So in Ezi, we see the Ihite/Ifite and Ezi division of ancient Igbos towns.

Igboid:
The spam bot seem to be asleep tonite, I am tempted to post more. I just hope I don't get caught by the stupid spam bot

Bigfrancis21, you better be on hand to bail me out, if the spam bot strikes o! This my handle is important to me.

Lol. I got your back bro.

By the way, your write-up seems so familiar, like a well-known past nairalander under a new moniker. So tell me?

bigfrancis21:


Lol. I got your back bro.

By the way, your write-up seems so familiar, like a well-known past nairalander under a new moniker. So tell me?

Lol! Nnaa rapu Ife edelu na moto, bata na moto.

OBOMKPA
Obomkpa gives an entirely new perspective to the narrative. It says Ezechime was originally of Igbo origin from Ogidi. Yes, Igbo origin. Ogidi in this account is not the Ogidi in the present Anambra State. Rather, Ogidi is identified as an autochthonous West Igbo kingdom related to Ogidi on the other side of the Niger.

The narrative says that an Oba of Benin demanded for tributes from the vassal West Igbo chiefdoms. The ruler of Ogidi, Ezechime refused and for this reason the Oba declared war on Ogidi, his kingdom. After a long struggle, Ogidi was leveled and what was left of its population was deported to Benin (similar to the deportation policy of the old Babylonian Empire). In their captivity, Ezechime died of heart-break but his descendants and followers were conscious of the fact that they were never of Edo origin.

However, the Oba tried to assimilate them as Bini people. Some of Ezechime’s descendants were more receptive to this. But all of them plotted to escape from captivity. They in this narrative includes Ukpali, Onicha, Anagba (the founder of Obomkpa), and Ifite all children of Ezechime and other citizens of the vanquished Ogidi kingdom.

They left Benin on the day they agreed on but some of their relatives who had been more receptive to Benin Society reported them to the Oba. The Oba got angry and sent his soldiers after them. Anagba using his magic (for he was well versed in native medicine) used his astral powers and sensed the approaching Benin army and whisked his people far from them. They got to their old town of Ogidi. It has been taken over by forests and there was no incentive for them to remain together and for this reason each of them left to found their own settlement.

This was how the towns were dispersed.
Obamkpa accepts the seniority of Obior. But from the tussle-bound kingdoms of Obior, Onicha-Ugbo and Issele-Uku; the narrative is different. It rather identifies Anagba as a follower of Ezechime and not his son. They all agree that Anagba came from Nri or an eastern homeland. When HIS RELATIVE Ezechime died, Anagba decided to go back to his eastern homeland. But his wife was pregnant and for this reason, he decided to make a tent out of “Mkpa leaves”. This was how the name “Obamkpa” originated from.

Thus while an account suggests that Anagba was a follower of Ezechime; another indicates that he was related to Ezechime via blood and they descend from a West Igbo homeland.


Obamkpa has three villages of Ogbeobi, Ukpatu and Ogbeonei. Ugboba , now an autonomous town used to be a part of Obomkpa putting a question to the inclusion of Ugboba as part of Odiani clan rather than Ezechima clan. Another attached town to Obomkpa is the small town of Ogodor which is related to Ugboba. Both descend from people who came from Ishan-Edo land but have been fully absorbed as Igbo people.

1. This narrative is very interesting. Simply because it gives an authentic Igbo origin to Ezechime. It also gives an alternative explanation how the title of “Eze” came about . Since Obomkpa is not involved in such squabbles, her account could be less tainted with distortions.

This account confirms the documented narrative given by the American anthropologist, NW Thomas in his 1913 (earlier than any written account) work which suggested that Ezechime’s original homeland is somewhere between the present towns of Igbodo and Onicha-Ugbo(before these towns were founded there was a now extinct kingdom in the area). Could the now long extinct Ogidi kingdom lie somewhere between Onicha-Ugbo and Igbodo or somewhere in Enuani heartland?

There will be need to carry out massive excavation of the entire area to verify these claims. There is already such indication already. At Ashama (in Aniocha South), ancient mud sculptures which were sadly destroyed due to poor handling indicates that many of our towns had been founded in areas which had been occupied by extinct communities. Ubulu people talk of the extinct Ozalla people; Aboh talks of the confederation of the now extinct Ewelie people.

Ancient economic trees such as palm trees, kola nuts and so on were found in some of our jungles. These jungles were largely “claimed” in the twentieth century by farmers, nobody can really say who planted these trees.

It's also noteworthy that the historian, Prof Isichei noted in her book, that other versions suggesting a West Igbo homeland for the Umuezechima people actually exists and this narrative confirms it.

Also, in the Onitsha-Mmili narrative which we will treat later, it suggests that Chime was the king of a kingdom called “Ado” and after losing the war with the Oba of Benin, decided to leave the vanished Ado homeland to found a new kingdom along the Niger. Since Onitsha is near the eastern Niger Ogidi, there will be naturally that tendency to talk of an ancient “Ado” kingdom rather than an ancient “Ogidi” kingdom. If they had stuck to Ogidi like Obomkpa, it would make them appear “inferior” to a “less civilized” neighbouring town of Ogidi.

OP PERSPECTIVE

This Obamkpa's perspective, is not far from the truth.

I had always maintained that ancient Bini had indigenous Igbo people Resident thereof.

An Igbo people who though assimilated partially as Bini people, by imbibing Bini political systems and some Bini names( probably from marrying Bini women) but stuck unto their Igbo core and language.

This will explain why we had so called Bini founders of Igbo speaking towns answering Igbo names like Ezechime, Akalaka, etc from the onset. And even when they had edoid ones, they end up giving their children Igbo names, like in the case of Esumai and his son Ogwaezi, and even giving their new established towns Igbo names, using the Igbo prefix of "Umu" and not Edo "Omo", it's obvious they were all Igbo speaking.

The pure Edo speaking non Igbo ones who are actually of Edo origin, like Oza Nogonogo people of Agbor, still speak an Edoid language till today despite centuries of being part of an Igbo speaking Agbor town, and the Yoruboid ones in Ugbodu, Ukwunzu and the Rest, still retained their native Yoruboid language, they never threw them away totally for Igbo dialects. The Igala ones in Ebu, still speaks Igala.

It is true that the Igbo speaking parts Delta were Igbo speaking even when they were in Bini, the Obamkpa's story of captivity in Bini fits into this plot perfectly, this is a logical and rational conclusion.

Hmmm. Some observations:

1. The 'Ushi' mentioned in the Ezi traditions. Could this be a corruption of Nshi, and could this tradition be a reference to connections with the Nri?

2. The Ogidi mentioned in Obamkpa traditions. My immediate reaction on reading that part is that yet again we have some indication that Ezechime may have come from Agbor (as I have always believed and as Agbor have always claimed).

Both Agbor and Benin tradition claim that an older name for Agbor was Igidi. The name was supposedly changed to Agbor sometime circa the late sixteenth century, following a Bini attack on Agbor in the time of Oba Ehengbuda, led by the general Agban.

This attack may be the same one referred to in Obamkpa tradition, which according to Obamkpa, led to the destruction of Ogidi (Igidi?) and the exiling of Ezechime to Benin.

Perhaps the attack did not quite lead to a total destruction of this West Igbo Kingdom (Ogidi = Igidi?) as Obamkpa would want us to think, and the people were able to rebuild their town with a name (Agbor).

Igboid:

OP PERSPECTIVE

This Obamkpa's perspective, is not far from the truth.

I had always maintained that ancient Bini had indigenous Igbo people Resident thereof.

An Igbo people who though assimilated partially as Bini people, by imbibing Bini political systems and some Bini names( probably from marrying Bini women) but stuck unto their Igbo core and language.

This will explain why we had so called Bini founders of Igbo speaking towns answering Igbo names like Ezechime, Akalaka, etc from the onset. And even when they had edoid ones, they end up giving their children Igbo names, like in the case of Esumai and his son Ogwaezi, and even giving their new established towns Igbo names, using the Igbo prefix of "Umu" and not Edo "Omo", it's obvious they were all Igbo speaking.

The pure Edo speaking non Igbo ones who are actually of Edo origin, like Oza Nogonogo people of Agbor, still speak an Edoid language till today despite centuries of being part of an Igbo speaking Agbor town, and the Yoruboid ones in Ugbodu, Ukwunzu and the Rest, still retained their native Yoruboid language, they never threw them away totally for Igbo dialects. The Igala ones in Ebu, still speaks Igala.

It is true that the Igbo speaking parts Delta were Igbo speaking even when they were in Bini, the Obamkpa's story of captivity in Bini fits into this plot perfectly, this is a logical and rational conclusion.

you Op, where are you from?

AjaanaOka:
Hmmm. Some observations:

1. The 'Ushi' mentioned in the Ezi traditions. Could this be a corruption of Nshi, and could this tradition be a reference to connections with the Nri?

2. The Ogidi mentioned in Obamkpa traditions. My immediate reaction on reading that part is that yet again we have some indication that Ezechime may have come from Agbor (as I have always believed and as Agbor have always claimed).

Both Agbor and Benin tradition claim that an older name for Agbor was Igidi. The name was supposedly changed to Agbor sometime circa the late sixteenth century, following a Bini attack on Agbor in the time of Oba Ehengbuda, led by the general Agban.

This attack may be the same one referred to in Obamkpa tradition, which according to Obamkpa, led to the destruction of Ogidi (Igidi?) and the exiling of Ezechime to Benin.

Perhaps the attack did not quite lead to a total destruction of this West Igbo Kingdom (Ogidi = Igidi?) as Obamkpa would want us to think, and the people were able to rebuild their town with a name (Agbor).

Interesting perspective, I am hearing of this Igidi part. This Igidi part throws up even more questions.

Yes, Ushi do sound like Nshi, you have a point there.

chukzyblingz:
you Op, where are you from?

SE. Any problem?

bigfrancis21:


Lol. I got your back bro.

By the way, your write-up seems so familiar, like a well-known past nairalander under a new moniker. So tell me?

Big Francis, I traced you here... Please can you give me a guess of what a GP of 3.28 will be on the WES conversion. Thanks.

Trapping:



Big Francis, I traced you here... Please can you give me a guess of what a GP of 3.28 will be on the WES conversion. Thanks.

Hey there, 3.28 will be between 3.30 to 3.40 over 4 points.

bigfrancis21:


Hey there, 3.28 will be between 3.30 to 3.40 over 4 points.

Oh oh, I tot it would reduce to something like 3.1... Well, thanks for the info

I just came across Akwaibom for Biafra on facebook I check their names I can see Igbo names,never knew they are from Akwaibom till I came across a thread people introduce themselves and which local government they came from check the page out

Where is the Agbor and Aboh version?