Guide777:
Until we understand our history, we may not move forward. Prof Catherine Acholonu did a load of research on that . You get her books on Amazon.

With due respect to the late Acholonu and her family her books on Igbo history are best utilised as toilet paper.

nobaga:
Igala own and develop Enugu. Years of history on the land support and prove it.

Why haven't they developed their corner of Kogi State?

Gajagojo:

What sort of discourse exactly .?one that challenges. Cultural imperialism?

I am.only interested in one question you can evade all you like

How are Ikwerre Southern Igbo is it genetic origin language or what exactly.
What exactly is an Igbo group . That distinguishes it from an Ogoni group.
Ikwerre speak a distinct language not Igbo so what makes them an Igbo group?

Ikwerre ha v repeatedly said they are not Igbo

Kindly tell of all those groups that you know that acknowledge they are Igbo which one put in an appearance at the Willinks commission?

You do not have to answer me and honestly I don't expect an answer

With regard to type of discourse you are being a hypocrite.

What type of discourse is this?




You cannot be judge and jury
If Ikwerre say they are not Igbo you cannot insist your oral tradition is superior to theirs

Boy, you're reeeally desperate to have this conversation. You tagged me once yesterday, I didn't respond. You woke up this morning and had to tag me again. Even though I literally said nothing other than to sing a nursery rhyme for you. 😂

ChinenyeN and I are obviously not interested in indulging in this overflogged and long-stale debate. Take his suggestion and jump over to the politics section. You'll find plenty people there to entertain you. And this is me hoping I will get no further mentions from you on this subject.

ChinenyeN:
RedboneSmith, no worries nwane.



I should have added this information in either the filename or something. My apologies. The book is "Traditions of Igbo Origin" by Professor John Oriji.



Oriji is the only writer that I have seen mention the pilgrimages in such a way, but did not delve into the nature of the pilgrimage except to mention some shared ritual practices. I have added an additional picture in my DropBox of that section of the book for context.

I myself have attempted to search for other mentions of this pilgrimage, but have not come across any additional sources. So I am not able to confirm if it was widespread, nor am I able to confirm the religious relevance of it relative to the Igbo-speaking area at large. Oriji makes it seem as though Amaigbo was a center with similar revered status as say Nri or Aro for the local and non-local community. Nothing I have so far come across actually supports that.

As I understand it, Amaigbo is recognized as one of (if not the most) prominent cultural center for the Isu. Amaigbo became that cultural center for them, either by virtue of seniority or migration (supposedly much of Isuama is populated by expansions from Orlu axis) or some long forgotten cultural consensus. From what I've read as well, Amaigbo has highly developed ritual practices. It makes much more sense to me that the Isu community (regardless of how far they expanded) might have tried their best to maintain those ritual and cultural practices, even if it meant traveling to the cultural center. It would, after all, be a core part of their cultural identity, and with highly developed rituals like that, human behavior (like pilgrimages) is not unheard of. This makes sense to me, especially since I have not seen any other writers mention these "pilgrimages" with the same emphasis that Oriji seems to give it.

By the way, Oriji was basing his position off the work done by Afigbo. In "Outline of Igbo History," Afigbo makes mention of communities that still maintain cultural links with Amaigbo despite being settled so far away.



Supposedly, yes, but they weren't Ngwa. Supposedly between 1600s and 1800s, there was an influx of people coming in from beyond the Ahiara, Ezilihitte, Nguru axis. For Ngwa people, the Ahiara, Ezilihitte, Nguru axis is called "Ohnuhnu". The area (and people) beyond the Ohnuhnu axis used to be called "Isoma." According to oral tradition from Amaumara (a community in Ezilihitte), Isoma people used to pay Amaumara ferrymen to cross the Imo and also pay for protection while attempting to find a place to settle in the Ngwa region. Their presence was not entirely welcomed at the time, hence the need for protection. Other communities did similarly, but Amaumara was more prominently known for helping Isoma cross and settle.

As an aside: The influx of people during this period was so notable that Ngwa people started jokingly calling the migrants "Ohnuhnu" in reference so the fact that they all were seemingly making their way through the "Ohnuhnu" axis to settle in the region. The new nomenclature stuck, and that's how "Ohnuhnu" came to be used to refer to non-Ngwa people and things.

Anyhow, members of some of these migrant communities were sometimes known to travel back through the Ohnuhnu axis. I am not sure what the relevance of the journeys were. It is not something that is actively discussed in Ngwa, but it is recollected. According to work done by A. G. Leonard, one such community (among others) was Umuduru in Mbutu Ngwa. They are still remembered as having migrated specifically from Amaigbo area and to likely have made such journeys in precolonial times. I do not know if they will still claim to have done so now though. I doubt. They likely no longer maintain an Isu identity. In any case, Umuduru and a few other communities with known migration from the Isuama region supposedly used to make those journeys.

My educated guess would be that even after settling in Ngwa, communities like Umuduru might have still considered themselves Isu, and with strong cultural identity like that, they might have reasonably made such a journey (or pilgrimage) to their ancestral cultural center, Amaigbo.

It is important to note here that Oriji is himself Ngwa. His view on this could be coming from that lens. As an Ngwa person, it is no secret that there was a notable influx of people coming from far away places like Amaigbo. To know that they would also occasionally venture back to Amaigbo for ritual practices might seem, to the eyes of an Ngwa native, like a pilgrimage in the religious or revered sense of the word.

Thanks a great deal for all this information as well as the additional file. I'll try and see if I can get Oriji's book.

ChinenyeN:


I don't know if you are based in the U.S. or not, but there is a relatively large Mbieri community. I do not know about now, but before they used to have an active national association with several chapters across the U.S. If you are based in the U.S., I might encourage you to see the nearest chapter you can find and join. Alternatively, if the nearest chapter is too far away, then you can try attending an annual association convention (if they are still having it).

On the other hand, if you are based in Naija, then there should be a handful of Mbieri Youth Associations or an Mbieri Development Union in larger cities like Lagos and Abuja. There will definitely be on in Owerri (and maybe Aba and Umuahia).

These two ways are probably the best way to get more info. It will be coming directly from your people and will give you a basis to do more research to analyze and corroborate or dismiss the things they share with you.

That said, earlier in my research days, I did research Mbieri, but there was not much I could find. I am especially still looking for two documents.

1. The History of my Clan, Mbiere by someone named A. Uzoukwu.
2. Mbieri Traditions of Origin and Socio-Political Organization by Professor C. Ugorji

Anyhow, those two documents notwithstanding, I have a few things in my DropBox. I've organized them for you to access here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/be1gwxxkjvrsfb3o05n3j/h?dl=0&rlkey=ybkrqkozjgl8fsv75475xgi1v

The documents I've gathered may not be much, but I hope they can at least give you a basis to start. By the way, one of the documents is written in Igbo. I do not know how comfortable you are with reading/writing Igbo, so it might take some time to read and digest the document.

Sorry to butt in. In one of the documents in the dropbox, a screenshot of a page from a book, I saw where it said that Amaigbo was a pilgrimage centre for some communities in Isuama area, and even parts of Igboland further south. Is there any more information you can share in this pilgrimage? Why, Amaigbo? What was the nature of this pilgrimage? Did people really come from as far as Ngwa to worship Ala at Amaigbo?

What is the name of the book the screenshot was taken from? Looks like it might make interesting reading.

Gajagojo:


How are Ikwerre Southern Igbo?

Is it origin,language genetics or what ??
What makes them Igbo?

That is wishful thinking and projection

Ikwerre repeatedly tell you they are not Igbo is it by force?

Here we go round the mulberry bush, the mulberry bush, the mulberry bush....

Very what? Very good.

Atouke:

Which igboland are the ibibios occupying?
There is none. But Igbos are occupying our Ibibio territories.

Do you have certification of ownership of those Ibibio lands that Igbos are occupying?

I don't know if there's enough evidence to credit specific ethnic groups in the Sudan or the Sahel with developing the Babban riga. But it seems undoubtable to me that the direction of diffusion has been from north to south. It probably ultimately derived from Berber North Africa.

Ologbo147:
you are probably the most intelligent non-Bini nairalander on Bini matters

Sir I want you to help me do something, according to this article, page 23 the population of Benin city according to the 2006 census was stated to be 1,346,703 but what is on the wikipedia page is starkly different and wrong with no source whatsoever. I don't know if you can help me create a link for the page 23 and add it to wikipedia while we modify the numbers there according to this source or you teach me how to do it.

This is the name of the article

Assessing residents satisfaction with planning and neighborhood facilities of some public housing estates in Benin city Nigeria

by
kingsley Okechukwu Dimuna
department of Architecture, Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma Nigeria.

Abiodun Olukayode Olotuah
Department of Architecture
Federal University of Technology, Akure



This is a link where you can download this article

https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330876121_Assessing_Residents%27_Satisfaction_with_Planning_and_Neighbourhood_Facilities_of_Some_Public_Housing_Estates_in_Benin_City_Nigeria&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwjSgbeLl83_AhXcQUEAHZCIB8kQFnoECAgQAg&usg=AOvVaw1rzl4y11L5JRisFOHac3rX

Hey,
I must confess that I don't quite know how to modify Wikipedia articles to add links and stuff. I'm hoping a more competent Nairalander sees this and helps you out. Cheers.

Kalvan:


The Ikwerres are as Ibo, as a Frenchman is English. Thank you for coming to my tedtalk

Culturally and linguistically, this your Frenchman-English analogy no follow, at allllll.

If you're looking for analogies, these are a few I can suggest:

The Ikwerre are as 'Ibo' as an Afrikaner is Dutch.

The Ikwerre are as 'Ibo' as a Maltese is Arab.

The Ikwerre are as 'Ibo' as an Austrian is German.

The Ikwerre are as 'Ibo' as a Walloons-speaking Belgian is French.

To the OP, where's the evidence that Harry Belafonte wanted to run for senate? I'm looking at a newspaper from 1986 where he explicitly said he wasn't going to run! The son of a Kenyan man was Senator from Chicago and then president. The daughter of a Jamaican is currently vice president.

Let me try and explain my position again a little more clearly because you don't seem to be very intelligent:

If someone says B is more poisonous than A, it is not the same thing as saying B is poisonous and A is not poisonous. It means A could be quite poisonous but A is MORE poisonous.

Now what I said and what I maintain is that the West today is more accommodating and more tolerant than every other society in the world including yours and mine. This statement of mine is not the same thing as saying that tolerance and acceptance of others in the West is 100%. (it's not even close to 100%). It simply means that compared to the rest of us they have gone much farther in trying to create a more inclusive society. Anybody who looks at the facts and denies this is not ready to face the truth.

Don't try to give me a lecture on prejudice and discrimination in the Western world. You don't know half of what I know on the subject. Belafonte had no interest in running for senate, by the way. Fake news. Yes, his dad was Jamaican. Do you want to talk about people with Jamaican daddies that rose to the highest levels in America. Shall we start with the current vice fricking president? Anyway, that's beside the point.

Oh by the way, why are your people in Lagos trying to pass legislations that will make it harder for non-Yorùbá Nigerians to own property in Lagos? Not even non-Nigerians oh. No. Other Nigerians who just happen to be non-Yorùbá.
https://gazettengr.com/lagos-belongs-to-yorubas-lawmakers-will-pass-new-property-business-ownership-laws-favouring-only-indigenes-speaker-obasa/

Show me one example from the West where citizens of a Western nation are denied access to property ownership in their own country because they come from another part of that same country. There are four indigenous ethnicities in the UK: the English in England, the Scots in Scotland , the Welsh in Wales and the Northern Irish in Northern Ireland. Yet, there's nothing like England for the English. People crisscross across the country, settling and acquiring property wherever they like. Your own people (including the people trying to pass this piece of silly legislature) even go there, and even as non-citizens still purchase property quite freely.

Tell me again how you are the most accommodating people in the world. In the entire cricking world.

Come oh, your hand no shake as you dey type that thing? The entire WORLD? 😂😂😂

ewa26:


erm, redbone which kain jollof rice will I cook for u nowv , is it the one that has lamb bone and ogiri in it, hor do I know add ketchup or mayonnaise or is it the one with goat meat and this small small distin, eh he em chicken gizzard with Uyo man foot ok

Do you think you can take some of the money for that jollof rice and Uyo man foot and check yourself into a facility?

ewa26:
pls boys talk to me, do I chop or osuofia’s head to make your egusi how will you take rice and Fanta now

I see you're off your meds again.

laiperi:
Obviously you do not know what you are writing about.

You sound like one of those slaves shipped out of Africa that were told they should be grateful for their journey to the "free world" where they enjoy. Otherwise the African Natives could have had them as breakfast.

Go and live there for considerable time and come back to repeat the indoctrination coming out of you.

Thank Trump for exposing them today as if some of us do not know them all along. You are so naive, I have to restraint myself from calling you names.

I've lived in the West since 2013. That's ten years this year. So don't tell me to go and live there. I have been living there.

I wasn't painting a picture of the West as a perfect society. I'm perfectly aware of racist and right-wing ideologists here. I'm aware of anti-immigration sentiments and all of that. But even with that taken into account I still reiterate that the western world is by far more tolerant and liberal than anywhere else on the planet.

I have been more stereotyped by fellow Nigerians than I have been in the West. In how many Nigerian states can another Nigerian whose parents came from another ethnic group in Nigeria stand for election and be voted for, not to talk of non-Nigerians? Every where I turn in this country, I see Nigerians, Ghanaians, Indians, Pakistanis etc. in elected positions and in positions of power. Elected in white-majority areas. Holding full citizenship, and not being told to be respectful. There are even laws here that you cannot refuse to rent property to people based on their race and ethnicity. Some landlords in your country are openly refusing to rent there houses or sell land to Igbo people, and you think your people can compete with the level of accommodation and acceptance in the Western World? LOL!

I have my problems with the West, but when it comes to inclusion, they are ahead of everyone else. Not perfect, but definitely ahead!

Look at the embarrassment that happened in Nigeria in the last election cycle where people were brutalised on the streets for looking like they come from a certain part of the country? I don't see anyone attacking immigrants here during election cycles. Even people who hold far-right ideologists are roundly condemned and treated like lunatics by the majority of white society. When Onanuga tweeted bigoted rubbish after the madness that happened in Lagos during the elections, how many of his own people called him out?

Hey, be proud of your ethnic group. Nothing wrong with that. Just go easy on the exaggeration. You are not the most accommodating or the most tolerant people in the world (The WORLD Oh! He no even talk Nigeria.)

laiperi:
Which other ethnic group in the world can be classified as tolerant and accommodating, the real meaning of civilized.

Literally all of the Western World. They have created the most tolerant and accommodating societies the world has ever seen. They take in refugees. They take in economic migrants in the millions. They grant them citizenship. They allow them run for the highest offices in the land. And they don't make noise about how the immigrants must show gratitude. They don't feel threatened and use violence to stop immigrants from voting because they are afraid of who and how the immigrants will vote. When an Adewale or a Rajesh or a Chinedu or an Amina wants to run for mayor, they don't tell them to go and be mayor in Biafra or Bombay or Odùduwà Republic.

Racism/tribalism and intolerance is of course not completely dead in the West, but more than any other society in the world, they have gone farthest in ameliorating it.

There are three recognisable phases in the history of the Nsukka people before colonialism.

Phase 1: The Autochtonous Period:
The earliest Nsukka groups do not have any history of coming from anywhere. They claim that they sprouted from the ground. When Professor Isichei was doing fieldwork in Nsukka zone in the 1970s she was told by the elders that Nsukka came from nowhere and has always been where they were. Archaeological evidence is in support of the traditons that the Nsukka groups have been where they are for a very long time. Dr Hartle found potsherds in Nsukka that were radiocarbon-dated to around 2555BC. The style of the pottery was very similar to pots used in Nsukka till date, which suggests that it is the same ethnocultural group that has been inhabiting the region since at least 2555 BC. There is enough evidence to show that Nsukka people had settled their region before the expansion of Igala and even Nri activities into the area.

Phase 2: The Nri Period:
The first outsiders to extend their influence into the Nsukka area were the Nri, from the south. Traditions of Nri origins are still rife in the area, and refer to the time when Nri priests began to sojourn in the area, establishing shrines and instituting title societies. It was in this period that certain priestly families such as the priests of Ezoguda either came from Nri or began to claim Nri origin.

Phase 3: The Igala Period:
This is only the latest phase of Nsukka history, and only dates to the 17th century at the earliest. As can be seen Nsukka had already passed through two long periods of their history before Igala influence became important in the region. The Igala brought down horses, the red fez hat, some type of beads and some type of robes all of which were highly valued by the Nsukka elite. The Igala royalty contolrolled the movement of this valued items, and sometimes the Nsukka elite even had to travel to Idah to obtain these items. In this way a strong connection was built with Idah. Some of the claims to have emigrated from Idah which is encountered among some Nsukka lineages only refer to these connections. But there were also actual Igala migrants into Nsukka, especially of men who brought in specialised skills like dyeing of clothes. The big traders from Igalaland also settled retainers among the Nsukka to facilitate trade, and some of these retainers ended up settling permanently and intermarrying with the locals. Diewa was one of such Igala settlers who settled in the town of Akụ and married native Akụ women and came to identify with Akụ people. I should note that the Achadu-Attah who was the Igala prime minister had the most extensive trade interests in the Nsukka area, and it was due to his connections/relations with the Nsukka that some Nsukka towns came to attach "Achadu-Attah" to their names.

There is no evidence of actual conquest and rule of the Nsukka by the Igala, even though this is widely claimed on Igala websites. The relations were largely that of trade and cultural influence. There was however also a military aspect to the relations between the Igala and the Nsukka, characterised by the activities of Onoja Oboni. Onoja was a rogue Igala prince who set up his headquarters at Ogurugu from where he harrassed many communities in Nsukka area for slaves. But Onoja was not interested in conquests but in slaves, so his wars never led to actual conquest and rule.

In sum, Nsukka were a distinct group of people long before c. 17th century when Igala influence in many forms became a big factor in shaping the development of their history.

ChebeNdigboCalm:


The facts dont agree with you. The only way to prove what is more or less effective is live demonstration. Complexity of strategy doesnt necessarily make it better. You are asking me if I read about the campaigns in Northern Nigeria when I already gave a brief talk about them. You are asking me if I read about Yoruba tactics as well when gave an example of Yoruba vs British forces. The question I am asking you is, have you read about the details of different battles in different places at different times? I admire your opinion when it comes to linguistics and culture but war...not so much.

Redbone, political geography is a wide broad net. You need to be more specific. Political fragmentation DOESN'T improve the military capabilities of any state. Just like any other theory, it doesnt change depending on location.

Please read to understand. POLITICAL FRAGMENTATION INDEED MEANS MILITARY FRAGMENTATION. Why? How can you have military unity without political unity? An agreement would have to made to face a superpower like the British.
During the Aro expedition, the Olokoro(politically and consequently militarily fragmented) stood idly by. But they were not far from the war geographically. Also the forces fought by the British at and around different villages (that were politically and therefore military united) were the same Aro forces.
Whilst fragmentation meant that the British fought more wars against the igbos, it did not mean that the igbo warriors could put up any better of a fight. Therefore no fragmentation was not a positive effect for Igbo forces.

I want to STRESS once again that the difference is exponential. The Anglo-Aro War was not just another skirmish in the African bush.

Slightly off topic. I am not trying to slander you lr anything but...I have seen you comment on many things Igbo. And it seems you yourself might be igbo. Your opinion is generally leaning on the negative side when it comes to the Igbo. I am not someone who likes the braggadocious attitude Nigerians bring to studying history. But I equally dislike the idea of always being contrarian.

What facts don't agree with me? How long did the Anglo-Aro war last? How long did the Ezza hold out against the British? Compare the duration of those two conflicts with the duration of other specific British wars of conquests in the West and in the North.

When people talk about Ekuemeku and how long the movement lasted, they often do not realise that it wasn't a continuous state of intense warfare between the Brits and the people. For most of the period that Ekumeku was resistant, they avoided actual battles with the British. They focused on acts of sabotage. Burning a building here. Killing a saboteur there. When the British got tired of that and went all out on them, the movement crumbled rather fast.

About being Igbo. Yes, I am. About being contrarian and being negative about the Igbo, I find that quite funny. Even though I am used to Igbos here saying that. Anyone who has open-mindedly been following me will see plenty occasions where I defend the Igbo passionately, chopping insults from non-Igbos in the process. It's only emotional people that will think I am being contrarian because I am not interested in entertaining falsehoods and mistruths in the course of defending the Igbo.

I mean, I didn't even say anything negative about the Igbo. All I said was they were not necessarily better military tacticians vis-a-vis their neighbours. The fact that you find this to be a slur on Igbo people tells me quite a lot.

blackpinkgal:
Hello I’m new to Nairaland. I am a Igbo girl born and raised in the United States of America. Due to not growing up in Igboland, I am very ignorant of certain aspects of Igbo culture. I can speak Nwantiti in Igbo but I understand it perfectly fine. Anyways, I wanted to ask someone w well versed in Igbo culture whether I come from a lineage of priests. My Last name has the title “Eze” and I was wondering if it meant something of importance or just a coincidence. I should also add that my father is from Anambra (if that makes a difference or not)
Thanks so much (Daalu)

Is your dad from Aguata? Aguata people have a lot of surnames that begin with Eze. The Eze prefix in most Aguata surnames come from the original bearer having taken a chieftaincy title.

If it turns out that your dad is from Aguata, then the Eze in your name could mean nothing other than that your ancestor had a chieftaincy title.

holocron:


He said 'political fragmentation' but you responded on 'military fragmentation'. Military fragmentation with one political authority does not offer much advantages.

The same political fragmentation was what made Al Qaeda formidable enough to resist the might of the great USA for over a decade.
Al Qaeda operated on numerous independent cells only guided by one central philosophy elucidated from time to time by an elusive Osama bin laden, and his successors.

Thank you. I wasnt even sure how to begin responding to that, because the analogy was quite off. I think you did a better job than I would have been able to.

ChebeNdigboCalm:


Also I disagree with the notion that they "weren't any better at military strategy". Read Colonel Montaro's account. I think that is exactly what makes the difference. Throwing more men in does not change the outcome. Else we will see far more casualties inflicted on the british in northern Nigeria.

The only possible factors in my opinion are:

1. Igbos were better armed.
2. Igbos had better tactics, whether for communication, use of environment, formation of warriors etc
3. Igbos were more determined
4. Igbos had better knowledge of British tactics.

I always use my words carefully. Now, when I said "not necessarily better at military strategy than other groups", I was not saying the Igbo did not fight with skill. I have read "Bush Fighting" and knew some Igbo groups made good use of trenches and forest covering in their fights against colonialists. What I meant was that they were not necessarily BETTER than other groups whose territories were completely brought under Colonial rule in shorter time. Have you read about the British campaigns in Northern Nigeria? Have you read Harry Johnston's descriptions of Fulani fighting techniques? Even the Yorùbá of the 19th century had notable military generals and tacticians.

What made the difference in how colonialism engulfed the different groups had nothing to do with the Igbo being better at military tactics. The political geography was the number one deciding factor.

Poltical fragmentation was the reason it took long to subdue the Igbo. They weren't necessarily better at military strategy than the other groups you mentioned.

In Igboland, every village had to be engaged and defeated separately. And as there are thousands of villages, this will understandably take a long time.

But the Hausas and the Yorubas who had been consolidated into fewer centralised states, it would obviously not take the same amount of time. All the British needed to do was defeat the central authorities and the subordinate villages fell in line.

earthsync:


Why are they still having it Making money on stolen artifacts!! I really think they deserve everything these yahoo guys are doing to them because wtff

The retired school teacher in a little town in Ohio who lost all her life savings to a Yahoo boy is not the one holding your stolen artifact. Stop making excuses for Internet scam.

Ogene001:

Everything Benin using to boast was made possible by the Portuguese

Are you living in an 1890s white man's butt? Even your European past masters who used to say this rubbish in early Colonial times have since realised that this sentiment is very incorrect.

The post says the palace in the drawing dates from the 13th century. That doesn't sound right. During his takeover of power in the 15th century, Ewuare burnt down the old palace and built a new one.

This palace, therefore, dated from the mid-15th century at the earliest.

laiperi:
Things have gotten out of hand. There used to be a time we give Igbo, Ghana or Hausa names. Especially, second names.

My favorite Igbo name for girls is Chiwe or Ngozi

All my cousins who were born in Lagos were given Yoruba second names.

Nostradamus1:
Your post considered a lot of wrong variable to create a misguided narrative.

Edo is a more recent term than Bini. Infact, no Bini person refers to himself as Edo. The term Bini was used long before the birth of Olaudah by its residents. This can be comfirmed by records(Bini, Yoruba and Portuguese). Your statement that nobody living in Igboland will refer to it as Bini is wrong. It is in the Bini records that a prince from somewhere around Onitsha once captured a Bini princesses.

You are obviously not familiar at all with Benin history and language. If you were, there is no way you would have said no Bini person refers to himself as Edo!

When a traditional Benin man or elder is speaking his language, you will not hear him refer to himself or his city as Benin or Bini; what you will hear is Edo. Benin is an exonym, i.e., a name given to them by outsiders. The word has no place in the Benin people's traditional group-consciousness and expression. That is why the Oba is referred to in their native language as Omonoba n'Edo, and not Omonoba ne Benin. That is why Benin people refer to themselves in their native language as Oviedo kpataki, and not Ovbibenin kpataki. When Jacob Egharevba first wrote his little book on Benin history, the first version was written in the native language, and he called it "Ekhere vb Itan Edo" and not "Ekhere vb Itan Benin". It was only when he produced the English translation that the word "Benin" appeared in the title, hence "A Short History of Benin". In short, Benin people generally tend to use the word "Benin" in instances where they are speaking English or Pidgin. In their native linguistic and cultural setting, it is Edo.

The Europeans picked up the word "Benin" from people OUTSIDE the city, probably the Itsekiri, whose traditional term for the Edo was Ubini, and that was the term they used in their documentations and it became current in the last century. Before then, nobody in the Edo- or Igbo-speaking areas would have known Benin as Bini. Olaudah picked up that name when he was already outside Africa, from books written by European explorers, slavers and geographers. The name that was used in his village was Idu!

I don't know what record you're referring to that talked about a prince from Onitsha capturing a Benin princess. Sounds to me like you're confusing Obi Olise of Ubulu-Ukwu with a prince of Onitsha. Anyway, whatever incidence you're referring to is not proof of Igbo people referring to Benin as Benin in the 18th century.

How does Olaudah explain Bini geographic location to whites in the 18th century? By using bigger Landmarks. The Abyssinia.
At the point in review in history, the Bini was at the peak of its powers and Abyssinia was larger than was thought. The fact that Africans never produced accurate maps of Kingdoms doesn't mean that they might not have bordered each other. Again, this is a fault of available accurate data.

If you have not read Olaudah's description of his African homeland, go and read it. The man was making references to places a 12-year old boy in an Igbo village in the 18th century could not possibly have known. Talking about Senegal and Angola, Benin and Abyssinia, and providing geographical details (in miles) about the extent of West Africa (Guinea, as he called it, and as Europeans called it at the time), and the distance (in miles) of different regions from the coast. You don't have to be very intelligent to know that he had relied heavily on existing European descriptions of Africa in painting this picture of his homeland. I'm taking that picture he painted with a huge grain of salt.

Again as I have mentioned, several parts of SS and some parts of SE were at some point in the hands of Bini kingdom(Onitsha fell to the Binis). The influence of Bini is so powerful that Igbo language is classified together with Benin language by eminent scholars. Olaudah also pointed out that this influence was nominal which is accurate with today review of ancient Bini kingdom. The Bini kingdom never shared Their language, dressing and culture with the domains compared to other Kingdoms. However, certain attributes passed to this domains but the Binis had a Slavic complex.

You cannot prove that any part of the SE was in the hands of Benin. No shred of evidence has surfaced of Benin armies fighting in any part of the SE, or of any SE people sending tribute or obtaining the ada sword from Benin. And Onitsha did not fall to the Bini! Why do I keep reading this? Are we reading the same traditions about Onitsha or is there a secret tradition that you people know of that I don't? According to the most pro-Bini version of Onitsha history, a Benin prince quarreled with a tyrannical Oba and after losing a battle to this Oba, he took his people and fled from the kingdom, crossed the Niger and established his own independent principality called Onitsha. Nothing in the traditions remotely suggest that this new principality was under the control of the Benin Kingdom from which its people are said to have actually FLED! How do you flee from someplace and still be under the place?! There was no tribute-paying, there was no receipt of the ada. In fact, Onitsha formed close dynastic ties with nearby Igala and with Nri, rather than with the rather distant Benin.

If a group of Nigerians got tired of the corrupt repressive government in Nigeria, and they japa'ed to an uninhabited island in the Pacific where they established a small independent state of their own, would you say the island and its new inhabitants were still under the control of the Nigerian government, or to use your word, that the island fell to Nigeria?

Igbo, Yoruba and Edo are all classified as closely related languages (YEAI), and this classification has nothing to do with the influence of Benin. Perhaps you need a crash course in Niger-Congo linguistics.

Benbobola:

How about Adaeze?

Means princess.

Benbobola:
Hello guys.
I just had a baby girl in my family (yoruba tribe) and I so love her. There is one igbo name I know and would love to name her. It's so sweet when I hear the name and I want to know if its okay. I would also appreciate if anyone here can help me with the basic cultural meaning of the name.
ADAORA
This is the lovely name I would want to call my daughter. I k ow I can find basic information on the Internet, but I just want more knowledge on it from the igbo cultural perspective. Thanks

Literally, Adaora means Daughter of the People. In Igbo culture (as well as in many other African cultures), the child is said to belong not just to the parents, but the wider community. This is a name that underscores that cultural belief. In this sense Adaora is a daughter loved and cherished by all.

Nostradamus1:
I luckily found this post. I believe that for him to be sure of the influence of Benin, he must have been from the SS region which is why they referred to Aro people as Oye-Eboe.

Also his name should be seen as whole since surnames were not a thing in 1745.

Olaudah will probably be Olu-uda(loud voice ) Ekwuano. It also makes sense considering that as recent as 1920 , Igbos bore names markedly different from today. Eg Tabansi, Anuligo, Ayaezuba(Anyi-ezuba) .




My thoughts on Olaudah Equiano book

We need to correct this impression that the SS Igbo-speaking peoples were the only ones who referred to Igbo-speaking outsiders as 'onye Igbo'. Igbo-speaking people were doing that to other Igbo-speaking people inside the SE at the time. There is a town called Igbere in Abia State, and the name of the town is derived from the expression "Igbo erughi", meaning "the town the Igbo could not reach". And the Igbo in this instance were the Aro. The Aro and their Abam warriors had planned to invade Igbere (which was called Ebiri at the time). Igbere people were able to beat off the attack and prevent the Aro and Abam from taking their town. In memory of that triumph, they started calling themselves Igbo erughi (the Igbo couldn't reach us), shortened later to Igbere.

Also I will continue to take Equiano's reference to Benin in his book with a pinch of salt. If Equiano was writing from what he experienced within his homeland, I would expect him to refer to Benin by the name used among his people, which would be Idu or Ado. Benin people themselves did not even use Benin to describe themselves at the time, but used Edo. Nobody who was living in the Igbo-speaking areas in 1745 would have known Benin City by any other name except Idu or Ado. The fact that Equiano recorded "Benin" tells me he had been peeping into European accounts.

Then he went and wrote further that Benin was bordered on one side by the Kingdom of Abyssinia! Not only is that factually wrong, but no one in the rainforests of West Africa at the time knew about the existence of Abyssinia on the northeastern extremity of the African continent, least of all 12-year old Olaudah!

Olaudah presenting his village as belonging to a province of the great Benin Kingdom is a piece of romantic writing designed to capture the interest and imagination of his European audience. It shouldn't be taking seriously by anyone trying to use information presented in the book to pinpoint where in Igboland Olaudah came from.

I don't know how this theory makes sense to the writer. The success of a people cannot be tied to their physical gesture of greeting (i.e., prostrating). That's an asinine thing to even suggest. Western Europeans and their North American descendants have been the dominant people in every sphere of human advancement since the 1500s, and they are not a very respectful people!

The Yoruba have a long history of urbanization (with its attendant cultural sophistication and social moulding) and were trailblazers in Western education. These more than anything else account for their success. Osinor greeting and respect.

SerikiFulani:
Why didn't he bow to the Ooni of ife ?

Because he is not obligated to. If Jide Kosoko meets the Obi of Onitsha he is also more than welcome not to bow. Igbos won't be mad.