SirShymexx:


Lol.

Every the word "ni.gger" was never flipped that way.

This is a disservice to history, and Igbos are always guilty of rewriting history. They have got a great history and hyperbole is the bane of Igbo historians lol.

Justfollowit:


This is not about the odu, Osun, esu, Ogun or any of the gods. I will rather argue all day about my history than some stupid conjectured word

GentleToks:


Sorry beauty, just seeing your DP now; after all, the DP is a pointer to where we r both going to....

whitecat1:
Whichever way you look at it's still a Yoruba word and simply means peeled skin in Yoruba!




Oyin - honey

O yin - it's skinned

Bo - peeled

adeitoro:


guy, what is the link between white man and peeled honey?

Is it that the white man came with honey when his skin is peeling?

I am getting confuse by logic, it doesn't add up.

kelvin100:


All I see is an attempt to fit the word into Yoruba lexicon.

How does Oyin (It's skinned) bo (peeled) make sense?
What is "It's skinned peeled"?
Geez, this is not a competition, this attempt to fit it into Yoruba lexicon is ridiculous.
Oyinbo/Oyibo has no meaning whatsoever in both Yoruba and Igbo languages, it's a mere corrupted word.
So just stop!

Blakjewelry:
I have read about the origin of the word oyinbo but I can't recall it right now . Some how I think it got it origin from the Portuguese. I heard their words sounds somehow like pigin. I read about a captured American pilot who survive the second world War said he was able to escape because he understands what the enemies were saying because it sounds somehow like pigin and he understands Africana. The origin of pigin is in a wayrelates to the Portuguese language and local languages. It some how relate to the the word oyinbo Potokry(Portuguese)

kabiyesiii:
In the Yoruba Language:
Oyinbo = oyin (bee | honey | melanin) + bo (bleach | peel off). Oyinbo means lack of melanin.

The color of native honey is as dark as Melanin.

In Yoruba Ibadan dialect, Oyinbo is shortened to eebo

Aigbofa:


This is not about making anyone special you are simply not making sense.
How come ibos did not originally refer to the whites as oyinbo?
And what did the Binis call the white folks? Olodo.

ezeagu:
"We have also markets, at which I have been frequently with my mother. These 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."

Olaudah Equiano, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, 1789. [Link]

"John Taylor and Ajai Crowther, were called by the people of Onitsha black Europeans, oyibo ojii, or native foreigners."

Augustine Okwu, Igbo Culture and the Christian Missions, 1857-1957, 2010. [Link]

"Other words, phonetically closer to 'ebo' (e.g.ibo,oyibo), also had classificatory meanings. In 1832, R. A. K. Oldfield recorded that on the middle reaches of the Niger near 'Eboe' (Aboh), locals hid in the bushes and called out to them what he heard as 'Oh, Eboe! Oh, Eboe!' (meaning 'White man, white man!'); in the 1850s at Onitsha another such 'stranger', Revd J.C. Taylor, was called by the people oibo, to mean 'whiteman'."

Paul E. Lovejoy, Identity in the Shadow of Slavery, 2009 [Link]

!!!

SirShymexx:


Lool. Even Bokohalal and PhysicsQED will never say landlocked Bini came in contact with Europeans before Yorubas.

They always claims Itshekiri but Itsekiris are of Ijebu stock - so they are still somewhat right. Anyway, Yorubas (Ijebus) came in contact with Europeans before any other group in Nigeria. Ijebus were trading clothes with the Portuguese explorers as far back as the 12th or 13th century.

kaorama:
Oyinbo was rather a derogatory remark made by the early white slave merchants to refer to an Ibo slave. It was transliterated Onye Ibo which means Ibo man. The early Whit slave merchant could not hide their preference for Igbo slaves whom they saw as hardworking. To register that preference, the whites usually asked for Onye Ibo which they themselves mid pronounced as Oyinbo. I have researched widely on this and can prove the word has its root in the Igbo history.

GentleToks:


Lol!!!! It's quite shocking to see Igbo youngsters believing every gibberish that comes from their progenitors without asking questions.

How can you explain this to intelligent people around you that the names given to you by your masters(Europeans) is now being used to address d same European master? C 'mon guys, u r not that silly

ChristyG:
so it is d white man that created d word?oyinbo has no origins in ibo,even ibos dont call it oyinbo but oyibo,if u did ur 'research' properly,u would know the white man name for the ibo tribe was 'eebo' onye whatever.try again next time and 'research' properly

kaorama:
Oyinbo was rather a derogatory remark made by the early white slave merchants to refer to an Ibo slave. It was transliterated Onye Ibo which means Ibo man. The early Whit slave merchant could not hide their preference for Igbo slaves whom they saw as hardworking. To register that preference, the whites usually asked for Onye Ibo which they themselves mid pronounced as Oyinbo. I have researched widely on this and can prove the word has its root in the Igbo history.

ladionline:
Ibo (people) is not Orisha of old. I compared 'bo' with 'sha'. I am implying that Osha is similar to Ocha as with Igbos (as in Onitsha) to speculate that 'Ibo' may have derive from bleach skin, (assuming that bo is alternative to sa), not Ibo being Orisa. Ibo simply mean 'where?' in Yoruba. Meanwhile, as to Afin, the Yoruba says 'aro-kese', 'abuke-Osin', 'aku-warapa', 'afin-Orisa', 'afinOjeyo'. 'afin-orisha' is custom made, they never mention Obatala, so you must be restricted to the given phrase. On Obatala, the Yoruba says Obatala Obataisha.

ladionline:
Now, the Yoruba have penchant for creating alternative words to convey their ideas beyond reasonable doubt. In respect to 'Oyinbo', it simply means 'oyin bo', which means 'honey-deficient' or 'honey peeled off'. Yoruba equates Oyin with Adun. As a resault of this, we therefore have the phrase 'Oyinladun'. 'Adu' (Odu) is a variant of Adun (Odun). The Yoruba of old equate the black melanin with honey. They thus have the idea of 'sexual chocolate' before our time. Oyinbo thus mean 'drilled of honey', in Yoruba. Is all of this possible within Yoruba thought system? A Yoruba proverb to that effect says 'irini si nisoni lojo' meaning: 'appearance will tell what you are described as'

ladionline:
I dont guarantee my theory as absolute truth, but explaining Ibos away is not in my character. @Bigfrancis, 'b.i.g., p.p.a., you use to do see things too much', I imagine you in Nigeria army, God! You will make an excellent career coupist, only to 'step aside' after you have bamboozle everyone right, left and centre. Bad guy.

mainman7:

ibos will tell u that after "Oyinbo man, na ibo man" while Yorubas will tell u that they are direct descendants of GOD, Sons and Daughters of GOD, not in anyway lesser than Oyinbos in thinking capacities and creativity. [b]GOD created the Yorubas as very special Spiritual beings; money is not our soul's motivation we love knowledge and wisdom that's why there are so many Yoruba Profs in America and European Universities not just as lecturers but as Dean of Faculties, whatever we do, we do with the whole of our heart. igbos have started many churches in the past, have u ever wondered why so many years later they still remain mushroom churches? Yoruba Churches like Redeemed, MFM, Winners, TB Joshua Synagogue, Cele, Kerubu etc. has millions of branches and members not just in African but all over the World! If u want to die quickly, tell Cele people that they don't have power. The 1st African descent mayor in USA is a Yoruba, the current richest black woman in the world is Yoruba (with all their greed no igbo man or woman is the richest in Nigeria let alone the world, all they do is deceive pple by raising fake shoulders) the 1st TV Station in Africa was built by a Yoruba, Awolowo 1st to start free education while Zik was yet busy stealing his people's money and properties, 1st Nigerian to be Nominated for Grammy (KSA), 1st and 2nd African to win multiple Grammy (Sade Adu and Seal respectvly), the 1st indigenous vehicle production and exportation by ProForce in Abeokuta, even the greatest forum in Nigeria is owned by the greater Seun Oshewa etc. etc... So, Yoruba's haters can exterminate themselves and die soonest because they ain't seen anything yet! Even the devil respects the uncommon greatness and ability of Yorubas. igbos started their own cult but do u even know them?! The Yorubas started Africa's greatest cult; Ogboni, yet because of love of money there are more igbos in it now than any other tribe. Years ago, Yorubas students started Pyrate Confraternity, Eye Confraternity, NBM Black Aze, etc... still the major cults till date. Yorubas are like lions, a lion knows he's a lion but a goat will always envy the natural nature of a lion...; this is why an average Yoruba man feels comfortable with life but an average ibo man will use his children, wife, brother etc.. for money rituals just to suppress their inferiority complex. ibo man's precarious inferiority complex has reached a feverish level. This same inferiority is what they r struggling and trying so hard to cover up by popping their flat heads into every Yoruba thread. When next you see a Yoruba, duff your heart and bow![/b]

adeitoro:


guy, what is the link between white man and peeled honey?

Is it that the white man came with honey when his skin is peeling?

I am getting confuse by logic, it doesn't add up.

Justfollowit:


What I am saying is that the op's analysis is wrong.

Wikipedia might not be a reliable source but it is pretty good.

Have a look at this link
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oyibo

The one for Yoruba makes more sense, sounds more like Yoruba. Thus it has peeled in Yoruba would be 'o ti yi bo' or ‘o yi bo'

The igbo version of Oyinbo is also believable. 'Onye ibo' to ‘Oyinbo'

SirShymexx:


Anyway, I'm out - I just came to correct some hyperbole and pseudo-history someone posted about Bini and Niger Delta groups.

I don't care about the word - out here, we say "Oyinbo" - and that shiit sounds Yoruba to me.

You lot can stick to onye ibo, oye ibo, oyibo, or whatever remix you want to ascribe to it.

Trifling a trifle is pointless.

Shalom.

tintingz:
Honey is melanin, black/brown in colour so when one bleach or peel out the black color from honey it becomes white isn't it.

We are blacks the ancient Yorubas see the white as bleach skin color "Oyinbo".
Wikipedia gave two analysis, wonder why it gave the Yoruba meaning first then the Igbo illogical meaning.

It is oyin bo meaning honey - bleeched/peeled

The Igbo version is onye ibo meaning igbo people shorten to "Oyibo" how does that relate to the white or light skin?

And the funniest thing is that it is the white people that call igbos "Oyibo" not the other way round.

adeitoro:


My dear, my biology teacher did not teach me that honey is melanin.

Honey is from bee and melanin is a hormone that protects the skin

So dear, your ideology holds no waters.

By the way in Ogun state where I stay, yoruba peeps call it Oyibo not Oyinbo.

Infact, it is on Nairaland I saw Oyinbo as Oyibo for the first time.

Cheers

ezeagu:
For goodness sakes, Yoruba people are the most documented group in Nigeria, and probably West Africa, by Western missionaries, colonial governments, and anthropologists. I've provided three solid sources that have cited Igbo people using oyibo ('Oye-Eboe, 'oh eboe', 'oibo') well before 1850 (before Saro influence) and as far back as an anecdote from a 1750's Igbo childhood (whether Gustavus Vassa was Igboland-born or not does not negate his 18th century Igbo sources which are evident from his recognisable description of Igboland and the use of Igbo words including his name). Even Ajayi Crowther, a Yoruba-born was called an oyibo by ndi Onitsha.

The honest and courteous thing to do now would be to field sources from Europeans that document Yoruba, or Oyo, etc, referring to Westerners/foreigners as oyibo. Is this fair, or is this far?

ezeagu:


"Nsibidi is an ancient system of graphic communication indigenous to the Ejagham peoples of southeastern Nigeria and southwestern Cameroon in the Cross River region. It is also used by neighboring Ibibio, Efik and Igbo peoples. Aesthetically compelling and encoded, nsibidi does not correspond to any one spoken language. It is an ideographic script whose symbols refer to abstract concepts, actions or things and whose use facilitates communication among peoples speaking different languages."

http://africa.si.edu/exhibits/inscribing/nsibidi.html

[size=18pt]!!!!![/size]

frisky2good:
Can you explain why we call white people and not Igbos oyibo if we are to go along with your explanation.

[b][/b]l

safarigirl:
use google. Wikipedia has an explanation just for you