The Feel Of Free

blackacrylic:

The Nigeria-Biafra War 1967-1970 [BBC Documentary] Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7

The Biafra war is one of many tragic emblems of colonialism. What you had in the naming of “Nigeria” by British writer and journalist Flora Shaw was the amalgamation of British resources. If attention was given to the people of Nigeria it was to further fracture tribal relations and maintain systemic disunity and distrust. The Biafra War was born out of this systemic disunity and distrust. During the war the British government heavily armed the Nigerian Army with the objective of keeping the Nigerian Republic in tact. The French government supplied Biafra with light weapons in order to support the break up of Nigeria - whose potential dwarfed that of France’s Francophone states. The blockade imposed by the Nigerian government meant that Biafrans did not have adequate weapons to fight the war or the food to survive. Despite the many tragedies that engulfed Biafra, the Civil War endured for three years as Igbo people fought on in pursuit of independence from the Nigerian federation. Hypocritically, the British government supplied weapons to the Nigerian government to annihilate Biafra, whilst British relief organisations supplied famine relief to Biafra and British journalists branded and packaged the humanitarian crisis for foreign consumption. 

# Naija Igbo

Reblogged 1 month ago from dynamicafrica (Originally from blackacrylic) 104 notes
English came to the Igbos and the Bengalis much before it arrived in the rest of Nigeria and India, respectively. In the latter case, Calcutta was the first city of the empire where English litereature as a discipline began its journey[…]The Igbos too adapted easily to the Christianizing influences of the missionaries as well as to the language itself —- certainly more easily that the Islamic nations of northern Nigeria. This may well explain the nature of nationalist leadership provided by the Igbos. It could also clarify the reasons for the Igbo-dominated bureaucracies of British-ruled and then independent Nigeria. This led to the transfer of power to the Northerners being seen as the wisest option by the British. The genesis of the Biafran conflict within a decade of Nigeria’s independence had its roots in the cultural and political decisions taken by the colonizers.

—

The Tortoise and the Leopard, or the Postcolonial Muse

Ipshita Chanda

Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, 23:1&2 (2003)

(Source: cosmicyoruba)

# Naija history Igbo

Reblogged 1 month ago from cosmicyoruba 8 notes

Igbo word of the day : ASHAWO .

when it comes to igbo

sugabelly is the wrong person to mess with

#dead

sugabelly:

heartsbrokenbywordsleftunspoken:

sugabelly:

Reasons why people should actually learn to speak Igbo BEFORE they start an “Igbo Word of the Day” series:

“Ashawo” is not an Igbo word. It is a Yoruba word.

The word you are looking for is “Akuna”.

Well if every IGBO i know SAYS it, then it I consider it an IGBO word . and you don’t have to speak a language to use words because i’m sure you say words like “hola” without being fluent in Spanish . have a good day .

Kindly stop exposing your daftness thank you. What you have just said is the equivalent of “If every person I know says “Konnichiwa” then “Konnichiwa” is now an English word.

Ashawo is not and can never be an Igbo word. If you knew ANYTHING about the Igbo language you would know that Akuna is the Igbo equivalent of Ashawo and you would have expected that any Nigerian worth their salt would call you out on trying to pass off “Ashawo” as an Igbo word when we all know it is a Yoruba word.

Y si, hablo espanol perfectamente. 

# Igbo Naija

Reblogged 3 months ago from sugabelly (Originally from heartsbrokenbywordsleftunspoken) 16 notes
o gini di/ nne, ama m na anyi ga-adi/ maka na ife niile m na-emere gi/ o si m n’obi, o si m n’obi, o si m n’obi

— bracket + wizkid

# igbo Naija

Posted 4 months ago 2 notes

The Feel Of Free: Igbo.. →

pyoowata:

sugabelly:

pyoowata:

sugabelly:

elumeda:

Afuru m gi na anya -I love you (technically)

Afuru m gi na anya m - I saw you with my eyes

That 1 letter at the end makes a huge difference.

Actually it doesn’t. Sorry to be an Igbo grammar nazi but your grammar is wrong.

In Igbo when referring to body…

Agree with sugabelly - there is a penchant among some to create a version of Igbo that would be unrecognizable to most native speakers. As someone who is a native speaker of English and had to study Igbo, I was quick to pick up on the fact that in Igbo, one usually drops the possessive when talking about their own body parts and I have to consciously remind myself to resist the urge to add the possessive when talking about my body parts, since I am so used to doing so in English. Perhaps, if you want to say, that you saw someone with your eyes, like when they were doing something that they deny, you could say something like, “I na-asi na ahurughi m gi? E ji m anya abuo mgbe i mere ihe a (or if you wear glasses, and wish to humorously emphasize your point, you could say,  e ji m anya ano).” I defer to others on this, seeing that I still get strange looks when I attempt to speak Igbo.  When I say the above out loud, it doesn’t exactly “sound” right. It’s a bit difficult for me to translate English idioms into Igbo ones. Any other thoughts?

I agree with you except for one thing. 

In Igbo, UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE, THERE IS NO PLURAL / ALL NOUNS ARE ALSO PLURAL.

So you don’t say “N ji anya abuo fu gi” - this is wrong because you are adding an unnecessary counter - abuo- to a noun that is already plural (anya)

Anya = Eye, Eyes, An Eye, The Eye, The Eyes (All at once) therefore there is NO NEED to say Two eyes because it is already understood that you are speaking in the plural. (unless there is a situation in which there might be confusion, e.g. a one eyed person perhaps?)

You say - N ji anya fu gi. Or E ji m anya fu gi.

Also glasses = ugegbe

So you can say N ji ugegbe fu gi  or E ji m ugegbe fu gi. (But this opens up a whole other situation because it IMPLIES that you were unable to see that person UNLESS you were wearing those glasses.)

Nsogbu adighi…of course it is implied that when you used your eye to see something, it refers to both eyes. It is not like by default, one eye is closed and the other eye is open and you need abuo to make sure that both eyes were open. So in the purest grammatical sense, one would use anya rather than anya abuo. I guess I wasn’t paying to much attention to the response, as in trying to be exact with the Igbo grammar, for I was merely referencing what I have heard in casual conversation. To say, I used two eyes, is more of an idiomatic thing - like when someone wishes to get their point across that they caught you in the act, I have heard many use the Igbo equivalent of, “I used my two eyes,” while making various gestures with their hands to make a point. Again, not pure, but it falls in line with the art and humor that is found regularly in everyday Igbo conversation. I have heard people say four eyes, and like I stated above, it is said in humor - as in “not only am I humorously over-emphasizing the point by stating that I used two eyes, but in fact, let me take it further by adding the other two that I am wearing (my glasses, which is again, humorously referred to, by some, as a second set of eyes).” I wouldn’t suggest using anya abuo in an essay or in formal Igbo conversation, but to demonstrate is so casual with casual spoken Igbo, so much so that they could make small puns here or there with the language, wouldn’t kill. 

bolded because pyoowata was replying a question i had asked requesting a direct translation of “i saw you with my own two eyes!” which frankly, is a common expression. i don’t think the person replying noted that before jumping in to correct the obvious.

sheesh, it’s not that literal lol

# Igbo Naija

Reblogged 4 months ago from pyoowata (Originally from elumeda) 41 notes

Igbo..

sugabelly:

elumeda:

Afuru m gi na anya -I love you (technically)

Afuru m gi na anya m - I saw you with my eyes

That 1 letter at the end makes a huge difference. 

Actually it doesn’t. Sorry to be an Igbo grammar nazi but your grammar is wrong.

In Igbo when referring to body parts, there is NO NEED to indicate that the body part is yours unless there is a possible confusion with another person’s body part because it is ALWAYS assumed that a body part mentioned (unless indicated otherwise) belongs to the SPEAKER.

Therefore, to say “afuru m gi na anya m” is incorrect grammar.

The correct statement is “afuru m gi na anya” for both implications (i.e. I love you and I see/saw you with my eye).

Furthermore, to say “afuru m gi na anya” MEANS I love you is also incorrect. 

Afuru m gi na anya means EXACTLY what it sounds I like - I see you in my eye.

However, “I see you in my eye” is an IDIOMATIC expression in Igbo that is understood as the speaker indicating that they love the addressed party.

In fact, the closest approximation in Igbo to the English phrase “I Love You” in sentence structure and literal meaning is “I na-asom” - (literal meaning: You Please Me … Used to express that the speaker Likes or Loves something. in this case I suppose the addition of “greatly” would be in order to demonstrate that the feeling is elevated to the level of love)

In usage compare this to the Japanese “Dai Suki” (literal meaning, Great Like - i.e. I like you greatly or on a really high level a.k.a. Love).

Sorry, but we need to stop the spread of Bad Igbo Grammar this century.

curious- how would you say “i saw you with my own eyes”? like if someone was denying that they did something and i saw them and wanted to emphasize the ‘with my own eyes’ bit…

# igbo Naija sugabelly

Reblogged 4 months ago from sugabelly (Originally from elumeda) 41 notes

Ala- Igbo Earth Mother Goddess →

37thstate:

Ala is the Igbo  Fertility Goddess of the earth.

The Igbo people of Nigeria call her the mother of all things, but she is both the fertile earth and the empty field after the harvest. She is present at the beginning of the cycle of life, making children grow in their mother’s womb, and she is there at the end of the cycle, to receive the souls of the dead into her own womb. Ala also gives laws to the people, emphasizing the importance of honesty and respect. Temples to Ala called mbari are built in the center of villages, and contain a mud statue of Ala which is then painted in bright colors. These statues usually show Ala with a long torso and long thick neck, which are considered to be signs of beauty among the Ibo. She is joined by other deities and animals. Ala is also known as Ale, Alla, and Ane.  She is the most important Alusi in the Igbo pantheon. In Odinani, Ala rules over the underworld which holds the deceased ancestors in her womb. Her name literally translates to ‘Ground’ in the Igbo language, denoting her powers over the earth and her status as the ground itself. Ala is considered the highest Alusi in the Igbo pantheon and was the first Alusi created by Chukwu, God almighty. Ala’s husband is Amadioha, the sky god.

As the goddess of morality, Ala is involved in judging human actions and is in charge of Igbo law and customs known as ‘Omenala’. Taboos and crimes among Igbo communities that are against the standard of Ala are called nsọ Ala. All ground is considered ‘Holy land’ as it is Ala herself. With human fertility, Ala is credited for the productivity of land. Ala’s messenger and living agent on earth is the python (Igbo: éké), it is and animal especially revered in many Igbo communities. In Odinani art, Ala’s image is mostly depicted in clay Mbari temples.

Ala is still worshipped by the Igbo of Nigeria and is annually paid homage to during the Yam festival.

bolded for why my name ‘akwaeke’ (python’s egg) means something rare and precious. i love how my conservatively christian father gave me a name that’s based in traditional religion.

# Naija Igbo

Reblogged 5 months ago from girlinboyclothes (Originally from 37thstate) 132 notes

velleitas:

So my dad brought some pictures from Nigeria a few years ago, and finally gave them to my sister and me to digitise. It’s funny, because I don’t think a lot of people realise how precious this stuff is. In general, these are the first pictures I’ve seen of my dad as a child. These are the only pictures I have of my grandparents. It’s surreal looking back and seeing where you’ve come from, all these people from whom your blood flows, without knowing them at all. I don’t have numerous stories about my grandparents. I know surface stuff, but I never got the opportunity to love them as anything other than an abstract concept, you know?

First picture: My great-grandmother, Zenobia in the middle. I don’t know who the rest are. I might even be looking at my great-great-grandfather and grand-uncle and aunt without knowing. I can’t remember what my dad said. It was taken in 1907, which seems like… Idk, mind-blowing. It’s weird. Even though I know my parents had grandparents, it seems like my family just ends with my grandparents. 

Second picture: My grandfather Benjamin and grandmother, Sarah on their wedding day. Their romance seems very storybook— family disapproved, etc. But I read one of the love notes he wrote her. Just doesn’t seem real, but at the same time, it makes them actual people in my mind, instead of figures from my childhood memories. I know I often bewildered and scandalised my grandmothers; they visited when I was in college. I wonder how my grandfather would have reacted to me (godlessness, sloth, etc.)?

Third picture: My father, age… ??? I’m going to guess 18 or 19. He doesn’t know. In Port Harcourt. 

Unfortunately, most of my mother’s pictures were lost in the Biafran war, so I don’t know what she looked like as a child. :(

And guys, I know I tagged the hell out of these pics. I don’t care if they get reblogged or whatever. But once, I was browsing fashion sites and found a picture of myself on several. No one asked me for permission. And I don’t care. But I want to have permission and to be given credit/links. So now all that shit is built into the file!

# nigeria igbo family Naija

Reblogged 6 months ago from orobolicious (Originally from velleitas) 16 notes