₦airaland Forum

One_Naira, Gree-die, and Yeske!,

I must thank you all sincerely for having the courage to share your families' stories here. You have all helped me in my quest to further understand how wer were all affected similarly within the war. In the end, it's the little decisions we made (along with God's grace) that saved us.

My paternal side...

Prior to 1967, my paternal grandparents were also living in Calabar. At the outbreak of war, they too fled back home to Arochukwu where they lived for some time. It was there that one of my uncles (even though a youth) volunteered for service in the Biafran army. Some time after he was sent into battle, we recieved word that he had been killed while fighting.

My paternal grandparents had a difficult time during the war. In the daytime, they had to flee into the bushes so as to avoid being spotted by the Nigerian bombers. At night, they would come back into their home and cook (making sure to conceal the fire and the smoke) and do whatever else they needed to do. When the fighting came near Arochukwu, they fled from Arochukwu and lived in their family-owned plantation in Ibibioland (somewhere near Ikot Ekpene). They were assisted by friendly neighbors who pitied them.

When the Nigerian soldiers came into their area, they disguised themselves as an Ibibio family: making sure to speak Igbo only to themsleves and to speal Ibibio to others. They remained in Ibibioland for the remainder of the war, constantly moving whenever Nigerian troops came into their area. When the war ended, they went back to Arochukwu and started from scratch.

This is my own story...

Before the war, my maternal grandfather and his family lived happily in Calabar. They were teachers and they lived in one of the many of the autonomous communities founded by Igbo settlers. At the out break of war, he was forced to relocate his family all the way from Calabar to their hometown, Arochukwu, via bicycle because some of the Efik were using it as an opportunity to drive out the Igbo (who lived in their land in large numbers). By this time, people had formed a small refugee camp on the east bank of the Cross River and were waiting anxiously for river boats to shuttle them across. They waited there for a few days and some of the desperate ones attempted to swim across the river.

Then after a few days, a lone canoe made its way across the river and informed everyone that there was a man who was insisiting that anyone who wanted to cross should pay. After he told us this, my grandfather and a few other men decided to go along with him so as to "pay" the man (they weren't really going to pay). When they crossed the river, instead of going to th eman as usual, they went to another generous man who owned many canoes. The man granted them the permission to use the canoes to shuttle accross their families. By this time, my grandmother (on the other bank of the river) was growing worried because she feared that her husband might not be alive. All this while, she, her two babies, and her elderly mother had been surviving on plantain skins which she made sure to keep out of the eyes of the other people so as to avoid being robbed.

Some time later, my grandfather and many other men (along with their improvised canoe fleet) made their way back across the river and transported their families across. When his family had crossed, he decided to go back and help others cross while they would go to Arochukwu. By this time, Arochukwu had bloated in population since all of the Aro, who could find their way back, had returned to their ancestral home. My grandmother, her mother, and their relatives were soon joined by my grandfather and all of them lived in Arochukwu for some time. When the war intensified, and Nigerian troops came close to Arochukwu, they fled to another town called Ihechiowa and lived there for the duration of the war.

Luckily, no one was lost to the war.

Dont worry, I'll write it.

Could you drop us with your own story also? It would be interesting to know what a Deltan Igbo family experienced.

The Biafran war was a war that dynamically affected all of the Eastern peoples of Nigeria. It not only affected us, but it involved us, consumed us, and threatened us, but it did not destroy us. The war forced us to adapt and find ways to survive when nearly impossible. We were challenged to think unconventionally in order keep body and soul together, and with the grace of God, we did so and survived.

Personally, I am interested in learning about what others faced in those three years. Whenever I come across an Easterner, I have this urge to ask them to tell me how their family's "Biafra story". However, this is easier said than done since the war has left many with sorrowful memories, broken hearts, and tense feelings.

I believe that if we each open up and share our families' experiences, we will not only learn more about each other, but we will be reminded of how similar we are. Thanks in advanced.

Abagworo: @bolded. That's my dialect.The way we greet. Is it same in Owah? Alua ni

What subgroup are you from?

This thread will remain open for further suggestions.

Hi again, everyone.

We, the administration, have given consideration to you guys' opinions and suggestions and we have decided to act on them. Our job is to make the culture board more enjoyable for you culture board frequenters, and so we have decided to be responsive to your ideas because we value them.

In an effort to re-design the culture section [for the better], I'd like to formally announce the following changes:

1. The "The Beauty of" threads will be moved out of the culture section.
2. More threads from the culture section will be placed on the home page.
3. We (Michelin and I) now actively encourage you guys to suggest the threads which you think belong on the home page. Please post those suggestions onto this thread: https://www.nairaland.com/1004554/promoting-culture-board-frontpage)

ezeagu: I believe the point is that the 'eze' and chiefs living below okigwe are a recent invention and the hats symbolism as 'struggle' is also new. Why I'm trying to clarify this is because people can get harassed in Anambra particularly for wearing these hats without an Nze or Ozo position, but the reverse is not the same. It's the same for people outside the Cross River wearing okpu agu or any other of the conical hats as well as the ukara.

This is true.

Andre Uweh: Hand beads, usually worn or the right but lately on both hands. This shows that Igbo speaking south south or south east, one is respected to eat and drink with other title holders. Example, If Mazi Uweh is spotted with hand beads in Oguta, this permits me to dine with Mazi Abagworo and other titled men in that town.
In another thread not related to this, someone said Ndigbo has the best culture in Africa and I agreed with him.

Could you explain the bolded part?

Antivirus92: onye bu dafur?

Dafur bu onye okada na eduje Ify eje ahia mgbe ori. Kama echeghim na o ka na agba okada. Anurum na o banyela oru nmepe-uzo (gateman business).

achi4u: Agbam akwukwo! agbam akwukwo!! agbam akwukwo!!!

Nke ga adi na etiti Adabekee na Achi4u.
*Ebe o ga abu:National olympic stadia London.
*Ulo uka:St Peters Basilica Rome
*Onyeisi nchuaja:pope Ben.
Ndi anyi na ele anya ha ubochi ahu:
Barak Obama(onyeisi ochichi USA)

GEJ(okuko eji achuaja ubochi ndu na ato ya ka suger)

Ifyalways(oke agbara ka ibe ya)

Odunnu(asampete umuada)

Odumchi(nwayo bu ije)

Blackpikini(old soldier)

Odenigbo(akaekpuchi onwa)

Pres_elect aka nwa-darfur(oyi na atu umunwanyi)

Antivirus92(ota ka agu)
Na ndi ozo
*ndi nche:massob na ndi mpiawazu
*onye osee foto:Spyder88

okwa di oke mkpa:onye biawa ya duru onye nke ya maka onye lee Ada m anya ojoo ndi mpiawazu ede ya uri n'azu

ya gazi o

Lol

Kedu ihe mega ubochi ahu? Olulu ka o bu echichi ikpe?

Psssst... Michelin, could you resend that email? Thanks.

Ileke-IdI:
^^^ They were hidden and I was banned.

I didn't see any hidden posts on that thread, however I did see that some of your posts were hidden on another thread (https://www.nairaland.com/1003243/african-american-men-hottest-men/15#11615677) and I've revealed them.

This thread will be re-opened shortly.

Kobojunkie: So, again, this is about being technical here. What makes you more culturally-minded than the next guy?

I'm not attempting to be more culturally minded than anyone. I think Ileke defined it best:

"Culture defines traditions, languages, habits, and livelihood specified to a particular. The way we dress, the way we rationalize, the way we tolerate others around us."

Whether or not we choose to dress, speak, and think as our people is what determines our participation in our culture.

Ileke-IdI:
They're not his pictures. It's just Google search pictures.

There is another thread in which the owner of those photos uploaded them as his own.

Besides, there is no way to verify that any of our personal photos are actually of us. This rule was implemented simply to protect the image of fellow members. No one has the right to upload another member's personal photographs without permission.

May I remind you guys that posting unauthorized pics of fellow members attracts a harsh penalty?

Ileke-IdI:
On the animal thread, spambot keeps getting my pictures. It's hidden

People have been complaining about their pictures failing to show lately, but the issue isn't due to the spambot.

You can make them show by simply re-attaching them to the posts.

Sorry for the inconvenience!

warlei: Nice ,are there still wild animals nigeria? Can you name them,nd which part they can be found

You can still find wild monkeys, leopards, eagles, kites, and etc. in the East.

I remember my dad going hunting and bringing back a chimpanzee, when I was a small boy.

Ileke-IdI:
North --> Cows

Southwest --> White dove

Southeast --> Lion

The leopard is the animal of the East.

KingMichael: My KingMichael777 account has been abnmed again. My post is hidden on this thread on page 13, all the way at the bottom.
https://www.nairaland.com/1003243/african-american-men-hottest-men/13

I've revealed the post and you've been unbanned.

May I suggest taking a bit longer for your lengthier posts so that the spambot will not treat it as spam?

What not both?

It's not impossible for a child to be acquainted with the cultures of both parents.

PAGAN 9JA:
yes they were common in the past. however, there are lots of hyena and vultures these days, due to the rise of boko haram. .

Really?

What could be the relationship between terrorism and wild animals?

PAGAN 9JA:
yes there are very few. around 25-30 of the West African Lions. the are more related to Asiatic Lions than the other African Lions and those are only in Kainji Reserve. personally i have never seen a wild lion in my life. i have seen other animals such as elephant, busbaby, mongoose, leopard, gazeelle, eland, etc..

Oh okay. I always wondered whether or not they still existed. I was told that, in the old days, lions were common in northern and central Nigeria.

antitpiah: Yes, on a typical day, you can see 1 or 2 roaming the streets in Hausaland.

Clown

Kobojunkie: You are still speaking in an ABSTRACT manner of what culture is. How many Nigerians in the Diaspora do you know of that gather to speak only their language anywhere? How many of them raise their kids to speak this language of theirs? How many of them make sure to teach their kids of this history, you speak of? How many of them bother these days to worry about etiquette and all those ideas.

I guess one could ask this of Nigerians in Nigeria as well. I don't know any of those close to me who teach their kids of their ethnic history or even the language. Many right there in Nigeria strive to have their kids speak English and many don't even know how to write a full sentence in their native tongue.

Tradition, according to you, repetition of anything that one's ancestors did. If my kids were to repeat what they saw my grandmother did(not really to do with culture) while she was alive, can I conclude then that my Children are traditionalists in their own way?

Well since you asked, I know many Nigerians who regularly attend cultural events and are fluent in their languages. My siblings and I regularly attend our hometown meetings with our parents in addition to masses held in our native language. We are opportuned to observe the practices, tradition, and language of our people even though we live abroad.

Events like these have helped us to adequately learn our culture and tradition, and are the reasons why we are fluent in our native language. One's perception of the health of culture in the diaspora is based largely on the people you affiliate with.

I don't want to get into anything technical regarding the meaning of tradition. Let's just say that it is the practices of your people.

https://www.aro-okigbo.com/images/pic16.JPG

Although these particular men are from Arochukwu, this is the attire worn by ekpe members throughout the Cross River region.

The necktie the man to the extreme left is wearing is known as nkisi and it is very expensive. The colors on the nkisi vary depending on the wearer's age-grade.

The black and white hats are different from opku agu and are called okpu mboko (after ekpe's highest age-grade). It is worn only by ekpe members.

The white shirts are customary in the Cross River region.

ezeagu: https://www.onlinenigeria.com/culture/public/images_upload/cultureNigeria_14.gif

Otheres should help me with the name of the fan and shirt, I'm not sure if that's ishiagu.

But the other items of clothing are the ukara wrapper, the okpu agu hat, and some corals. This man is definitely from Abia State, if not then Ebonyi.

That man is most likely from the Edda-Arochukwu-Abam-Abiriba-Ohafia axis.

I don't know the name of the shirt. However, I'm positive that that is not Isiagu. Those three ornaments on the shirt are characteristic of Cross River Igbo attire.

The name of the fan is nkutiri because that is how we say 'hand fan' in the Cross River region.

Andre Uweh: @MODS, I posted a picture in the above post but it did not appear.

Could you try re-posting the images?

Kobojunkie: Practice what tradition? Dancing? Pouring wine to the gods? To the dead? What tradition do they practice that is widely accepted as a part of that culture? If we are on talking to other gods ,and the dead, what happens to those from the same who do not subscribe to those beliefs . . . are they less CULTURAL as a result?

Just the other day, I was at a meeting of Yoruba's in diaspora as well . .. again, I went there to scope out the meeting, and I kept hearing the same thing over and over . . . OUR CULTURE . .. half of the people were dressed in traditional attire, and I wondered then too what particular aspects of culture they were referring to.

A people's culture is a combination of all the things that make them a people: their language, their tradition, their history, their etiquette, and their worldview.

All of those things that you listed are all part of a people's culture. Tradition is known as the repitition of anything that one's ancestors did, therefore it varies from place to place. Nowadays, people have grown liberal and not all practice everything that their ancestors did, however it does not mean that they are not involved in their culture.

Any meeting in which members of a specific ethnic group congregate to; discuss matters of social significance to them [and their group]; speak their language; exhibit their cultural attire; and practice their tradition is a cultural event.

PAGAN 9JA:
^^^^^^^^^^^

and also the fact that they are the only big cats that can climb trees.

Lol, yes, that too.

I want to ask you a question: do they still have lions in Hausaland?