http://www.ikaworld.com/index.php?mod=article&cat=IkaHistoryamp;Tradition&article=207

Ika was used by Forde and Jones (1967) to represent the inland parts of the four groups that make up the western Igbo group (Aniocha, Oshimili, Ika and Ukwuani)


There has been no reliable documentation or account of such pattern of formation of kingdoms in the Ika area. There is no word in Ika language for 'kingdom' the closest word is ali (land). The different Ika clans, refer to the physical area or territory they occupy as ali, e.g. ali Owa, ali Abavo e.t.c. However, among each Ika clan people do not perceive their physical land space as being separate from the people and their ancestors. Although there is a coinage such as ali eze (King's land) it still is not the equivalent of kingdom. Each of the Ika clans refer to themselves as nmu nne (siblings). For instance the members Abavo clan refer to themselves as nmu Abavo (children of Abavo) based on their belief in a common lineage of descent, which unites all the villages that make up ali Abavo (abavo clan). This applies to all the eleven Ika clans with or without kings.



Owa has its origin in Nri, Northern Igbo (Forde and Jones 1967 and Isichei 1983). The founder of Oyibu village (also know as Owa Oyibu) was Odogu son of Ijie of Ute-Okpu (another Ika clan) who is from Nri (Northern Igbo) while "the other villages found in Owa clan are derived from Benin or other Agbor groups" (Forde and Jones 1967: 47). Oyibu village is the political centre of the Owa clan.

Abagworo:
There is no word in Ika language for 'kingdom' the closest word is ali (land).

I find it intriguing how the Ika say ali for land. Being Western Igbo, you'd expect them to say either ani or ana, but instead they say ali just like the Cross Riverian Igbo on the opposite side of Igboland.

odumchi:

I find it intriguing how the Ika say ali for land. Being Western Igbo, you'd expect them to say either ani or ana, but instead they say ali just like the Cross Riverian Igbo on the opposite side of Igboland.

"Ali" is the oldest term used for land in Igbo language. That is why you can find it in the far East(Izii), far South(Ikwerre) far West(Ika) and central Igboland(Orlu). In between these regions "Ani", "Ana" and "Ala" are used. "Ula" is used in Ekpeye which is Igbo-related and "Eli" as a dialect of Ikwerre.

Abagworo: "Ali" is the oldest term used for land in Igbo language. That is why you can find it in the far East(Izii), far South(Ikwerre) far West(Ika) and central Igboland(Orlu). In between these regions "Ani", "Ana" and "Ala" are used. "Ula" is used in Ekpeye which is Igbo-related and "Eli" as a dialect of Ikwerre.

This sounds a lot like conjecture to me.

ChinenyeN:
This sounds a lot like conjecture to me.

It will sound like a conjucture in your thick skull because it is coming from an Igbo commenter. Why does comments from non Igbos dont come to you like a conjecture.
You need a new life bushman.

orufe: It will sound like a conjucture in your thick skull because it is coming from an Igbo commenter. Why does comments from non Igbos dont come to you like a conjecture. You need a new life bushman.

You apparently have issues with the wrong person.

ChinenyeN:
You apparently have issues with the wrong person.

No madam, no issues here but just the truth from what I read any time I visit this part of nairaland. Have you at anytime told non Igbo commenters about their flaws or conjectures. Why do you always find it easy to pick out comments from Igbo posters and regard them as conjectures. Madam, this your evil ways has to stop.

ChinenyeN:
This sounds a lot like conjecture to me.

Do you know why? Its because Ala came to be more popular. Language does change but going by the distance between these peripheral parts of Igboland retaining same vocabulary, one cannot help but realize it.

Abagworo, I find the logic odd. The way I see it, you are designating ali as the oldest form of the word, because more recent settlements (peripheral areas) use it. It just doesn't figure, regardless of distance.

Also, the "popularity" (and I put that in quotes for a reason) of ala has nothing to do with my understanding of ali. This is simply because I understand that the "popularity" (again, in quotes for a reason) of ala is due solely to its active use by those who have come to speak Union/Standard Igbo and not due to an adoption of the term by respective communities.

Also, the communities that actively use ala (which incidentally happen to be among the older communities) do so, not because they recently adopted the term, but because it is natively part of their lect.

To be clear, this is not me arguing. I'm just saying that ali as the oldest term, used by younger communities at the peripherals, doesn't quite make sense when older communities indigenously (not by adoption) use ala. Just stating my impressions/observations here.

Abagworo:

"Ali" is the oldest term used for land in Igbo language. That is why you can find it in the far East(Izii), far South(Ikwerre) far West(Ika) and central Igboland(Orlu). In between these regions "Ani", "Ana" and "Ala" are used. "Ula" is used in Ekpeye which is Igbo-related and "Eli" as a dialect of Ikwerre.

How do you know that ali is the oldest Igbo name for land? As Chinenye pointed out, older communities use ala/ana instead of ali.

Idemili and Nri (said to be the oldest Igbo communities) say ani and most of Delta also says ani. The rest of Anambra and most (if not all) of Enugu say ana. Most of Imo and Abia say ala while eastern Abia and parts of Ebonyi say ali. I'm also aware that certain groups in Rivers state say ali.

I'm think there might be another explanation.

odumchi: How do you know that ali is the oldest Igbo name for land? As Chinenye pointed out, older communities use ala/ana instead of ali.

Idemili and Nri (said to be the oldest Igbo communities) say ani and most of Delta also says ani. The rest of Anambra and most (if not all) of Enugu say ana. Most of Imo and Abia say ala while eastern Abia and parts of Ebonyi say ali. I'm also aware that certain groups in Rivers state say ali.

I'm think there might be another explanation.

Ochi yie. People just need to stop with statements like the bolded. (not directed at you in particular, Odumchi).

odumchi:

How do you know that ali is the oldest Igbo name for land? As Chinenye pointed out, older communities use ala/ana instead of ali.

Idemili and Nri (said to be the oldest Igbo communities) say ani and most of Delta also says ani. The rest of Anambra and most (if not all) of Enugu say ana. Most of Imo and Abia say ala while eastern Abia and parts of Ebonyi say ali. I'm also aware that certain groups in Rivers state say ali.

I'm think there might be another explanation.

Some parts of Orlu area use "ali" and those are some of the oldest Igbo settlements. Ala is more around Owerri, Ngwa, Mbaise and Umuahia area.

Abagworo: Some parts of Orlu area use "ali" and those are some of the oldest Igbo settlements. Ala is more around Owerri, Ngwa, Mbaise and Umuahia area.

Would those parts happen to be the Isu or the Oru parts of Orlu area? I ask because I find it difficult to believe that the Isu parts would say ali, but I wouldn't doubt if the Oru parts said it. From Isu down to Ngwa, ala is natively used, and it is also within this stretch of communities that the people claim autochthony. I don't know about Oru though, so I can't speak on them.

Interesting discussion going on here. I somehow prefer 'ali' to the other variants. Never really liked 'ala',it sounds somehow.

ChinenyeN:
Would those parts happen to be the Isu or the Oru parts of Orlu area? I ask because I find it difficult to believe that the Isu parts would say ali, but I wouldn't doubt if the Oru parts said it. From Isu down to Ngwa, ala is natively used, and it is also within this stretch of communities that the people claim autochthony. I don't know about Oru though, so I can't speak on them.

Its actually the Oru part but they claim autochtony too.

Abagworo:

"Ali" is the oldest term used for land in Igbo language. That is why you can find it in the far East(Izii), far South(Ikwerre) far West(Ika) and central Igboland(Orlu). In between these regions "Ani", "Ana" and "Ala" are used. "Ula" is used in Ekpeye which is Igbo-related and "Eli" as a dialect of Ikwerre.

Here we go the f..ck again ! "Oldest term" invented by whom Please,stop making up shiiit! Can you back that your claim with a proof

NRI PRIEST:

Here we go the f..ck again ! "Oldest term" invented by whom Please,stop making up shiiit! Can you back that your claim with a proof

Which other proof do you need? The most divergent groups use it while it remains at the core.

If you look at the 6 divergent versions of Igbo, "Ali" is the only term for land found in all 6.

Igbo-"Ali"

Ika-"Ali"

Ikwerre-"Ali"

Izi/Ezaa/Ikwo-"Ali"

Ogba-"Ali"

Ukwuani/Aboh/Ndoni-"Ali"

Ani is found only in Ukwuani group alongside "Ali" while the Igbo group has "Ani", "Ali", "Ana" and "Ala".

Abagworo: Its actually the Oru part but they claim autochtony too.

Alright. With this piece of information then, here's what I will speculate.

If we consider two things:
1. Antiquity of settlement -- That the stretch of communities from Oru to Ngwa claim autochothony
and...
2. Linguistic Integrity -- That the respective communities' native tongues have remained undisplaced

Then possibly ala and ali both share around the same level of antiquity. See, my thing here is that judging antiquity by settlement and linguistic integrity makes more sense, as opposed to judging antiquity by distance. Now, all thigs considered, it could very well be that ali has antiquity, but as Odumchi stated, there might be another explanation for it's presence at the fringes.

Saying that the presence of ali at the fringes is due to its antiquity is a jump in logic that requires clarification. Communities at the fringes are among the youngest, and they didn't all migrate from ali-speaking areas. So it wouldn't make sense that the reason for them using ali is because it is the oldest. I suspect something else. What that something else is though, I can't even begin to imagine.

ChinenyeN:
Alright. With this piece of information then, here's what I will speculate.

If we consider two things:
1. Antiquity of settlement -- That the stretch of communities from Oru to Ngwa claim autochothony
and...
2. Linguistic Integrity -- That the respective communities' native tongues have remained undisplaced

Then possibly ala and ali both share around the same level of antiquity. See, my thing here is that judging antiquity by settlement and linguistic integrity makes more sense, as opposed to judging antiquity by distance. Now, all thigs considered, it could very well be that ali has antiquity, but as Odumchi stated, there might be another explanation for it's presence at the fringes.

Saying that the presence of ali at the fringes is due to its antiquity is a jump in logic that requires clarification. Communities at the fringes are among the youngest, and they didn't all migrate from ali-speaking areas. So it wouldn't make sense that the reason for them using ali is because it is the oldest. I suspect something else. What that something else is though, I can't even begin to imagine.

Some of those at the fringes were there much earlier than those at the center. Afikpo for example is one of the oldest group in Igboland but are located on the fringe. I will however research on it but it is very likely "Ali" and "Ani" as variants of one word that are the earliest words for land in Igbo.

Abagworo:

Which other proof do you need? The most divergent groups use it while it remains at the core.

If you look at the 6 divergent versions of Igbo, "Ali" is the only term for land found in all 6.

Igbo-"Ali"

Ika-"Ali"

Ikwerre-"Ali"

Izi/Ezaa/Ikwo-"Ali"

Ogba-"Ali"

Ukwuani/Aboh/Ndoni-"Ali"

Ani is found only in Ukwuani group alongside "Ali" while the Igbo group has "Ani", "Ali", "Ana" and "Ala".

This your claim is too bogus and holds absolute no weight; so,because of the fact that some few peripheral Igbo use "ali" now makes it the most ancient term for "land" in Igbo land What about the northern Deltas,northern Anambra and Northern Enugu Are the not in the peripheral of Igboland Most Ebonyi groups also use "ani"\"ana"...Most Anioma use "ani"/"ana"...Please take that your shameless propaganda somewhere else. I read an article written by your fellow Imolite slandering Anambra and calling Imo the "purest" Igbo because of their location in the heartland...you guys are really pushing the botton but when we start now you will say we are arrogant...onye malu ife ga ese okwu ya emena ya!

Abagworo: Some of those at the fringes were there much earlier than those at the center. Afikpo for example is one of the oldest group in Igboland but are located on the fringe. I will however research on it but it is very likely "Ali" and "Ani" as variants of one word that are the earliest words for land in Igbo.

Afikpo has been fortunate enough to have undergone some anthropological survey and excavation, unlike many of the communities at the center, which have practically remained invisible to the anthropological community. So, as we all already know, actual information on this subject matter is limited. At best, we can only largely speculate, but not wildly though. Please do share your research findings.

NRI PRIEST:

This your claim is too bogus and holds absolute no weight; so,because of the fact that some few peripheral Igbo use "ali" now makes it the most ancient term for "land" in Igbo land What about the northern Deltas,northern Anambra and Northern Enugu Are the not in the peripheral of Igboland Most Ebonyi groups also use "ani"\"ana"...Most Anioma use "ani"/"ana"...Please take that your shameless propaganda somewhere else. I read an article written by your fellow Imolite slandering Anambra and calling Imo the "purest" Igbo because of their location in the heartland...you guys are really pushing the botton but when we start now you will say we are arrogant...onye malu ife ga ese okwu ya emena ya!

You don't get my point. Most of those areas you mentioned are in central Igbo and Ali is not used by few Igbos as well. There are 6 classes of Igbo language and Ali is used in all 6. Ani/Ana/Ala is only found at the centre.

Take a look at the picture/chart below.

AGBOTAEN,PLEASE TELL US YOUR OBI OF OWA'S FIRST NAME?

agbotaen: YOU are just a jester who does not know any thing about owa kingdom and ika except for what you read.
2. how is owa kingship from nri ?
3.let me give you the correct answer the obi of owa has a name called efeizomor and that is definetly a bini name , his father was oboh efeizomr the first , his grand father was obaigbena whose father was okundaiye whose father was igbeoba whose father was oseh , whose father was orhogbua whose father was iseh , whose father was eware whose father was ewodo, these are all bini names or which one concern nri there ?
4. owa kingship is from father to son like the binis , is that an nri system?
5. the crown prince of owa kingdom is solomon efeizomor and he is called edaiken of owa -just like bini ,or is that an nri system and name for a crown prince.
6. every obi of owa is crowned at the uselu -meaning sacred ground just like the bini , or is uselu an igbo or nri word ?
7. owa has three system of chieftancy called ohaimen- the village chiefs, palace chiefs and the hereditory chiefs that goes from father to son and the obi cannot remove the hereditory chiefs or is this an igbo or nri system.
8. the traditional dressing for owa kings and chiefs is same with that of the oba of benin or our beads also from nri ?
9. the obi performs igue and ibiewere festivals and ugbose and ikaba and olokun,idigun -these festivals are from benin .
10. the obi of owa also performs iwagi and ikenga which are from igbo land .
11. the names of titles in owa like ihama, obasogie, obakpolor , esama , ologboshere, ogidigan and others like obaseki are all bini titles with function just like those of benin chiefs.
12. there are also titles in owa that folows igbo line like ogifurueze, obiweanli and others ,they are of lesser importance in owa kingdom and they are recent and not many like those from bini.
13. the praises for the obi of owa is mainly taken from benin mixed with igbo that reflects original ika language as spoken by owa people,
agbogidi iyare ,
ojenebo iyare,
ogiso iyare,
agwo ekirika iyare,
obi ni tor ne i fe
iseh.

14.the daily greetings of owa people still reflect where there original people came from which is bini ,
1.we greet laiwe oooo,
2. we also greet dooo,
3. we also greet oooh,
4. we also greet laiweze but in benin they greet lavbieze
5. we also greet obori .

15. our ancestors believed that GOD was called oselobue or osenobue or is this also an nri word or igbo word ?
16. owa kingdom believes in the doctrine of ehi like bini and we do not believe in chi like igbos ,
17. i will urge all propagandists to do more research on owa and ika history instead of parroting what they read in some one or two books they have read .
18 . i am a full owa/ika man who has done enough research on our history and i know what ika got from igbo and what we got from edo .we are ika people we are not bini and we are not igbo period and i know my ancestory .
19. in ika we are democratic we do not decided for people where they want to belong and ika or owa is a heterogenous entity -we have people who migrated from igbo land, ishan, bini, ora, ukwuani,aniocha, yoruba and others but the beauty is that all these people have over hundred of years merged to form ika.and we do still have some small group of ika people who believe they are igbos , and that is ok for them , but the fact remains that our vast majority just want to be ika ethnic nationality ,and these we have defended from time to time fiercely and won.
20, IF ANY BODY SAYS IKA OR OWA IS FROM NRI OR OWA KINGSHIP IS FROM NRI , LET THE PERSON TELL US IN DETAILS LIKE I DO ABOUT OWA CULTURE AND TRADITIONS AND HOW THEY CAME FROM NRI?it is not enough to say owa kingship is from nri , so which aspect of our kingship is from nri?

Agbotaen,whatever you wrote up here was/is a result of Bini leadership/dominance over you knockheads!.As a sort of liberation,you guys came about the name IKA.All i can tell you is you may be Ika or Shout Ika till next year,what you are is Igbo,igbo man from delta state.However,You may deny being igbo,its not a problem for me cos i am used to hearing such but one thing i certainly know is that not all Ika share the same opinion with you no matter how you fold and unfold your arguments.So in the End,ethnic crisis in ika will continue to loom.One more thing,ika can never be an ethnic group rather its a subgroup of igbo.Please can you tell me the Full names of your OBI OF OWA cos i read where his name was written as "Emmanuel Onyike Efeizomor"(Onyike also a Bini name??)..

ChinenyeN:
Ochi yie. People just need to stop with statements like the bolded. (not directed at you in particular, Odumchi).

No offense taken.

Well, that statement was made after years of research and archeological study. Until someone disproves it, [most] people will continue to believe it.

odumchi: No offense taken.

Well, that statement was made after years of research and archeological study. Until someone disproves it, [most] people will continue to believe it.

Yea.. years of (in my honest conclusion) biased research on them and only them and practically no one else. But that's a different topic for a different day. Let me abstain from ranting.

Seems Igbo has hundreds of dialects.i am from Anambra state.i find it hard to understand dialect of people from Enugu,Imo,Abia.i Ebonyi,Ikwerre,Anioma and even some parts of Anambra...i dnt know why.i have stayed in Nsukka for 4years now.but i cant understand Nsukka Igbo.

Sealeddeal: Seems Igbo has hundreds of dialects.i am from Anambra state.i find it hard to understand dialect of people from Enugu,Imo,Abia.i Ebonyi,Ikwerre,Anioma and even some parts of Anambra...i dnt know why.i have stayed in Nsukka for 4years now.but i cant understand Nsukka Igbo.

It's like that with the big ethnic nations. A Yorubaman from Ilesha doesn't exactly understand Owoh dialect. Even in Arabic, An Arab Mauritanian doesn't exactly understand the arabic spoken in Bahrain.
Having said that, a man from Owoh is not insane to claim Owoh as his ethnic group unlike some miscreats in Igboland do. Shameful.

Mortiple: I once stumbled on a Thread on Facebook wherein these our supposed Delta Igbo brethren were responding to a question "How do you react when someone calls you an Igbo person?" Their responses were really embarrassing and disgraceful, to say the least. Only two guys amongst the lot claimed Igbo, others rather choose to be associated historically with the Binis, Igalas, Ijaws etc. Having succeeded in distorting the historical origin of the Asaba people, it is now the turn of of the Ibusas (Igbo-bi-na-uzo). I read a write up by one Emeka Esogbue, who claims that not all Ibusas migrate from Igboland; some are from bini, etc, according to him. Delta Igbos are often quick to tell you about their patriarch, who was previously known as Ezechima, but now Izechime (Note, the distortion is designed to execute the propaganda).

I think this whole denial started after the Nigerian civil war. There is a popular belief among them that they suffered more casualties than the South-Eastern Igbos, yet they do not enjoy equal rights and privileges with them in nominations, appointments, selections, elections etc into Federal positions. This argument might sound sensible but they must not forget that they belong to a difference Geographical/Geo-political Zone (previously Mid-West and now South-South), which is the determining factor.

The South-Eastern Igbos should stop bothering about what they call themselves. They can be Binis, Yorubas or even Hausas, for all I care. They are doing themselves a great disservice, if not, why are they backward in Delta State politics despite their large population? Uhrobo/Isoko has produced governors, Ishekiri also, perhaps Ijaw will be next on line. When will it be the turn of the Delta Igbos? Your guess is as good as mine.

give me the name of an isoko man who has ever become the governor of the state?

1. no isoko ,or ijaw has ruled delta state ,this is the first time itsekiri is ruling via uduaghan, so get your info right before you start useless propaganda.
2. ika ethnic nationality has enjoyed fair share of government positions before and now.
3. from 1991, we hd ebonka from owa as deputy gov,
okowa as commissioner for 8 years under ibori, he is from owa.
martins okonta from abavo as speaker of delta state,
prince obi , as speaker ,
prince obi as acting governor of delta state,
senator okowa as former secretary delta state and now senator.
okunbor from ute as chief of staff in delta.
agbele as chief accountant delta state-this are all ika people.
or are we the only ethnic nationality in delta?
4. to answer the man who asked what is the name of the obi of owa kingdom ,his names are emmanuel obaofefe ,onyeniken efeizomor obaigbena .this are his full name and the only name that is igbo there is onyeniken,while the rest is edo.and for your information his family name is obaigbena.
5. ali is land in ika ,but when we started using it , i do not know ,but i believe it is taken from the igbo word ala or ani ,but yorubas also call land ile.
6. but we do know that these ika words idumu -village,ogbe-town, ukpe-light, ikeke -bycicle, egan-chain or prison, ezuzu-fan, oloden -needle, ulakpa-police, ogua-palace, okpoho-woman,ohaimen-chief , odion- old man ,odede-old woman is certainly edo words ,this igbo and edo words are mixed together in daily ika or owa languages,so to isolate an igbo word and make it a topic is quite funny .
7. we have observed that the structure of ika/owa language is influenced by both edo and igbo languages.
8. the basic setting of ika family is ebon(umune),idumu and ogbe.
9. ika has gone ahead to develop a seperate identity for her self ,not being under any ethnic appendage different from the one we call ourself

ChinenyeN:

Yea.. years of (in my honest conclusion) biased research on them and only them and practically no one else. But that's a different topic for a different day. Let me abstain from ranting.

Okay.