Another nairalander opened a similar thread some time ago. Many people are oblivious to the fact that Igalas can be found outside Kogi State. Several young Igalas from Kogi state think all members of their ethnic group are within the confines of the state. From my own experience, only their elders seem to know there are other Igalas outside, but not much emphasis is laid on this fact. Infact, I have recently met people who have never heard about the Igala people. Well, no thanks to our ethnic diversity in Nigeria.

The Igala people can be found in Kogi, Anambra, Delta(Ebu), Enugu, and Edo states of Nigeria. Of course, the majority of Igalas are found in Kogi state and Idah in Kogi state is the ancestral home of all Igalas. I am an Igala whose hometown is located in Anambra state. This news is often greeted with incredulity. It seems like a travesty, right? "Anambrarians" are all supposed to be igbos, right? No, the truth is that some aren't. The Igala people in Anambra state are found in Anambra West LGA, and are made up of the following villages/towns:
Nzam, Igbedor, Inoma, Odekpe, Owelle, Ukwala, Onugwa, Ode, Ala and Igbokeyi.

I think we Igalas in Anambra are little known largely because of our own attitude. The fault largely lies with us. We attempt to deny who we are or where we're from. We attempt to deny our very identity. Some of us claim to be Igbo while some altogether deny being from Anambra- they claim to come from Kogi state. My parents belong to the latter group.

This latter group usually bear Igala names rather than Igbo ones. Some times, they altogether dump their Igbo names and adopt new Igala ones. Others choose to transliterate their Igbo names to Igala. By doing this, they try to affirm their Igala ethnicity ( which I support and encourage BTW). But then, they go further. They say they are indigenes of Kogi state which is simply not true. What exactly they intend to achieve from this remains unclear to me. Some of these people don't even know the name of the Kogi governor. When they need infrastructure and social amenities, they cry to the Anambra government and yet they say they're from Kogi. Simply doesn't make any sense. The kogi government doesn't know them yet they foist themselves on the state. Do they expect special privileges from the kogi government? The same moribund government that has neglected true indigenes of kogi and has largely remained ineffective?
Makes absolutely no sense.

The former group, as I noted before, claim to be igbo. They deny being Igala. They love their Igbo names and would rather bear them. They would rather speak Igbo than Igala. These are the ones who make weak and frantic arguments to show they're Igbo. They hide their Igala identity or simply don't give it any thought when they say they're Igbo. Granted, I might be overgeneralizing here. Some do this just to get favours from the Igbos whilst privately affirming their Igala ethnicity.

Now, these two groups create a lot of confusion and complexity for us young folks. You see a situation where relatives or siblings are from different states of origin. One is Igbo and the other Igala. You see a person who says he's from kogi but can't precisely tell us where exactly in kogi he's from. I used to be very confused during my childhood. Here, I had my parents who say I'm Igala from kogi. There, I had my relatives who say I'm Igbo from Anambra. This was a rather peculiar dilemma. Which exactly was I? Neither painted the balanced picture. Both were opposite extremes. Thankfully, a well informed cousin provided the answer to this conundrum: we were Igalas but located in Anambra state.QED. As simple as that!

We Igalas in Anambra state must stop living in denial. We are not Igbo. We are not from kogi. Let us create this awareness, let people know who we are and where we're from. We may be a minority but we don't need to prevaricate, lie or be equivocal about it. If your parents made these mistakes, you don't need to perpetuate the same mistake for your kids. Let's correct this error and thus obviate this unnecessary dilemma for our children and generations yet unborn.

Thank you.

PS: Lalasticlala , Seun , Ishilove , Fulaman198 , odumchi , bigfrancis21 or whoever is in charge here, please help me push this to front page. It's really important.

And

Be proud of who you are and defend your culture. Omanbalas are peaceful and tolerant; We see you as our brothers and will never oppress you,however,don't sit down and expect the government to do everything for you. Stand up and demand your share because Ana Omanbala is your home and nobody can take that away. Identity crises is everywhere and not peculiar to Igala. Udo.

OdenigboAroli:
Be proud of who you are and defend your culture. Omanbalas are peaceful and tolerant; We see you as our brothers and will never oppress you,however,don't sit down and expect the government to do everything for you. Stand up and demand your share because Ana Omanbala is your home and nobody can take that away. Identity crises is everywhere and not peculiar to Igala. Udo.

Thank you.

OP, do you know Nzam people firsthand?

Radoillo:
OP, do you know Nzam people firsthand?

Used to know a guy from there.

Boundary adjustment things .....

McSterling:
Used to know a guy from there.

OK. Did he identify himself as Igala?

I'm not trying to start an argument or anything. I happen to also know a few people from Nzam, and I spent a weekend there once a long time ago. From information I gathered it seems they consider Igbo to be their mother tongue and Igala to be a second language. It also seems they consider themselves to be primarily Igbo in origin, though they admit Igala people settled among them and were absorbed (some of their villages do have names that look Igala).

However, here on nairaland and a few other online sites they are often presented as one of the Igala communities in Anambra. It gets confusing. I only want to know what the true picture is.

nice post. I know we have igalla people in Nsukka part of Enugu

McSterling:
Another nairalander opened a similar thread some time ago. Many people are oblivious to the fact that Igalas can be found outside Kogi State. Several young Igalas from Kogi state think all members of their ethnic group are within the confines of the state. From my own experience, only their elders seem to know there are other Igalas outside, but not much emphasis is laid on this fact. Infact, I have recently met people who have never heard about the Igala people. Well, no thanks to our ethnic diversity in Nigeria.

The Igala people can be found in Kogi, Anambra, Delta(Ebu), Enugu, and Edo states of Nigeria. Of course, the majority of Igalas are found in Kogi state and Idah in Kogi state is the ancestral home of all Igalas. I am an Igala whose hometown is located in Anambra state. This news is often greeted with incredulity. It seems like a travesty, right? "Anambrarians" are all supposed to be igbos, right? No, the truth is that some aren't. The Igala people in Anambra state are found in Anambra West LGA, and are made up of the following villages/towns:
Nzam, Igbedor, Inoma, Odekpe, Owelle, Ukwala, Onugwa, Ode, Ala and Igbokeyi.

I think we Igalas in Anambra are little known largely because of our own attitude. The fault largely lies with us. We attempt to deny who we are or where we're from. We attempt to deny our very identity. Some of us claim to be Igbo while some altogether deny being from Anambra- they claim to come from Kogi state. My parents belong to the latter group.

This latter group usually bear Igala names rather than Igbo ones. Some times, they altogether dump their Igbo names and adopt new Igala ones. Others choose to transliterate their Igbo names to Igala. By doing this, they try to affirm their Igala ethnicity ( which I support and encourage BTW). But then, they go further. They say they are indigenes of Kogi state which is simply not true. What exactly they intend to achieve from this remains unclear to me. Some of these people don't even know the name of the Kogi governor. When they need infrastructure and social amenities, they cry to the Anambra government and yet they say they're from Kogi. Simply doesn't make any sense. The kogi government doesn't know them yet they foist themselves on the state. Do they expect special privileges from the kogi government? The same moribund government that has neglected true indigenes of kogi and has largely remained ineffective?
Makes absolutely no sense.

The former group, as I noted before, claim to be igbo. They deny being Igala. They love their Igbo names and would rather bear them. They would rather speak Igbo than Igala. These are the ones who make weak and frantic arguments to show they're Igbo. They hide their Igala identity or simply don't give it any thought when they say they're Igbo. Granted, I might be overgeneralizing here. Some do this just to get favours from the Igbos whilst privately affirming their Igala ethnicity.

Now, these two groups create a lot of confusion and complexity for us young folks. You see a situation where relatives or siblings are from different states of origin. One is Igbo and the other Igala. You see a person who says he's from kogi but can't precisely tell us where exactly in kogi he's from. I used to be very confused during my childhood. Here, I had my parents who say I'm Igala from kogi. There, I had my relatives who say I'm Igbo from Anambra. This was a rather peculiar dilemma. Which exactly was I? Neither painted the balanced picture. Both were opposite extremes. Thankfully, a well informed cousin provided the answer to this conundrum: we were Igalas but located in Anambra state.QED. As simple as that!

We Igalas in Anambra state must stop living in denial. We are not Igbo. We are not from kogi. Let us create this awareness, let people know who we are and where we're from. We may be a minority but we don't need to prevaricate, lie or be equivocal about it. If your parents made these mistakes, you don't need to perpetuate the same mistake for your kids. Let's correct this error and thus obviate this unnecessary dilemma for our children and generations yet unborn.

Thank you.

PS: Lalasticlala , Seun , Ishilove , Fulaman198 , odumchi , bigfrancis21 or whoever is in charge here, please help me push this to front page. It's really important.

Interesting article. What is the ratio of Igalas claiming Igbo to Igalas claiming Igala?

Radoillo:


OK. Did he identify himself as Igala?

I'm not trying to start an argument or anything. I happen to also know a few people from Nzam, and I spent a weekend there once a long time ago. From information I gathered it seems they consider Igbo to be their mother tongue and Igala to be a second language. It also seems they consider themselves to be primarily Igbo in origin, though they admit Igala people settled among them and were absorbed (some of their villages do have names that look Igala).

However, here on nairaland and a few other online sites they are often presented as one of the Igala communities in Anambra. It gets confusing. I only want to know what the true picture is.

Yeah, he identified as Igala. Actually, Nzam seems to have a combination of both Igbo and Igala people or perhaps the Igalas in Nzam have been most influenced by the Igbos. Check out this link:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nzam

bigfrancis21:



Interesting article. What is the ratio of Igalas claiming Igbo to Igalas claiming Igala?

I sincerely have no idea. I think some kind of survey will have to be carried out to determine that. But from my own experience, they are roughly equal. It depends on which group one's exposed to. But I've noticed that most of those who reside in the village do not claim to come from kogi even when they can't speak Igbo.

McSterling:
Yeah, he identified as Igala. Actually, Nzam seems to have a combination of both Igbo and Igala people or perhaps the Igalas in Nzam have been most influenced by the Igbos. Check out this link:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nzam

OK. Fair enough. I agree Nzam people are a mixed group. And if there are a section of them who identify primarily as Igala people, I'm fine with it. I like heterogeneity. And Anambra belongs to all who call it home.

McSterling:
I sincerely have no idea. I think some kind of survey will have to be carried out to determine that. But from my own experience, they are roughly equal. It depends on which group one's exposed to. But I've noticed that most of those who reside in the village do not claim to come from kogi even when they can't speak Igbo.

Ok. However, I thought that the general impression was that the Igala residents in Anambra were bilingual and could speak Igala and Igbo?

bigfrancis21:


Ok. However, I thought that the general impression was that the Igala residents in Anambra were bilingual and could speak Igala and Igbo?

I also had that impression but I have realised that some do not know a word of Igbo. Some only know the Igbo used in prayers in the Catholic church. But several can speak Igbo well. Both my parents speak fluent Igbo.

McSterling:
I also had that impression but I have realised that some do not know a word of Igbo. Some only know the Igbo used in prayers in the Catholic church. But several can speak Igbo well. Both my parents speak fluent Igbo.

By some, are you referring to Nzam people or all of Igala descended peoples in Anambra state?

Whether igala or igbo, inasmuch as you are from anambra state, we see and treat you as one of us. You have no cause for panic. Jisieike!

bigfrancis21:


By some, are you referring to Nzam people or all of Igala descended peoples in Anambra state?

All

levelszik:
Whether igala or igbo, inasmuch as you are from anambra state, we see and treat you as one of us. You have no cause for panic. Jisieike!

That's the spirit.

Nzam is not part of your Igala stuff. Igala people should stop that nonsense already. You didn't meet Nzam empty, there were already aboriginal Igbo speaking groups in Nzam before Igala invasion from Kogi.

Nzam had to assimilate lots of Igalas, but that doesn't make Nzam Igala, as long as Igbos are still there.

Nzam is the territory of the ethnic Igbos
of Omambala but the Igala speaking
minority of Nzam were the descendants of
General Ajida, a notable warrior of Idah
origin who invaded the town. Ajida is the
father of field marshal Ogbe who was
married to Iyida.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nzam


Good a thing Nzam is in Anambra, if it were in Delta, some of you vocal Igala minorities there would be here telling us how Nzam is an Igala town that was influenced by Ndiigbo, when the reverse is actually the case.

Nzam is an Igbo town, influenced by Igala invaders.

There is an obvious misrepresentation of facts in this Igala presence in Anambra.

We know that at a point in history, the Igala kingdom invaded the Northern tips of Igboland and changed the demographics of those parts of Igboland, the Igbos in those parts of Igboland had to start sharing their communities with the New Igala invaders. This process was taking place in Northern Nsukka and Anambra areas before the Caucasians arrived.

Those lands Anambra Igalas are claiming today might not necessarily be Igala lands, and the Igbo aborigines of those towns are still there, only that in some of those towns, they have been totally outnumbered by the Igala invaders, so much that the whole town now appear to be Igala. But a little digging through those apparently Igala towns will show vestiges of the earlier Igbo aborigines.

The seven Igala communities are Ode, Igbedor,
Odekpe, Alla, Onugwa, Odomagwu and Igbokaenyi
and they are called Olumbanasaa and located at
Anambra West Local Government area of Anambra
state.
The Olumbanasa is an island, surrounded by the
River Niger and can only be accessed through
water. The community has a population of less
than 2000 people. People hardly visit them and
their sons and daughters who are resident outside.

http://www.odogwublog.com/2015/05/igbokaenyi-forgotten-tribe-of-anambra.html?m=1

The whole 7 community is called " Olumbanasa", an obvious Igbo words. Perhaps the name the original Igbo aborigines gave themselves before the Igala invasion. Olumbanasa literally means "Olu of seven nations/ towns" in Igbo language.

The Olu were the ancient branch of the Igbo race that lived close to water bodies. The Igbos that lived on the land were Igbos proper, and those that lived close to water bodies were the Olu( in Anambra areas) or Oru( in Imo/ Abia areas)

That's where you get the phrase " Olu na Igbo", which figuratively means "everybody". The Olu and Igbo were part of a whole, none was complete without the other.


Don't even get me started on the name " Igbokaenyi" of one of the towns.
Igbos were no empire builders, the only reason why that town bears an Igbo name is because, the original occupants who were clearly Igbo, gave it that name before the Igala invasion.

The identity crisis going on in those communities can indeed have a historical background.

The descendants of Igala invaders from Kogi will naturally have a greater attachment to Igalla and Kogi and will reaffirm their Igala identity more, those aborigines who were Igbos but are now minorities in their land to the majority Igala invaders, will be more drawn to Igbo, those with mixed ancestry will be divided between Igbo and Igalla.

Even those with Igbo ancestry have so much been mixed with Igalas that most of them now bear Igala surnames and can't even remember their genealogy.

That's my hypothesis.

PS: Lalasticlala , Seun , Ishilove ,


This is a front page worthy thread. You lots should do the needful. Let's get more contributors.

vicenzo:
The seven Igala communities are Ode, Igbedor,
Odekpe, Alla, Onugwa, Odomagwu and Igbokaenyi
and they are called Olumbanasaa and located at
Anambra West Local Government area of Anambra
state.
The Olumbanasa is an island, surrounded by the
River Niger and can only be accessed through
water. The community has a population of less
than 2000 people. People hardly visit them and
their sons and daughters who are resident outside.

http://www.odogwublog.com/2015/05/igbokaenyi-forgotten-tribe-of-anambra.html?m=1

The whole 7 community is called " Olumbanasa", an obvious Igbo words. Perhaps the name the original Igbo aborigines gave themselves before the Igala invasion. Olumbanasa literally means "Olu of seven nations/ towns" in Igbo language.

The Olu were the ancient branch of the Igbo race that lived close to water bodies. The Igbos that lived on the land were Igbos proper, and those that lived close to water bodies were the Olu( in Anambra areas) or Oru( in Imo/ Abia areas)

That's where you get the phrase " Olu na Igbo", which figuratively means "everybody". The Olu and Igbo were part of a whole, none was complete without the other.


Don't even get me started on the name " Igbokaenyi" of one of the towns.
Igbos were no empire builders, the only reason why that town bears an Igbo name is because, the original occupants who were clearly Igbo, gave it that name before the Igala invasion.

Your understanding of the terms 'Olu' and 'Igbo', especially in a precolonial context, shows a very common mistake that Igbo people make today.

First, 'Olu' or 'Oru' has never been a term specific to riverain Igbo-speaking people. It was applied to fishing and canoe-paddling Igala, Igbo and Ijaw groups who live on the Niger or its tributaries. In fact, the first time the word appeared in literature, it referred to western Ijaw groups. Some northerly Igbo groups also understand 'Olu' to mean their fishing riverain Igala neighbours.

So to suggest that the 'Olu' in 'Olumbanasaa' means that the people were Igbo before they became Igala is a mistake. 'Olumbanasaa' is a collective name that their Igbo neighbours gave these Igala villages. No one has ever doubted that these seven villages are Igala. If you want to raise objections about Nzam (which is not one of the Olumbanasaa villages), then I hear you, brother.

Concerning Igbokenyi, do you realise that 'Igbo' has a meaning or meanings in the Yoruboid language family to which the Igala belongs? A meaning that has nothing to do with the present-day Igbo ethnic group? Why hastily jump to the conclusion that the 'Igbo' there must refer to an aboriginal ethnic Igbo population that preceded the Igala, when you probably don't know what 'Igbokenyi' means to the Igala-speakers of the place?

Radoillo:


Your understanding of the terms 'Olu' and 'Igbo', especially in a precolonial context, shows a very common mistake that Igbo people make today.

First, 'Olu' or 'Oru' has never been a term specific to riverain Igbo-speaking people. It was applied to fishing and canoe-paddling Igala, Igbo and Ijaw groups who live on the Niger or its tributaries. In fact, the first time the word appeared in literature, it referred to western Ijaw groups. Some northerly Igbo groups also understand 'Olu' to mean their fishing riverain Igala neighbours.

So to suggest that the 'Olu' in 'Olumbanasaa' means that the people were Igbo before they became Igala is a mistake. 'Olumbanasaa' is a collective name that their Igbo neighbours gave these Igala villages. No one has ever doubted that these seven villages are Igala. If you want to raise objections about Nzam (which is not one of the Olumbanasaa villages), then I hear you, brother.

Concerning Igbokenyi, do you realise that 'Igbo' has a meaning or meanings in the Yoruboid language family to which the Igala belongs? A meaning that has nothing to do with the present-day Igbo ethnic group? Why hastily jump to the conclusion that the 'Igbo' there must refer to an aboriginal ethnic Igbo population that preceded the Igala, when you probably don't know what 'Igbokenyi' means to the Igala-speakers of the place?

Where exactly did you get the idea that Olumbanasa was given to those communities by Igbo outsiders and not the Igbo natives? Do you have any link to back this your arrogant claim up?

Are you aware that Igbokenyi has an Igwe as the paramount traditional ruler? His name is Igwe Osuji.

Olu means Igbo riverine communities, yea, over the years Igala migrants travelled down to join them and even Ijaws and other non Igbo groups came upwards and joined at the River Niger banks, but Olu remains Igbo.


Nzam remains Igbo today because at certain point in history after the Igala invasion, there was a re migration of Igbos from Igbo hinterlands back to Nzam, diluting the heavy Igala presence the more. Allowing the native Igbos to have more dominance. If not, we will be here debating whether Nzam is Igbo or not, as you can see, the Igala man here had already listed Nzam as an Igala town, while totally ignoring General Ajida invasion of Nzam.

Because of the Isolated nature of the Olumbanasaa, such 're migration of the Igbo never took place there, and the Igalas took more foothold.

Its funny that you want links when you did not provide any to back up your claims that the Olumbanasaa towns were originally Igbo before the Igala gained a foothold there.

Concerning the term 'Olu', I think I've said all that needs to be said on that. It bears no repeating.

Radoillo:
Its funny that you want links when you did not provide any to back up your claims that the Olumbanasaa towns were originally Igbo before the Igala gained a foothold there.

Concerning the term 'Olu', I think I've said all that needs to be said on that. It bears no repeating.

did u really research well before arguing with that guy?. The way he narrated everything is enough to show u that he knows much about those people and probably from there. Did u bother arguing with the op on his claim of igala communities even when he included nzam an Igbo town in it. u don't want people to see u as being ethnocentric. But u can argue with ur fellow igboman. sometimes u have to stand up and defend what belongs to you not minding what people might say. daalu

Radoillo:
Its funny that you want links when you did not provide any to back up your claims that the Olumbanasaa towns were originally Igbo before the Igala gained a foothold there.

Concerning the term 'Olu', I think I've said all that needs to be said on that. It bears no repeating.

What other link do you want for Olumbanasaa. The name is in itself self explanatory, the onus is on you to prove that the name was not the original name of the place, but was given to it by Igbo outsiders.

Well, concerning Olu, your points made no sense!
Your argument is : Because at some point in history, the Ijaws that were further south sailed up to join the already established Olus, and the Igala sailed down to join them, there fore, Olu is no longer Igbo, but an amalgam of Igbos and non Igbos.

My argument remains that Olu was originally Igbo speaking, and despite heavy migration of non Igbo speaking groups to Olu towns, the original Igbo aboriginal vestiges still remains.

Antivirus92:
did u really research well before arguing with that guy?. The way he narrated everything is enough to show u that he know much about those people and probably from there. Did u bother arguing with the op on his claims of igala communities even when he included nzam an Igbo town in it. u don't want people to see u as being ethnocentric. But u can argue with ur fellow igboman. sometimes u have to stand up and defend ur belongings not minding what people may say. daalu

Thanks. I am not Igala. My other handle is pazienza. Spam bot got me, so I resurrected this old handle of mine.