Origin of the word " Oyibo "

Oyibo or Oyinbo is a word used in Nigerian Pidgin, Igbo and Y‎oruba to refer to westernized people. ‎In Nigeria, it is generally used to refer to a person of European descent or people perceived to not be culturally African. The word is pronounced ‎oyinbo ‎ in Yoruba speaking areas and oyibo ‎ in Igbo language. Both terms are valid in Pidgin English.

How The Word Evolved ‎

The origin of the word is difficult to ascertain. It is believed that the name is coined from the Yoruba translation of “peeled skin” or “skinless,” which, in Yoruba, translates to “yin” – scratch “bo” – off/peel; the "O" starting the word "Oyinbo" is a pronoun. Hence, "Oyinbo" literally translates to "the man with a peeled off skin". ‎Other variations of the term in Yoruba language include: Eyinbo, which is usually shorted as "Eebo". ‎

In Igbo language, demonym takes the form “onye” + “place of origin.” Hence, whereas an Igbo person is called “onye Igbo,” a Yoruba is called “Onye Yoruba” and a German “onye Germany.” Thus, the first white people were called either “onye ocha” (singular) or “ndi ocha” (plural), for “white person” and “white people,” respectively. This was because the Igbos of those days did not know from where the white people came. Interaction between the Igbos and the white people resulted in the white people trying to refer to the Igbos with a name similar to what the Igbos called them but there was a problem in pronouncing Igbo words due to the presence of double lettered alphabets, which involve nasal pronunciation, in some of the consonants, such as 'ch', 'gb', 'gh', 'gw', 'kp', 'kw', 'nw', 'ny', 'sh'. These were not present in the English language, hence the difficulty in the European man's effort in giving the Igbos a similar demonym as the Igbo people had given to him, instead a name resulting from a mutilation of Igbo words was produced "Oyi ibo' instead of " onyi igbo' meaning 'Igbo person' just as he 'the white man' was called ' onye ocha' meaning 'white person'. It was this 'oyi ibo' that the Igbos later started referring to as 'white person' in a way of mocking the white man for his inability in saying "Onye Igbo". This would later be adopted by other Southern Nigerian tribes as the standard name for the white man and coupled with dialect variance one obtains different pronunciations such as "Oyinbo' in Yoruba and other western Nigerian tribes. Also, 'Oyibo' means English Language in Igbo. In general usage, it may refer to individuals with various skin complaints such as vitiligo or genetic conditions such as albinism. ‎

Oyibo is also used in reference to people who are foreign or Europeanised, including Saros in the Igbo towns of Port Harcourt, Onitsha and Enugu in the late 19th and early 20th century. ‎Sierra Leonean missionaries, according to Ajayi Crowther, a Yoruba, and John Taylor, an Igbo, descendants of repatriated slaves, were referred to as oyibo ojii (Igbo: black foreigners) or "native foreigners" by the people of Onitsha in the late 19th century.‎

Olaudah Equiano, an African abolitionist, claimed in his 1789 ‎narrative that the people in Essaka, Igboland, where he claimed to be from, had used the term Oye-Eboe in reference to "red men living at a distance" which may possibly be an earlier version ofoyibo. Equiano's use of Oye-Eboe, however, was in reference to other Africans and not white men.‎ Gloria Chuku suggests that Equiano's use of Oye-Eboe is not linked to oyibo, and that it is a reference to the generic term Onitsha and other more westerly ‎Igbo people referred to other Igbo people. ‎R. A. K. Oldfield, a European, while on the Niger River near Aboh in 1832 had recorded locals calling out to him and his entourage "Oh, Eboe! Oh, Eboe!" meaning "White man, White man!" linked to modern 'oyibo'. ‎

The word may also be said to be a corruption of the Edo word ‘ovbiebo,’ a blend of two words: ‘ovbi,’ meaning ‘child’ or ‘indigene,’ and ‘ebo,’ the Edo word for Caucasian. Other southern Nigerian tribes may have found it difficult to pronounce the ‘vbi’ consonant, corrupting ‘vbi’ to ‘yi’ or ‘yin,' with 'oyibo' and 'oyinbo' eventually coming to replace the original Edo coinage.



Culled from Wikipedia 


https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oyibo

Interesting

Two different southern languages with the same logodaedaly from different etymology at different time.

This is sensible not those nonsense usually pushed to the FP.... Lalasticlala! I can sue you if this does not make it to the FP oooooooooooooo because if the VP can be sued for acting capacity based on the last message dropped by PMB then you're no exception

Quite informative

Some parts of Igboland don't call white people Oyibo, they use Bekee.
So that Igbo explanation kinda does not make sense, as it actually does sound like something that was "cooked" or made up.

Also the Intonation of Onye Ibo or Onye Igbo is quite different from the way Oyibo is being pronounced in Nigeria today. The word (Igbo) has two falling tones on I and O, While the 'ibo' in Oyibo has a falling I and a rising O. which is exactly the same as it is pronounced in Yoruba. Òyìnbó

Besides the PROPER Igbo word for white people is "Ndi Ocha" not Oyibo. You can never find the word Oyibo when you are having a deep Igbo conversation. Whereas even conc Yoruba people use Oyinbo in everyday speech and formalized academic literature.

The Wikipedia Igbo page for whites for example, has the title "Ndi Ocha"
https://ig.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ndi_ocha

The Yoruba Wikipedia page for whites has the title "Awon Oyinbo"
https://yo.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%80w%E1%BB%8Dn_%C3%B2y%C3%ACnb%C3%B3

Even today, the Yoruba word for "Body Bleaching" is still "Bo-ra" Bora from Bo - peel, Ara - body.

AbakalikiPress:
Some parts of Igboland don't call white people Oyibo, they use Bekee.
So that explanation kinda does not make sense.

Also the Igbos that do use it, why don't they use Onyigbo or Onyebo if the words actually came from Onye Igbo?

Besides the PROPER Igbo word for white people is "Ndi Ocha" not Oyibo. You can never find the word Oyibo when you are having a deep Igbo conversation. Whereas even conc Yoruba people use Oyinbo in everyday speech and formalized academic literature.





The Wikipedia Igbo page for whites for example, has the title "Ndi Ocha"
https://ig.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ndi_ocha

The Yoruba Wikipedia page for whites has the title "Awon Oyinbo"
https://yo.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%80w%E1%BB%8Dn_%C3%B2y%C3%ACnb%C3%B3

It's obvious you read the article for reading sake. Next time don't read just for reading sake, you read to understand.

As at the time your message came, tho fon hoho!
Trust you're doing well too bro!

YourNemesis:


A fon ganji a? Semasir my egun friend.

The word Oyinbo actually came into other Nigerian Languages from Yoruba.

We could just agree that oyibo is Igbo and oyinbo is Yoruba. Both etymologies have convincing enough theories and one didn't have to copy from the other.

Hmm

Interesting piece

dis is indeed a loooooooooooong story

Would have made a 3rd class in the university if I could read this long Epistle


Can someone summarise in two sentences

But OP, why did you choose to use white *fat* women up there to illustrate .



Nice...but to be honest, I dont buy those explanations.

Informative.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN_nuGEDPxM

...so okoro cha means white man?still wonder how these words and languages came about

I can't wait for the physicist to start his own.

ebo

Oyinbo is a Yoruba word,

ajayi crowther compiled the Yoruba dictionary in 1852

And it was regarded as a Yoruba word.

Igbo dictionary was compiled by Ajayi crowther in 1857

AbakalikiPress:
Some parts of Igboland don't call white people Oyibo, they use Bekee.
So that explanation kinda does not make sense.

Also the Igbos that do use it, why don't they use Onyigbo or Onyebo if the words actually came from Onye Igbo?

Besides the PROPER Igbo word for white people is "Ndi Ocha" not Oyibo. You can never find the word Oyibo when you are having a deep Igbo conversation. Whereas even conc Yoruba people use Oyinbo in everyday speech and formalized academic literature.

The Wikipedia Igbo page for whites for example, has the title "Ndi Ocha"
https://ig.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ndi_ocha

The Yoruba Wikipedia page for whites has the title "Awon Oyinbo"
https://yo.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%80w%E1%BB%8Dn_%C3%B2y%C3%ACnb%C3%B3

You are very wrong to say majority of igbos dont use "oyibo" cós they do .
The Word "obodo oyibo" for instance ,is very commonly used to refer to Foreign lands or the western world

AbakalikiPress:
Some parts of Igboland don't call white people Oyibo, they use Bekee.
So that explanation kinda does not make sense.

Also the Igbos that do use it, why don't they use Onyigbo or Onyebo if the words actually came from Onye Igbo?

Besides the PROPER Igbo word for white people is "Ndi Ocha" not Oyibo. You can never find the word Oyibo when you are having a deep Igbo conversation. Whereas even conc Yoruba people use Oyinbo in everyday speech and formalized academic literature.

The Wikipedia Igbo page for whites for example, has the title "Ndi Ocha"
https://ig.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ndi_ocha

The Yoruba Wikipedia page for whites has the title "Awon Oyinbo"
https://yo.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%80w%E1%BB%8Dn_%C3%B2y%C3%ACnb%C3%B3

Oyinbo is an adulterated version of the word "Onyebo" which in itself was a mockery of the white mans inability to pronounce IGBO or Onye IGBO. They pronounced it as EBO.

AbakalikiPress:
Some parts of Igboland don't call white people Oyibo, they use Bekee.
So that explanation kinda does not make sense.

Also the Igbos that do use it, why don't they use Onyigbo or Onyebo if the words actually came from Onye Igbo?

Besides the PROPER Igbo word for white people is "Ndi Ocha" not Oyibo. You can never find the word Oyibo when you are having a deep Igbo conversation. Whereas even conc Yoruba people use Oyinbo in everyday speech and formalized academic literature.

The Wikipedia Igbo page for whites for example, has the title "Ndi Ocha"
https://ig.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ndi_ocha

The Yoruba Wikipedia page for whites has the title "Awon Oyinbo"
https://yo.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%80w%E1%BB%8Dn_%C3%B2y%C3%ACnb%C3%B3

em ok, which part of igboland do use oyibo and who will be saying bekee then

Benekruku:
Would have made a 3rd class in the university if I could read this long Epistle


Can someone summarise in two sentences

OP don talk say the word might be Yoruba, Igbo or Edo.

oya. let's go there. oyinbo pepper nko. chukuchuku pepper