MrPresident1:


Igbo ancestry? What is Igbo ancestry?

You are a dirt cheap liar. Tell me what is Igbo ancestry!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fgl-UP7SRws

(Although Ovie is Urhobo)

ezeagu:



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fgl-UP7SRws

(Although Ovie is Urhobo)

Thanks for this.

There was an African American sometime ago on this forum that did her paternal DNA ancestry test and the result was very shocking, her DNA match was over 90% Igbo. She said the company was shocked at such high level of preservation of one singular ethnic group DNA over the decades/centuries despite the mixture that has occurred within the AA population, as they would expect anyone of such high match of over 90% Igbo DNA to be an Igbo from modern-day SE/SS Nigeria. She did say that she was able to find slave records of her ancestor from Africa and his name was recorded as 'Chimesie' (Chimezie proper), an Igbo ancestor.

Up until the 80s a few AAs still bore 'ebo' as their surname, in relation to their ancestral roots. One of such people is Antona Ebo, a catholic reverend sister who was very active in the 60s during the civil rights movement.



http://clarionherald.info/clarion/index.php/news/latest-news/155-breaking-news/3767-sr-antona-ebo-recalls-her-march-on-selma-in-65

This lady here shares 99.7% DNA maternal match with Igbo.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meA1rcbOAO8

This lady in this video, an Igbo, shares her experience of several African Americans contacting her with up to 50% DNA match with Igbo and on first thought she would ask them if they were half-Nigerian/Igbo and they would respond, no we are African Americans born and raised here up to several generations back.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvrfB7ENqvY

ezeagu:


Markers similar to Beninese because the markers were assumed to be based on them, just like how there's an entire one for the huge region of Cameroon/Congo. This why Hausa people get Nigeria results without Benin/Togo and Cameroon/Congo, it's random.

his person explains the results in detail: https://tracingafricanroots./ancestrydna/african-results/nigerian-results/

This Yoruba American (Nigerian born in the US) did her ancestry test for fun and her mix came out: 55% Benin/Togo and 35% Nigerian. This indicates that Yoruba share closer DNA relationship with Benin/Togo people.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7-E5r-0Zzw

bigfrancis21:


Thanks for this.

There was an African American sometime ago on this forum that did her paternal DNA ancestry test and the result was very shocking, her DNA match was over 90% Igbo. She said the company was shocked at such high level of preservation of one singular ethnic group DNA over the decades/centuries despite the mixture that has occurred within the AA population, as they would expect anyone of such high match of over 90% Igbo DNA to be an Igbo from modern-day SE/SS Nigeria. She did say that she was able to find slave records of her ancestor from Africa and his name was recorded as 'Chimesie' (Chimezie proper), an Igbo ancestor.

Up until the 80s a few AAs still bore 'ebo' as their surname, in relation to their ancestral roots. One of such people is Antona Ebo, a catholic reverend sister who was very active in the 60s during the civil rights movement.



http://clarionherald.info/clarion/index.php/news/latest-news/155-breaking-news/3767-sr-antona-ebo-recalls-her-march-on-selma-in-65

This lady here shares 99.7% DNA maternal match with Igbo.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meA1rcbOAO8

I remember the poster, I posted here with her.

You don't even have to guess about that Ebo name, there's a confirmed African American family, well lineage really, that answers 'Ebow' coming from Louisiana and the official documentation says this comes from an Igbo progenitor.

"The Bight of Biafra, centered on the Niger Delta and the Cross River, became a significant exporter of slaves from the 1700s and dominated the Trans-Atlantic slave trade along with neighboring Bight of Benin until the mid-nineteenth century. A great numbers of slaves from this part of Africa were sold into North America. In Louisiana, slaves from this coast were listed as Edo, Ibo, Ibibio, and Calabar. They were also among the most frequent ethnicities listed on official documents. In Southwest Louisiana, "Ibo" has survived as a family name and transcribed "Ebow.""

From the site of the Whitney Plantation in Louisiana http://www.whitneyplantation.com/the-ivory-coast-and-gold-coast.html

And it seems most of them don't know the meaning of the name, which shows how the Igbo influence is there but nobody knows it's Igbo which is why Igbo influence goes unnoticed.

"After slavery, for many of them, the single name they had on the plantation became their last name. Toussaint became a famous last name. The name Ebow is from Nigeria—but then I ask people in Louisiana, 'What is the origin of your last name?' and they don't know. If you go on ancestry.com, Ebow says 'origin unknown.' Plenty of people in Louisiana have the last name Poulard, and that is from Africa, and the search will tell you it's a funny French word meaning 'fat chicken,' and of course it means that in French, but what they don't know is it's also the name of the Fulani people of African cattle raisers. I'm telling you, there is a lot to learn about slavery."

https://www.vice.com/en_au/article/americas-first-slavery-museum-shifts-the-focus-from-masters-to-slaves-511

If you search Ebow in the American directory White Pages under Louisiana you'll see there are numerous 'Ebow's', this is not even including the fact that many members of this lineage would have migrated, most of them are around the SW of Louisiana.

http://www.whitepages.com/name/Ebow/LA

You can find descendants all over the internet, like this woman on twitter: https://twitter.com/SimplyChalPal

Funnily enough, these people look like Igbo people which can be possible through a particular area importing more Igbo people and they marrying amongst themselves, also cultures that were more dominant in an area in slavery had people survive from that culture more.



There are also African Americans with Ebow as a first name.

http://academy.teachpublicschools.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=552855&type=u&pREC_ID=846444

So, just from this example, you can see that if Igbo people proactively try to link with North Americans more Igbo influence will be revealed, and the Igbo contribution to America will be more apparent.

ezeagu:



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fgl-UP7SRws

(Although Ovie is Urhobo)

Thank you for the video even though it proves nothing of 'igbo ancestry'. People like small-mindedFrancis21 have taken it as their life ambition to denigrate denigrate Yoruba, but this life ambition is built on the foundation of solid and unshakeable ignorance with a generous topping of inferiority complex.

True Yoruba has evolved into spirituality, it is now beyond primordial ethnic or tribal sentiments, and anyone in the search for true spirituality will be discovered by the Source of life if such a one perseveres long enough with altruistic motives. SmallFrancis21 will continue to be 'ever learning but never able to come to the knowledge of truth' if he does not overcome his basic inferiority complexes. The young man oozes plainly that he is intimidated by Yoruba (or true spirituality) which should never ever be.

Everyone will eventually be Yoruba.

ezeagu:


No, this is where colonial borders come in, there was no distinction made in the test between a Yoruba from Benin Republic and one from Nigeria, an Ewe from Togo and one from Ghana, same for Hausa. The assumption only makes sense if there is a defined grouping in Benin and Togo which there isn;t, it's just a test for genetic similarity. Places like Liberia and Sierra Leone are not even there and are grouped with neighboring regions. Even if you go with the shared ancestry from thousands of years ago it's from out of southern Nigeria, specifically eastern Nigeria and not towards it which makes the results even more fallible because it's showing a link the Benin/Togo has with Nigeria groups rather than the reverse. The image below explains:

[img]https://tracingafricanroots.files./2015/10/benintogo.jpg[/img]

“Benin’s largest ethnic group is the Fon (39%), followed by the Adja (15%), Yoruba (12%) and Bariba (9%). Togo’s largest ethnic groups are the Ewe (21%), Kabye (12%), Mina (3.2%) and Kotokoli (3.2%). Benin has more ethnic ties to its neighbor Nigeria; Togo has more links to Ghana. These ethnic ties are the result of long-standing kingdoms that flourished before European colonists created new borders.” (Ancestry.com)

“Many people in Togo and Benin speak one of about 20 related Gbe languages. Linguistic evidence indicates that most of the Gbe people came from the east in several migrations between the 10th and 15th centuries. The Gbe were pushed westward during a series of wars with the Yoruba people of Nigeria, then settled in Tado on the Mono River (in present-day Togo).” (Ancestry.com)

lol, You are turning facts on its head.
The places with the higher concentrations of a particular gene type , which then gradually radiates around at lower concentrations into its neighbors, simply show its origin.
I told you that Beninese people who test their DNA sometimes show over 90% Benin/Togo, while most nigerians show Benin/Togo as either their second or third most prevalent ancestries, perhaps except some Yorubas near the Beninese border. What does that tell you?
I also told yu that Nigerians especially don't show very high concentrations of the "Nigeria" regipn due to conplex history.

Here is a Ghanaian's result, which is typical for someone from that country.

[img]http://tracingafricanroots.files./2015/03/ghana1.jpg[/img]

Here is an Ivorian

[img]http://tracingafricanroots.files./2015/03/civ.jpg[/img]

Compare to these Nigerians here.

[img]http://tracingafricanroots.files./2016/08/naija-ethnic-diversity.jpg?w=869[/img]

The Benin/Togo region is definitely the source of that gene type no doubt about it.
Even in Ghana, the Ewe DNA is starkly different from those of the Akans, woith Ewes showing an overwhelming dominance of Benin/Togo and Akans showing dominance of Ivory Coast/Ghana.

It isn't a mistake, the genealogists know what they are doing with the labels.

bigfrancis21:


@bold...to add to this, there is a gradual general awakening going on right now among African Americans regarding their part/full Igbo ancestry. I go on several websites, Facebook or even YouTube and I see many of them proclaiming some level of Igbo ancestry compared to Yoruba. Yoruba popularity today among blacks in the new world was really made so by the survival of the religion in Brazil which spread/was imported into other countries in South America. Those who indulge in orisha do so as a connection to mama Africa or African ancestral origins, but not necessarily because they are of Yoruba ancestry. To these people, Ifa is a religion and anybody is welcome to practice it. It would be wrong to assume every black practitioner of the religion is of Yoruba ancestry.

This might be true, But it might also be because you are only observing a segment of the Afram population.
Usually African Americans and in fact all New World blacks from Uruguay to Canada are eager to identify with Nigeria above any other country, Nigeria seem to carry some prestige than these other smaller countries.
They then further research and to find out which Nigerian tribe had the highest number of slaves taken to the USA, they discover it is the Igbos, and bam, they start claiming Igbo.

Naja Njoku herself was traced first in her original DNA test to the Cameroon region, she even travelled to Cameroon for her VERY FIRST naming ceremony with the Bamilekes and Bamouns , but like two years later, I saw her parading herself as Igbo Nigerian. Of course, she must have discovered that Cameroon wasn't all that, so she probably shifted to the next neighboring popular region. Or maybe she did her own analysis and concluded that the DNA testing company was wrong...

A Nigerian's DNA ancestry result
She is half Yoruba half Urhobo


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fT6Br3_ztdA

72% Nigerian
25% Benin/Togo
2% Ivory Coast/Ghana
1% Mali

bigfrancis21:


This Yoruba American (Nigerian born in the US) did her ancestry test for fun and her mix came out: 55% Benin/Togo and 35% Nigerian. This indicates that Yoruba share closer DNA relationship with Benin/Togo people.

kiki, yes some Yorubas might have more Benin Togo than Nigerian, but some also have more Nigerian than a lot of Igbos or Hausas (check the result series I posted above). Yes, Yorubas are of course closer to Ewes and Fons compared to other Nigerian tribes, that is no rocket science.
They even have intertwined histories for example.

YonkijiSappo:


lol, You are turning facts on its head.
The places with the higher concentrations of a particular gene type , which then gradually radiates around at lower concentrations into its neighbors, simply show its origin.
I told you that Beninese people who test their DNA sometimes show over 90% Benin/Togo, while most nigerians show Benin/Togo as either their second or third most prevalent ancestries, perhaps except some Yorubas near the Beninese border. What does that tell you?
I also told yu that Nigerians especially don't show very high concentrations of the "Nigeria" regipn due to conplex history.

Here is a Ghanaian's result, which is typical for someone from that country.

[img]http://tracingafricanroots.files./2015/03/ghana1.jpg[/img]

Here is an Ivorian

[img]http://tracingafricanroots.files./2015/03/civ.jpg[/img]

Compare to these Nigerians here.

[img]http://tracingafricanroots.files./2016/08/naija-ethnic-diversity.jpg?w=869[/img]

The Benin/Togo region is definitely the source of that gene type no doubt about it.
Even in Ghana, the Ewe DNA is starkly different from those of the Akans, woith Ewes showing an overwhelming dominance of Benin/Togo and Akans showing dominance of Ivory Coast/Ghana.

It isn't a mistake, the genealogists know what they are doing with the labels.

This assertion is only sound if there was no intermarrying within the area marked as Benin/Togo. The markers that show Benin/Togo only means that those markers are found most common among them and is probably because of shared ancient ancestry, it doesn't mean that someone with Benin/Togo results has ancestors that came from that area. This is why with other companies like DNA Land they have different categories like West African and under that they have the Lower Niger Valley which people form southern Nigeria have high results of.

ezeagu:


I remember the poster, I posted here with her.

You don't even have to guess about that Ebo name, there's a confirmed African American family, well lineage really, that answers 'Ebow' coming from Louisiana and the official documentation says this comes from an Igbo progenitor.

"The Bight of Biafra, centered on the Niger Delta and the Cross River, became a significant exporter of slaves from the 1700s and dominated the Trans-Atlantic slave trade along with neighboring Bight of Benin until the mid-nineteenth century. A great numbers of slaves from this part of Africa were sold into North America. In Louisiana, slaves from this coast were listed as Edo, Ibo, Ibibio, and Calabar. They were also among the most frequent ethnicities listed on official documents. In Southwest Louisiana, "Ibo" has survived as a family name and transcribed "Ebow.""

From the site of the Whitney Plantation in Louisiana http://www.whitneyplantation.com/the-ivory-coast-and-gold-coast.html

And it seems most of them don't know the meaning of the name, which shows how the Igbo influence is there but nobody knows it's Igbo which is why Igbo influence goes unnoticed.

"After slavery, for many of them, the single name they had on the plantation became their last name. Toussaint became a famous last name. The name Ebow is from Nigeria—but then I ask people in Louisiana, 'What is the origin of your last name?' and they don't know. If you go on ancestry.com, Ebow says 'origin unknown.' Plenty of people in Louisiana have the last name Poulard, and that is from Africa, and the search will tell you it's a funny French word meaning 'fat chicken,' and of course it means that in French, but what they don't know is it's also the name of the Fulani people of African cattle raisers. I'm telling you, there is a lot to learn about slavery."

https://www.vice.com/en_au/article/americas-first-slavery-museum-shifts-the-focus-from-masters-to-slaves-511

If you search Ebow in the American directory White Pages under Louisiana you'll see there are numerous 'Ebow's', this is not even including the fact that many members of this lineage would have migrated, most of them are around the SW of Louisiana.

http://www.whitepages.com/name/Ebow/LA

You can find descendants all over the internet, like this woman on twitter: https://twitter.com/SimplyChalPal

Funnily enough, these people look like Igbo people which can be possible through a particular area importing more Igbo people and they marrying amongst themselves, also cultures that were more dominant in an area in slavery had people survive from that culture more.



There are also African Americans with Ebow as a first name.

http://academy.teachpublicschools.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=552855&type=u&pREC_ID=846444

So, just from this example, you can see that if Igbo people proactively try to link with North Americans more Igbo influence will be revealed, and the Igbo contribution to America will be more apparent.

Spam bot got you initially. Had to unhook you from it. Wow, this information is quite revealing. I checked out whitepages and there are so many of them with Ebow as surname.

I met one guy the other day from Sierra Leone and his first name is Chinua. I asked him further and he said his parents gave him that name after Chinua Achebe.

Last month I was watching this story of a kidnap case of the gray family on Investigation ID. The girl in question is named Chioma Gray and her aunt's name is Uchenna. One of her siblings' names is Oluwa. I am not sure if this family is a long adapted Nigerian family in the US but everything about them reveal them to be an African American family with Nigerian names. The kidnap story was popular when it happened and has been aired severally on Investigation ID.

Former Buena High student kidnapped in 2007 is reunited with family
By Teresa Rochester

The last time Chioma Gray's family had seen her was on Dec. 13, 2007.

According to witnesses, the former Buena High School student, who was 15 at the time, was hustled into a stolen car that day driven by Andrew Joshua Tafoya, then 20, who had been released from jail the night before.

Gray, 19, was reunited with her family Wednesday night amid tears and hugs.

Francine Black embraced her daughter in the Tom Bradley terminal of Los Angeles international airport and cried, "My baby, my baby."

Later, her brother Paul Gray, 21, broke into sobs as he held his sister.

"Don't ever leave us," he said. "Don't ever leave us."

Chuck Hookstra, a private investigator and former Oxnard assistant police chief, hired by Gray's mother, Francine Black, said U.S. marshals were escorting Gray and Tafoya back to California. Tafoya was not present.

There is an open child-stealing case against Tafoya, said Tony Wold, the supervising attorney or the Ventura County District Attorney's Office sexual assault unit.

Along with Gray's family, Hookstra and Los Angeles-based attorney M. Cristina Armenta, two Ventura-based defense attorneys waited apart from the family for the teen's return.

Attorneys Tim Quinn and Philip Dunn declined to comment on their presence. After initially greeting her family amid a scrum of television cameras, Gray went to speak quietly with Dunn.

Black said her daughter had changed.

She said she thought Gray had Stockholm syndrome, a phenomenon in which those who are held against their will identify with their captors.

Gray, who did not make a comment to the press, cried as she hugged her relatives.

Tafoya called Black on Sept. 1 and told her daughter was in trouble and could she come get her, Black said, adding that she asked for a location to no avail.

At one point, the U.S. marshals were contacted, though it was unclear by whom, and arrangements were made to bring the pair back to the U.S., Armenta said.

The U.S. marshal's office in Los Angeles did not return a call for comment.

"It's been totally insane," she said while waiting for Gray's arrival. "It's been the longest day of my life. I did not sleep ... I'm just so happy to know she's alive."

The teen's father, Desmond "Poppy" Gray said the years since Gray disappeared had been a terrible time.

Paul Gray likened the period to a roller coaster without breaks.

He and older sister Uchenna Okehi, 25, said they had become a lot less trusting in the intervening years.

Gray's younger brother, Oluwa Gray, 15, described his sister's absence like an unbelievable movie.

http://archive.vcstar.com/news/crime/former-buena-high-student-kidnapped-in-2007-is-reunited-with-family-ep-364387007-352282211.html

They seem to me like an African American family with awareness of their roots/ancestry, which reflects in them giving their children Igbo/Yoruba names.

YonkijiSappo:


kiki, yes some Yorubas might have more Benin Togo than Nigerian, but some also have more Nigerian than a lot of Igbos or Hausas (check the result series I posted above). Yes, Yorubas are of course closer to Ewes and Fons compared to other Nigerian tribes, that is no rocket science.
They even have intertwined histories for example.

I question Ancenstry dna because of its country breakdown. We all know that countries are artificially created by the Europeans. Also, there are native Yoruba in Benin and Togo. Are they suppose to have a higher Nigerian percentage because they are Yoruba?

ezeagu:


This assertion is only sound if there was no intermarrying within the area marked as Benin/Togo. The markers that show Benin/Togo only means that those markers are found most common among them and is probably because of shared ancient ancestry, it doesn't mean that someone with Benin/Togo results has ancestors that came from that area. This is why with other companies like DNA Land they have different categories like West African and under that they have the Lower Niger Valley which people form southern Nigeria have high results of.

If there was extensive intermarriage in the area, they would have more fragmented ancestry, instead it is Nigerians that show fragmented DNA. Not them.
It shows that they are pretty much autochtones to their area.
I mean how can you explain the fact that even an Ewe in Ghana is still showing more than 70% Benin Togo, whereas an Igbo from nigeria is still showing it as number 2 or 3 region?
Btw: what areas are defined as lower Niger valley?

9jakool:


I question Ancenstry dna because of its country breakdown. We all know that countries are artificially created by the Europeans. Also, there are native Yoruba in Benin and Togo. Are they suppose to have a higher Nigerian percentage because they are Yoruba?

Yes, Yorubas in Benin-Togo will show both Nigeria and Benin-Togo. Some will show more Benin Togo than Nigeria, especially those who have extensive Ewe-Fon admixture.
Those labels are not to be taken literally. For example, another and more proper word for "Benin-Togo" would be GBE ANCESTRY, While "Nigerian" should be more like "Aboriginal Eastern Niger valley area".

Ezeagu,

I am strongly thinking that Igbos of Nigeria need to reach out to our brothers across the ocean who have long been reaching out for ancestral connection and support, just as the Yorubas have done to ilk of their own. We could start supporting our long-lost brothers by sending Igbo cultural groups/entourage in full Igbo regalia yearly to perform and showcase Igbo culture and customs in some of these countries such as US, Jamaica, Haiti, Belize, Bahamas etc., and thus re-enforce the Igbo cultural renaissance currently taking place in these countries. Such cultural displays would be a huge event kind of thing with Igbo naming ceremonies taking place concurrently such that those really interested in reconnecting could take Igbo African names at the same time. Also, Igbos especially need to set up their own museums/offices in these countries with Igbo history, arts, clothing, tradition, customs, books on Igbo tradition etc. in full display because there is a growing demand for Igbo customs going on right now.

Our brothers across the ocean have been reaching out for years now, Igbos of Nigeria need to reach out in return to complete the re-connection. Late Mrs Catherine Acholonu of blessed memory did some of these efforts in bringing some AAs of Igbo ancestry to visit Nigeria but she is no more.

Brazilian Yorubas


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huLn5iWRSsQ

YonkijiSappo:


If there was extensive intermarriage in the area, they would have ore fragmented ancestry, instead it is Nigerians that show fragmented DNA. Not them.
It shows that they are pretty much autochtones to their area.
I mean how can you explain the fact that even an Ewe in Ghana is still showing more than 70% Benin Togo, whereas an Igbo from nigeria is still showing it as number 2 or 3 region?
Btw: what areas are defined as lower Niger valley?

Lower Niger Valley is general southern Nigeria.

Benin/Togo showing up in Igbo results means it's an ancestral marker that's similar between the two, this would mean that the B/T pop. would have had to either split and influenced the Igbo pop. or there was a more recent influence of B/T in the Igbo population which historical there isn't much in terms of contract with the Yoruba talk less of Fon people and if there was whether now or in ancient times then there's no way there wouldn't be a backwash into the B/T area. The fact that the Urhobo/Yoruba girls is coming up with high Nig. is also suspicious. Also Ivory Coast/Ghana shows up as a little or significant in many Igbo results while Senegal comes up in Yoruba.

This isn't even considering the fact the Sierra Leone and Liberia are not tested.

Yoruba masquerade (Egungun) in Jamaica.

The audience/spectators are shouting "O n rugbo bo"... It is coming and stirring from the bush.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD5xL8u5TAQ&t=5s

I can also hear "Bi Orisha" .... Like the Gods.
And "Ashe!" ... "So shall it be"

YonkijiSappo:


This might be true, But it might also be because you are only observing a segment of the Afram population.
Usually African Americans and in fact all New World blacks from Uruguay to Canada are eager to identify with Nigeria above any other country, Nigeria seem to carry some prestige than these other smaller countries.
They then further research and to find out which Nigerian tribe had the highest number of slaves taken to the USA, they discover it is the Igbos, and bam, they start claiming Igbo.

Naja Njoku herself was traced first in her original DNA test to the Cameroon region, she even travelled to Cameroon for her VERY FIRST naming ceremony with the Bamilekes and Bamouns , but like two years later, I saw her parading herself as Igbo Nigerian. Of course, she must have discovered that Cameroon wasn't all that, so she probably shifted to the next neighboring popular region. Or maybe she did her own analysis and concluded that the DNA testing company was wrong...

@bold...probably she first got her country ancestral regions which may have shown up as Cameroon, where she travelled to and upon further ancestral breakdown by tribe it pinpointed her to Igbo. The Igbo tribe and Cameroon (Bamileke especially, many of them look like Igbos) share some ancestral connections together, so it may not be too surprising.

Yorubas of Cuba.
Complete with language and mannerisms


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SDMpCcWxXM

bigfrancis21:
Ezeagu,

I am strongly thinking that Igbos of Nigeria need to reach out to our brothers across the ocean who have long been reaching out for ancestral connection and support, just as the Yorubas have done to ilk of their own. We could start supporting our long-lost brothers by sending Igbo cultural groups/entourage in full Igbo regalia yearly to perform and showcase Igbo culture and customs in some of these countries such as US, Jamaica, Haiti, Belize, Bahamas etc., and thus re-enforce the Igbo cultural renaissance currently taking place in these countries. Such cultural displays would be a huge event kind of thing with Igbo naming ceremonies taking place concurrently such that those really interested in reconnecting could take Igbo African names at the same time. Also, Igbos especially need to set up their own museums/offices in these countries with Igbo history, arts, clothing, tradition, customs, books on Igbo tradition etc. in full display because there is a growing demand for Igbo customs going on right now.

Our brothers across the ocean have been reaching out for years now, Igbos of Nigeria need to reach out in return to complete the re-connection. Late Mrs Catherine Acholonu of blessed memory did some of these efforts in bringing some AAs of Igbo ancestry to visit Nigeria but she is no more.

I think the main problem is that there's more ignorance in the Igbo population to this and there's absolutely no awareness that there is a connection to these places or how significant the slave trade was in Igboland and how significant Igboland was to the slave trade. Most Igbo people are unaware that Igbo has heavily influenced the English they speak in the Caribbean to the point where Jamaicans use 'unu' everyday. As much energy that would be put into promoting the cultural and ancestral links between Igboland and say Virginia and Jamaica should be put into educating Igbo people on the lasting legacy Igbo people have had in these places, I think that's what has happened with other groups like the Akan and Yoruba and why on threads like these you won't see many Igbo people or won't see any Igbo person opening such a thread anyway.

The Akan and Yoruba have been made aware of their legacy in the Americas and many of them, as can be seen in this thread, jealously guard their influence, also the 'imperialist' and 'expansionist' disposition of their culture may influence that, but if you look at a place like Jamaica for instance you can see what this awareness in the academia at least of Ghana has done in connecting Ghana and Jamaica very firmly to the point where Jamaicans mostly believe their culture to be Ghanian, even though Igbo culture is as strong. The best example of this cultural race or the 'land grab' of the diaspora can be seen if you search Akan diaspora and Yoruba diaspora, two detailed books on the influence of these groups have been published, while the Igbo versions are just a collection of other estimates and general information.

YonkijiSappo:


This might be true, But it might also be because you are only observing a segment of the Afram population.
Usually African Americans and in fact all New World blacks from Uruguay to Canada are eager to identify with Nigeria above any other country, Nigeria seem to carry some prestige than these other smaller countries.
They then further research and to find out which Nigerian tribe had the highest number of slaves taken to the USA, they discover it is the Igbos, and bam, they start claiming Igbo.

Naja Njoku herself was traced first in her original DNA test to the Cameroon region, she even travelled to Cameroon for her VERY FIRST naming ceremony with the Bamilekes and Bamouns , but like two years later, I saw her parading herself as Igbo Nigerian. Of course, she must have discovered that Cameroon wasn't all that, so she probably shifted to the next neighboring popular region. Or maybe she did her own analysis and concluded that the DNA testing company was wrong...

African ancestry is very iffy, the video below explains why perfectly.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_dAfxRy6no

I actually suspect that many of the Tikar and Cameroon results in African Ancestry DNA results are actually Igbo and Ibibio because that reflects the demographics and history of the slave trade in the Bight of Biafra, but that's another topic.

bigfrancis21:


@bold...probably she first got her country ancestral regions which may have shown up as Cameroon, where she travelled to and upon further ancestral breakdown by tribe it pinpointed her to Igbo. The Igbo tribe and Cameroon (Bamileke especially, many of them look like Igbos) share some ancestral connections together, so it may not be too surprising.

No. Some Bamileke ancestry diffused into some Eastern Igbo subgroups.
The DNA results show exactly that. Bamilekes are a Huge chunk of Cameroon/Congo and negligible Nigerian.
She can identify as whatever she likes though. To me..... All of that areas have similar cultures (well to an extent) Just like how I consider all of Bight of Benin as same culture.

Yorubas of Trinidad.
Complete with Language (Surprisingly Clearly understood)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b47NWYq8Ox8

Obatala dancers of Mexico

Effusion of Yoruba culture.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mi92OnIy8XI

YonkijiSappo:


Yes, Yorubas in Benin-Togo will show both Nigeria and Benin-Togo. Some will show more Benin Togo than Nigeria, especially those who have extensive Ewe-Fon admixture.
Those labels are not to be taken literally. For example, another and more proper word for "Benin-Togo" would be GBE ANCESTRY, While "Nigerian" should be more like "Aboriginal Eastern Niger valley area".

There are people who can trace their origin to a particular ethnic group hundreds of years back without trace of ethnic mixing and they will still show up for multiple regions. It's not necessarily as a result of Yoruba-Gbe admixture. What makes Benin/Togo a marker for Gbe ancestry? They are not the only ethnic group in that region. There are also distinct groups like Gur and Mande in Benin and Togo, as well as parts of Nigeria. Thousands of years ago there wasn't Gbe or Yoruba. I believe the dna mixes we see now is just a result of human movements and interactions that occurred a long time ago since the ethnic distinction thousands of years ago wasn't as strong. In the common era, people started forming more distinct identities and are less likely to intermix. However, the ancient admixture still remains even after ethnic boundaries were set. If there was an admixture like you said, it probably happened thousands of years ago and not between the modern ethnic groups we are aware of today.
Although not perfect, I would prefer generic terms like Aboriginal Eastern Niger Valley from an African or anthropological perspective. However, Ancestry DNA targets the American perspective since most Americans usually struggle to distinguish between African countries yet alone distinguish the different ethnic entities.

9jakool:

There are people who can trace their origin to a particular ethnic group hundreds of years back without trace of ethnic mixing and they will still show up for multiple regions. It's not necessarily as a result of Yoruba-Gbe admixture. What makes Benin/Togo a marker for Gbe ancestry? They are not the only ethnic group in that region. There are also distinct groups like Gur and Mande in Benin and Togo, as well as parts of Nigeria. Thousands of years ago there wasn't Gbe or Yoruba. I believe the dna mixes we see now is just a result of human movements and interactions that occurred a long time ago since the ethnic distinction thousands of years ago wasn't as strong. In the common era, people started forming more distinct identities and are less likely to intermix. However, the ancient admixture still remains even after ethnic boundaries were set. If there was an admixture like you said, it probably happened thousands of years ago and not between the modern ethnic groups we are aware of today.
Although not perfect, I would prefer generic terms like Aboriginal Eastern Niger Valley from an African or anthropological perspective. However, Ancestry DNA targets the American perspective since most Americans usually struggle to distinguish between African countries yet alone distinguish the different ethnic entities.

Yes it is a Gbe marker. All of the Southern half of Benin, Togo, Badagry Area (Lagos West) and Ghana's volta region is originally ancestrally settled by Gbe speaking Groups of Africans, except parts of Eastern and Central Benin that Have Yoruba speaking groups, which I guess are also very much mixed with the Gbe speaking people. Yorubas cover a very large geographical range, hence they will show a similarly wide range of results. I can't imagine an Ilaje man that have had hundreds of years of contact with Urhobos, and Ijaws having the same result as someone from Atakpame that have mixed with Gbe speakers and even some Gur speakers like Akpossos and Kotokolis.
There are Mande and Gur in Benin and Togo like you said, but they are the Northern groups there.
These DNA categories have to be named something, and I guess they chose Benin-Togo aand other such country names because that is what most people can connect with in today's world. They could have as well named it "Dahomean" or "Oueme river valley" or "Gbe Ancestry". But the main point is that we know which people the ancestry is reflective of. Most Gur for example are majorly a mix of Mali and either Benin-Togo or Ivory coast-Ghana with smaller trace regions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCTPMTy5M5A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h65sHEFsLCg

"Ibo Granmoun O - In praise of elder wisdom in Igbo culture."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptjN6oMiV40