HungerBAD:
He is an Anambra man simple.

The news should have being that a man from a minority tribe in Anambra was appointed a commissioner.

While the Governor deserves an applause for this, I am not exactly sure how this qualifies as history.

Hopefully, Edo State can do the same for the Minorities like the Ijaws in Gelegele,and Bayelsa the same for the Urhobo's from Bayelsa State too.

There is/was an Urhobo commissioner in Seriake Dickson's Bayelsa state cabinet.

iguita:
I am not tackling you, I am just asking for information basis. Is this king more important than Olu of Warrior?

It depends on how you define 'importance'. The Olu of Warri[warrior? ] is as important to the Itsekiri people as the Ovie of Uvwie is to the Uvwie people of Urhobo.

clefstone:
I grew up in Uvwie but I'm surprised that the Uvwie and indeed the Urhobo people do not talk about their history to as far back as 200yrs ago. Since u r a proud Urhobo son, my question to u is, do the Urhobo people have a long history, why don't we have an urhobo kingdom(exception is Okpe kingdom) with up to 10 kings in their history

Well, you've not searched enough certainly. A people's history is not necessarily tied to their political developments so monarchy is not necessarily the first thing you must look at especially when talking about a peculiar ethnicity like the Urhobo. The Igbe religion for example was founded by Ubiesha of Kokori around 1848.
That said, there are a number of ancient Urhobo Kingdoms. Ughelli for example, has had a long, unbroken line of succession(more than 10 Kings) for centuries. Ajuwe Idjesa, Ovie of Ughelli singned a treaty between Ughelli Kingdom and the British crown in 1894. The Okpe you point to has had just 4 Kings in their history. It's just that the Urhobo people largely lived and traded quitely and peacefully before the Colonial times. I enjoin you to search more for Urhobo history. The website of the Urhobo Historical Society, Waado.org is a good one I can recommend.

Sanchez01:

How you turn a thread on its head with your tribalism laced remarks is amazing.

States are 'artificial creation', yet terminologies subtly used to classify a people abound, particularly in the East, just as some other parts of the country. Or wouldn't it be better if I classify you as Wawa just to point out that you are most likely from Enugu or Ebonyi, thereby limiting the chances of your state of origin?

There is a saying mostly by the Yorubas that 'a farm cannot belong to a father and his son without defining boundaries'. States may have been artificially created, but then again, bulk of its reason is to define bothers and territories.

It might not be a big deal when an Igbo man does an exposé, claiming Igbos founded or dwelt in Southern Kaduna long before the Fulanis got into Nigeria or even before the first Hausa man was born, but it is not the same for the Urhobos/Isokos as we are not really known from running or leaving our homeland in droves. Regardless of how neighbouring the state is, it is always an area of interest for us as we are a small, though distinct group. We are not 'strollers' by nature

I think you're accusing that guy wrongly because I quite agree with his statement. Most of these state creations are quite 'artificial' in that sense. I understand the issue with the difficulty of boundary adjustment, as the case of Ofoni shows it but then, a state is what it is. A geo- political arrangement and nothing more. Just as an Igbo from Onitsha can communicate effortlessly in his dialect with another Igbo from Issele Ukwu or Asaba(in Delta State, South South) but may not with another Igbo from Amaigbo in Ebonyi(the same South East). What about the international Ethnic groups like the Efik of Bakassi, Cameroon and Adamawa people of Cameroon? Yoruba of Benin Republic nko? We should not let Politics define our cultural affiliations instead we should define our politics through the lens of our cultural backgrounds. That's the perspective I view his comment from.
I for one, just like any true son of Ughelli see anybody from Ofoni as a full blood Urhobo of Ughelli Kingdom, distance or location in another state notwithstanding. And now, I've learnt about the Anibeze people of Isoko.

We kobiruo.

docadams:
Hmmmmmmm

Way to go
The man in the eyes of the storm. He is for nobody but for everybody, indeed.

Hate or like him. Only PMB can bring about any serious constitutional changes. He may be slow ,justifiably so but when he is good to go even a thousand OBJ can't stand up to look him in the eyes to say NO Mr President, you can't do this.

Even in the famed 1st republic there was no state police(correct me if I am wrong). From then to the present, there has been this persistent call for state police. Never was there anytime a President acknowledge the need for a state police talk less of actively clamouring for one. Even the ineffectual boastful empty vessel OBJ, couldn't even summon the courage to whisper it to his own ears for fear of his lords. Not even the NASS could muster the courage to debate it when it was tabled last year.in the HOR

At last Uhuru is close. The pieces of restructuring gradually falling in their rightful places.. It is unfortunate we had to go through thiis painful and regrettable incidence to have a chance at having a state police .God bless our President.

But first, Mr President, the menace must be stopped in its track. We can't afford to loose more lives. Also sir, keep a close eye on that snake in green grass, Saraki. He is up to no good. And for those profiteering in one way or the other by posting fake stories online, be assured that your portion lies in HADES.

You're wrong o. We even had Local Govt Police in this country in the first republic. Yes, regional and local police existed in this country. Most of the prisons in Nigeria today were even originally belonging to the govts at the local level.

When we say restructuring, we're not asking for something new but for what we originally had or better, albeit suited for the present situations to produce better results.

It's a good thing this is coming from the President though but it's not enough. Now is time to follow words with concrete action.

Tamakay:
The Bini traditional institution has been desecrated by this singular action.

Everybody in the society wants to use their position to play politics to have a taste of the national cake not knowing politics is a game made up of chameleon dancers which is not good for an Oba like this one's calibre.
The Ijaws in Edo state forsees this coming hence they crowned their own Pere. The Oba's visit to the Villa would not be unconnected with this development. To be frank, people will argue this is modernity and there's no such laws not allowing the Oba to get out of seclusion but as far as the Edos are concerned, he has lost 60% of his respect. It is seen as sacrilegious and weird to Bini Kingdom.

But Erediauwa also did a nationwide tour paying 'Thank you' visits to some Nigerian Monarchs, Emirs, Obis and Obas after his ascension to the throne to appreciate their attending his coronation. This is the first of a string of Visits that the Oba will pay in the tour which just kicked off. Oba Akenzua even visited London on one or two occasions too.
Ewuare II is doing the same thing his father did. The only difference is that he paid a visit to the President this time.
The Oba does not leave Benin much but he does move out sometimes. Just observe, he's visiting other people too especially Monarchs as part of the tour.

UbanmeUdie:





The binis just lost the only bragging rights they have left.


Tufiakwa!


Oba Erediawa and Oba Akenzua will be sobbing in their graves right now.

Sacrilege!



Mumu Oba wey no know himself.

The Oba of Benin travels. He just doesn't do it frequently. Akenzua travelled to London at a time when there was need for it, there may be other instances. Funny enough, when the Queen of England visited Nigeria, he didn't go to the House of Chiefs at Ibadan to join other Monarchs in welcoming the Queen instead the Queen visited Benin in company of her husband and Chief Obafemi Awolowo.
Oba Erediauwa also did something similar to what his Son, Ewuare II is doing now. He paid a 'Thank you' visit to some Monarchs(Emirs, Obis and Obas) across Nigeria who attended his coronation after his ascension to the throne.

The Oba of Benin(Akenzua or Erediauwa) has visited my native Urhoboland in Delta state on one or 2 occasions since post-colonial times too.

If you observe too, Ewuare II just recently marked one year on the throne and this is the first time he'll be leaving Benin soil since his Coronation. Just watch out, he'll pay visits to several Monarchs as part of this nationwide tour which he has started with a visit to the President. His father did it before him.

So there are restrictions, most of them ritual, which makes the Oba not to move out much but he does move out... And who says things cannot change with time?

marcondo13:
Those strangers that are running their mouth about the Oroseun,I advice them to go to Ighogbadu Street or Idimisobo,and repeat their rant and see whether their brothers from the creeks that are claiming to be in Warri,will drive down to save them!
In the entire Warri South, there are only FOUR gazetted people: the Egbema/Ogbe Ijaws,the Itsekiris and the Urhobo have the Agbarha and Okere Uhrobo!
I challenge anyone to name a SINGLE tribal division in Warri,apart from this four!

No mind them. Even a stranger that comes to Warri and looks well will know it's majorly Urhobo(Agbarha and Okere-Urhobo). Warri South L.G compromises of the 2 Urhobo Kingdoms and part some Itsekiri communities like Ifie, Ugbuwangue, Ubeji etc.
The Gbaramatu(Ogbe-Ijaw), Oproza etc of Ijaw are in Warri South-west sharing with the Itsekiris and then Warri North is majorly Itsekiri sharing the L.G with the Ijaws of Egbema.

Long live the Orosuen of Okere-Urhobo. Long may he reign. Wo sutọn o.

Holyvet:
Ejẹ osun vẹ oshọ rẹ Ọghẹnẹ.

I like the way you type Urhobo. Wọ davwere ọ. Biko, me guọnọ diẹ ugboya rẹn.

What kind of comments do we have above sef? And this is already in front page? Na wa o.

I see.

Nawteemaxie:
His kids are still Young.
And are the ones standing behind him wives or concubines?

He has 3 wives who are clothed in Royal apparel there. The others in the picture are his Children.

thugthang:
I have not yet recovered from that tragic incidents.My Uncle was slaughtered like chicken

Oh oh, is that so? I'm very sorry about that bro.
Long time by the way.

fratermathy:


See as they even confuse me sef . I con dey misspell my own language again.

Orobo2Lekpa:


I get it. But you are trying very hard to link to two distinct issues by trying to find a commonality.
I don't know why you brought in Justus Esiri into the equation. The character Amebo was already mature and a household name before Justus Esiri joined the programme in the mid to late 80s.

The program also made the name popular Gorimapa for bald head. Now there is a name called Gorimapa in Yoruba language and someone trying to be clever may find some kind of etymology linking the name to Nupe language and say that is the origin.

I'm not trying to find a link. The link is what I've explained.
It's your choice to accept or not to anyway. As for Gorimapa, I know it's a word commonly used by Yorubas because I'm around Yoruba people and speak some Yoruba myself.
In Nigeria parlance today, particularly pidgin English, there are words we use that have diverse origins from various languages like Igbo, Yoruba, Urhobo, Edo, Ijaw including foreign languages like Portuguese to mention but a few.

There are other examples I can give but I think what I've explained about 'Amebo' is satisfactory enough.

Thanks.

Orobo2Lekpa:


I get it. But you are trying very hard to link to two distinct issues by trying to find a commonality.
I don't know why you brought in Justus Esiri into the equation. The character Amebo was already mature and a household name before Justus Esiri joined the programme in the mid to late 80s.

The program also made the name popular Gorimapa for bald head. Now there is a name called Gorimapa in Yoruba language and someone trying to be clever may find some kind of etymology linking the name to Nupe language and say that is the origin.

I'm not trying to find a link. The link is what I've explained.
It's your choice to accept or not to anyway. As for Gorimapa, I know it's a word commonly used by Yorubas because I'm around Yoruba people and speak some Yoruba myself.
I think what I've explained about 'Amebo' is satisfactory enough.

I

AreaFada2:


Thank you.

Sure, no ethnic entity is entirely homogeneous. People have to migrate from somewhere and try to form a new identity wherever they find themselves.
Now think of it. A land that is already populated by one group of people will only ever allow a smaller group that can be assimilated to join them. Unless they are conquered. Or the larger group is not seen as a threat. Rare historically. The waves of migrants who formed Urhobo culture were those of Benin area people. With minor other immigrants from elsewhere.
Take the case of Itsekiri.

When Prince Ginuwa left Benin during the reign of his father Oba Olua of Benin (1475-1480), he left with a replica of the royal court of Benin. With junior sons of Benin Chiefs as his courtiers. They are still the core of Warri royal family & aristocracy till now. Waves of Ijebu & Eastern Yoruba later moved to the area and supplanted much of Benin language there. There were lots of wars within Yoruba land and with their neighbours too. So migration waves are easy to understand. By now Benin had become more organised beginning in 1440 with Oba Ewuare I. With able bodied men needed for wars of expansion.

So unlike Urhobo who could migrate more easily in the pre-imperial times, just leaving had become more difficult. With body tattoos (Iwu), facial tribal marks now used to identify Benin/Edo people. This could explain why waves of migrants from Benin could not join Ginuwa. So trickling waves of Yoruba origin people became the main population.

In discussions with Ga people of Osu/Accra area of Ghana about their Benin origin, surprisingly most were aware of it. Even Ga people in the West/diaspora over 20 years back. But about 25% said they only migrated through Benin on their way from Sudan, Egypt or wherever.

In the same way, Benin itself has a lot of migrants who are now bona fide Benin people. From everywhere: Yorubaland, Ijaw, Igalla, Igbo, etc. It is only homogeneous in shared/dominant culture, not necessarily in ethnic origin or genetics. pretty much same with most tribes and nations.

The current Iyase of Benin, who is the traditional prime minster and second in power the the Oba is an Urhobo origin man. Since considering history, an Urhobo man is not to be even considered a stranger in Benin.

I find it really interesting to hear in Urhobo language, words that very old (like over 85 years old, all now late) Benin people used around 30 years ago. Words that are not heard frequently in Benin language now. Urhobo & other Edoid languages could become major linguistic repositories of the ancient common language.

You have really dissected the issue quit well, in a good academic manner. Yes, myself, an Urhobo, I don't see people from Edo, Esan areas etc as strangers too because I understand our shared heritage and understand the linguistic similarities. Infact, I found Esan to be be very similar to Urhobo language too if not more similar to Urhobo than Benin sef .
I find these things very interesting and I just can't get enough of it.
For example, In my Church Choir where I belong in school, I find myself easily noting and correcting mistakes in pronunciation of words in Edo language even when I don't get the real meaning of such words.
I stay in Benin occasionally, and the similarity of the language with Urhobo fascinates me a lot.

Yes, I've heard of the matter concerning Chief Igbe, Iyase of Benin being originally from Urhobo. It's even said there has been at least another Iyase of Urhobo origin in pre-colonial times probably from the Kokori axis of Agbon in Urhoboland.

I'm paternally from Ughelli Kingdom and I know that aside the general historical commonality of Urhobos and Edos, there existed a strong relationship between the royal houses of Ughelli and Benin in precolonial times, there are other examples too.

But I think I have a small issue with your Itsekiri narrative. Yes, the Royal house of Itsekiri is descended from Benin infact, Oba Olua was the father of Prince Iginuwa whose sons later founded the Itsekiri kingdom.

But the truth is, and evidence from far-reaching studies shows it too, the Yoruba-speaking communities that later formed the larger stock of the Itsekiri people were already existing before Ginuwa's sojourn to those paths. What Ginuwa and descendants did was organize and unite various small, scattered fishing communities into a Kingdom under the crown of the Olu. I'm not ruling out the possibility of later migrants from Yoruba areas into the coastal areas of Itsekiri.

The Urhobo have an interesting perspective on this matter because Oghara people played host to Ginuwa on his way from Benin as Itsekiri history also confirms.

Again, Ode-Itsekiri, the traditional headquarters and seat of the Olu(until not long ago) was already inhabited before Ginuwa's party arrived. It is said that Itsekiri is the name of the most prominent man they met there who welcomed them hence their adopting the name. Ginuwa himself is said to have died at Ijala and was buried there, never reaching Ode-Itsekiri. You can subject these to further research.

Thanks for the contribution.

Orobo2Lekpa:


That is not correct, what has been described is totally different from the character Amebo played. The historical context you have given really has no bearing on the character

You still don't get it. There is not a direct bearing on the character but I already explained that within Urhobo culture, the name 'Avwebo/Amebo' is normally used to refer to gossips busy bodies or holier-than-thous long before the film was shot. The name was adopted from the already existing cultural background to describe the character who was fond of gossiping In 'The Village Headmaster'.

It may also interest you to know that Justice Esiri, the lead actor in the series is an Urhobo from the popular Esiri family of Abraka.

Lagos before then, already had a sizable Urhobo population visible enough to show some influence.

The name was already in use by a handful of other Nigerians especially in Lagos then before the film was shot, the series only popularised it more.

If you must argue an issue, it must be something you have sufficient amount of information about.
You can go make some real findings about this and what you'll find will not be far from this.

Probz:


Yeah. No wahala.

Are you Edo yourself?

No, I'm Urhobo.
I mentioned Edo because there are similarities between it and Urhobo in language and culture etc.
Bini(Edo), Urhobo, Isoko, Esan, Afemai etc are also linguistically classified as 'Edoid' languages belonging to a language family. We also have 'Igboid' 'Yoruboid', 'Ijoid' etc in classifying languages with striking similarities within those language families.

So it'll help you understand better when you see things like 'Edo-Speaking people', Yoruba-speaking, Igbo-speaking etc.

I believe you understand now.

naptu2:


Here's my thread about The Village Headmaster and The New Village Headmaster if you want to know all about the series.

https://www.nairaland.com/3558068/village-headmaster-series-longest-run#52581756

Okay. Thank you.

Autherga:
.
In two urhobo dialect namely okpe & uvwie the word is still pronounced amebo

You're very correct. It's even indicated in the post though I didn't specifically mention Okpe and Uvwie.

fratermathy:


Maybe the spelling is confusing you. The pronunciation is aarmeehbooor. So though it is spelt as Amevbo, it is pronounced as Amebo.

Let's not argue on who owns the word. It's not necessary. The Op's position is on how it became popular, not that the Urhobos have a patent to the word.

And of course, etymology may be relative, even when words have the same meaning, pronunciation and orthography. I can argue that "Omo" is an Urhobo word and still be as correct or as wrong as one who argues it is a Yoruba word.

Oniovo na 'Avwebo' and 'Amebo' I spell sef o. 'Amevbo', 'Amevwo' or whatever is no where in the post. The only other word I used is 'Avweorovwe' which is the direct opposite of 'Avwebo/Amebo' in a polygamous setting.

oodualover:

Lols! Me sef i am confused oo. How did amewvo become amebo?
Can you imagine? It is like saying sango is not Yoruba word

You guys are even getting it wrong Koro Koro like this. I never used "amewvo" PLEASE. The only 2 words contained in the post are 'Avwebo' and it's variant 'Amebo'. There are Urhobo dialects that use purely 'Amebo' too, it has same meaning in Esan language, another Edo-Speaking group. Maybe you didn't read the post well.

oodualover:

So "amewvo" which means good wife has now turn to "amebo" an eavesdropper.
Bro, you too use your sense na.
What i know is Amebo is a Yoruba word.
"Amewvo" has a different meaning from "Amebo". The writer said it himself that it was first heard from a Yoruba woman's mouth.

The only words I used are 'Avwebo' and it's variant, 'Amebo' which is the subject of discussion. I don't know where you got "Amewvo" from.
So because a Yoruba woman plays a role depicting Amebo in a movie is what you have to as proof of your claim? Lol.
Justice Esiri also acted in that film, he's an Urhobo himself. I know Urhobos who act pure Yoruba movies like Fathia Balogun for example(surprised right? ). It doesn't mean much bro.

oodualover:

So "amewvo" which means good wife has now turn to "amebo" an eavesdropper.
Bro, you too use your sense na.
What i know is Amebo is a Yoruba word.
"Amewvo" has a different meaning from "Amebo". The writer said it himself that it was first heard from a Yoruba woman's mouth.

The only words I used are 'Avwebo' and it's variant, 'Amebo' which is the subject of discussion. I don't know where you got "Amewvo" from.

Mujtahida:

They are giving you the etymology of the word. Words too have history. They are born, they grow, they change and sometimes they die. So please give us the etymology of the word amebo in Yoruba

Thanks for that. Some of us don't bother to look deeply. Nigerian Pidgin English today has many words of diverse origins from such languages as English, Portuguese, Yoruba, Edo Urhobo, Igbo, Ijaw but many don't know. Our local languages too have borrowed words from other languages but many don't know and will not want to learn.

kn23h:


Are you mad?

Ikebe is a Yoruba word.

No again. It's an Urhobo word. We use it till today. Idi is buttocks in Yoruba, not Ikebe.
Ikebe is an Urhobo word meaning buttocks but it has found it's way into common Nigerian parlance like other words including the subject matter of this post. Go make some findings.

kn23h:
When did Amebo become urhobo?

It's a Yoruba word.

Yoruba word? It's not true. It has no real original meaning in Yoruba language even though Yorubas use it largely. You can subject this to further research on your own.

AreaFada2:


Dude you try. But Amwenbo is a very ancient Benin word for Iyale. Mother of house or senior wife. It changed in Urhobo a bit as they moved from Benin area around 600 years ago. Pretty much like osa became osia for chimpanzee. Ekpekpeye became Ikpukpuyeke for duck. Ukhuere became uwhere (sugar cane), Ogie became ovie. Omokhuo became omote, etc. Words like Efe(wealth), igho (money) Oghene (God) remain pretty much same.

Edoid languages like Benin, Urhobo, Esan, Afemai, Degema, Isoko all retain many ancient parent words.

you're right to a large extent. There are many words that are still common to nearly all languages in the Edoid linguistic family. I believe many of our ancestors had a common ancestry or origin but we shouldn't make the mistake of thinking all Urhobo tribes trace their migratory history from Benin because the migratory patterns were not one-way or definite just as Urhobo like most other ethnic groups are actually a people of diverse origins.

That said, with available evidences, we can safely conclude that we have a common stock to a large extent at least.
Thanks for the enlightening contribution. I like the way you gave linguistic similarities in names.
Welldone.

Beowulf:


I don't know about 'vb" but we use "vw". I am from a neighbouring town to Awka with a similar dialect and we use "vw" as well. Other Igbos find it difficult to pronounce it the way we do. For instance the way we call cow which must Igbos call efi, evi, eshi, ehi depending on their dialects, we call it evwi.

Wow! This is very interesting. 'vw' and 'vb' are actually different ways of spelling the same thing. Southern Edoid languages like Urhobo and Isoko uses 'vw' more commonly while Bini, Esan and some others use 'vb' mostly.

I never knew anywhere in Igboland, talk less of Awka of all places has something like it too. Funny enough, I've once heard some people in Urhobo/Isoko trace their history to the Awka area.

Abeg, fratermathy Efewestern come and see this.

Afam4eva:
I've always thought Amebo had Yoruba origins because it kinda sounds more Yoruba than anything.

I believe you know now. The origin and etymology of the word is what the post addresses. Esan language in Edo state also uses 'Amebo' for the same original meaning as in Urhobo, the favorite wife of a polygamous home.