₦airaland Forum

MaziOmenuko:
Funny dude; you have this wonderful believe that most igbo words/titles/proverbs had its root in Aro; together with its exclusive usage.


Nope, ngwa people had mazi in their diction right from the day eve ate the fruit Bende people in central Abia use mazi to indicate an elder.

So because I thought Odozi Aku was unique to my people, all of a sudden I think "most Igbo words/titles/proverbs had their roots in Aro"? Interesting.

Are we so forgetful that the origin of terms as recent as "Mazi" are now even up for debate? Forget the fact that modern Igbo academia is trying to implement "Mazi" as a general Igbo honorific, if you pay attention to the naming traditions of various Igbo peoples, you'll realize that the Aro are the only people who have a dynamic structure built around the term. You will not find "Mazi" amongst the traditional honorifics of any other Igbo people besides the Aro. Historically, it was general knowledge that anyone that was addressed as "Nwa Mazi", "Ada Mazi", "Nnye Mazi", or "Mazi" was clearly an Aro. Let's not misconstrue this simple fact, for goodness' sake.

Radoillo:
A distinction, however, has to be made between what the people were called (on the basis of the oracle they promoted) and what the town was called. In northern Igbo traditions, the town of Arochukwu was never referred to as Umuchukwu. I'm not sure the people in the south used Umuchukwu when speaking specifically of the town of Arochukwu either. I can't speak for them though.

'Aro Okigbo' (or simply 'Okigbo') was what Arochukwu was referred to as.

Ihuomadinihu:
I know what you mean,i guess you misunderstood me. I just want to know if Bende groups like Uzuakoli,Nkpa, Alayi and Igbere etc are classified as CR cultural zones. I thought the CR cultural stuff started from Ohafia,Arochukwu and down to Southern Ebonyi.

I see what you mean. You're right. The Umuahia-Uzuakoli-Bende-Item elements of northern Abia are considered southern Igbo and not Cross Riverian.

Churchi agbasaa. Uka agwu.

Ihuomadinihu:
Nwa ntakari ihe ka o bu?

O nnaa. (Yup!)

Radoillo:
I always wondered why some of the books 'translated' 'Okoli Ijoma' as 'Okoro Ijoma' instead of 'Okorie Ijoma'. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

Wa ntakala hwe ta o bu! (No problem!)

bigfrancis21:
My question specifically is, is Okoli a name borne by Arochukwu people today?

Radoillo:
Odumchi may be in a better position to answer this. But based on what I know 'Okoli' is not an Arochukwu name. 'Okorie' is. In some Aro history monographs that I've read, Okoli Ijoma's name is even rendered as Okoro Ijoma.

Both 'Okoli' and 'Okorie' are foreign to the Aro of Arochukwu. The home-based Aro answer 'Okoro', which is the name of a male born on Orie market day. Mind you, this 'Òkóòrò' (male born on Orie day) is pronounced differently from the 'Òkóró' ('young man') that other Igbo peoples answer. The 'northernization' of this name would be 'Okoli', hence why Okoro Ijoma is known as Okoli Ijoma amongst the 'l'-speaking peoples of the Nri-Awka axis.

Danrizzle:
Hey..... you're getting it wrong about afikpo. Afikpo is like a compilation of ohafia, edda and the rest. Stop categorizing afikpo with them abakiliki/ wawa. Most people around that area make use of 'h' in place of 'f'.

You're right. The dialects of the Cross River area are on their own 'branch' of the Igbo language tree, and are not to be grouped with northern dialects. However, if there were to be a comparison, they would lean towards southern Igbo as opposed to northern Igbo, not necessarily on the basis of a preference of 'h' over 'f' (because there are dialects in Abia that use 'f' instead of 'h' [ex: Ohafia; ife (thing), ifere (shame), ifu (to see)], but on the common preference of 'r' over 'l' and many other factors.

Ihuomadinihu:
Well,Aro,Ohafia and Abam were probably Cross -riverian according to you. But most Bende groups were not. Most of them have a history of descending from other Isu groups.

'Cross Riverian', in that context, refers to the cultural area that encompass northern Abia and southern Ebonyi. I was not referring to the actual administrative zone (Cross River State).

In the words of your people: Ino nkiti ajoka. Odenaalinri Odenigbo, gaa kpaa uka ichosa isi uwa gi. Hapu aka ali a inyi na-akpa nwa.

OdenigboAroli:
Odumchi,are you certain about the origin of the first Aro that migrated to their present location?

I should be asking if you're certain Idemili isn't a long-lost cluster of Aro settlements.

Radoillo:
I would imagine that the Urata area had plenty contacts with northern Imo communities and that the Nze institution diffused from there. (I actually didn't know the Urata area had Nze/Ozo until now).

Do you know if the investiture ceremonies connected with the Nze title-taking in the Urata zone involved the officiating of Nri ritual agents, as was the case in more northerly areas?

I don't believe that the sort of Nze/Ozo practiced by the Urata incorporated Ichi cutting. I think that facet is unique to the peoples of the Agbaja, Anambra valley and Enuani areas.

I assumed Nze/Ozo was present in Urata because of the following reasons: Dan Orji, a native of an Aro community in Orji (in Owerri N. LGA) is an Nze by title; the large, tall, feathered red hats typical of Ozo/Nze titleship are part of the traditional attire of the Urata; and many other individuals from all corners of Urata answer 'Nze'.

We've all heard about how commonplace it was for Northern soldiers (known then as 'Ndi Oma') to 'marry' and 'take' Igbo women back with them to the North during and after the military's occupation of the East in the 70s. I remember there being a thread about this topic before the data loss, but it's no longer there. I'd like to get more information on this, please.

OdenigboAroli:
And I thought it was exclusively an Anambra title ,for married women. Especially,those married into rich family. Other related names in Anambra are Oliaku,Odebeaku,Onoenyi,Nwanyibulusia,Agbalanudia,Aruegwu,Nwanyilieze,Ugodie,Ugoeze,Nwomu,Asuoefechaa,Orjiugo,Osodieme,iyom aku,Agbaladimma. Some of these names are strictly for those women with Ivory title(Nwanyi Odu/Iyom ),while some are just nickname.

That's interesting. I've always been subconsciously aware that people in other regions use it as well, but, personally, I've always seen it as something definitively Aro (like Máàzị). We Aro call our married women: Odozi Aku, Ada Mazi, Nnye Mazi, etc.

Sweetlemon:
Igbo Kwenu!

Please What does the title Eze Nwanyi Odoziaku Mean?

How, why, and who is it used for?

Odozi Aku means: custodian of weath, financial manager. It's a popular Aro honorific.

Klinee:
Pls mods help move this thread to front page to help me tell many ignorant Igbos who never know that Igalas is exist in Anambra state. We have suffer abusive and discrimination due to ignorant of some people, even imo,abia in our state keep refering us as foreigner in our state. It is also effecting our language badly. I beg u mods pls help us. https://www.nairaland.com/1934931/igala-language-anambra state

Done.

This is really interesting. I'm beginning to wonder more about the intricacies of the situation of the Igala in Anambra. What's their disposition to their Igbo neighbors? Which cultural practices do they share (if any)? What are the dynamics of their bilingualism?

The same can be asked for other multi-ethnic regions in Ebonyi and Enugu.

Interesting topic, I must say. Since we're on the matter, I must admit that I've always been curious as to how Nze/Ozo made it's way down into the Urata area.

bigfrancis21:
Di anyi ehh, I suchapulu Igbo bee anyi, suo nya nno ofuma o yie ife. O nwero nke I sutafolu.

Okoto kali, di anyi. Mgbaghali na igbakili ana di ebe anunwa a burokwa asaanwulu. Ife di n'obodo a erika. A furo onye a koolu. Mana, anyi ga na-anwa ka ike ra anyi, ma rapuzialu Chukwu nke fodunu. Ije uwa ka anyi bialu, anyi ga-afukwuazi ya luo na njedebe ya.

Aru di m. Akwukwo na-aga nno selelem welelem, beelu so programming anyi na-eme ndi a cholu iji mebisi nwa mmadu ubulu.

Hahaha, nwanne nyaa I maro na abu m nwa jezulu Igbo niine? Na uwa m nke izizi, ańujulu m mmili ala omalicha ogoli si Omambala.

Ife melu eme, nwanna! Na ofu egwu nke m lozolu onye kulia, fa si "enu uwa bu onye meluo ikia, o nabazie be chia". Anyi lusia olu anyi, anyi abanyezie na olili lita ulu afufu niine anyi talu, ma Olisa mee ebele.

Na ife gbasalu program afu, fa ya-eme enu mee ani, mana fa ama-nweta yi! Doo, doo, doo! Fa ya-ralu umu mmadu ubulu fa ka fa welu ndu melu ife! Deme, nwanna! Jide ka I ji!

bigfrancis21:
It is just an expression for an exclamation at something remarkable or astonishing, not really catastrophic or bad.

For example, 'Emeka golu motor 3.7 million naira! Okokobioko!'

Been a long time Odumchi. How are you doing?

Di anyi, anofu m. Daalu na okwu ikowaalu m. O bu n'ezie na o tego. Mgbaghali na ife dichasi iche iche ekwerozi mmadu iji anolu ofu ebe mana n'oge n'adiro anya fa ncha ya-ebelu. Keezi maka gi? Aru na ije Oyibo kwanu?

What's the meaning of 'okokobioko'?

spotit: okpuona ařa
o chaputago

"O kpuola ara" is what I believe I was looking for. Ndeewo! More responses would be appreciated.

Igbo bu Igbo, ekele. Could someone please translate the phrase "She has grown breasts" into their dialect of Igbo for me? I believe there's a special phrase used to describe the "growing of breasts" and currently it has escaped my memory. Thanks.

bigfrancis21: I think he was referring to the Arochukwu's from Abia state as they were known to be slave raiders raiding the whole Igboland scouting for slaves, who after being captured were first dedicated to the powerful Arochukwu oracle, Ibini Ukpabi, to be imprinted on the captured that 'slave status' and mental priming before finally selling them off the the white slave masters. These Aros were known to rub 'uhie' all over their bodies to disguise their identities before raiding Igbo communities. Those were the 'onye Igbo' Ikwuano was referring to in his autobiography.

Not to say that the Aro never conducted raids, but a lot of these "Aro raiders" we hear about were actually Abiriba and Ohafia mercenaries, you know.

O ruola nmenme eh! Ikeji Aro Okigbo adintaghi anya! Inyi ama-eso kwa anyi eri ji ovuru eh?

Ino nkiti ajoka.

bigfrancis21: Don't you think it might be a dialectical version of 'Mbakwe' which means 'if the town permits'?

Someone told me it was her grandmother's nickname. I actually thought something along the lines of 'Mgbokwo', that is, assuming that the 'b' she wrote is actually pronounced as 'gb'.

Anyone know what the name 'Mbakwo' might mean in Igbo or Ibibio?

ambrosunny: Can some help translate''I WILL PRAISE YOU'' and ''FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE''.? To Igbo and hausa and any other African or nigerian language you understand.THANKS

Igbo - "Aga m enye gi otuto uwa m niile"

tr3y: Ndeewo,
Someone please translate Ngwanu and negodi and what is egg in igbo

Based on usage, 'ngwanu' can mean 'oya' (let's go) or 'goodbye'.

Negodi - "just look at"

Egg - akwa

To the best of my knowledge, in the Anambra area, the term 'Olu' refers to the riverine peoples (Ogbaru, Onitsha, Ndoni, Oshimili, etc.) that live alongside the Niger and it's tributaries. These people are traditionally fishermen. The term 'Igbo' refers to inland peoples who are traditionally farmers.

Traditionally, in this part of Igboland, there were two main occupations from which communities could derive their sustenance: farming and fishing. Hence, the term 'Olu na Igbo' refers to both those that farm and those that fish: everybody.