₦airaland Forum

Which one is ancient Igbo people?

Done.

Antivirus92: so you know that these people are not originally igbos but for selfish reasons u keep including them in igbo history.

There's no such thing as "original Igbo". We've discussed this several times.

pazienza: Which of them?

Ohafia, Aro, Abiriba, Edda, Abam and other Bende groups are related and are all linked to a group of people that migrated into what is now southern Ebonyi and northern Abia. This group wasn't originally Igbo-speaking; it spoke a Cross Riverian language. The remnants of this language are still present in this region since you can still find non-Igbo names like Toti and Akuma among these peoples.

There's nothing I dislike more than people attributing unnecessary importance to themselves. Nwanne m, Afam, come and clean the nonsense uttered by these attention-seekers before this thread turns into what it's not meant to be.

One_Naira: BTW odumchi where have you been dude? Your input in the cultural section was highly missed. at least to me it was.

Nwanne m nwoke, I've been busy with school and other things, but now that we're about entering the vacation period, I will surely increase my presence. Thanks for the concern.

berem: Eze Odumchi, ndewo! kedu ka imere?

err, will be back when other igbo men and women have spoken.

O di nma. Biko, akpola m Eze nihi o bughi mu bu eze.

anwani: It is good. not to fotget this. day and also not to make the same mistake that was made fortysix years ago.. What we so call igbo need most now is economic development which start. with good education off the young .Today some of us talk about war. This next war will make the past war look like child play. Do you forgot about some people. droping their gun saying that. they not going to die in WAWA land.. Let think before. we jump.I know what iam talking about. I was there and i know how many members of my family that we lost .Let there be. cool head.

O ka o si mee.

Front page, kwanu?

https://www.nairaland.com/1307957/commemorating-46th-anniversary-declaration-republic#down

HNosegbe: I'm not sure "celebrate" is the appropriate word for this context, but it does call for some sober reflection.

The issues that led to the Civil War are still very present in today's Nigeria, and are not even being discussed among our elite, much less tackled.

It's high time we asked some crucial questions: Questions like why the Aburi Accord wasn't implemented, why we have refused to reform the retrogressive patronage system that sees us sharing oil money at Abuja every month, why we still won't allow states and regions to integrate and control their resources and revenues, why we insist that states can't generate and distribute their own power, get their own police force, tax companies registered in their respective domains, exploit and derive revenue from resources contained in their own land.

We must reflect, ask questions and restructure this country. Nigeria is not working.

You've spoken well and have made serious points. It's a shame that our Nigeria has, in many areas, regressed over the years. The fact that the same catalysts that resulted in the secession of the Eastern Region are still present today calls for drastic self-reflection on the part of our leaders and power holders. My prayer is that our people should make sure to well-utilize the lessons learned, so that those who sacrificed their lives in its acquisition may not have done so in vain.

ChinenyeN: No, it's no longer used as a first name, like it was just 2 or 3 generations ago.

Duru is (was) an honorary title in the Owerri area (mainly among Isu groups). Some like think of it as being the southern Igbo version of northern Igbo's Ozo/Nze title. Duru was a nobleman title and was usually prefixed to something to indicate community-wide recognition of success in that something. Duruji for instance was for recognized success in yam farming and cultivation. Duru could be affixed to any number of things. No one really takes the title anymore, but it survives as a surname or a community name, simply because the patriarch bore it.

There are some instances that I've heard in which a Duru surname is not connected with the Duru title, but these are few.

Oh okay. Thanks. It seems very similar to the prefix Osu- which, as I have been told, also serves the same purpose in denoting honor/recognition. I've seen both Osuji and Osuala being answered by people from the Owere area.

Forty six years ago today, in Enugu, Nigeria, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, declared the Republic of Biafra a separate and autonomous entity from the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as a result of the ethnic war being waged against the Igbo and other Eastern peoples. Biafra served as a safe haven for the over 9 million Igbo men, women and children who were threatened with genocide and violence, and for three years, it survived even though under constant international pressure from Nigeria and its allies. At the end of the war that ensued, two million Igbo men, women and children lay dead, victims of genocide in their bid for freedom. May we Nigerians today learn to never forget our past, but at the same time, strive harder for a future of peace, progress and liberty for all.

Umu Igbo taa bu ubochi eji echeta Biafra nihi na afo iri ano na isii gara aga na ubochi ta, Dim Ojukwu mehere obodo Biafra. Ana m ayo unu, na asi unu na unu biko tinye mkpuru obi ndi niile nwuru na agha Biafra na ekpere unu.

Ndeewo nu.

Umu Igbo taa bu ubochi eji echeta Biafra nihi na afo iri ano na isii gara aga na ubochi ta, Dim Ojukwu mehere obodo Biafra. Ana m ayo unu, na asi unu na unu biko tinye mkpuru obi ndi niile nwuru na agha Biafra na ekpere unu.

Ndeewo nu.

Afam4eva: South Africa, China and the United states in no particular order.

I've always known there were a lot of Igbos in SA but never knew they were so much until I watched some clips of Nigerian fans who went to support the Nigerian team in the stadium. 90% of them are Igbos.

There are lots of Igbos in the US too it's just that, because the US is so big, it's hard to notice any group that is less than 1 million in population.

Let's also not forget our African neigbours, Cameroon and Equitorial Guinea. Loads of Igbos there.

Nwanne m, you won't believe how amazed I am. To be honest, here in the United States, every week I come across atleast one Igbo person in the strangest and most unexpected manner. Whenever I wonder how much our people have trekked the world, I find myself speechless.

It's extremely amazing that a people, who a mere century ago were forest-dwellers in the heart of West Africa, have spread themselves to every icy corner of the world in ambitious pursuit of success. I am truly humbled to be a member of such a determined and hard-working set of people.

Umu Igbo zuru uwa niile, aru amaka unu! Unu ana eri gini eh?! ✊

I was listening to the song "Motor Mixture" by Shama Melody, and as he was giving greetings and praises to the Igbo in diaspora, I began to wonder.

So, nairalanders, both Igbo and non-Igbo, what do you think?

Here's my list in order:

1. USA (New York; Houston/Dallas, Texas; California; Maryland; Atlanta, Georgia; Chicago, Illinois)
2. UK (London, Bristol, Manchester, Birmingham)
3. South Africa
4. Canada
5. Germany
6. Netherlands
7. Malaysia
8. China
9. Thailand
10. Spain
11. Ghana
12. Benin
13. Equatorial Guinea
14. Japan
15. Finland
16. Sweden
17. South Korea

pleep: The general akwa-ibom cross-river area... i would say more, but i don't want to divulge my real identiy

Lol. I've seen you say several times that you're Annang, so that pretty much narrows it down. I've been to Ikpe and I've also been to Ikot Ekpene. Seeing these places, I've noticed that, unlike those of my people, the houses of the Ibibio and Annang aren't built close together. Rather, their settlement patterns consist of widely-spaced anwa essien (compounds) separated by forest. The East is a big place.

People from Urata (Owere) tend to bear the names Iwuji and Duru. Could someone explain their meanings?

ChinenyeN: Child born during a parent's time of hardship/affliction of some kind. The hardship/affliction typically has nothing to do with the child. The child just incidentally happened to be born into it. It is a unisex name.

Thanks. I know someone that answers it as a surname; is it still used as a first name? I'm guessing it's no longer very popular.

pleep: I dont know about what odumuchi said about igboland in particular.... but as for the eastern Nigeria i have seen, the village houses were extreeeeeeeeamly far apart.

Almost to a ridiculus degree.

I'm talking about traditional settlement patterns and not the modern-day villas that people erect at the outskirts of villages. What I said applies to my part of Igboland and not the entire East. Anyway, what part of Akwa Ibom are you from? I'm quite familiar with the Annang and Ikpanja areas.

Sweeti maintain!
eh!
Ebelebe egbuole o!
eh!
Aru amaka gi!
Ayakata bongo!
eh!
Umu Igbo zuru uwa niile, unu ana eri gini, eh?!
Aru maka gi!

Umu Igbo, m ji egwu di nma na ekele madu niile. Ajuru m si o na agazi kwa agazi?

Onuru ube nwanne agbala oso - Bright Chimezie.

Onyenye na ji Igbo eme aga obula.

Ikengawo: Why spread out and clustered i'm referring to how many people/families live in a close promimixty, not how many villages.
Igbo cities and towns are clusters of villages because Igbos believe their village is their nation in reality, and thus seldom 'concede' to a greater force because it's not possible (an mbatoli man can never be an nkwerre man no matter where he lives). Where as yorubas generally see their tribe as their nation so many villagers can leave their village an become Ibadan people etc.

More over, if you look at the cultural structure of Igbo land, everything was designed so that no one entity became more powerful than surrounding peer entities. No village greater than the next, no man bigger than the next. This can be seen in market days, parliamentary governance, republicanism, etc. So you'll have a situation where there will be many villages that survive over time because one greater village doesn't absorb or conquer them all though that changed with the introduction of the slave trade (and in essence capitalism), and modern urbanization.





Though igbo land has more villages and more people per sq foot, where 2 igbo families can live, 4 or 5 yoruba families can in a yoruba village (from what i've been told and what makes sense). Every igbo man is expected to have his own compound, typically isolated by walls, from the rest. and many will venture out to start their own clans once a set area is too crowded. My grandfather 2 generations removed did this.

It's not really that every Igbo man is expected to have his own compound, rather it's every head of an extended family (at least that's how it's done where income from). In Aro villages, several related families share a large compound that was formed/opened by a common ancestor. Typically, the compound is named after its founder (example: Ndi Ugwumaga) and the oldest descendant of the founding father is the Eze Ezi, or compound chief.

As for the cultural structure of Igbo villages, bear in mind that Igboland is a large and diverse land, therefore certain aspects of village culture may vary.

ezeagu: That's Ohuhu dialect. He's speaking it quite deep.

I find the depth quite impressive. I wish others would speak their dialects like this so as to aid in preservation.

Type3: Biko nu,onye n'ime unu Mara ihe ndi abia,delta,Enugu na ebonyi na kpo rice,cassava,bread fruit,corn,yam,coco yam,beans.?

In Aro dialect (Abia state):

Rice - osikapa
Cassava - igburu
Bread fruit - ukwà
Corn - akpakpa
Yam - ji
Cocoyam - nkasi
Beans - àgwà

Afam4eva: Yes, culture plays an integral part. Yorubas just like Indians tend to be more Family oriented than Igbos hence the need of extended families and distant families living in what looks like a compound. On the other hand, the Igbo culture which is egalitarian and individualistic in nature plays itself out here. Igbos tend to spread out more. That's why even till today, some Igbo villages still aren't fully occupied because the people who would have occupied it have spread out either in the same village(but far away) or have gone to create a new clan for themselves somewhere. The advantage of this Igbo system is that it's easier to plan a city in Igboland than it is in Yorubaland. Planning a city in Yorubaland will mean doing away with the relics of the past which make up a huge part of the city. Ibadan and Abeokuta are a case in point.

Ikengawo: thanks Afam.
Like I said i've never been, it seem to me that Yorubas like living in closer proximity to their nieghbors than igbos (or prehaps this is a result of larger families/polygamy?).

Even in the cities, Abeokuta, Ibadan and so forth fit a lot of houses and people into a small compact area, where as igbo cities are more delineated and spaced out, even very populous ones like Onitsha and Aba aren't as compact as Abeokuta and/or Ibadan. I think that's an interesting cultural difference.

I don't necessarily agree with you guys. In fact, I believe that the reverse is the case. The settlement patterns of the Igbo show numerous small to midsized villages spread across a densely-populated region. The population density of the Igbo country comes second to none in Nigeria.

You guys mentioned towns like Onitsha and Aba. The truth is that Onitsha, Aba, Umuahia, and most (if not all) of the towns and cities in Igboland are simply clusters of numerous villages living in close proximity with each other. Arochukwu, for example, is considered a 'town', but in fact it is composed of 19 smaller 'towns' and city states (villages) that are so close to each other that they are considered a single urban unit.

I also believe that the Igbo (for the most part) are well-accustomed to communal life, due to the presence of well-organized social hierarchies within their villages. In Arochukwu, like in most Igbo towns, the central social unit is the family. A group of related families form an ezi (compound); a cluster of ezi form an ogo (village); several ogo form an ikwu (clan); and the three ikwu unite to make Arochukwu.

In addition, Igbo villages are generally compact and not spread out extensively. The villagers occupy the area surrounding the central square or meeting place while in the outskirts of the town are people's farmlands, and of course, the local river or stream. New villages are formed usually when the supply of virgin farmland has been exhausted, when there is no longer any more space for the construction of new homes and the establishment of new families, or when a new location more suitable for farming or trading purposes has been discovered.

There are two definitions of 'Ofo':

'Ofo', in the first sense, (also known as 'ovo' and 'owho') is a twig from a tree. Although a mere twig, the ofo stands as the universal symbol of authority and righteousness in the Igbo cultures and forms the crux of religious beliefs of the Igbo peoples. Every authority has an Ofo tree from which the branches of the 'ofo' can be broken. These are often given to first-sons by their fathers, and the possessor of the Ofo tree is seen as the authoritative head of the family/ruling authority.

'Ofo' in the second sense means 'justice'. Among the Igbo there is the concept of 'Ofo na Ogu' which translates to 'justice and righteousness'. When two parties are squabbling and one claims to have possession of 'Ofo na Ogu' (justice and righteousness), they are claiming to be be innocent and just and are calling all the spirits and supernatural forces of the universe to defend them and back their case. For this reason, saying that one has 'Ofo na Ogu' is a very serious claim since it is essentially the equivalent of swearing to all supernatural forces that one is speaking the truth. However, when both parties claim to possess 'Ofo na Ogu', it becomes obvious that someone is lying and then ritual oath-taking gets involved...

I apologize for the long reply, but the concept of 'Ofo' is not something that is simple enough to lack detailed explanation.