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Interesting historical information for all to learn/ read. THE EGBA YORUBA
(AN AFRICAN - AMERICAN LINK TO IGBO ORIGINS)
BY ISHAQ AL - SULAIMANI (NWANNE DI NAMBA NDI IGBO) ishaqa777@hotmail.com
ANYONE WHO HAS EVER TAKEN A SERIOUS INTEREST IN THE SLAVE TRADE AND THE TRIBAL ORIGINS OF AFRICAN - AMERICANS WOULD MOST LIKELY UNDERSTAND THAT THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT YORUBA ELEMENT AMONGST THE AFRICAN CAPTIVES WHO WERE TAKEN TO THE AMERICAS. THE PURPOSE OF THIS WRITING IS TO FURTHER SUPPORT RESEARCH THAT PROVES THAT THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE SLAVES BROUGHT TO THE AMERICAS WERE IGBOS BY ACKNOWLEDGING THE YORUBA ELEMENT TO BE IGBO AS WELL.
IN ADDITION TO THE MASSIVE AMOUNT OF IGBOS DOCUMENTED AND ACKNOWLEDGED TO HAVE BEEN SHIPPED DIRECTLY OUT OF THE IGBO DOMINATED AREAS OF THE NIGER DELTA,MILLIONS OF OTHERS WERE BROUGHT TO THE AMERICAS FROM IGBO SLAVE COLONIES WHICH WERE ESTABLISHED ALL OVER THE AFRICAN CONTINENT AND THUS ARRIVED UNDER A VARIETY OF NATIONAL AND TRIBAL LISTINGS. SLAVES CLASSIFIED AS ASHANTE WERE ACTUALLY IGBOS WHO WERE IMPORTED TO GHANA BY PORTUGUESE JEWISH SLAVE TRADERS TO WORK THE GOLD MINES. OTHERS LISTED AS ANGOLAN WERE ALSO IGBOS. SOME IGBOS WERE IMPORTED TO ANGOLA PRIOR TO THEIR ARRIVAL IN THE AMERICAS, OTHERS WERE BORN AND RAISED IN THE IGBO SLAVE COLONY OF ANGOLA. THE YORUBA CLASSIFICATION PROVED TO BE NO EXCEPTION TO THE RULE, AS THOSE SLAVES DOCUMENTED TO BE YORUBA WERE MORE SPECIFICALLY REFERRED TO AS EGBA yoruba were more specifically referred to as EGBA YORUBA. THE WORD EGBA IS A DERIVATION OF IGBO( EGBA,EGBO IGBO) AS THE EGBA YORUBA ARE OF IGBO ORIGINS.
SOUTHEAST NIGERIA MARKS THE LOCATION OF THE PRESENT DAY IGBO TRIBE. HOWEVER INITIALLY THE IGBO WERE THE RULERS OF THE ENTIRE SOUTH INCLUDING THE SOUTHWEST WHICH IS CURRENTLY CLASSIFIED AS YORUBA TERRITORY. THE YORUBA FIRST ENTERED THE SOUTHWEST PART OF NIGERIA AS INVADERS AND COLONIZERS OF THE ORIGINAL IGBO INHABITANTS WHO LATER BECAME KNOWN AS THE EGBA YORUBA. THE YORUBA(oyo,ijebu etc.) invasion was led by a man named ODUDWA WHO IS CONSIDERED TO BE THE " FOUNDING FATHER " OF THE PRESENT DAY YORUBA PEOPLE. TO THIS DAY YORUBA INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENTS STILL EXIST WITH THE HOPE OF ESTABLISHING THE INDEPENDENT YORUBA NATION OF WHICH THEY WISH TO CALL ODUDWA. THE DEFEAT AND CONQUEST OF THE IGBOS IN SOUTHWEST NIGERIA IS CELEBRATED EVERY YEAR BY THE YORUBA AT THE ANNUAL EID FESTIVAL(THE KINGDOM OF THE YORUBA - ROBERT SMITH 3RD EDITION UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN PRESS)
ONE OF THE LARGER YORUBA TRIBES ARE CALLED THE IJEBU. IT IS AN ESTABLISHED FACT THAT THE IJEBU WERE SELLING EGBA IN MASS NUMBERS DURING THE SLAVE TRADE. THE CITY IJEBU - IGBO STILL EXISTS IN THE YORUBA HEARTLAND WHICH NOT ONLY REFLECTS THE EARLIER IGBO HISTORY IN THE SOUTHWEST BUT FURTHER SERVES AS A MEMORY CONCERNING THE USAGE OF IGBO PRIOR TO THE TRANSFORMATION TO EGBA IN THAT PARTICULAR REGION. IN ADDITION TO THE EGBA THERE REMAINS A YORUBA TRIBE THAT LIVES IN THE KWARRA STATE WHICH CONTINUES TO USE THE MORE ORIGINAL IGBO AS PART OF THEIR TRIBAL NAME AS THEY ARE CALLED THE IGBO - MINA TRIBE. THE USAGE OF THE TERM EGBA WAS INSTITUTED TO DECLARE A STATE OF SECRECY AMONGST CERTAIN IGBOS. THE CURRENT IGBOS OF SOUTHEAST NIGERIA CONTINUE TO MAINTAIN EGBO AS A SECRET SOCIETY WHILE THE SAME TERM EGBA REFERS TO OTHER SECRET IGBO TRIBES.
1. EGBO - A SECRET SOCIETY AT ONE TIME EXISTING AS A POLITICAL BOND BETWEEN VARIOUS TOWNS ESPECIALLY EASTERN NIGERIA - WORLD BOOK DICTIONARY A - K 1974
2. EGBA - A CONFEDERATION OF NEGRO TRIBES NORTH OF THE SLAVE COAST- FUNK AND WAGNALS NEW STANDARD DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE - 1963
ALTHOUGH THE CONCEPT OF LEGBA VARIES IT BEGAN AS AN ANCESTRAL MEMORIAL DESIGNED TO MAINTAIN THE IGBO IDENTITY DURING TIMES WHEN TRHE IGBO DECLARED THEMSELVES TO BE IN A STATE OF SECRECY CALLED EGBA. LEGBA WAS NOT ONLY USED TO FEND OFF INVADING AFRICAN TRIBES BUT WAS ALSO ACTIVATED IN THE NEW WORLD TO COUNTER MODERN SLAVERY AND ITS ATTEMPTS TO WIPE OUT THE EGBA(igbo) IDENTITY OF THE CAPTIVES. THE DEITY LEGBA IS DESCRIBED IN YORUBA MYTHOLOGY AS THE DIVINE TRICKSTER WHO WIELDS GREAT POWER BECAUSE OF HIS ABILITY TO OUTWIT HIS FELLOW GODS. EVIDENCES OF LEGBA HAVE BEEN DOCUMENTED THROUGHOUT THE AMERICAS IN SUCH PLACES AS BRAZIL, GUIANA, TRINIDAD, HAITI AND NEW ORLEANS UNDER VARIOUS NAMES SUCH AS LEBBA, LEGBA, ELEGBARRA AND LIBA.
THE TERM ELEGBARRA OR LUGBARRA IS OF GREAT SIGNIFICANCE BECAUSE NOT ONLY DOES THE NAME APPEAR IN THE AMERICAS AMONGST THE EGBA SLAVES WHO ARE OF IGBO ORIGIN BUT IT IS ALSO THE NAME OF A TRIBE THAT LIVES IN SOUTHERN SUDAN AND NORTHERN UGANDA WHO ARE LIKEWISE RELATED TO THE IGBOS OF NIGERIA. WHEN TRAVELLING IN UGANDA I PERSONALLY MET A LUGBARRA MEDICAL DOCTOR WHO PREVIOUSLY STUDIED ALONGSIDE OF IGBOS FROM NIGERIA.THE LUGBARRA STATED THAT HE COULD UNDERSTAND MUCH OF THE IGBO LANGUAGE WHICH NATURALLY HAD MUCH IN COMMON WITH HIS OWN LUGBARRA TONGUE. THE DOCTOR WAS CONVINCED THAT THE LUGBARRA AND THE IGBO WERE DEFINITELY AKIN.THE LUGBARRA TRIBE LIVES ALONGSIDE OF AND ARE RELATED TO THE KAKWA TRIBE. IT IS FROM THE KAKWA THAT ACCOUNTS FOR THE USAGE OF KWA AMONGST THE IGBO. THIS INCLUDES BOTH THE IGBO AND EGBA LANGUAGES BEING CLASSIFIED AS KWA LANGUAGES AND SUCH NAMES AS THE KWA IBO RIVER.
IN 1967, HAITI BECAME THE ONLY COUNTRY OUTSIDE OF AFRICA TO RECOGNIZE BIAFRAN INDEPENDENCE.THIS WAS DUE TO THE HAITIANS MEMORY OF THEIR OWN IGBO REVOLUTIONARY PAST. THE NUMEROUS AND SUCCESSFUL SLAVE REVOLTS IN HAITI ARE CLEARLY ACKNOWLEDGED AND DOCUMENTED AS IGBO UPRISINGS, BUT YET WE FIND THE STRONGEST PRESENCE OF THE ANCESTRAL DEITY LEGBA AMONGST THE HAITIANS. IN HAITI LEGBA IS DESCRIBED AS THE MOST POWERFUL OF ALL OF THE LOA. HE IS THE GUARDIAN OF THE GATE BETWEEN THE MATERIAL AND SPIRITUAL WORLD. HE HAS GREAT WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE OF THE PAST AND THE FUTURE. EVERY RITUAL BEGINS WITH A SACRIFICE TO LEGBA. HE IS THE GUARDIAN OF THE SUN AND HIS COLOR IS BLACK. THE GUARDIAN OF THE SUN IS MOST LIKELY A CODE FOR THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN WHICH IS BIAFRA. IN SUMMARY THE SLAVES TAKEN TO THE AMERICAS AND CLASSIFIED AS YORUBA WERE EGBA MEANING IGBO.
___________________ Feel me? Ofu onye ana asi unu abia go. - Ednut Igbo-American . www.airamericaradio.com visit her. Posts: 2447 | From: Mother Earth | Registered: Mar 2001
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Ednut, This write up makes a lot of sense to me. This complements some research that I have made on this issue a few years ago.
I once confronted a Yoruba friend with these questions: Why is fair skin ONLY common within a particular Yoruba group? He did not know!
I also asked him, why is a certain Yoruba group known to be shrewd business men and women? He did not know! Strangely the 2 questions above applied to the same Yoruba group.
In Jamaica and in the Caribbean, it is in their slavery text books that Jamaicans are Ashanti’s. Ashanti’s in the Caribbean are also ascribed with the title 'warriors'. Now when you look at a Jamaican, they do not look anything like the Ashanti’s that I know. Ghanaians have quite strong defined features easily distinguishable from other West African groups. A full blooded Ghanaian will easily stand out from a Biafranigerian, Cameroonian, Niger, and Senegal etc. You can hardly ascribe the term 'Warrior' to Ashanti’s today. Now when you see Jamaicans on other hand, they do not look like Ashanti’s at all!!
Jamaica is one of the few Caribbean Islands that have not mixed up at lot unlike the other Islands like Trinidad. Haiti is also another Island that did not mix a lot with the other Islands. So whatever features Jamaicans had during slavery periods will still be very evident today.
So I surmise that Jamaicans are not Ashanti’s but Igbo and Ijebus are all Igbo too. Any contestants?? Posts: 27 | From: Onitsha | Registered: Mar 2003
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Another propaganda as usual. Not long ago, someone said that foreign police, in that case British, came to Nigeria to investigate the murder of a black boy whose torso was found in London. According to the person, it is the genetic code of the boy that pointed to the southern part of Nigeria. Who is ready to buy the that, that not only the genetic code of the Nigerians are different from that of Ghanaians, South Africans, Camerounians, etc, but that inside Nigeria a torso is believed to come from the south.
This is how Africans have been manipulated for centuries, but we have to inform the masses not to listen to those rubbish any longer. They are alll lies. To understand what happened in Africa a long time ago, it is enough to understand what is going on today in Africa, Middle East and the rest of the world.
Those who propagate the lies went to Iraq to destroy WMD whose photo was displayed to the members of the UN security council. In the textbooks that they would give to the Iraqi children, they affirm that they were liberators. The Iraqi who oppose to the occupation of their fatherland are terrorists. If we understood what happen in Iraq and in the Middle East, they we won't have any problems deducting what happened in Africa.
"Of course all the black Amaricans have Igbo origin, otherwise some of them won't be answering tundE." Who wants to change African history?
___________________ 1) Everything you can imagine is real->Picasso
2) They taught you the praises of their God, and these hosannas, when tuned into your sorrows, gave you the hope of a better world to come-->Patrice Lumumba Posts: 379 | Registered: Apr 2003
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The article is interesting that it is suggesting the influence of IGBO in Yoruba Egba people and other blacks in the new word.
The main way of establishing ethnic relations is language. In this context linguist has shown that the distance of separation between the Igbo people and the Yoruba people is about 7,000 years. Therefore given this, and the fact that the Angels (Anglo Saxons) are separated from the central European Germans in Germany at less than 2,000 years, then we most see that although the IGBO and Yoruba are related through the kwa group, these are now clearly different people. The confusion of the EGBA and IGBO is not very informative. In terms of the new world this confusion is clearly less helpful. Shango (the god of the Yorubas) dominate in Haiti and Brazil. The strongest IGBO presence is Jamaica where the IGBO word "Onu" is still used and by the Jamaicans. Therefore one can see that there was some Igbo definitely in this Island. And even within Jamaican, people of Igbo origin still use such names as "Ebo Peters". On the population of Igbo sold as slaves, this is far less than people suggested. The presumption was made that most peoples taken from the now south-south regions were Igbo because of the high population. This is wrong as a recent paper (haven't got the paper handy) suggests. DNA has allowed scientist to show that the wars in the middle belt, Kanuris and Hausa lands supplied the slave mistaken as Igbos. The Aros and Ijaws and other bought salves from Hausa traders - Hausa, kanuris, and middle belt slaves which emerge from the hinterland of Igboland and into place like Bonny (new Calabar) and old Calabar. On the more south west region the Yorubas wars supplied a great of slaves from Yoruba states internals wars and their attackers (Hausa invaders and dahomey).
The binis campaigned north into Yoruba land -viz. eko - and also other areas of mostly non Igbo regions.
Igbo land was mostly peaceful and controlled by stable groups, Bini empire - who did not allow slavery on their subjects even if IGBO. The NRI religious bond also meant that most Igbo cities were not prone to destructive wars. The Aro who were part of Igbo lineage and also did not want to weaken their late empire. Even Igala invaders were not prone to slavery because the northern Igbos were intermarried with the administrators of the Igala that were imposed on the Igbo - and in fact became absorbed.
Other slaves from east and south were transported from through Calabar and bonny and again mistaken as being Igbo because they were transported from a port in west Africa near the Igboland.
The American black is a great mixture of all sort and can not be classified as Igbo for the reasons given above.
The highest supplies of slaves are Yoruba given the strength of the Yoruba culture in the new world and dislocation associated with it and wars with other non Yoruba states.
___________________ Onye ji obuadana na aka fu Nmadu.
A battle was lost but the battles will go on until we win the war. Posts: 35 | From: azam | Registered: Mar 2003
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Mr Rufuku There are so many gaps and holes in your analysis. One thing you are correct on is the fact that American Blacks are mixture of all Africans.
However your attempt to diminish the number of Igbos that were sold into slavery have too much holes and gaps. You spoke of Middle belt and Igala. However you fail to state that, there has been evidence to prove that some Middle belters migretated from Nri which is the ancestral home of all the Igbos. Even today some Igbo traditions are still celebrated in some part of Benue state. There were Igbo Traders who migrated from Nri for trading purposes to Middle belt. You have also forgotten that most slaves shipped from Calaber and Bonny were predominantly Igbos, that is what gave rise to the name Mbanmiri as some Baylsan State are addressed.
Also King Jaja Of Opobo was an orlu born boy who escaped the slave ship, only to settle in Opobo and then became the king of Opobo. You jumped around so much in your analysis, that one needs a map to follow you. You also forgot that most of the people that settleed in Akwa Ibom of today, came from Aro. Even the Governor of Akwa Ibom alluded to that fact two years ago. Yes many Yorubas were sold into slavery because of notorious King Kosoko of Lagos, who was unrepentant and resisted every effort to stop slavery because of all the kick backs he was getting from the Europeans.
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These are indeed trying times. Times that try the very existence of mankind. Who will save us from ourselves???. Describing any filial consanguinity between the Yorubas of the SW and the Ibos of the SE is not only an attempt at discomposing and regale, but a dire expose of intellectual otiosity . This is a fraud as no known factual documentation of a relationship exists anywhere.
___________________ This war of attrition on the Igbo must end now! Posts: 441 | From: california, US | Registered: Jan 2003
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One thing that is becoming clear is that the original Yorubas are the descendants of a prodigal son of and Ihiagwa chief priest who migrated to Nri and then to Ijebu Igbo. Today, the leaders of Yorubaland are Ijebu Igbo people.
Posts: 162 | Registered: Mar 2001
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My analysis was not aimed at the migration of Igbo people in Nigeria people within Nigeria viz. Jaja.
I am challenging the hypothesis that if one is from the same Kwa groups that on is the same ethnic group. I then qualified this example by the Anglo-Saxon (English) and German illustration.
The issue, which you raised about the Igbo spread in Nigeria, is correct.
But the main direction of this article is to say that virtually all the Black slaves were Igbo. The original document published then went on a tangent to say that EGBA are Igbo. As well as Igbo appearing in Yoruba places such as Ijebu-Igbo, it appears in other southern Nigerian Kwa groups.
I am not retreating from the fact that Ancient IGBO were the original peoples of most of the areas of Nigeria, but people move. The Hungarians moved from the Asia to Europe in 10-12th century. The modern Igbo moved across the Niger to Anioma.
DNA evidence has shown that slavery is an African phenomenon. In the western African region, and in particular, Nigeria, the Yoruba suffered the most with slavery given that the wars. Culturally the fact that the Yoruba culture survived in the new world showed that the significant numbers of Yoruba were removed.
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