i know its ridiculous to even ask this but lets examine this for a sec.

are the languages mutually intelligible ?

do they eat the same food ??

do they have the same cultural attire??.

are the ijaws and igbos brothers as the igbos always claim ?

dumb topic

is this really necessary . No point in bring out topics like this

we already have one of yoruba edo

The Ijaw have an isolate language, just like Igbo and Yoruba are in the same language family, Ijaw has it's own language family called Ijoid (at least according to linguists), so it's not mutually intelligible, in fact some Igbo dialects are not mutually intelligible. I don't know much about Ijaw food, but I'm going to guess it wouldn't be as different as that of the Riverain Igbo. Their attire is almost indistinguishable to the riverain Igbo since its so simple, but that of the upper class differs.

Now the similarity come with the history, society and some spirituality. Much of the Ijaw have been influenced by Igbo culture, most notably the kalabari, Ibani (of Bonny island), Okrika and some other groups I don't know much about. Their dancing is the same as Igbo, and their spirituality is similar (like Egbesu and Ekwensu).

The brotherlyness comes from history, because many Ijaw communities are made up of heavy Igbo ancestry, have many Igbo rituals and some (such as Bonny, Opobo) speak Igbo only. The two ethnic groups (although they were more like ethnic groups family groups) were slowly merging along with the Cross River groups (Efik, Ibibio), and without Europeans there probably could have been some sort of nation formed out of the whole region.

By the way "Igbos" don't claim anything.

White people and asian are busy creating new stuff, while you dumb black people sit here disgusting stopid stuff like this?

The various Ijaw dialects are not even mutually intelligible, right?

Can a Western Ijaw understand the speech of an Eastern Ijaw?

oduasolja:


i know its ridiculous to even ask this  but lets examine this for a sec.

are the languages mutually intelligible ?

do they eat the same food ??

do they have the same cultural attire??.

are the ijaws and igbos brothers as the igbos always claim ?

LMAO!

The answer is NO, Ijaw and Igbo are not related, we are just neighbours.

By Ijaw I'm referring to only Izon and Western Ijaw groups.
However, Eastern Ijaws, Kalabari and Okrika, are related to the Igbos linguistically and culturally as a result of centuries of mixing and intermarriage.

^^^^

why do you have to answer

can't you just allow the thread to die

The Ijaws in Rivers state have a lot on common with their Igbo neigbours.

ijaws are ijaws , igbos are igbos , we dont claim them and they dont claim us ,goodnight

Obiagu1:

LMAO!

The answer is NO, Ijaw and Igbo are not related, we are just neighbours.

By Ijaw I'm referring to only Izon and Western Ijaw groups.
However, Eastern Ijaws, Kalabari and Okrika, are related to the Igbos linguistically and culturally as a result of centuries of mixing and intermarriage.

So right, bro.

A historical, ancestral, economical and political relationship does/did exist between some groups, but politics in Nigeria has spurred nationalistic tendencies that basically hinders the expression of such a relationship.

My Husband is of Ijaw descent and has given me the name Onyinye I am not African but I love my given name from my Hubby..I dont find this topic stupid because I'm learning about the ijaw culture..and well I have come across alot of similarities between the igbo and ijaws..so please keep giving your opinions because I value them..Chikena

I see Alh.BokoHarem's attempts to pretend like he's a neutral are failing big time.

oduasolja:
i know its ridiculous to even ask this but lets examine this for a sec.

are the languages mutually intelligible ?

do they eat the same food ??

do they have the same cultural attire??.

are the ijaws and igbos brothers as the igbos always claim ?

You know it's ridiculous (thank God you admitted that much) to ask and you still went ahead, wouldn't blame you as some NLanders will still indulge you. Nonsense

dplordx: I thought they claimed we are related to the Jews....
And we are still waiting for our moses to lead us away from this land of bondage
Sigh! Now, its ijaw becos of oil. I dont see us doing great if we depart Nigeria with the Ijaws. We have way greater potentials than those liabilities and their curse

And pray do tell me what curse is that abi?Mtscheww!

krystabella28: And pray do tell me what curse is that abi?Mtscheww!

he is trying to say oil is a curse to south southernerns and indeed entire nation

stup1d thread

ezeagu: The Ijaw have an isolate language, just like Igbo and Yoruba are in the same language family,

Ijaw is NOT in the same language family as most other southern Nigerian groups. Ijaw and the others are CLASSED together on the basis of GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION as NIGER-CONGO. On the basis of Family, igbo, yoruba, edo, igala, etc are grouped in the same FAMILY as VOLTA-NIGER FAMILY.

Ijaw (along with Kordofan, Mande & Dogon)is having a distinction as not being proper members of Niger-Congo Branch because they lack the BASIC WORD STRUCTURE or properties of this classification. In other words, yoruba, igbo, edo etc all have the same word structure which is as a result of a common GENETIC origin. Ijaw is not a member of that group.

ezeagu: Ijaw has it's own language family called Ijoid (at least according to linguists), so it's not mutually intelligible, in fact some Igbo dialects are not mutually intelligible.

ezeagu: I don't know much about Ijaw food, but I'm going to guess it wouldn't be as different as that of the Riverain Igbo.

I never knew there is something called "Riverian Igbo". If by that you mean the Igbo groups in Rivers state, then I assure you they don't share the same foods other than the common Nigerian delicacies. They have their different/unique foods.

ezeagu: Their attire is almost indistinguishable to the riverain Igbo since its so simple, but that of the upper class differ.

This is so because the attire worn by the people of Rivers state is IJAW ATTIRE. Rivers state people (Ijaw, igbo & ogoni) all wear the same Ijaw attire. Even the chiefs and Kings -of course with little additions or modification.

ezeagu: Now the similarity come with the history, society and some spirituality. Much of the Ijaw have been influenced by Igbo culture, most notably the kalabari, Ibani (of Bonny island), Okrika and some other groups I don't know much about. Their dancing is the same as Igbo, and their spirituality is similar (like Egbesu and Ekwensu).

LOL!!!! This guys is funny.
We Ijaws dont share any similarity with Igbos in "History, society & some spirituality"

There are no Ijaw group influenced by Igbo culture in Rivers state. If you think there are, please point them out and explain them. As a matter of fact, the reverse is the case. Neighbouring Igbos in Rivers state and some in Igbo mainland in the east practice pronounced Ijaw culture. eg Ekpeye, Ahoada, Egbema, Ndoni, Ukwanni, Egba, and mostly Ndoki people who are infact Ijaw people absorbed by igbos.

Our dance is certainly not Igbo. Ijaw dance is the most unique trait used to identify Ijaw people. Our dance is common to all thru' Ijawland even those who have lost their Ijaw Dialect.

In terms of spirituality, Egbesu is NOTHING like Ekwensu, they have nothing in common. While Egbesu is the Ijaw force of Justice and Fairness, Ekwensu is the igbo name for the DEVIL.

Ijo is not an ethnic group. The word Ijo is derived from the term Portuguese used to describe the people they met at the banks of Oil River. What is known as today’s Ijo remain the combination of Oil River bank dwellers-Igbo(Aro, Ndoki, Asa, Ngwa, Ikwerri), Annag, Ibibio and Andoni, European potters from Gold Coast and Shipmates from India and Philippine.

The so-called Ijo are not called “Boat People” for nothing.

Mr. Ezeagu the Igbo man is lacking understanding of the difference between Inter-ethnic 'INTERACTION' and 'ANCESTRY/ BLOOD RELATION/ GENETIC RELATION' between different ethnic nations and I wish I could explain the difference to him, but I don't think he is intelligent enough to understand me.

ezeagu: The brotherlyness comes from history,

Stop confusing ur brain, there is no single piece of history exists where Ijaws and Igbos were brothers. That history does not exist.

ezeagu: because many Ijaw communities are made up of heavy Igbo ANCESTRY, have many Igbo rituals and some (such as Bonny, Opobo) speak IGBO ONLY.

This is beyond ignorance, this is madness. There is no single community in Ijawland having IGBO ANCESTRY OR PRACTICING IGBO RITUALS OR ANY FORM OF IGBO CULTURE.

The Ijaw towns of Bonny (Okoloama) and Opobo (Opubo ama) are located at the southern tip of two major rivers used to transport slaves (Igbo people) from Igbo mainland. These slaves were either taken to foreign lands or work as slaves under Ijaw nobles in these Ijaw communities, while others were absorbed into the family eg Jaja. Does this mean that the community is having IGBO ANCESTRY? or is it that you don't know the meaning of ANCESTRY?

An igbo creole is spoken in Bonny and Opobo as a result of slave trade and other forms of trade with Igbos, It is not the ONLY LANGUAGE spoken in these places. Bonny and Opobo have their INDIGENOUS (native) Ijaw dialect called IBANI.

ezeagu: The two ethnic groups (although they were more like ethnic groups family groups) were slowly merging along with the Cross River groups (Efik, Ibibio), and without Europeans there probably could have been some sort of nation formed out of the whole region.

By the way "Igbos" don't claim anything

This guy must be high on some cheap weed!
He is trying to tell us that people who have NATURALLY lived as distinct ethnic groups for thousands of years are now gradually coalescing (his actual word was "merging" NATURALLY Into a common ethnic nation with the Igbos. WOW, WHAT A FANTASY!

Ijaw towns speaking a foreign language is a common occurence in Ijawland and this is due to interaction with our neighbours. In the western fringe of Ijawland, there are communities speaking Yoruba, Bini, Urhobo, etc. While in the eastern fringe, Ibibio, Efik and Igbo is spoken in some communities.
It doesn't mean that Ijaw have ANCESTRY from each of the groups mentioned above.

Dede1: Ijo is not an ethnic group. The word Ijo is derived from the term Portuguese used to describe the people they met at the banks of Oil River. What is known as today’s Ijo remain the combination of Oil River bank dwellers-Igbo(Aro, Ndoki, Asa, Ngwa, Ikwerri), Annag, Ibibio and Andoni, European potters from Gold Coast and Shipmates from India and Philippine.

The so-called Ijo are not called “Boat People” for nothing.

LOL!!!!!
Mr. Odede, you dull oh!

Why do the ibos do this? They claim the ijaws at every opportunity. There is no relation between ijaw and ibo. ibo are just there normal thieving selves. It is really sad.

Is it that they cannot be happy unless they are stealing something from someone?

Tigerhead: Why do the ibos do this? They claim the ijaws at every opportunity. There is no relation between ijaw and ibo. ibo are just there normal thieving selves. It is really sad.

Is it that they cannot be happy unless they are stealing something from someone?

No one is claiming any Ijaw.

Did you not see the majority of the Igbo posters say there is no relation?

Ijaw are not related to any Nigerian group.

Igbos are not related to Ijaw.

Port Harcourt is an Ikwerre town.

The only majority Ijaw state is Bayelsa.

EzeUche:

No one is claiming any Ijaw.

Did you not see the majority of the Igbo posters say there is no relation?

Ijaw are not related to any Nigerian group.

Who kidnapped you all this while?

All these ethnicities created by whitemen shouldn't even make us debate at all. My fear is that we Africans are so gullible that hate and prejudice has overtaken reality. Most of the Igbo, Ijaw, Yoruba etc were living independent of each other on clan level and there were instances of one Ijaw speaking clan sharing kinship with non-Ijaw speaking clan and vise-versa. It cuts across Africa and not just Ijaw. We are all related and unrelated at the same time on individual or clan level.

Being related (or Not) has little to do with language. So, one has to dig deeper to decipher whether one is related to another.

For instance, I believe that I am related with ANYONE that believes in "live and let live" (Igbo core values -egbe bere, ugo bere". ).
I am also related with anyone that believes in justice, and equality of all, hard work, and innate love for progress.
If I do a GIS mapping of those who believe in all those, anywhere I find them, they are related to me.

Igbo is only a language I speak.

I also speak English (and a few other languages); does that make me English man? No of course.
So, we must look beyond language to find the truth.

I DO NOT RELATE, OR WANT TO RELATE WITH ANYONE WHO DOES NOT SHARE MY CORE VALUES, except on an arms-length basis.

ijaw citizen: LOL!!!!!
Mr. Odede, you dull oh!

ODODE IS THE ISHAN WORD FOR OLD MAN. ARE YOU SURE YOU ARE IJAW? BTW, WHAT IS YOUR RANTS ALL ABOUT?

Ijaws are people that water carried from Igbo lands river shores like fishermen whose boats capsized or thieves and murderers thrown into the river to die and the river carried them far, banged their heads on the mangrove roots and they fell unconscious, when they woke up they forgot how to speak Igbo language.

Ijaw is to Igbo what Australia was to the British in the olden days.