Notes on the Ibo Country, Southern Nigeria
G. T. Basden (1925)


The origin of the word Ibo is obscure. In the records of the early explorers we do not meet with the name. The country on the left bank of the Lower Niger was spoken of as Elu-Ugwu, which simply indicates "high land "(hill). That on the right bank was called Ado, and this rather refers to Benin. There was a small town between Onitsha and Idah called Igbo, but this could hardly have supplied the name by which the whole country is known. The name was, doubtless, first met with at Onitsha. The people of this town claim to have come from the western side of the Niger, and some of the leading families state that they are of Bini stock. These people designate all the eastern hinterland as Ibo, and the western side of the river as Enu-Ani. The word is now usually spelt and pronounced Ibo, but to the native it is Igbo, the gb being used as an explosive sound.

The people of Aboh use two words for the Ibo Country, Elu-Ugwu and Isu-Ama. In the use of the former we may note that the men of Awka, a town lying 20 miles due east of Onitsha, claim to be "brothers "of the Aboh people, and one has heard it asserted that there the pure Ibo language is spoken. This claim receives some support from the tradition that a certain king of Aboh, being desirous of evading death, visited a famous shrine in Elu-Ugwu to inquire by what means he might live for ever. It is very probable that the idea of such a pilgrimage was put into his mind by a travelling smith from Awka, who also acted as an agent for the Oracle (Abwala) of his town.

ChinenyeN:
The use of Eboe/Heebo is noted in the 18th century. No one knows for sure if such is mentioned before the 18th century, and we can't really say, since we don't really note documentation of Eboe/Heebo at that time, but we begin noticing it in the 18th century, and by the 19th century, Europeans had begun extensively writing on 'Eboe'/'Heebo' people. We also note that at this time (18th/19th century), Arochukwu had gotten into the slave business and had begun raiding northern Igbo (Eboe/Heebo) communities, selling them to Bonny and Calabar. These 'Eboe'/'Heebo' people were then sent to Freetown, Sierre Leone.

ChinenyeN:
Now, for the Ngwa, early journals and documentation specifically note 'Ungua' or 'Carabali Ungua'. The Ngwa, along with other southern groups like Echee, were all referred to as 'Carabali' not 'Eboe'/'Heebo', and were sold and sent to Havana, Cuba at around the 17th century.

ChinenyeN:

The 'Eboe'/'Heebo' though, noted around the 18th century were sent to Freetown, Sierre Leone. Many ['Eboe'/'Heebo'] were also sent to the British Colonies and the West Indies. It is there at Sierre Leone that you see the name 'Ibo Town'. You don't note such in Havana, Cuba though. You also hear of Ibo landing in Georgia. No such reference though is made in Havana, Cuba. Haitians in the West Indies also have a song in which they deify their respective groups, and in one such deification you hear of 'Igbo'. All these places which feature the use of 'Igbo' had slaves who primarily/predominantly originated from 'Eboe'/'Heebo' (northern Igbo people/hinterland) areas. But amongst the earlier 'Carabali' slave groups (composed primarily of southern Igbo people), you do not hear of the 'Eboe'/'Heebo', and as such, you do not hear of things such as an 'Ibo Town' in Havana, or other things which refer to 'Ibo'.

ChinenyeN:
Going back to present day Nigeria, hinterland (northern Igbo people) 'Eboe'/'Heebo' slaves had begun populating Bonny, and it is during this time (the 19th century) that you begin to notice European visitors (like Captain Hugh Crow) referring to Bonny as Eboe/Heebo (this is because of the significant number of hinterland Eboe/Heebo slaves). Before then (before the 19th century), Bonny had only been known to Europeans as Kuleba, Okuloma, Obani, Bany, and Bonny.

ChinenyeN:
By this time also (19th century), Ibo Town in Sierra Leone was established. It was there at Ibo Town, Sierra Leone that people like Crowther (the Yoruba man who is well-known for promoting written Igbo, specifically the Isuama-centered one) learned of the word 'Ibo' and began applying it to everyone who sounded like the 'Eboe'/'Heebo' (i.e. the Isuama and other northern Igbo groups).

ChinenyeN:
Then by the 20th century, what we now know as 'Igboland' was called 'Ibo country', by Europeans, and the groups of 'Ibo country' were called 'Ibo-speaking' (note, they were not called 'Ibo' per se, just 'Ibo speaking'). This was so for two reasons, 1) when the Europeans came and began propagating 'Ibo' throughout Igboland, they came to find out that various/many groups in the area denied that they were 'Ibo', though 2) they all spoke something similar with the 'Ibo' of 'Ibo Town', Sierra Leone (making them Ibo-speaking). Then, by the mid-20th century, 'Igbo' had accepted the European use of 'Ibo', and by the 1960s the 'Igbo' themselves began perpetuating it by publishing material on the 'Igbo' people, 'Igbo' language, and 'Igbo' culture. No such material existed before the mid-20th century though.

PhysicsMHD:


. If states are to be made perfectly ethnically/linguistically homogeneous, and new states were made, would they be considered Ika or something else?

I think they are actually Bini,

ChinenyeN:

Like I stated earlier, Ezeagu, its the HOW. People get so caught up on the HOW. The HOW is always debatable, and the HOW is not even the point I've been trying to make. Instead, the [i]only [/i]point I've been trying to make is the WHAT, and that WHAT is very simple. 'Igbo' is a northern/western word. It belongs to the northern/western Igbo cultural area, not the south, and Europeans simply took that word and applied it to both the northern/western and southern/eastern groups. Europeans crafted 'Igbo' identity, as we know it. That is the only point I've been making here, and that is something we can all agree on. Details though, are left for the debatable HOW.

ChinenyeN:
Also, when the slave trade shifted from Bonny/Kalabari to Arochukwu, the raid for slaves was concentrated more the northern cultural area, not southern.

ChinenyeN:
Most slaves came from northern Igbo cultural area.

lakal:

I'm not really in your debate, but I like historical topics such as the origins of the term "Igbo."

Basden, which I cited earlier, seems to support Chinenye's Northern/Western Hypothesis:


The origin of  the  word  Ibo  is  obscure.  In  the  records  of  the early explorers  we  do  not  meet  with  the  name.  The country on  the  left  bank of  the  Lower  Niger  was spoken of  as  Elu-Ugwu,  which simply indicates  "high land "(hill).  That  on  the right  bank  was  called  Ado,  and  this rather  refers  to  Benin.  There  was  a  small  town  between  Onitsha  and Idah  called Igbo,  but  this  could  hardly  have supplied the  name  by  which the  whole country is  known.  The  name  was,  doubtless, first  met  with  at Onitsha.  The  people of  this  town  claim  to  have  come  from  the  western side  of  the  Niger, and  some  of  the leading families  state  that they are  of Bini  stock.  Thes[b]e  people  designate all  the  eastern  hinterland  as Ibo, and  the  western  side  of  the  river  as  Enu-Ani. [/b] The  word  is  now  usually spelt and  pronounced  Ibo,  but  to  the  native  it  is Igbo, the gb  being used  as  an explosive sound.

ezeagu:

You're going to have to explain how Europeans crafted Igbo identity with convincing evidence for people to understand where the word Igbo came from and how it spread. The fact that Igbo is a northern word is not significant in the argument for Europeans crafting the Igbo identity, this is what people have a problem with, the idea that Europeans made Igbo people Igbo. Aside from the other reasons for why this fact is not significant, one would be that we already know many things from the northern groups have become rooted into the cultures and identities of the southern and western Igbo cultures which was done before Europeans crossed the Ocean.

ezeagu:

The Northern parts that Arochukwu had deals with raiders was with the Nike lands,

ezeagu:

apart from that Onicha was the only significant trading post for slaves in the northern areas, and then we come into the south with large slave trading areas like Nkwerre, and other groups like those around Umuahia, Uzuakoli, Ngwa, in short, most of the communities along the long slave route that can be seen stretching through Abia and Rivers today.

ezeagu:

Southern groups were not afraid to involve themselves in slave trading (and raiding), why should the slave traders waste their time travelling up to the north when they can get their slaves from the southern groups. Where were most of Aro's victims from?

lakal:

(Is Enuani similar to the term "Olu" that is used in 'Olu na Igbo bu nwanne?')

ChinenyeN:

Again with the HOW. Details upon details which will forever be debatable. You know what, overthinking leads to useless debates. Follow the simple line of deduction. 'Igbo' is a northern/western word, not southern. If Europeans came across the word, then it means that they also came across northern/western Igbo slaves. Simple. How is that so difficult to grasp?

ChinenyeN:

First of all, those 'long slave routes' are the result of connecting once unconnected trade markets. To put it simply, before the routes became 'long slave routes', they were trade market routes, largely unconnected. For instance, before the Aro had become particularly involved in the slave trade, Ngwa markets were localized and leaning toward what is now known as Rivers state. Basically, Ngwa had market routes to the coast, and aside form Umuahia people, who more or less acted as middlemen traders for the Ngwa and groups further north, Ngwa was largely disconnected from other Igbo markets. It was like this until finally, Arochukwu, through the Okonko society, connected Ngwa markets along the 'long slave route' that you mentioned.

ChinenyeN:

Look, all these details (the HOW, which we can forever argue about) do not invalidate the fact that 'Igbo' as we know largely owes itself to European contact (which is the main thing I'm saying/asserting here).

lakal:

Ezeagu, what is noted here is how the Onitshas conceived of the Igbo speaking world:  the people of the East bank were Igbo, and the People of the West bank (but also including themselves) were Enuani people.  The term Enuani is still in existence, as is Igbo.  (Is Enuani similar to the term "Olu" that is used in 'Olu na Igbo bu nwanne?')

Other sources also mentioned how the Onitshas historically looked down on the people that they termed "Igbo," as did some of the other Enuani people, such as the Ikas.  (Similar to how Oyo Yorubas looked down on non-Oyos)

ChinenyeN:

No. Enuani and Oru (Olu) people are not the same. Enuani are western Igbo cultural area, and Oru are Riverine Igbo cultural area.

ezeagu:

What I'm saying is that you're going to have to explain yourself when you say the 'Europeans crafted Igbo identity' or the slaves were from the northern Igbolands because they identified as Igbo (even when some southern groups include Igbo in their origin stories) because they are statements that you have to understand before agreeing and moving on to whatever other points there are.

ezeagu:

This is true, but it is different from saying that Europeans crafted the Igbo identity or that southern and northern slaves were split between Igbo (north) and then different clans (south).

ezeagu:

I think he's talking about people from what is now spelt 'Orlu' or people near the Niger.

ChinenyeN:

No. Enuani and Oru (Olu) people are not the same. Enuani are western Igbo cultural area, and Oru are Riverine Igbo cultural area.

ChinenyeN:
Oh okay. Now I get what you're saying. I thought I was making the same point, but I guess I had an issue with syntax; my wording. In that case then, I can rephrase, but I'm still only saying one thing (the same thing I've been saying from the beginning), we largely have Europeans to thank for our current 'Igbo' identity.

ChinenyeN:

You know, until now, I never quite realized the extend of Isu expansion. In fact, now that I think about it, it seems to me that we may actually have the Isu to thank for the general level of cultural uniformity we see throughout Igboland, and not the Nri, as many seem to think.

agbotaen:

if you are not from agbor , please dont claim agbor , the closest neighbour are agbor , owa and abavo . igbodo is about 30 miles from these places . igbodo is the last ika town and they are near aniocha area and most of their people migrated from igboland, we do not consider them core ikas as they are at the extreme and their ideology is usually different from ours.and even their ika is also different.
   ika people have just lunched the new testament in ika language last month and they are working on producing the whole bible in ika language.
2. ika people have their socio- cultural group called onu /ogua ika .
3.we are ika people we are not igbo and neither are we benin.
4.  i am from owa kingdom -the vast majority of core ikas such as agbor, owa, abavo,idumuesah, ute-okpu, otolokpo always consider themselves ika , but those communities near aniocha some times see themselves as igbo , so we  usually consider them non core ika , and their culture too is usuall aniocha culture.

1)I am beginning to like Physics MHD, He is a brilliant chap, First of all the absence from this post was unplanned.I was engaged with other issues.Good, for reading the UNDP report on the Niger Delta.I find it funny to make quotes from the publication, I made references to in the first instance, I have read it thoroughly, The primary reason for the response that Edo is poor is when you came up with the story of a "paradise" which is insultive to me and the entire Anioma people.I also hoped you saw from the statistics attested by the United Nations that the Human Development Index of Aniomaland is ahead of Beninland despite the fact that Benin has a larger urban population which should have been a justification for a better performance.I need to remind you that Delta was ranked first and Aniomaland lead the state in all parameters considered.

2)On the issue of slavery, You are just trying to be diplomatic abt that fact.Edo was a slave in the palace.There was nothing like servants like we have it today.OK, he was a servant , so what was his roots, to which family in Benin did he belong because every Edo man belongs to a family as reflected in their morning greetings, You belong to one.Which of these did the palace servant EDO hail from ? You have displayed much here and I am expecting an answer.Methinks , he was a slave , though for ethnic pride which is the feature of every Edo native has blinded you from seeing the fact.

agbotaen:

if you are not from agbor , please dont claim agbor , the closest neighbour are agbor , owa and abavo . igbodo is about 30 miles from these places . igbodo is the last ika town and they are near aniocha area and most of their people migrated from igboland, we do not consider them core ikas as they are at the extreme and their ideology is usually different from ours.and even their ika is also different.
ika people have just lunched the new testament in ika language last month and they are working on producing the whole bible in ika language.
2. ika people have their socio- cultural group called onu /ogua ika .
3.we are ika people we are not igbo and neither are we benin.
4. i am from owa kingdom -the vast majority of core ikas such as agbor, owa, abavo,idumuesah, ute-okpu, otolokpo always consider themselves ika , but those communities near aniocha some times see themselves as igbo , so we usually consider them non core ika , and their culture too is usuall aniocha culture.