₦airaland Forum

Princek12: What do you guys think?

I haven't been to Northern Nigerian however It is possible but I feel when it comes to religion they are but everything else is Nigerian. To me North Africa is completely another middle east culturally, the only African about them is the continent they are in, they are part of the African union and their ancient history to a extent

Mkenyaa: Good evening Nairalanders. After being a guest for sometime i have finally decided to sign up. Can Somebody Welcome me, any kenyan in the house?

well welcome to Nairaland, for the most part Nigerians are very welcoming but be prepared for the bad eggs in nairaland, some of them are not even Nigerian at times

Odenigbo Aroli: Yoruba women cant cook for sh..iit!

oh get over yourself seriously, my mom & all my Yoruba aunts can cook like no mans business, although there are some Yoruba's that can't cook, their are other Nigerians of other tribes that can't cook either. I have tasted some foods & Nigerian cuisines from igbo's, edo's and Yoruba's and it has been pretty even, so please stop with the generalization because I have been to Nigerian restaurants in Maryland, Rhode Island and other states & they were runned by Yoruba's(also restaurants runned by other Nigerian tribes) and the food was good that Nigerians from different tribes were ordering from them.

mbatuku2: There are already ethnic beauty contests like these. I've come across one for Igbo girls organised by a particular social club. Just cant remember all the details.

[quote author=#Afanna]http://www.ooduabeautypageant.com/about_us.php[/quote]oh I didn't really know, that's good then. Thanks for the link Afanna

mimifonwon: hahhaha, no offense i have to disagree, omotola is okay looking, not beautiful in my book. To each their own abi.I have met her and her kids before and her children are not that cute. Okay one of my elder brothers married an igbo girl and the other an ashanti/igbo mixture, even though they rep yoruba till kingdom come, and there is nothing wrong with that. My mom wanted them to consider yoruba girls too, even invited a yoruba neighbor of ours in the states to spend a summer with us, but it just didnt work out. I guess its true most men chase after women that remind them of their mothers, regardless of tribe. On the ugly or not thing, every tribe have its uglies and beauties, one man's treasure might be another man's garbage. My eldest brother did date some yoruba girls, but said that the ones he dated were not clean and didnt cook the types of food he liked( he is used to igbo foods cuz of my mom) and he said she didnt have a nice over all character. For him it had nothing to do with their beauty, because his yoruba ex girlfriend is wayyy prettier than his wife physically, but attitude wise, the girl he married is better.

So True

alj harem: The culture that teaches that a king could become a slave and a slave could become a king in their midst and that the way a child is born is the same way a slave is born put the Yoruba culture up front amongst world cultures, East, West, North and South. In Western Nigeria it is not so much where you come from but how willing to assimilate and be accommodated as one of theirs, never had ethnic roundup. Always survive by their wish for others sometime to a fault.

Western Nigeria is unique with its cultural accommodation and assimilation irrespective of any ethnic group in search of success. Nigeria is not United States and will never be but it is unique in its generosity that may be hard to understand in today’s troubled environment. Like the days of Go West Young Man in USA, most wanted success based on agriculture, some on gold rush, away from polluted and overcrowded environment, as others sought a new way of life.

If Western Nigeria is conducive to success, why are so many Nigerians crossing the desert? We have very driven people on one hand ready to find success or die trying; on the other extreme are people that pray that only God can provide for tomorrow while they worry about today. Between these extremes are Nigerians that are unique in their own way in the pursuit of success inside or outside their base. They may turn into different animals in a foreign country.

The Western part of Nigeria and the surroundings are occupied by the Yoruba and their cousins. What stands out is that more Nigerians have been more successful inside this western part of the Country than inside or outside of Africa. Indeed, many Africans got their clean breaks in the West. It could be the water, food or the air they breathe in but the fact has more to do with accommodation of others to strive and prosper to their highest potentials benefiting their host.

Ghana’s role as accommodation for all Black freedom fighters in and outside Africa must also be recognized after their Independence where the Yoruba spread across West Africa played a role in Diaspora in particular and as African culture in general calls for one another brother’s keeper. Upon this African culture, Yoruba built cultural and commercial success through communities that encouraged educated entrepreneurs. It’s not recent Cocoa either, for their earlier success.

Many historians have credited Lagos at the seaport as the commercial junction even before the Country became Independent or made Lagos its capital. Lagos was not the only place made the capital of Nigeria. Looking deeper into the origin of the accommodation enjoyed by those that came from far and wide, point to a cultural history of people. Before the Yoruba fought fiercely within during slavery, they were united by culture and religion of Ife spread across West Africa.

However, Ibadan not Lagos was the most accommodating place in Western Nigeria contrary to the general belief shared in the Country. Indeed, it was the political melting pot where outsider could be crowned their leader out of accommodation; but only with Ile-Ife assimilation. It was an unprecedented example worthy of praised, but never enough for political opportunists that would stoop to conquer. No accommodation anywhere else in the world, without assimilation.

Moremi in Yoruba history loved and seduced the Igbo. While many were forced to change their confrontations and assimilated; marauders were expelled. Yoruba and Igbo histories remember Moremi. Yoruba also disguised or changed locations during wars. History teaches us that there were a few Ife locations moving north and south but the original one remain around the area it is today in the rain forest. It is backed by scientific research of spreading out of Africa not into.

Religion and culture of Oduduwa before Christ, children and grandchildren were noted on the Nile as Sun, River and Sky worshippers that would not bow to other religions, even if sent packing. What Nigerians call Yoruba diplomacy, slaves used it as Santeria diplomacy to stick to their culture and religion in captivity. Africans in general, even at the height of Ghana, Mali and Songhai empires play religion with Muslims and Christians but never gave up their own religion as practice today by those who call themselves devoted Christian and Muslims, like Santeria.

Oyo itself as the town, moved north and south. Nupe, Igala, Tapa and Hausa also know Yoruba in their histories. The real question becomes the recognition of other people’s histories in Yoruba culture big enough to rejuvenate by accommodating and assimilating others as long as they are willing to absorb the original culture from Ife in which all Yoruba prosper in terms of ability to get along and live together in peaceful harmony fostering commerce and friendship.

Therefore accommodation of different groups of people did not start in Lagos, it is a Yoruba culture brought into seashore by children of Ogunfuminire father of Eko Omo-Onile, one of the earliest Awori from Ife. Some historians claim that Oduduwa is not from Ife either, that he was accommodated after showing the original settlers the marks or writing all over his body written by his own Oduduwa father so that he could be accepted when his children returned home.

There are very few societies in the world that fully embraced equally-born philosophy as the Yoruba until 18 or 19 century. Not the teaching of the world ancient religions or governments that focus on themselves first. Until lately, women were considered a fraction of a man in the western civilization and slaves were blessed by most world religions to expect freedom only in heaven. While western countries now champion equality, they are Johnny-just-come-lately.

Haiti was one of the first countries after United States in the Americas to gain Independence. So many scholars marvel where they got the idea of freedom from. Oh well, it was speculated that their leaders heard and read about French and American revolutions. But none of the scholars credit the great African civilization they emerged from. These were children of kings, warriors, artists and philosophers that circumstance pushed into slavery yet strive by trying to assimilate. For that, Haiti is still economically drained and punished today.

The Yoruba method of accommodation and assimilation to attract other ethnic groups squarely fall on their skills in traditional medicine, mathematical skill counting into thousands to millions, marks as beauty on women and men bodies where they cannot be easily visible and of course in arts and carvings that others recognize as tattoo, ethnic marks to the distinguished. Those that could neither read nor write saw it as Chinese or musical writings puzzling the uninitiated. Even not all Yoruba can read and write some of the ancient puzzles like Idi sacred book in Ile-Ife.

Many attracted to Ife by rich cultural oral history; writings of the Yoruba of West Africa on objects, human bodies, and carvings that were known far beyond Iwo Eleru where artifacts were dated back to 10,000 BC. So much has been written and said about Herodotus testimony of descriptions of Africans in Egypt with marks especially on their foreheads. Yoruba used it as greetings to recover lost souls everywhere, like recognized Omo Oduduwa on his return home.

However, as frontiers expand and communities seek independence from the cultural center in Ife and the generals in Oyo, inter-communal clashes disturbed the common bond. We still see some of the resentment today since personalities has taken over loyalty to Ife and modernity challenges Ife and Oyo. Every town and community wants their Oba, governor and president. Yoruba will survive these rivers and problems, since they wish for others what they wish for themselves.

Written By Farouk Martins Aresa

http://www.thenigerianvoice.com/nvnews/91592/1/why-yoruba-culture-accommodates-success-in-outside.html

Interesting article, explains alot

mimifonwon: Well according to igbo traditions whatever your father is, is what you are, there is nothing like am mixed this and that, but it was my yoruba side that made me understand that i wasnt full yoruba.I mean growing up my parents forced us to learn igbo,yoruba and hausa, it amazed me that though my mom learned my father's language, he indirectly refused to learn hers. I remember whenever i went to visit my grandma in umuahia, abia state, she always treated us as if we were igbo, and rarely acknowledged the fact our father wasnt from igbo tribe, she even insisted that we teach her some yoruba language so she can surprise her inlaws. But my paternal relatives, especially my paternal grandma always made side comments about us not being full yoruba. Anyways when i was with my paternal relatives they at times made my siblings and i feel out of place, even though compared to some of them, we spoke better yoruba than them. So when it comes to identifying myself i used to say yoruba only growing up, because my mom said as long as we dont bare her father's lastname that we belong to our father. But when i turned 16teen and my paternal cousins kept on calling us omo igbos, i just decided-against my mother's wish to claim both.

It isn't only igbo, it is all tribes that father what your father is is what the kids are(except ghanians to a extent with the ashanti's), my cousins are example of that and no one from their Yoruba side including me ever treated them differently so I feel your case is more to your family not a Yoruba or igbo thing, because one of the people I know which I mentioned earlier who has a yoruba mom/igbo father had the same experiences as you did but this time it was her igbo side that treated her badly to the point that her father joined sides and sided with his family members to a extent, it lead to family issues, that her yoruba mom had to leave the father with her & the other siblings(her igbo side never agreed with her father marrying a Yoruba woman(her mother)). Her father ended up remarrying a igbo woman(had kids with her) and the mother had to raise her and her siblings alone in Yorubaland. She doesn't hate igbo's but she claims yoruba all the way and have always warned people about the negative side of inter-tribal marriages

Odenigbo Aroli: Again,how many of these Igbos who are married to Yorubas spoke Igbo lang? The answer is very few to none. Where were they raised and among which tribe did they grow up? They might have Igbo father or mother but were raised in Yoruba land or amongst Yorubas and these factors shape and influence the decisions they make; Rarely will you find an Igbo man who doesnt speak Yoruba marry into the tribe(yoruba). And Igbo guys in general find their women very beautiful,so it will appear insane to leave all that and marry from somewhere else. And you might chose to ignore it but there is a thick line between yoruba woman and an Igbo chic!! Yorubas are very bias,especially towards the Igbos but when presents with a beautiful Igbo woman lots of them throw caution into the wind! When an Igbo man marries a Yoruba woman which is rare its usually for the sake of true love but on the flip side its first and foremost for the beauty! I can almost speak with certainty that those who were mixed with Igbo but ended up marrying Yoruba never grew up around Igbo nor spoke the language; And mind you,Igbos have a specific TRIATS and any Yoruba man who is coming to marry an Igbo woman already know their standards and how an Igbo woman is treat,therefore they will adjust in order to be accepted. If an Igbo chic senses any fowl play she will dump your ass. You cant treat an Igbo woman the way you treat a yoruba one; Igbos pamper their wives and thats a known fact,hence the reason for very low rate of divorce amongst the Igbos. Point is; Those who couldnt fit in will settle with what they have!

The first or beginning statement you said I agree because almost all the people I mentioned as examples were raised in yorubaland, and the igbo who married yoruba's well most of them didn't understand igbo, so I am not disputing what you said. However I disagree with some parts you brought up although you are right that it is a rare to see a yoruba woman/igbo man couple but your generalization that when they see beautiful igbo they throw everything else they carry out the wind is inaccurate because beauty is not the only determining factor in finding a partner at least with yoruba men, once a woman can cook, has a hot body, and knows how to act like a wife and is semi pretty or average they will marry her in a heart beat over the most prettiest female that that lacks in other things; I have seen this attitude with some Yoruba men. their are beautiful women out there and many of them can't cook, don't know how to be a wife, can't train their kids and are a complete mess, that same attitude is what Yoruba men do to a beautiful yoruba woman as well so it isn't clear cut as you make it seem. I know men get smitten over beautiful women, which is natural and important but when it comes to marriage the women has to bring more to the plate then just her facial features.

When it comes to yoruba and igbo have different traits that is inevitable because they are from different cultures before, during and after British colonization. It is the samething with hausa's they have differnt traits from igbo's and yoruba's. So we shouldn't full ourselves because as much as every Nigerian has national pride there is no such thing in general as Nigerian culture, our foods maybe the same and we may hold some common things dearly the same but the reality is Nigeria is a unique country in which as much as we have national pride our culture is tribal. I have seen that example alot especially when that stupid Nigerian decided to commit into bombing a plane in America back in december 25 2008, the first thing most Nigerians asked before it was known about what his name was, was: "what tribe was he"? because you would never see a Yoruba man or women sacrifice themselves for stupid ideology, yoruba's love life and want to live so you won't see that. Once they found he was a muslim Hausa they weren't surprised. So the triats from each tribe is prevalent in that example, it is just inevitable, also lastly some yoruba men do treat igbo women the same way they treat yoruba women, I have seen a few examples of that to let me know that it isn't as clear cut as you make it seem. Yoruba men aren't push overs as well.

[quote author=V_Official®]sounds cute n direct but, hmmm... stuffs like these get really wierd you know-?

well... i'm actually working on not caring 'bout people's opinion in my personal life again as the only people i'm acttracted to (nowadays) are those that believe and uphold my cause'. no matter what whoever is[/quote]Understood, so your mother is Hausa. So I'm just curious to ask you: so your fathers side doesn't want you with igbo women only or are their other women that they don't want you with?

[quote author=tpia@]but are you considering the children of such unions and how this will affect their identity later in life.

well, i guess settling in lagos is always an option sha.

quarter this and two tenths that doesnt really cut it with people unless you're in the midst of similar fellows- eg the US or somewhere.

just theorizing here.

as per the op- she's not even happy someone asked her out, she wants to start abusing the guy because he called her igbo after she threw him a shocker about her background. If she knows what people can face in the name of marrying half tribes or is it half and halfs, she'd think properly.

anyway, she's still young. [/quote]Look I know in America who ever raised you is the culture most likely you will live and at times identify as; and I have seen that example with mixed race Americans, especially who are half black, and coincidentally many mixed race people in America have non-black mothers so many of them call themselves mixed, at times white, only a few of this generation call themselves Black only the old school biracials(like OBAMA) still claim that now. plus it is a little grey because you have some who will act black but only date & marry their white side and vice versa, etc.

When it comes to mixed tribal people of Nigeria their are two ways I see them follow, it is either they claim and identify both sides(like the OP and V official) or they claim and live one side. I have cousins in Nigeria and their mother is not Yoruba or Nigerian, and they claim only yoruba and both are married to yoruba women, I have a friend who has a edo father and yoruba mom and she claims both sides but majority of the time socially hangs out with yoruba's & she only goes out with yoruba men, one who happened to be a cousin of mine at one point, I have another friend who has a hausa father and yoruba mom(both parents are christain) but leans toward her yoruba side. I know four females who are mixed yoruba/igbo and were born and raised in Nigeria(two have igbo fathers & two have igbo mothers); One is a free spirit and identifies both, three claim yoruba and they all ended up marrying yoruba men but they are not afriad to say their igbo side when asked. the funny part the two that claims yoruba have igbo fathers, one loves her igbo father and she hangs out with edo alot and igbo but when it comes to social gatherings she mostly goes to yoruba gatherings and always dated yoruba men before she ended up marrying one, the other ones father wasn't really there for her due to family issues and the biafra war. One of them who claims yoruba but has a igbo mother, is actually closer to her mother then her father, and her father is even half yoruba and igbo, so sometimes it is weird how things end up at times.

So am I considering the identity of these children from these union? Yes but their identity happens to depends on many things from parents, culture, experiences and etc. In African culture though who ever the father is that is what the child is, and to a extent it is correct but sometimes that rule goes out the window depending on certain things. I feel in the olden days of Nigeria this rule would have been clear cut by now a days things are slowly changing but I do think to a extent the old rule of africa will still remain since many Nigerians follow culture/tribal culture.

For me though I don't take any of this personal but not all mixed tribal Nigerians follow one way of identifying, so I don't feel comfortable judging anybody about it cause their are some with the OP's background that would only claim Yoruba, so not everything is clear cut.

[quote author=Mynd_44]Use the complaint thread[/quote]there is no complaint thread on the celebrity section, so I asked the celebrity moderator in this thread. if their was a complaint thread beleive me I wouldn't have complained about it in this thread

Hello moderator
One of my threads has been hidden: "Who are the top ten most handsome & hottest Ghanian actors": https://www.nairaland.com/789010/most-handsome-hottest-ghanian-actor , don't know why but can the thread please be unhidden please because I didn't do anything for the thread to end up like that, thank you. I tried to communicate to the moderator of that section but she never responds or does anything, so please can you fix the problem, thanks.

interesting

ogugua88: Patience Dabany! First lady! I love her songs

Yeah, that's very true. I'm not a big fan of American rap sef. Could be why I've never really gotten into Nigerian rap as well lol.

I've never heard of Mapfumo. I'll have to do a search when I get home.

Huhhhh? Lol. Nigerian mainstream's pretty good, although I'm quite behind with downloads. They're all beginning to sound the same I sieve for the old as well. Lately, all I've been playing is Celestine Ukwu and Oriental Brothers lol.

It was only a matter of time for Fally. He blew up in France before he blew up in Nigeria, which surprised me really lol. Usually Nigerians are on top of "waist-winding" music. I listen to the songs that no one knows lol. I still think "Droit Chemin" is his best album.

I will post some more vids when I'm home

One of my threads has been hidden: "Who are the top ten most handsome & hottest Ghanian actors" (from the celebrity which you moderate): https://www.nairaland.com/789010/most-handsome-hottest-ghanian-actor (same problem as last time), don't know why but can the thread please be unhidden please because I didn't do anything for the thread to end up like that, thank you. cause I sent you this message without a response and there is no complaint section in the celebrity section either to communicate with you.

please vote on the poll as well

[quote author=V_Official®]well... truely said!!! despite the fact that our environment has influences on how shapened our lives are (including our utterances and how we couple them into our individual lives), we are still who we are.
while i was still in Nigeria, i had an igbo girl i was seeing-: my parents didnt complain about it at all but... the friends (ext. family) n 'well-wishers' who are all yorubas have their reservations. considering whom my father is, i tried to satisfy both sides (balancing yoruba and my beloved igbo). I'm sure you know that when things come to this... one has to be reservatively smart in handling the situation as everything might bounce back on my mum[b](who is not a yoruba)[/b].
This puzzle you are trying to solve is a very clumsy one, putting in mind that most of these people's education levels are low.[/quote]If you are not full Yoruba, you shouldn't really subject yourself to that, especially since your mother is not Yoruba. Men go out with women most of the time like their mothers. Nollywood actors Desmond Elliot and Joseph Benjamin are both half yoruba/half igbo but are called igbo or treated as such; both have igbo mothers and yoruba fathers and both are with non-Yoruba women. Desmond Elliot is married to a ijaw women and Joseph Benjamin exclusively dates igbo women. You and the OP are immune into following the rule of marrying into a tribe, since both of you are mixed tribally.

ogugua88: There's no such thing as 100% privacy, whether in real life or internet. So those that are giving advice such as block this, report that, I hope you feel accomplished. There are people with secured pages who still get their information hacked and et cetera.

Imagine running into a school friend, someone you haven't seen in years. You're there telling them what's been happening in your life recently and they reply, "Oh I know. I saw it on Facebook". It is the creepiest thing ever. We all have that kind of story. There's no "Profile Counter" like there was on MySpace. Don't be naive. Any way you look at it, someone's watching you on Facebook, and no one can truly be trusted. Not even your closest friends.

One of my threads has been hidden: "Who are the top ten most handsome & hottest Ghanian actors": https://www.nairaland.com/789010/most-handsome-hottest-ghanian-actor (same problem as last time), don't know why but can the thread please be unhidden please because I didn't do anything for the thread to end up like that, hank you