I am posting this out of curiosity and eagerness to learn something new about the cultures and tradition of my fellow countrymen...

So I had an argument with some of my colleagues in the office today, first off it was about gods and goddesses of the different water bodies around us, one thing led to another and the argument turned to how our Ijaw brothers could take their siestas underneath the water and can even stay two weeks inside the river if they wish to.....

I checked the Guinness book of record earlier and the record for the longest time spent by a human under water without breathing apparatus is about 24minutes, does it mean our ijaw brethren have been breaking this record for leisure and not getting the recognition? Someone with some knowledge about this should please educate me.

There was also a controversy that every Ijaw man can swim from birth, naturally without having to learn it....because it's inborn in them, please can ijaw people swim without learning how to? Because I believe they're really good swimmers because they grow up learning how to....

And lastly, I've heard about a custom whereby newborn babies in ijaw land are thrown into the water for some reason, please who knows the reason for this rites?...and the procedure, some said if the baby floats they'd know it's theirs and if it doesn't, they leave it to die, I don't believe this!

odumchi, bigfrancis21, lalasticlala please help me get some audience,

Perhaps my Ijaw brothers would be able to explain this better to you.

Am following

bigfrancis21:
Perhaps my Ijaw brothers would be able to explain this better to you.

I really hope they would be gracious enough to help me out, and peharps you can get many more people to see it

bigfrancis21:
Perhaps my Ijaw brothers would be able to explain this better to you.

I really hope they are gracious enough to help me out, and peharps you can get many more people to see it

OK

me too wan know why

Myth.

SnowJay92:


I really hope they are gracious enough to help me out, and peharps you can get many more people to see it

Cc Tonyebarcanista

You cannot separate an Ijaw man from Water... Water is life to any Ijawman. The throwing of babies into water irrespective of season is something that has been practiced by our forbearers to enable the newborn to connect with water so as to be able to survive when he found himself in water.

[s]

TonyeBarcanista:
You cannot separate an Ijaw man from Water... Water is life to any Ijawman. The throwing of babies into water irrespective of season is something that has been practiced by our forbearers to enable the newborn to connect with water so as to be able to survive when he found himself in water.

[/s]
Tamunotonye can you swim?

you sure say you be ijaw by blood or just by immigration
kiss the truth

Not sure. Normally they drop the infant (not necessarily throwing) in the river and expect it to float. Normally it would -not always of course. If it does its just
basic training from then onwards. Its becoming very outdated and practiced only by a few communities. I believe it has to do with proving the childs 'Ijawness' - sort of.
I
For your first question its all myth and superstition. They train of course, lol. Its necessary. Although they are used to the water and can go to depths, extremes, where many would get lost, but to say they can stay under water that long sounds superfluous.

I saved an Ijaw man from almost drowning last year and i'm Igbo from Enugu.

I lived in PH in my early years and there's no kind of lie that we did not hear. One Ijaw man claimed he stayed under water for one week and we actually believed him. it even got to a point that we were wondering why Ijaws were not representing Nigeria in swimming at the olympics.

Even dolphins cannot stay underwater for more than 20 minutes without coming up for air.

TonyeBarcanista:
You cannot separate an Ijaw man from Water... Water is life to any Ijawman. The throwing of babies into water irrespective of season is something that has been practiced by our forbearers to enable the newborn to connect with water so as to be able to survive when he found himself in water.

[color=#990000][/color]
that means say all ijaw sabi swim. Abi?

nengibo come and answer your people

Thanks everyone, it's a pity the thread didn't get the audience for a good discourse,

ok ijaws have a water goodess that lives in water called benikurukuru served and worshipped
in nembe they too have a water godess;those who serves it must vanish at a particular time of their life never to be seen again
true the ijaws can stay underwater for days but it involves powers beyond the physical for dereigbia or Beni kurukuru
we can vividly remember during the time of the Niger delta onrest offshore platform was blown by ebikaabowei AKA boyloaf all under the influence of this powers
also another militant leader called .............had the powers to stay under water for days,(he got lost in water as a diver and later was found 3years actually] infact he was married to a sea goddess that was how he got his powers
myths about throwing babies into water has been debunked but it not actually throwing,it the process of teaching a child how to swim, it not a new born baby oooo
op you and your colleagues should face work oo

Read this: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infant_swimming

haggai247:
ok ijaws have a water goodess that lives in water called benikurukuru served and worshipped
in nembe they too have a water godess;those who serves it must vanish at a particular time of their life never to be seen again
true the ijaws can stay underwater for days but it involves powers beyond the physical for dereigbia or Beni kurukuru
we can vividly remember during the time of the Niger delta onrest offshore platform was blown by ebikaabowei AKA boyloaf all under the influence of this powers
also another militant leader called .............had the powers to stay under water for days,(he got lost in water as a diver and later was found 3years actually] infact he was married to a sea goddess that was how he got his powers
myths about throwing babies into water has been debunked but it not actually throwing,it the process of teaching a child how to swim, it not a new born baby oooo
op you and your colleagues should face work oo

tell me more about this paisise.

who's the person married to a sea goddess?