ezeagu:


You're not saying anything I wasn't saying. Olaudah's earlier part of the book was basically setting himself up with a native identity, particularly an Igbo one, it's therefore strange that in this very self conscious and detailed writing, in which he even went into and waved off the idea of Benin hegemony, that he wouldn't explain why another specific group of people were singled out as 'Eboe' as himself. The fact that Oldfield wrote what is obviously today's 'oyibo' as 'Oh! Eboe' helps the suggestion that Olaudah was also writing today's 'oyibo'.

The use of 'Eboe' in Olaudah's case might not even be 'Igbo' but many other words in the language, as well, or both languages as said before, although doubtful, may be using words from an older root.

Brilliant. Watch these Yorubas next claim potopoto and ogbanje shaa

I just await the meaning of 'oyibo' in igbo language and what it has to do with light skin

OlaoChi:
I just await the meaning of 'oyibo' in igbo language and what it has to do with light skin

Keep on waiting. You shall find that which you seek.

Okay, let's set the records straight:

Igbo words in:

Vernacular:
1) Bolombolo - Balloon

2) Potopoto - Muddy water

3) Oyibo - White man/light-skinned person (Yoruba: 'Oyinbo')

4) Obodo oyibo - White man town/city
Gwongworo - Truck

5) Uno - (Una, 'vernacularized')

6) Love Nwantintin - Small/Short-lived love
Aka gum - stingy person

7) Ewu - goat (derogatory use)

8 ) Iyanga - 'forming' (Yoruba: 'shakara')

9) Ogbanje - Witch (Yoruba: 'Abiku')

10) Biko - Please

Market/restaurant/Food enterprises
1) Abacha - African Salad

2) Acha - Northern Nigerian grain associated with famine

3) Agidi - Gelatinous corn starch meal (Yoruba: 'Eko')

4) Akamu - Pap

5) Aki - Palm kernel

6) Egwusi (anglicized as Egusi) - Melon seed, also native soup of the Igbos cooked with these seeds.

7) Isi Ewu - Goat head peppersoup

8 ) Nkwobi - Spicy cow foot

9) Nzu - White/native chalk

10) Ogbonno - Bush mango, also native soup cooked with this.

11) Ogiri - Fermented, washed and compressed locust bean.

12) Oha - African rosewood leaves, also native soup cooked with this.

13) Oka - Maize

14) Okazi- Wild Spinach

15) Okwuro/Okro - Okra (anglicized)

16) Okporoko - Stock fish

17) Onugbu - Bitter leaf, also native soup cooked with this.

18 ) Ube - Pear

19) Udara - ? (Yoruba: 'Agwalomo')

20) Ukwa - Breadfruit

21) Ugba - Oil bean seed, also salad dessert prepared with this.

22) Ugwu - Fluted pumpkin

23) Utazi - Bush buck

24) Uziza - False cube leaves

^ Akanwu is not an Igbo word. It is a bastardization of the Kanuri word, kanwa.

There are a few other words in that list that are not of Igbo origin, but there's no point getting into it as they have been amply discussed on other threads.

RedboneSmith:
^ Akanwu is not an Igbo word. It is a bastardization of the Kanuri word, kanwa.

There are a few other words in that list that are not of Igbo origin, but there's no point getting into it as they have been amply discussed on other threads.

Noted.

MozartianDreams:
Okay, let's set the records straight:

Igbo words in:

Vernacular:
1) Bolombolo - Balloon

2) Potopoto - Muddy water

3) Oyibo - White man/light-skinned person (Yoruba: 'Oyinbo')

4) Obodo oyibo - White man town/city
Gwongworo - Truck

5) Uno - (Una, 'vernacularized')

6) Love Nwantintin - Small/Short-lived love
Aka gum - stingy person

7) Ewu - goat (derogatory use)

8 ) Iyanga - 'forming' (Yoruba: 'shakara')

9) Ogbanje - Witch (Yoruba: 'Abiku')

10) Biko - Please

Market/restaurant/Food enterprises
1) Abacha - African Salad

2) Acha - Northern Nigerian grain associated with famine

3) Agidi - Gelatinous corn starch meal (Yoruba: 'Eko')

4) Akamu - Pap

5) Aki - Palm kernel

6) Egwusi (anglicized as Egusi) - Melon seed, also native soup of the Igbos cooked with these seeds.

7) Isi Ewu - Goat head peppersoup

8 ) Nkwobi - Spicy cow foot

9) Nzu - White/native chalk

10) Ogbonno - Bush mango, also native soup cooked with this.

11) Ogiri - Fermented, washed and compressed locust bean.

12) Oha - African rosewood leaves, also native soup cooked with this.

13) Oka - Maize

14) Okazi- Wild Spinach

15) Okwuro/Okro - Okra (anglicized)

16) Okporoko - Stock fish

17) Onugbu - Bitter leaf, also native soup cooked with this.

18 ) Ube - Pear

19) Udara - ? (Yoruba: 'Agwalomo')

20) Ukwa - Breadfruit

21) Ugba - Oil bean seed, also salad dessert prepared with this.

22) Ugwu - Fluted pumpkin

23) Utazi - Bush buck

24) Uziza - False cube leaves

Correct your spellings: ugu not ugwu. Ugwu means 'hill' or 'respect' depending on the pronunciation. 'unu' not 'uno'. 'Nwantinti' not 'nwantintin'. You forgot to add 'di' for 'dey' in pidgin. Even 'tey' also for 'long time'. For example, 'e don tee wey I see you'. Igbo would say, 'o teela m huru gi'.

RedboneSmith:
^ Akanwu is not an Igbo word. It is a bastardization of the Kanuri word, kanwa.

There are a few other words in that list that are not of Igbo origin, but there's no point getting into it as they have been amply discussed on other threads.

No please go ahead and point out those 'few other words', asides 'oyibo', 'ogiri', and 'egwusi' etc. which are already in contention. Feel free and don't be shy.

If Igbos borrowed 'kanwa' and made it into 'akanwu', as is normal with borrowing of words between languages, that's agreed. If akanwu, instead of 'kanwa' becomes popular instead, is it not safe to conclude it's an igbo word become popular?

bigfrancis21:


No please go ahead and point out those 'few other words', asides 'oyibo', 'ogiri', and 'egwusi' etc. which are already in contention. Feel free and don't be shy.

I am not getting into that overbeaten over-recycled topic with you or any one today. Find something worthwhile and fill your time with it.

RedboneSmith:


I am not getting into that overbeaten over-recycled topic with you or any one today. Find something worthwhile and fill your time with it.

Kikikikiki

Probz:


So why does "melon" literally translate to "egwusi" in Igbo with no known Yoruba equivalent?

The fact that Igbos pronounce what's closer to the standardised/anglicized term (egwusi-egusi) and that Hausas pronounce "Gushi" and Yorubas "Elogusi" highly suggests that the Igbo form is the original.

The yoruba coined the word egusi, the word mean crush nd open. Melon is bara in yoruba and the seed of the melon is what is called egusi.

absoluteSuccess:



The yoruba coined the word egusi, the word mean crush nd open. Melon is bara in yoruba and the seed of the melon is what is called egusi.

Well, there's no proof of your claim. Words probably transfer/go around before you're born. In Igbo, e gwusi means 'it has been crushed', and I could argue with syllabic meaning that it has Igbo origins

bigfrancis21:


Well, there's no proof of your claim. Words probably transfer/go around before you're born. In Igbo, e gwusi means 'it has been crushed', and I could argue with syllabic meaning that it has Igbo origins

The yoruba says elegede nbe loko, bara nbe laatan, meaning ugwu can be found in the farm and melon grow on its own at dumpsite. From your argument I believe its one igbo man that transferred this plant to yoruba dumpsite, long before I was born.

Yoruba says edidi I di bara: edidi is an archaic word for rope, as in 'yoke'. So it is said melon cannot be yoked. If they have their word for pregnancy, is it the seed they will lack a name for?

Since the interpretation you gave match the Yoruba version, what's yoruba equivalence for 'bara' in igbo? And how do you come about the idea with striking resemblance to Yoruba equivalent just the moment an interpretation was given in Yoruba?

Why not before it? Or are you thinking what I'm thinking?

ezeagu:


This is the result of media being completely based in Lagos and Abuja, the bolded words are the only words you may hear in the east.

Yeah, I still can't get with this, ezeagu. Pidgin's used on a daily basis whenever I'm in Anambra (even the village), again, especially with the younger generation. I'm more with bigfrancis' statement that there are regional forms of pidgin all throughout Nigeria but popular/widely acknowledged ones (inc. abi, shey, etc.) are used even in the East.

Pidgin's spoken everywhere in Awka and Onicha at least. Ditto for Aba.

bigfrancis21:


Well, there's no proof of your claim. Words probably transfer/go around before you're born. In Igbo, e gwusi means 'it has been crushed', and I could argue with syllabic meaning that it has Igbo origins

Which dialect is this please? Or are you willing to lie to win an argument?

The Igbo for crush or grind is gwe. I don't know where you are bringing in gwu from. But if you can come in and throw more light on this your interpretation of e gwusi, it will be appreciated.

RedboneSmith:


Which dialect is this please? Or are you willing to lie to win an argument?

The Igbo for crush or grind is gwe. I don't know where you are bringing in gwu from. But if you can come in and throw more light on this your interpretation of e gwusi, it will be appreciated.

And how would you know any of this being a non-Igbo?

MozartianDreams:
Okay, let's set the records straight:

Igbo words in:

Vernacular:
1) Bolombolo - Balloon

2) Potopoto - Muddy water

3) Oyibo - White man/light-skinned person (Yoruba: 'Oyinbo')

4) Obodo oyibo - White man town/city
Gwongworo - Truck

5) Uno - (Una, 'vernacularized')

6) Love Nwantintin - Small/Short-lived love
Aka gum - stingy person

7) Ewu - goat (derogatory use)

8 ) Iyanga - 'forming' (Yoruba: 'shakara')

9) Ogbanje - Witch (Yoruba: 'Abiku')

10) Biko - Please

Market/restaurant/Food enterprises
1) Abacha - African Salad

2) Acha - Northern Nigerian grain associated with famine

3) Agidi - Gelatinous corn starch meal (Yoruba: 'Eko')

4) Akamu - Pap

5) Aki - Palm kernel

6) Egwusi (anglicized as Egusi) - Melon seed, also native soup of the Igbos cooked with these seeds.

7) Isi Ewu - Goat head peppersoup

8 ) Nkwobi - Spicy cow foot

9) Nzu - White/native chalk

10) Ogbonno - Bush mango, also native soup cooked with this.

11) Ogiri - Fermented, washed and compressed locust bean.

12) Oha - African rosewood leaves, also native soup cooked with this.

13) Oka - Maize

14) Okazi- Wild Spinach

15) Okwuro/Okro - Okra (anglicized)

16) Okporoko - Stock fish

17) Onugbu - Bitter leaf, also native soup cooked with this.

18 ) Ube - Pear

19) Udara - ? (Yoruba: 'Agwalomo')

20) Ukwa - Breadfruit

21) Ugba - Oil bean seed, also salad dessert prepared with this.

22) Ugwu - Fluted pumpkin

23) Utazi - Bush buck

24) Uziza - False cube leaves

I'm aware of all them (mostly). Anyone know the (suspected) origins of sha, oga, wetin, waka, ah-ah, eh-hen, hey (exclamation), sef, o (suffix for emphasis, e.g., okay o), and other mannerisms (kissing teeth for dissaproval), etc.?

I did start a thread on this a while back but it was left mostly unanswered

bigfrancis21:


Correct your spellings: ugu not ugwu. Ugwu means 'hill' or 'respect' depending on the pronunciation. 'unu' not 'uno'. 'Nwantinti' not 'nwantintin'. You forgot to add 'di' for 'dey' in pidgin. Even 'tey' also for 'long time'. For example, 'e don tee wey I see you'. Igbo would say, 'o teela m huru gi'.

You are correct Bigfrancis21

I'll just copy and edit my list.

Okay, let's set the records straight:

Igbo words in:

Vernacular:
1) Bolombolo - Balloon

2) Potopoto - Muddy water

3) Oyibo - White man/light-skinned person (Yoruba: 'Oyinbo')

4) Obodo oyibo - White man town/city
Gwongworo - Truck

5) Unu - (Una, 'vernacularized')

6) Love Nwantinti - Small/Short-lived love

7) Aka gum - stingy person

8 ) Ewu - goat (derogatory use)

9) Iyanga - 'forming' (Yoruba: 'shakara')

10) Ogbanje - Witch (Yoruba: 'Abiku')

11) Biko - Please

12) Maka why? - Because of what/why?

13) Di - Dey (Vernacularized)

14) Tey - Teela (Vernacularized)

15) Tolotolo - Turkey

Market/restaurant/Food enterprises
1) Abacha - African Salad

2) Acha - Northern Nigerian grain associated with famine

3) Agidi - Gelatinous corn starch meal (Yoruba: 'Eko')

4) Akamu - Pap

5) Aki - Palm kernel

6) Egwusi (anglicized as Egusi) - Melon seed, also native soup of the Igbos cooked with these seeds.

7) Isi Ewu - Goat head peppersoup

8 ) Nkwobi - Spicy cow foot

9) Nzu - White/native chalk

10) Ogbonno - Bush mango, also native soup cooked with this.

11) Ogiri - Fermented, washed and compressed locust bean.

12) Oha - African rosewood leaves, also native soup cooked with this.

13) Oka - Maize

14) Okazi- Wild Spinach

15) Okwuro/Okro - Okra (anglicized)

16) Okporoko - Stock fish

17) Onugbu - Bitter leaf, also native soup cooked with this.

18 ) Ube - Pear

19) Udara - ? (Yoruba: 'Agwalomo')

20) Ukwa - Breadfruit

21) Ugba - Oil bean seed, also salad dessert prepared with this.

22) Ugu - Fluted pumpkin

23) Utazi - Bush buck

24) Uziza - False cube leaves

Probz:


I'm aware of all them (mostly). Anyone know the (suspected) origins of sha, oga, wetin, waka, ah-ah, eh-hen, hey (exclamation), sef, o (suffix for emphasis, e.g., okay o), and other mannerisms (kissing teeth for dissaproval), etc.?

I did start a thread on this a while back but it was left mostly unanswered

Waka, and likely wetin have English roots. I remember reading this on a Pidgin language lesson website, and they are vernacular versions of 'walk' and 'what?' respectively. I am more sure of the first of the two however.

'Ah-ah' (said quickly) sounds like the hausa word for no.

'Ahhh---Ahhh' (said loudly and solemnly) sounds like an exclamation of despair and I have heard it from many people, but perhaps from yorubas the most.

You have to understand that even in primitive stages of human civilization, and even when you were a baby, that humans are capable of making exclamatory sounds before language development.

That said:
I recently learned that in pre-colonial and colonial eras that the person who was in charge of the native peoples would be refererred to as an 'Organizer'. But, they had difficulty pronouncing the word properly and only the first two syllables survived, hence, with a 'terrible English accent' which no one would blame the natives for having at the time, the word 'Oga'.

absoluteSuccess:


The yoruba says elegede nbe loko, bara nbe laatan, meaning ugwu can be found in the farm and melon grow on its own at dumpsite. From your argument I believe its one igbo man that transferred this plant to yoruba dumpsite, long before I was born.

Yoruba says edidi I di bara: edidi is an archaic word for rope, as in 'yoke'. So it is said melon cannot be yoked. If they have their word for pregnancy, is it the seed they will lack a name for?

Since the interpretation you gave match the Yoruba version, what's yoruba equivalence for 'bara' in igbo? And how do you come about the idea with striking resemblance to Yoruba equivalent just the moment an interpretation was given in Yoruba?

Why not before it? Or are you thinking what I'm thinking?

What are you thinking? Yorubas and Igbos have a lot a common than they think they do?

Probz:


Yeah, I still can't get with this, ezeagu. Pidgin's used on a daily basis whenever I'm in Anambra (even the village), again, especially with the younger generation. I'm more with bigfrancis' statement that there are regional forms of pidgin all throughout Nigeria but popular/widely acknowledged ones (inc. abi, shey, etc.) are used even in the East.

Pidgin's spoken everywhere in Awka and Onicha at least. Ditto for Aba.

A lot of kids have lived and worked in Lagos which is why those words may be heard, but the overwhelming majority do not use words like shey and shebi instead they use words like okwa, if you ask a mama in the market 'shey you get tokunbo clot ni?' she will be lost. You can see the complete absence of pidgin in things like music and films set in the east, even Aki na Ukwa doesn't feature pidgin.

ezeagu:


A lot of kids have lived and worked in Lagos which is why those words may be heard, but the overwhelming majority do not use words like shey and shebi instead they use words like okwa, if you ask a mama in the market 'shey you get tokunbo clot ni?' she will be lost. You can see the complete absence of pidgin in things like music and films set in the east, even Aki na Ukwa doesn't feature pidgin.

All I know is that brokin's used on a daily in big cities in Anambra at least, and in Aba (the places in the East I've stayed). I can't speak for Owerri or Enugu but it's not mad to think that the use of brokin extends in these places too. Even to enter simple okada in Awka, you still hear Pidgin English and Igbo being spoken by the driver. I'll admit there's a large Hausa community in Awka but I still hear full-on pidgin and definitely phrases like abi (or ba), etc., on a regular.

I'm not saying that Igbos native to the East speak the most pidgin compared to Urhobos or Lagosians but I can't get behind this your notion that Igbo Pidgin is only a thing in Potakot. That's not what I've experienced. There may be certain words that get left behind at River Niger border but regional forms of pidgin are strong in the East from what I've seen and heard.

Probz:


And how would you know any of this being a non-Igbo?

And on what premise did you reach the conclusion that I am not Igbo?

Probz:


All I know is that brokin's used on a daily in big cities in Anambra at least, and in Aba (the places in the East I've stayed). I can't speak for Owerri or Enugu but it's not mad to think that the use of brokin extends in these places too. Even to enter simple okada in Awka, you still hear Pidgin English and Igbo being spoken by the driver. I'll admit there's a large Hausa community in Awka but I still hear full-on pidgin and definitely phrases like abi (or ba), etc., on a regular.

I'm not saying that Igbos native to the East speak the most pidgin compared to Urhobos or Lagosians but I can't get behind this your notion that Igbo Pidgin is only a thing in Potakot. That's not what I've experienced. There may be certain words that get left behind at River Niger border but regional forms of pidgin are strong in the East from what I've seen and heard.

People in most parts of Imo, in Abia and Ebonyi don't even use the word 'oyibo' they use 'bekee', like aku bekee. There's absolutely no point of speaking pidgin in Aba, it's a not a mixed language city by nature like PH and Warri, people learn Igbo when they're in Aba. Can you imagine Ikpeazu addressing Abia people in pidgin like Wike does in Rivers? Weird.

Look at the witnesses in this video for instance, although they may probably be speaking standard English because of the situation, you can still see from how clear their language is of pidgin that English is the second language after Igbo.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmJZ9NFrVZg

Traders throughout Nigeria know pidgin, but I don't know English-Igbo mix using strong pidgin words or use abi or ba, especially when theres relevant versions in Igbo like okwa and kwa.

In places like Warri and Port Harcourt which are indigenously mixed areas pidgin in a mainstay, this is why I say people do not generally use pidgin as a main language in Igboland because there's no point. I agree that people in other hinterland areas in the west and north do not speak anything much other than their language, but in Igbo hinterland it's Igbo/Engligbo that is mostly spoken unless foreigners are around. Even Port Harcourt sef uses Igbo a lot, the Oyigbo side is completely Igbo-speaking no point of pidgin there.

RedboneSmith:


And on what premise did you reach the conclusion that I am not Igbo?

This RedBoneSmith of a person. You are just indifferent different.

MozartianDreams:


Waka, and likely wetin have English roots. I remember reading this on a Pidgin language lesson website, and they are vernacular versions of 'walk' and 'what?' respectively. I am more sure of the first of the two however.

'Ah-ah' (said quickly) sounds like the hausa word for no.

'Ahhh---Ahhh' (said loudly and solemnly) sounds like an exclamation of despair and I have heard it from many people, but perhaps from yorubas the most.

You have to understand that even in primitive stages of human civilization, and even when you were a baby, that humans are capable of making exclamatory sounds before language development.

That said:
I recently learned that in pre-colonial and colonial eras that the person who was in charge of the native peoples would be refererred to as an 'Organizer'. But, they had difficulty pronouncing the word properly and only the first two syllables survived, hence, with a 'terrible English accent' which no one would blame the natives for having at the time, the word 'Oga'.

Interesting. And what of eya, sef etc.?

ezeagu:


People in most parts of Imo, in Abia and Ebonyi don't even use the word 'oyibo' they use 'bekee', like aku bekee. There's absolutely no point of speaking pidgin in Aba, it's a not a mixed language city by nature like PH and Warri, people learn Igbo when they're in Aba. Can you imagine Ikpeazu addressing Abia people in pidgin like Wike does in Rivers? Weird.

Look at the witnesses in this video for instance, although they may probably be speaking standard English because of the situation, you can still see from how clear their language is of pidgin that English is the second language after Igbo.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmJZ9NFrVZg

Traders throughout Nigeria know pidgin, but I don't know English-Igbo mix using strong pidgin words or use abi or ba, especially when theres relevant versions in Igbo like okwa and kwa.

In places like Warri and Port Harcourt which are indigenously mixed areas pidgin in a mainstay, this is why I say people do not generally use pidgin as a main language in Igboland because there's no point. I agree that people in other hinterland areas in the west and north do not speak anything much other than their language, but in Igbo hinterland it's Igbo/Engligbo that is mostly spoken unless foreigners are around. Even Port Harcourt sef uses Igbo a lot, the Oyigbo side is completely Igbo-speaking no point of pidgin there.

All I can say is that pidgin's used in Awka on a daily basis, esp. by the Unizik students. I can't speak for places deeper in the Igbo hinterland so we'll leave am at that.

bigfrancis21:


The Hausas call the Igbos 'nyamiri', a corruption of 'nye m miri' (give me water) they heard when the first Igbos who arrived in the North were thirsty and had to ask for water to drink. The Hausas, obviously could not understand what was said so in return called them these 'nyamiri' people. That's just an example of how the spoken words of someone could be a marker for that person and could be later used to describe, know or call that person, as in 'oye ibo' as the Europeans would have called it (obviously they could not pronounce the 'gb' sound), and in turn they were called called 'oyeebo' because of their funny accent or way of pronouncing 'onye igbo'.

Forget all these unnecessary argument. Oyibo is an Igbo word. Olaudah Equiano described in his memoir his village people using it as far back as the early 1700s. This was a remote village in Igboland far from the sea and the border areas with other linguistic ethnic groups but 'oyibo' was already being used in the Igbo language. This removes any sort of 'linguistic adoption' theory as you may want to infer. The earliest academic evidence of 'oyinbo' in Yoruba land comes much later in the mid 1800s in the form of Yoruba dictionary written by Ajayi Crowther. About 7 years earlier before he published the dictionary, Crowther had written a short book about his experiences in spreading Christianity (anglicanism) East of the Niger and he had remarkably mentioned that he and the Igbo Sierra Leonan were often called 'oyibo ojii' ('white' blacks or europeanized blacks) by the Igbo natives. Note Ajayi Crowther spent some time in the east during his religious expansion. This is probable evidence that this word may have been carried over to Yoruba land by Ajayi Crowther and his religious crew for usage, which later spread in the west. This is even more plausible given that the Nri civilization is the oldest civilization in Nigeria, predating Ife, Bini and Oyo civilizations.

This explains why online articles on the origin of 'oyibo' leans more towards an Igbo origin than Yoruba origin.

You need to really dig deep into history to discover the truth for yourself. Let go of your sense of 'cultural superiority' and you'd be surprised at what you discover.

You made some sense in your submission but you failed when you said Bishop Crowther must have introduced 'oyibo' to Yorubas!. That isnt an academic statement as Oyibo is our only word for white man, though we differentiate Europeans according to origin as well Oyibo Geesi is British, Oyibo Potogi is Portuguese, oyibo Faranse is French, Oyibo Amaro is Spanish and I believe Aguda is German. They were the ones who based in Togo that was Oyo territory and the church their missionaries dominate is called Ijo Aguda or Catholic church. I think Aguda is German. Then we have are saying Aguda o je labe Geesi which I think means 'Germans are independent of Britain'. So Oyibo was in use before Bishop Crowther's great great great great grandpa was born. Oyibo means oyi' Breeze and Bo peel. Make of it what you will. I believe it is a shared word though but etymology is Yoruba and it is Igbos near the Yoruboid areas that use it.

On Egusi. A former employee of mine from Ile Ife told me of a couple dedicated by Ife people to a deity. They dont buy food, they take whatever they want in the market. They are dedicated to a certain deity. The name of the wife is Segusipepe, I have forgotten the husband's name. Segusipepe means Break the melon briskly or so. Se egusi pepe. That is a name given to someone traditionally in Ile Ife. So how can egusi be borrowed from Igbo who were known to Yorubas only in the 20th century? Egusi also appears to be a shared word. But I would like to know the meaning of 'osinkin' in English if it also means melon.

Wantintin is a variation of the Yoruba bintin which is in the saying Ayo abarabintin. Its thesame origin. There are hundreds of shared words between Yoruba and Igbo that was in use by an ancestor nation to both.

lawani:


You made some sense in your submission but you failed when you said Bishop Crowther must have introduced 'oyibo' to Yorubas!. That isnt an academic statement as Oyibo is our only word for white man, though we differentiate Europeans according to origin as well Oyibo Geesi is British, Oyibo Potogi is Portuguese, oyibo Faranse is French, Oyibo Amaro is Spanish and I believe Aguda is German. They were the ones who based in Togo that was Oyo territory and the church their missionaries dominate is called Ijo Aguda or Catholic church. I think Aguda is German. Then we have are saying Aguda o je labe Geesi which I think means 'Germans are independent of Britain'. So Oyibo was in use before Bishop Crowther's great great great great grandpa was born. Oyibo means oyi' Breeze and Bo peel. Make of it what you will. I believe it is a shared word though but etymology is Yoruba and it is Igbos near the Yoruboid areas that use it.

Igbos by Yoruboid areas? Wetin?

Probz:


Igbos by Yoruboid areas? Wetin?

Some Anambra, Delta and Enugu communities border with Yoruboid areas. Igala, Olukunmi, Itsekiri are all Yoruboid groups and you find more Yoruboid words, mannerism, culture in the adjacent Igbo areas.

First of all Egusi is a yoruba word which mean break/grind it more. It was never Igbo

For crying out loud. Melons don't grow in Igbo land

Anyone that knows basic agriculture should know that melons grow in savanna. Igbos don't even have savanna not to even talk of having contact with melon seed.

Igbos also have one way of making egusi soup but yoruba have various ways because of first contact. at least I know of 3

I have proven this before 4 years back in a thread I cannot get right now