Probz:


Food names in Igbo are more popular in the west than the local ones (agidi-eko, ogbono-apon, okro-ila) and (as the likes of bigfrancis have confirmed on here time and time again) many Igbo words are used in pidgin English (oyibo, una, dey), and also nwantinti (Yorubanized to wantintin).

how can a foreign word be more popular than the local ones? saying ogbono in pidgin for example doesn't mean they don't know it is apon when speaking yoruba

does anybody even say wantintin in a conversation? I don't know

OlaoChi:
how can a foreign word be more popular than the local ones? saying ogbono in pidgin for example doesn't mean they don't know it is apon when speaking yoruba

does anybody even say wantintin in a conversation? I don't know

That's how it is. Most Yoruba peeps I know use the Igbo names (ogbono, okro) than apon/ila etc.

Nwantinti-wantintin is just an example of how Igbo coinages have been adopted by westerners and Yorubanized. And there's the fact that you now eat Igbo soups even if you do have native names for them, whereas in the past you ate amala and ewedu and little else. There's no shame in admitting a borrowing from each culture in certain things. I now see more and more Igbo men and women rocking agbada and gele far more than red cap and Ishiagu (former being indisputably Yoruba). That's just the influence of close proximity and globalisation right in Nigeria.

Probz:


That's how it is. Most Yoruba peeps I know use the Igbo names (ogbono, okro) than apon/ila etc.

not when speaking yoruba

Nwantinti-wantintin is just an example of how Igbo coinages have been adopted by westerners and Yorubanized. And there's the fact that you now eat Igbo soups even if you do have native names for them, whereas in the past you ate amala and ewedu and little else. There's no shame in admitting a borrowing from each culture in certain things. I now see more and more Igbo men and women rocking agbada and gele far more than red cap and Ishiagu (former being indisputably Yoruba). That's just the influence of close proximity and globalisation right in Nigeria.

and you think yorubas haven't always had apon and ila dont deceive yourself. There are enough soups in yorubaland, what we are talking about is the name, not the soup itself because its not such a big thing to imagine that the soups common to both cultures are a shared heritage from the common origin of yoruba and igbo, or entered igboland through Bini or Igala. You talk like you know anything about a yoruba kitchen

nobody says wantintin

alablec:


linguistically 'egwusi' was recent in Igbo. in Ekiti and other older central Yoruba dialects, it's 'egushin' simply meant to 'break and remove'. the white specie is called 'êdè' Igbo borrowed a lot of vocabularies from Igalas who share a lot with ancient people of present Yorubaland.

What do you know about Igbo to state that egwusi is recent in Igbo? Are you an Igbo? Or is this Post a side effect of your ingestion of Gbegiri, Ewedu and Amala?

Let me call my guy. He seem to be better at these types of topics.

cc: Bigfrancis21

Probz:


So why does "melon" literally translate to "egwusi" in Igbo with no known Yoruba equivalent?

The fact that Igbos pronounce what's closer to the standardised/anglicized term (egwusi-egusi) and that Hausas pronounce "Gushi" and Yorubas "Elogusi" highly suggests that the Igbo form is the original.

d reason why u didn't knw is yoruba words is bcuz u don't speak yoruba.
Any ibos dat can speak yoruba and compare it with igbo will knw well is a yoruba word.

Mo fe se egunsi "I want to break the shaft open"

Egun in yoruba means shaft covering d melon while open means "si" but in Edo language Egunsi means "Pap"

other yoruba words are;

Asewo

Pele

Oga mi

Owo

Omo

Oba

Oluwa

Shey?

Ni?

Abi?

Oyinbo

Tokunbo

They are being used in igboland like is theirs

Aso-ebi

Egbon

Ogbeni

drsugar:
Heard the igbos using these words like the yorubas use them while I was in the East and kept wondering who the real originator of the words is.

Oya - as in 'oya' now
Shakara - as in your 'shakara' too much
Gragra - as in no do 'gragra' for me.
Egusi - as in 'egusi' soup
Sha - as in okay 'sha'.
Abi - as in 'Abi' now

Add any other word like this if you know.

Lol. Here we go again!

Egwusi is Igbo. Oya and Abi are Yoruba. Gara gara and shakara do not seem to be Igbo or Yoruba. I'm not sure of 'sha'.

Onijagidijagan:

d reason why u didn't knw is yoruba words is bcuz u don't speak yoruba.
Any ibos dat can speak yoruba and compare it with igbo will knw well is a yoruba word.

Mo fe se egunsi "I want to break the shaft open"

Egun in yoruba means shaft covering d melon while open means "si" but in Edo language Egunsi means "Pap"

other yoruba words are;

Asewo

Pele

Oga mi

Owo

Omo

Oba

Oluwa

Shey?

Ni?

Abi?

Oyinbo

Tokunbo

They are being used in igboland like is theirs

Aso-ebi

Egbon

Ogbeni

Nah, most of these words are not used in Igboland like you think. They are common in the pidgin lingo of Lagos state. The ones popularly used all over Nigeria are ashebi, tokunbo, shey, abi, oya, ashawo especially.

Oyibo is Igbo, oyinbo is Yoruba. Evidence exists that shows the usage of oyibo in Igboland to as early as the 1700s. Also, read up Olaudah Equiano's biography where he mentioned the word 'oyeeboe' in his book to mean 'light-skinned person'. Mind you this was someone born in 1745 in an interior village in Igboland far from the sea or the boundaries of Igboland with other areas but the word was already in the lingo of their Igbo dialect as of the early 1700s.

pazienza:
Let me call my guy. He seem to be better at these types of topics.

cc: Bigfrancis21

Nna a tugo m down. I ma na ebe onye bi ka o na-awachi.

Onijagidijagan:

d reason why u didn't knw is yoruba words is bcuz u don't speak yoruba.
Any ibos dat can speak yoruba and compare it with igbo will knw well is a yoruba word.

Mo fe se egunsi "I want to break the shaft open"

Egun in yoruba means shaft covering d melon while open means "si" but in Edo language Egunsi means "Pap"

other yoruba words are;

Asewo

Pele

Oga mi

Owo

Omo

Oba

Oluwa

Shey?

Ni?

Abi?

Oyinbo

Tokunbo

They are being used in igboland like is theirs

Aso-ebi

Egbon

Ogbeni

In the same way una, dey, okporoko and OYIBO are being used in Yorubaland like it's their own, nko?

And it's only Delta and Anambra/Enugu Igbos that call white people oyibo. I'm pretty sure elsewhere they're called onye/ndiocha or nwabekee (in Imo area). Either way, it's been established that oyibo is Igbo, oyinbo Yoruba. The northern and western Igbos that use that word say OYIBO and not oyinbo. Oyibo is also the word used in Nigerian Pidgin. Oyinbo is exclusively Yoruba. No one's denying that.

And I wasn't even aware that oyinbo was a thing sef, until I came to Nairaland. Most people I know (inc. the Yorubas that supposedly came up with this so-called oyinbo) all say 'oyibo' without the 'n.'

bigfrancis21:


Nna a tugo m down. I ma na ebe onye bi ka o na-awachi.

Nnoo!

Probz:


In the same way una, dey, okporoko and OYIBO are being used in Yorubaland like it's their own, nko?

And it's only Delta and Anambra/Enugu Igbos that call white people oyibo. I'm pretty sure elsewhere they're called onye/ndiocha or nwabekee (in Imo area). Either way, it's been established that oyibo is Igbo, oyinbo Yoruba. The northern and western Igbos that use that word say OYIBO and not oyinbo. Oyibo is also the word used in Nigerian Pidgin. Oyinbo is exclusively Yoruba. No one's denying that.

And I wasn't even aware that oyinbo was a thing sef, until I came to Nairaland. Most people I know (inc. the Yorubas that supposedly came up with this so-called oyinbo) all say 'oyibo' without the 'n.'

Yes, in pronunciation oyibo is pronounced without the 'n'. It then comes as a surprise when it is spelled with the 'n' by yorubas when many don't pronounce the 'n' in it.

Not only okporoko and oyibo, other words too like ugu (corrupted to 'ugwu' by yorubas), uziza, onugbu, okwuru (corrupted to okra in English) etc. How many Nigerians even know that 'una' and 'dey' in pidgin English come from 'unu' and 'di' in Igbo language? Chi di = God dey, Chi di mma = God dey good, etc. The pidgin English that we speak in Nigeria today was the broken form of African-languages-influenced English formed by slaves in the Americas, Akan, igbo, ewe slaves etc. in their attempt to learn English, which was introduced to the shores of West Africa much later by christian missionaries. In Imo and Abia states, they say 'ama' to mean 'I will', as in 'ama bia' meaning 'I will come'. In anambra/enugu states they say 'mma bia' instead. Co-incidentally, in black american english till today, they still speak 'ama' which means 'I will', for example 'ama come to your house'. In that case that would be a surviving unadulterated Igbo word used in black american English.

bigfrancis21:


Yes, in pronunciation oyibo is pronounced without the 'n'. It then comes as a surprise when it is spelled with the 'n' by yorubas when many don't pronounce the 'n' in it.

Not only okporoko and oyibo, other words too like ugu (corrupted to 'ugwu' by yorubas), uziza, onugbu, okwuru (corrupted to okra in English) etc. How many Nigerians even know that 'una' and 'dey' in pidgin English come from 'unu' and 'di' in Igbo language? Chi di = God dey, Chi di mma = God dey good, etc. The pidgin English that we speak in Nigeria today was the broken form of African-languages-influenced English formed by slaves in the Americas, Akan, igbo, ewe slaves etc. in their attempt to learn English, which was introduced to the shores of West Africa much later by christian missionaries. In Imo and Abia states, they say 'ama' to mean 'I will', as in 'ama bia' meaning 'I will come'. In anambra/enugu states they say 'mma bia' instead. Co-incidentally, in black american english till today, they still speak 'ama' which means 'I will', for example 'ama come to your house'. In that case that would be a surviving unadulterated Igbo word used in black american English.

Precisely. Although I highly doubt the reason that southern Igbos say bekee is because of Mr. Baike, though. Speaking of southern Nigerian words entering Ebonics, "buckra" (the akata name for the white man) comes from the original Calabar coinage Mbakara. It might have spread from Cross River through to eastern Igboland (Abia and, later, Imo), which gradually got corrupted to bekee as the years went on, which makes sense given that the use of the term bekee is more or less restricted to Imo and Abia states. I do know some Abakaliki people who use both oyibo and bekee. And then there's another group of people who use oyibo when talking about things in connection with the white man (obodo oyibo, English language = oyibo) but call the white man himself either onyeocha or ndiocha (plural). The whole thing's confusing.

Probz:


In the same way una, dey, okporoko and OYIBO are being used in Yorubaland like it's their own, nko?

And it's only Delta and Anambra/Enugu Igbos that call white people oyibo. I'm pretty sure elsewhere they're called onye/ndiocha or nwabekee (in Imo area). Either way, it's been established that oyibo is Igbo, oyinbo Yoruba. The northern and western Igbos that use that word say OYIBO and not oyinbo. Oyibo is also the word used in Nigerian Pidgin. Oyinbo is exclusively Yoruba. No one's denying that.

And I wasn't even aware that oyinbo was a thing sef, until I came to Nairaland. Most people I know (inc. the Yorubas that supposedly came up with this so-called oyinbo) all say 'oyibo' without the 'n.'

I'm shocked that this issue of oyibo/oyinbo has dragged this long
you are right, some pronounce it oyibo and others even say ebo like the Benins do

both in Benin and Yoruba the meaning as to do with peeling or pale. what does oyibo mean in Igbo?

Probz:


That's how it is. Most Yoruba peeps I know use the Igbo names (ogbono, okro) than apon/ila etc.

Nwantinti-wantintin is just an example of how Igbo coinages have been adopted by westerners and Yorubanized. And there's the fact that you now eat Igbo soups even if you do have native names for them, whereas in the past you ate amala and ewedu and little else. There's no shame in admitting a borrowing from each culture in certain things. I now see more and more Igbo men and women rocking agbada and gele far more than red cap and Ishiagu (former being indisputably Yoruba). That's just the influence of close proximity and globalisation right in Nigeria.

Agbadais a Yoruba word but the style isn't yoruba

bigfrancis21:


Lol. Here we go again!

Egwusi is Igbo. Oya and Abi are Yoruba. Gara gara and shakara do not seem to be Igbo or Yoruba. I'm not sure of 'sha'.

Abi and sabi are Portuguese

OlaoChi:



I'm shocked that this issue of oyibo/oyinbo has dragged this long
you are right, some pronounce it oyibo and others even say ebo like the Benins do

both in Benin and Yoruba the meaning as to do with peeling or pale. what does oyibo mean in Igbo?

It doesn't matter if the word may have a 'broken down' or 'literal' meaning sort of. Some words are just sufficient on their own without having to ascribe meanings to it syllable to syllable. What matters is the earliest usage of the word and academic evidence exists that show Igbo using 'oyibo' since as early as the 1700s. No academic evidence can be said for Yoruba.

OlaoChi:



I'm shocked that this issue of oyibo/oyinbo has dragged this long
you are right, some pronounce it oyibo and others even say ebo like the Benins do

both in Benin and Yoruba the meaning as to do with peeling or pale. what does oyibo mean in Igbo?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oyibo

Wikipedia might not be the most reliable source but look at how much space the Igbo theory takes up compared to two lines for the Yoruba one.

I guess the western and northern Igbos had always used it to refer to a light-skinned Igbo (I'd be lying if I knew what o yi bo broken down to means) but in reference to the white man this site has it that it's a way of mimicking the white colonial masters who could only pronounce "oyeebo" instead of "onye Igbo" when referring to Igbo slaves. I've noticed that the i/e sound is notably extended in the Igbo version and the Binis also pronounce it oyeeeebo, or simply eebo.

bigfrancis21:


It doesn't matter if the word may have a 'broken down' or 'literal' meaning sort of. Some words are just sufficient on their own without having to ascribe meanings to it syllable to syllable. What matters is the earliest usage of the word and academic evidence exists that show Igbo using 'oyibo' since as early as the 1700s. No academic evidence can be said for Yoruba.

you dont seem to understand that there's logic in every african word describing a thing or person. you dont just call a Caucasian 'oyibo' for nothing. like Ejima(used also in Igala), which is Ejire/Ibeji in yoruba, it is broken down to relate to 'two', this is not so in Igbo language. it is not far fetched to suggest that 'ejima' and 'oyibo' came into igbo lexicon through igala

of course, they could have also always been with the igbo people as part of words that remained after the yoruba-edo-igbo separation but have now lost their root meaning in igbo

but the first is more believable

Probz:


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oyibo

Wikipedia might not be the most reliable source but look at how much space the Igbo theory takes up compared to two lines for the Yoruba one.

I guess the western and northern Igbos had always used it to refer to a light-skinned Igbo (I'd be lying if I knew what o yi bo broken down to means) but in reference to the white man this site has it that it's a way of mimicking the white colonial masters who could only pronounce "oyeebo" instead of "onye Igbo" when referring to Igbo slaves. I've noticed that the i/e sound is notably extended in the Igbo version and the Binis also pronounce it oyeeeebo, or simply eebo.

i dont think this onye igbo thing makes sense, do you buy it?

OlaoChi:
you dont seem to understand that there's logic in every african word describing a thing or person. you dont just call a Caucasian 'oyibo' for nothing. like Ejima(used also in Igala), which is Ejire/Ibeji in yoruba, it is broken down to relate to 'two', this is not so in Igbo language. it is not far fetched to suggest that 'ejima' and 'oyibo' came into igbo lexicon through igala

of course, they could have also always been with the igbo people as part of words that remained after the yoruba-edo-igbo separation but have now lost their root meaning in igbo

but the first is more believable

This is all speculation. Until you come up with established academic evidence showing an ancient usage of 'oyibo' in Yoruba land it still remains an established Igbo word. Even Ajayi Crowther, a Yoruba, wrote about being called 'oyibo' by Igbos in the 1800s during his expansion of Anglicanism across the Niger.

OlaoChi:

i dont think this onye igbo thing makes sense, do you buy it?

It does because you asked for a probable Igbo meaning of the word which he just toldd you. 'peeled skin' doesn't even sound plausible because even if the skin is peeled it turns red immediately due to blood accumulation and flow.

OlaoChi:

i dont think this onye igbo thing makes sense, do you buy it?

"I have the intention of putting this across a long while ago, I believe now is the time. So how did the word Oyinbo crept up in Yoruba lexicon? This piece might help. The Yoruba has been familiar with different races from the onset of time. The Yoruba were a race of diverse races at one point in their history. To the Yoruba ancestors, the white were not always "Oyinbo", the most tenable word for a white person with the ancient Yoruba is Ofun.

Originally however, the parent word for 'Oyinbo' may have come from the Fon kingdom of Dahomey, who contacted the white folks first after the long seperation from that race. The Fon for a white man is 'Yevo'. This word is derived from 'Oye' and 'Ovo', meaning, "of different shade".

To the Fon, mankind is called Gbetor, meaning 'father of life', now the word in full is a phrase, 'Gbetor-yenor' meaning, 'a shadow (or replica) of the father of life'. That establishes 'ye' as in 'yes' as shade or shadow in that language. For instance, Yesehmeh in that language stands for 'shade's transit point'. Again, racial shade is known to this people.

To the ancient Yoruba, white- man is 'e fun', we still say it in Yoruba language as 'Oyinbo-alawo-funfun'. That's a long-tail-expression however. Some Yoruba ancestors were white-skinned. It shows in the way Yoruba peoples named them afterwards based on their colour.

For instance, the word Efunyela simply means "white skin is befitting to Ela". The Yoruba perception of their ancestors can also be observed in the way Yoruba sees the albino. They says, owo koko lafii wogi, owo Orisha lafii wo afin. Afin are spotted with Orisha, who are Yoruba ancestors.

The Yoruba equally have black heros. One of the black hero in annal of Yoruba history was Odu. And in that regards is the folksong, "eye melo t'olongo wale?"...'Okan Dudu-Aro, Okan Sese Osun'. Hope you don't take the nursery rhyme as worthless. 'Duduaro' in another way round is 'Odunaro' a Yoruba surname spotting with a black thinker in annals of Yoruba history.

"Sese Osun" is also a historical phrase, we speak of Osun as "Osun-se-ngese, Olooya 'yun" and also 'etu obeje elese osun', a totem of mother Osun, the matriarch of Yoruba race. Osun was a black beauty of Yoruba history, hence it is said, 'Odu eleyinju ege'. Osun is o su, that is of dark shade. Another way of putting it clearer is O du."

I got that digging around on Nairaland. Oyinbo conceived of there doesn't even originate from the Yoruba but the country of Benin. All I can see is Yorubas attaching a meaning to everything and then claiming it to theirs. I dunno.

The "oye Ibo"-oyibo theory is very plausible. I can get behind the Yoruba remix (oyinbo) but the fact that it's pronounced oyibo even by the Yorubas makes me wonder. Or is the "n" in "oyin" semi-silent?

I can barely tell the difference between the Igbo and Yoruba oyibo vs. oyinbo pronounciation save for the sound that the "i" sound is elongated in the Igbo/Niger delta form so it sounds oy-EEEEEEE-boe compared to the yoruba oh-YIH-boh. No one pronounces the n. At least not that I know.

Other theories state that "oyibo" literally translates to white in Urhobo. I've also come across convincing Bini theories. The whole thing's complicated.

bigfrancis21:


This is all speculation. Until you come up with established academic evidence showing an ancient usage of 'oyibo' in Yoruba land it still remains an established Igbo word. Even Ajayi Crowther, a Yoruba, wrote about being called 'oyibo' by Igbos in the 1800s when during his expansion of Anglicanism across the Niger.

I don't know why you are taking this as a fight no academic evidence in a language of a people who didn't have written literature as a big part of their culture?. in anthropology of africa who looks at written evidence over tradition and language? as if the Igala and igbo relationship started after this "written evidence". for a word description not to be broken down into parts that explain why the word is even used doesn't tell well

don't act ignorant please

OlaoChi:


I don't know why you are taking this as a fight no academic evidence in a language of a people who didn't have written literature as a big part of their culture?. in anthropology of africa who looks at written evidence over tradition and language? as if the Igala and igbo relationship started after this "written evidence". for a word description not to be broken down into parts that explain why the word is even used doesn't tell well

don't act ignorant please

It's no fight men. Please read the excellent article by probs up above.

Probz:


"I have the intention of putting this across a long while ago, I believe now is the time. So how did the word Oyinbo crept up in Yoruba lexicon? This piece might help. The Yoruba has been familiar with different races from the onset of time. The Yoruba were a race of diverse races at one point in their history. To the Yoruba ancestors, the white were not always "Oyinbo", the most tenable word for a white person with the ancient Yoruba is Ofun.

Originally however, the parent word for 'Oyinbo' may have come from the Fon kingdom of Dahomey, who contacted the white folks first after the long seperation from that race. The Fon for a white man is 'Yevo'. This word is derived from 'Oye' and 'Ovo', meaning, "of different shade".

To the Fon, mankind is called Gbetor, meaning 'father of life', now the word in full is a phrase, 'Gbetor-yenor' meaning, 'a shadow (or replica) of the father of life'. That establishes 'ye' as in 'yes' as shade or shadow in that language. For instance, Yesehmeh in that language stands for 'shade's transit point'. Again, racial shade is known to this people.

To the ancient Yoruba, white- man is 'e fun', we still say it in Yoruba language as 'Oyinbo-alawo-funfun'. That's a long-tail-expression however. Some Yoruba ancestors were white-skinned. It shows in the way Yoruba peoples named them afterwards based on their colour.

For instance, the word Efunyela simply means "white skin is befitting to Ela". The Yoruba perception of their ancestors can also be observed in the way Yoruba sees the albino. They says, owo koko lafii wogi, owo Orisha lafii wo afin. Afin are spotted with Orisha, who are Yoruba ancestors.

The Yoruba equally have black heros. One of the black hero in annal of Yoruba history was Odu. And in that regards is the folksong, "eye melo t'olongo wale?"...'Okan Dudu-Aro, Okan Sese Osun'. Hope you don't take the nursery rhyme as worthless. 'Duduaro' in another way round is 'Odunaro' a Yoruba surname spotting with a black thinker in annals of Yoruba history.

"Sese Osun" is also a historical phrase, we speak of Osun as "Osun-se-ngese, Olooya 'yun" and also 'etu obeje elese osun', a totem of mother Osun, the matriarch of Yoruba race. Osun was a black beauty of Yoruba history, hence it is said, 'Odu eleyinju ege'. Osun is o su, that is of dark shade. Another way of putting it clearer is O du."

I got that digging around on Nairaland. Oyinbo conceived of there doesn't even originate from the Yoruba but the country of Benin. All I can see is Yorubas attaching a meaning to everything and then claiming it to theirs. I dunno.

The "oye Ibo"-oyibo theory is very plausible. I can get behind the Yoruba remix (oyinbo) but the fact that it's pronounced oyibo even by the Yorubas makes me wonder. Or is the "n" in "oyin" semi-silent?

I can barely tell the difference between the Igbo and Yoruba oyibo vs. oyinbo pronounciation save for the sound that the "i" sound is elongated in the Igbo/Niger delta form so it sounds oy-EEEEEEE-boe compared to the yoruba oh-YIH-boh. No one pronounces the n. At least not that I know.

Other theories state that "oyibo" literally translates to white in Urhobo. I've also come across convincing Bini theories. The whole thing's complicated.

waoh! you have real good knowledge of African languages.

there seems to be lots of connection between Fon and yoruba, not only does Fon divination system work like Ifa the parts of the corpus are named similarly and priests are called Avore (Abore in Yoruba)
it seems "v" in Fon is pronounced "b" in Yoruba. And if oyibo is originally a word from Fon, it must have come to Yorubas first before moving to igboland


but if relatable and sensible meaning can be attached to a word doesn't that prove something?

OlaoChi:


waoh! you have real good knowledge of African languages.

there seems to be lots of connection between Fon and yoruba, not only does Fon divination system work like Ifa the parts of the corpus are named similarly and priests are called Avore (Abore in Yoruba)
it seems "v" in Fon is pronounced "b" in Yoruba. And if oyibo is originally a word from Fon, it must have come to Yorubas first before moving to igboland


but if relatable and sensible meaning can be attached to a word doesn't that prove something?

No, I don't. I've openly acknowledged having copied this theory from yet another of Nairaland's oyibo vs. oyinbo debates.

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'


I also got that post from the OP. In short, oyinbo is a Dahomey/Benin-derived words with a Yoruba-attached meaning. Assuming native honey is dark as melanin and melanin's strongly associated with honey to the ancient Yoruba, I can get behind the oyinbo remix but notice that this dude's stated that "the Yoruba have penchant for creating alternative words to convey their ideas beyond reasonable doubt." In other words, the Yoruba ascribe meaning to foreign concepts and ideas by breaking them down into syllables. It's not mad to think they could've also done this with the Igbo oyibo and corrupted it to oyinbo (two syllables joined together as a single word/idea). The word still doesn't originate with them though. That's the bottom line.

https://www.nairaland.com/2191374/etymology-word-oyinbo

That's the thread I got all this info from, after much digging around.

bigfrancis21:


It doesn't matter if the word may have a 'broken down' or 'literal' meaning sort of. Some words are just sufficient on their own without having to ascribe meanings to it syllable to syllable. What matters is the earliest usage of the word and academic evidence exists that show Igbo using 'oyibo' since as early as the 1700s. No academic evidence can be said for Yoruba.

LOL at 'academic' evidence. Where is the 'academic' evidence for the entire Yoruba (Hausa/Igbo) language? Where is the 'academic' evidence that proves that egusi is not a Yoruba word? We are talking about people's culture passed on from generation to generation over thousands of years and this one is talking about something written in some white man's language. Some of you on Nairaland are dumber than doorknobs. You make me laugh

bigfrancis21:


It does because you asked for a probable Igbo meaning of the word which he just toldd you. 'peeled skin' doesn't even sound plausible because even if the skin is peeled it turns red immediately due to blood accumulation and flow.

don't be daft - many burn victims show pale ('peeled') skin even after the burn is healed - that will explain what the guy was saying.

OlaoChi:


I don't know why you are taking this as a fight no academic evidence in a language of a people who didn't have written literature as a big part of their culture?. in anthropology of africa who looks at written evidence over tradition and language? as if the Igala and igbo relationship started after this "written evidence". for a word description not to be broken down into parts that explain why the word is even used doesn't tell well
don't act ignorant please

That guy is very daft - ignore until he is 'man' enough to accept his ridiculous error. He just strings words together without making any sense. Even my 10 year old nephew knows better.

AkinPhysicist:

don't be daft - many burn victims show pale ('peeled') skin even after the burn is healed - that will explain what the guy was saying.

That one be oyinbo pepe sef. Does that look peeled white or red to you?

I'm with bigfrancis. He's given an example of an isolated village deep in the Igbo hinterland using oyeebo to refer to the light-skinned among them well before the arrival of contact between other ethnic groups, such as the Yoruba. And it's not unreasonable to suggest that oyibo as it's known today originated from the funny way whites pronounced "onye Igbo" when requesting the highly sought-for Igbo slaves. That's no more bizarre a phenomenon than blacks using the same word white slave masters used to call us (nigger-nigga). And that's spread way beyond akata in the states.

Probz:


That one be oyinbo pepe sef. Does that look peeled white or red to you?

I'm with bigfrancis. He's given an example of an isolated village deep in the Igbo hinterland using oyeebo to refer to the light-skinned among them well before the arrival of contact between other ethnic groups, such as the Yoruba. And it's not unreasonable to suggest that oyibo as it's known today originated from the funny way whites pronounced "onye Igbo" when requesting the highly sought-for Igbo slaves. That's no more bizarre a phenomenon than blacks using the same word white slave masters used to call us (nigger-nigga). And that's spread way beyond akata in the states.

Open your eyes that's a Nigerian burn victim - the 'peeled' part of the skin looks like the skin of a white person. I can post similar pics of a very dark skinned burnt victim. Where is the 'academic' (as championed by the daft fellow) proof of the bolded(in your post)?. If you provide the 'academic' proof then I will concede the point. Until then Oyinbo is an authentic Yoruba word that precedes the Igbo usage.