₦airaland Forum

bigfrancis21:
Some say 'gullah' is a corruption of 'Angola', in reference to slaves that were imported from the Angola region of central Africa.

I dont know what it is, I was only speculating by saying "could it be..."

Angola is tenable also but Im not sure Angolans were shipped to that part of America.

pashaun:
Yes, we eat Okra.


Gullah is a mixture of African languages such as Ewe, Fante, Efik, Ibebio, Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, Twi, Kono, and Mandinka

Please share more on the history and the culture.

The 7-State framework found in the Hausa dynastic rulership is also found in the Yoruba and Kanem dynasties. This framework has roots in Uruk.

What is Uruk?

A close study of Yoruba word Oriki will shed plenty light on this. Likewise the word Tariki in Hausa. Oruko, meaning name in Yoruba derived from Oriki which is from Uruk and means a chain link with ancestral beginning or head or totem.

We hsve heard the term Hausa bakwsi and Banza bakwai. What is it?

In the Yoruba dynasties there are two worlds and each has its mythic origin in Uruk.

1. The lineage of King - those who rule urban societies
2. The lineage of Priest. - that which is connected with divine realm.

This is common structure amongst the Hausa bakwai and Banza bskwai.

What is bakwai? 7.

The Banza is a misapplication of the Azna.

In Hausa language you will hear BaHaushe, BaYarabe, BaNupe and so on. To attribute the Aznas they use BAzna bakwai. However in usage it got adulterated from BAZNA to Banza.


What is Azna?


I will share in next update.

^^^
punk! Did I not tell your ugly @ss you are a drama king?

You are chopping conversations into blocks so you csn inject more sensations into each line.

I know your kind....very familiar, i smell your signature already, dirty @ss nyggah. You cant hide even if you put on and appear garbed in a diffrrent cloak.

Imma put it out like this...aint shyyte you can fo to stop this thread from advancing. Bring on all your drama, emotions, sensation....this thread will advance in spite of your attempts to kill it.

Stinky rotted mouth punk forming authority on a share-portal.

Im putting you jn lock up.....you can shout from now till eternity, you will not a single wird from me and my continuation of the discourse will progress. What can you do??

Nothing!!

Fulaman198:
Interesting synopsis, I will have to conduct more research on this Gullah language to see if it has other striking similarities to the Fulani language.

Look in the archives of the Library of Congress or Smithsonian Institute. You will find dated taped conversations or songs or folktales and stuffs like that.

SeraphZedrimas:
Bayajidda is the same person as Abu yazid is it not, Abu yazid died in a battle so experts suppose it's rather a group of his followers who flocked into Hausaland and not an actual person. Some people like me think it's bollocks.

Magajiya Daurama is not a diety, nor has she ever been considered as such.

The Daura emirate had nothing to do Ile Ife, for one Daura is older than Ile Ife by centuries.

Please, if there's one single cultural similarity between Ile Ife and Daura, feel free to point it out.

Not a single cultural similarity

Different mode of dressing

Completely different language family

Completely different cuisine

Totally different genetically and phenotypically

Different values and way of life.



And somehow you arrived at your conclusion.

I've notice how you've been spreading your madness all over this section before, just leave my people out of it.

First, you are insane and deluded to assume yourself leader or authority over any tribe or even suggest you have consent to be spokesperson for any tribe.

Correct this madness and understand you have no people.....you are a member of a tradition and culture and so am I.


On the history and myth of Bayajjida, you completely missed road. You are not at a level of understanding on who Bayajjida is that I consider it a waste of time engaging you on the history.

Likewise, your understanding of the interconnection and the underlying links inferred in this topic, by a far shot, missed the mark.

Daura is not older than Ife, if it was its domains would stretch to the Niger valley. Understand human history and use common sense when analysing concepts.

Overall you lack manners, respect and are a drama king. Your type dont deserve a gentleman's response....going forward expect a salvo of sharp tongued responses from me in kind to your below the belt remarks.

Fulaman198:
I found it interesting that "nyam" means eat. In the Fulani language of "Fulfulde/Pulaar" nyamugol means to eat.

Fulaman,
Is it possible that Gullah may have been an adulteration of Fullah?

Im going to share an experience. I once went on a visit to the South of USA and one of my stops was in Savannah, GA. Savannah is in what they called Gullah country. It stretched to Sapelo Island (which probably is adulteration of Sapele) and the coastal waters of South Carolina. The land and the people are called Gullah and their pidgin english is called Gechee.

This was shortly after I had undergone a study in Ajami literature, at a basic level. The study was necessitated by a project in Timbuktu to collect and collate Ajami scripts from all over West Africa for archiving. A Professor at LASU facilitated the Yoruba scripts...but long story short my access into the database led to the study.

In Savannah there was a Church called First African Episcopal or Baptist....i forgot, anyway, it was a tour stop. The basement served as slave holding quarters back in the days. It was modernized when i visited and there were still scribbles on the preserved wooden benches and pews used by Black slaves back then in their indoctrination using Christianity to legitimize their bondage. I went row by row trying to see if I could find Yoruba words scribbled into the wood, none. I found a scribble in Arabic letters with the word "majalis". There were many more in Arabic scripts but had no diacritics to give vowel sounds. Like I said I was a beginner in learning to read and write Ajami. If it did not have the marks I could not tell what it was. Lol. This one i interpreted had the vowel marks.

The rest of the tourists were astonished that i found something and wanted to know. I told them it meant "council". They wanted to know how a council will hold back in Africa. After I explained someone said "oohh, a congregation". It clicked! The slave that scribbled the writing had no idea about Church congregation or service....to him or her, this was a council gathering...a majalis! This slave had not yet gained knowlddge to link a gathering of that manner in connection with God worship.

After we got back in the tour bus the driver played a recording of a Gechee conversation. Its like Warri pidgin.

SeraphZedrimas:
Isn't it obvious. But let's say its not, what is the similarity between Daurama and Osoronga that could possibly drive you into thinking they are the same? Like I've always maintained, like your genes suggest, you should look to the east or the west if truly you seek to find your brothers.

This your response and lack of perspective is nothing short of sensational drama.

Daurama is a city and is parallel to IleIfe in the two cultures compared. Magajiya and Iya are peer deities respective to each of the culture under comparison.

No one has given similarity between Daurama and Osoranga. Your retort has no place in this thread. I have zero tolerance for sensational wailers.


Go ahead and respond to the challenge I posed to you in my earlier response and give intellectual feed to the topic. Your opposition is welcome but drop your drama before stepping in.

Here it is again: How did you arrive at the conclusion that Bayajjida/Daurama story is bollocks?

SeraphZedrimas:
loool! everyone knows the story of bayajidda is bollocks so if youre referring to the magajiya daurama in the story youre barking up the wrong tree. these are two ethnicities that share no single similarity, not even one.

btw, where did you get your ridiculous story about the drum in daura. do you know when the current daura emirate was created??



where do people get off just going about spreading whatever absurdity their deluded mind has concocted. shame on you all!

How do you arrive at the conclusion that the Bayajjida/Daurama story is bollocks?

Shaftrod:
Could you provide us with links

links to what?

Shaftrod:
Please there's hardly any similarity between the two cultures. The person who said the Alafin is more superior to the Ooni has lost his sense of history. Yoruba's and its connection to the land of Nineva is absurd here. Was that not the land Jonah was sent to in the bible?

Where did you look for similarity and did not find any?

What is the absurdity in connection between Yoruba and Nineveh?

The culture section is very amusing to me. I saw a thread where Hausa and Yoruba were fighting over who is a greater dynasty between the two. In another a Yoruba son tells of greatness of Alaafin and questions legitimacy of Ooni. Yet another is proud of the history of Ogori and Magogo, a Yoruba group with roots in Ife.

Wow!

Does anyone here know that Yoruba's Iya Osoronga and Hausa's Magajiya are one and the same and these are deified copies if Inanna, daughter of Sargon?

To the Ogori and Magogo son, read the history of Gog and Magog, an ancient mighty ruler in the lineage of Nimrod, Lamurudu.

How many of us in here Yorubas know that in the days of Hausa Kings their spiritual homeland, Daura, paid homeage to Lamurudu? Actually, upto today, there is a special drum with a sacred note that must first be sounded on all ritual functions of the Emir of Daura. This note is a praise song to Lamurudu of Kanaan.

Kano is a reproduction of Canaan or Kanaan as Ile-Ife is the resite for Nineveh.

There is no superior dynasty between Hausa and Yoruba, the two come from the same history and priesthood.

I can't talk long on this one but wanted to clear the ground a lil bit.

http://www.tony5m17h.net/VodouFA.html

Looking for input from people with indepth knowledge of Ifa to share with us on fractals.

I posted this sometime back. Very interesting academic work, may God bless Tony Smith.

2prexios:
Hm,

For all those time you stand by me,

for all the truth that you made me see,

for all the joy you brought to my life,

I am blessed because I am

liked by you.

Wise man.

Thanks for the values you've brought to my life metaphysical.

You are special, great soul.

wa s'arole baba re o,

wa sa'role yeye re ye, k'ori je o pe l'aye

Omoluwabi, igba odun Odun kan.

Ase Edumare.

I am at all times impressed and grateful for your presence here. I am also very appreciative for your generosity and kindness of heart to share and stimulate curiosity. I have learnt a lot following you, there can be no doubt, even your opponents gain knowlddge from their interaction with you.

You are a force, a rare one...

Ajanaku ti 'n mi 'gbo kijikiji
Okin l'olori eye igbe, Iwo lo ma je Olori fun egbe
Oju o ni ti o
Edumare ko mu ire ko e
Orunmila ko si ilekun idunnu fun e
Ela a mu ayo ati alafia to e.

l'agbara Baba Loke.

Mo ki o, Mo ki ra mi
Mo yo fun o, M o yo fun ra mi.
Eku Odun...Odun a yabo o!

2prexios:
May this 'new year in the corner' be filled to the brim with good things of heaven and awesome riches of the land for us.




Glory honour hallelujah.
I can't wait to be there.

Joy to the wise, joy to me.
I refuse to be a fool blown hither thither.

Amen!

macof:
Why didn't you answer my question?

There is nothing hidden or ambigous in my position. That question has been answered so many times it has become my trademark.

I'm sorry I cannot see, from your opening posts how "Dr Oduyoye" declares Yoruba footprints in Afroasiatic languages.

from your opening posts, he merely proposes similarities with different languages - Igbo, Arabic, Akkadian, Hebrew, Yoruba etc. . there was no authoritative declaration that Yoruba language is Afroasiatic

First of all, Afroasia is not a language or a culture, it is a geographical zone. Dr Oduyoye did not propose....he CLAIMED with AUTHORITY of someone with intimate knowledge of Yoruba, English, Latin, Arabic, Hebrew languages, cultures and theology, that Yoruba tongue, culture and worship is present in the civilizations of Egypt, Assyria, Akkadia. In these places Hebrew, Arabic, Aramaic is the tongue and the region is Afroasia.

let's see this:

Hebrew -Rosh means "head" "leader". I take it the other words in those languages mentioned being Semetic languages would mean the same thing as in Hebrew.
which in yoruba is "Olori" not Orisa.

You are going to need a far better resource than google to discredit Dr Oduyoye. He is talking about Yoruba antiquity and ancient Hebrew, not modern Hebrew.

I told you already this area of quest is for deep thinkers. You will need understanding in String Theory to comprehend what letter R in oRisha stand for and in the context Dr Oduyoye presented it. A simple google interpretation will do you no good.

People that say his claims are watertight and airtight have probed for flaws in it, finding none they gave up!

After you grasp the String equivalent for R then you do same for S.......in the process you will discover more than just _R_S_ and hopefully your light bulb will come on that you can appreciate that the Arokin of Oyo is not crazy, that Araba of Ife is not crazy, Archbishop Olumide Lucas is not crazy, Dr Modupe Oduyoye is not crazy and that those of us here sharing the knowledge are not crazy.......most of all, scientists and anthropologists are not crazy for conducting independent studies with conclusiins that Yoruba indeed was present in Eurasia.

while, this is absolutely correct. but the knowledge of a "Nimrod" came through the quran that was brought by Muslims not earlier than the 18th century


I've disproved these claims metaphysic, please bring more if you have.

You are a joker.

Anyway, you call it an absolute fact that Nimrod is Oduduwa. Where did you get this....how did you arrive at this irrefutable fact that a Nimrod placed in Babylonia, in distant Assyria, is same as Oduduwa, the progenitor of Yorubas?

Nimrod was known and mentioned in Bible, which predated Quran. Can you find another excuse?

Omo ale! If he does not want to go go jail why did he come in Nigeria to begin with?

My brother, nothing do you. The ones disputing these claims are missing couple of bolts in their heads.

They lack substsnce snd truth but love to twist words into acrobatic shapes and intrigue audience into applause. They open posts with giggles, punctuate it with giggles snd end it wiyh giggles. Their objective is to mock.....i have amassed records and facts to mock them.

I want them to gather leagues and come in here for the show.

PabloAfricanus:
Why throw up tantrums over a challenge to some post?
I have neither demeaned nor insulted your (anonymous) person on this forum.
Why result to ad hominems? Or are you one of those who cannot make a point without resorting to insults?
I called macof cos he was one of the posters before me, and I know him to be one of the authorities on Yoruba history on this forum.
How that translates into silly 'comrademanship' or 'always looking up to him' or 'looking for supporters club' is well beyond me.
Or do you have a comprehension problem?

And stop being patronizing with all the philosophizing and advice...save it for those glorious occasions when someone awed by your great wisdom will solicite for it.
If you've not noticed this is not a thread on philosophy or elderly advice...but a thread on history or the lack thereof.

Provide plausible evidence that the peoples living the SW area of a British created country called Nigeria are descended from the Middle East.
That's the topic for discussion ok?
See it like this, there are pyramids and megalithic buildings spread all over the British Isles, North Africa, South America, Russia, China, and the Middle East. Historians and archaeologists have dedicated their lives to establishing similarities between the cultures that shared such structures.
It can demonstrated today that Stonehenge in England, Newgrange in Ireland and the pyramids of the Incas,Aztecs and Mayas are all astronomical buildings. Experts have found that they are all built to be aligned to certain planets, constellations and stars.
The Mayas even left documents mapping the phases of the planet Venus thousands of years ago!
The trio of the Giza pyramids have been found to mirror the layout of the constellation Orion as it was thousands of years ago!
So it is safe to say that the peoples who built these megaliths and pyramids had advanced astronomical knowledge and undoubtedly had a stellar religion.

Should an attempt be made to suggest Fulanis for instance have advanced astronomical knowledge and a stellar religion, one of the concrete signs/evidences historians would look for is well known similarities...like scrolls, pyramids, megaliths, astronomical observations, names of planets and constellations...that are also found in similar cultures and peoples sharing such history.

You and some posters on this thread have made assertions, citing phonological similarities between some Yoruba words and some anglicized Semitic/Hebrew words.
The fact that you guys are not even aware you are using the anglicized forms of Abraham, Noah etc. shows the folly of your assertions.
For example, Greeks are aware that the Arabs call Alexander Al-Iskandariya...so any creative historian using Al-Iskandariya to create a story of an ancient conqueror of Arab origins would be called out real quick. Even Alexander is an anglicized form of Alexandrios...which is how the name is pronounced natively.
A visit to Macedonia would be suggested to cure him/her of such ignorance.

I called you and your 'supporters club' to provide native oral evidence of the personalities, events and locations you are all trying to transliterate into Yoruba.
I bet you are not well read enough to know there are experts who specialize in phonological and etymological analysis. With a lil bit of effort and imagination...human language is such that similarities in pronunciation and meaning can be established with almost any language!
That area is a wellknown forte pseudo historians and fake academicians.
It is only by establishing new or well known similarities in culture, religion, writing, politics etc. that accurate historical conclusions can be reached.

So what do the Yorubas call the planets Mercury, Jupiter or Venus or Sirius, Orion and the 12 zodiac signs?
And where are the temples they built to observe their movements across the sky?
What are the Yoruba religious observances or worship around these heavenly bodies that were a hallmark of anything Semitic?
While you are at it, provide proof that the Yorubas had a writing culture like all known Semitic peoples.

Thanks as I await your contributions.

His supporters club is here. All you have typed up here is jibberish comparing apples and bananas.

No one is concerned with Greek snd Arab or astrology and Alexander. Focus on Ile-Ife, Afroasia, Yoruba and ancient Hebrew.

The first task for you is go to my thread, you and your supporters league and find holes in Dr Oduyoye's claims.

macof:
good, now you have made this clear. If I'm to conclude and summarize this long epistle:
you're saying Yoruba origins isn't from Arabs or Hebrews
You're saying Yoruba culture influenced the cultures of euroasia

I'm I right?

Your task here should be for a single purpose.
Dr Oduyoye has made claims that Yoruba has footprints in AfroAsia, disprove these claims with substantial evidence and zero out any possibility of Yoruba existence in that region.

2prexios:
No the joke is on you people, that you don't bring resources to the table beside what will earn you likes and shares.

hope you get it?

That's it, these people don't care for truth. They seek popularism and applause.

OPCNAIRALAND:
Hey metaphysical,
What is your theory about the whole issue of Yoruba origin and why do you believe in the AfroAsia claim of Yoruba origin?

I think macof is afraid of Arabs and Jews and believes any mention of Yoruba in connection with these cultures is sactilege. Please enlighten him.

I don't think you've been here long enough to appreciate the mindsets you are dealing with on Yoruba origin.

One of the most valuable commodities in the history of mankind is crude oil. These are decomposed wastes from organisms that at one time had life. This is testimony to the principle of time and energy. A living energy today will perish tomorrow and transform next day into a new form of energy usable to sustain a life which in its own turn will perish, transform and sustain another life that is destined to go through same cycle.

Out of this scientific cycle there is cultural wisdom. Those who have passed on....ancestors, are sustainers of the living. In other words, life is dynamic! Energy is dynamic! Recycling, or reincarnation, is dynamic!

Why should the people of Ife, the cradle of life, be STATIC, and not experience life in its dynamism

My own theory is similar to Dr Oduyoye's. I can never compare myself to him in scholarship and expertise but I have my own niche for unraveling mysteries. It started with the scriptures and I soon started to notice commonalities in Genesis and Yoruba cosmogeny. The deeper I dug the more meanings threw itself at me. I had no idea who Dr Oduyoye was. There were two other regular contributors here back then, my brother amor4ce and tony. One of them introduced Dr Oduyoye here, and the moment I read his brief I fell in love with his works.

Let me cut short, go through my past posts and threads and you will understand what my theories are.

We worship Olokun, the deity of the ocean but the word ocean came from probably Latin, Roman language. We have known Olokun before we knew the word Ocean.

Now look at this... Ocean = Ocun = Okun
So who was the originator, was it Yoruba or Latin?
Who learnt the name from the other?


In fact, Ocean = Ocun = Osun
Similar to Oracle = Orica = Orisa


These ideas are provocative and bring out the curiosity in those seeking truth in the dynamism of life.

By the way, could Life itself be a derivative of L'Ife.....as in primordial beginning of mankind? If the theory holds, then words like Eve, Love, Live, Nineveh....are all ideals principal to Ile Ife. We cannot therefore argue against the primordial beginning of mankind or of Yoruba in Ile Ife. But how did Eve end up in Eden, how did Eden end up in Afroasia, how did Nineveh end up in Babylonia?


We are on a quest to connect the dots for places where Yoruba had footprints. People are afraid that our quest is to donate Ife brginning to the Arab or the Jew....these people are crazy!

2prexios,
In one of your posts you advised OPCNAIRALAND not to engage in back and forth. Please take the high road. All dissenters should go to the thread on Oduyoye, The Man who rewrote Genesis and test their theories against his claims.

I have in my posession more damning evidence that Yoruba had footprint in Afroasia. We've been at this discussion two years and our input have shaped minds and gained new converts even amongst the most obstinate in academia. We refuse to fight anyone or engage in antagonism, we bring hard core evidence backed by hard to dispute truths and give room for opponents to find faults, if they can. Simple!

Modified

2prexios:
Thanks so much for this great piece, how excellent!

This is a building-brick to the culmination of prophecies.

The prophecies of the ancestors shall come to pass, and flourish.

yw bro!

OPCNAIRALAND:
I didnt know youvhad to be a linguist to show interest in Yoruba language and culture or to comment or ask for information from those that know.

If thats the case the Cubans and Puerto Ricans and Bahians should first get tutoring and be certified in linguistics before they can explore why they share similarities and cognates in culture and rites with Yoruba. Do you disagree?

A Deacon, Mr Ogunyoye...i forgot his first name, i think Modupe. who posesses credentials in all those fields you listed, plus more.....wrote a book, not mentioning various scholarship articles and appearances made by him, confirming your fears. Stop being afraid, no Arab can Islamize Yorubaland and no Hebrew can turn us into Jews. Even DNA research concludes that Yoruba has presence in Eurasia...

Are you more knowledgable than these researchers? Arr you more knowledgable than Mr Oduyoye? If you are please Id love to learn from your scholarship. Whats the name of your book?

Like 2prexios said and I support, continue to be curious and expand your knowledge. You might end up, like Dr Modupe Oduyoye, and be the one to break the code.

In support of your reference to Dr Oduyoye I opened a thread for general knowledge and wish to deposit in here that the BEST has spoken, anyone that disputes what he said should put their credentials up against his and exhibit their scholarship and facts to the contrary of his conclusions.

Here he is...

[size=16pt]Oduyoye had studied Hebrew at Yale in 1964, Comparative Semitic Linguistics at the Linguistics Institute of the Linguistics Society of America on a grant from the American Council of Learned Societies in 1965, Arabic at Yale from 1965 to 1966 and Middle Egyptian in London from 1969 to1970. Added to this was his intimate knowledge of the traditions of his people, the Yoruba, a considerable knowledge of many Nigerian and African languages and a passionate curiosity about words and their origins.[/size]

Given this anterior greatness of the Kushite Nimrod, the first gibbor, the writers of Genesis did with Nimrod what they did with Nebuchadnezzar: For no reason other than his greatness, they stated that Nimrod’s greatness was offensive to God (Yahweh).”

Then he adds; “The fact is that the jews had never been great (except during the empire of David and Solomon). On the contrary, they had suffered from great nations many of these included in the kingdom/empire of Nimrod. Babylonians… Assyrians”

Oduyoye return again and again to this issue of racism shown by the Jews in their records. On page 100, he declares: “It is the business of blacks to expose the inherent anti-Hamitism, which resulted in the paradigmatic extermination of the Canaanites by those who,when the tide is turned, have been complaining of anti-Semitism.”

Then Oduyoye zeroes in on the Nigerian situation: “We are asked not to believe that the Abore have any relationship with the ‘iber-iym, and yet what the Iber-iymdid to the Canaanites in the name of Yahweh the Abore have done to the sons of Kush from Sokoto to Ilorin in the name of Allah.”

Citing the –b-r consonantal root among other evidence, Oduyoye had told us in the opening of Chapter 7 (page 63) that the Hebrew and Fulani (BororoEber is the name of the ancestors of the ben-ey Eber “sons of Eber.” These were, in the Bible, the ‘iber-iym ‘the Hebrews.

“Eber, the name of their ancestor is comparable to the name by which the wandering Fulani of West Africa are known: Abore in Nigeria (Borno) and in Chad, Bororo in Nigeria (Adamawa… Their language is called ful-ful-de in Nigeria.”

The ‘b-r root in the name ‘Eber and in the name ‘iber-iym(Hebrews), Oduyoye says occur in Hebrew ‘abar ‘(cross over, trespass, pass on, past by); twi boro (to trespass); Yoruba afara (bridge); Ibara (ford); Ibara-mu (Across the nose); eburu [Shortcut (across an area)].

Oduyoye then declares: “the ‘iber-iym, (Hebrews)go that name because being nomads, they were always passing by the cities of the Canaanites and never settling among them ‘-b-r means “pass on, pass by in judges 19: 12b, 18 and in Ruth 4:1

The sons of the Gods and The daughters of Men is a many-layered work which value continues to be uncovered with repeated reading.

Many more fascinating information are enclosed in its pages: like the link between Adamu Orisa (of the Awori Eyo masquerade in Lagos State) and Hebrew r’ison Adam, the link between Qayin (Cain) and Ogun the Yoruba Patron Saint of Smiths.

The latter link is particularly interesting in its detective nature. On the latter, Oduyoye notes that Hebrew Qayinis cognate with the Arabic word for smith(s)qayn.

Reminding us of the q/g/k consonantal liquidity, Oduyoye says the words are cognate with the Yoruba Ogun and Fon Gun both meaning “patron saint of smiths.” Other cognates include Hamn kuno (Investor of iron smelting) and Ebira Egene (the caste of Smiths)

He reminds us too tat the name Akin (valiant man) is most prevalent in Ondo which shares the n-d  consonantal root with the land of Nod to which Qayn headed after leaving Eden. And is there a link between the city of Hanok (Enoch) and the Nok culture of Jos Plateau in Nigeria? And can the name Yoruba be a distant relation of Europa?

While the book’s appendix gives further detail on some words already tackled in the body-proper and summarises the main pillars of Oduyoye’s arguments, the index is a mini Afro-Anglo-Semitic dictionary.

Another major record in the Bible which gives away this doctoring of ancient mythology is the very first sentence in the Bible. In the original Hebrew Bible, it reads:

“In the beginning eloh-iym (the gods) created the heavens and the earth. “Why,” Oduyoye asks does the Hebrew language have a word with a plural suffix (-iym) as its word for ‘God’ When Hebrew religion is anti-polytheistic?”

In repainting the existing picture of the polytheistic mythology of the time the Genesis writers left many patches of the old paint. And in several cases, the old paint shows from underneath the new.

Later translators of the Hebrew into Greek had to grapple with this tell-tale ambiguities. And in their efforts, they messed up many translations.

For instance, though Hebrews/Judaists insist that Yahweh is the only God, they left words like ­Ben-ey ha-eloh-iym (sons of the gods) in places like Genesis 6. Where do these fit in Hebrew theology? Who are the gods and who are their sons?

Oduyoye however tells us that such “sons of the gods” are not unknown in African tradition. He quotes Joshua N. Kudajie. Aspects of Religion and Morality in Ghanaian Traditional Society with particular reference to the Ga Adangme.”:

“The sons and daughters of Naa Nyamo (Ga “Father God”) are known to us as jemawoji ‘the gods of the world’. They are powerful and intelligent beings who walk about the world, but they have their own abodes in the seas, Lagoons, mountains and other natural objects. Having been delegated by Naa nyamo to be his vicegerents, they are in active contact with the world of nature in man.”

Oduyoye now compares this extract with Job 1:6:

“Now there was a day when ben-ey ha elo-iym (sons of the lords) came to present themselves before YHWH and Satan also came among them…..”

Oduyoye then draws the inference that ben-ey ha eloh-iym are” divine beings like Satan (Ngas go sot ‘the people of knowledge and power’) “We can not escape the answer that ben-ey ha eloh-iym in Gen 6 refers so to the same divine beings whom the Ga of Ghana know asjemawoji, whom the Akan of Ghana know as abosom….”

Then he adds: “The two examples of divine beings named in genesis and Job (Nimrod and Satan) are reflected in West Africa.

as Yoruba Lamurudu, a legendary hero andas Ngas go sot “persons of knowledge and power.” In Yoruba these would be the Orisa

So, how do translators of Hebrew Genesis to Greek cope with these mythological beings?

Badly: They gave different translations to the same words.

Hear oduyoye “The Septuagint (bible) renders ben-ey ha eloh-iym into Greek as hoi angeloitou theou“messengers of God” in Job 1:6 but as hoi huioi tou theou “the sons of God” in Gen. 6:2….”

A freak word which never existed in English was also introduced: “angel”.

“Those who know the ordinary meaning of Greek angeloi know that it means only “messe

ngers” just as Hebrew male’ak-iym means ‘messengers” ordinarily.

“But when mythical thinking enters into it, Greek angeloi and Hebrew male’alk-iym are rendered into English as angels… the Jews who translated the Hebrew Bible (old Testament) into Greek in Alexandria avoided the mythology of ben-ey ha eloh-iym in Gen.6:1 and Job 1:6 but gave us another myth —- that of angels…”

Perhaps some of Oduyoye’s most sensitive remarks are on what he calls “anti-Hamitism” — hatred for the descendants of Ham and Canaanites in the Genesis accounts. Why rain curses on Canaan when it was Ham who by accident saw his drunken father’s (Noah) unclothedness? Oduyoye asks.

Many Bible readers will gloss over this anomaly or rationalize it. But not Oduyoye. It is a ploy to justify the annihilation of theCanaanites, he says:

“The truth is that the story is one of many told by the Hebrews to ridicule nations against whom they harbor a grudge.”

Four of such nations, he says are

*Egypt because of what one of its Pharaohs did to the ancestors of the Jews:

*Canaan who the Jews considered “Idolaters” and therefore could be annihilated in the name of Yahweh

*Moab whom the Hebrews say were born from an incestuous relationship between Lot and his two daughters;

*Babel whom the Jews considered too ambitious and therefore sees the ruins of its imposing ziggurats as punishment from Heaven.

Earlier, Odoyoye had also dealt with another personalty whom he said the Hebrew writers tried to run down because of his greatness: Nimrod, a blackman (Kushite) whom, quoting Genesis, oduyoye described as one of the gibbor-iym (Yoruba al-agbara) cited in Genesis as the ‘first on Earth to be a mighty man.”

Nimrod, according to Oduyoye is actually YorubaLamurudu (N-m-d / l-m-d) and he was the first empire builder whose kingdom spread from Babylon ot Nineveh.

On the whole, the 132- page book, published in 1984 by Orbis Books, Maryknoll, New York, impresses upon the reader that Genesis 1 – 11 contains a lot of folk or popular etymology as “tall stories for popular consumption” which are told not for their basis in fact but by way of the lay man’s attempt to explain things that are obscure to him.

Oduyoye had dealt at length with the problem of folk etymology in Yoruba Religious Discourse. In it, he cited the drum signal used then to reproduce the intonation pattern of the English statement: “This is the Nigerian Broadcasting Service.” Which some Yoruba folk erroneously interprete as

“Ninu Ikoko dudu la ti n se’be. It is inside a black pot that we cook stew”

He then cites such popular etymology in the Book of Genesis:

“that Eve was so named because she was the mother of all life; that Isaac was so named because he grabbed his twin brother by the heels while they were still in the womb; that Cain was so named because the mother said at birth” I have acquired a man with the help of God”… that Marah was so named because there Israelites found the water bitter”

“Babel” for instance, which according to the Bible, was derived from the fact that it is where God confused the tongue of men..

First, Oduyoye dismissed the claim that the whole world had one language by reminding us that earlier in Gen 10 we had been told that the son of Yaphet, Ham and Shem had been classified according to their different tongues.

Confused in Hebrew is “balal”. But the Genesis writers are saying that “Babel” (b-b-l) is derived from Balal (b-l-l).

Oduyoye says “no”. “The (writer of Genesis)  is basing etymology on a single leg of sound similarity without any consideration for the other leg of meaning similarity. Hebrew “balal” means “mingle” mix, confuse, confound cognate therefore with Chichewa ideophone “balala-balala” scatter, disperse.

“Here, etymology has two legs to stand upon. Phonology and semantics. But what does Babel” mean? “Babel is Hebrew. It is the name of the Babylonian capital whose only gate was memorably designed with religious motiffs. It came to be known by the Babylonians asbaab ilu the gate of God.’ Babel could therefore not be so called because Yahweh balal the speech of all the earth.” Oduyoye then goes blunt: “The etymology of Genesis 1-11 are based on fancy, not fact. They serve the purpose of mythology, not that of linguistics or philology. As far as the Genesis writers were concerned, a word in a strange language must connote something similar in a similar- sounding word in Hebrew. The semantic tour de force produces a good story, and in mythology, the story is the end.”

Oduyoye also drew attention to how Genesis writers borrowed generously form polytheistic mythology, but then superimposed their own brand of “monotheistic theology” on it. Genesis 2:4 for instance talks of thetowledot (genealogy) of the heavens and the earth.

A genealogy gives the list of children just like in the genealogy Shem. But the Genesis writers, Oduyoye says, don’t want to hear talk of “sons and daughters” born of heaven and earth, which inevitably implies procreation . Instead they introduced YHWH (Yahweh/Jehovah) as a solo creator. “To introduce YHWH ‘eloh-iym into an ancient mythology in which the male heaven and the female earth were procreative agents—- persons or spirit or gods—- is to turn mythology into (Hebrew) theology,”Oduyoye comments.

Other glimpses of mythology shows  in statements like that in Gen 6: that ‘the sons of the gods (heaven) married the daughters of men (earth) and gave birth to gibbor-iym (powerful ones).

In essence, what Genesis writers did is to rewrite mythology to suit their own religious (theological) purpose—- which is to push Yahweh as the sole creator who moulds (forms).

You see, in philology, (the scientific study of the nature and growth of words and languages) consonants like k, l, s, t, etc are the tell-tale that give away the relationships between words. These consonants are to words what bones are to fossils. Though vowels (the flesh) may decay or change as words travel over time and space, the consonants (bones) remain. It is these consonants (consonantal roots) that philologists use to track words to find their meanings or genealogy.

But then, some consonants are “liquid”, that is, change form from language to language.Thus, when the English word “guava” gets to Yoruba-speaking peoples, the consonant “v”, being absent Yoruba pronounciation becomes “b” or “f””. So guava becomes “goba” or “gofa”. Similarly “l” often becomes “r”, “s” becomes”sh” (e.g. among Ibadan indigenes) or “th” or even “z”.Philologists look out for these consonantal changes (liquidity) in the “detective work of tracking words.

Armed with these basic rules of comparative philology, Oduyoye tracked the irun-prefix in Yoruba Irunmale

(divinities) hitherto thought to be “400” to the Arabic” word harem and Hebrew herem both of which convey the idea of “sacred” or “holy”. The r-m-consonantal roots are clear, but the “h” is missing in Yoruba, Oduyoye says, because “Yoruba nouns generally do not begin with an /h/ or any h-type sound.”

From Ijebu “Lisa” (chief of first rank) to Igbo “Olise” (“God” as in Olisemeka) to “Lesa” among the Ambo of Malawi, the Barotse, the Bemba, the Kaonde, Lala, Lamba, Oduyoye, tracks the “l-s” consonantal root (which liquid forms are r-s” “l-z” “r-th” which all convey the idea of “head” “chief” first”) to Hebrew “rosh” (first) to Arabic “ras,” Aramaic “resh” and Akkadian “rishu”. And to Yoruba “Orisha”. In fact Hebrew “Harison-iym” is translated “Ancestors” in Psalm 79.8 of the Jerusalem Bibe Oduyoye says, the “-iym” being a mere plural suffix in Hebrew

Oduyoye also laces Yoruba Religious Discourse, with interesting “linguistic gossips in the foot notes like generous crumbs of stock-fish in an already deliciousOsiki soup.

However, Oduyoye’s glaring success did not get into his head. He acknowledged the pioneering efforts of eminent scholars like Archdeacon Olumide Lucas (who was teacher to his father) with whom he actually corresponded while writing the book: ‘The thoughtful restudy of past scholarship is not criticism for the sake of criticism, but an attempt to elucidate the principles involved in the discovery of truth… in doing this, however, it is right that we express our gratitude and respect to those whose work is being used and restudied, and, without whose pioneering zeal and daring,the present evaluation will not have been attempted.” Oduyoye wrote, quoting yet another authority.

So when seven years later, in August 1979, the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Odogbolu, (now in Ogun State) the Rt. Rev. I.B.O. Akintemi, invited Oduyoye to lead a series of Bible studies at the diocese’s clergy schools, it was an opportunity to take apart Genesis 1 – 11 with the scalpel of Hamito-semitic (Afro Asiatic) philology.

Puzzles usually glossed over by other interpreters came under Oduyoye’s scrutiny. “Why” Oduyoye asks, “does the Hebrew language have a world with a plural suffix (-iym) as its word for “God” when Hebrew religion is anti-polytheistic?”

“Who,” Oduyoye asks “are the sons of the Gods of Genesis 6:1?”

Traditional interpretation will say “angels” or “Israelites”, but Oduyoye says “no” to both.

Hear Oduyoye “And thus I dug up the questions those obvious in the English version and those patent only to one who reads from the Hebrews text. The true nature of the literary corpus we were studying thus becomes clear, and the need for interpretation could not be questioned…” The result, expectedly, was extraordinary. And for the , it was fascinating, if a mite disturbing.  What would these unusual interpretation do to the faith of Christians? One of them wondered aloud.

Oduyoye’s response was simple: “Christian preaching certainly needs a stronger pillar to lean upon than a basis of obscurantism.”

Oduyoye himself was and remains an eminent member of the Church having served in many capacities, including being the literature secretary of the Christian Council of Nigeria.

Oduyoye had first informed his cleric students that. Hebrew, the original language of the Old Testament texts and other Semitic languages like Aramaic, Akkadian, MEgyptian, Ugarithic etc all belong to the same Afro-Asiatic (Hamito Semitic) language group as many Africa languages like Hausa, Efik, Ibiobio, Yoruba, Igbo Fulfide, Twi, Fon etc. Thus, in seeking explanations to passages of Genesis 1- 11, Oduyoye drew from these languages.

Having equipped himself with considerable acquaintance with many African languages, Oduyoye stood, as it were, at a vantage point where he has an unusually panoramic view of the innards of these languages. The substance of this Bible studies, Oduyoye later compiled in a book with the title: “The Sons of the Gods and the Daughters of Men.”

When in 1972, Modupe Oduyoye, language expert and exegete, unleashed his book “The Vocabulary of Yoruba Religious Discourse” on the public, it sent shock waves throughout the linguistic community. Exegetes are experts who undertake critical study of texts, especially the Bible.

Oduyoye’s theories were bold, daring. He seemed to harbor no reverence for any hallowed folk etymology, but what his phonological tools told him. He challenged and often discreditedmany conventional etymological conclusions of the time.

However, his arguments were difficult to fault. They were intellectually water-tight and many times air-tight.

For one, they demolished once and for all, all notions that a ‘monolingual” approach is sufficient to find the root meanings (etymology) of difficult words in Yoruba – or any language for that matter. In many of his explanations of Yoruba words, Oduyoye drew from languages from outside Yoruba.

Secondly, Oduyoye demonstrated most vividly, the relationship, already acknowledged by language experts, between Semitic languages like Hebrew, Akkadian, Aramaic, Ugaritic, and many African languages like Hausa, Tiv. Efik, Yoruba, Ibibio, Igbo, Fon, Twi etc.

Oduyoye’s book was actually in response to the publication in 1969 of the report of the first consultation of African theologians held in Ibadan in 1966 with the title: “Biblical Revelations and African Beliefs.”

The report was subsequently recommended for the General Assembly of the All African Congress of Churches in September 1969. Oduyoye read and reviewed the publication.

Contributors to the conference included eminent scholars like the late Professor Bolaji idowu; Rev. E.A.A. Adegbola and Monsignor (Ezeanya. Oduyoye wasn’t very satisfied with many of the conclusions.Now he joined the “fray” armed to the teeth.

Oduyoye had studied Hebrew at Yale in 1964, Comparative Semitic Linguistics at the Linguistics Institute of the Linguistics Society of America on a grant from the American Council of Learned Societies in 1965, Arabic at Yale from 1965 to 1966 and Middle Egyptian in London from 1969 to1970. Added to this was his intimate knowledge of the traditions of his people, the Yoruba, a considerable knowledge of many Nigerian and African languages and a passionate curiosity about words and their origins. So Oduyoye undertook a review of the theological conference with the best tools.

While the scholars who contributed papers at the conference put up commendable efforts, Oduyoye could see that they were sorely limited by their, mostly monolingual tools.Oduyoye’s tool was different. It was comparative theology at its keenest. With profuse references to linguistic authorities in Afro-Asiatic (Hamito-Semitic) languages, Oduyoye sliced through hitherto impregnable words with the cold objectivity of an intellectual guillotine.

Who, for instance, would fault Oduyoye when he pointed out that Igbo “dibia” (medicine man) is cognate (has the same origin) with Arabic “tibia” (Physicnan, doctor)? Or that Yoruba ajo is cognate with Hebrew Haj and ArabicHajj? And that “Alhaji” is cognate with Yoruba Alejo?

[size=20pt]The Man Who Rewrote Genesis.[/size]

Septuagenarian Modupe Oduyoye is an exegete, language expert, polyglot etc., all rolled into one. In this piece, Yemi Ogunsola examines how this international scholar explores many African and Semitic languages to shed new light on the Book of Genesis and many difficult Yoruba words.BY YEMI OGUNSOLA

https://yemitom./2012/05/05/on-modupe-oduyoyes-review-of-genesis/