Okay, done. I really enjoyed writing this. I really wish there was a platform with more Igbo people like me that want to engage in this sort of conversation. Anyhow, I tried to keep it as concise as possible, but I really wanted to make sure I explained everything.

ThickSharon123:
Based on the etymology idea you wrote about. I'll like to ask you a question, wouldn't inter-relation between tribes affect the overall tone of a given language. For example, Delta or Ika Igbos do not have the same intonation or verility of language like those in the south. So that doesn't hold any claim.

Even with the Ijaws themselves, there's a saying that western Ijaws do not particularly understand Eastern Ijaws, although they have almost the same verbal construct. (So, I do not know where you're going with this idea on etymology and verbal intonation as put)

This is actually a very common misunderstanding that many of our people have, and this is why you are saying that you don't know where I'm going with the role of tone in etymology. Our people seem to think it means we can dismiss tone in etymology, because it can vary from community to community. While there is some truth in the variation of tone from community to community, it is only a fraction of the whole picture. Our languages are tonal, meaning we rely on tones to create meaning. Because of this, we do not have the luxury to have random tones, nor do we have the luxury to have random tone conventions. In other words, consistency is paramount, both within and between speech communities. Anyone who studies tonal languages knows that even though languages can influence each other, we still need to interrogate how that influence occurred to know if it was a genuine cross-pollination, an already existing language feature in one or both languages or an independent innovation altogether. What this means for us is that it is a necessity to examine existing tonal conventions when discussing etymology of languages like ours. Phonetics (pronunciation of sound; not tone) is also equally as important as tone in identifying etymology. Grammar is also equally important as phonetics and tone.

I will give you a few good, hopefully obvious examples. They will all build on top of each other to show the importance of these factors.

Example 1: This should be easy to understand. If tasked with determining the etymology (or relatedness, to make it simple) of the following terms, you would depend primarily on the tones to help complete your task: oke, nke, uke, oke (yes, this second "oke" is intentional). Unless you are a mindreader (to know what I am referring to by the aforementioned terms), there is no way you would be able to group these words by their relatedness. You will undoubtedly require the help of existing tone conventions. So let's add those tone conventions.

H - high, L - Low, M - Mid

oke [HH], nke [LL], uke [LH], oke [LL].

Because we know the core tonal conventions in Igbo revolve around the root of a word, we can easily drill down and determine how to group the words above.

Oke [HH] will be grouped with uke [LH], because the /-ke/ root is a high tone.
Nke [LL] will be grouped with oke [LL], because the /-ke/ root is a low tone.

Now, let's move this to the next example.

Example 2: Let's say we change this up for you to still group the words. You should be able to easily do it now, if I don't provide you the tone, because you will do it by the meaning. If you were given the same tasks, but also provided the meaning, in this way:

oke (a reflective object)
nke (as in nke gi na nke m)
uke (brightness, sparkling nature of something)
oke (a share or portion)

You can easily group them into their relatedness. We can easily see that the first oke and uke are related. The nke and the second oke are related. But here is what we are not conscious of, as Igbo speakers. Our minds (because we know the meaning of the word) are also subconsciously comparing and contrasting the tones (because we cannot escape the reliance on this information). This is because as Igbo speakers, we are intuitively aware of the fact that most tone conventions revolve around the root word. We are already subconsciously looking at the high /-ke/ vs the low /-ke/. We don't even realize it.

Now, let's build on this with the third/final example. This will build on what we know about tone by adding phonetics and grammar to the mix.

Example 3: I'm going to give a few short sentences in various dialects.

Mbieri - hwu che m
Okocha - kwucha kye m
Onicha - fu nke m (someone correct me if I'm wrong on the Onicha one, but I think this is what I've heard)
Izii - pfu ke m

I'm ignoring a number of phonetics such as nasals, aspirants, etc. to avoid cluttering my point. The above expressions translate roughly as "use your hands to peel mine (like an orange or something)". This is actually a perfect example of how tone changes. The term I want you to focus on is "nke" (che, kye, ke). When they stand alone, they are all low tones, but when used in sentences within their respective dialects, the tones can and do change. It is at this point that we find it difficult to rely entirely on tones. Mind you, I only said entirely. We still need to rely on tones, because we want to decipher the statement. In other words, we need to know what the tone conventions are in the various dialects to help us determine what the words are within a given dialect, which will then help us determine etymology across dialects.

Izii for instance switches its ke from low to high in some sentences. Onicha, I believe, keeps its nke low. Mbieri can either be high or mid/step tone and Okocha, I am not certain of. I think I've mostly seen high tones where marked. Without knowing these conventions within the given dialects, we may find it difficult to decipher what is meant in that dialect. For all we know, the "che" for Mbieri could have been another verb, if we were not aware of Mbieri tone rules. Likewise for the other lects.

Now let me summarize. I've given three cascading examples that build on top of each other. Knowledge of how to decipher meaning and determine etymology transfers from one to the next. If you paid attention to the examples, you will note that tone is consistently present in all attempt to decipher meaning and determine etymology. No matter how hard we try, we cannot avoid the existence of tonal conventions within and between lects.

Now let me bring this back to point of this thread. We need both an understanding of tone conventions in Igbo and Ijaw (amanyanabo [HHHH] vs ama onye naabo [HHHMHLL]) as well as an understanding of the phonetic changes (implosive bo vs non-implosive abo) as well as the local grammar rules within a given language (how amanyanabo is actually a noun while ama onye naabo is not) to interrogate an etymology and provide a justification for why one etymological interpretation should be considered over another. If someone cannot justify their etymological interpretation in light of these (and other) factors, then it makes it difficult for someone else to be convinced that such etymological interpretation is correct. As it stands, the etymological interpretation of "ama onye naabo" makes no effort to justify itself against the known tonal, phonetic and grammar conventions of both Igbo and Ijaw. As such, someone like me remains unconvinced.

ThickSharon123, I am about to write a long post, but I am only doing so because I’m still giving you the benefit of the doubt.

Now, by the logic you have in your post above, you should actually consider me Igbo. Your basis for claiming or believing that I am supposedly not Igbo is as such:

1) I disagree with the claim that “Amanyanabo” has an Igbo etymology. Yet, I am the one who opened and led the most educative thread on NL regarding Igbo language etymology and proto-Igbo language reconstruction. ‘Til date, I have not yet opened such a thread for any other Lower Niger language, because I believe (as I’ve stated severally on NL) that members of a speech community should take responsibility for preserving and developing their respective languages. Anyone who knows what my interests are on this NL platform can easily assume that I would have created an Ijaw language and etymology thread by now if I were actually Ijaw. Go look at my NL profile. The language and etymology thread I created as well as my contribution in that thread outweigh the claim that I am “exposed as Ijaw” on the basis of a single disagreement about the etymology of “amanyanabo”. The thread and my contribution also shows that I am well-versed in language reconstruction and etymological decomposition, and have the capacity to interrogate others’ claims about a supposed etymology for a given word. On that basis, I remain unconvinced of the claims made by some Igbo people here on this platform regarding the expression “amanyanabo”. The tone structures for “amanyanabo” (HHHHH) and “ama onye naabo” (HH HM HLL) are so dramatically different that it’s impossible to justify the etymology, because tone is a key part of etymology decomposition for Lower Niger languages. The phonetics (the actual pronunciation of sounds) also don’t match. The “bo” in “amanyanabo” is an phonetic implosion that does not exist in surviving Igbo speech forms. Those who claim “ama onye naabo” as the etymology have yet to justify how a speech community goes from a non-implosive, low-toned “bo” in “naabo” to an implosive, high-tones “bo”. There’s more reasons, but I don’t need to enumerate them further. You should get the point by now that ultimately, those who claim “ama onye naabo” as the etymology have yet to justify such a claim in my eyes, because they have left so many glaring aspects unaddressed. So to use this disagreement to claim I have exposed myself as Ijaw does not match with your logic. Your logic HAS TO accept me as Igbo, if the contention here is about my beliefs, thoughts, opinions and knowledge of Igbo language etymology.

2) You stated that the Igbo people here went further to inform me about indigenous Igbo-speaking people in Bonny and Opobo. Yet, I come from Ngwa and this is a staple knowledge. In fact, I urge you to look as far back as you can on NL. I was among the first, if not the very first person to provide detailed AND VERIFIABLE synopsis of oral traditions in the Lower Niger that show that Igbo-speaking communities were present in Bonny before the Portuguese arrived, thereby predating the slave trade. Most of what you see here on NL is a repeat of what I shared over a decade ago when most Igbo people here were completely uninformed about the historical, cultural and linguistic relations in the eastern part of the Lower Niger. So if your logic is that I am denying indigenous Igbo-speaking people in Bonny and Opobo (thereby exposing myself as Ijaw), then you are now obliged to see that your conclusion is in error and thereby correct it, because I come from such community with oral traditions that claim indigenous representation in Bonny. So, you ultimately have to accept me as Igbo by your logic.

I know this might have been a lot to read, but I wrote it in good faith, because I don’t have a history with you here on NL, and because you claimed that you are not in the business of denying anyone of their Igboness so we should be able to have an honest conversation.

ThickSharon123:
No Igbo person would ever ridicule with the words nationalist like you, you've blown your cover and the more you talk the more it's blown the more.

You should perhaps go and look at my post history. I have a fundamental disagreement with both Igbo and Ijaw nationalists. In fact nationalism in Nigeria is cantankerous, and I have a fundamental disagreement with how it manifests in Nigeria. So don’t assume what my thoughts and beliefs are or even who I am on the basis of opinion regarding cantankerous nationalism in Nigeria. You can be an Igbo person and critique the system in Nigeria that facilitates the same cantankerous nationalism that we witness here on NL everyday. You can be Igbo and also critique the same people that willingly parade themselves as cantankerous nationalists. That is who I am and what I am doing.

Anyhow, I only responded because I don’t have a history with you here on NL. I’m willing to give you more of the benefit of the doubt in conversation. But I’m not interested in going back and forth with anyone who thinks they have the right to deny others of their Igboness. If that is what your position is, please clarify now so we can desist from conversations here on in. I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt now to state that you are not such a person.

I’ve gotten bored with this back and forth. This nonsense is played out, and I am no longer interested in this convo with you Igbo nationalists. I’ll let my post history speak on my behalf. If you like, respond to this comment. Just know that I won’t respond back. In fact, if this is all you Igbo nationalists have to say to me going forward, just know that I also won’t respond back going forward. Enjoy talking to yourselves from here on in.

Igboid:
So you understand Ijaw!

Good to see you embracing your true self.

Are you not a Nigerian? We speak at least two or three languages on average. You can’t honestly be surprised that there are Igbo people that understand languages other than Igbo. Please, don’t waste my time here.

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.