! Whaa! Whaa! ^{Bunch of cry babies.} So with men coming from far and near, ready to marry her. . . or kill her, Yemoja had no choice but to shift shape. She became. . . you guessed it – A Fish!!

Now, Yoruba men everywhere eat fish…I’m sorry, eat fish head because they believe this is where Yemoja’s powers are. If you think about, it makes sense to have her powers in her head not her tail. So there you have it, the reason why Yoruba men eat fish head, it has become an aphrodisiac of sorts, you know some people use strawberries, some use Chocolate. . . Yoruba men use fish head. Think back to all those buka days, do you remember your Yoruba friends became a little. . . errr. . . randy after eating, they carried on like there was hot coal in their pants, right? See, now you know why. Oh I bet you are feeling a little envious but you needn’t be for two reasons 1) Yoruba men aren’t the only ones who can tap into this Viagra from the sea, any man from any tribe can too. 2) This whole Yemoja story is complete BS. The truth is I have no idea why Yoruba men eat fish head. I don't know why anyone for that matter wants to eat fish head. I find it absolutely disgusting. . . with the bones and the mucus like thingy dripping out from the fins. Ewww!

Okay. . . Alrighty then.

Asta, I guess.

d 1st part of 'ur post was a good work of mythical fiction.it was very interesting.
The reason I've attributed 2 d their love 4 fish is some superstitious belief about being successfull in life,u know about always being d head and not d tail.I don't know if this is true or not.
The 2nd part of 'ur post was spot on.I can't imagine how some one will request 4 ori eja(fish head) when it is all bone and no flesh & d annoying thing is that in most eateries it is more expensive than d other parts thereby making it a status symbol of sorts and u see those eating it breaking in2 it with relish,like say na something else & no b fish dem dey chop and believe me d sight can be so irritating and disgusting at times.On 2nd thought,d reason may be nutritional.U know d head has more bones and cartilages than other parts of d fish and hence it contains more proteins & calcium.BS!I think d real reason is rooted
in tradition.YORUBA MEN,where una dey na.Make una holla back,make e no b sey I don enter 1 chance 4 here o.

I stand to be corrected, Yoruba men dont like head of fish, they prefer the middle, is south-south men-Delta, Rivers, Bayelsa dat like fish head, since they catch the fish.
As ealier stated I stand to be corrected.

Lol. . . Mythical fiction, eh? Okay oh, I've said my own.

Honestly, I didn't even know certain parts of fish are attributed to a particular tribe. It's fish for goodness sakes! I swear Naija people, we like to a mountains out of molehill. Just eat the darn thing and enjoy it. . . coz in less than 4hrs you'll be passing it out of your body.

I wonder what Calabar men and Igbo men like
fish anus?
There's nothing I won't read on this forum

I don't think it's only Yoruba men that like those fish heads, I remember growing up in Nigeria my dad was the one that eat the fish head I never understood why, and we Igbo.

Queenisha:

I wonder what Calabar men and Igbo men like
fish anus?
There's nothing I won't read on this forum

Calabar men love Dog meat and ibgo men love 'Isi Ewu' (Goat Head)

Queenisha,like I always say,if u open a thread and u feel it is ridiculous or u don't have anything meaningful 2 contribute,WAKA PASS without leaving a trace.Your comment on there is nothing I won't read on Nairaland was uncalled 4,OKAY?

Sisikill:

I am shocked you didn’t know this. Well today is your lucky day my friend because I’m about to blow your mind away.

First of all have you ever heard of Yemoja? No? Well she is a Yoruba Goddess of fertility. . . you know what that means right? No? That’s okay, I’ll tell you, fertility means to be fruitful, be productive and this is what Yemoja stands for - She gifts women with the ability to bear children. The name Yemoja means the mother whose children are like fishes. . . not in the literal sense of course but in number. Do you know the average number of babies a fish can have at a time? Okay, I don’t know the answer to that but I know it’s a lot.

Anyway, This is Yemoja. . . not only is she the goddess of fertility, she is also a shape shifter. I don’t have to explain what that means right? I mean it is pretty self-explanatory, a’ight just in case. . . a shape shifter is someone who shifts shapes. Back to Yemoja, when word got out on how powerful she was, people. . . mostly men from all over the place came looking for her, some wanted to marry her so they can be assured of reproducing and thus spreading their seeds, you know how men are with their egos- The more children I have, the more man I am hoo, hoo. hoo ^{Chauvinistic pigs}. Others wanted to kill her. . . again because of their egos- How dare a woman hold the power of keeping the human race alive! Whaa! Whaa! Whaa! ^{Bunch of cry babies.} So with men coming from far and near, ready to marry her. . . or kill her, Yemoja had no choice but to shift shape. She became. . . you guessed it – A Fish!!

Now, Yoruba men everywhere eat fish…I’m sorry, eat fish head because they believe this is where Yemoja’s powers are. If you think about, it makes sense to have her powers in her head not her tail. So there you have it, the reason why Yoruba men eat fish head, it has become an aphrodisiac of sorts, you know some people use strawberries, some use Chocolate. . . Yoruba men use fish head. Think back to all those buka days, do you remember your Yoruba friends became a little. . . errr. . . randy after eating, they carried on like there was hot coal in their pants, right? See, now you know why. Oh I bet you are feeling a little envious but you needn’t be for two reasons 1) Yoruba men aren’t the only ones who can tap into this Viagra from the sea, any man from any tribe can too. 2) This whole Yemoja story is complete BS. The truth is I have no idea why Yoruba men eat fish head. I don't know why anyone for that matter wants to eat fish head. I find absolutely disgusting. . . with the bones and the mucus like thingy dripping out from the fins. Ewww!

Okay. . . Alrighty then.

Asta, I guess.

cant make head nor tail of all this,we are not monkeys or cave people,we dont eat fish with mucus and what not pls get your facts right,they are normally cleaned thoroughly and irrespective of what part of fish it is,any slimy stuffs on it will run a high risk of food poisoning
@poster
where are you from,and ill tell you some things you like that s realli disgusting to some others as well,if you r ibo then personally ogbono looks really disgusting to me as well and so do the periwinkles,and if your hausa or drom the north u ll have to kill me to feed me ith the tuwo and the green drawy thingy, the point is that we all have what we like,why is it that nigerians generally like meat portions/cuttings with bone ??
personally im yoruba and i love the fish head especially if the stew is really nice,then the fish head will have sucked in the stew and that gives me the chance to remove the little bones one at a time and really give it a good clean with my tongue,i cant explain it but i guess its the same feeling as liking bony meat,its boring just having the normal fish but with the head theres a bit of effort and adventure digging in,why dont you find out yourself and see if you r not hooked

lucabrasi:

can't make head nor tail of all this,we are not monkeys or cave people,we don't eat fish with mucus and what not please get your facts right,they are normally cleaned thoroughly and irrespective of what part of fish it is,any slimy stuffs on it will run a high risk of food poisoning

Jeebus!

Did you read it through? I mean really read it through? I doubt you did because if you had, you'd see where I said it was all BS. Now maybe it's my use of BS that threw you off, so I'll spell it out. . . it's all BULL SHIT meaning I made it up, meaning it's not true, meaning it is false, meaning you shouldn't take it seriously, meaning it's a JOKE.

Fish Head being disgusting is MY personal opinion. it's is Bony and drips mucus. I don't eat it, I find it unappealing to look at let alone eat and would rather cut out my tongue than have a taste of the nasty, unappetizing crap called Fish Head. Again that is just me.

Thanks

semid4lyfe:

Queenisha,like I always say,if u open a thread and u feel it is ridiculous or u don't have anything meaningful 2 contribute,WAKA PASS without leaving a trace.Your comment on there is nothing I won't read on Nairaland was uncalled 4,OKAY?

Lookie hia
If you can't handle the various contributions then get off the forum. If you're man enough to start a topic,you better have balls of steel to handle the comments.

None of my family members eat fish  head o. Thank you!

Firstt time am hearing of this jagbajantis 

Sisi, lucabrasi tends to take everything seriously. Joking/Sarcasm doesnt seem to be in his dictionary sadly

JAGBAWHAT
Agbari eja dindin goes very well with Garri egba.LOL

Sisikill, that was some funny write up. I laugh no be small. So according to Sisikill, I will have lots of kids. Yayyyyy!

Poster, no be only Yoruba man like fish head, me sef I gbadun am. My AA friends don't get it. And I only eat one type of fish, ok two, dried fish and fried titus aka sardine aka markerel (sp).

Sisikill:

Jeebus!

Did you read it through? I mean really read it through? I doubt you did because if you had, you'd see where I said it was all BS. Now maybe it's my use of BS that threw you off, so I'll spell it out. . . it's all BULL SHIT meaning I made it up, meaning it's not true, meaning it is false, meaning you shouldn't take it seriously, meaning it's a JOKE.

Fish Head being disgusting is MY personal opinion. it's is Bony and drips mucus. I don't eat it, I find it unappealing to look at let alone eat and would rather cut out my tongue than have a taste of the nasty, unappetizing crap called Fish Head. Again that is just me.

Thanks

i read it through and i wasnt taking it personal,after all im not the defender of yorubaland i was just correcting an impression when i read this paragraph that the mucus like thingy dripping is not on fish head but the whole fish and not as if people munch on fish head dripping with the "mucus thingy"
but i guess we all have our diffrent views,but because i personally dislike snails and would never touch it or eat i wont say to people that its disgusting

Sisikill:

The truth is I have no idea why Yoruba men eat fish head. I don't know why anyone for that matter wants to eat fish head. I find absolutely disgusting. . . with the bones and the mucus like thingy dripping out from the fins. Ewww!

KarmaMod:

Sisi, lucabrasi tends to take everything seriously. Joking/Sarcasm doesnt seem to be in his dictionary sadly

its good to stick up for your friend but pls ill appreciate if im not made a subject,i was only tryna correct an impression no more no less,why should i take it serious when my family dont sell fish head or own a restaurant

semid4lyfe:

I have always wondered y Yoruba's,particularly their men like d head of fish so much.I mean those days when I was still in school & yet 2 bcum d BIG BOY I am 2day(4 my mind),I had lots of yoruba friends whom I rolled with.I noticed that whenever we went to the caffeteria(buka) 2 feed d african way,they always requested 4 ori eja(fish head).I have always wondered y they love it so much because [b]2 my rational mind it's all bone and no flesh.I mean u really have 2 dig deep and search all d nooks and crannies before u find some flesh 2 put in d mouth.[/b]I have also noticed this trend in d larger society in their men.Why is this so?Is the answer rooted in some tradition and cultural belief.Please,feel free 2 drop 'your comments,reasons and opinions.I'll particularly like 2 hear from d Yoruba's and please no wise cracks and offensive comments 'because if u do i'll give u
some strokes of verbal KOBOKO.

@ bolded: if you've ever eaten crab , then you should understand how searching nooks and crannies is not a big deal.

I know people eat fish head, but I wasnt aware it's allegedly exclusive to Yoruba men until I heard this one you're saying.


And why does eating fish head have to be rooted in tradition and cultural belief?  What's the link here, because I'm not getting it. Its not like eating it is some kind of ritual.



I don't know why people act like they were suddenly dropped on the continent of Africa and the country of Nigeria from planet Mars.  Have all these tribes never heard of each other before? When they've been occupying the same regions for maybe thousands of years, and yet a Nigerian will still post something like this?

are you Nigerian by the way. If na AA dey ask this kind question one can still say of course they wont find out if they don't ask.

Sisi,

Nice one there!  I dont know the truth to it but your account is very convincing. Im going to come back to that in a follow up below but first, to the post.  

There is a Yoruba saying, "Ol' ogbon di ori eja mu, omugo di iru e mu".
Loose translation - the wise is preoccupied with the head, while the fool is grappling with the tail.

Eating fish head requires caution, patience, attention and reflex. At the tail end, none of these skills is needed.  So by repeatedly eating fish head, it is hoped that the subject will rapidly develop these skills for wisdom and bring it to bear in his personal life.  Situation sometimes turn ugly when eating fish head, a mis-routed piece of bone could remain lodged in the throat for days, causing great discomfort, though not deadly. With patience and reflex (not reflux), the problem can be quickly resolved. The outcome is a lesson learnt.  
______________________________________________________


Sisi,

Have you read Homer?  For the sake of those who have not, let me bring out the value of your creativity and originality with that story above you call BS.  It may not be true, but nonetheless, it is no BS.  If you were a white person, somebody will take that story and send it to their historians for evaluation and if no fact is found, they will not throw it out, instead they will then turn around and classify it for archiving. The purpose being to promote a cultural heritage and the Greatness of a people.  Homer is a legend and one of his works included Iliad.  There is no truthfull account to the adventures of Iliad.  Homer himself is a collection of orally transmitted history _ which is pretty much the basis of African historical passages.  Depending on who the audience is the person Homer has been modified and embellished so many times to portray the Greeks as a Great society.  In Africa we orient our learning towards European philosophies but we haven't developed the vision much less mastered the strategies for formulating and pushing ethnic ideologies.  If we did, our African legends and poets should be included in academic studies in colleges across the globe, just as much as Shakespeare and Charles Dickens are mandatory literatures all over the universe.


Sisi, thanks for your ingenuity.


For those who might be interested in further reading, here is a link.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homer

Negro Ntns, my understanding of that proverb is that a wise person will hold a live fish by the head, while a foolish person will grab it by the tail,  thus letting the fish wriggle out of his grasp.  Its not even as if I'm a stellar Yoruba scholar. Kindly explain what dialect you got your own translation from.


Same logic behind catching a snake- you hold it by the head, not the tail.

I can't believe I'm even posting on this kind of dumb thread.

also explain why it would matter where anyone held a dead cooked fish? Which would also have been sliced into steaks?  I don't know if your translation is tongue in cheek or if you actually believe what you posted.

lol
@tpia
both of your comments have addressed the issues, spot on

lucabrasi:

i read it through and i wasnt taking it personal,after all im not the defender of yorubaland i was just correcting an impression when i read this paragraph that the mucus like thingy dripping is not on fish head but the whole fish and not as if people munch on fish head dripping with the "mucus thingy"
but i guess we all have our diffrent views,but because i personally dislike snails and would never touch it or eat i wont say to people that its disgusting

Lawd-a-mercy!

Okay, let's try this again and hopefully the last time.

Do I think fish head is bony - Yes

Do I think it's got mucus like thingy dripping all over it - Yes

Do I think Fish Head is disgusting, unappealing and crap - Yes, Yes, oh God Yes!

The operative word in all of the above is I. . . ME . . . NI. . . Emi. . . Okay, what the Ibgo word for Me? Any of my Igbo friends want to help me out here? Thanks and much love in advance.

I love Beans, I can eat beans morning, afternoon, night and snack on it in between meals. I've had people tell me to my face that Beans is Nasty, they would rather starve than eat beans, how anyone in their right mind can eat beans is unimaginable to. What do I do? I keep right on eating my beans. . . why? Because I understand everyone has their own taste, their own feeling about things not only do I understand that. . . I respect it even if it doesn't match mine.

We all come from different walks of life and to expect that because we're Nigerians we have the same experiences is. . . is a little short-sighted. The way you've seen fish prepared is not and will not be the same way I do. If I say fish head has mucus dripping over it, it's because that's what I've seen. It's good that you've seen differently, now you can put it out there so people know there is obviously another side to the Fish Head Mucus story. What you do not do, however is call me to task for my own experience with and perception of Fish head because it doesn't gel with yours.

Finally. . . it's Fish Head for goodness sakes, why are we arguing over it?

Fish head?? Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
I can't stand any head. . . . be it fish, goat or lion.

tpia,

again, there goes the myth. Does the teaching of the saying apply in a cooked fish? Does the question of Youruba men eating fish head apply with the Yemoja story?

I will repeat, Homer is made to fit several roles, depending on the event. Legendary!!

You have exemplified by your response, my conclusion that we, Africans, become so focused in critiquing messages and abandon the formulation of ideology completely.

Negro_Ntns:

Sisi,

Nice one there!  I don't know the truth to it but your account is very convincing. I'm going to come back to that in a follow up below but first, to the post.  

There is a Yoruba saying, "Ol' ogbon di ori eja mu, omugo di iru e mu".
Loose translation - the wise is preoccupied with the head, while the fool is grappling with the tail.

Eating fish head requires caution, patience, attention and reflex. At the tail end, none of these skills is needed.  So by repeatedly eating fish head, it is hoped that the subject will rapidly develop these skills for wisdom and bring it to bear in his personal life.  Situation sometimes turn ugly when eating fish head, a mis-routed piece of bone could remain lodged in the throat for days, causing great discomfort, though not deadly. With patience and reflex (not reflux), the problem can be quickly resolved. The outcome is a lesson learnt.  
______________________________________________________


Sisi,

Have you read Homer?  For the sake of those who have not, let me bring out the value of your creativity and originality with that story above you call BS.  It may not be true, but nonetheless, it is no BS.  If you were a white person, somebody will take that story and send it to their historians for evaluation and if no fact is found, they will not throw it out, instead they will then turn around and classify it for archiving. The purpose being to promote a cultural heritage and the Greatness of a people.  Homer is a legend and one of his works included Iliad.  There is no truthfull account to the adventures of Iliad.  Homer himself is a collection of orally transmitted history _ which is pretty much the basis of African historical passages.  Depending on who the audience is the person Homer has been modified and embellished so many times to portray the Greeks as a Great society.  In Africa we orient our learning towards European philosophies but we haven't developed the vision much less mastered the strategies for formulating and pushing ethnic ideologies.  If we did, our African legends and poets should be included in academic studies in colleges across the globe, just as much as Shakespeare and Charles Dickens are mandatory literatures all over the universe.


Sisi, thanks for your ingenuity.


For those who might be interested in further reading, here is a link.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homer

Goodness! Thank you.

Lol. . . I don't know what to say. I mean that was just my childish attempt at pulling OP's legs.

You explanation makes so much sense.

Yeah, it does take a lot of patience to eat fish head (and crab as someone mentioned). Patience sadly is something I lack, that could explain why I am not a big fan of Fish Head. . . apart from the nasty, mucus like thingy dripping out of it, I mean.

Honestly, I have seen people who aren't disgusted by the nasty mucus like thingy eat fish head and I tell ya it's like watching a performance art, the attention they pay to it. . . making sure the get every last bit yet being very cautious, all so very calculated. It takes a certain kinda person to do all that for something people like me see as little payoff for so much work.
.
Thanks again and your post reminds me of another Yoruba proverb. . . I'll try not to butcher it and please don't expect the intonation marks, never got it in school, doubt I'll ever get it.

Alright, here goes -

So ki ni oro ol' ogbon

Loosely translated - the wise do not have to make a big production of their words.  

Sisikill. . . . your posts had me literally LMAO!

tpia:

Negro Ntns, my understanding of that proverb is that a wise person will hold a live fish by the head, while a foolish person will grab it by the tail,  thus letting the fish wriggle out of his grasp.  Its not even as if I'm a stellar Yoruba scholar. Kindly explain what dialect you got your own translation from.


Same logic behind catching a snake- you hold it by the head, not the tail.

I can't believe I'm even posting on this kind of dumb thread.

also explain why it would matter where anyone held a dead cooked fish? Which would also have been sliced into steaks?  I don't know if your translation is tongue in cheek or if you actually believe what you posted.

Tpai. . . my understanding of proverbs/sayings are that aren't meant to be taken so literally.

They are meant to be metaphors, for insance Kokoro ti onje efo, inu efo lo wa, literally translated, "The Insect that eat the vegetable is in the vegetable."  Now what sense does that make in the grand scheme of things? However, looking it from a metaphorical point of view, it makes sense, doesn't it? It is a warning about TRUST.

KarmaMod
Oh, you don't have to tell me twice. . . Okay, okay maybe a month ago, you'd have had to tell me 6 times but not now. See, I've become wise to the ways of nairaland.

@ Negro Ntns:


I don't think African proverbs are meant to be interpreted out of context like that.  A wise man holding/grasping a fish head versus a foolish one holding the tail, has nothing to do with the fish being eaten, in my opinion.

The OP is trying to start the tribal bashing that pops up all the time here, hence the dumb topic.  Now its Yoruba like to eat fish head. Afterwards someone else will ask why another tribe eats some other kind of head, then later on it will be about a different tribe that eats head, intestines, horns and hoofs. And so on ad infinitum.

He's watching his "friends" eating fish head, but can't ask them why they like to eat it. Instead he has to open thread about why Yoruba have a culture and tradition of eating fish heads. Yeah right- tell that to the marines.



@ Siskill:

Your point is noted, but the insect eating the vegetable proverb can be either metaphorical or literal. Because plant eating caterpillars and other insects do live on the plants while consuming them.

tpia,

our fore fathers spoke with divine insight. If you collect all the African proverbs and filter out repetitions across cultures and publish it into a book, you will be looking at a work that will sound like the Bible. God forgive me for that blasphemy, but I said this for a reason. There are people that read the bible literally and then they end up with a lot of logical questions and if your answer is not logical, then they cant understand the message in it. Its the same thing here.

I will end this discussion by referencing Sisi's last proverb in post #24 _

So ki ni oro ol' ogbon - Loosely translated - the wise do not have to make a big production of their words.

as well as her complete response in #26 . Tpia, she said it all for me and i'm done with it.

Negro_Ntns:

tpia,

our fore fathers spoke with divine insight. If you collect all the African proverbs and filter out repetitions across cultures and publish it into a book, you will be looking at a work that will sound like the Bible. God forgive me for that blasphemy, but I said this for a reason. There are people that read the bible literally and then they end up with a lot of logical questions and if your answer is not logical, then they can't understand the message in it. Its the same thing here.

I will end this discussion by referencing Sisi's last proverb in post #24 _

So ki ni oro ol' ogbon - Loosely translated - the wise do not have to make a big production of their words.

as well as her complete response in #26 . Tpia, she said it all for me and i'm done with it.

so am I.

You assume I'm taking the proverb literally. Your own interpretation as you posted it above, is not only literal, but way off the mark.

Holding a live fish by the head or tail, has both a literal and metaphorical meaning, as I pointed out with the insect proverb. The fact that it can be applied literally doesnt mean it cant have a broader application. 


And once again, i do not think the proverb applies to eating fish. You are confirming the OP's ridiculous statement that eating fish head is a culture and tradition among Yorubas.  Since they even have proverbs describing the best way to eat fish head. I disagree. Unless its a culture in some parts of Yoruba that I'm not familiar with.

tpia,

why is the dimension of my explanation not applicable to address the proverb? You are making wrong assumptions.