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C. U. Agbedo - Parallelisms in Ezikeọba Igbo Praise Song: Evidence from Ịmaryịma Text (72-91)

Journal of Igbo Studies, 2008 (Vol. 3)

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Parallelisms in Ezikeọba Igbo Praise Song: Evidence from Ịmaryịma Text

Chris Uchenna Agbedo

+2348(0)36868498 [email protected] [email protected]

ABSTRACT This paper discusses the literary concept of parallelism and its manifestations in Ọshagenyi Azeẹgba’s ịmaryịma, an aspect of Ezikeọba Igbo praise song. It examines parallelism as a widespread feature of the verbal arts of Ezikeọba Igbo, a variety of Igbo language spoken in Elugwu Ezikeọba speech community in Southeast Nigeria. In specific terms, it focuses on the structural and semantic parallelism (or ‘sameness’), which holds between the sections of ịmaryịma text and determine the extent to which the parallel parts at the structural level are syntactic, morphological or phonological and whether the ‘parallel meanings’ involve the two most common kinds, that is, similarity of meaning and opposition of meaning. The picture, which emerges from the analysis, tends to suggest that of all the parallel parts at the level of structural parallelism, syntactic parallelism is the commonest kind in the ịmaryịma text. At the semantic parallelism level, the range of possibilities narrows down to similarity of meaning kind, which derives from lexical parallelism, where sets of words are interpretable as being parallel to one another. Keywords: Syntactic, Semantic, Parallelism, imaryima, performance 1. INTRODUCTION This paper discusses Imaryima, and aspect of oral performance associated with Ọshagenyi Azẹgba, a minstrel of Elugwu Ezikeoba extraction. Oral performance derives from oral literature, which according to Mbunda (2006:125), “…is the verbal art of essentially non-literate societies composed extemporaneously before a traditional audience and transmitted from one generation to another by words of mouth…” The fact of orality, which characterizes oral literature, is reflected in the preponderance of sound elements, phonoaesthetic features, patterns of repetition and formulae. As Mbunda (126) further observes, it takes a combination of context, the artist/performer, performance, audience, repetition, and improvisation to constitute an aspect of verbal art. All aspects of oral literature derive their essence from the context. In other words, there needs to be an occasion to necessitate the performance of oral literature. Malinowski (1926) in his study of Trobiad oral narratives underscores the indispensability of context in oral performance when he bemoans the great loss incurred in the process of reducing the text to print and the subsequent analysis of the material divorced of the context that gave it life. In the case of Imaryima praise song, its context of performance can be any cultural situation of varying degrees of importance in the life of Elugwu Ezikeoba as a community or an individual within or outside the community. This particular Imaryima praise song was performed during days of interaction between a researcher, Nwando Achebe, a doctoral student from the USA and the artist, Ọshagenyi Azẹgba. 1.1 The artist/performer Oral literature, notes Finnegan (1970:2), “depends on a performer who formulates it in words and there is no other way in which it can be related as a literary product”. Here, the oral performer is



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Ọshagenyi Azẹgba, a renowned minstrel whose calling predisposes him to take a critical look at communal experiences, past, present, future and pass a relatively objective judgment. He also responds promptly and meaningfully to the dictates of societal dynamism by ascribing expressions to innovations and changes. 1.2 Performance All aspects of oral literature derive their essence from practical performance. Ben-Amos (1971) in Mbunda (127) underscores the importance of performance as an aspect of oral literature when he observes that an oral poem is essentially an ephemeral work of art and has no existence or continuity apart from its performance. Coffin and Cohening (1966) make a similar observation when they note that folklore enters a state of suspended animation when in print, it becomes alive again only when it flows back into the oral circulation through performance. In this regard, the audience is better disposed to getting a more meaningful and deeper understanding and appreciation of Imaryima as an Ezikeoba verbal art by observing Ọshagenyi Azẹgba, the artist perform the art in practical social and cultural contexts. As an oral poetry, the artist performs Imaryima in a manner that admits features of lyric, panegyric, and elegy. He sings the Imaryima song with a spice of complementary rhythmic effects brought about by dexterous beating of two-pronged metal gong (ivom). 1.2 Audience The audience forms another important aspect of oral performance such as Imaryima. Nketia (1975:33) recognizes the audience in oral literature as a force to reckon with by observing that, “…the presence and participation of the audience influences the animation of the performance, the spontaneous selection of music, the range of textual improvisation and other details and this stimulus to creative activity is welcomed and even sought by the performer”. Not only is the audience a necessary prerequisite for a successful oral performance, its active participation is indispensable. Abrahams (1988:144) underscores this point when he notes that in analyzing traditional expressive literature, our method should emphasize all aspects of the aesthetic performance- performance and audience participation. Usually, the traditional audience for the Imaryima song performance is composed of the rural folks of Elugwu Ezikeoba community who are familiar with the content and attend simply to satisfy their curiosity about the minstrel’s creative variations resulting from either improvisation or new compositions about innovative changes in the society. Imaryima performance is essentially the solo effort of the artist, but in the course of the performance when chorus becomes necessary, interested members would readily volunteer as ad hoc choristers. In this particular Imaryima performance, the audience was a mixture of rural folks and visitors, whereby the latter had no specific role to play except to listen to the artist’s rendition of Imaryima song 1.3 Repetition Repetition: As one of the salient structural features of oral literature, repetition derives from the artist’s improvisation on traditional themes intended to achieve such artistic effects as emphasis, clarity, ease of rendition, rhythm, and duration of production. Leech (1969:79) draws attention to the importance of repetition as a literary device in oral performance, when he observes that man needs to express himself superabundantly on matters, which affect him deeply. Given his natural affinity to those subterranean rivers of corporate beliefs and sentiments, which find expressions in the iterative procedures of ritual, the artist, in the opinion of Leech, sees repetition as a leeway from suppressed intensity of cocooned feeling, for which there is no outlet except through repeated hammering at the confining walls of language. In the Ịmaryịma text to be examined shortly, we



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shall notice the seemingly overbearing tendency on the part of the artist to repeat actions, phrases and words to achieve the desired literary effects. 1.4 Improvisation This feature of oral literature points to the creative nature of the artist as a standup performer who in the course of performance, draws straight from his vegetative imagination to knock up a literary composition on the spot. In a discussion of Balkan folksong, Wunsch describes the oral heroic narrative and singers of the South Slavs, with special attention to the technique of improvisation and the instrument (gusle). Most often, the artist’s inspiration derives from the immediate environment. Even when the subject of oral performance is located in the pristine ravines of remote antiquity, the artist reformulates it through the force of creativity and renders it with appreciable flair and demonstrable panache that endears it to a contemporary audience. Ọshagenyi Azẹgba demonstrated this knack for improvisation well enough in the ịmaryịma text collected. For instance, the researcher specifically requested him to narrate the story of Ahebi Ụgbabẹ and her heroic exploits as the first and only known woman in Nsụka Kingdom who lived and ruled as a highly revered King. The minstrel, who chose to narrate the story in form of a praise song, began by improvising a panegyric, perhaps intended as an appetizer, which he wove around the researcher’s glowing beauty and intellectual pedigree and her guide’s prodigious feats in traditional medical practice. The praise song in honour of the researcher and her guide that ensued soon after their arrival rather than being a product of rote learning sprang forth from the creative reservoir of the minstrel. Ọshagenyi Azẹgba exploits this creative force as a freelance singer who sells his services to anybody who is willing and ready to pay for such services. Where such a patron is not forthcoming, he may choose to sing for any interested audience, whose members he expects to show appreciation by spraying him with money. Any action or inaction on the part of the audience that could be remotely construed as ingratitude easily elicits instant reaction from the minstrel in form of a caustic song improvised at the spur of the moment to lambaste those he would describe as majestically robed in flowing agbada with empty pockets. In essence, imaryima as an aspect of Elugwu Ezikeoba verbal art exhibits features universally associated with oral performance. Nonetheless, our primary focus in this paper is the concept of parallelism and its various manifestations in imaryima text. 2. Parallelism as a Universal Feature of Oral Literature The English bishop, Robert Lowth (1710-1787) explains the phenomenon of parallelism as major stylistic feature of oral performance in the following words:

The correspondence of one verse or line with another I call parallelism. When a proposition is delivered, and a second sub-joined to it, or drawn under it, equivalent, or contrasted with it in the sense, or similar to it in the form of grammatical construction, these I call parallel lines; and the words or phrases answering one to another in the corresponding lines, parallel terms. (Lectures on the Sacred Poetry of the Hebrews.)

According to Talley (2004), parallelism might be defined as the statement of a concept immediately followed by a repeated treatment of the concept, either by similarity or by contrast. This effect is frequently achieved by repetition of word, phrase or sentence. A modern example of parallelism is found in President John F. Kennedy’s famous lines: Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.



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Parallelism abounded anciently as well in Hebrew scripture, particularly in Hebrew poetry. From the opening lines of the first of the Psalms, parallelism is evident: Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful As Talley observes, a great deal of scholarship has focused on identifying and categorizing a vast array of poetic and rhetorical devices in the Book of Mormon denominated conveniently as parallelism. Parry (1988) has identified at least twenty-five different types of parallel patterns in the Book of Mormon. A penetrating study has also been made to link much of the parallelism in the Book of Mormon, and in Hebrew and other Semetic poetry, to specific word pair formulas – the pairs being sometimes synonymous, like earth / world and sometimes antithetical, like day / night – which formulas may have aided in the rapid composition of parallel lines as part of an oral tradition. (See Barney, 1995). Much has been written also about chiasmus in the Book of Mormon, a specific type of parallelism in which words or phrases sequenced initially in a specific order are then repeated precisely in reverse order, as in Alma 42:19: If a man murdered, he should die Would he be afraid, he would die? He would die if he should murder

Scholarly works on parallelism as a literary feature associated with oral performance have not

been lacking. Leech (1969) discusses parallelism in the stylistic analysis of English texts. De Moor & Watson (1993) presents a collection of essays on Hebrew, Egyptian and other ancient Near Eastern literatures, many of which raise questions relating to parallelism. Waltman identifies three types of parallel expression (or coordinating half lines) as (i) corresponding and complementary elements; (ii) normal opposites and (iii) extreme opposites, and emphasizes their functions within the poet’s artistic design. Baker (1973) discusses Lowth’s original work on parallelism. Babalola (1966) is a survey of Yoruba ijala chants, noting the constituent structure of the chants, which he argues is metrical and stress-based. In her study, Walton examines parallelisms of various kinds in oral material many of which techniques would be considered formulaic by later investigators. She discovers that Navajo patterns are as important in poetic composition to the Navajo Indian’s mind as is any English verse form to an English poet. Okpewho (1992) discusses parallelism in African praise poetry. Also related to Okpewho ‘s work are Schaprea (1965), Rycroft & Ngcobo (1988), Anyidoho (1991). In an article entitled, “Formalistic Diction in the Spanish Ballad”, Webber looks at the formulaic frequency in the primavera collection of Spanish ballads and notes among other things how formulas in the ramancero “express the essential ideas and acts of balladry in such a way as to fill out the requisite line length and supply the required assonance”. Also, he examines repetition and parallelism both within the line and over more than one line and considers the impact of formulaic analysis on problems of origin, dating, transmission, and the like, news composition and performance in accordance with the Parry-Lord model, as the same process of combining remembered terms rather than reciting from memory. Whallon studies the Scandinavian claim of an oral tradition behind the poetry of the Old Testament and sees Hebraic parallelism as a prosodic requisite analogous to the AG hexameter or OE alliterative line and then identifies the participating synonyms as part of a formulaic network. He makes numerous references to AG and OE formulas, remarking that “the Old Testament combines nouns; the Iliad modifies them; Beowulf supplants them”. He interprets his sampling of diction as evidence of a stylistic heritage



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and of oral transmission but adds that writing may have played a role in the evolution of surviving texts. Parallelism as a literary feature in Indonesian culture has received scholarly attention from Fox (1988), Philips (1981), Forth (1996). For instance, Fox (1982, 1991) discusses the mixing of Christianity and traditional religions, and Malay and Rotinese in parallel structures, in Rotinese prayers and sermons. Fox (1989) shows that dualism is a basic principle, which is exploited in complex ways by Indonesian societies to construct an understanding of their own social structure. Wilcock discusses Homer’s use of mythological parallels and finds them to be much like Lord’s oral-formulaic themes in their deployment. Characteristically, they are found in speech in the Iliad wherein one character wishes to influence another’s actions; take the form of ring composition; owe their parallelism to the main story to the individual poet rather than to the poetic tradition; include an irrational phrase (i.e. narrative inconsistency) resulting from their integrity as units rather than subordinate parts of the main story and use stock motif. Yoder, in an article entitled “A-B Pairs and Oral Composition in Hebrew Poetry”, shows that much Hebrew poetry exhibits a high density of traditional “fixed word pairs” defined as “any two terms having the same grammatical class, which occur more than once in parallelism” and contends that these pairs corresponds to Parry’s formulas, with the formal requirement of parallelism taking the place of meter. Halle (1971) discusses the use of antonym sets as opposed to the lexical equivalence sets in the construction of Warlpiri ritual speech. Pope (1958) discusses phonological, syntactic and semantic parallelisms in extracts from a Mongolian epic.

Parallelism may involve semantics, grammar, and/or other linguistic features, and it may occur on the level of the word, line, couplet, or over a greater textual span. However, not all lines in Hebrew poetry are parallelistic or symmetrical, and not all parallelisms are poetry. There are varieties of parallelism some of which are commonly found in the Holy Bible. These include semantic parallelism (based on word usage); progressive parallelism (based on logical sequence); grammatical parallelism (based on choice of grammatical forms); complete parallelism (where every single term or thought unit in one line is parallel to an equivalent term or unit in the other line); synonymous parallelism (the same thought is repeated but using different words as in Psalm 105.23); antithetical parallelism (opposition or contrast of thought as in Psalm 90.6); incomplete parallelism (there is not a complete one for one correspondence of terms between units); with compensation ( there is the same number of terms without a one to one correspondence as in Psalm 21.10); without compensation (fewer terms between corresponding units as in Psalm 24.1); formal parallelism (the second part continues the thought in the first part as in Psalm 2.6). Fabb (1997:137) sees parallelism as a ‘sameness’ between two sections of a text, and can be structural or semantic. While structural parallelism holds between two sections of text when they are at the some level of structure, semantic parallelism holds between two sections of text when they can be interpreted to be the same in some component of their meanings. Parallelism involves the relationship of A to B where B carries the idea of A further by echoing, defining, narrowing, restating, contrasting, illustrating and a variety of other methods. For instance, a verse from Psalm 83:1 typifies this aspect of parallelism where the same thought is repeated or echoed: Oh God, do not keep silent; be not quiet, O God, be not still. In the above example, there is really only one thought expressed in that verse; but is expressed three times with slightly different words. That is what is meant by parallelism of expression.

Parallelism is found in a variety of forms, and these have been classified in a number of different ways by different analysts The Poetical Books of the Old Testament is replete with at least three main kinds of parallelism: synonymous, antithetical, synthetic. Lowth in his



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identification of synonymous, antithetical, and synthetic parallelism has three additional categories as refinements. In the next section, we shall analyze imaryima text with a view to determining the extent to which it manifests the feature of parallelism, which appears to be universally common with oral performance. 3. Textual Analysis We shall analyze the imaryima texts on the bases of certain features that are germane to the concept of parallelism as a literary concept. These include structural and syntactic parallelism, semantic and lexical parallelism, synonymous, synthetic, antithetical, emblematic, climactic (or stair-step) parallelism, lexical equivalent sets and parallel names in imaryima texts. 3.1. Structural Parallelism This kind of parallelism, notes Fabb (137), involves similarity of structure, which may be syntactic, morphological or phonological. He points out the last two lines of Andrew Marvell’s poem, ‘To his Coy Mistress’ as typical examples of syntactic parallelism: Thus, though we cannot make our Sun Sound still, yet we will make him run. In the above extract, the parallel parts are the two sentences given that they have the same phrase and word classes in the same orders, and these phrase and word classes have the same functions in the clause in both parts. As Fabb (145) notes, syntactic parallelism is the commonest kind of structural parallelism, which at its simplest form, involves structural identity between two sections of text in three simultaneous senses. First, continues Fabb, each section of text contains the same classes of phrase and word; second, corresponding phrases bear similar grammatical and thematic relations to the predicator; third, the corresponding phrases and words are in the same order in both sections of text.

In the imaryima text, there are instances of structural parallelism that could be termed syntactic, morphological and phonological. We begin with excerpts from the text that provide evidence of syntactic parallelism, which reflect the three basic possibilities earlier referred to above. In Appendix 2:i, we have structural parallelism in lines 4 and 5: Xgbabe Qhqm Egr bur enyimenyi epieg qnx Xgbabe Qhqm Egr was an elephant that never entered a hole Ahebi bxr Qkanagba gwur iyi ny[r j[kpa ata Ahebi was a colossus who swam ocean that overwhelmed man In 2:ii, we have parallel structures in lines 6 and 7: Enyimenyi epieg qnx Elephant does not enter a hole Nkenishi ekweshig oz Scarf does not fit the corpse In 2:ix, structural parallelism exists between lines 3 and 4: Kee i gbadog ne [ bxg ekpe Ahebi No matter how well-built your frame is, you are not Ahebi’s ekpe Kee i suedog ne [ bxg ekpe Qhqm Egr No matter your proportionate frame, you are not Qhqm Egr’s ekpe In the above examples, we discern appreciable feature of syntactic parallelism in that the sentences have nearly the same phrase and word classes in the same orders, and these phrases and word classes perform similar functions in the clause in both parts. For instance, the sentences in 2:ii have a basic sequence of – subject noun phrase + aux + negative marker + verb + object noun phrase. The same can be said of the syntactic structures in 2:i. Except for minor syntactic differences in the constitution of the subject noun phrase and the involvement of negation in the subordinate clause of line 4, the



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parts of this excerpt can be said to be syntactically parallel to one another. Perhaps, it is also important to note that they are semantically parallel, given that semantic parallelism, according to Fabb (138), often accompanies syntactic parallelism. In lines 4 and 5 of 2:i, the heroine, Ahebi Ugbabe is cast in the motifemic gargantuan mould of an elephant and a colossus whose physical prowess and general disposition approach the threshold of a supernatural being. In addition to syntactic parallelism, which exists between lines 3 and 4 of 2:ix, there are also features of morphological and phonological parallelisms. Morphological parallelism, which involves sub-parts of words (morphemes), is typically very similar to syntactic parallelism in that the morphemes involved may carry syntactic information. The parallelism in the whole of 2:ix is morphological, and holds between the following verb phrases: dg emoro, gbadog, suedog, dg oome. This is similar to a kind of parallelism in a text cited by V. Hymes (1987:74) from a narrative by Hazel Suppah in the Sahaptin language (USA; Oregon) and quoted by Fabb (138). The three verbs involved, which carry the semantic import of ‘go’, - wina, naiti, tux- are parallel elements, that can be expressed in another language such as English as independent words in the syntax. In essence, a morphological parallelism in Sahaptin, as Fabb observes, may be equivalent to a syntactic parallelism in English. Another aspect of structural parallelism, which is evident in imaryima text, is phonological parallelism. Following the example of an 18th century Scottish Gaelic song, entitled ‘Culloden Day’, from John Stewart and quoted by Fabb (139), we discern some feature of phonological parallelism in Appendix 2:xiii. Here, the lines are phonologically parallel given that each of them realizes the same sequence of sounds, or what Fabb (119) calls a sound-pattern parallelism:

Lagq te Esatq amagq Me te Itegna amagq Lagq te Qha Ogwurute amagq Me te njiomu xmxada madocher Ezikeqba iile madocher Here, pairs of lines rhyme as in ama/anwa; mado/nwado. There is a systematic sound-patterning; within some of the lines, there is a parallelism between two identical sequences of vowels and consonants within the line, which according to Fabb (120) is a practice called cynghanedd by Welsh poets, many of which involve parallelism between sequences of sounds. In this form of sound-pattern parallelism, the kind of cynghanedd involves a sequence of consonants and vowels, called cynghanedd sain. In the example above, we notice a sequence of consonants and vowels in Me te, Lagq te. 3.2. Semantic Parallelism This kind of parallelism holds where two sections of text can be interpreted to have parallel meanings, where ‘parallel meanings’ covers a range of possibilities, with the two most common kinds being similarity of meaning and opposition of meaning. As Fabb (139) observes, semantic parallelism derives from lexical parallelism, where two words are interpretable as being parallel to one another; the relation of meaning between the two words determines the relation of meaning between the two larger sections of text, which include those words. Two words, continues Fabb (152) may be paired – that is, be lexically parallel by having various kinds of semantic relation to one another. The pair of words may have the same reference, relate as part to whole, belong to the same semantic field or they may be interpretable as antonyms. For instance, in the Zinancatecan dialect of Tzotzil (a Mayan language spoken in Mexicao Chiapas, and analyzed by Bricker (1989:369) the pair of yaya tot ‘grandfather’ and ?ahvetik ‘Lord’ refer to ‘elders’ and thus are similar in meaning. In the case of imaryima text, the kind of semantic parallelism, which the



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identifiable lexical pairs are involved in, is one of sameness in referential relationship. Appendix 2:iv for instance, typifies lexical parallelism, which contrary to what obtains in Bricker’s (1989) Zinancatecan text; involve three words that refer to similar things. This kind of parallelism exists between al oyi ‘cold land’, Ogwugwu ma ‘spiritual Ogwugwu land’, and obu eja ‘mud mansion’ all of which are metarphorical depiction of ‘spirit world’. The same lexical parallelism also involves the pairs of alua/nnoo (1:I), sisita/anti, onya/nwulo (1:ii) jikpa oonye/onehe oonye (2:I), tarawuza/owuruchiukwu (1:iii). The first and last pairs are fully synonymous as a result of the borrowing of one member from the standard dialect of Igbo (SI) in reflected in the first pair and borrowing from English as in the case of the second pair. Here, nnoo is the standard form of ‘welcome’ just as tarawuza is the loan translation of the English word, ‘trousers’. This form of lexical parallelism is similar to Bricker’s example whereby a saint is named in the two parts of a lexical parallelism, the first using the Zinancatecan noun anand the second using the Spanish noun sinyora: both having the same meaning of ‘woman’. It is clearly evident from the text that there is an extensive use of conventional pairing of words, an aspect of lexical parallelism, which Fox (1988) calls dyadic sets. As Fabb (152) observes, much work has been done on parallelism in the ways of speaking in Indonesian cultures to show that lexical equivalence sets are an important resource for the construction of parallel texts. Appendix 2:xii illustrates the use of equivalence sets in the context of a structural parallelism: Nd ma ewomer Ezike Idoko chịị n’ogelegele Nd garije ewor Ahebi Ụgbabẹ la n’obu ẹja Here, parallelism holds between the two lines, which are structurally parallel, and involve an aligned lexical parallelism between two-word pairs- Nd ma and Ndgarije (spirits/ancestors); ogelegele and obu ẹja (sacred cauldron/spirit land). This is similar to the type of lexical equivalence set, which Forth (1988:159) cited from the text of a Rindi funeral oration in East Sumbanese, where two word pairs of njara/ahu (horse/dog) and ndewa/ura (spirit/fortune) occur in lines that are structurally parallel, and involve an aligned lexical parallelism. This is similar to the example in the Zinancatecan text, where –lumal ‘earth’ and –ač’elal ‘mud’ is a pair of words, which are synonyms, as is the pair ob- ‘gather together’ and lot- ‘meet’. The same use of lexical equivalence sets also featured prominently in the composition of Asmat songs as described by Voorhoeve (1977:30) in Irian Jaya, Indonesia.

Another aspect of semantic parallelism, which is germane to the study of ịmaryịma text, is the concept of ‘parallel names’. In a typical oral performance situation strictly restricted to a particular person- for example an epic about a hero or heroine or a praise song- that person will need to be repeatedly named in various ways. Oftentimes, the central figure is assigned a set of different names, which are thus synonymous given that they have the same reference, though in many cases they also characterize the person in different ways, either by attributing characteristics to him or her or by metaphorically identifying him or her with other things. In imaryima text, the minstrel, Ọshagenyi Azẹgba makes profuse use of parallel names as a resource for his oral composition, where he has a selection of different names for Nwando Achebe, Nwando’s father, Chinua Achebe, and the heroine, Ahebi Ugbabe Ohom Egr Elechi, from which he draws depending on the metrical requirements and exploits the strategy in parallel texts, where the structural parallelism co-occurs with the use of the set of names. For Nwando, he refers to in such parallel names as Emereme ayag onwu, Sisita, Anti, Onya, Nwulo m, Oyoko, Urubia – all intended to capture in glowing terms, the rare coincidence of sterling qualities in one person so extravagantly endowed by Mother Nature. The ex-terrestrial sobriquets, which he ascribes to Chinua Achebe, are captured in superlative terms: ube- n’el- onyognyo- ye- n’al, unu- atug-oshimnyi, barara-wururu, ogbodogbo-nyanwunyanwu, ag-cheichei-neme-ire. Ahebi Ugbabe, the heroine who got crowned as



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a King in Elugwu-Ezikeoba by the Attah of Igala, a feat that had remained unprecedented in the history of Ezikeoba Kingdom and the entire Nsuka cultural zone, is variously named. The first of this kind in the text is Ohom Egr Elechi, which is a name derived from her ancestry. Other parallel names in this category are Nwaoome Nwaonu Nwaishida, Anana Omada, Igba Anana, Nwukpabi Ndeke, and Ezike Idoko. Next, the heroine is variously named Okanagba, Anukwu, Agaba, after supernatural creatures. Then, she is also named Enyimenyi, Ugbowuru, Itodo ebi, Agnechoha, and Okpoko after animals of physical prowess and mythical extraction. The heroine’s masculine attributes are captured in such parallel names as Jikpa oonye, Oke onyenye, Onehe oonye, Onyenye-kpor-ifu-ma, Eze-na-agba-eha, Eze onyenye, Ochioha. Such parallel names ascribed to Ahebi Ugbabe in imaryima text come very close to those found in Tswana text analyzed by Schapera (1965). In the praise poem, entitled ‘Kgang lebahurutshe’ the poet, Seokwang Kuana praises the heroic exploits of Bathoen 1, the chief of Ngwaketse during a boundary dispute with the Hurutshe. The poet exploits parallel names as a resource for poetic composition to make references to Bathoen, hero of the land dispute in five different ways: Leisantwa, Rralesego, Segope, lefenya, Rramoswaana.

The instance of parallelism as typified by parallel names in ịmaryịma text tends to reveal the essential connection between lexical parallelism and metaphor. While the former makes provision for putting equivalent phrases into a sequence, the latter allows the replacement of one phrase with another. In both cases, words and phrases, which are denotatively distinct, are drawn together for achieving the aim of parallelism, part of which is providing a basic structuring principle analogous to meter in metrical poetry. Apart from the two basic kinds of parallelism, that is, structural and semantic, there are other forms of parallelism, which derive from these two basic kinds. The manifestations or otherwise of these other forms of parallelism in ịmaryịma text form the thrust of discussion in the next section. 3.3. Forms of Parallelism in Ịmaryịma Text

As we did observe above (Section 2), parallelism takes various forms in verbal arts: complete, incomplete, synonymous, antithetical, synthetic, emblematic, climactic (stair-step), introverted (chiastic). In complete parallelism, the poet or oral performer repeats the exact idea (synonymous) or the opposite idea (antithetical) in the subsequent line(s). Synonymous Parallelism is characterized by a very close similarity between two consecutive lines. Here, the same thought is repeated in almost the same words. A good example of synonymous parallelism can be found in Psalm 49:1: Hear this, all you peoples; Listen, all who live in this world.

To repeat the thought makes the thought very strong and clear and at the same time makes the expression poetically beautiful as the following examples from the Holy Bible tend to show:

Psalm 1:5:- Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous Psalm 2:1:- Why do the nations conspire And the people plot in vain? Psalm 2:9:- You shall break them with a rod of iron And dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel



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Psalm 103: 1:- Bless the Lord oh my soul And all that is within me bless his holy name Psalm 103:10:- He does not deal with us according to our sins Nor requite us according to our iniquities In essence, synonymous parallelism is present when the notion of the A-line, which is repeated in the B-line as evident in Psalm 78:1: - Pay attention, my people, to my teaching, -A Be attentive to the words of my mouth. - B In examining the imaryima text, we discern aspects of parallelism, which could be considered synonymous. For instance, Appendix 1:I presents a good example of synonymous parallelism. The same goes for the first two lines, 4th and 5th lines of 1:ii; lines 4, 5 and 6,7 of 1:iii; 1st and 2nd lines of 2:i. This form of parallelism comes out clearly in 2:iii, where the idea of crowning Ahebi Ugbabe as King in Elugwu-Ezikeọba is variously expressed in twelve synonymous lines. In all these lines, Ahebi is referred to in nine synonyms: Ọhọm Egr, Enyimenyi, Ọkanagba, Anukwu, Anana Ọmada, Agnechọha, Ọchịọha, Jịkpa oonye, Eze shi Ịda. Ahebi was crowned king because of her honesty. Again, this idea of honesty is expressed in the following synonymous terms: truth, straightforwardness, frankness, ‘clean hands’. The same virtue is expressed in reverse order by listing such vices as falsehood, perversion of justice, hanky-panky game, which Ahebi abhorred. Also, the singer used about seven synonyms to express Ahebi’s state of being crowned a king: chir Eze, kpuru okpu Eze, tukwuru n’ichakpọ ọkaryịgọ, turu awọ, wụlar n’awuru Eze, adọlaga n’oche Eze, ewor Eze. In 2:xii, the singer also expresses the death and burial of Ahebi in five synonymous sentences. Here, bẹ ma, ogelegele, Ogwugwu ma, obu ẹja, Ovugo Ọna depict spirit land where Ahebi, the king has sojourned. In all these, the same thought in each sequence of synonymous parallels, is variously expressed in subsequent lines in a manner that the notion of A- line is expressed in synonymous terms in B- line. Because synonymous parallelism involves saying the same thing in two very similar ways, the interpreter must avoid a forced distinction between the two lines. For example, in Ps. 1:5, the “wicked” in the first line are the same as the “sinners” in the second. In Ps. 51:10 (“Create in me a clean heart, O God, / and put a new and right spirit within me”), David is praying for God to do one thing, not two different things.

Another aspect of complete parallelism in imaryima text is antithetical parallelism. Here, Ọshagenyi, the minstrel expresses the opposite idea in the subsequent lines. We notice this kind of parallelism in 1:v, lines 3-4; 2:viii:

Sisita Achebe as m lmag, ne i d m oyi Sister Achebe, it will gladden my heart to marry you Noone m lmag ne I bukog fe But you will divorce me if I marry you Nd ogbodu sr nẹ Ahebi awụshịẹka Morons said Ahebi has surrendered

Cher nẹ ekpe ajan Let them await ekpe’s arrival Ndọọmụ sr ekpe afụtalẹ Those opposed to ekpe’s outing Cher ekpe nẹ ekpe eruteme Await ekpe; ekpe’s outing is on course In the above examples, the notion of A-line is stated in opposite terms in the subsequent line and in so doing balances the complete thought of each line. This is akin to what obtains in Psalm 1:6: - God protects the way of the righteous- A But the way of the wicked will perish- B



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Here, something is contrasted with another or other things as the meaning suggests something standing in contrast or is the opposite of something else. Proverbs 15:1 is another example of antithetical parallelism: A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

A "gentle answer" stands in contrast to a "harsh word," and "turns away wrath" stands in contrast to "stirs up anger."

Synthetic parallelism is equally discernible from the imaryima text. In synthetic parallelism, the second part adds to or completes the thought from the first part. Note this example from Proverbs 4:23:

Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

It is discernible from this example that the second line adds on to the thought of the first line. In Appendix 2:i of imaryim text, the idea of Ahebi’s unprecedented feat in Ezikeoba Kingdom expressed in the third line is amplified and developed further in the subsequent lines by mentioning the specific heroic exploits, which marked her out from other ordinary human beings of Ezikeoba extraction. In this regard, the singer casts Ahebi in the mythical mould of the elephant, Anukwu, Itodo Ebi renowned for their physical prowess, and supernatural powers. This kind of parallelism also obtains in 2:ii where the thought expressed in line 2 is amplified in the remaining lines. The same goes for 2:v line 6 and the subsequent lines. The whole of 2:viii is essentially anchored on synthetic parallelism as the central idea expressed in the first line ripples in the subsequent lines. Also, in 2:xiii, we discern an instance of synthetic parallelism as the idea of crowning Ahebi king in Ezikeoba kingdom, which is expressed in the first line, is developed further in the rest of the lines. Through synthetic parallelism, the singer drives home the fact of Ahebi’s kingship by defining the different social strata located within the seemingly interminable multidimensional social scale, which the good news has permeated. Therefore, in synthetic parallelism, the second part adds to or completes the thought from the first part. Note this example from Proverbs 4:23:

Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. It is discernible from the above example that the second line adds on to the thought of the first line. The text shows another aspect of complete parallelism in the form of emblematic parallelism whereby one line conveys the main point, and another illuminates it by an image. Psalm 42:1 typifies this form of parallelism: As the deer longs for flowing streams, So longs my soul for thee, O God.

In the like manner, Ahebi’s unrivalled feat expressed in 2:i, line 3 is replicated in symbolic terms in lines 4 – 8. In other words, the main point of Ahebi’s unparalleled historical antecedents is illuminated by series of imageries, which the singer generates in the course of his oral



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performance. The text also makes use of climactic or stair-step parallelism in 1:ii, lines 4 – 6 and 1:iii, lines 4&5. In each case, the thought expressed in each line is partly repeated in the subsequent lines in a manner that extends the semantic frontiers of the thought earlier expressed. This is akin to the kind of parallelism that obtains in Psalms 29:1, 77:16, and 93:4: -

Psalm 29:1 Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings, Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Psalm 77:16 The waters saw you, O God; the waters saw you and trembled; the very depths were shaken. Psalm 93:4 The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice, the floods lift up their roaring. Another kind of parallelism referred to as introverted or chiastic parallelism occurs when the poet or oral performer reverses the idea expressed in the first line in the second line. This is evident in Proverbs 10:11: The mouth of a righteous man is a wellspring of life But violence covereth the mouth of the wicked In the above verse, the Psalmist contrasts the ideas in the first half of the first line (No. 1) to the last half of the second line. He contrasts the second half of the first line (No. 2) to the first half of the second line. In other words, he contrasts the ideas in reverse order. This kind of parallelism is seen in Appendix 2: xiv where Oshagenyi contrasts different ideas expressed in the first lines in reverse order in the second lines. In imaryima text, we glean an instance of incomplete parallelism in the last two lines of Appendix 2:viii, where the oral performer did not repeat the entire idea of his first line in the second line. This kind of parallelism manifests in Psalm 1:5: - Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in judgment Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous In the above Bible verse, the full idea expressed in the first line was not repeated in the second line although a parallel pattern was achieved.

From the foregoing, it is obvious that imaryima text is replete with a good number of parallelism types, the utilitarian values of which we shall be examining in the next section. 4. Functions of Parallelisms in Imaryima Text

According to Fabb (144), parallelism has perhaps three basic functions in verbal art, though not all functions may be realized by any particular example of parallelism. The first function, Fabb further observes, is to be an organizing principle, a means by which the text takes form. The second function, which relates to the first, is to reveal the structuring principles of the language itself. The idea of drawing attention to itself is what Jakobson (1987b: 145) calls,’ the poetic function’, the implication of which is that ‘poetic’ is a characteristic tied to overt formal structure. He pointedly stresses the issue of ‘recurrent returns’, which he believes, is the essence of poetic artifice on every level of language. Therefore, both parallelism and meter are basic means of carrying out the poetic function and drawing attention to the form of the text, given that they involve recurrent returns. The third function, continues Fabb, is to express parallelisms in cultural thinking. This aspect of the utilitarian value of parallelisms is clearly evident in cases where the pervasive use of parallelism in verbal behaviour, especially in verbal arts, reflects a pervasive



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dualism underlying the principles of conceptual organization of a society. Added to these functions could be the fourth, which Talley (2004), calls ‘universal lyricism’. We shall examine imaryima text and determine the extent to which these forms of parallelism discussed above perform these functions.

The various forms of parallelism operating in the text combined in a number of ways to provide an organizing principle that gave the text its form as a song of the panegyric type. Conceptually speaking, parallelism is the statement of a concept immediately followed by a repeated treatment of the concept, either by similarity or by contrast. This effect is frequently achieved by repetition of word, phrase or sentence. The foregoing is truly illustrative of what obtain in imaryima text. Here, we see how the minstrel, riding high on the crest of parallelisms, exploits his poetic license to draw attention to the organizing and structuring principles of Ezikeoba Igbo. The utilization of the functional properties of parallelism through repetition as a poetic and rhetorical device to reveal the organizing and structural principles of the language is not peculiar to Ezikeoba Igbo. Classical Greek, for instance, abounded with such devices, which tend to mirror the organizing and structural strategies of the language. Smyth’s (1973: 674) Greek Grammar contains an appendix of rhetorical figures, including a variety of repetitions, such as the following example from Aeschines, a device known as antistrophe, which is the repetition of the same word or phrase at the end of successive clauses: Whosoever in his first speech asks for your vote, Asks the surrender of your oath, Asks the surrender of the law, Asks the surrender of the democracy. In the above example, we notice instance of successive repetition of word and phrase, which translates into building up tension, energy and drama. Significantly, the power and effect of such repetition like in the imaryima text, is so clear that it is actually visual as well as audible or conceptual. Perhaps, why parallelism should figure so prominently in the ịmaryịma text might be explained by the doctrinal principle that every word is established by the mouth of two or three witnesses. Parallelism, as utilized by Isaiah of the Holy Scriptures, for example, when he quotes God directly, would seem to be the Lord’s signature communication technique. The Lord’s operating principle is to confirm every precept by two or three witnesses, so He repeats Himself, and in doubling or tripling the message, thereby confirms it as His. In Genesis 41:32, the same doctrinal principle is equally reflected in Joseph’s revealing speech to Pharoah: And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharoah twice; it is because the thing is established by God. Job 33:14 reads thus: For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man still perceiveth it not. When God introduced the resurrected Christ to the Nephites, he spoke three times before the multitude understood his words. If for no other reason, repetition might be necessary just to absorb doctrine. Like classical Greek and ancient Hebrew, the Book of Mormon also abounds with various forms of parallelisms. Parallelism is perhaps the single most prominent literary characteristic of the book, so much so, it suggests by itself that the Book of Mormon stems from an ancient tradition; a tradition that like early Greek and Hebrew poetry was primarily oral. Parallelism is a common element of early, oral traditions, because anciently poems, like imaryma song, were read aloud or sung, and the use of repetition allowed largely illiterate audiences to absorb the stories and messages of the poems by ear. The repetition also served to make the poems more lyrical and more readily remembered. In his oral compositions, Ọshagenyi Azẹgba tends to follows the tradition of The Book of Mormon authors who wrote, in part, for audiences that were presumably illiterate. While they preserved their words on metal plates for future audiences, they also recited from the plates for contemporary audiences who were not literate. The authors continued to use parallelism as a literary convention because it was useful in getting their contemporary audiences to more fully absorb and remember their words. Oshagenyi equally exploited parallelism in imaryima text to create lyricism, that is, a



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situation where the passion of the writer transforms into song. Again, this is in line with the tradition of great masters of poetry and oral performers who often resort to word repetition to create lyrical effects. For instance, Virgil in the Aeneid (Book 1, line 684), Dante in the Purgatorio (Canto xxxiii, I: 18), Shakespeare in the Sonnets (Sonnets 20, ii: 6-7), Yeats in the poem, ‘The Folly of Being Comforted’ the Psalmist in Psalms 8:8, and Virginia Woolf in her novel, Mrs. Dalloway made ample use of parallelism achieved through repetition to create lyricism in their various literary compositions. In imaryima text, we discern Oshagenyi’s repetition of identical words and phrases- a poetic technique, which is similar to a technique classified variously by the Greeks as cycloides, epistrophe, and anaphora, depending upon where in a particular passage the repetition is found. By manipulating the technique skillfully, Ọshagenyi creates an effect that is absolutely lyrical in Ezikeọba Igbo.

The third function of parallelism as listed by Fabb, which is to express parallelism in cultural thinking, seems to be operational in imaryima text as well. The profuse use of repetitions to create different forms of parallelisms in imaryima text reflects a kind of pervasive dualism underlying the principles of conceptual organization of the Ezikeọba society. Bricker, notes Fabb (144), argues this for Tojolabal, which tended to suggest that the use of parallelisms is the verbal expression of a dualistic principle that is pervasive in Zinancateco cultural practice to classify certain aspects of the physical, spiritual, and social worlds into contrasting and parallel pairs, a kind of principle, which extends to the form of texts and their performance. The same principled classification of the different aspects of the world into contrasting and parallel pairs is reflected in ịmarịima text. This pronounced dualism, which characterizes the cultural mindset of the general Igbo society of which Ezikeoba is an integral part, derives essentially from the salient sociolinguistic peculiarities of the verbal behaviour, and particularly the verbal art of Ndigbo. Such contrasting pairs as (akamha/ibita) ‘truth/falsehood’, (ụsọ/ili) ‘sweet/bitter’, (ọchị/ẹkwa) ‘laugh/cry’, (ezeene/ẹjọeene) ‘good person/bad person’, (ihe/ma) ‘human society/spirit world’ as well the parallel pairs- Ugwu ne Ugwuanyị ‘sameness’, ihe kwụrụ ihe a kwụdobe ya ‘when something stands, something else of similar disposition stands by its side’- are all illustrative. Arguing along similar line, Foster (1975, 1980) cited in Fabb (145), avers that the two-part parallelism, which he finds in various Ancient Egyptian texts reflects the particular centrality of dualistic thinking in Ancient Egyptian culture with its geographical distinctions between the two lands of Upper and Lower Egypt, the two sides of the Nile east and west, the two horizons where the sun sets and where it rises. Twoness- the fusion or pairing of dualities, Foster (14) further observes, “…lies deep in ancient Egyptian consciousness; it would be natural for it to occur also in the ancient poet’s style of expression.” In Ezikeoba society, this dualistic principle of oppositions and parallel pairs characterizes its cultural consciousness, one kind of atavistic feature, which rears its head in virtually all aspects of verbal behaviour. The expression of cultural contrasts and parallels as evident in imaryima text reflects the dualistic patterning underlying the principles of conceptual organization of Ezikeọba society.

5. Conclusion In this paper, we have examined the concept of parallelism in ịmaryịma text, an aspect of Ezikeọba praise song. As a widespread feature of the verbal arts of the ancient and contemporary societies, parallelism is seen as a basic structuring principle in ịmaryima text. This derives from the instances of structural (mainly syntactic) and semantic parallelisms, which hold between the lines of different sections of the text. By his artistic manipulations of language, the minstrel, Ọshagenyi Azẹgba has created a number of demonstrable parallelisms, the functional properties of which are easily discernible. Apart from drawing attention to instances of parallelisms as basic organizing and structuring principles of the language, parallelisms achieved through repetitions of words and



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Appendix 1. Nwando Achebe i. Nwando Achebe bụ onye Ogidi… Nwando Achebe hails from Ogidi Nwando Achebe shi Ogidi ja-abịa… Nwando Achebe came from Ogidi A mụr Nwando Achebe n’Ogidi… Nwando Ogidi was born in Ogidi Itaryịgba Nwando Achebe bụ Ogidi… Nwando Achebe’s lineage has Ogidi origin Maa bụ onye Ikenga Ogidi… She specifically hails from Ikenga Ogidi ii. Onye Ikenga Ogidi, nẹ ekler m g alua.. An Ikenga Ogidi indigene, I say welcome

Onye Ikenga Ogidi, nasr m g nnọọ… An Ikenga Ogidi native, accept my welcome Ẹmẹrẹmẹ ayag ọnwụ… Beauty is not an insurance against death Sịsịta, ije g bụ sẹẹbẹ sẹẹmbẹ kẹ onye Sister, your graceful strides resemble those mar ẹkwụkwọ… of an educated person Ọnya, ije g bụ sẹẹmbẹ sẹẹmbẹ kẹ onye Friend, your graceful strides resemble those jekwer yuniva.. of a University graduate Nwụlo m, ọ jụg nẹ ego gadma nkọ nẹ i yir My concubine, but for the scarcity of money, m onye na-ar ọr n’obodo oyibo… you look as if you are a University worker Anti, ije g bụ yọrọbọdọ yọrọbọdọ ke Auntie, your stride is as graceful as that of onye kpujer efwu n’oke… a man who took a cow to the bull for mating iii. Ada Achebe, nẹ ẹshị d n g ọyị… Achebe’s daughter, you look so healthy… Afụmamụ Anti Achebe nẹ ẹshị ga- ad I have seen Auntie Achebe; now, I feel m ọyị… a sudden burst of good health… Ẹmẹrẹmẹ ayag ọnwụ… Beauty is no insurance against death… Nwa Achebe, ize nwara nwara kẹ Achebe’s child, your teeth are evenly white like afere Fada… Rev. Father’s china plate… G nẹ ize g vẹrẹvẹrẹ kẹ ochibu Okife… You and your sparkling teeth like Okife’s plate Tarawụza Ụrụbịa Achebe bụ tarawuza a The trousers of Achebe’s pearl is the well-tailored akwador akwador… type…



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Owuruchi-ụkwụ nwa Achebe bụ ụdụ a The trousers of Achebe’s child is the well-trained azdor azdo.. type… Ọyoko m, kẹẹ ị kwadocher ge-eyir m My Pearl, your dressing mode makes you look kẹ onye latar ugwu awụsa… as if you returned from the Hausa land… iv. Ọyị m, kẹẹ m nẹ chi m buter bọ… My chummy, this is how my chi created me… Anti Achebe, nna g bụ ube n’el, Auntie Achebe, your father is the proverbial pear oonyo ye n’al… on top that casts its shadow on the ground… Sisịta, nna g bụ unu atụg … Auntie, your father is an ocean that cannot be oshimiryi… sufficiently salted… Barara wururu!.. A colossus! Ogbodogbo nyanwụ nyanwụ! A human dynamo! Nwa Achebe, ez nẹ ụlọ g bọdụr Achebe’s child, how was the family when you aga mgbẹ ị gbaliter? took off from home?… Ọsọkpọm Nwando aryikwute m nẹ Nwando, my sweetheart has paid me and my ịmaryịma mẹ o jidome bem yẹẹ… ịmaryịma a visit to straighten my crooked lines of life Mẹ o medome m nẹ be m… To lessen my pains of existence… v. Ọyoko nwa ag chei chei ne-eme ire… Pearl, the child of the lion, whose prowess is unrivalled… Fụn nwa Achebe ga ne-eme ẹshị Behold Achebe’s child whose skin is as smooth as bẹrẹbẹrẹ kẹ ufweyi Ọka… the cam wood of Ọka… Sịsịta Achebe as m lmag, nẹ ị d m ọyị… Sister Achebe, it will gladden my heart to marry you nọọnẹ m lmag nẹ i bukog fẹ But you may not live with me one moment if I marry

you… 2. Ahebi Ụgbabẹ i. Ahebi Ụgbabẹ Ahebi bụr jịkpa oonye Ahebi Ụgbabẹ Ahebi was a manly woman in our nẹ banyị… town… Ọhọm Egr Elechi bụr ọnẹhẹ oonye Ọhọm Ẹgr Elechi was a female husband in n'al Ezikeọba Ezikeọba land.. Nwa ọọme Nwaonu Nwaishida tọr Nwaọọmẹ Nwaonu Nwaishida made an ẹt n’al Okoro Owọma… unprecedented mark in Okoro Owọma land… Ụgbabẹ Ọhọm Ẹgr bụr enyimenyi Ụgbabẹ Ọhọm Ẹgr was an elephant that never epieg ọnụ… entered hole… Ahebi bụr ọkanagba gwur iyi nyịr Ahebi was a gargantuan being who swam the ocean jịkpa ata… which overwhelmed men… Anukwu bụr jike a na-akpa ogwu Anukwu was a hero from whose eyes n'ẹnya n’al Ezike… thorns were plucked in Ezike land… Anana Ọmada gbajir igwe sọ bụ nk… Anana Ọmada broke iron and called it firewood… Ya bụ Itodo Ebi chifur adaka mvụrụ She the Itodo Ebi broke the gorilla’s skull an nwer mpama be woliide ụkwụ… all other strong-limbed animals took to their heels

ii. Ahebi Ụgbabẹ bụ ihe d n’el d Ahebi Ụgbabẹ was that phenomenon apace with nyogonyogo… misty outlines… Ụgbabẹ Ọhọm bụ ẹgr; ọ nwụụ, nẹ Ụgbabẹ Ọhọm was a blacksmith, when she died, ẹka a tọr n’ihe he, mọg ihe ọ her hands remained visible because of her kpụr ja-awụshị… artworks… Enyimenyi epieg ọnụ… Elephant does not enter a hole… Nkenishi ekweshig oz; i kedogbe e, Scarf does not fit the corpse; the scarf loosen soon ọ tọshịr; nd ọnwụ gbun kwaarẹ… after it is tied, the bereaved will resume wailings…



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iii. Ahebi chir Eze banyị bụ akamha… Ahebi was crowned a King in our town on the basis of truth… Ọhọm Ẹgr echigo Eze mog ẹka Ọhọm Ẹgr did take the royal title because of kwụrụ ọtọ… her straightforwardness… Enyimenyi kpur okpu Eze n’Ezike The Elephant wore the royal cap in Ezike land mọg ọhọ… because of ọhọ… Ọkanagba tukwuru n’ịchakpọ Ọkanagba sat on the greatest leather stool ọkaryịgọ bụ ezokwu… on the basis of honesty… Anukwu turu awọ n’al Okoro Ọwọma Anukwu adorned the royal feather in Okoro mọg ẹka ọkpakpa… Ọwọma land because of frankness… Anana Ọmada wụlar n’awuru Eze Anana Ọmada was fully decked out in royal mog ẹka ọcha… regalia because of clean hands (honesty)… Agnechọha adọlaga n’oche Eze bụ The lion has reclined in her royal stool mọg akamha… because of truth… Ọchịọha ewor Eze n’Ezike bụ The great leader has become Her Royal Majesty akarẹka chi nyer nwa… in Ezike as destined by Providence… Jịkpa oonye ewor Eze n’al Elugwu The masculine woman has become King in Elugwu Ezike mọg nẹ ọ mag nt’t… Ezike land because she knows not falsehood… Anana Ọmada amag tukpo yakpo… Anana Ọmada does not call black, white Ọkanagba adg nẹ ‘anyị akagọ mẹ Ọkanagba was not part of the chameleonic anyị akẹẹdg’… cult group… Eze shi Ịda adg nẹ okwu uju ọnụ The King from Ịda did not play a uju ọnụ… a hanky- panky game… iv. Nd Ahebi chin Eze ga- nọma Those for whom Ahebi got crowned are n'al jir oyi… already beneath the cold earth… Mẹ Ahebi nẹ onwee ga-nọma Even Ahebi as well has joined them n'al nji oyi… in the land of the cold… Ọhọm Ẹgr Elechi alakwumer Ọhọm Ẹgr Elechi has gone back nd gar ije… to the ancestors… Ọkanagba adagama… Ọkanagba, the Mighty has fallen… Onye o ruen ba-abọr; Whoever dares can step out to take a bite; ba-bọr Ọkanagba nyanwụnyanwụ… take a bite of the meaty Mighty… Ọkanagba daga; sị ya daga… If Ọkanagba, the Mighty falls, let it fall… Ọkanagba alaarẹma n’Ogwugwu… Ọkanagba has transited to Ogwugwu land Ogwugwu bụ Ọgwugwu ma… Ọgwugwu is the spirit world… Ụgbabẹ Ọhọm Ẹgr alama n’obu ẹja… Ụgbabẹ Ọhọm Ẹgr has gone to the mud mansion… Anana Ọmada gbur Ọja Odo faa… Anana Ọmada blew the Odo flute faa! Ụgbabẹ Ahebi awọọ okpoko Ụgbabẹ Ahebi has transformed into a be-eber… woodpecker and perched… O ber, sị ya ber… If it perches, let it perch… v. Anana amago nẹ anyi ji ala… Anana knew that we would all go… Elibe Eze nẹ anyị ji ala… We shall go as soon as they bury the King.. Tẹ aga elig Eze nẹ anyị ja-ala… Even if the King is not buried, we shall still go… Ọhọm Ẹgr amagọ nẹ anyị biar abịa… Ọhọm Ẹgr knew we all came as visitors… Ọbịar ije nwe ụla… The visitor is bound to take leave of his host… Ịgba Anana amagọ nẹ ụwa bụ iyi Igba Anana knew that the world is stream bẹ anyị chuter… from which we all to fetch water… Onye kjuru mbodo e, ọ laarẹ… Whoever fills his earthen pot goes home… Ahebi Ụgbabẹ echujome mbodo e Ahebi Ụgbabe has filled her earthen pot maa alaarẹma… and she had gone home… Anyị ẹẹzẹ je-echuju nke anyị We all shall fill ours and you and I



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mẹ m tẹ g ja-alakwuru nd gar ije… shall go to join our ancestors… vi. Eze na-agba ẹha abẹẹg Ahebi Ụgbabẹ? The King that divines; is she not Ahebi Ụgbabẹ? Onyenye chir Eze n’Ezike abẹeg The woman who became King in Ezike; is Nwelechi Ọhọm? she not Nwelechi Ọhọm? Onyenye kpọr ifu ma n’al Okoro The woman who saw in his nakedness in Okoro Ọwọma abẹẹg Anana Ọmada? Ọwọma land; was she not Anana Ọmada? Ọkanagba Ata Igara chir Eze Ọkanagba, the colossus whom the Ata Igara abẹẹg Ahebi Ọhọm Ẹgr? crowned King; was she not Ahebi Ọhọm Ẹgr? Eze onyenye chiiter ma ekpe; The female King who founded Ekpe masquerade; abẹẹg Ahebi Nwịshịda? was she not Ahebi Nwishida? Eze onyenye shi Ida ja-alata The female King who returned from Ida; abẹẹg Nwukpabi Ndeke was she not Nwukpabị Ndeke? Ivu ada anyịg ada abẹẹg onyenye The dung-bee’s burden that weighs it not; was she not chir Eze n’al Ezikeọba? a female who became King in Ezikeọba land? Nda bu n’agụzọ abẹẹg oke The ant that lives by the roadside; was she not onyenye Ata Igara chir Eze? the manly woman crowned King by Ata Igara? Onyenye ne-eme kẹ onyeke Woman who behaves like man; was she not ọbẹẹg Ọkanagba wor Eze n’Ezike? Ọkanagba who got coroneted in Ezike land? Oke onyenye jiri efwu ja-azọn The masculine woman who gave cows to ọha Ogwurute Eze abẹẹg Ahebi Ogwurute Elders’ Council as bait for her royal Ọhọm Ẹgr Elechi? coronation; was she not Ahebi Ọhọm Ẹgr Elechi? Jịkpa oonye jir ewu nẹ eshi ja-azọn The manly woman who gave goats and pigs to ọha Ụmụida-Ada Eze abẹẹg Ụmụịda-Ada Council of Elders as prize for her Nwonu Nwịshịda? kingship; was she not Nwonu Nwịshịda? Agaba onyenye vur ego n’ishi Extraordinary woman who carried money in basket ja-azọ Eze n’al Ezikeọba abẹẹg to vie for the position of a King in EzikeOba land;

Ahebi Ụgbabẹ Ọhọm Ẹgr? was she not Ahebi Ụgbabẹ Ọhọm Ẹgr? Nwụkpabị Ndẹkẹ Ata n’Ịgara Nwụkpabị Ndẹkẹ, who Ata of Ịgara crowned chir Eze n’Ezike abẹẹg Ahebi? King in Ezike land; was she not Ahebi? vii. Eze na-agwa ag bụ Ahebi Ụgbabẹ The King who confers with lion is Ahebi Ụgbabẹ. Onyeke onyenye na-anyụshị The manly woman who urinates like man is mamunyi kẹ Onyeke bụ Ịgbanana… Ịgbanana… Anukwu wọr okpoko be ber enweg The monstrous being who transformed into a onye ọzọ ga-abụg Ọhọm Ẹgr… wood-pecker is no other person than Ọhọm Ẹgr…

Ọkanagba chir Eze nẹ ụkọrọ munyi The colossus who was coroneted King during bụ Ezike Idoko… dry season is Ezike Idoko… Agben ụwa chir Eze n’al Ezikeoba The natural wealthy person who took the Crown bụ Nwọọmẹ Nwaryioti in Ezikeọba land is Nwọọmẹ Nwaryioti… viii. Nd sr nẹ Ahebi akpọr ifu ma wọọ Those who said that Ahebi turned into a moron ogbodu bụ nd o nwegor imi after getting initiated into the masquerade cult enweg mkpọ… are those who have nose without a snuff bottle… Nd sr nẹ Ụgbọwụrụ Ụgbabẹ agakọg Those who said that Ụgbọwụrụ Ụgbabẹ will bụkwan nd o nwegor imi not pass are those who have nose without enwekweg mkpọ… snuff bottle… Ọtna sr nẹ Nwaishida echifuteg ma Some who vowed never to allow Nwaishida ekpe bụ nd o nwegor imi enweg found ekpe masquerade are those who have mkpọ… nose but no snuff bottle… Ọtna sr nẹ ma Nwaịshịda afụtag Some who oppose the outing of Nwaishida’s jikwe ig egbu madụ… masquerade hold palm frond that kills… Nd cher nẹ Ahebi awụsha ẹka Those who think that Ahebi has surrendered



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cher ekpe nẹ ekpe ajan… should tarry awhile for ekpe’s imminent outing.. Nd cher nẹ ekpe afụtakẹẹmag Those who think that ekpe will no longer make cher nẹ ekpe erute… her public outing should wait to herald ekpe…

Gede nd ọọmụ; nd ogbodu oroko? Where are those people; those useless morons? Gụshịmụ nd ọọmụ; nd o nwegor Show me those people; those who have eyes ẹnya afụg ụzọ… but they do not see… Kan mụ nd ọọmụ; nd o nwegor Tell me those people; those who have eyes and mẹ hẹ kpur ishi… yet they are blind… Rụọn m hẹ ẹka bụ nd ọnụ Point them out for me, those whose poverty ayag ogbenye… does nothing to tame their talkativeness.. Kan m nd ọọmụ, nd o nwegor Let me know them, those who have ears nchị anụg ihe… but do not hear… Kẹ anyị mar nd ọọmụ, nd Let us know them, those who have legs o nwegor ụkwụ ejeg ije… but cannot walk… Họfụyị anyị nd ọọmụ, nd Sort them out for us, those who have mouths o nwegor ọnụ ekwug okwu… but dumb.. Kẹ unu kan anyị nd ọọmụ, nd May you let us know them, those who are ewu ji ndụ mẹ mpu akpọọmaa like a living goat but whose horns nk n’ishi… are withered… Nd nịya iile sr nẹ Ahebi All these people have said that Ahebi Ụgbabẹ abụg Eze… Ụgbabẹ abụg Eze… Kee nd sr ne ekpe Ahebi afutag As those who oppose the outing of Ahebi’s ekpe woor ogbodu oroko… have turned into morons… Homu be o dn nd onwegor imi So it is for those who have nose enweg mkpo… but do not have snuff-bottle Kee nd sr ne ekpe Ahebi afutag As those who oppose the outing of Ahebi’s ekpe woor ogbodu oroko… have turned into morons… Homu be o dn nd onwegor imi So it is for those who have nose enweg mkpo… but do not have snuff-bottle ix. Anyị amayọdochego nẹ Ọhọm We know it very well that Ọhọm Ẹgr Elechi bụ Eze n’al Ezikeoba Ẹgr Elechi is King in Ezikeọba land… Kẹẹ ị dg ẹmọrọ nẹ ị bg ekpe No matter your ravishing beauty, you are Ahebi Ụgbabẹ… not Ahebi Ụgbabẹ’s ekpe… Kẹẹ ị gbadog nẹ ị bụg ekpe Ahebi No matter how well built your frame is, Ụgbabẹ Ẹgr Elechi… you are not Ahebi Ụgbabẹ Ẹgr Elechi’s ekpe… Kẹẹ ị suedog nẹ ị bụg ekpe No matter how proportionate your build is, Ahebi Nwọọmẹ Nwonu… you are not ekpe of Ahebi Nwọọmẹ Nwonu… Kẹe ị dg oome nẹ ị bụg ekpe No matter how well mannered you are; Eze shi Ịda… you are still not ekpe of the King from Ịda… x. Ị nwejober ego ị nweme kẹ Ahebi? How rich can you be to rival Ahebi? Ị kajọbẹr ẹnya ị kata kẹ How intelligent can you be to measure nwa Ọhọm Ẹgr Elechi? up to Ọhọm Ẹgr Elechi? Ị mayịmar ihe ị mata kẹ Nda Can you be as discerning as the ant that bu n’agụzọ? lives by the roadside? Ị bụjọbẹr Eze ị bụta kẹ Ahebi, How regal can you be as a King to equal Ahebi onyenye chir Eze n’Ezike? The woman who became King in Ezike Kingdom?

Ị chiyịmar ike g, ị chịta kẹ How prosperous is your reign as a leader to Ahebi, oke onyenye wor Eze rival Ahebi, the manly woman who got crowned n’al Okoro Ọwọma? in Okoro Ọwọma Kingdom? Ị zọyịmar agjiụkwụ ja, ị zọta How deafening can your footsteps sound kẹ oke onyenye chir Eze to drown out that of the manly woman who



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n’al Ezikeọba? Became King in Ezikeọba Kingdom? xi. Ahebi Ụgbabẹ bụ Eze shi Ịda Ahebi Ụgbabẹ is a King from Ịda Ahebi Ọhọm Ẹgr Elechi bụ Eze Ahebi Ọhọm Ẹgr Elechi is a King crowned Ata Ịgara chir… by Ata of Ịgara Kingdom… Onye sr nẹ Ezike Idoko abụg Whoever says that Ezike Idoko is not a King, Eze gaje mẹ ọ mar Ịda… let him come along and get to know Ịda… Ị s nẹ Ahebi nwa Oshina abụg If you say that Oshina’s child is not a King Eze nẹ be anyi, gaje mẹ ị come along to Ịda to inquire from Ata, the ja-ajụma Ata Ịgara n’onwe e… King of Ịgara himself… Ị s nẹ Ahebi nwa Ọhọm Ẹgr If you say that Ahebi, the child of Ọhọm Ẹgr Elechi abụg Eze, gaje mẹ ị Elechi, is not King, come along to Ịda ja-akama n’ifu Ata Ịgara… and say so in the presence of the Ata of Ịgara… xii. Xgbabe Ahebi Qhqm Egr alaarema Ugbabe Ahebi Ohom Egr has sojourned be ma… in the land of the spirit… Nd ma ewomer Ezike Idoko chii The spirit have put Ezike Idoko in their n’ogelegele… sacred cauldron… Ahebi Xgbabe alaarema Ahebi Ugbabe has sojourned in the n’al Ogwugwu ma… spirit land of Ogwugwu… Nd garije ewor ewor Ahebi Ugbabe The ancestors have put Ahebi Ugbabe la n’obu eja… in the mud mansion… Nd ma evulimer Ahebi la n’Ovuga Qna The spirits have taken Ahebi home to Ovugo Ona xiii. Mgbe Ahebi chir Eze ne nd The elders knew when Ahebi was coroneted qgerenyi amagq… king… Mgbe Qkanagba wor Eze The Oha Council members knew when the ne nd neje ha amago… Okanagba was crowned… Lago te Esato amago mgbe Even the Esato Sect knew when the Oke onyenye wor Eze banyi… manly woman became king in our town… Mete Itegna amago… Also the Itegna Sect knew… Lago te Oha Ogwurute amago… Even the Ogwurute Council of Elders knew… Oha Umuiyida amago… Umuiyida Elders’ Council was aware… Oha Umuonu amago… Umuonu Council of Elders knew… Lago te egal madocher… Even the youths knew quite well… Mete njiomu umuada madocher… Also the women knew so well… Nd Oha umuada amago… The women’s Elders’ Council knew… Ezikeoba iile madocher… The entire Ezikeoba Kingdom knew… Onyishi Ezikeoba amayedogo The eldest man in Ezikeoba knew very well… Onye odunug madocher… Everybody knew quite well… xiv. Eka ezeene Ahebi tor et n’al Ezike Ahebi’s good-natured hands set a record in Ezikeland Mene enam ne-ekpo itaryigba eka ejoeene But destruction issues forth from the evildoer’s hands. Ume Ohom Egr bun Ezikeoba ndu Ohom Egr’s breathe is life for Ezikeoba. Mene onwu ne-esochi ume nd But death flows from the breathe of the never-do-wells. ogbodu oroko… Kee akamha Eze Ahebi woter udo As Ahebi’s truthfulness brought peace to n’al Okoro Owoma… Okoro Owoma land… Be ukpo gabun nd ogbodu ugwo So has extinction become the evildoers’ repercussion. Hanfa eka ocha Nwegr Elechi As Nwegr Elechi’s honesty brought honour to woten Ezike Idoko ugwu Ezike Idoko kingdom Homu be enam jesoore uraal ubiaji So would shame live after the evildoers.



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parallelisms in ezikeọba igbo praise song: …linguisticsafrikana.com/pdf/parallelisms in ezike_ba...

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