There is this guy who plays for the Dallas Mavericks named Ian Mahinmi from France, whose dad is from the Benin Republic.

Anyone know Yoruba well enough to know what his last name means/refers to?


(yes, I know this isn't appropriate for the politics section, but I figured this board gets the most traffic)

Not quite sure


It probably means "Dont praise me"

Now, not sure if the spelling hasnt been tampered with

Also, like most things from Benin, the Yoruba is not always as straightforward or the same as what you see/get in Nigeria

They have a different way, and a different spelling for common Yoruba words. Like in Togo where they seem to put "R" behind every word that ends with an "o" e.g Adebayo[b]r[/b]

Also, how are we so sure the name had a Yoruba origin? There other ethnic groups in Benin besides Yoruba, you know that right?

^-- I googled the term "mahinmi -ian -nba -mavericks -spurs -mavs", saw lots of Yoruba folk with Mahinmi in their name.

Adebayor is from Nigeria I thought, just put in an 'r' for no good reason

@fstranger, right but dont you think it can also mean "PRAISE ME" If you pronounce the "Ma" as "Do" and the "hin" as "Re". Sometimes it can also be an Ancestral name in which the pronunciation can be totally different from the meaning example is "AJALA"which does not in any way connotes any of the meaning you could have think. "Ma" can also mean "me" has it been you put YORUBA sign or Ami on it, i could have done better. Moreover, benin names are spelt in a way that shows french pronunciation eg "ADEBAYOUR"

seanet02:

@fstranger, right but dont you think it can also mean "PRAISE ME" If you pronounce the "Ma" as "Do" and the "hin" as "Re". Sometimes it can also be an Ancestral name in which the pronunciation can be totally different from the meaning example is "AJALA"which does not in any way connotes any of the meaning you could have think. "Ma" can also mean "me" has it been you put YORUBA sign or Ami on it, i could have done better. Moreover, benin names are spelt in a way that shows french pronunciation eg "ADEBAYOUR"

I totally agree with you

That is why we need those 'ami' to make sure what the real pronunciation is, which would in turn lead to the real meaning

@seanet02: Preciate it man!

eku_bear:

^-- I googled the term "mahinmi -ian -nba -mavericks -spurs -mavs", saw lots of Yoruba folk with Mahinmi in their name.

Adebayor is from Nigeria I thought, just put in an 'r' for no good reason

I really dont know why Adebayo put the 'r'

That said, It is kinda condescending to rubbish the real impact of the 'r' without you doing some research on it

He was born in Togo to Yoruba parents from Osun state. That doesnt mean the parents are from Osun State, and that doesnt make him Yoruba

Titi Abubakar for instance was born in Osun, but originally from Togo

Itz like rubbishing the Kwaran way of speaking Yoruba without really understanding why they put 'fa' after every sentence even though 'fa' adds absolutely nothing to the message they are trying to convey.

Understand almost all of your post, aside from this part:

fstranger1:

He was born in Togo to Yoruba parents from Osun state. That doesnt mean the parents are from Osun State, and that doesnt make him Yoruba

What do you mean, that doesn't make him Yoruba?

But Adebayor's Parents is from osun State. He has dual citizenship

eku_bear:

Understand almost all of your post, aside from this part:
What do you mean, that doesn't make him Yoruba?

Do you know Angelique Kidjo?

Have you listened to her most famous song, what language do you think she was speaking?

seanet02:

But Adebayor's Parents is from osun State. He has dual citizenship

Where in Osun State?

I mean he has a dual citizenship of Both Nigeria and Togo.

seanet02:

I mean he has a dual citizenship of Both Nigeria and Togo.

Where in Osun State are his parents from?

My point is that he is probably not Yoruba?


Is Anjelique Kidjo Yoruba?

But osun state is in Nigeria, if his parent could be from there, no reason why he cant claim the area, probably from Ijesha though not sure.

Angelique Kidjo's mom is Yoruba, according to Wikipedia. Dad is Fon.

From Cotonou, which is a Yoruba city anyway. . . ? So not surprising she speaks Yoruba.

I don't listen to her music at all. Which song are you referring to?

^^^^ Agolo


She doesnt speak Yoruba at all
She claims she sings in Yoruba, but half of the time what she sings about is lost in translation

He also speaks YORUBA fluently, though that does not mean he is from Nigeria, but i am sure he is from Nigeria, the last time he visited Nigeria, he was in Kwara state, dont know what he went there for

seanet02:

He also speaks YORUBA fluently, though that does not mean he is from Nigeria, but i am sure he is from Nigeria, the last time he visited Nigeria, he was in Kwara state, dont know what he went there for

Adebayo speaks Yoruba fluently?

Hearing that for the first time?

My point is that putting 'r' at the end of his last name is significant and I dont know why a Yoruba person would pull such a schitzo

Cotonou though is not a YORUBA town but has lots of YORUBA dwellers, the towns in benin that are YORUBA towns are many prominent among them is Ajase-Ipo And Ketu, the Alaketu of Ketu Visited Nigeria last year, OGUN state precisely and spoke YORUBA fluently. Benin President is also A YORUBA man.

seanet02:

Cotonou though is not a YORUBA town but has lots of YORUBA dwellers, the towns in benin that are YORUBA towns are many prominent among them is Ajase-Ipo And Ketu, the Alaketu of Ketu Visited Nigeria last year, OGUN state precisely and spoke YORUBA fluently. B[b]enin President is also A YORUBA man.[/b]

Just because the Ooni gave him s chieftaincy title doesnt mean he is Yoruba

seanet02:

Cotonou though is not a YORUBA town but has lots of YORUBA dwellers, the towns in benin that are YORUBA towns are many prominent among them is Ajase-Ipo And Ketu, the Alaketu of Ketu Visited Nigeria last year, OGUN state precisely and spoke YORUBA fluently. Benin President is also A YORUBA man.

I see. Not sure why I thought it was.

@fstranger, i think the r is as a result of French tonation which has mixed with the YORUBAS In Togo and Benin. It does not have any meaning in the Word. Even in YORUBA language, people have different ways of writing words and names even though it all connotes the same Meaning. Example is "OSUNWEMIMO" And "OSHUNWEMIMO" note the letter H different.

seanet02:

Cotonou though is not a YORUBA town but has lots of YORUBA dwellers, the towns in benin that are YORUBA towns are many prominent among them is Ajase-Ipo And Ketu, the Alaketu of Ketu Visited Nigeria last year, OGUN state precisely and spoke YORUBA fluently. Benin President is also A YORUBA man.

You lying-ass he-goat.since when did the president of Benin become yoruba?!Always trying to claim something then point fingers.Yayi Boni sounds VERY yoruba by the way.smh.

@fstranger, no not because of Chieftancy Title at all, He can speak YORUBA fluently. He is from the minority in Benin, YORUBA precisely. His hometown was one of those captured during the Dahomey wars against some part of YORUBA land when OYO felled to some Northern Tribes in the 17th or 18th century, so OYO could not protect this towns again. Only the EGBA people were able to defend themselves when the Dahomey King called Gezo launched an all out offensive against YORUBA towns bordering Benin. Dahomey formerly pays Tributes to OYO.

seanet02:

@fstranger, i think the r is as a result of French tonation which has mixed with the YORUBAS In Togo and Benin. It does not have any meaning in the Word. Even in YORUBA language, people have different ways of writing words and names even though it all connotes the same Meaning. Example is "OSUNWEMIMO" And "OSHUNWEMIMO" note the letter H different.

Not the same thing Oshun and Osun are accepted spelling variants of the same word. Abebayo[b]r[/b] is not an accepted way to spell what otherwise should have been spelt as Adebayo

Oshun and Osun are spelt depending on what part the person is from. And, You know that if you pronounce Osun as it is spelt, you'd be made fun off as uncivilized. Even though, the correct spelling is Osun, it is pronounced Oshun. And, the Os[b]h[/b]un pronunciation is the only accepted pronunciation.

But do those guys call themselves Yoruba. You cant just label people what they are not.

@chz, Why dont you google search "Can Yayi Boni of Benin Speak YORUBA fluently" you will come back here begging me to Teach your very own history. When he came to Nigeria, he spoke YORUBA

seanet02:

@fstranger, no not because of Chieftancy Title at all, He can speak YORUBA fluently. He is from the minority in Benin, YORUBA precisely. His hometown was one of those captured during the Dahomey wars against some part of YORUBA land when OYO felled to some Northern Tribes in the 17th or 18th century, so OYO could not protect this towns again. Only the EGBA people were able to defend themselves when the Dahomey King called Gezo launched an all out offensive against YORUBA towns bordering Benin. Dahomey formerly pays Tributes to OYO.

Wow speaking fluent yorobo makes your all of a sudden Yoruba, wow "free education indeed" lol. Coward as bastards. No wonder you fools always get deported

^-- Relax with the misspelling of Yoruba. No need for that, not in this thread. And I guess I don't need to say anything about the deportation comments. . .

@fstranger, Yes they are YORUBA and that is what they are claiming. YORUBA is spoken in Many countries and west africa is the most prominent area with Nigeria, Togo and Benin as the most prominent ones with a sizeable amount also Dwelling in the Caribbeans Countries and In Brazil. Cuba has Sango worshippers just like Brazil. Men its been a long time since you left This country because the last time i checked though, OSUN is the right spelling not oshun, though it is also the same meaning but Osun state government writes Osun in all its References and not oshun.

^^^

Reread my post

It is spelt Osun, but pronunced OSHUN.That is my point

I had a teacher in secondary school that used to pronounce Osun as osun, instead of Os[b]h[/b]un, and we all used to make fun of her.

seanet02:

@chz, Why dont you google search "Can Yayi Boni of Benin Speak YORUBA fluently" you will come back here begging me to Teach your very own history. When he came to Nigeria, he spoke YORUBA

Yeah that explains it all ofe mmanu. Buhari speaks arabic fluently, does that make him arab ,dummy? Use your brain you fool and stop telling shyt that aint true.

@eku-bear, dont mind chz, he is on the high.