₦airaland Forum

supereagle:
I am confused.

Same here o

Debaiz:
This is totally wrong every Yoruba proverb points to the fact that EKUN is Tiger.

Kaka ki kiniun s’akapo EKUN, won a yaa s’ode won loto’to ni

A leopard can never be compared to a lion in any way let alone suggesting having same hunting purse. Lions kill Leopard every time they come in contact. Only a tiger can stand up to a lion.

Yiyo EKUN bi t’ojo ko

Leopard are not known to tiptoe when hunting. They ambush their prey. Either by jumping on them from the top or crouching to the flow and wait. Tigers are known worldwide to be the most sneaky of all the cats. They have the ability to walk on dried leaves without making sound. This is helped by their large meaty and fluffy paws that makes each of the step to be soft.

So which one is a stalker hunter between Tiger and Leopard. Leopard is a very elusive hunter, which stalks it's prey. So who are the Yorubas referring to as 'Yiyo'. Then I have never seen an 'awo ekun' used by hunters and traditional chiefs for wall decorations or regalia look like the skin of a tiger.

Venerable612:
Are cheetahs found in Nigeria?

Have you encountered God, Angels, Ghosts?

Why do you have Yoruba names for all of the above?

Your logic is flawed.

And whether it’s an adjective or not - you should kindly teach your Yoruba kids, if you are one, these things as well because our heritage is fast disappearing.

Please take your time to read it again, did I mention Cheetah??
.
I don't correct what I don't know

Zenithpeak:
@op is absolutely and terribly wrong!

Amotekun is Leopard.... The king of camouflage.

Tiger is the King of camouflage, don't mix it up oga!

mikaeli01:
I've been reading so many things some people wrote to try to correct but make errors themselves. It's not thier fault but rather than blame them I commend them, they are trying to show they know something about their race and culture.
I will simply ask for the name of an animal that is called "Idagiri". If you know it then problem solved.
The name Ekun is a general name used to refer the spotted and stripped big cats family such cheetah and leopard commonest in Africa.
The professionals who name the animals are local hunters who categorised them based on their look, ability and behaviour.
If you are in doubt about my what I put up here clear your doubt by interviewing as many Yoruba hunters as possible from different states with the picture of a leopard and cheetah then show them any other stripped cat such as tiger, lynx, jaguar, etc and record what name is called each one.

Idagiri isn't a name of an animal.
Only if it is attributed to Animal
But it has never been a name of Animal

Xisnin:
Wrong analysis.
Ekun is Tiger, an animal need not be local before having a local name and in science
parlance you don't rely on one evidence to make a conclusion.

Ekun gains its reputation by being ferocious and strong and even seen as a rival of the lion.
No person with knowledge of wildlife will compare a leopard to a lion in any way when an
an average lion could snap a leopard's neck if it got the chance.

Only the tiger can match a lion muscle for muscle and pound for pound.

Following your assertion, may I ask you the Yoruba name for this animals?

Flamingo
Kangaroo
Ostrich
Mouse
Komodo
Anaconda
Cobra

AkpaMgbor:
Cheetahs didn’t either..the most common big cat in this part of the continent was the leopard..some might mistake it for a cheetah but they are not the same..the leopard is bigger, stronger and more ferocious.

Cheetah exist in Africa and Nigeria

13october:
Learn don't just put anything online
Lion. kiniun
Tiger. Ekun
Leopard ikooko
Cheetah. Amotekun

Lol...Wolf is Ikooko

Basher8583:
The sad part is cheetahs do not originate from west Africa so I don't know where our Yoruba brothers want to see one to give it a name

"The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus; /ˈtʃiːtə/) is a large cat of the subfamily Felinae that occurs in North, Southern and East Africa, and a few localities in Iran. It inhabits a variety of mostly arid habitats like dry forests, scrub forests, and savannahs."

Isn't that the reason they named it after the one very closer home which is the leopard?

Meaning it looks like Leopard

Amo tekun

Close to, like, looks like ..

somehow:
Cheetah exist in Africa and Nigeria

Cheetahs inhabit mostly the eastern part of Africa.. I’m yet to see any documentation of them west of Africa/Nigeria...will dig further.

AkpaMgbor:
Cheetahs inhabit mostly the eastern part of Africa.. I’m yet to see any documentation of them west of Africa/Nigeria...will dig further.

OK dig further

The name Amotekun is a name that was created from an existing name called Ekun

Meaning, it came to being because of having similar attributes to the animal bearing Ekun that exist in Africa and seen before by Yoruba forefathers.

Tiger is not native to Africa just like Kangaroo being only in Australia

somehow:
OK dig further

The name Amotekun is a name that was created from an existing name called Ekun

Meaning, it came to being because of having similar attributes to the animal bearing Ekun that exist in Africa and seen before by Yoruba forefathers.

Tiger is not native to Africa just like Kangaroo being only in Australia

What does the ‘Amot ’ in Amotekun mean?

While the hunter was trying to describe a cheetah he saw in the wild that looks like a leopard in skin colour and size but possess a special attribute like sprinting beyond a leopard, He said: " ki ise ekun , amo oto ekun". the colonial master judging from the hunter's description said: that your "Amo tekun" was a cheetah!

Amo oto ekun became Amotekun

SultanOfAbia:
It Means Afonjas Can Make Mouth
But When It's Time for Action
They Will Runaway Faster than Cheetah

####
Yes, they run faster than Ojukwu to Ivory coast and Nnamdi Kanu to an unknown foreign land.
Thank you.

Debaiz:
Watch Nat geo wild, you’d get enough info. My 7year old nephew will tell you lions kill leopards. Even if it’s to steal their prey let alone when it steps into lion territory.

Tiger is the only cat family that do not fear the lion though they avoid each other where they meet.

The fact that it never existed in africa doesn’t mean yorubas won’t have name for it.

Sharks(Akurakuda) and octopus(eja elesemejo) are not renowned much in west African waters coupled with the average Yoruba mans fear of water but yorubas have name for it

Sea gulls(Peju Peju) are birds of Southern Africa and European waters, yorubas have a name for it

Mr. Man people who know about Yoruba zoology more than you have stated the correct words for this on several platforms. And I gave you points to consider, Yoruba traditions are clear when talking about Ẹkùn... Its a spotted animal not stripped animal

Your 7 year old nephew can teach you whatever that's your business but leopards are not slouches and survive lion attacks. Lion and leopard confrontation is rare on its own, but even virtually unseen is a single lion killing a leopard
And again why are you just talking about fight? Is that all there is to an animal? Who fights better?

While your entire knowledge and impression of these animals is based on Nat Geo Wild you fail to realise that Yoruba are all too familiar with Ẹkùn
Yoruba are not familiar with Tiger

Perhaps amotekun should be renamed to something else, too much sentimental arguing and not much realism on display here.

People keep insisting on one thing despite all evidence to the contrary.

Where I lost hope of this cloud having a silver lining was when someone compared the invisible African tiger to God and angels. At that point, I knew this argument is a lost cause.

What about the African wild dogs?

AkpaMgbor:
What does the ‘Amot ’ in Amotekun mean?

To know, recognize, looks like, similar to
Actually amo, not amot Amo, tekun not amot ekun

That's wrong. Many of you don't even know that the landscape that we have now isn't the same millennials or centuries ago. The forest/wildlife has changed, and even tigers are almost extinct if not for the swift response of the global conservation efforts, and you know we have a lot of hunters in ancient Yoruba milieu. Just like lions were once seen in the Middle East, but no more.

Ẹkùn is Tiger....ògìdàn olóólà ijú, a kọ ọmọ ní ilà láì lo abẹ (the strong circumciser of the forest that gives an incision to a child without a blade).

Àmọ̀tẹ́kùn is Leopard láti ọjọ́ aláyé ti dáyé.

Kìnnìún is Lion.

Some said Cheetah is Ọ̀wàwà which I doubt. It's a close relation to a dog I think (not Kọ̀lọ̀kọ̀lọ̀). There is a saying, tí gbogbo ẹranko bá ń ké n'gbó, ti Ọ̀wàwà là gbọ́ jù (When all animals cry in the forest, it is that of Ọ̀wàwà we hear the most/supercedes all).

somehow:
OK dig further

The name Amotekun is a name that was created from an existing name called Ekun

Meaning, it came to being because of having similar attributes to the animal bearing Ekun that exist in Africa and seen before by Yoruba forefathers.

Tiger is not native to Africa just like Kangaroo being only in Australia

somehow:
To know, recognize, looks like, similar to
Actually amo, not amot Amo, tekun not amot ekun

So literally Amotekun means ‘similar to leopard’?

somehow:
To know, recognize, looks like, similar to
Actually amo, not amot Amo, tekun not amot ekun

Tekun is of the species or type of ekun (leopard/big cat species).

You're quite correct.

twosquare:
That's wrong. Many of you don't even know that the landscape that we have now isn't the same millennials or centuries ago. The forest/wildlife has changed, and even tigers are almost extinct if not for the swift response of the global conservation efforts, and you know we have a lot of hunters in ancient Yoruba milieu. Just like lions were once seen in the Middle East, but no more.

Ẹkùn is Tiger....ògìdàn olóólà ijú, a kọ ọmọ ní ilà láì lo abẹ (the strong one of the forest that gives an incision to a child without a blade).

Àmọ̀tẹ́kùn is Leopard láti ọjọ́ aláyé ti dáyé.

Kìnnìún is Lion.

Some said Cheetah is Ọ̀wàwà which I doubt. It's a close relation to a dog I think (not Kọ̀lọ̀kọ̀lọ̀). There is a saying, tí gbogbo ẹranko bá ń ké n'gbó, ti Ọ̀wàwà là gbọ́ jù (When all animals cry in the forest, it is that of Ọ̀wàwà we hear the most/supercedes all).

But tigers are only found in Asia and some parts of eastern Europe..no single documentation of tigers in the entire continent of Africa. So ekun can’t be tiger..you can’t name what you never saw..in igbo language, the scholars have unanimously agreed to call all spotted and striped big cats Agu...since the original Agu was the leopard native to west African forests..but increased knowledge has made us to realise that there are animals outside our region which we had no native names for(obviously)..

People make the mistake of using the present to judge the past, forgetting that the present isn't the same as the past for so many reasons due to climate change and the activities of men. And you are making the same mistake. It is like saying lions didn't exist in the Middle East, forgetting desertification and all. Just 3,900 tigers are remaining in the whole world.

Ekealterego:
Wrong analysis.... People from the SE also mix these things up... Some for long also refer to the Tiger as Agu.. Which is very wrong!
Tigers didn't exist anywhere in Africa, neither did west Africans travel all the way to Russia and India, in the olden days to come back with a name of an animal that didn't exist anywhere on their continent.

Mind you, we have these names in our folklores... Another pointer! So tell me, how did you come up with names of animal in your folklore that existed in far away Russia and India?

Leopards, Lions and Cheetah are native to Africa. So it is not possible that Ekun will be Tiger. Not possible!

That is the Igbo language. The Yorubas for a reason best known to them have specific names for things...even to the point of panegyrics.....like I quoted someone, don't tell me all the animals we have now in Eastern Nigeria are what we used to have. We often make the mistake of using the present to judge the past, forgetting that the present is so much different from the past in the quality of wildlife, nature, and richness of animal species. Lions were once found in the Middle East, but if I were to argue, I would say No, since we don't have them around, it can't be. Thank God for empires who left relics of their symbols.

Some of you forget that Egypt was once an empire, and if we argue that we were somehow connected to ancient Egypt, then know some of our ancestors have seen these animals, and rightly so, named them.

AkpaMgbor:
But tigers are only found in Asia and some parts of eastern Europe..no single documentation of tigers in the entire continent of Africa. So ekun can’t be tiger..you can’t name what you never saw..in igbo language, the scholars have unanimously agreed to call all spotted and striped big cats Agu...since the original Agu was the leopard native to west African forests..but increased knowledge has made us to realise that there are animals outside our region which we had no native names for(obviously)..

Venerable612:
This is wrong.

First off the name Amotekun has nothing to do physical semblance as such.

It literally translates - “one who knows as Ekun”.

Again, you are wrong that Yoruba doesn’t have a transalation for Tiger - because our fathers didn’t have an encounter with them.

In fact Tiger has two Yoruba names. It could be called OGIDAN or EKUN. That’s why they say this provide - “Ogidan o ni se Barber, ki aja de be lo ge irun”.

And “KAKA KI KINIUN SAKAPO EKUN, OLODE A MAA RODE.“ Mind you Lion in Yoruba is Kiniun. And no one will ever compare a Lion with a Leopard. No animal can stand the Lion grit for grit amongst the Cat Family other than the Tiger; hence, the comparison.

Also, when Yorubas jokingly refer to someone as Ekun - it’s to represent that the person is a Strong man.

Thus,

Lion - Kiniun
Tiger - Ogidan and Ekun
Leopard - Amotekun
Cheetah - Owawa.

Hope this helps.

Owawa is no Cheetah!!!
Owawa is called Civet in English.

macof:
Mr. Man people who know about Yoruba zoology more than you have stated the correct words for this on several platforms. And I gave you points to consider, Yoruba traditions are clear when talking about Ẹkùn... Its a spotted animal not stripped animal

Your 7 year old nephew can teach you whatever that's your business but leopards are not slouches and survive lion attacks. Lion and leopard confrontation is rare on its own, but even virtually unseen is a single lion killing a leopard
And again why are you just talking about fight? Is that all there is to an animal? Who fights better?

While your entire knowledge and impression of these animals is based on Nat Geo Wild you fail to realise that Yoruba are all too familiar with Ẹkùn
Yoruba are not familiar with Tiger

Mr Yoruba knowledge.

If you can right off someone’s knowledge just because it’s from Nat geo wild shows how arrogant in ignorance you are not only that, this shows your unwillingness to learn from superior researchers(Nat Geo).

Your unwillingness to learn and arrogance is quite evident from your right up. You believe a 7year old cannot know more than you but your display has shown that not only will a 7year old better your knowledge but you will be schooled.

You said Yoruba people from several platforms have said it yet the logo of Amotekun security outfit has a leopard in it. All online sources including but not limited to google translate says its leopard.

Are you saying you know more than 6state Governors, scores of first class traditional Kings, hundreds if not thousands of local hunters and traditional worshippers who were consulted before the project started?

If this is not arrogance then I don’t know what it is.

I won’t continue engaging an arrogant ignorant. Now shift let me see front.

Debaiz:
You’re trying to be smart and funny but your ignorance is displaying the opposite. Google wild lion then you’d get your picture and information.

Just show us the picture

Much assumption in your post @ Debaiz.

ayyoshert:
So which one is a stalker hunter between Tiger and Leopard. Leopard is a very elusive hunter, which stalks it's prey. So who are the Yorubas referring to as 'Yiyo'. Then I have never seen an 'awo ekun' used by hunters and traditional chiefs for wall decorations or regalia look like the skin of a tiger.

Yiyo means sneaking not stalking.

Tigers sneak, leopards lay ambush and wait.

Such confidence?

Damidave1124:
Who cares? Weather it is a cheater or a leopard or even a tiger, all we know is that AMOTEKUN is here to stay...

End of discussion!
I am no yoruba but this amotekun thing dey sweet me for body aswear.
The north was almost taking the south for a ride!

Each time i open nairaland, i always like seeing this amotekun news on frontpage

nlPoster:
Much assumption in your post @ Debaiz.

If you’re talking about my description of leopard and tiger or other animals then you’re wrong. Does anything I put up look like something anyone can just think of and start writing without having prior knowledge? You may try and look up on Nat geo wild videos on YouTube about tigers, lions and leopards.

If you’re referring to Amotekun being a leopard, not a cheetah and EKUN being a tiger and not a leopard, then every post here is based on assumptions no one has a fact of why a particular animal is called Amotekun but we can rely on the fact that over 1000 hunters and traditionalists are involved in the “Amotekun” program but they chose a leopard as their logo. Add that to 6state governors, over a dozen first class Kings and numerous educationists who all sat down to draft and design the program. You can’t possibly say an unknown Nairalander knows more than all of them just because he felt Tiger doesn’t live in Africa.

cbrass:
Just show us the picture

Picture of wild lion? Are you mentally stable?

If you don’t know the meaning of “wild” then google is your friend now. I’m not your teacher.

You too bring picture of wild goats. Or you want to say there are no wild goats.

Like I said earlier you’re trying to be smart and funny but the actual joke is on you cos it’s obvious your knowledge of the meaning of “WILD” is shallow.