The Ottams were the aborigines of Opobo, they were Igbos.

well composed. nice info op

[b] The Nwaotam cult emerged from the deity of ancient Ibani people called the Ottam people. These people were brought in mostly to satisfy the Europeans’ quest for human commodities in the 18th and 19th century.

According to the memories of late captain High Crow of Liverpool (1791: P 201) who visited Bonny for trade, “the Ottam tribe are stout and robust and of a deeper black than any other tribes at Bonny. Their bodies and face are carved and tattooed in a frightful manner.”

The Ottams were not only notable for the worship of spirits they called ‘Mmoh’; but were also brought into Bonny as adults, therefore the description ‘Ottam Mmku’ was made popular in Bonny. It was also in this line, that their working strength, tribal marks and rascality gave them another local phrase, Ottam Ahiriha.

The Ibani tradition has it that the Nwa-Otam originated from a dark mythical grove in Mkpajekiri around Ohambele Ndoki. By this time, the Ndoki native, which included the Ottam tribes men, had started serving this ‘Mmoh’ gods believed to be heterosexual; and would organise dance during a season of the year. [/b]
http://www.opobiansindiaspora.org/opobo--culture.html

It is obvious that from the above historical narration that the Ottams were Igbos of Ndoki extraction, and that the only way Ijaws can lay claim to historical occupation of Opobo is by claiming the Ndoki as an Ijaw group.

And this they have been doing, albeit unsuccessfully.

Cos the Ndokis for all terms and purposes are essentially Igbo people that descended from the Ngwa group.

So, we can now understand why Ijaw expansionists like Barcanista and his alter ergo Ijaw citizen have had their eyes on Ndokiland since eternity.

It's all about the soul of Bonny and Opobo.

nairalandmaster:
well composed. nice info op

Are you stuck on replay or copy and paste..

So even a two line statement less than 30 words is well composed

SMH for you

Stop all these nonsense
Read here!
http://www.opobiansindiaspora.org/press-release.html

Its quite pathetic that barca would twist facts to serve his expansionist dreams
History has always the recorded that the Igwenga coastline were inhabited by people from the "Heebo" country as they do now and nothing would change that fact.
If Igbos were expansionist like land grabbing ijos claim,by now we'd ve been laying claims to all of Eastern ijaw bkos 80% of those people descended from Igbos!

pazienza:
It is obvious that from the above historical narration that the Ottams were Igbos of Ndoki extraction, and that the only way Ijaws can lay claim to historical occupation of Opobo is by claiming the Ndoki as an Ijaw group.

And this they have been doing, albeit unsuccessfully.

Cos the Ndokis for all terms and purposes are essentially Igbo people that descended from the Ngwa group.

you dey mind those nuisance..

anyway i dont take them serious again.. They should come to ndoki and repeats what they said online.

How can a whole ndoki be an ijaws?
This tonyebacanista guy is sick..
Stop taking ogogoro biko.

Warlord3000:



Are you stuck on replay or copy and paste..

So even a two line statement less than 30 words is well composed

SMH for you

That's not a human being. It's a spambot (a robot that has been programmed to spam the forum by posting the same message over and over). It only posts the same 5 or 6 messages, no matter what the thread is about.

Everyday, different versions of history pops up..............interesting times ahead!

Dear God, please find jobs for idle Nigerian youths so that they might stop fighting over irrelevances in Jesus name . Give them the spirit of sound mind and excellence, innovation and industry so that they might be leading lights of this age of GLOBALISATION instead of local champions of atavistic and primitive impulses in Jesus name.
Let them not repeat mistakes of their great grandparents but strive always for the light in Jesus name.
Jesus you know how the 18 year old Dutch kid travels alone on holidays throughout Europe making friends and expanding his consciousness. You see how the American kid goes on major sabbaticals throughout Mexico and the whole of S. America. That breadth and expansion of mind and more would be the portion of Nigerian youths in Jesus name.

Adminisher:
Dear God, please find jobs for idle Nigerian youths so that they might stop fighting over irrelevances in Jesus name . Give them the spirit of sound mind and excellence, innovation and industry so that they might be leading lights of this age of GLOBALISATION instead of local champions of atavistic and primitive impulses in Jesus name.
Let them not repeat mistakes of their great grandparents but strive always for the light in Jesus name.
Jesus you know how the 18 year old Dutch kid travels alone on holidays throughout Europe making friends and expanding his consciousness. You see how the American kid goes on major sabbaticals throughout Mexico and the whole of S. America. That breadth and expansion of mind and more would be the portion of Nigerian youths in Jesus name.

You've spoken so well bro

For your information, the ottam cult has the ottam priest as the head of ottam group which is ndoki, the Opobo and bonny were city states modelled in such a way that u have freedom of association. Nevertheless, trade brought lots of these people to the modernised city state. Also note that what is known as Nigeria today and the foundation started in Opobo and Bonny. The people of ottam were so few and always canoed back to their home in ndoki. The Ottam group was made popular by Opobo as King Jaja established Ejesilem which is lead by the Angel and Guidance of safe journey, guidance, healing and protection. Aside this group, we have other groups like Ugenenpka, Ufornogu etc
It should be on record that the indigenous people of opobo and bonny are Ibani ijaw people and not Igbos, just as ibibio people share same boundaries with Igbo communities and lots of Igbo villages were said to be established from or by men from ibibio in Akwa ibom state. Such clans or villages are as follows, Abriba- the most beautiful village in Igbo land, ohafia, Abam.
Enlightenment and education was brought to ohafia by a slave who served a great chief in Opobo town. Chief Oko Epelle, who was at that time in charge of Epelle Chiefdom and war canoe houses. The slave was release and on his getting home in Ebem ohafia could understand english language to the surprise of his people. He thus encouraged them to establish schools to pass to their children what he had learnt from Opobo town. The community came together and supported the project and teachers were sent from Opobo to pilot the school. The said slave negotiated with the British army who came to destroy the ohafia village for restricting them entrance and killing of missionaries with english language. He had to climb a tree with a white cloth in his hands waving to to approaching soldiers and such understanding prompted the British commander to stop knowing what that sign means. The young slave(ofcos released) came down for negotiation with english language. This singular act saved the Ohafia people from similar incident that happened in eddah where a whole community/village was levelled to the ground and plundered. Leaving the remnant to live in misery,poverty and dejection.
Opobo and Bonny kingdoms remains ijaw

It should be on record that the indigenous people of opobo and bonny are Ibani ijaw people and not Igbos

This is history revisionism. Before Jaja, another Igbo man led his band of Igbo slaves and Ijaw followers to Opobo from Bonny. The Ottams were already established in Opobo.

They were the aborigines of Opobo, and they were Ndokis of Igboland.

This is why Igbo language, and not Ijaw, remain the native language of Opobo.
Let that sink in.

The only way Opobo and Bonny gets to be an Ijaw kingdom, is if Ndokis become Ijaws. But like we have established, Ndokis remain ever proudly Igbo, and see Opobo and Bonny as their long lost brothers.

Opobo of today is a hybrid of Igbo, Ijaw and Ibibio people. But Igbos( Ottams) were the first to move in there.

The Ijaw expansionist plans to tie the heavy Igbo presence in Opobo and Bonny to Slavery is also part of their historical revisionism.

Opobo and Bonny people might be riverine in outlook today, but that is no impetus to tamper with history.

the people of bony

Dee pazienza,
Thanks for the enlightenment you gave with the link you posted.before I'd have been eager to give out bonny for not having Igbo origins but now never!
The UmuOtam people of bonny and opobo are Igbos and nothing would change that.barca in his arguments have even proven that to the discerning mind.
I urge Igbos to support those people in their quest to maintain their identity as Igbos

patrick89:
Stop all these nonsense
Read here!
http://www.opobiansindiaspora.org/press-release.html

They prefer their phantom brothers that resides in the SS and Niger Delta compared to reading to what the call themselves and how they wish to be addressed .

Sorry, they will never read that stuff and even if they do they will curse the 70 yr old monarch yama.

Truckpusher:
They prefer their phantom brothers that resides in the SS and Niger Delta compared to reading to what the call themselves and how they wish to be addressed .

Sorry, they will never read that stuff and even if they do they will curse the 70 yr old monarch yama.

Keep deceiving yourselves. After the Ijaws in Opobo failed attempt to dispose opobo off the tight fists of Jaja and his descendants, who are Igbos and owners of the kingdom citing useless and non existing minimah agreement.

You would think the Jajas don't know your agenda by now.
http://news.biafranigeriaworld.com/archive/2003/jun/11/004.html

“Opobo is not a traditional town as we know it. It is a Settlement founded by King Jaja, and remains his estate and that of his descendants”

No where in this article did they assert that Opobo and Bonny are from ndoki rather they said claims has it that ndoki people may be from Ibani tribe of ijaw.
"Nwaotam Masquerade In Opobo Kingdom

THE origin of Nwaotam Masquerade in Opobo Kingdom is traced to Ndoki people of South-eastern Nigeria in the present Abia State of Nigeria.

Traditions indicate that the Ndoki people have had long time relationships with the Ibani people of Bonny and Opobo. In fact, historical documents claim that the Ndoki founding fathers were migrants from Ijaw as the founding fathers of Bonny.

Apparently, since the founding of Bonny, the Ibani people have always travelled upstream through the Imo river to the Azumini area for trades, cultural and social interactions.

The Nwaotam cult emerged from the deity of ancient Ibani people called the Ottam people. These people were brought in mostly to satisfy the Europeans’ quest for human commodities in the 18th and 19th century.

According to the memories of late captain High Crow of Liverpool (1791: P 201) who visited Bonny for trade, “the Ottam tribe are stout and robust and of a deeper black than any other tribes at Bonny. Their bodies and face are carved and tattooed in a frightful manner.”

The Ottams were not only notable for the worship of spirits they called ‘Mmoh’; but were also brought into Bonny as adults, therefore the description  ‘Ottam Mmku’ was made popular in Bonny. It was also in this line, that their working strength, tribal marks and rascality gave them another local phrase, Ottam Ahiriha."

See how it was imported into Ibani ijaw

"The nucleus of the Nwaotam masquerade at that time metamorphosed into a cult, because this domestic deity at Ndoki had acquired a great deal of ritual authority. It was at these instances that Opobo people of the Captain Uranta family adopted the cult of Nwaotam called ‘Ntuma Mkpa’ and then ferried the male native original totem (mummified Nwaotam head) through Azumini river to Imo river, then to Queen town by 1920 on the authority and assistance of King Arthur Mac Pepple, the then Amanyenabo of Opobo kingdom."

I doubt it ooo, those people don't sound like Igbo.
I know igbos when I see them.

pazienza:
The Ottams were the aborigines of Opobo, they were Igbos.

Don't join Barcanista in misrepresentation of facts. Opobo and Bonny are mix of many ethnic groups including Igbo, Ibibio and Ijaw. However after long years of political intrigues, they seem to have leaned more on Ijaw. In essense they are Ijaw but the root of Opobo is undisputably Amaigbo in Imo State.

Abagworo:


Don't join Barcanista in misrepresentation of facts. Opobo and Bonny are mix of many ethnic groups including Igbo, Ibibio and Ijaw. However after long years of political intrigues, they seem to have leaned more on Ijaw. In essense they are Ijaw but the root of Opobo is undisputably Amaigbo in Imo State.

I know they are a hybrid today. But the group that first came to the land. must be established.

And that group is Ottam people, an Igbo speaking people from Ndoki.

Hw many people in Iboland answer Ijaw names like Tonye, Ibim, Ibiso et al.
Don't ever yu get it mixed up OP and his band of followers.
Opobo and Bonny are Ijaws and cannot be Igbo land. Never.
I don't want to even talk about this any further cos I see that yu Biafran/Igbo peeps won't stop with this delusion of urs.

I'm an Ijaw and frm Opobo/Bonny, I don't think their is any name in ma community or tradition that resembles that of the Igbo. The only thing I can think of is marriage between both tribes/region.

I say again, Opobo Town and Bonny are Ijaws and not Ibos.

.

stebell:
Hw many people in Iboland answer Ijaw names like Tonye, Ibim, Ibiso et al.
Don't ever yu get it mixed up OP and his band of followers.
Opobo and Bonny are Ijaws and cannot be Igbo land. Never.
I don't want to even talk about this any further cos I see that yu Biafran/Igbo peeps won't stop with this delusion of urs.

I'm an Ijaw and frm Opobo/Bonny, I don't think their is any name in ma community or tradition that resembles that of the Igbo. The only thing I can think of is marriage between both tribes/region.

I say again, Opobo Town and Bonny are Ijaws and not Ibos.

You can't be from Opobo and Bonny as the same time as they are 2 distant places from each other sharing similar ancestral patterns of origin.

menabadoo:
I doubt it ooo, those people don't sound like Igbo.
I know igbos when I see them.

have you heard any of their language from opobo man before?

menabadoo:
I doubt it ooo, those people don't sound like Igbo.
I know igbos when I see them.

You just need to hear them speak. The people of Opobo and Bonny all speak one native language - Igbo. No other language whatsoever do they speak in addition. Neighbouring towns surrounding Bonny may still speak Ibani but Bonny town proper speaks pure Igbo. The first Igbo bible was written in Bonny Igbo, and the dialect is notable for saying, 'ike m' for 'me' which funny enough means 'my buttocks' in other Igbo dialects and 'ike gi' for 'you/yours' which means 'your buttocks' in other Igbo dialects. Chinua Achebe, in one of his books, had written about a funny Igbo christian interpreter from a distant land to his town who was known for saying, 'ike m' and 'ie gi', which confused the people of his village. I guess he was referring to an Igbo interpreter from Bonny. Many of these people, though, bear 'Ibani' names such as Fiberesima etc. they barely know the meaning of in addition to Igbo names as well. They all practise Igbo customs, namely 'omugwo', and celebrate Igbo festivals they share in common with their Ndoki Igbo neighbours such as the Nwaotam festival. However, their dressing style is Rivers/Riverine style.

Also, parts of Okirika in Rivers state are also Igbo-speaking. Hilda Dokubo Mrakpor, the Nollywood actress, is a Rivers state indigene from Ogu-Bolo LGA who speaks fluent Igbo. Patience Jonathan is an Okirika woman who speaks Igbo as native language.

Ignore many things you read on nairaland. People just come on here to create false impressions about certain realities. All you need to do is visit these towns to verify for yourself.

stebell:
Hw many people in Iboland answer Ijaw names like Tonye, Ibim, Ibiso et al.
Don't ever yu get it mixed up OP and his band of followers.
Opobo and Bonny are Ijaws and cannot be Igbo land. Never.
I don't want to even talk about this any further cos I see that yu Biafran/Igbo peeps won't stop with this delusion of urs.

I'm an Ijaw and frm Opobo/Bonny, I don't think their is any name in ma community or tradition that resembles that of the Igbo. The only thing I can think of is marriage between both tribes/region.

I say again, Opobo Town and Bonny are Ijaws and not Ibos.

Charles (Charlie Boy) Oputa is from Oguta in IMO State. Is he Ijaw or Igbo? After you've answered that question, do a Facebook search with the name Oputa. You will discover that the majority of people with that name are from Bayelsa.

The question of ethnic identity is a bit more complex than some of you simplistically put it. Some communities may have people with diverse origins as inhabitants. I will rather go with what the inhabitants choose to call themselves than the opinion of outsiders.

Your attempt at concatenating Opobo with Bonny is misleading. Opobo and Bonny were not even in the same province before the creation of Rivers State. Opobo lands were acquired from the Obolo and belong to himself and his descendants.

King Jaja of Opobo! one of the few that resisted the British! A REAL MAN IN MY BOOK...

Abagworo:


Don't join Barcanista in misrepresentation of facts. Opobo and Bonny are mix of many ethnic groups including Igbo, Ibibio and Ijaw. However after long years of political intrigues, they seem to have leaned more on Ijaw. In essense they are Ijaw but the root of Opobo is undisputably Amaigbo in Imo State.

King jaja was adopted into an. Ijaw war canoe house as an ijaw after passing through the normal rites and ritual though he knew his root. He came into Opobo with other Ibani ijaw chiefs. King jaja was the beneficiary and not the originator