₦airaland Forum

Dolemite: Yes please.

chukwuawka: The Life of Olaudah Equiano

Extract from: The Interesting Narrative of The Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, The African. Written by Himself.
London: Printed for and sold by the author, No. 10, Union-Street, Middlesex Hospital, [1789].
Vol. 1, Chapter 1, pages 4-38.

That part of Africa, known by the name of Guinea, to which the trade for slaves is carried on, extends along the coast above 3400 miles, from the Senegal to Angola, and includes a variety of kingdoms. Of these the most considerable is the kingdom of Benen, both as to extent and wealth, the richness and cultivation of the soil, the power of its king, and the number and warlike disposition of the inhabitants. It is situated nearly under the line, and extends along the coast about 170 miles, but runs back into the interior part of Africa to a distance hitherto I believe unexplored by any traveller; and seems only terminated at length by the empire of Abyssinia, near 1500 miles from its beginning. This kingdom is divided into many provinces or districts: in one of the most remote and fertile of which, called Eboe, I was born, in the year 1745, in a charming fruitful vale, named Essaka. The distance of this province from the capital of Benin and the sea coast must be very considerable; for I had never heard of white men or Europeans, nor of the sea: and our subjection to the king of Benin was little more than nominal; for every transaction of the government, as far as my slender observation extended, was conducted by the chiefs or elders of the place. The manners and government of a people who have little commerce with other countries are generally very simple; and the history of what passes in one family or village may serve as a specimen of a nation. My father was one of those elders or chiefs I have spoken of, and was styled Embrenche; a term, as I remember, importing the highest distinction, and signifying in our language a mark of grandeur. This mark is conferred on the person entitled to it, by cutting the skin across at the top of the forehead, and drawing it down to the eye-brows; and while it is in this situation applying a warm hand, and rubbing it until it shrinks up into a thick weal across the lower part of the forehead. Most of the judges and senators were thus marked; my father had long born it: I had seen it conferred on one of my brothers, and I was also destined to receive it by my parents. Those Embrence, or chief men, decided disputes and punished crimes; for which purpose they always assembled together. The proceedings were generally short; and in most cases the law of retaliation prevailed. I remember a man was brought before my father, and the other judges, for kidnapping a boy; and, although he was the son of a chief or senator, he was condemned to make recompense by a man or woman slave. Adultery, however, was sometimes punished with slavery or death; a punishment which I believe is inflicted on it throughout most of the nations of Africa. So sacred among them is the honour of the marriage bed, and so jealous are they of the fidelity of their wives. Of this I recollect an instance: --a woman was convicted before the judges of adultery, and delivered over, as the custom was, to her husband to be punished. Accordingly he determined to put her to death: but it being found, just before her execution, that she had an infant at her breast; and no woman being prevailed on to perform the part of a nurse, she was spared on account of the child. The men, however, do not preserve the same constancy to their wives, which they expect from them; for they indulge in a plurality, though seldom in more than two. Their mode of marriage is thus: - both parties are usually betrothed when young by their parents, (though I have known the males to betroth themselves). On this occasion a feast is prepared, and the bride and bridegroom stand up in the midst of all their friends, who are assembled for the purpose, while he declares she is thenceforth to be looked upon as his wife, and that no other person is to pay any addresses to her. This is also immediately proclaimed in the vicinity, on which the bride retires from the assembly. Some time after she is brought home to her husband, and then another feast is made, to which the relations of both parties are invited: her parents then deliver her to the bridegroom, accompanied with a number of blessings, and at the same time they tie round her waist a cotton string of the thickness of a goose-quill, which none but married women are permitted to wear: she is now considered as completely his wife; and at this time the dowry is given to the new married pair, which generally consists of portions of land, slaves, and cattle, household goods, and implements of husbandry. These are offered by the friends of both parties; besides which the parents of the bridegroom present gifts to those of the bride, whose property she is looked upon before marriage; but after it she is esteemed the sole property of her husband. The ceremony being now ended the festival begins, which is celebrated with bonefires, and loud acclamations of joy, accompanied with music and dancing.


In our buildings we study convenience rather than ornament. Each master of a family has a large square piece of ground, surrounded with a moat or fence, or enclosed with a wall made of red earth tempered; which, when dry, is as hard as brick. Within this are his houses to accommodate his family and slaves; which, if numerous, frequently present the appearance of a village. In the middle stands the principal building, appropriated to the sole use of the master, and consisting of two apartments; in one of which he sits in the day with his family, the other is left apart for the reception of his friends. He has besides these a distinct apartment in which lie sleeps, together with his male children. On each side are the apartments of his wives, who have also their separate day and night houses. The habitations of the slaves and their families are distributed throughout the rest of the enclosure. These houses never exceed one story in height: they are always built of wood, or stakes driven into the ground, crossed with wattles, and neatly plastered within, and without. The roof is thatched with reeds. Our day-houses are left open at the sides; but those in which we sleep are always covered, and plastered in the inside, with a composition mixed with cow-dung, to keep off the different insects, which annoy us during the night. The walls and floors also of these are generally covered with mats. Our beds consist of a platform, raised three or four feet from the ground, on which are laid skins, and different parts of a spungy tree called plaintain. Our covering is calico or muslin, the same as our dress. The usual seats are a few logs of wood; but we have benches, which are generally perfumed, to accommodate strangers: these compose the greater part of our household furniture. Houses so constructed and furnished require but little skill to erect them. Every man is sufficient architect for the purpose. The whole neighbourhood afford their unanimous assistance in building them and in return receive, and expect no other recompense than a feast.

As we live in a country where nature is prodigal of her favours, our wants are few and easily supplied; of course we have few manufactures. They consist for the most part of calicoes, earthern ware, ornaments, and instruments of war and husbandry. But these make no part of our commerce, the principal articles of which, as I have observed, are provisions. In such a state money is of little use; however we have some small pieces of coin, if I may call them such. They are made something like an anchor; but I do not remember either their value or denomination. We have also markets, at which I have been frequently with my mother. There are sometimes visited by stout mahogany-coloured men from the south west of us: we call them Oye-Eboe, which term signifies red men living at a distance. They generally bring us fire-arms, gunpowder, hats, beads, and dried fish. The last we esteemed a great rarity, as our waters were only brooks and springs. These articles they barter with us for odoriferous woods and earth, and our salt of wood ashes. They always carry slaves through our land; but the strictest account is exacted of their manner of procuring them before they are suffered to pass. Sometimes indeed we sold slaves to them, but they were only prisoners of war, or such among us as had been convicted of kidnapping, or adultery, and some other crimes, which we esteemed heinous. This practice of kidnapping induces me to think, that, notwithstanding all our strictness, their principal business among us was to trepan our people. I remember too they carried great sacks along with them, which not long after I had an opportunity of fatally seeing applied to that infamous purpose.

Our land is uncommonly rich and fruitful, and produces all kinds of vegetables in great abundance. We have plenty of Indian corn, and vast quantities of cotton and tobacco. Our pineapples grow without culture; they are about the size of the largest sugar-loaf, and finely flavoured. We have also spices of different kinds, particularly pepper; and a variety of delicious fruits which I have never seen in Europe; together with gums of various kinds, and honey in abundance. All our industry is exerted to improve those blessings of nature. Agriculture is our chief employment; and every one, even the children and women, are engaged in it. Thus we are all habituated to labour from our earliest years. Everyone contributes something to the common stock; and as we are unacquainted with idleness, we have no beggars. The benefits of such a mode of living are obvious. The West India planters prefer the slaves of Benin or Eboe to those of any other part of Guinea, for their hardiness, intelligence, integrity, and zeal. Those benefits are felt by us in the general healthiness of the people, and in their vigour and activity; I might have added too in their comeliness. Deformity is indeed unknown amongst us, I mean that of shape. Numbers of the natives of Eboe now in London might be brought in support of this assertion: for, in regard to complexion, ideas of beauty are wholly relative. I remember while in Africa to have seen three negro children, who were tawny, and another quite white, who were universally regarded by myself, and the natives in general, as far as related to their complexions, as deformed. Our women too were in my eyes at least uncommonly graceful, alert, and modest to a degree of bashfulness; nor do I remember to have ever heard of an instance of incontinence amongst them before marriage. They are also remarkably cheerful. Indeed cheerfulness and affability are two of the leading characteristics of our nation.


As to religion, the natives believe that there is one Creator of all things, and that he lives in the sun, and is girted round with a belt that he may never eat or drink; but, according to some, he smokes a pipe, which is our own favourite luxury. They believe he governs events, especially our deaths or captivity; but, as for the doctrine of eternity; I do not remember to have ever heard of it: some however believe in the transmigration of souls in a certain degree. Those spirits, which are not transmigrated, such as our dear friends or relations, they believe always attend them, and guard them from the bad spirits or their foes. For this reason they always before eating, as I have observed, put some small portion of the meat, and pour some of their drink, on the ground for them; and they often make oblations of the blood of beasts or fowls at their graves. I was very fond of my mother, and almost constantly with her. When she went to make these oblations at her mother's tomb, which was a kind of small solitary thatched house, I sometimes attended her. There she made her libations, and spent most of the night in cries and lamentations. I have been often extremely terrified on these occasions. The loneliness of the place, the darkness of the night, and the ceremony of libation, naturally awful and gloomy, were heightened by my mother's lamentations; and there, concurring with the cries of doleful birds, by which these places were frequented, gave an inexpressible terror to the scene.

We compute the year from the day on which the sun crosses the line, and on its setting that evening there is a general shout throughout the land; at least I can speak from my own knowledge throughout our vicinity. The people at the same time make a great noise with rattles, not unlike the basket rattles used by children here, though much larger, and hold up their hands to heaven for a blessing. It is then the greatest offerings are made; and those children whom our wise men foretel will be fortunate are then presented to different people. I remember many used to come to see me, and I was carried about to others for that purpose. They have many offerings, particularly at full moons; generally two at harvest before the fruits are taken out of the ground: and when any young animals are killed, sometimes they offer up part of them as a sacrifice. These offerings, when made by one of the heads of a family, serve for the whole. I remember we often had them at my father's and my uncle's, and their families have been present. Some of our offerings are eaten with bitter herbs. We had a saying among us to any one of a cross temper, ' That 'if they were to be eaten, they should be eaten with bitter herbs.'

We practised circumcision like the Jews, and made offerings and feasts on that occasion in the same manner as they did. Like them also, our children were named from some event; some circumstance, or fancied foreboding at the time of their birth. I was named Olaudah, which, in our language, signifies vicissitude or fortune also; one favoured, and having a loud voice and well spoken. I remember we never polluted the name of the object of our adoration; on the contrary, it was always mentioned with the greatest reverence; and we were totally unacquainted with swearing, and all those terms of abuse and reproach which find their way so readily and copiously into the languages of more civilized people. The only expressions of that kind I remember were ' May you rot, or may you swell, or may a beast take you.'

I have before remarked that the natives of this part of Africa are extremely cleanly. This necessary habit of decency was with us a part of religion, and therefore we had many purifications and washings; indeed almost as many, and used on the same occasions, if my recollection does not fail me, as the Jews. Those that touched the dead at any time were obliged to wash and purify themselves before they could enter a dwelling-house. Every woman too, at certain times, was forbidden to come into a dwelling-house, or touch any person, or any thing we ate. I was so fond of my mother I could not keep from her, or avoid touching her at some of those periods, in consequence of which I was obliged to be kept out with her, in a little house made for that purpose, till offering was made, and then we were purified.

Though we had no places of public worship, we had priests and magicians, or wise men. I do not remember whether they had different offices, or whether they were united in the same persons, but they were held in great reverence by the people. They calculated our time, and foretold events, as their name imported, for we called them Ah-affoe-way-cah, which signifies calculators or yearly men, our year being called Ah-affoe. They wore their beards, and when they died they were succeeded by their sons. Most of their implements and things of value were interred along with them. Pipes and tobacco were also put into the grave with the corpse, which was always perfumed and ornamented, and animals were offered in sacrifice to them. None accompanied their funerals but those of the same profession or tribe. These buried them after sunset, and always returned from the grave by a different way from that which they went.

These magicians were also our doctors or physicians. They practised bleeding by cupping; and were very successful in healing wounds and expelling poisons. They had likewise some extraordinary method of discovering jealousy, theft, and poisoning; the success of which no doubt they derived from their unbounded influence over the credulity and superstition of the people. I do not remember what those methods were, except that as to poisoning: I recollect an instance or two, which I hope it will not be deemed impertinent here to insert, as it may serve as a kind of specimen of the rest, and is still used by the negroes in the West Indies. A virgin had been poisoned, but it was not known by whom: the doctors ordered the corpse to be taken up by some persons, and carried to the grave. As soon as the bearers had raised it on their shoulders, they seemed seized with some sudden impulse, and ran to and fro unable to stop themselves. At last, after having passed through a number of thorns and prickly bushes unhurt, the corpse fell from them close to a house, and defaced it in the fall; and, the owner being taken up, he immediately confessed the poisoning.

The natives are extremely cautious about poison. When they buy any eatable the seller kisses it all round before the buyer, to shew him it is not poisoned; and the same is done when any meat or drink is presented, particularly to a stranger. We have serpents of different kinds, some of which are esteemed ominous when they appear in our houses, and these we never molest. I remember two of those ominous snakes, each of which was as thick as the calf of a man's leg, and in colour resembling a dolphin in the water, crept at different times into my mother's night-house, where I always lay with her, and coiled themselves into folds, and each time they crowed like a cock. I was desired by some of our wise men to touch these, that I might be interested in the good omens, which I did, for they were quite harmless, and would tamely suffer themselves to be handled; and then they were put into a large open earthen pan, and set on one side of the highway. Some of our snakes, however, were poisonous: one of them crossed the road one day when I was standing on it, and passed between my feet without offering to touch me, to the great surprise of many who saw it; and these incidents were accounted by the wise men, and therefore by my mother and the rest of the people, as remarkable omens in my favour.

Such is the imperfect sketch my memory has furnished me with of the manners and customs of a people among whom I first drew my breath.

CodeineJunkiee: I can't read this long epistle. Summarize accordingly

IYANGBALI: Igbo means forest or indian hemp

Dolemite: The Igbos I have come across weren't cool, but I still love Igbo anyway, anyone wanna teach me Igbo? pleeeease?

emeka94: (though I have known the males to betroth themselves).

The above is a line in the passage. I noticed this when I read but I didn't want to comment cos I wasn't sure if I read right. So I gave it to a friend and he confirmed.
Pls what does the statement mean?

tonychristopher: THESE ARE CENTURIES OLD STORIES DOCUMENTED BY A GREAT IGBO SON...THESE ARE OF OF THE VERY MANY REASONS I KEEP THANING GOD FOR CREATING ME AN IGBO MAN


HATERS DIE
LOVERS LIVE

kingston277: This is amazing. Always wondered why there were so few first hand African accounts of those times(i'm sure nsibidi records might help us out aswell if they physically survived the test of time). I wonder if Benin, Oyo or any other urbanized kingdom has honest first hand accounts like this.

tonychristopher: BECUSE YOUR HIGH AS A JUNKIE, TRY REHAB OR YABA LEFT

mandarin: Such is the imperfect sketch my memory has furnished me with of the manners and customs of a people among whom I first drew my breath. [/b]we have to first bear in mind that we can count on this account but with a small degree of variance. I have divided his view to cover some aspects of his sociocultural environment:


[b]LOCATION

This kingdom is divided into many provinces or districts: in one of the most remote and fertile of which, called Eboe, I was born, in the year 1745, in a charming fruitful vale, named Essaka. The distance of this province from the capital of Benin and the sea coast must be very considerable;
'His province in Benin Kingdom was called Eboe'
Let's look at his story with today's map and consider some salient points: His village was within the Benin(Benem) Empire and he had never seen the sea. His own native town? was Essaka(or Etsako?)


Of these the most considerable is the kingdom of Benen, both as to extent and wealth, the richness and cultivation of the soil, the power of its king, and the number and warlike disposition of the inhabitants. It is situated nearly under the line, and extends along the coast about 170 miles, but runs back into the interior part of Africa to a distance hitherto I believe unexplored by any traveller; and seems only terminated at length by the empire of Abyssinia, near 1500 miles from its beginning. This kingdom is divided into many provinces or districts: in one of the most remote and fertile of which, called Eboe, I was born, in the year 1745, in a charming fruitful vale, named Essaka. The distance of this province from[i] the capital of Benin and the sea coast must be very considerable; for I had never heard of white men or[/i] [b]Europeans, [i]nor of the sea:[/i][/b] and our subjection to the king of Benin was little more than nominal; for every transaction of the government, as far as my slender observation extended, was conducted by the chiefs or elders of the place

This could mean that Essaka(or Etsako) was considerably far from the sea and that could be a hinterland settlement obviously not toward the coast.

I suspect this man may have been an Olukumi and his description can fit into today's Etsako down to Northern Delta State but far removed from Bini City.

PEOPLE

My father was one of those elders or chiefs I have spoken of, and was styled Embrenche(tribal marks ); a term, as I remember, importing the highest distinction, and signifying in our language a mark of grandeur. This mark is conferred on the person entitled to it, by cutting the skin across at the top of the forehead, and drawing it down to the eye-brows; and while it is in this situation applying a warm hand, and rubbing it until it shrinks up into a thick weal across the lower part of the forehead. Most of the judges and senators were thus marked

DRESSING

It is extracted from a berry, and is brighter and richer than any I have seen in Europe. Besides this, our women of distinction wear golden ornaments; which they dispose with some profusion on their arms and legs. When our women are not employed with the men in tillage, their usual occupation is spinning and weaving cotton, which they afterwards dye, and make it into garments. They also manufacture earthen vessels, of which we have many kinds. Among the rest tobacco pipes, made after the same fashion, and used in the same manner, as those in Turkey

MARRIAGE CUSTOM

[b]Their mode of marriage is thus: - both parties are usually betrothed when young by their parents, (though I have known the males to betroth themselves). On this occasion a feast is prepared, and the bride and bridegroom stand up in the midst of all their friends, who are assembled for the purpose, while he declares she is thenceforth to be looked upon as his wife, and that no other person is to pay any addresses to her. This is also immediately proclaimed in the vicinity, on which the bride retires from the assembly. Some time after she is brought home to her husband, and then another feast is made, to which the relations of both parties are invited: her parents then deliver her to the bridegroom, accompanied with a number of blessings, and at the same time they tie round her waist a cotton string of the thickness of a goose-quill, which none but married women are permitted to wear: she is now considered as completely his wife; and at this time the dowry is given to the new married pair, which generally consists of portions of land, slaves, and cattle, household goods, and implements of husbandry. These are offered by the friends of both parties; besides which the parents of the bridegroom present gifts to those of the bride, whose property she is looked upon before marriage; but after it she is esteemed the sole property of her husband. The ceremony being now ended the festival begins, which is celebrated with bonefires, and loud acclamations of joy, accompanied with music and dancing. [/b]

KITCHEN
Our manner of living is entirely plain; for as yet the natives are unacquainted with those refinements in cookery which debauch the taste: bullocks, goats, and poultry, supply the greatest part of their food. These constitute likewise the principal wealth of the country, and the chief articles of its commerce. The flesh is usually stewed in a pan; to make it savoury we sometimes use also pepper, and other spices, and we have salt made of wood ashes. Our vegetables are mostly plantains, eadas, yams, beans, and Indian corn

RELIGION

As to religion, the natives believe that there is one Creator of all things, and that he lives in the sun, and is girted round with a belt that he may never eat or drink; but, according to some, he smokes a pipe, which is our own favourite luxury. They believe he governs events, especially our deaths or captivity; but, as for the doctrine of eternity; I do not remember to have ever heard of it: some however believe in the transmigration of souls in a certain degree. Those spirits, which are not transmigrated, such as our dear friends or relations, they believe always attend them, and guard them from the bad spirits or their foes. For this reason they always before eating, as I have observed, put some small portion of the meat, and pour some of their drink, on the ground for them; and they often make oblations of the blood of beasts or fowls at their graves. I was very fond of my mother, and almost constantly with her. When she went to make these oblations at her mother's tomb, which was a kind of small solitary thatched house, I sometimes attended her. There she made her libations, and spent most of the night in cries and lamentations. I have been often extremely terrified on these occasions. The loneliness of the place, the darkness of the night, and the ceremony of libation, naturally awful and gloomy, were heightened by my mother's lamentations; and there, concurring with the cries of doleful birds, by which these places were frequented, gave an inexpressible terror to the scene


There are sometimes visited by stout mahogany-coloured men from the south west of us: we call them Oye-Eboe, which term signifies red men living at a distance. They generally bring us fire-arms, gunpowder, hats, beads, and dried fish. The last we esteemed a great rarity, as our waters were only brooks and springs. These articles they barter with us for odoriferous woods and earth, and our salt of wood ashes.

CHESSBOARD: Pls who resurrected this old thread,..... why dont ppl leave igbos to ponder over their existance.... Iya Gba sira... u don matd ni eh

londoner: Interesting indeed. Also, its interesting to read up on the Eboe landing, which involved slaves who had committed suicide after arriving in Georgia, USA as slaves. It seems the name Eboe was used for them, as well as "Red Eboe" as some slaves became known as.

bigfrancis21: 1) How about the fact that he mentioned that his father belonged to an age group called 'mbrenche' which is actually an Igbo age group called 'mgbirichi', and we have a village off Owerri town today also named 'mgbirichi'?

2) How about the fact that he mentioned that one year in his language was 'afoe' which corresponds to 'afo' in Igbo? Is year called 'afoe' in Etsako?

3) How about the fact that he mentioned that man is called 'weka' in his language which is actually 'nwoke'/'woke' in Igbo? Is man called 'nwoke/woke' in Etsako?

4) What about the fact that he referred to himself as 'eboe' not Etsako? Are you saying someone who was intelligent enough to write an all-perfect autobiography of his would not know the name of his tribe?

5) What about the fact that he actually spoke Igbo and was often called in to quell groups of protesting Igbo slaves by speaking Igbo to them? How could he have spoken Igbo to them if he was actually Etsako? Or if you still want to insist that he was an Igbo-speaking Etsako man would you be willing to agree with me that ancient Igboland extended to Etsako in the 1700s? I'd be glad if you agreed readily to this.

6) How about all the similar atriking hebraic customs of his people he mentioned in his work. Have Etsakos ever been rumored to have hebraic connections, customs or manners? Please point out which of the customs he listed are common with the Etsakos. Meabwhile all the customs he listed out are being practised/habv been practised in the past by Igbos. If you can show me at least a 90% correlation of the customs of his people he mentioned in his book with the customs of Etsakos, then we can actually start discussing on a different level.

7) Does the name, 'Olauda Ikwuano' sound Etsako to you? Does Olauda mean 'heavy voice' in Etsako?

8.) Is Etsako land the only place in Nigeria far from the sea? Anambra and Imo states are equally far from the sea.

9) Noticed he spelt 'i' pronouncing words with an 'e' as in 'eboe' for 'ibo, 'equiano' for 'ikwuano', mbr e nc e for 'mgbur i ch i' and 'e' prnouncing words with an 'a' as in 'wek a ' for 'nwok e '. Following his spelling logic, common sense you would tell that Olaudah the 'essaka' was actually referring to is 'isseke', and there is a village, Isseke, in Ihiala LGA of Anambra state which is said to be the village Olaudah was referring to. http://www.sbnnigeria.com/category/anambra/location/anambra/ihiala/isseke/

mandarin: Thanks Francis.

I always love critical assessment of any historical fact(may not be the truth) and if we take this write up as a fact then there are salient issues to be examined:

1.If it were to be Anambra there would have been a big river to cross in River Nigers which Olaudah would have at least heard of from his kinsmen that had traelled to the imperial Benen(Benin)

2. The translation of his name which probably he wrote by himself have meaning in different languages within the old Benin Empire as it was not only Igbo I was named Olaudah, which, in our language, signifies vicissitude(expression of fortune that transform which in some language could me my wealth has come, I made it , my wealth has increased or multiply etc) or fortune also; one favoured, and having a loud voice and well spoken Is Ola wealth or fortune in Igbo or is it someone favoured, or of great repute.....that is to have a loud voice or brilliant, is that Ola in Igbo? That was why I said this man is a mixture of culture because his name is olukumi. Francis please dispute this. He never talked about ....udah(good, well and remeber he would stich with the fame he was known with by the slave masters) or Ikweano(why not Iku or Ikwu?) as you said giving everything your own translation. Let what he wrote be the fact.

3.Due to the cosmopolitan nature of the Benin Empire stretching from Anambra through present day Delta and at certain times Ondo and Ekiti states of today there were mixed cultural lives of the people and acculturation would obviously filter in( Take Ukwu would fit in as death in some Yoruba/Edoid dialets and Olukumi may be also Igbo but would be Ikwu in Oyo Yoruba). From the knowledge of African culture I have, his cultural orientation encompassed three African culture/societies all in parts due to the admixture of culture in which he grew.

4. He talked about a people who actually came to help them with the calender and I can almost give you a translation, not just in Igbo but in other similar languages e.g

5. Accordin to him ''
This kingdom is divided into many provinces or districts: in one of the most remote and fertile of which, called Eboe, I was born, in the year 1745, in a charming fruitful vale, named Essaka''
He believed his native province was remote( backside of the Kingdom or far removed), his native province /district was called Eboe and his village was Essaka. You believed Eboe was right but Essaka would be Isakka or what did you call it? I just want to be factual; wealth or fortune in Igbo is AKU but you are at liberty to take me on on this.
If by what he wrote is to be factual Essaka is like pro-Edo Olukumi word and I suspected and suggested Esako area of Edo or Olukumi of Delta.

6.There are sometimes visited by stout mahogany-coloured men from the south west of us: we call them Oye-Eboe, Who would you put the Oye-Eboe people he so referred? what is the meaning of Oye in Igbo?

7. 3) How about the fact that he mentioned that man is called 'weka' in his language which is actually 'nwoke'/'woke' in Igbo? Is man called 'nwoke/woke' in Etsako?
You talked about 'Weka' that is Edo where we have 'Iweka' and its more comprehensible than 'nwoke' which is a masculine term while Iweka or weka is a name of a person.

I didn't come here to change your orintation or the faith Igbo kinsmen have been holding to but obviously 'Olaudah' obviously did not come from anywhere east of the Niger and in 1775 a whole lot would have changed by 1900. Igbo itself mean what in Igbo? There is a tribe called Ugbo Kingdom in Ondo State ...more soon

They calculated our time, and foretold events, as their name imported, for we called them Ah-affoe-way-cah, which signifies calculators or yearly men, our year being called Ah-affoe - Francis, you will concur that some people often came as calender year and the name they called those people was in the transliteration of their own native language 'Ah-affoe-way-cah' or counting on your fingers? They derived their own calender from what they learned fromthose men.......
I have a meeting will get back to you later.

pazienza: I think, the problem you lots have is trying to to make Olaudah a South Eastern. Olaudah was Igbo, but he wasn't a South Easterner, he was from the part of Igboland that was under Bini influence, he even gave the name as Essaka.

It can easily be seen that Olaudah was from Anioma part of Igboland, and that the Ukwuani town, Ashaka, could easily be the Esaka he speaks of. And not some far fetched town in Ihiala or Imo.


Ola(Olu?)= Jewelery/wealth(vocation, accomplishment, enterprise?), Udah(ude?)= sound/noise/loud.(roar, tone, cry, voice?)
Olaudah= Wealth that resonates, a kind of great wealth( fortune).

mandarin: Thanks Francis.

I always love critical assessment of any historical fact(may not be the truth) and if we take this write up as a fact then there are salient issues to be examined:

1.If it were to be Anambra there would have been a big river to cross in River Nigers which Olaudah would have at least heard of from his kinsmen that had traelled to the imperial Benen(Benin)

2. The translation of his name which probably he wrote by himself have meaning in different languages within the old Benin Empire as it was not only Igbo I was named Olaudah, which, in our language, signifies vicissitude(expression of fortune that transform which in some language could me my wealth has come, I made it , my wealth has increased or multiply etc) or fortune also; one favoured, and having a loud voice and well spoken Is Ola wealth or fortune in Igbo or is it someone favoured, or of great repute.....that is to have a loud voice or brilliant, is that Ola in Igbo? That was why I said this man is a mixture of culture because his name is olukumi. Francis please dispute this. He never talked about ....udah(good, well and remeber he would stich with the fame he was known with by the slave masters) or Ikweano(why not Iku or Ikwu?) as you said giving everything your own translation. Let what he wrote be the fact.

3.Due to the cosmopolitan nature of the Benin Empire stretching from Anambra through present day Delta and at certain times Ondo and Ekiti states of today there were mixed cultural lives of the people and acculturation would obviously filter in( Take Ukwu would fit in as death in some Yoruba/Edoid dialets and Olukumi may be also Igbo but would be Ikwu in Oyo Yoruba). From the knowledge of African culture I have, his cultural orientation encompassed three African culture/societies all in parts due to the admixture of culture in which he grew.

4. He talked about a people who actually came to help them with the calender and I can almost give you a translation, not just in Igbo but in other similar languages e.g

5. Accordin to him ''
This kingdom is divided into many provinces or districts: in one of the most remote and fertile of which, called Eboe, I was born, in the year 1745, in a charming fruitful vale, named Essaka''
He believed his native province was remote( backside of the Kingdom or far removed), his native province /district was called Eboe and his village was Essaka. You believed Eboe was right but Essaka would be Isakka or what did you call it? I just want to be factual; wealth or fortune in Igbo is AKU but you are at liberty to take me on on this.
If by what he wrote is to be factual Essaka is like pro-Edo Olukumi word and I suspected and suggested Esako area of Edo or Olukumi of Delta.

6.There are sometimes visited by stout mahogany-coloured men from the south west of us: we call them Oye-Eboe, Who would you put the Oye-Eboe people he so referred? what is the meaning of Oye in Igbo?

7. 3) How about the fact that he mentioned that man is called 'weka' in his language which is actually 'nwoke'/'woke' in Igbo? Is man called 'nwoke/woke' in Etsako?
You talked about 'Weka' that is Edo where we have 'Iweka' and its more comprehensible than 'nwoke' which is a masculine term while Iweka or weka is a name of a person.

I didn't come here to change your orintation or the faith Igbo kinsmen have been holding to but obviously 'Olaudah' obviously did not come from anywhere east of the Niger and in 1775 a whole lot would have changed by 1900. Igbo itself mean what in Igbo? There is a tribe called Ugbo Kingdom in Ondo State ...more soon

They calculated our time, and foretold events, as their name imported, for we called them Ah-affoe-way-cah, which signifies calculators or yearly men, our year being called Ah-affoe - Francis, you will concur that some people often came as calender year and the name they called those people was in the transliteration of their own native language 'Ah-affoe-way-cah' or counting on your fingers? They derived their own calender from what they learned fromthose men.......
I have a meeting will get back to you later.

'...They calculated our time, and foretold events, as their name imported, for we called them Ah-affoe-way-cah, which signifies calculators or yearly men, our year being called Ah-affoe...'

pazienza: It can easily be seen that Olaudah was from Anioma part of Igboland, and that the Ukwuani town, Ashaka, could easily be the Esaka he speaks of. And not some far fetched town in Ihiala or Imo.


Ola= Jewelery/wealth, Udah= sound/noise/loud.
Olaudah= Wealth that resonates, a kind of great wealth( fortune).

Radoillo: There is no evidence at all in the book to support an Ukwuani origin for Olaudah. Everyone is laying too much emphasis on his casual reference to the kingdom of Benin and ignoring everything else he said in the book about cultural practices among his people. Benin was a kingdom of far-reaching influence, and its influence (in some capacity) was also felt East of the Niger.

Even before Olaudah’s book was published, a European missionary called Oldendorp interviewed Igbo slaves in the Caribbean, around the 1760s. The Igbo slaves told him that the Ibibio lived right next to them. That there was a place called Alo (Aro?) not far away, and that Igbo traders went there to purchase guns, gunpowder, cloth etc. That they (Igbos) were engaged in perpetual war with some cannibal tribes called Igan and Evo (probably the Cross River groups whom the Eastern Igbo were fighting with for much of the pre-colonial period). And that – now this is the interesting part – they (the Igbos) were ruled by a king called the oba!

If we take the allusion to ‘the oba’ in the testimony of these slaves, we might be tempted to conclude that they were Western Igbos, under the suzerainty of the Oba of Benin. But I cannot imagine an 18th century Anioma man saying he lived next to the Ibibios and close to Arochukwu; I doubt the Aniomas of that period even know of the existence of the Ibibios to start with. The people Oldendorp spoke with were therefore almost certainly Southeastern Igbos.

So we have a group of Southeastern Igbos in the 18th century (same century as Olaudah) telling Europeans that they were under the rule of an Oba, who is almost certainly the Oba of Benin! This should be an indication that making reference to Benin Kingdom or its political authority cannot be an index for determining where in Igboland Olaudah came from, since we have Southeastern Igbo slaves in the same century as Olaudah also making similar claims to being ruled by the Oba of Benin. I’m not saying the Oba of Benin ruled any portion of the Southeast. In fact, there’s no evidence that he even ruled any part of Ukwuani. But the Oba certainly featured prominently in the lore of the people both east and west of the Niger for them to fit him into their worldview, one way or the other. And that is exactly what Olaudah did – fit this distant ruler into the worldview of his people. It is in no way evidence that Olaudah came from Ukwuani.

On the other hand, we have many indicators that make it very unlikely that Olaudah came from Ukwuani.
Take the linguistic evidence, for instance. ‘Year’ in Ukwuani is not ‘Ah-affoe’ or ‘Afo’, but ‘ashua’. I don’t know how they say ‘Ola’ (ornament) or ‘Olu’ (voice) in Ukwuani, but based on what I know of the N/L principle as it applies to Ukwuani language, my guess is that they would say ‘Ona’ or ‘Onu’.

Mgburuichi or cutting of the ichi marks on people’s foreheads is not associated with Ukwuani, as far as I know. The only people west of the Niger that practised ‘igbu ichi’ to an extent were the people of Aniocha/Oshimili axis.

Olaudah also spoke about snakes as ‘thick as a man’s calf’ which his people did not kill, an obvious reference to the sacred python in the Idemmili and neighbouring areas of the Southeast. The Ukwuanis I know say they don’t have a ‘python tradition’. I do not know of any Western Igbo community that reveres the python. It appears (to me) that the python cult is limited to certain communities in Anambra and the northern section of Imo.

Olaudah says fish were ‘a great rarity’ in his village. Doesn’t that sound strange if he was from a riverine clan such as Ukwuani? Ashaka is on the banks of the Ase River, isn’t it? A lot of fishing still goes on in that general area. I can’t imagine fish being a great rarity there in the 18th century.

Ashaka and Ukwuani are right there on the southern end of the Igbo-speaking world. If, indeed, Olaudah was taken from there, one would expect that in moving him south, it wouldn’t be too long before his captors got him out of Igboland. But Olaudah told us that much of the territory he passed through for many months before finally reaching the coast spoke languages that were very close to his own, and that he had little difficult in understanding them. These languages that were close to his own and which he had little difficulty understanding were probably different Igbo dialects. So, Olaudah was taken through different Igbo dialect zones before he finally reached the coast. Olaudah himself told us that his captors took him south. How does one moving southwards from Ashaka pass through different Igbo dialect zones (and for many months) before finally reaching non-Igbo-speaking territory? Isn’t Ukwani the LAST ‘Igbo’ dialect zone before one gets to Ijaw/Isoko/Urhobo non-Igbo-speaking areas?

Taking all the evidence in the book, the most likely hypothesis is that he came from the ‘north central’ Igbo area, covering southern Anambra and northern Imo States. The nearest match for ‘Essaka’ that we can find in that area is Isseke in Southern Anambra. The ethnographic evidence (and to some extent, the geographic evidence) in the book points to that general area.

Radoillo: There is no evidence at all in the book to support an Ukwuani origin for Olaudah. Everyone is laying too much emphasis on his casual reference to the kingdom of Benin and ignoring everything else he said in the book about cultural practices among his people. Benin was a kingdom of far-reaching influence, and its influence (in some capacity) was also felt East of the Niger.

Even before Olaudah’s book was published, a European missionary called Oldendorp interviewed Igbo slaves in the Caribbean, around the 1760s. The Igbo slaves told him that the Ibibio lived right next to them. That there was a place called Alo (Aro?) not far away, and that Igbo traders went there to purchase guns, gunpowder, cloth etc. That they (Igbos) were engaged in perpetual war with some cannibal tribes called Igan and Evo (probably the Cross River groups whom the Eastern Igbo were fighting with for much of the pre-colonial period). And that – now this is the interesting part – they (the Igbos) were ruled by a king called the oba!

If we take the allusion to ‘the oba’ in the testimony of these slaves, we might be tempted to conclude that they were Western Igbos, under the suzerainty of the Oba of Benin. But I cannot imagine an 18th century Anioma man saying he lived next to the Ibibios and close to Arochukwu; I doubt the Aniomas of that period even know of the existence of the Ibibios to start with. The people Oldendorp spoke with were therefore almost certainly Southeastern Igbos.

So we have a group of Southeastern Igbos in the 18th century (same century as Olaudah) telling Europeans that they were under the rule of an Oba, who is almost certainly the Oba of Benin! This should be an indication that making reference to Benin Kingdom or its political authority cannot be an index for determining where in Igboland Olaudah came from, since we have Southeastern Igbo slaves in the same century as Olaudah also making similar claims to being ruled by the Oba of Benin. I’m not saying the Oba of Benin ruled any portion of the Southeast. In fact, there’s no evidence that he even ruled any part of Ukwuani. But the Oba certainly featured prominently in the lore of the people both east and west of the Niger for them to fit him into their worldview, one way or the other. And that is exactly what Olaudah did – fit this distant ruler into the worldview of his people. It is in no way evidence that Olaudah came from Ukwuani.

On the other hand, we have many indicators that make it very unlikely that Olaudah came from Ukwuani.
Take the linguistic evidence, for instance. ‘Year’ in Ukwuani is not ‘Ah-affoe’ or ‘Afo’, but ‘ashua’. I don’t know how they say ‘Ola’ (ornament) or ‘Olu’ (voice) in Ukwuani, but based on what I know of the N/L principle as it applies to Ukwuani language, my guess is that they would say ‘Ona’ or ‘Onu’.

Mgburuichi or cutting of the ichi marks on people’s foreheads is not associated with Ukwuani, as far as I know. The only people west of the Niger that practised ‘igbu ichi’ to an extent were the people of Aniocha/Oshimili axis.

Olaudah also spoke about snakes as ‘thick as a man’s calf’ which his people did not kill, an obvious reference to the sacred python in the Idemmili and neighbouring areas of the Southeast. The Ukwuanis I know say they don’t have a ‘python tradition’. I do not know of any Western Igbo community that reveres the python. It appears (to me) that the python cult is limited to certain communities in Anambra and the northern section of Imo.

Olaudah says fish were ‘a great rarity’ in his village. Doesn’t that sound strange if he was from a riverine clan such as Ukwuani? Ashaka is on the banks of the Ase River, isn’t it? A lot of fishing still goes on in that general area. I can’t imagine fish being a great rarity there in the 18th century.

Ashaka and Ukwuani are right there on the southern end of the Igbo-speaking world. If, indeed, Olaudah was taken from there, one would expect that in moving him south, it wouldn’t be too long before his captors got him out of Igboland. But Olaudah told us that much of the territory he passed through for many months before finally reaching the coast spoke languages that were very close to his own, and that he had little difficult in understanding them. These languages that were close to his own and which he had little difficulty understanding were probably different Igbo dialects. So, Olaudah was taken through different Igbo dialect zones before he finally reached the coast. Olaudah himself told us that his captors took him south. How does one moving southwards from Ashaka pass through different Igbo dialect zones (and for many months) before finally reaching non-Igbo-speaking territory? Isn’t Ukwani the LAST ‘Igbo’ dialect zone before one gets to Ijaw/Isoko/Urhobo non-Igbo-speaking areas?

Taking all the evidence in the book, the most likely hypothesis is that he came from the ‘north central’ Igbo area, covering southern Anambra and northern Imo States. The nearest match for ‘Essaka’ that we can find in that area is Isseke in Southern Anambra. The ethnographic evidence (and to some extent, the geographic evidence) in the book points to that general area.

ezeagu: Vassa was kidnapped around age 11 and wrote the book in his 40s, he openly admitted to having reconstructed parts of his description of 'Eboe' from the accounts of his fellow 'Eboe' 'countrymen'. It could have been that Vassa had unknowingly adopted some false memories from the tales of his comrades which is why it's so difficult to pinpoint where he could have come from. There could have been an Essaka that no longer exists because it was either wiped out or incorporated into another population and forgotten (by the wider world). It's also possible that it could have been a smaller hamlet than in Gustavus memory, or that he mispronounced the name or got the name wrong.

My opinion is that he's from the West because he explained crossing a massive river that of which had a body of water he had never seen before, (which I believe is the Niger), and I believe his captors were travelling towards the south east and were coming down to the region between Brass and Bonny. I think it's even likely that he was held around the Abonnema/Buguma Kalabari people who were the ones that he stayed with and liked. From here he would have been taken to the coast. The people with 'harsh' scars were probably the people we now know as Ijo in the Yenagoa are.

ezeagu: Vassa was kidnapped around age 11 and wrote the book in his 40s, he openly admitted to having reconstructed parts of his description of 'Eboe' from the accounts of his fellow 'Eboe' 'countrymen'. It could have been that Vassa had unknowingly adopted some false memories from the tales of his comrades which is why it's so difficult to pinpoint where he could have come from. There could have been an Essaka that no longer exists because it was either wiped out or incorporated into another population and forgotten (by the wider world). It's also possible that it could have been a smaller hamlet than in Gustavus memory, or that he mispronounced the name or got the name wrong.

My opinion is that he's from the West because he explained crossing a massive river that of which had a body of water he had never seen before, (which I believe is the Niger), and I believe his captors were travelling towards the south east and were coming down to the region between Brass and Bonny. I think it's even likely that he was held around the Abonnema/Buguma Kalabari people who were the ones that he stayed with and liked. From here he would have been taken to the coast. The people with 'harsh' scars were probably the people we now know as Ijo in the Yenagoa are.