igbo telling story, not his-story

8/8/2019 Igbo Telling Story, Not His-Story

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Telling Our-story, Not His-Story

Our fore-parents said ‘Igbo bu mmuo – Igbo are spirits’, they also said that it is

impossible to tell the ‘Igbo story’.We, the members of Ekwe Nche Research Institute/Organization do realize that we

attempt to do the impossible, but since it is important that “the Igbo story” be told, by noother but Ndi Igbo, we have taken on this most important challenge.

Nno nu (welcome to you all). Igbo Kweenu – Yah!

Igbo Kweenu – Yah!

Igbo Kweezuonu – Yah!

All Praise and Glory to Chi Ukwu (The Supreme Being), the Mighty Yah.

Using a series of quotations from the writing of the few who have attempted to study the Igbo, we shall try to paint a picture of the Igbo.

One of the questions that we, the members of Ekwe Nche Research Institute/

Organizations will try to answer at the onset is, how far does written record trace The Igbo?

As our research digs up more written information, this page will be updated.

One of the early mentions of the Igbo is in Babylonia, regarding the contributions of Igbo

sages in the writing of the “Talmud”, this strengthens and puts to rest any doubt about

one of the claimed heritage (by members of Ekwe Nche Research Institute) of Igbo, the Hebraic Heritage of the Igbo.

It is important that we stress and be reminded that the Hebraic Heritage (worldwide)come out of the “Omenala (of Igbo)”, as we shall eventually prove from our research.

What is the Torah or Talmud?

”The purpose of the Talmud is Talmud Torab (literally study of Torah) in the widest

sense of the word, that is, acquisition of wisdom, understanding, and knowledge, sinceTorah is regarded as encompassing everything contained in the world. An allegory in the

Talmud and the commentaries depicts the Torah as a kind of blueprint for the

construction of the world. … The concept of Torah is immeasurably wider than theconcept of religious law, and while Jewish religious jurisprudence encompasses all

spheres of life and overlooks almost nothing, the scope of the Torah is even wider.Habits, customs, occupational hints, medical advice, examinations of human nature,linguistic questions, ethical problems – all these are Torah and as such are touched upon

in the Talmud.”

…..

“IF THE BIBLE is the cornerstone of Judaism, then the Talmud is the central pillar,

soaring up from the foundations and supporting the entire spiritual and intellectual

edifice. In many ways the Talmud is the most important book in Jewish culture, the



backbone of creativity and of national life….

The formal definition of the Talmud is the summary of oral law that evolved after centuries of scholarly effort by sages who lived in Palestine and Babylonia until the

beginning of the Middle Ages. …

The Talmud is the repository of thousands of years of Jewish wisdom, and the oral law,WHICH IS AS ANCIENT AND SIGNIFICANT AS THE WRITTEN LAW (THE

TORAH), finds expression therein. It is a conglomerate of law, legend, and philosophy, a blend of unique logic and shrewd pragmatism, of history and science, anecdotes and

humor. ….”

THE ESSENTIAL TALMUDBy Adin Steinsaltz

And to think that the father of the Babylonia Talmud – R. Abba Ben Ibo, the more

complete and more quoted Talmud, of the Two Talmud – was Igbo. Interestingly, Abba

Ben Ibo's lineage is traced back to the House of David.

Some of the Igbo sages who played very prominent roles in the writing of the TALMUD:

1.) R. Abba Ben Ibo (known as Arikha)

2.) R. Hiya (Iya, correct Igbo spelling) – Uncle of Abba Ben Ibo

3.) R. Huna (Una, correct Igbo spelling) – disciple of Abba Ben Ibo4.) Rabba (uprooter of mountains) – name of his father is Nahmani (Nnamani, correct

Igbo spelling)

5.) Abbaye or Nahmani Ben Kaylil – nephew of Rabba

6.) Rava or Abba Ben Rav Hamma (Amma, correct Igbo spelling)

“As the importance of the Palestine center diminished, the great amora R. Abba Ben Ibo(known as Abba Arikha – Abba the tall one) was confronted with the task of establishing

a spiritual center in Babylonia (it eventually overshadowed the center in Palestine). In hisyouth R. Abba traveled from Babylonia to Palestine with his uncle and teacher, R. Hiya,

a disciple and colleague of R. Judah. R. Abba himself had completed most of his

education under Rabbi Judah and was one of the members of the Sanhedrin. He lived in

Palestine for many years, though apparently he returned to Babylonia on occasion, and inthe end he went back to the country of his birth for personal reasons. There he found a

number of eminent scholars but discovered that scholarship was only imperfectly

organized and standards were lower than in Palestine. R. Abba was acknowledged to beone of the outstanding Palestine scholars, ordained by R. Judah himself, a compiler of

mishnayot and an expert on the traditions of both Palestine and Babylonia. To avoid

offending the existing communal leadership of Babylonia, he settled in the small town of Sura, rather than in one of the main centers of scholarship, and established an academy

there. Babylonian scholars were soon attracted to the new center and thousands of

disciples flocked to study there. R. Abba exerted such a strong influence over the

Babylonian community that he began to be referred to simply as Rav, the name he isknown by to this day. The authority of the Sura center over most of Jewish Babylonia

was recognized, and the Sura academy survived in various forms for 700 years.



Renowned as a pious and noble man, Rav succeeded by his own personal example, aid,

and encouragement, in raising Babylonian standards of scholarship. One of his younger

contemporaries, the Babylonian sage Samuel, established a second center in the town of Nehardea. Although this academy later moved, it remained the partner and friendly rival

of Sura as long as Babylonia flourished as a Torah center.

Rav and Samuel together constituted the first generation of Babylonian amoraim who

cast the mold of Torah scholarship in that country for generations to come. They were

close personal friends, although completely unalike in character. Rav’s family traced itslineage back to the House of David, and he was connected by marriage with the resh

gulut (exilarch, or hereditary leader of the Babylonian Jewry). He was well versed in the

Palestinian tradition of study and edited several collections of mishnayot. It was in his

academy that the definitive commentary on the Book of Leviticus (known as Sifra DebeiRav) was composed, and several of the main New Year prayers are attributed to him.

Samuel was a totally different personality, not only in outward appearance but also in

occupation. Whereas Rav engaged in trade on an international scale, Samuel was one of the outstanding physicians of his day, a great astronomer, and head of the court of the

exilarch.

…

In the following generations many Babylonian sages made their way to Palestine and

became prominent there, but the Babylonian academies were already so large and

important that they evolved their own independent methods of study and schools of thought. Rav was succeeded at Sura by his disciple R. Huna, while Samuel’s heir was R.

Judah, who had also studied under Rav and who transferred the academy from Nehardea

to Pumbedita, where it remained. The scholars of this period include R. Hisda, who livedto a ripe old age; blind R. Sheshet, one of the most erudite men of his age, who had a

sharp tongue and very definite views, “a man harder than iron”; and R. nahman, the son-

in-law of the exilarch, who was a scintillating judge in the tradition of Samuel.

The third generation of Babylonian amoraim boasted two outstanding personalities:

Rabba (short for R. Abba), a brilliant man (“uprooter of mountains,” according to hiscontemporaries) who became an academy head at a very early age; and R. Yosef, the

great expert on the Torah. R. Yosef went blind in his old age but maintained his

congeniality and warm relationships with his disciples, eventually replacing his friend

Rabba as academy head. The debates between these two men became part of the regular curriculum of the academies. There were scholars who brought summaries of Palestinian

scholarship to Babylonia, and this renewed contact inspired two sages who are regarded

as the central pillars of Babylonian learning, Abbaye and Rava. Abbaye was the

nickname that Rabba gave his nephew, Nahmani Ben Kaylil (the word apparently means“little father,” since he was named after Rabba’s father, Nahmani. An orphan, he was

brought up by his uncle and lived like him, in penury, farming for a living and studing bynight and during the slack agricultural season. He was a favorite disciple but also a sharp

critic of R. Yosef, and he learned from both mentors, becoming academy head after R.

Yosef. Rava, whose full name was Abba Ben Rav Hamma, was the follower of another

school, that of R. Nahman and R. Hisda. A very rich merchant who was on close termswith the Persian royal house, he lived in the important and prosperous commercial center



of Mehoza. Rava was apparently younger than Abbaye, but they were friends from youth

despite their conflicting opinions. Hundreds of debates between them are quoted in the

Babylonian Talmud, and the discussions which they and their disciples held are classicexamples of the methods of the Babylonian Talmud. Both had incisive minds, but

Abbaye tended somewhat to formalism, while his colleague generally represented a more

realistic outlook. Abbaye was more moderate in his conclusions and preferred simplesolutions, while Rava’s decisions were clearer, although his halakhic method was more

complex. In numerous areas they were in accord, and many important halakhic elements

are the fruit of their joint efforts.

THE ESSENTIAL TALMUD

By Adin Steinsaltz (1976)

Origin

“The history of many peoples begins with a migration, and a founding father. But the

available evidence suggests that the Igbo and their forbears have lived in much their present homes from the dawn of human history.”The IBO People and the Europeans

The Genesis of a Relationship – 1906

By ELIZABETH ISICHEI

“For what are called lgbo we now are told to us by historians, archeologists and linguists

to be remnants of a wider spread of autochthonous people, by the same name, who

become the raw materials for the empires of immigrant empire-builders since 900 AD.They tell us the Igbo have been around for tens of thousands of years. And the ‘Great-

Yam-Experiment that established the lgbo as an Agricultural civilization is said to have

occurred about 3000 BC. Parallel civilizations were developing in Africa’s Niger-Congoand Nile Basins. The lgbo before 900AD, we can call ancient or paleo-lgbo for the

purpose of this discussion and that would include many people who are no longer called

lgbo, like the Ekiti or ljesha of western Nigeria. And exclude some called lgbo now, whocame to lgboland after 900AD. A worldwide hundred-year drought between 900-1000

AD, we are told, resulted in the collapse of empires, including the Mayan and peri-

Saharan ones. And a flood of empire-builders, some with the cobra-clad headgear of the

Egyptian pharaoh and obelisk, poured into the forest zones of Africa, both the city-stateof Kano and Ile-ife date from that period, for example.

The Three Great lgbo Disasters

Three major disasters have hit the Igbo in the last one thousand years. They are:· The great world drought of 900-1000AD

· The Trans-Atlantic slave trade

· British ColonialismThe great world drought (900-1000AD) resulted in further desiccation and expansion of

the Sahara desert. Societies that were in former grasslands collapsed. Affected people

poured into the forests seawards. So came Eri and his people to the Anambra valley,Oduduwa and his people to Igbomokun and Ogiso and his people to Iduu. They came,

like all myth-making empire-builders, with complicated stories, which the autochthonous



Igbo concluded were fairy tales. Till today, therefore, the alternative lgbo terms for fairy

tales are:

i. Akuko Nd’Eri = Eri peoples talesii. Akuko Iduu N’oba = Edo and Oba tales

iii. Akuko Ife = Ife tales

iv. Akuko Mbe N’Agu = Tortoise and Leopard tales.”

‘World Struggles for a Just World.’By Maazi Chidi G. Osuagwu, PhD.

From Eri, and the waves of Hebraic immigrants returning home to Ala Igbo (Igbo Land),

who came before and after Eri, came the Hebrew heritage of the Igbo; From Edo

returned our brethren who had gone to build the Benin empire, due to the many pogroms

against Igbo in Benin, and started Onitsha, Oguta... Igbo who remained in Ife - our brethren who had been conquered by the Yoruba and remained in present day Yoruba

land became Yoruba; but the most interesting and least investigated of all would be

"Akuko Mbe N'Agu", further investigation will prove that this is where Igbo scientificheritage came from - from the greatest and oldest civilization that the world has ever

known.

Biafara:

“And he shall judge the Gentiles, and rebuke many people: and they shall turn their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into sickles: nation shall not lift up sword

against nation, neither shall they be exercised any more to war.”

Isaiah 2: 4.

The most recent Igbo Hebraic civilization, which existed for many centuries in Africa, upto the 15 th century, was Biafara. It was the only nation in recent memory that as far aswe know actually practiced what was prophesied in Isaiah 2:4.

“Many communities, to the west and to the east of the Niger have sectors which were

founded by Nri men. During the era of the slave trade, when human sacrifice became

common, the Nri continued to avoid it, bearing steadfast testimony to the sacredness of human life. Ewenetem was an Eze Nri who died in about 1820, and who is remembered

for his clear teaching ‘that a slave was a human being and to kill one was

abomination’…. They turned the weapons of aggression into the ritual implements of purification and peace. The spear became the staff of peace, otonsi, or the staff of

political authority, alo. The club became the ofor, symbol of truth and justice. The cutlasswas used in the yam cult."

The IBO People and the Europeans



Archaeology:



“Archaeological findings in Iboland go back as far as four thousand years. But

archaeology in the area is still in its infancy, and its flourishing growth was sadly

disrupted by the events of the recent years, one of the lesser casualties of war. Only a fewsites have been excavated , but these have yielded material of enormous significance,

which has, in some respects, transformed our knowledge of the Ibo past. It seems likely

that the systematic archaeological work in Iboland in the future will add greatly to our understanding of its history, though there are, of course, major limitations to the kind of

information which the remains of material cultures can supply.”




Democracy:

“These spring largely from the fact that Iboland was not a centralized state, but consisted

of a very large number of independent and relatively small polities. Their number makesthe scientific study and collation of their traditions difficult, and their complicated anddemocratic systems of government were not particularly conducive to the systematic

preservation of knowledge about the past.”




Ohacracy – The oldest and purest form of Democracy:

“The Igbo faction of the aboriginal group, looking on those in the city who hadsuccumbed to the ideas perpetrated by the Oduduwa groups as traitors, continued their

raids over the settlement.We underline the reason the Igbo were fighting a thousand years ago at Igbomokun (Ile-

Ife): IDEAS. Unacceptable ideas! They were engaged in an ideological struggle against a

perceived unjust and un-natural system. Struggle for a just world!Writing in the same book, Isola Olomola had recorded that “in Ife tradition, also,

reference is made to ‘Kutukutu, Oba lgbo’, that is, ‘Early morning, the king of Igbo’ -

What this means is that the dawn assembly of the people ruled the lgbo (talk of lgbo

enwe eze debate a thousand years ago!) The people, assembled, is king of the people,which the lgbo held, would be contradicted by the ‘ILE” system introducedby the

Oduduwa group. What “ILE” means is House (ulo in modem lgbo). Same thing as OBl 1(Great Hall) or IGWE (Great Roof). This is precisely what the Egyptian term “Per aa”,corrupted to Pharaoh, means: GREAT HOUSE. The lgbo, a thousand years ago,

struggled against a system of government where oneman’s housewas the house of all -

One man who controlled the economy by monopolizing bead-making and owing themarket as OLOJA. It is like one person today controlling the petroleum industry in

Nigeria, as Olupetro’, as well as the Central Bank.

The lgbo believed a thousands ago, and today, that political power and the economy



should be controlled by “all the people”, to avoid injustice. No one man can be father of

all - OTU ONYE ANAGHI AWU NNAM OHA! It was and is a struggle for a just world,

by the Igbo, a thousand years ago and later. The idea of the people as king still exists inthose parts of lgboland that did not come under the direct hegemony of immigrant

monarchists. One such is Obowu, from where the writer comes. The popular expression

still is “ Ohanawueze!” ‘The people who are the king’. Exactly the idea at lgbomokun athousand years earlier! No well-groomed Obowu person fails to address the people

assembled as Ohanawueze, as preamble to a public speech.”

‘World Struggles for a Just World.’

By Maazi Chidi G. Osuagwu, PhD.

Spirituality:

“The traditional philosophy and religious beliefs of the Nri like that of other Igbo peoples, are interwoven and centered on five interdependent major concepts which are as

follows: Chukwu, Alusi, Uwa, and Ike Mmadu.”“Chukwu is the Great Creator of all things. The Great Creator has four major aspectswhich are manifestations of his existence. First, Chukwu is Anyanwu, in the symbolic

meaning of “the sun”. Nri believe that as the sun’s light is everywhere so is the presence

of Chukwu manifested everywhere; as the sun is all powerful so is Chukwu all powerfuland as the sun is the light that reveals things so is Chukwu the source of knowledge.

Secondly, Chukwu is Agbala, manifested in the fertility of the earth and the beings that

inhabit it. Thirdly, Chukwu is Chi, manifested in the power and ability of living things to

procreate themselves from generation to generation. Fourthly, Chukwu is Okike,manifested in the creation of everything visible and the invisible. Chukwu as Okike

creates the laws that govern the visible and the invisible. These laws are neither good nor

bad. They are simple laws that enable things to work. Both good and evil are the productsof the invisible “beings” and “forces”, the Alusi.”

Nri Kingdom and Hegemony, A.D. 994 to Present

By Maazi M. A. Onwuejeogwu (Prof.)

The Hebraic Heritage of Igbo:

“In tracing the sources of many Ibo customs, the investigator cannot help being struck

with the similitude between them and some of the ideas and practices of the Leviticalcode. The people are intensely religious. A casual observer might pronounce them

superstitious, but the fact is, the belief in the spiritual exercises a profound influence over every detail of their lives. Their religion is not an idolatrous one as that term is commonlyinterpreted, the idols, so called, being merely tangible symbols to assist them in the

service and worship of the invisible.…

In language some of the idioms met approximate very closely the Hebrew tongue.”

Notes on the Ibo Country and the Ibo People, Southern Nigeria



Chineke, and Chi. The first idea is the Supreme Being, God the Creator, the universal

God. He is the same for all persons and races and nations. He has no angels or holy

messengers because He needs none. He can do everything. He created the whole cosmosalone and without fatigue. He is not human and does not possess an animal nature that

would need food and drink; our sacrifices are symbolic. No one has ever seen Him

physically and no artist dare portray Him in wood, bronze, or painting. He is a spirit andcommunicates to man not in body but in spirit.

We believe that man is different from lower animals only in one primary sense: God left

in every man a portion of His breath. When this element leaves the edifice called man,the residue is mere matter. From this belief we derive our idea of personal gods, called

Chi in the Ibo language. There are many such Chi as there are personalities. No one Chi

is like another, because no two persons are identical. A rich man’s Chi is rich and a poor

man’s Chi is poor. A man’s Chi is masculine while a woman’s Chi is feminine. A man’sChi is equal to that man. This personal God does not leave its master until death. It is a

personal guard to which God entrusted every human being.

It is a common saying that a man is as great as his Chi. Thus in art, the personal god of a

baby is represented as a baby. This god is visible through the individual persons. Hence itis not an invisible being, although it cannot be separated from the person without causing

death to the individual. This is the concept of Igbo religion which has been most seriouslymisunderstood and misrepresented both by foreigners and by some Igbo who are trying to

interpret its relation to the social order.

My Africa

By Maazi Mbonu Ojike (1955)

igbo telling story, not his-story

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