₦airaland Forum

Interesting.

So what's the way forward for the Igbo?

ezeagu: https://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m98rclZr7P1qjh37to1_500.jpg

"Burning Arochuku
— Donald A MacAlister, Aftermath of the Anglo-Aro war (or “punitive expedition”) of 1901."

Historians speculate that an average of 17,000 people were moved from the Igbo hinterland to the coast every year for 300 years.

This means that 5.1 million people were moved out of the Igbo country over the course of the Atlantic slave trade. As a result of this, it can be said that Igboland was heavily depopulated while the coastal states grew in population and size.

https://abolition.e2bn.org/library/0711/0000/0054/KongoKingdom_360.jpg

Due to their large population, the Igbo were the primary source of slaves headed to the coastal cities.

In the Igbo hinterland, a group called the Aro became enormously powerful as a result of the slave trade. The Aro manipulated the slave trade for their own personal gains and expanded it into most corners of the Igbo country.

[img]http://mccoy.lib.siu.edu/jmccall/jones/igbo/iriagha1.JPG[/img]

The Aro were an industrious and businesst-orientated people who set up trading settlements and market fairs wherever they went. Their markets were organzed by Aro families who sought to make enormous profits on slaves. The most famous [Aro dominated] markets in the hinterland were: Agbagwu market, Uzuakoli market, and Bende market.

The Aro, with their well-established commercial relations with Efik and Ijaw businessmen, were the chief suppliers of slaves from the Igbo and Ibibio hinterland. With their feared mercenaries and their numerous allies, the Aro raided dozens of settlements, feeding the coastal cities' insatiable appetites for human merchandise.

https://0.tqn.com/d/africanhistory/1/0/t/I/IndigenousSlavers001.jpg

In the mysterious interior, existed the Igbo peoples.

[img]http://3.bp..com/_GrDAQ4MFcs4/TUgZ053aruI/AAAAAAAACHs/s5vL3IcG8UA/s400/Igboland.jpg[/img]

The Igbo were a large group of peoples who existed in various independent communities that were often linked together commercially. The main occupation of the Igbo was farming, however they were also skilled in trading and palm oil production.

[img]http://3.bp..com/-jx53BnLKBCM/Tpbz4bhpY0I/AAAAAAAAAoY/r2UYxIkD5e8/s1600/figures.jpg[/img]

bittyend: Odumchi and Afam4eva the chief tribalists on NL, please stay away from Yoruba women, biko.

Why is my name even mentioned here?

Like a lighthouse on the "dark" coast of West Africa, Calabar served as a beacon to European traders and merchants.

https://cdn1.wn.com/pd/d3/c9/a89acf9da400c8966f1e30a51ee4_grande.jpg

For hundreds of years, the main commodity in Calabar was slaves from the interior. However, by the 19th century, due to British sanctions on the slave trade, the trade had declined and instead palm oil production resumed in Calabar. Slavery was officially declared illegal in Calabar in 1841 by Obong Eyamba (who was forced to so so by British pressure). However, despite this, brave slave merchants continued to smuggle slaves throughout the creeks of the Efik country.

We have another Thomas on our hands.

"[s]Patrollin' they tryin' to catch me postin' dirty!"
[/s]

No problem. Lol.

onye_ocha: @odumchi like I said it is just an observation and as stated, not only about two men but several, both friends, relationships and friends' relationships. I in no way meant to say that all Igbo men are like this anyway but even Igbo men themselves have told me this is true about themselves. No yawa now

I understand.

Antivirus92: fine answer my brother. Otekwala aka oo! Kedu ka gi na umunnem mere?

Nna, o teekwala na ezi o! Anyi nohu, nsogbu adighi. Kedukwan maka gi?

I'll continue later.

To the east of the Ijaw peoples existed the Ibibio peoples (Efik, Annang, Eket, Ibibio, and Oron). Long before the 19th century, the Ibibio peoples (the Efik in particular) were the main figures in the commercial scene of the Delta.

[img]http://www.wmich.edu/teachenglish/moostuff/images/tfamoo/villagescene.jpg[/img]

The Efik, like their Ijaw counterparts, existed in autonomous family-led communities that were interlinked in trade relationships. Among the Efik, the Ekpe institution allowed the facilitation of unhindered trade and mass commercial activity; individuals could lend one another with reassurance that their debts would be paid since there were strong forces to regulate law and commerce in each of the Efik city-states.

Among the Efik city states: two rose to extraordinary prominence: Duke town and Creek town.

The Ijaw were usually open to their European visitors. They appreciated them on account of the trade and business which they brought along with them, and as a sign of their friendship, they offered the Europeans land to form trading posts.

Initially, these trading posts were centers in which the Europeans traded guns, cloth, hats, and other manufactured goods. However by the 19th century, the Europeans began using three trading posts as launching points for their interior penetrations.


[img]http://driwancybermuseum.files./2010/12/nigeria-britsh-soldier-arogan-pic.jpg[/img]

The region was vast and multi-ethnic.

At the coast, in trading cities such as Bonny, Opobo, and Brass, existed the Ijaw (Ijo/Izon).

https://amightytree.org/oldsite/opobo/25-05_lge.jpg

The Ijaw were the intermediaries between the Europeans and the peoples of the interior. They existed in various independent trading hamlet that were connected commercially.

These trading hamlets formed guilds in order to protect their common interests. For example, people from certain towns were not allowed to trade outside of their allotted "business zone" so as to avoid damaging the business of another.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/IjawHistory.jpeg

It's highways were the already well-developed trading networks established by the peoples of the interior and the coast for their mutual benefit.

[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/Igbo_Trade_Routes_before_1900.svg[/img]

The 19th century was a hundred years of rapid change and evolution for the millions of people that lived in the jittery and vast Niger Delta region.

Catalysted by the advent of Europeans and the development of a well-structured trading network, this rapid change spread like an infectious flu, infecting the wide and diverse jungles of what is today southern Nigeria.

Please sit back and enjoy.

Crayola1: Are there any stories about the gods of traditional religions? Ive read one about Shango and Ikenga are their others

Yes, there are many. I'll post them ASAP.

Hmm....

This thread is wobbling on the fence between the Culture and Crime sections.

MsDarkSkin: Wth? No offense but why not just delete the x-rated photos? I put it in the culture section to bring back the theme of culture to this section. There are so many "beauty" threads with half naked girls yet they remain? Smh.

Oh well....

The relocation wasn't up to me. It was up to the jurisdiction of the site owner who viewed that the thread belonged in the Romance/Sexuality section due to its romantic appeal.

The thread is still on this site, just not on the culture section. And could you please point out those "beauty" threads (that are in the culture section) with half unclad women so that we can fix them?

Thanks.

chikeorji123: Ututu oma nuoo anam ekele onye obula oo,ama m na unu abolachi

Enyi ndaa?

I tesala na atang ano a?

It was moved to the Sexuality section.

Paul John: Must we always poke nose in every African countries matter? When we have our problem on ground(BH and MEND). Or is it not this same help we gave South Africa some years back, that we gained nothing from.
I think GEJ should learn a little lesson from how the US do their things, concerning helping of countries.
Those guys don't support you without a string attached.
Or is it not oil money they'll use in financing the operation?! Is there any benefit we have in helping these people? GEJ/9ja better wise up

If you haven't noticed, Nigeria plays a tremendous role in African politics and affairs. Nigeria is a political giant in Africa whose actions influence many other smaller countries.

Just because there are internal issues that need urgent action and resolution doesn't mean that Nigeria should hide itself from the international scene or fail to play the tremendous role that sits on its shoulders as the "Giant of Africa".

Responsibilities are responsibilities.

Does bathing at a stream/river count as bathing outside?

PhysicsMHD: https://www.nairaland.com/1026975/tales-crazy-black-folks-worldwide

My post here got hidden by the spambot. Can you show it and unban PhysicsQED please? Thanks.

Your post has been revealed. And you'll be unbanned in approximately 40 minutes.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

afam4eva: I think Sunny bobo sang about Eringa in one of his songs.

Ah, yes he did.

Another one is Ala Nwanyi Asaba

I don't know how old this belief is, but there is a common saying that the secret to wealth and riches lies in the bosoms of an Asaba woman.

Legend has it that a man onced sucked the bosoms of an Asaba woman and was granted instant wealth. I'm sure that people don't believe this but this story is just passed along for fun.

A comedy film has even been made on this topic.

Another interesting story is that of Nwokonkwo the giant.

My grandmother told me the story of Nwokonwo, and I can remember it so clearly.

Nwokonkwo is said to be a man who lived in the 30s. Standing at 11 feet tall, he was the tallest man in all of Igboland. He was so tall that he towered over trees and could not even fit in his house.
When the British heard of Nwokonkwo, they were determined to meet him and take him back to England and put him on display. However, for this reason, Nwokonkwo ran away from his community and settled in some far-away remote land. Since then, he was never heard of again.

One story that I find really interesting is that of Eringa.

In the Owere axis in Igboland, there is a song that goes:

Eringa gba mgba
Eringa gba mgba
Eringa gba mgba kama di ya ka ya igba

Meaning

Eringa could wrestle
Eringa could wrestle
But her husband was stronger.

The song discusses a female wrestler, named Eringa, who was the best wrestler in her community. She was so strong that she flipped all the strong men in her community and even those in neighboring communities. However, her only weakness was her husband who was the only man that could overturn her.

I sometimes wonder if Eringa actually existed, but I think her story is used to support the belief that a woman is always subservient to her husband.

I'm interested in hearing the various folktales that exist in various parts of Nigeria. At the same time, I'll share the ones that I know.

Please, feel free to contribute.

MacDaddy01: Sex, drugs and alcohol

If na your daughter/sister dey go University, abi you go give am dis same advice?