₦airaland Forum

Ednite:
Thanks. You don't see much Somalis doing that cuz you're Nigerians, they don't try to rep you. That's why

How would you feel if am a Ghanian and post topics like

'we Ghanians and Nigerians are not bantus, we are beautiful' and stuffs like that

It's cultural attitude that stems from history, slavery and racism based on class in Somalia.

Historically, the neighbors Somalis are mainly familiar with are Bantus, Arabs and Honers, so with that limited scope, some of them fail to realize that there is a whole another world beyond East Africa. When many of them who have formed this racial categorization come across people from the other side of the continent, they bluntly refer to them as "Bantu." With that limited knowledge also fail to understand that bantu is a ethno-linguistic term for people living in Southern, eastern and Central Africa. But in Somali culture, "bantu" is a derogatory term like "jareer". Ironically, in west Africa, there are no Bantu tribes, instead what you have is over a thousand ethnic groups who speak various languages and have different cultures that cannot be generalize or tag with a single label.

Take for example. my country Nigeria, there are over 500 ethnic groups. Among that you would find millions of Afro-asiatic groups like Hausa, who share the same language branch with many horners. You would fine nomadic cultures of Fulani and Tuareg who rear cattle and camels. You would find ethnic groups with empires and culture spanning thousands of years. you would find Muslims and Christians in almost proportional number. You would find Nilo-Saharan cultures like Kanuri who share some aspects of culture and language with some East African groups, especially in Sudan.

I've learn to differentiate people from the horn. I'm well aware racism is universal. Ethiopians that I came across are more welcoming and haven't seen using words like "jareer". One of my close friend was from Ethiopia.

Ednite:
Everyone hates the ppl who are talking shii about their own ppl. Which is why I am against the majority Somalis. They try to represent us as we're racist. No one permitted them to rep us and plus never was even permitted to rep us as bad ppl

I've noticed this among a few who have came especially on NL to bash Nigerians. Until modern times, most Nigerian didn't even know too much about Somali or cultures from horn of Africa, so it's disappointing when at first impression, you express blatant racism. Instead of sharing your culture, you claim to be superior because you are of a different race. I greatly support exchange of cultures among Africans because it helps understanding and bridge divide. However, I think most Ethiopians are welcoming people. I like to see more Africans on NL. Peace!

baddosky1:
You are the one who needs to go to hell after reading the part of the attached photo with the red arrow! Armed Robber!!

Congrats...we know, he has British citizenship because he was born there.
The same way a White British born in Nigeria will always be an oyinbo.
In his words

My heart is with Britain, my heart is with Nigeria.I am Nigerian man by blood.

You can't argue with that.

This is so funny

First of all, that article is fake. It made it look like the news was recent.

Second, the interview was conducted over a year ago and published on December, 2015 after he was charged.

Everything she said was over a year ago in response to his arrest.


Here is a link to the actual interview:
Listen to her talk....So much inconsistency

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28eN0Lanan4&t=120s

Hati13:
Great and nice history/culture!

I think, Europeans doubted the Ife Civilization, because they were jealous of it's achievements. There was a great Ethiopian philosopher named Zera Yacob in 17th century and when Europeans started to know about his philosophy, they said, how can a black person think like this, it's impossible. They are just jealous of African achievements. If you want to know about philosopher Zera Yacob(not emperor Zera Yacob), read this info -
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zera_Yacob_(philosopher)

A Yoruba nairalander had told me, Yoruba people descendents may be from Ancient Ethiopia. He didn't say definitely, but it could be. Can you tell me you opinion in this?

Now it's the "primitive Africans" that are topping the charts in education in their countries.
They referred to Africa as the "last frontier" to justify their conquest, colonialism and exploitations so it won't look bad. You know the last place to be explored, last place to be civilized, the last place to be saved in their messed up heads. I admire Ethiopia's determination and courage during the Italian occupation.


Also, like humans that migrated from Ethiopia as part of the great migration from Ethiopia to the four corners of the world, the ancestors of modern day Yoruba weren't an exception.The oldest hominid fossils were discovered in Ethiopia, so it likely the ancestors of Yoruba people likely migrated westward over thousands of years to their current location in West Africa. After all, according to scientists, Ethiopia is the birthplace of human beings. Yoruba as a people group didn't migrate directly from Ethiopia and it would be ludicrous to suggest so. The Yoruba identity and culture was formed and developed West Africa. Any genetic similarities make sense because I mean we are in Africa so of course there is going to be shared genetic since it's only natural. Ethiopian story is at least better than some stories concocted by some brainwashed people who believe that Yoruba migrated from Mecca or Ancient Egypt or something even though there were fossil and archeological evidence found in Nigeria that shows that there have been people living in Nigeria before those places even existed. You mostly see this among people who want to have relationship with the people from the Bible or Qur'an, they invent myths and pseudo theories to validate their claims. True Yoruba traditions reject all of these myths.

question to you Op..
I've always been interested in the way Ethiopians identify. For example what is the difference between Tigrigna and Biher-Tigrigna. They seem like the same people to me if you ask me.

[quote author=Hati13 post=55966295][/quote]Culture/Traditions

Naming
Yoruba people are known for their name giving. A person can have many names. Naming ceremonies (isomoloruko) are performed on the 8th day after the child is born. Names are given based on circumstances like date of birth, positioning of the baby coming from the womb, reincarnation of a family member. Oriki (praise poetry) names are also popular. There are family names rooted in history, as well as family occupation. There are special names for twins and Yoruba do have the highest twin birth of any ethnic group in the world, so there is that
Ifa
Ifa is recognized by Unesco as a World intangible heritage. It’s a very complex system of divination.
Masquerades
Masquerade traditions are intended to keep the spirit of ancestors alive. They are usually very well dressed performing dances. There are many types of masquerade. The gelede masquerade is recognized by Unesco.
Oriki
Oriki can also be ascribed to clans, families and they serve to not only invoke emotions but also tell history. Many Yoruba groups can also have an anthem to accompany this. Orikis have to be memorized and they are usually memorized and sung in melodious tunes.
Greetings
Yorubas have tons of greeting for every aspect of live including daytime, cooking, eating, working, resting. It’s is customary to greet people who are older than you by prostrating (for males) and kneeling (for female). This is considered a sign of respect and for kings, it is mandatory to fully prostrate when you great the king

Music
Yorubas are also known for their rich music traditions and instruments. Afrobeat was pioneered by Fela, a Yoruba man. Yoruba music has influenced world music especially that of South America. Yoruba drummer/griots are well respected and they are called Ayan. It is a family practice and Ayan start playing very young. Yoruba have mastered the act of the talking drum, which are tension drums that are played to mimick the sounds of speech. They are widely used in the kings’ palaces back in ancient times. They are also used in traditional festivities as well. The talking drum have 2 main families which are bata and dundun drum families comprised of multiple sets. There are also other types of drums like gbedu, as well as flutes, agidigbo and saworo bells.
Architecture
Yoruba architecture has many styles. Palaces are built in a courtyard style. Palaces can have many courtyards and rooms. The courtyard can also paved in potsherd style. Carved wooden column posts can also be used. Doors can also be carved in intricate design.
The Sungbo Eredo is a fortress that sorrounds the Ijebu kingdom. It’s the second largest earthworks in the world. They surround the Ijebu kingdom.
The Osun Osogbo grove is UNESCO world heritage site. It is a sacred forest and host a yearly pilgrimage which attracts international attentions from the diaspora communities. It host the original Osogbo settlement including the original palace of the Ataoja and the site is filled with many traditional Yoruba architecture and art works.
Owo palace is considered to be the largest palace in all of Africa. It serves as a museum
Old Oyo National park is a large national park that’s protected for wildlife. It also contains the old Oyo ruins. The park is listed for consideration by UNESCO.
These are just a few, there are tons of sites like this in Yorubaland including palaces, museums, and other ruins.
Clothing
Yorubas have tons of clothing styles that are indigenous to them that are precolonial. The two most common fabric are adire and Aso oke. Adire is a rich indigo fabric from the elu plant. Aso oke is a thicker outfit worn on more special occasions or by the important people. Yoruba clothing include agbada, buba, kembe, sulia, dangodo, gbariye, ibora, kaamu, gbaanu, Sooro, sokoto elemu, iborun, oyala, ipele, oja, gele, among others. Hats like gobi, alagbaa, oribi, tinko, bentigoo, abeti-aja, onide, labankada,etc. Beads, especially red coral beads are commonly worn. Shoes that are beaded in glass beads are worn only by the kings back in the day. In fact the king’s crown and staff would also be beaded.

Hati13:
IV chatted with another Yoruba Nairalander here. He had told me about some of your culture and it was very interesting. Could you tell me in details?T

Thanks for your interest. There is too much information to know about Yoruba people. I’ll try to summarize as much as possible

Yoruba People are an ethnic group who speak a tonal language and comprise of numerous subgroups of people natively spanning three African Countries. Even though they had a relationship common origin, Yoruba people didn’t refer to themselves as Yoruba until the 1800s, but instead rather by the name of their subgroups such as Ekiti, Ijebu, Oyo… They are found in Western Nigeria, Southern and Central Benin and Central parts of Togo. They are one of the largest tribes in both Nigeria and Benin republic as well as in Africa. Yorubaland is roughly bounded on the North by the Niger river, on the east by the Ose river, the West by the Ogou river in Togo and on the south by the Atlantic. Their Number stands at around 45 million. There are also large diaspora in other parts of Africa, North and South America.
History/Organization/Government


Ile-Ife
You can’t talk about the history of Africa, without mentioning the history of Yoruba people. All Yoruba people claim origin to the ancient city of Ile-Ife located in Osun state. The first king of Ile-Ife was Oduduwa. He’s regarded as the progenitor of the Yoruba race. Oduduwa’s children and decedents established kingdoms across Yorubaland. There was also an expansion of Yoruba people and settlements, especially westward. Yorubas established multiple cities, many of which were walled. Ile-Ife, simply known as Ife was settled at least as far back as the 3rd century BCE based on archeology evidence. The kingdom became very prominent in the Middle Ages around 700-1400 A.D. This era became known as the classical age of Ife. Ile-Ife had a thriving civilization producing some of the finest artworks in the world for the time. Many of these artworks depicts spiritualism and realism which surpassed European realism at the time. The arts were also exceptional in the variety of styles that were utilized such as terracotta, bronze and metal casts, granite, ivory, wood, glass etc. The art of stunned Europeans who first encountered the artwork for the first time who couldn’t believe that such artworks could have been produced by Africans. (One such racist who shared this exact view was Leo Frobenius, a German archeologist who explored Yorubaland and published many pseudo theories and articles in Europe for the explanation of the Ife civilization. He was willing to believe that Ife was the Greek colony of Atlantis, even though the Ife artworks featured African people. His pseudo theories would later be discredited.) Anyways, there are many ancient sites in the city till today and the city is considered as the spiritual homeland for Yoruba people. Other specials features of Ile-Ife are the ancient potsherd-syle paved roads and courtyards of Ife dating to 800 A.D and granite obelisks that are found throughout the city. The tallest and most widely known obelisk is the Oranmiyan staff.
Other Important kingdoms
Yoruba people were extremely organized. There were numerous powerful kingdoms who were founded by other Yoruba groups as well. All the kingdoms also produced exceptional artistry culture center on the beliefs and traditions of Yoruba culture. I can’t really list them all but some include Ekiti (16 kingdoms), Ijebu, Owo, Ijesha, Akure, Ketu, etc. Because of the numerous factions, not all Yoruba were united under a single empire. This was also beneficial because no group could single handedly dominate all Yoruba people. A couple of foreign invaders tried to extent their control over certain subgroups, but were nonetheless met with strong opposition



Oyo Empire (1300 A.D-1896 A.D)
The most centralized state that emerged was the Oyo Empire which was able to unite some Yoruba groups in the west such as Yewa, Egba, Oyo, Ibolo, Igbomina, etc. The first was Oyo-ile (old Oyo), which was sacked by Nupe invaders from the North. Oyo would rebuilt it’s as well as strengthen its military by adopting a strong defensive Calvary army who would later emerge on an imperial expansion westward. Oyo Empire stretched from Nigeria to Ghana across spanning four African countries. In addition to some of the Yoruba groups under Oyo, It also controlled non-Yoruba kingdoms which served as vassal states required to pay tribute to the Alaafin (ruler) of Oyo. An example of this vassal state was a kingdom in modern day Benin republic called Dahomey which was under Oyo’s control for about a century. Oyo had a very organized system of government which many aspects are also universal among all Yoruba. The Oba (king) sits at the top of the throne and he has a 7 councils of Oyo mesi which are also acted by another force, the ogboni. Ogboni are a secreat society comprised of wise elders who held a special spiritual influence and regulate the affairs of the society. You also had a number of chiefs and other political units. The military of Oyo was well organized and it included the eso (city guards), cavalry, infantry which comprised of skilled swordsmen and archers. Oyo also had a number of allied states who also made up Oyo’s military. All empires must fall, and Oyo was not an exception. There were multiple factors that led to its downfall. Oyo partook in the Yoruba civil wars which and there were a number of revolts and uprising against Oyo which all weakened it. Another threat to Oyo was the Jihad of the Sokoto Caliphate led by Fulanis. Fulani had conquered land North of Oyo and captured the frontier town of Ilorin. Long story short, Oyo was able to halt the spread of the Jihad when forces from Ibadan defeated them and push back their advance. Oyo would be later be absorbed by the British bringing a final end to the empire. Even though the empire fell, the throne of the Alaafin and many other Yoruba kings are still preserved till today. In fact all monarchs in Nigeria still serve as the traditional heads of their domain till today, even though they have don’t have any official power. They are ceremonial titles that are testament to history and culture. Their responsibilities is to represent their domain and uphold the ancient cultures and traditions.
There is a lot I didn’t mention, I had to summarize.

Some Ile-Ife Artworks from the Classical Period

YonkijiSappo:
lol, don't mind the Idiat.
How can someone's grandpa be shit.gbo , hin papa com be Yoruba...

did something skip a generation? lol

confirmed!
He's suffering from a very special case of omo ale.

@op I liked your list, but Yoruba are not descended from Benin. There are many Yoruba oba thrones that predate Eweka's throne.

SIRmanjar:
Am mixed breed..My grand papa na ibo and my grand mama come be igede..my papa come be yoruba man wey marry Benin woman so if u call me anyone I go answer gladly.

That explains a lot

juman:
@bolded
So why jonathan could not develop a virile sea port in niger delta in six years?
I wonder.

May be he was waiting for an aboki man to develop their sea port for them.
What a waste of opportunity.

lol, it took the Niger Delta joint task force to dig a single borehole in his mother's village in Bayelsa. His mother was so happy and grateful because they finally had a borehole in the village... imagine a borehole. Funny thing is it was towards the end of his presidency too, more than 5 years after assuming office and he didn't build a single road or a borehole in the village.

SIRmanjar:
Yes am not..Am an igede man..Omenkalives brother

I could have sworn you were Igbo.

Aksumawi2805:
Our mixed ancestry isn't that complicated,I mean people from both side of the red sea have been trading and moving for centuries there were many Yemenite descendants that control the Ethiopian trading markets before they moved out and the Gurage people took over.In Eritrea the rashaida people are ethnic Arabs that recently entered the land
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashaida_people
so mixing is normal.But not through slave trade like some people say!

I know, it makes sense. Mixing must have taken place among non-Habesha people as well.

GambaOsaka:
Attention seeker.....
Nobody go answer you today.
Its obvious you are not Yoruba.

He's not...

Hati13:
There are many legends about Queen of Sheba, but the most agreed by Scholars is one the Ethiopia version. Some say she was black(Cushitic), while others say that, she was a mix of Cushitic/Semitic(Arab or Jew). There was a kingdom called Sebean in southern Yemen. May be she was the ruler of both present day northern Ethiopia and Sebean kingdom. Her name in Ethiopia is called "Makeda".

I don't know if the Yoruba people are descendants of Queen of Sheba, because I don't if she was real.

The so called Solomonic Dynasty was formed by Menelik I in the 1000 B.C. If this Dynasty was true, then Emperor Haile Sellasie was descended from his Amhara background. But I don't believe the legend or story, because there is no evidences to support it.

Amhara and Tigray are mix of Agew/Arab. If you want to know about their origin, read one of my topic named "Origin of Amhara, Tigray and Gurage Ethnic Groups".

Queen Sheba is totally Ethiopian.
And again, Yoruba aren't descendants of Queen Sheba or Oromo people. Looking at the timeline, you would almost see a huge gap. Queen of Sheba dates to around 1000 B.C, and Bilikisu Sungbo dates to around 800 A.D. The truth was there was a powerful woman from the region. Her tomb and the eredo (fortress) walls are all preserved. There's still further exploration and mapping of the site that needs to be done. The Sheba myth was later concocted by practitioners of Islam and Christianity. In 800 A.D, Islam wasn't practiced by Yoruba yet or widely known in West Africa.

Oh I've read the history of the Semitic peoples of Ethiopia in your posts. I think you did a good job on the explanation! One thing I noticed was the fact that you admitted that people in the region have mixed ancestry. Some Ethiopians would say that they aren't mixed and I've noticed this divide among some of them.

Sammy07:
you are right @ the bolded, in my town (ondo town)
house is Uli
yam is usu
etc...

now Uli is the original word for house in Yoruba language

exactly
uli and usu are also used in Owo.
in the original Yoruba language "u" can be used to start many nouns. This feature is found in Ondo, Ijebu, Ekiti, Ijesa, ife, and as far as parts of Kogi and kwara. For example, in the old yoruba spoken in ife, Oduduwa broken down into odu to da uwa. "uwa" is used instead of iwa.
The people in Ondo state and the adjoining area preserved many of the features from the old Yoruba language such as the u feature as well as Gw, Gh... These were simplified by the Yoruba who migrated westward into I and W respectively.
Another fact you should know is that many of the royal thrones in Ondo state predate Oyo. The Akure and Idanre throne for example predate the Oyo throne by several hundred years.

@ SIRmanjar

Here we go again..Of course Other yorubas eat pounded yam but they learnt it recently from ekiti ad ondo..Ijebus are known for garri not pounded yam you can ask any elderly ijebu man u know..Who thought the people of ondo and sum Ekitians the act of eating dog meat?There ancestors did..Which were not yorubas.

Lol it's obvious Ijebu love their garri and it would be wrong to say that that's the only food Ijebu are known for. I guess you haven't heard of iyan olomi. Ijebu mastered the art of cooking with the water yam which is grown abundantly in the region. Lol dog meat is a regional cuisine, that's all. Yorubaland is filled with regional cuisine.

All the clan u mentioned as the oldest yoruba clan in ondo weren't pure yorubas back then.. They mixed with yorubas from osun ad ibadan and ogun state and I know dip inside you know that.Ok! even if they were pure yorubas back then that means that other tribes from bini,Ijo ad other eastern people migrated there and mixed with them..Through konkwest or maybe as refugees.

I laugh at your attempt to distort other people's history. Yoruba expansion was not from west to east but rather east to west. Eastern parts of Yorubaland had the original Yoruba populations and settlements including Ile-ife. Yoruba people expanded in a westward direction. The displaced populations you were referring to were much more recent during the kiriji wars. Yes there are people with mixed origins. In Akoko, there are some communities who acknowledge their Bini ancestry and the Apoi and Arogbo who acknowledge their Ijaw ancestry. However this doesn't change the fact that the oldest Yoruba groups were from Ife-ondo-ekiti axis.

Which ever way it goes the bottom line of our discussion,is that they are mixed people because it's a border state..Mind you the word yoruba was first given to the people of oyo state by there hausa and nupe neighbours

Wrong again!!! The Songhai first gave the first accounts of "Yoruba." it was popularized by the Hausa. It referred to the Oyo empire which made up of Oyo, Ibolo,onko,yewa and igbomina speaking peoples. And in your attempt to distort history you forgot to realize that Igbomina were also referred to as Yoruba. The closest people to Igbomina people are the Ekiti not Oyo.
Next time pick up a book and not regurgitate rumors and self-made theories.

SIRmanjar:
Nah..pounded yam(inyoo) ad dog meat has bin the traditional food of ondo ad ekiti people. other yorubas eat pounded yam but ekiti ad ondos have been eating it for ages.
Mind u Ondo is not a pure yoruba state..Other yorubas copied the food from Ekiti ad ondo.

sorry to burst your bubble but Pounded yam is ingrained in other Yoruba groups as well. The Ijebu and remo people also mastered it as well. There is a special variant of iyan that Ijebu people are well known for as well as other yam dishes like ikokore and ojojo. Mind you, it's not due to influence because they were notorious for their strict isolationism compared to other Yoruba. Foreigners were not allowed to enter their kingdom. Iyan is simply Yoruba. Igbos didn't influence Ekiti culture and it wasn't until colonialism that they were widely known in Yorubaland. The similarities you see is due to correlation. It's a well known fact that Ekiti has a Christian majority with also the highest percentage of Catholics among Yoruba.


oh and as for ondo people not being "pure Yoruba," well I guess you don't know that the some of the oldest Yoruba settlements are not found in oyo, but in Eastern Yorubaland. And you should know that people from ondo speak dialects that are the closest to the original Yoruba language. Even among the distinct Ilaje, there exist the ugbo clan. Many of them would tell you that they are the original Yoruba.

.

I guess this is a thread where fellow bigots give themselves a pat on the back.

Tiv
Igbo
Yoruba

Igboesika:
Read my post again. No country on earth has survived second civil war. After the second war here comes disintegration no matter who's the winner or the loser.

No, Ivory Coast survived a second civil war which ended in 2011. If you want secession, you need to plan the logistics of it since there are many factors involved. First, create a set border. Will the 21st century Biafra be a homogenous Igbo state or will it include other ethnic groups? Will it include all Igbo/Igboid speaking people? You will have to corporate with the Nigerian government for a referendum as well as trade agreement due to Biafran businesses in Nigeria. Will the referendum be decisive or a close call? How would you deal with opposition? The easy step is gaining international recognition for the country. If you sought a second civil war instead, are you prepared for the impending destruction? Are you prepared to callously sacrifice members of your population? Do you have powerful allies? Are you prepared for involvement of world players like Britain who have interests in keeping Nigeria one. Are you going to learn and have enough ammunition, food supply, medicine in supply to avoid the previous calamity?

Hemanwel:
When I saw "Oluwo of Iwo....", I knew the person would be a Muslim.
Most (if not all) traditional rulers in Yoruba lands are Muslims.

Just like the FCSC batch A list for the South West was predominantly Muslim names.

Yoruba Chrisians have become second-class citizens in their own lands.

Yet, people in this region pretend like all is well.

NOTE: I am not trying to instigate anything here. I am only trying to sensitize some people to the injustices they are experiencing.

No injustices here. As a Yoruba, what matters first is your ethnic identity. You can be Christian or Muslim or whatever you want, but that Yoruba identity will still be there. Yoruba don't view everything from a religious angle. Many families are mixed and it's not uncommon to have relative members or close friends who practice a different religion from your own. As a traditional ruler, one of the most important duties is for you to maintain/uphold the traditional culture and institutions irregardless of your religion.

There is no need to fight or create walls between your fellow brethren.
It's all well, no pretend.

malton:
Is there any state where you won't Hausa/Fulani in Nigeria? Or do you think we do not know that they all came from Bauchi State, aided by the whites and Babangida regime?

The Emir of Wase, as you tag it, is from Bauchi. His family house is still there to this day.

If every settler were an indigene, then we won't be discussing this. Hausa/Fulani are land grabbers who always turn to fight their hosts over their belongings.

The only local government with indigenous Muslims in Plateau State is Kanam. The Bogghom people are about 70% muslim, while the Jarawas are about 85% Christians. Mangu also has some Muslim population in Gindiri, but they are negligible, as they do not make up to even 2% of the population there.

Any Hausa or Fulani man you see in Plateau State is a settler, just like Igbo and Yoruba. It's on record.

You've said the truth. Other groups settled in Plateau state just like the Hausa/Fulani but you always see many of their members who claim that they are native to the land they settled in or conquered. You were shown hospitality and you repay by land grab and political subjugation. The emirate system does not give you entitleship all the North. The same way you have emirs in Nasarawa and Kwara state does not make them Hausa/Fulani states. Hausaland ends at parts of Bauchi. Any other areas South is native to the hundreds of various indigenous groups with ancestral claim to their land. Just because you install an emir does not mean you can now "assume" indegenouship. Last I checked an emir is an Islamic title and it does not apply to ethnicity. There is nothing I hate more than political hegemony over minorities.

Hati13:
Hi 9jakool, tnx for the info. The reason I say Nigerian languages belong to only to Niger-Congo was because of the book I referred it's only stated like that. The book might ignored the other 2 super-families spoken in those areas. So, I'm sorry for the mistake!

Amharic and Tigragn are very related. They both came from the Geez language(Geez now only used in the Ethiopian churches, like Latin used in the Catholic Churches). But, Tigragn is much related with the Tigre language(spoke only in Eritrea) relatively than Amharic. Amharic is 70% Semitic and 30% Cushitic, but the other two are almost Semitic. All those 3 languages are the only sisters languages of Geez language.

Ok thanks for the response.
Can you understand a person if they were to speak Tigrigna to you?
Also, is Geez understood by the common people?

Make I try
Yoruba
Circle- ayipo
hexagon- onigun mefa
Oval- ayipo gbigbun
Pentagon- onigun marun
Rectangle- opon
Rhombus- onigun merin gbigbun
Semi Circle- ayipo idameji
Square- onigun merin
star- irawo
trapezoid- (Not even going to attempt that)
Triangle- onigun meta

Even the English words had to be borrowed from Latin.

InyinyaAgbaOku:
Ancient igbos didn't see things in those forms.

Hexagon gini?
Rhombus
Trapezoid? O di mma

Didn't they built pyramids?

Hati13:
Hi Pearlyakin, I don't speak Oromia. I'm an Amhara ethnic, I only speak Amharic. I haven't heard any specific Nigerian languages being descendent from Ethiopia here(may be it's just me). All the languages here belong to Afro-Asiatic(Semitic, Cushitic and Omotic) and Nilo-Saharan(on Sudan border) super families. The Nigerian languages belong to Niger-Congo super-family, so I don't think they came from here, but it may be possible they originated from here since there are some evidences to support it.

Lol Nigeria has no connections with Ethiopia. Also, Nigeria is among the top five ethnically diverse countries in the world. Yes, there are Niger-Congo languages spoken, but there are actually a lot of Nigerians who speak Afro-Asiatic and Nilo-Saharan languages as well. Most of the Afro-asiatic languages spoken natively in Nigeria belong to the Chadic branch. They are largely spoken in Northern and Central parts of Nigeria. Out of about 300 languages afro-asiatic languages that exist, 150 of them are actually Chadic. The Nilo-saharan speakers are largely concentrated in the Northeast. The most widely spoken Nilo-Saharan and Afro-Asiatic(outside of Arabic) languages are both spoken in Nigeria. Chadic is the overwhelmingly spoken Afro-asiatic branch with Semitic and Berber minorities. Here is a breakdown with a few examples:
Afro-asiatic
Chadic- Hausa, Marghi, Angas, Tangale
Semitic- Baggara
Berber- Tamajaq
Nilo-Saharan
Kanuri
I've been wanting to know. I heard that Tigrinya and Amharic are both related and similar. If so, how well can both speakers understand each other?

deedeedee1:
Nonsense!!! What is the essence of living in a country with 300 ethnic groups? I do not know when a black man will ever use his brain. Let people who share a common language,culture and ancestor live in the same country so that there will be peace. Let them form nations.
Simple!!!

So 300 Nations?
Common ethnic group/language has nothing to do with it. Look at one of the most ethnically and religiously homogeneous countries in the world like Somalia and Ukraine.
Countries like Indonesia, Philippines, Brazil, Australia, Italy, and the US all have over 100 ethnic groups and diverse religions and they seem to be doing better. The problem with Nigeria is that you have a government that doesn't care about its people, so the common citizens are left to battle over their differences which intensify the already existing political divide, furthermore aiding the cause of those in power.

Cultural differences is irrelevant to Nation building (those barriers are only surface deep). Nation building only needs people who can unite on a progressive plan to develop irrespective of their differences. This is exactly what happened in Rwanda, a country that was torn apart by genocide that arose from cultural differences and power struggle. The Rwanda that emerged from the ashes of its past is now one of the fastest growing economy in the world with fast-growing human development.