amazonia:

@ezeagu, you are not correct, the British consolidated the present day Nigeria from the natural inhabitants of this region. They did not create it .Also, life did not begin in Edo with the Benin empire. Anyway, that is neither here nor there. What i do know is that all Igbo, yoruba, and pre-Mohammedanism Arewa names, and deities are coded in Edo.These are not by coincidence.

Any proof of that? Can you post some here?

ezeagu:

I have to laugh at that a little. The Igbo and Yoruba nations are at least 2000 years older than the word 'Edo'. The Edo people themselves trace their lineage back to the Yoruba and Ile-Ife is significantly involved in Edo kingship. The Igbo on the other hand have evidence of their existence dating back 6000 years ago, that's over 5000 years before the Benin Kingdom sprang out of the Yoruba. Some of the Hausa Fulani weren't even here 300 years ago, let alone having an Edo root, they don't even have Edo influence. Nigeria is a state made by the British, nothing more.

I don't know what amazonia was talking about before, that sounded a little loony( lol, what is "Arewa-Edo"?). But the above is simply not correct. Putting aside Benin, which was ruled by Ogisos before the hotly contested Ile-Ife- Benin connection, the Edo people themselves don't originate from Yoruba and couldn't have because of the extreme dissimilarity of the Edo language compared with those languages that actually are Yoruboid and did branch of from Yoruba, such as Itsekiri. Just as the Idoma and Igala don't originate from Igbos, but probably share a common origin with them, Edo's actual lineage isn't from Yoruba, nor their language. To gain some objective perspective on this read "The Benin Kingdom and the Edo-Speaking Peoples of South-Western Nigeria" by Ray Bradbury.

This article should also give you some insight:

http://www.jstor.org/stable/715028?seq=2

There are similarities with the Yoruba in terms of religion and certain words, but when one asserts something like Edos branched off from Yorubas, one is also necessarily stating that Urhobos and Isokos branched off from Yoruba, since Urhobos and Edos almost certainly share the same origin, which just sounds ridiculous. Anyway, I don't think you've met many Edos. The average Yorubas have very distinct features unique to that ethnicity, just like Igbos, and I with a few exceptions, I would have a hard time confusing the Edos and Yorubas as being of exactly the same stock.

The average Yorubas have very distinct features unique to that ethnicity

i think you're referring to a particular area of yoruba that you're familiar with, not the whole of yorubaland. Yoruba features generally can mimic any part of nigeria, depending on where you are.

or maybe you're thinking of the media blitz campaign based on obasanjo's features.

amazonia:

@ezeagu, you are not correct, the British consolidated the present day Nigeria from the natural inhabitants of this region. They did not create it .Also, life did not begin in Edo with the Benin empire. Anyway, that is neither here nor there. What i do know is that all Igbo, yoruba, and pre-Mohammedanism Arewa names, and deities are coded in Edo.These are not by coincidence.

you might or might not be referring to the nupoid influence below the niger.

add kwararafa kingdom to that [influence].

So, it will be great if we can put sure thing to vote
                     Names  like;  Arewa,  Amandioha, Edo,  oduduwa,
                      Igboland etc .Let the citizens choose. With the meanings
                      of them well explained and delineated. Certainly, any of our
                      indigenous identity is invariable better than what we have now.

tpiah:

i think you're referring to a particular area of yoruba that you're familiar with, not the whole of yorubaland. Yoruba features generally can mimic any part of nigeria, depending on where you are.

or maybe you're thinking of the media blitz campaign based on obasanjo's features.

I'm well aware that there are many Yorubas with different features, I should know I as I went to school with them, but I'm a referring to unique features generally found amongst the populace in the same way Italians have unique features generally found among the populace that are different from those of Germans and English, not what you're thinking of. I'm talking about actual faces and looks whereas I think you're inferring I'm talking about skin tone or something. And Obasanjo (Yoruba) is unusually hideous for a person from any ethnic group, but then again, so is Oshiomhole (Edo). I'm well aware that neither person is representative of either group in terms of facial features and looks, even if they might have the right skin tone, nose, etc.

Hi Tpiah,
Tell me more, i have not heard about them, kwararafor?

PhysicsQED:

I'm well aware that there are many Yorubas with different features, I should know I as I went to school with them, but I'm a referring to unique features generally found amongst the populace in the same way Italians have unique features generally found among the populace that are different from those of Germans and English, not what you're thinking of. I'm talking about actual faces and looks whereas I think you're inferring I'm talking about skin tone or something. And Obasanjo (Yoruba) is unusually hideous for a person from any ethnic group, but then again, so is Oshiomhole (Edo). I'm well aware that neither person is representative of either group in terms of facial features and looks, even if they might have the right skin tone, nose, etc.

true, but the fact remains all yorubas do not have the same look.

i know the general features people tend to associate with yorubas- suffice to say it's not applicable to all of them.

i'm not referring to skin tone unless you are.

amazonia:

Hi Tpiah,
Tell me more, i have not heard about them, kwararafor?

you go first.

you were saying something about names and deities being coded in edo.

you do know this applies generally, right?

kwararafa was an ancient kingdom.

@Tpiah,
you are right they are coded in Edo, i don't know all the root names and deities.
But the ones i know of most ethnic groups are coded in Edo.Few i already
mentioned above. i will research kwararafa.

amazonia:

@ezeagu, you are not correct, the British consolidated the present day Nigeria from the natural inhabitants of this region. They did not create it .Also, life did not begin in Edo with the Benin empire. Anyway, that is neither here nor there. What i do know is that all Igbo, yoruba, and pre-Mohammedanism Arewa names, and deities are coded in Edo.These are not by coincidence.

Okay, the British consolidated the present day Nigeria from the natural inhabitants of this region, right? Now explain to me why there are Yoruba in Benin, Ekoi in Cameroon and Fulani in Burkina Faso.

PhysicsQED:

I don't know what amazonia was talking about before, that sounded a little loony( lol, what is "Arewa-Edo"?). But the above is simply not correct. Putting aside Benin, which was ruled by Ogisos before the hotly contested Ile-Ife- Benin connection, the Edo people themselves don't originate from Yoruba and couldn't have because of the extreme dissimilarity of the Edo language compared with those languages that actually are Yoruboid and did branch of from Yoruba, such as Itsekiri. Just as the Idoma and Igala don't originate from Igbos, but probably share a common origin with them, Edo's actual lineage isn't from Yoruba, nor their language. To gain some objective perspective on this read "The Benin Kingdom and the Edo-Speaking Peoples of South-Western Nigeria" by Ray Bradbury.

This article should also give you some insight:

http://www.jstor.org/stable/715028?seq=2

There are similarities with the Yoruba in terms of religion and certain words, but when one asserts something like Edos branched off from Yorubas, one is also necessarily stating that Urhobos and Isokos branched off from Yoruba, since Urhobos and Edos almost certainly share the same origin, which just sounds ridiculous. Anyway, I don't think you've met many Edos. The average Yorubas have very distinct features unique to that ethnicity, just like Igbos, and I with a few exceptions, I would have a hard time confusing the Edos and Yorubas as being of exactly the same stock.

But the kingdom seems to have a strong link with the Yoruba people. Anyway, I've noticed Edo features looks like a cross between Yoruba and Igbo features. Maybe there was a distinct group in their present location that was influenced by the Yoruba.

amazonia:

So, it will be great if we can put sure thing to vote
                     Names  like;  Arewa,  Amandioha, Edo,  oduduwa,
                      Igboland etc .Let the citizens choose. With the meanings
                      of them well explained and delineated. Certainly, any of our
                      indigenous identity is invariable better than what we have now.

It's 'Amadioha' not 'Amandioha'. what does 'Aja ala' mean in Edo? what does Oru mean in Edo? What does Eri mean in Edo? What does Aguleri mean in Edo? Anyway, this is probably a a waste of time.

We can suggest more names, them put them to vote, to narrow it to one.
         We deserve a name that exude the divine creation that we are.

amazonia:

@ezeagu, you are not correct, the British consolidated the present day Nigeria from the natural inhabitants of this region. They did not create it .Also, life did not begin in Edo with the Benin empire. Anyway, that is neither here nor there. What i do know is that all Igbo, yoruba, and pre-Mohammedanism Arewa names, and deities are coded in Edo.These are not by coincidence.

ethnocentrism , yea yea everthing is coded in Edo, geez people

Is Edo even a language or a homogenized group? Cos you have esan (you can argue it is similar to bini), Igbanke (igbos that were under the Benin Empire and have assimilated), Ijaw, afemai etc,

I read somewhere somebody said Ijaw is a minority, Ijaw should be given their props men you think say to be found in 5-6 states na beans? (Rivers, Delta, Bayelsa, Edo and Ondo even parts of Lagos self). Dem plenty is just as usual Nigerian educational system is a mess all because of politics

@ ezeagu,
               why are yoruba in Benin Republic and Ekiot at where? That is no brainer, that show the
               dynamism of our societies before British incursion. I noticed you mentioned some names, i am not going to delve into unrenumerated divinations.If you have an interesting name
with prayerful meaning, present and promote it for a possible substitute for Nigeria.

amazonia:

@ ezeagu,
               why are yoruba in Benin Republic and Ekiot at where? That is no brainer, that show the
               dynamism of our societies before British incursion.

Dynamism of what?! Okay, tell me what was the name of the 'Nigerian' that was present when the boundaries of Nigeria were being made? If you can't, don't reply.

@ Ezeagu,
Ther e was no name like Nigeria before the British. But the
land and the people were always here. We traded with the
portugese not as nigerians but as separate Kingdoms.

@onlytruth,
The correct spelling is Amadi, like in Amadioha.
In Edo Oha mean forest/bush. Amadioha means
the brave one of the forest.Note the word oha is
the same with egbo another Edo word for forest,
a word from which Igbo was derived by conjugation.

amazonia:

                @onlytruth,
                  The correct spelling is Amadi, like in Amadioha.
                   In Edo Oha mean forest/bush. Amadioha means
                   the brave one of the forest.Note the word oha is
                   the same with[b] egbo another Edo word for forest[/b],
                  a word from which Igbo was derived by conjugation.

I really think that "egbo" (since it means forest in Edo) must be from Yoruba word "Igbo" meaning forest/bush.

Nobody knows where the "Igbo" name came from in Igboland because it doesn't mean bush/forest in Igbo. Though some speculate it may be from an adulteration of "Hebrew" by earliest Igbo ancestors. Bottom line is that there is no agreement on that. Forest or bush in Igbo is "Ohia" or "Ofia", something completely different.

Now we all know that the Fulani originated from the Senegambia region. That is common knowledge. The Fulani are related to the Woloof and the Mandinka. They are just more widespread, because of the population pressure in their homeland.

Onlytruth:

I really think that "egbo" (since it means forest in Edo) must be from Yoruba word "Igbo" meaning forest/bush.

Nobody knows where the Igbo came from in Igboland, though some speculate it may be from an adulteration of "Hebrew" by earliest Igbo ancestors. Bottom line is that there is no agreement on that.

Igbo homeland is Orlu/Owerri. They speak the purest form of Igbo.

We did not originate from anywhere else. Some may say we are descended from Nri/Akwa, but I doubt that. Orlu is the birthplace of Igbo civilization.

I find it funny that a much younger civilization known as the Benin Empire is trying to say we Igbo descended from them. That is rubbish. Igbo-Ukwu is a thousand years older then the very foundations of the Benin Kingdom.

@ Ezeuche,
                i read one of your old thread you requested help for the meaning
                of Ikwerre. I don't know if i got the spelling right. In Edo as it is.
                it means the ones that swam over. kwe means to get wet or bathe.
                and re means to arrive or came.

@ onlytruth,
the word Igbo mean same thing in Edo and yoruba, it means the forest dweller
or settlers, or people.

Igbo is indigenous to Igbo people. No outside interference.
Gboo---to solve.
Igbo people are problem solvers to their people hence Igbo.
Igbo people are known as problem solvers--Ndi na EGBO NKPA.
Igbo is traced from this angle.

Amazonia,

Just because the name Igbo has the same meaning in Edo or Yoruba does not mean anything. The word "Igbo" could mean a lot of things in the many African languages.

Ezeuche,

Man, your are funny. I can hardly stop laughing. What did you say?
Igbo should have, could have, mean anything? Well, i know, if you
could have, should have, make it mean what you like. Unfortunately these
things are independent of our prejudices and desires.

amazonia:

Ezeuche,

Man, your are funny. I can hardly stop laughing. What did you say?
Igbo should have, could have, mean anything? Well, i know, if you
could have, should have, make it mean what you like. Unfortunately these
things are independent of our prejudices and desires.

You are the funny one.

We Igbos are not descended from anyone but ourselves. How can you tell a much older civilization that we are descended from them. It is like the Arabs saying that the Egyptians descended from them.

Great Benin was great, but we Igbos have always existed even before the very foundations of Benin. Can you explain IGBO-UKWU.

Even the Nri Kingdom in Igboland is older than the foundation of Benin Kingdom by 400 years! So enough with your nonsense.

Ezeuche,
I have answered quite a few of your questions.
can you answer mine? What is the meaning of "Edo- isi-Agbon"
and " Edo-o-Odion". If you don't know? Find out. Have a nice day.

amazonia:

                @onlytruth,
                  The correct spelling is Amadi, like in Amadioha.
                   In Edo Oha mean forest/bush. Amadioha means
                   the brave one of the forest.Note the word oha is
                   the same with egbo another Edo word for forest,
                   a word from which Igbo was derived by conjugation.

There's a more stronger connection in language etymology between Igbo and Yoruba than with edo, since it is believed that Yorubas descended from the Arabs and Igbos from Jews. It is also a no brainer that Arabs and Jews are both of the same semitic family.

It would be largely incorrect to say that Igbo words are coded in Edo- a language much younger Igbo.
Any resemblance you observed are simply joint Igboid-Yoruboid shared words that the Edos plagiarized from the Yorubas.

If i may ask you, What does Amadi mean in Edo?

EzeUche22:

Igbo homeland is Orlu/Owerri. They speak the purest form of Igbo.

We did not originate from anywhere else. Some may say we are descended from Nri/Akwa, but I doubt that. Orlu is the birthplace of Igbo civilization.

I find it funny that a much younger civilization known as the Benin Empire is trying to say we Igbo descended from them. That is rubbish. Igbo-Ukwu is a thousand years older then the very foundations of the Benin Kingdom.

lol, amazonia is a nutcase, to be sure, but the above is also not accurate.

Igbo-Ukwu dates to about 900 AD, making it older than Ife sculptures but not older than the development of Ife as a city, as there was urbanization in Ife before then. Sungo's Eredo (a famous wall from a Yoruba kingdom that preceded the Ijebu kingdom (a kind of proto-Ijebu kingdom), has also been dated to about 900 AD (see http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/t488.html).

Igbo-Ukwu is older than the Benin sculptures but probably not older than the foundations of Benin, and certainly not "a thousand years older". I get what you're trying to say, that Benin didn't originate Igbos and didn't originate everything, as that guy is trying to claim, but hyperbole and exaggeration are not necessary.

In reality, the earliest Benin Iya  (defensive earthworks) which originate north of Benin city proper, from areas that are now Ishan, and east of Benin city proper, from areas that are Bini, date to about the 8th century (based on Patrick Darling's dates for Ekhor, east of Benin City).

@ ezeagu,

As to your question about Edos/Yorubas/Igbos, the archaeologist Patrick Darling mentions in an article ("Emerging towns in Benin and Ishan (Nigeria) Ad 500-1500 AD" in the book,State and Society: The Emergence and Development of Social Hierarchy and Political Centralization, on p. 122, a "Yoruba/Edo/Igbo linguistic split variously estimated between 4000 and 10,000 years ago" and right before that about an area north of where Edoid languages are spoken where a few  "relic languages" antedating that split still remain. So apparently there is an academic idea of a common origin for all three of those groups (they are after all all part of the "Volta-Niger"/Kwa speaking groups), but with a linguistic split thousands of years ago, rather than as you hypothesized, a mixing of Yoruba and Igbo giving rise to Edo (although that could be possible, the linguistic dissimilarity seems to mean each group just branched away from each other while retaining some similarities.).

amazonia:

                Ezeuche,
                                I have answered quite a few of your questions.
                                can you answer mine? What is the meaning of "Edo- isi-Agbon"
                                and " Edo-o-Odion". If you don't know? Find out. Have a nice day.

"Edo- isi-Agbon"= Edo is the source of life.

''Edo-o-Odion"=Edo is the senior twin.

In the light of what we have earlier established, these are just feel-good local slogans of your people, or of Edos. An okra tree can never be too tall for the farmer who planted it. Edo is a relatively younger language. Igbo 'senior' Edo.

lol, I like how you modified that, the original closing sentence was a bit silly.

EzeUche22:

Just like Yorubas out-bred the native inhabitants of Lagos, we can do the same in Port Harcourt.

Seriously? This is foul. Why would you want to make enemies with other groups in this way?