All indications suggest that the term amanyanabo is an Ijaw expression. If you understand Ijaw, you will see that the expression is easily decipherable.

Ama - town, country
Nyana - own, have
Bo - person

If you understand Ijaw syntax, you will see that the statement “ama nyana bo” is 100% syntactically and grammatically correct. There are also cultural factors that further indicate that it is an Ijaw expression. The Amanyanabo title is highly connected with the Canoe House (or War Canoe House) system, which is a distinct cultural feature of Ijaw. The Amanyanabo title is also only present in Ijaw-speaking communities.

The Igbo-speaking communities that neighbor Ijaw-speaking communities also have a similar (perhaps analogous) title/expression. You will hear either “Onyenweala” or “Mbichiriama” (and their variants). Onyenweala is more analogous to Amanyanabo, because you can see the direct translation between the concepts.

Onye - person
Nwe - own, have
Ala - land, country

Compare this to the decomposition of Amanyanabo provided above, we see evidence of two different language structures, both syntactically and grammatically correct for their given languages.

Now here is where things get interesting.

We know that the expression “Amanyanabo” is indisputably Ijaw. However, we also know that the institution is recent. All the accounts I have so far come across suggest that for most Ijaw-speaking communities, their first Amanyanabo appears between the 17th to 18th centuries; even later for many others. Bonny is no exception to this. This evidence of the late development of the Amanyanabo institution suggests that the expression itself may also be recent. It makes someone like me curious about the extent of cultural exchange between Ijaw-speaking communities and their Igbo-speaking counterparts in the eastern part of the Lower Niger.

I would not be surprised if such exchange facilitated the development of “Amanyanaboship” (as Charles Ogan put it). Granted, we (as of yet) have no established chronology for the Onyenweala/Mbichiriama institution, so we cannot speak about this potential cultural exchange with any sort of authority. However, I suspect it at least warrants some investigation and can likely upend some currently held academic notions regarding the social, cultural and political history of the Lower Niger.

Lol. I just realized that it is on this very thread where I voiced my displeasure with Ijaw intentionally reauthoring oral traditions. On yet another thread (https://www.nairaland.com/6510065/bonny-island-ndoki), I shared how I too am suspicious of Alagoa purposely reauthoring Bonny Ijaw traditions (go search my contribution on that thread and see for yourself). But Igbo propagandists here will easily skip my actual comments to claim that I am an Ijaw revisionist. Hehe. You people are obvious liars, but it’s okay. Because this has just proven that anyone with half a brain who goes through my post history here on NL will see the obvious lies told by you all and can easily conclude that you all are simply throwing tantrums like children.

Malawian:
Madam, you might have one Igbo parent and one Ijaw parent.

Yeah, this isn’t true. Anyhow, whether anyone on this platform likes it or not, I’m as proudly Igbo as it gets. They’ll just have to live with that simple fact.

ThickSharon123, going by your profile, you’ve only been on NL for the second half of this year. So I’ll extend some grace to you, since it’s possible that you do not know my comments on this platform. As an extension of that grace, I’ll encourage you to go and read through a thread called The Extent of Alaigbo right here on NL. Feel free to browse for my contributions on this topic, and feel free to see the timestamp for when those contributions were made. Thanks.

Fbisshit:
your mention was not accidental neither do I owe you any explanation.

And you should know by now that people have come to know your choice of topics and when I see one, I'll endeavour to mention you.
Thank you!

Lol. I’m still not understanding your intent or expectation here, so I’ll just leave you be.

Anyhow, @thread. There is another thread here on Nairaland where Igbo nationalists were arguing with Ijaw nationalists about the origins of Bonny. Go and look it up (The true extent of Alaigbo thread). If anyone wants, go and see my contribution in that thread, if you want to know my “choice of topics” on this subject. Some people on this platform obviously have short term memories.

Fbisshit:
Many lies have been told about bonny and opobo. Now the truth is about to be told and when the time is right all lies will be dismantled one by one and any force that wouldn't accept the truth will go down with the lies...

ChinenyeN

I’m confused as to why I’m being referenced here. Feel free to clarify at your own leisure, if you will. Thanks.

Eastlandx:

Back to the long chronicles.

Lol,You be small pikin this ijo girl.
And try make sense for your comment abeg

Okay, so all you’ve got left for today is just back and forth over post length; nothing else e ji ba whne ochi? Alright, well this banter was entertaining while it lasted, I guess.

Eastlandx:

Now you are trying to keep your irrelevant comments as short as possible.
LOOOLs

Nwanyi ijo. Asawana o Egberifa Izon, Yaa!!

LOOOOOLs

Lool. You’re really grasping at straws with your hypertension. Ma o buu ke, ya bu kaa. Lol. I di l’ishi onwu ma o dinuu ke ng’idabamarna gh.

At this point now, I’m just intrigued and wondering how you even managed to lie to yourself like this. Mgbamgba erne nkoro gh for real, but it’s okay. Ba m whne ochi nwanne lei; ma turu ndu manu weee. Hehe.

Eastlandx:
Giving myself Hypertension?
Iyasikwa.
Read my comments and read yours, I'm not the one who spent time Writing Epistles and chronicles to Convince someone that I'm Igbo.


Asawana Egberifa izon, yaa!!

Loool. Please, everyone who has interacted with me on NL knows this is my writing style. You’ve made no points with this. Next statement. Ba m whne ochi la o ma mma. Keep me entertained.

Eastlandx:

Yes we are all Igbo but Woman, you are not Igbo, you should be proud of Your ijo Ethnic group.
This Impersonation will not help you in any way.

Lol. You’re fighting an uphill battle. My post history shows that I am both very much Igbo and a man (most names are unisex in Ngwa, if you don’t know). There is really no chance that you have here, and it’s amusing. You’re really giving yourself hypertension over this. It’s unfortunate how much you’ve indoctrinated yourself with your own ideals that you are spending countless hours lying to yourself and being angry with someone who isn’t angry with you (a.k.a me).

Years of “Igbo bu Igbo” and “Igbo bu otu” knee-jerk reaction has culminated into this sadness. All I really need to do is kpooru; di d’ele, because you’re doing this to yourself. Nwanne, free yourself from the shackles of your own self-indoctrination.

Eastlandx:

Childish & Typical,you think if you continue regurgitating that adulterated ngwa dialet that may be one day we will accept that you are igbo.
If you Ijaws failed woafully at your repeated lies becoming the truth as regards bonny & Opobo is it at this one you will succeed?
Learner.

Typical of you people on this platform. You people think you are the “real Igbo”. Sorry to tell you, but there’s nothing like real Igbo or adulterated Igbo, my guy. We’re all Igbo here. Please don’t make yourself out to look unnecessarily foolish this day. It’s sad. I di l’ikohnu nkohnu l’ezi.

Eastlandx:
Continue FOOLING YOURSELF.

Kutu jii. Otherwise, o ga-adi ka i na-ekwu maka onwe gi. O bughi m.

Eastlandx:
How no one saw all this Red flags littered her back then Surprise me.

I maala whne agu? O nu m la i maa ta o bu la nkohnu ndi ikohnu gh. Nsogbu adighi. O ga-adiri Igbo na mma, but you, maybe not so much.

Loooool. So dedicated to your smear campaign against me, but it's wasted effort for you people. Anyone who goes through my post history will see how important Igbo language, culture and history has been to me. I'm as Igbo as they come. Lol. I’m obviously a proud Igbo since my aka oru gbasara okwu la omelala Igbo is readily apparent on this platform, especially in the culture section. I care about my Igbo people too much to leave them at the mercy of nde nnu la unu; nde we mgbamgba erne la agba chakom.

It's okay though. Igbo ga-adi without you; Igbo ga-aka mma sef. Lol.

IDENNAA:
Who is Ubani reuniting and reconciling with ?

There was a civil war in Bonny some time ago that caused people to move away and establish Opobo. It’s been some bad blood between Bonny and Opobo since then, but overtime that bad blood has dwindled. The reunification was between the Bonny and Opobo communities to overcome their separation during the civil war crisis an in its aftermath.

Eastlink:
Shifting the goal post. Ibani na madhu in a thread where a serial Ijawlandgrabber opened for a different intention.

Loool. Ihe nke a ga na-ato ochi ruo mgbe e bighi ebi. So an Igbo-speaking person can no longer congratulate other Igbo-speaking communities in their attempts at reconciliation and reunification. Ewuo.

Anyhow, my post in that thread still stands. I for one am glad that Umuafo Ubani took the first real efforts towards reunification in 2011. O ga-adiri Umuafo Ubani na mma. Ibani na madu, o ga-adiri unu na mma wooo.

Lol. It’s because you don’t know the meaning and origin of the expression “Ibani na madu” that you think you’ve come across some revelation.

“Ibani na madu” is simply how Ngwa and Ndoki used to greet Bonny and Opobo people back in this day. Lol abeg this is too funny.

I’m here congratulating Umuafo Ubani in their attempts at reconciliation and reunification, and you’re upset. Reconciliation and reunification is a good thing. Or is it that you don’t want Opobo’s Igbo-speaking influence to continue spreading through Bonny? It sounds very suspicious to me that you would want to block that.

IDENNAA:
Oga , keep quiet , for once! You know deep down in your heart nobody is obsessed about you. You think too much of yourself....gbafuo, biko....lol

Ahn ahn. I ga-ekwe ka m gwuritu egwu with these people? O bughi ihe niile a na-e-take seriously kwa n’uwa a.

Eastlandx:
You just couldn't hide who you are anymore.
You Ijaws are getting choked.

The fans continue to roll in. Do you know how icons, myths and gods are created? Their names are always in someone else mouth. For a long time I thought I should be arguing with you all, because I thought you all didn’t know better. But now I know that I should have seen the signs all along. You simply won’t leave me alone, because your obsession with me is too much for you all to contain. You MUST let it out. I see that now. I no longer need take you all seriously. You all already do a good enough job of taking your own selves too seriously. No need for me to intrude on that front.

Eke lei. I have some weird fans, but it’s okay.

Eastlink:
An old Leopard can never hide it's spot. So how did you do it Mr Ijaw?
For long you fooled a lot of Igbos (except me), because the signs were there.

It’s actually mind blowing just how far you’ve let yourself be deluded by your own obsession with me. Nawa. If anything, you fooled yourself. I had nothing to do with that. But I guess this is the ultimate level of fandom someone can achieve. Don’t worry, I’ll still be here for you, even if you won’t be (mentally) here for yourself.

Igboid:
I can't believe that ChinenyeN managed to keep her non Igbo origin hidden this long.
Even on this thread, you can see her pandering to Ijaws revisionist opinions while claiming neutral.
She was raising all the red flags of of an impostor even then.

Eastlink:
Glad you could see. When I told you guys that Ijaws began this renewed anti-Igbo divisive battle in early 2000's you thought I was lieing.

Feel free to have your Igbo propagandist feathers as ruffled as you like over my identity and ethnic affiliations, but I’m obviously a proud Ngwa, Alayi and Igbo man, and I’ve come to accept that you all are just simply obsessed with me. It’s a little bit of an unhealthy obsession that you all have, but that’s okay. You’re simply my fans, and I’ll take that for what it is. So don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere. I will always bless my fans with more of me to come.

/wh/ and /hw/ are interchangeable. One Ngwa linguist, Dr. Oluikpe, used the /hw/ in his publications because it is phonologically related to the /h/ sound, and I agree with him. It's just that almost all Ngwa speakers have grown accustomed to the convention of using /wh/ in writing. I think this is because words like "when", "why", etc. are the closest thing to capturing the sound in English, so it became convention to use /wh/. But in your case, feel free to use /hw/. Everyone should still know what you mean. Even me, I switch between the two often when I write.

ImembaN:
..
In my place Igba Ibe ...I don't know if it is same as Igba onwe (I'm not that good in speaking Ngwa )..
But there is one thing I believe in ...and that is the fact that our language has been bastardized...

Igba ibe is close. It’s a specific type of trade where you are mortgaging someone or something.

ImembaN:
..
Thank you the above..
I really appreciate...
...
I thought it gonna be easy ..
I won't mind if you step a bit down to my level and to many who might not be academicaly sound to grasp the above..
...

No worries. I've actually thought about this before, so I have an answer. If we want to go with something simple (be it with less lexical/phonological representation for Ngwa), we can probably skip the following:

1. Palatalization (i.e. the /y/ in some cases like /by/ or /fy/). Many speakers have gotten very much accustomed to using a consonant with the letter /i/ to represent palatalized sounds. So we can ignore palatalization and use the existing writing conventions.

2. Aspiration (i.e. the use of the special /h/ after a consonant like /bʰ/). In many cases, writing aspiration without the special /ʰ/ character can create ambiguity. For example, igha (to lie) is indistinguishable from igha (to mature). In the case of "to lie", the /gh/ is the same sound as "ighe" (to fry, cook), but in the case of "to mature", the /gh/ is a hard /g/ with aspiration or nasalization. This can be a constant source of ambiguity, and other instances of aspiration without the special character can make the text look cluttered. So we can ignore aspiration and use the existing writing conventions.

However, we can keep nasalization in some specific cases where it has become convention for Ngwa speakers to write it, i.e. /hn/, /whn/ or /hnw/, and /rn/.

So now that all that prefacing is done, we can probably get a way with a simplified alphabet that looks like the following:

a    b    gb   d    e
f    g    gh   h    i    ị
j    k    l    m    n
ṅ    o    ọ    p    kp
r    s    sh   t    u    ụ
v    w    y    z    ch
gw   kw   nw   ny   wh

This format is my own personal structuring of the alphabet. I think it is the most intuitive, because rather than the imported melody of "a bi chi di" (mirroring the "a b c d" elementary song), "a bi gbe di" sound far more native/natural in my ear. I’ve attached an audio recording I did when I structured this alphabet in 2014. Let me know if you’re unable to play it.

It’s not every battle on NL that I care to fight. I have almost no interest in creating various culture and history topics that will attract some distasteful people on this platform (you’ve already experienced them firsthand). Thankfully, the topics that I am interested in though (that I do end up creating) seem to be beyond their reach. Since they have no room to contribute, I’m typically left alone to enjoy discussion with very specific people on this platform.

Maybe perhaps one day, when I can get some more like-minded historians, history and culture enthusiasts like myself to create a unique platform of our own, I will finally be able to fully dive into some of these topics you’ve mentioned here. People on NL almost always completely drain the joy of having such thought-provoking, insightful discussion.

Igboid:
We correct it by creating awareness and talking about it like we are currently doing, until it becomes common knowledge.

SlayerForever:
Maybe a thread on manilla?

Whenever you all can, do make the thread to share any information you may have. The question of currency has always been a question I’ve had, but found very little by way of resources to answer. I believe the history of currency in the area could help me answer some of my personal questions about the chronology of various events in the Lower Niger region. And this topic of manilla is still somewhat of an open-ended question within the academia. Whatever you all have to share would be great.

This take that manilla was invented (as a form of currency) by Igbo is interesting and perhaps doubtful. At least, I doubt it. The nature of the manilla identified among the Igbo Ukwu artifacts doesn’t match the known manilla and iron rod currencies used by the Portuguese, Lower Niger and Congolese. I mean, the meaning of “manilla” has been rendered variously as ring, bracelet, neckband, brass collars, etc. typically of metallic nature. So technically, anything in this category is a “manilla”. So the native “manilla” from Igbo Ukwu was still manilla, but it’s style (and composition) makes it clear that it is unrelated to the same set of manilla and rod currencies that were used as a medium of exchange. In other words, the Igbo Ukwu “manilla” artifact was not of the same type as those traded during the Portuguese era.

The only thing I would disagree on is the case of /nw/. It very much exists, but I know what you are referring to when you say that it is missing. And you're not wrong. There is this feature of reducing /nw/ to /w/ in many cases in Ngwa.

For example, the expression "ga ra nwa ahu", is actually spoken (and written) by many Ngwa people as "ga ra wa ahu".

Another example is the phrase "nwa whne" that is actually spoken (and written) as "wa whne" or "wa hne".

This reduction happens in names as well. So a "Nwangwa" can often be pronounced as "Wangwa" and so on and so forth.

But there are instances in which /nw/ is not reduced to /w/. For example, "igba onwe" (to trade), "inwu anagh/anaa" (to verify or investigate, research), and so on and so forth.

I've spent quite a bit of time studying morphology, lexicology and grammar in general and applying a lot of that to my studies of Ngwa, Igbo and proto-Igbo. One product of my studies is that I do have a definitive alphabet that captures the full phonology of surviving Ngwa speech patterns. Basically, I have a full aphabet, and I don't mind sharing it here.

I'll start with vowels. Ngwa, like most Igbo lects has a typical eight-vowel system. However, I have noted an additional vowel that appears often in Ngwa, but seemingly goes unrecognized in Izugbe (Standard Igbo). Here is the vowel system I've devised with IPA representation in parenthesis.

+ATR vowels
u (u), i (i), o (o), e (e)

-ATR vowels
ụ (ʊ), ị (ɪ), ọ (ɔ), ẹ (ɛ)

Neutral vowel
a (a)

The additional vowel I noted is /ẹ/. It is unrecognized in Izugbe, but appears in many lects, including Ngwa.

Now, the consonants. Like the vowel system, Ngwa shares a lot with other Igbo lects. However, just as with the vowel system, I have had to take additional liberties to modify the consonant system so that it reflects surviving Ngwa phonology. You can see the consonant list below.

The listing below is structured like such:
IPA Representation - Plain Latin Text - Example word (meaning)

b	b	ọbà (bowl)
bʲ	by	mbyadu (arrival)
bʰ	bʰ	ùbʰe (a sort of pear-ish fruit)
bʲʰ	byʰ	ọbyʰà (guest)
ɡ͡b	gb	m̀gbà (moment)
t͡ʃ	ch	àchàrà (grass)
t͡ʃʰ	chʰ	chʰaa (let)
d	d	edi (panther)
dʰ	dʰ	òdʰò (yolk, yellow)
f	f	fọ̀rọkọ̀ (blouse, shirt)
fʲ	fy	fyo (released air)
fⁿ	f̃	f̃ụ̀ (blow out)
g	g	gadaga (bridge)
gʰ	gʰ	ọ̀gʰịgʰa (maturity)
ɣ	gh	ọ̀ghị̀ghà (death)
gʷ	gw	ụgwọ (hate, hatred)
gʷʰ	gwʰ	ngwʰa (ornament, adornment)
h	h	èhì (day, date)
hⁿ	h̃	ọ̀h̃à (community)
hʲ	hy	àhyịhyị̀ (anger)
hⁿʲ	h̃y	èh̃yih̃yè (afternoon)
hʷ	hw	ihwē (to peel)
hⁿʷ	h̃w	ih̃wē (to search)
d͡ʒ	j	ǹjụ̀jụ̀ (broom)
d͡ʒʰ	jʰ	ijʰi (fly)
d͡ʒʲ	jy	jyà (system)
d͡ʒʲʰ	jyʰ	jyʰaà (lay down)
k	k	aka (arm, hand)
kʰ	kʰ	hekʰerema (exercise)
kʷ	kw	okwu (language, words)
kʷʰ	kwʰ	àkwʰụ̀kwʰà (verbal abuse)
l	l	àlà (land)
m	m	àmàr̃à (favor)
n	n	nanāǹdʰụ̀ (orange)
ɲ	ny	anya (eye, hole)
ŋ	ṅ	ṅàr̃ị ṅàr̃ị (a flirt, flirtation)
ŋʷ	nw	nwe (have, own)
p	p	pughu (8,000)
pʰ	pʰ	ịpʰụ̄ (to drag)
pʲ	py	ripyà (eat up)
pʲʰ	pyʰ	ịpyʰā (to flog)
k͡p	kp	m̀kpùru (secret)
ɾ	r	ìri (ten)
ɾʲ	ry	oryè (market day)
ɾⁿ	r̃	ir̃i (food)
s/ʃ	s/sh	osisi/oshishi (tree)
sⁿ/ʃⁿ	s̃/s̃h	ìs̃e/ìs̃he (five)
sʲ/ʃʲ	sy/shy	syà/shyà (whittle at something)
t	t	etegha (zero)
tʰ	tʰ	tʰe (awaken)
v	v	ivu (load)
vⁿ	ṽ	iṽō (door)
w	w	ụ̀wala (side)
j	y	iyī (to schedule)
z	z	ezi (correctness)
zⁿ	z̃	ez̃iz̃i (teaching)

Actually, I did leave one thing out of this consonant list. There are a number of consonant examples above that show aspiration (i.e. tʰe, ọbyʰà, àkwʰụ̀kwʰà). In actuality, aspiration in Ngwa is originally nasalization. We see this in everyday speech from different Ngwa speakers. Where there are Ngwa speakers who use aspiration, there are also Ngwa speakers who use aspiration + nasalation for those same expressions and additionally, there are Ngwa speakers that use only nasalation for those same expressions. Here are some examples of what I mean below.

gʰ	gʰ	ịgʰā (to mature) - aspiration
gⁿʰ	g̃ʰ	ịg̃ʰā (to mature) - aspiration + nasalization
gⁿ	g̃	ịg̃ā (to mature) - nasalization

bʰ	bʰ	ubʰe (a sort of pear-ish fruit) - aspiration
bⁿʰ	b̃ʰ	ùb̃ʰe (a sort of pear-ish fruit) - aspiration + nasalization
bⁿ	b̃	ùb̃e (a sort of pear-ish fruit) - nasalization

Notice that the change in phonology in this case does not change the meaning of the word. This transition between aspiration, aspiration + nasalization and nasalization is applicable to all consonants that use aspiration in Ngwa. I left it out of the list of consonants, because it would become noisy. It will be too much reduplication of words. It is less helpful to explicity add it and more helpful to leave a note saying that one should assume that all instances of aspiration can also be rendered as aspiration + nasalization or simply as nasalization in its own right, and it would retain its meaning.

All of this is my analysis of Ngwa and the sort of alphabet that would be necessary to capture its full phonology.

No. I'm not a historian. I just have always had a keen interest in history and the lessons it teaches (and stories it tells). I've been indulging my curiosity with Ngwa and Igbo (and a number of other cultures on this world) for well over a decade now. Reading peer-reviewed literature, interviewing people, studying and discussing with some contemporary historians who have studied African societies and histories. I don't know everything there is to know, but the things I do know, I am well-versed in.

Someone might have to correct me if I’m wrong, but abacha and nsisa are technically the same thing (or made from the same thing). So when I hear Igbo people mention “African Salad”, I think of abacha/nsisa.

But we don’t do abacha/nsisa in our place. The one we do is “ogworo agwo ugba” or just simply “ugba” for short. I think I will say that ugba is the “African Salad” for Ngwa. I hardly (if ever) see anyone prepare abacha/nsisa for any of our Ngwa meetings, celebrations or events. It’s almost always guaranteed to be ugba.

Although, I know some places in Ngwa that do what they call “ogworo agwo jaapu” or “eberebe igboro a gworo agwo”. It’s similar to abacha/nsisa as a dish. My guess is that it is inspired by abacha/nsisa, but most Ngwa people think it if it as a non-Ngwa dish. Ugba is the “African Salad” of choice.

MelesZenawi:
Just take the guided warning.

Nobody understands this archaic and unpleasant trash

Ke m ke ole? I ka ma kanu whne na owu ole nu?