₦airaland Forum

KnowAll:
maga/mugu is a fool, a bait that has fallen. Mumu is a bumbbling fool, clumsy person, slow-poke or just a silly person just like Mr Bean or Frank Spencer.

That explanation was both helpful and hilarious! Thank you kind sir! Oh, are those Yoruba words?

exotik:
ok then, nigeria should be renamed abokiria, and henceforth we should all be called abokis. is that cool with u?

Non-Nigerian here. What's "Abokiria" mean?

nedu2000:
'mumu' means - a senseless person,an slowpoke,,a silly person

So it means "i.diot" or "s.tupid"? Or is that too harsh of a translation on my part? Also, is "Maga" the same thing as "Mumu"?

Non-Nigerian here. What does "Mumu" mean?

^^^^

HAHAHA! Brilliant!

Amujale:
Gbam!

Thankyou! N_Ntns. . .


@OP If you want write in any language, you must definately have to learn, like N_Ntns already stated, take up a courses in the basics of the language. I think there are e-courses on the internet that could give you a head start; given the nature of your profession, it would be advantageous for you to study the language as a discipline in a higher institution/university.


meanwhile, would recommend Colloquial Yoruba - Colloquial Series by Yetunde Folarin.

Oh, I am most certainly interested in learning Yoruba, because it's such a beautiful sounding language. I just thought that I would ask for translations for my project in the meantime, since it's related to Yorubas (and other Nigerian groups).

Physics, you are phenomenal! Do you have any information on the daily life of Benin? For example, what the daily routines of men, women, and children were? By the way, I'm putting all this information from you and what I'm learning on my own, to great use.

[quote author=tpia@ link=topic=626139.msg9342117#msg9342117 date=1318639799]^^and what I said was your quickness to use the expression [and also to assume the other party gets the meaning], shows you're not what you claim you are.[/quote]Oh wait. Wait a minute, Tpia. I think there's some confusion. What do you think I am?

[quote author=tpia@ link=topic=626139.msg9336292#msg9336292 date=1318583603]Btw @ booshman

Home training is not an american term.

Your familiarity with the expression suggests you're not what you claim to be.[/quote]I never said it WAS an American term. I just said what the general definition of the word Akata is, given the context in which it's used AGAINST Black Americans.

MegaMan87:
I do occasionally keep an eye out on what Nigerian Americans are doing as I have family there. But as far as African Americans on a whole, NO. What's my business with a bunch of lazy akatas and Jamaican gangbangers? When I lived in New York the Jamaicans astounded me wit their laziness. So many of them were sit on the stoops outside the buildings and smoke marijuana all day. They absolutely reeked of it. The women were mostly the same. Loud & ghetto. I wasn't impressed. The local African Americans were mostly hoodlums that refused to go to school or do anything constructive.

Alot o them lived on welfare. Something we don't get in Naija. It's weird how they can be content with doing nothing. It's not a mentality I can ever get used to considering that growing up my family worked just as hard as everyone does in Lagos just to get what we need. And if your from Naija or Africa in general you know how difficult the struggle can be. The welfare thing just bafles. As much as AA's complain about living in the "ghetto" they have no idea how truly lucky they are. You don't get freebies where I'm from.

Also, I was shocked at the amount of women that walked around flaunting their bastard children. How can you have two children by two different men and none of the men have stuck around ? AH!! I don't know with African Americans, I really don't know.

The gangsta rap culture IS the African American culture. It has African Americans by the balls. From the sagging  trouser. To the slang/ebonics. To the horrible  and aggressive attitude. These kids want to grow up to be like the local drug dealer instead of a doctor or scientist. [/b]Can people see how bad that is?

[b]However I will say that I did met some very nice, warm and friendly African Americans. It's just a shame that the bad ones seem to be like a immovable dark cloud over them. It feels like everytime I went to a club that had akata in it a fight would break out. Near enough every time, seriously. In my culture that type of thing is frowned on.  That's why when we had the Naija indpendence day in New York back in 2007 we didn't want the akata to come because they did we feared they might start fighting in the club and ruin things.

So did you go to any of the middle and upper class black areas in New York? Or did you choose to stay in the slums because it reinforced what you already wanted to believe? What you did was no different than me judging all Nigerian men because of those who beat their wives and are corrupt government officials.

"Those in Glass Houses Shouldn't Throw Stones."

iNIKiNOK:
What is "Akata"?

It's a Yoruba word that has been adopted by other West Africans that generally means "an unruly person without home training". It's commonly used by Africans as an insult towards African Americans though.

Oh, Physics!  It's interesting that you brought up human sacrifices. In the book that I'm reading (the first one I mentioned, not the picture book), it does touch on that subject. It states that the irreversibly sick were also sacrificed (as well as criminals) and that only the Oba was allowed to sacrifice people. In addition to that, human sacrifices weren't always the fatal type people think of. Sometimes it was just to draw blood to appease Ogiuwu "The King of Death", who was the rightful owner of all blood.

Now on a previous page, you mentioned there being a bridge in Benin. This book also mentions a bridge. It was across the Ikpoba River that was constructed during the reign of the 19th king, Ogiso Erebo. Whether this is the same bridge that was mentioned by the accounts of that notoriously negative European writer, I have yet to learn. For all we know, there could have been more than one bridge. Which would make sense theoretically, since the one I'm referring to, was build in the early 600's.

PhysicsQED:
3. With respect to daily life in Benin, I will definitely post some quotes from visitors to Benin which give some idea of how people were living. First I have some other things I want to post - some images of weapons, some general images of art, and an article on Benin astrology/divination beliefs. After that, I will post some information -some of them direct quotes from eyewitnesses (not all of the accounts of eyewitnesses are easily accessible, so I'll only post the ones available in English and accessible to me) - which show how very positively pre-civil war Benin was viewed and some quotes about their daily life.

I can't wait for the above part!

PhysicsQED:
4. One prominent mythological figure I know of from Edo culture is the wrestler Joromi. In the myth, he was a powerful wrestler who went to what we would call "hell" and wrestled a monster with several heads and defeated it simply because he could. There's a lot more interesting detail to the story than that, which you might find elsewhere if you look around a bit, but that's the basic outline. There is a lot of other Edo mythology about different deities and creatures, but I would have a hard time directing you to any one really good source that has all of the different mythological beliefs compiled together.

I'd appreciate any links you could provide.

I love all of these rare pictures of the royal figures, but why are they always so small?

lakal:
Here is the link:

[url]http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchdetail.cfm?trg=1&strucID=351083&imageID=1106720&parent_id=292496&word=&snum=&s=¬word=&d=&c=&f=&sScope=&sLevel=&sLabel=&total=35&num=12&imgs=12&pNum=&pos=13[/url]

Thank you! By the way, when I clicked on the picture, it enlarged it. Enough so you could see more details.

[quote author=tpia@ link=topic=770881.msg9307392#msg9307392 date=1318214299]the nigerian govt should really look into establishing a history village somewhere in nigeria like the ones in the US showcasing ancient ways of life.[/quote]I've been saying this for years! Devote certain locations to recreate past villages like that of Oyo and Benin, with employees/tour guides dressed in the regalia of the past and even demonstrating how things were done.

@Lakal

There was that "Afin" photo from? It's a little tiny, and I would love to see a larger version of it to see the details.

@ PhysicsQED

Whoa! That was a ton of information! Are you sure you're not secretly a well versed scholar who has written on this subject before?

When I first asked my question about inserting iron into their hide skin armor, I figured that they (Benin Armorsmiths) would just say "Why not?" and go for the maximum level of protection. Also with Ozolua the Conquerer, that's exactly who I based my speculation on, because I remembered his trademark "Cloak of Iron". Even though I knew Benin traded, because their markets were known to be very elaborate and having very serious vendors, I wasn't sure just who Benin's traded with. More specifically, if they traded with Kanem-Bornu, who were known for wearing mail armor.

In terms of the type of leather, I didn't know they used hippo leather as well as crocodile, elephant, and pangolin. I previously knew about the myth of it being bulletproof, because I remember watching a television special on that subject which debunked the myth. But if they used hippo then it's no wonder they didn't use anything else. And I don't think of the common misconception of leather used in armor being like cow-hide, because that's always damaged so easily and is treated with extreme care in modern clothes. The only thing I find odd about the Benin Warriors, was that they didn't wear any protective shoes. I know that this is just my "westerness" speaking, but I just can't fathom walking around barefoot. Let alone in battle. Although this was more than likely a non-issue with them, given their history of being so effective in combat.

I also have another question for you. Do you know of any scholars that have accounts of everyday life in the Benin Empire? Or even the folktales/mythological creatures they believed in? Because all I can find information on is about their military strength, royalty, the Ebos, and their other religious beliefs. Recently, I purchased another book that has many wonderful illustrations of what ancient Benin looked like. Outlining the various sections with lots of details, from historical accounts. This was the book,

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0531153606/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&seller=

cap28:
hmmm, well you better pray that there is no break down of law and order in america tomorrow because if that ever happens, the white majority will remind you that you definitely dont belong in amerikkka.

They have been doing that for centuries,

Thanks Physics, I hope you do get a chance to read the book, because it's one of the best I've read on Edo Spirituality. And I hope you do give some insight on Edo soldier's armor.

PhysicsQED:
The roof has a really cool overall shape.

Oh, my, gosh! That is phenomenal looking!

Hello there Physics! I have a question about Benin warriors. I recently bought a fascinating book on Edo Spirituality. It's from a man who over the years of learning, and from lots of testimonials of Edo's wrote this book about Edo culture.

This book to be precise,

[url]http://books.google.com/books?id=Gcd5RQAACAAJ&dq=Kings,+Magic,+and+Medicine&hl=en&ei=GqeFTs3DH8Pb0QG64ZntDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA
[/url]

In it, there is a really nice amount of information on Edo beliefs, rituals, and magic. The second half though, has a really nice section on the history of all the kings (from the Ogiso to the Oba dynasties), and even of a few influential Queen Mothers. My question to you is about the Edo soldiers. In the book, it talks about how they were outfitted, and it mentioned that they wore tough Pangolin Hide Armor to capture leopards. But just as I speculated myself, the book also mentioned how they also incorporated iron in their soldier's elephant leather hide body armor. I mean they did use iron helms, so it wouldn't make sense for them not to insert thin plates in their leather armor and sew it together. What do you think?

Do you have larger pictures of the Yoruba Military Architecture? Mainly the second picture? I'd love to see the details.

I don't mean to hijack Ezeuche's thread, but it seems as of PhysicsQED is quite knowledgeable about Benin Empire. I'm trying to further my knowledge of the Empire, but I have some questions about their everyday life, that I haven't found any answers to. Do you have an e-mail address I could talk to you through? Should I ask them here? Or should I make a new thread?

[quote author=k.o.n.y link=topic=626139.msg9234918#msg9234918 date=1317196759]Its not about that. We know where we are from. We are from america.[/quote]That's not what I meant, and you know it. I meant originally. Something, every other group is allowed to learn about, but us.

[quote author=k.o.n.y link=topic=626139.msg9217842#msg9217842 date=1316978741]Im curious to know as well, don get me wrong. But i dont feel its necessary. A'lot of africans think we are lost with no culture, just because we dont know our african lineage. Which is far from the truth[/quote]I don't want to do it for other Africans. I want do it because it inserts the final piece of the puzzle of "who I am". Sure it's not going to magically turn me into an African or anything like that, and I'm still an African American first, but if every other group on the planet can know where they come from, why not us too? Closure is always a good thing.

[quote author=k.o.n.y link=topic=626139.msg9211809#msg9211809 date=1316877838]Lol black americans don't care what part of africa our ancestors 500 years ago, came from. I trace my family back to charleston south carolina and thats as far as i wanna take it. Its not necessary for us to trace back to some random tribe in africa theres no point

And have you seen the state africa is in.lol the entire continent lol. Do you see how africans act? Ya are ten times worst than we are. Black americans have been the most influential blacks in the world for like the past 100 years lol[/quote]Hey there Kony, speak for yourself. As an African American, I'd love to know where my bloodline originated from. Sure it wouldn't instantly solve any problems, but it's something that's always nice to know. If only it weren't so expensive.

If other non-African groups can preserve their culture, then why not? As long as you don't kill people for marrying outside your race (Like Hindu's/Arab Muslim's do) and culture, then it's fine. But marrying within one's culture should still be encouraged.

Kazeem101:
LOL, why are you bothered about what "African Americans" think of you? They have it in for everybody thanks to that slave mentality of there's. I pity the the person that refers to themselves as "African" when they can't even point out where in Africa they come from.

I lived in America for a years and made a point to stay away from AA's. You have to understand that most of them come from irresponsible homes. No father figure to show the difference between right and wrong. That's why instead of being in school learning, they're out gangbanging and causing mischief.We have very little in common so what's the point. If they want to speak with me, fine. If not, who cares?

Just stick to your education and be a responsible person. Don't lower yourself to their standards! 

Most come from irresponsible homes, but I could just point out that you came from an irresponsible country. You also make Nigerians, who are generally good and humble people, look very arrogant and pompous. Get off your high horse please.

Kazeem101:
I'm not friendly with Black Americans or "African Americans" as alot of you like to be known. Infact, can any of you actually show me where in Africa you descend from?

From my personal experiences "African Americans" walk around with this constant chip on their shoulder. Most Africans that go to school with African Americans tend to get bullied or teased for being African. We get called "Uncle Tom" and "Whitey" just because we actually want to learn,instead of standing on a street corner selling drugs.

Also, the Hip Hop mentality that [b]ALOT [/b]African Americans carry around with you is shocking. Sagging pants, ebonics, constant foul language. I mean, what is going on?

This is not an attack. It's just what I've seen with my own two eyes. Am I proud of Black Americans? Only the few that actually want to better themselves. The majority just want a free handout. I would love to see how all those lazy, ghetto, hoodrats that depend on welfare would survive out here in Nigeria where nothing is given to you for free.

If you are a Black American and nothing that I said applies to you, I salute you!!!

As much as I love Nigerians, I should remark that, "Those who live in Glass Houses, shouldn't throw stones."

It's actually quite foolish for both Black Americans and Black Africans to insult each other. To white Americans, who think "Yoruba" is the name of the sixth moon of Jupiter (Europa), we're both the same to them.

[quote author=E-Engineer link=topic=709182.msg9129790#msg9129790 date=1315827916]i know african americans are portrayed in a bad light on tv and i definitely dont want to believe all that crap

since we have AA's on this thread,
can u folks do us the favor of giving us the real truth about you guys, the whole story u know like the 60% good stuff and the 40% bad stuff

i also heard that what was shown on CNN about hurricane katrina was a big sham can u folks enlighten us on the truth[/quote]I'm African American and I'd be glad to give you a dose of the truth about us. Oh boy. Where to begin?

First of all, you have NO idea just how evil whites have been in America. They promote this false image of being benevolent to the rest of the world, but it couldn't be further from the truth. Hurricane Katrina was a perfect example. They constantly lied about black folks being violent during the flood, and it turned out to be a massive lie. But not once did they apologize for making black Americans look like savages. On top of that, when black folks were fleeing the flood and the storm, they had racist whites in the neighboring town standing at their border, who were shooting and killing innocent blacks that tried to find safe refuge there. But as usual, the white news media was dead silent about that. Even today, you won't find a news story about that unless you do some serious searching on the internet. I could write a book on the truth about American whites, their double standards, and their evils. But I won't want you to be reading for the rest of your life.

odumchi:
The next few pictures will begin to deal with the masculine societies of the Igbos. The first picture is of the "ikperikpe" war dance. Such a dance was performed before and after a war by warriors of Arochukwu, Ohafia, Afikpo and Abiriba and a few other neighbouring communities. The dance was meant to please the ancestors so as to grant the warriors victory during war.

Do you have larger versions of the pictures in this post? They're a little tiny.