110 of 1,500 Yoruba-Igbo-Edo Words from Akalaka-Ekpeye Language.

What we 'knew' this past 120 years about the origin of Yoruba, Igbo and Edo civilizations, culture, and history, was totally wrong. After nearly 20 years of patient study, the surprising results of what perhaps may be the most groundbreaking Nigerian work in its field, is set for release. Here is the teaser to get us started.

Even without written records, we still would have known that England was once either ruled by the French, or received a significant dose of its civilization from France. The fact that an estimated 10,000 English words are loans from French, would eventually have led scholars there. As it is with French and English, so it is with Akalaka-Ekpeye language and each of Yoruba, Igbo and Edo. Despite their very limited precolonial vocabulary size, there are over 1,500 words from Akalaka-Ekpeye language in Yoruba, Edo and Igbo.

Ekpeye culture and Ekpeye language have long intrigued objective scholars. In 1948, their arts so intrigued the archaeologist Kenneth Murray, later Director of Nigeria’s Federal Department of Antiquities (now Museum and Monuments), that, when in 1966 the Arts scholar John Picton needed to go on a field training of a new Nigerian employee of the department, Murray suggested they go to Ekpeye land. And Picton said he ‘was shocked’ by what he saw.

Akalaka-Ekpeye are responsible for what we know today as Yoruba, Igbo and Edo civilizations. And, among the evidences, are the many words from Akalaka-Ekpeye language in those languages. Here are 110 interesting examples, of more than 1,500 yet identified, taken from the book's Appendix:

Note: (i) the Akalaka-Ekpeye is in [ ]; (ii) vowel ‘under-dots’ are placed after the vowel; (iii) in Akalaka-Ekpeye, ‘r’ is silent, used in place of the ‘under-dot’ of the preceding vowel.

YORUBA from Akalaka-Ekpeye language

(Dictionary Definitions from CMS, 1913)

1.      Abiye. : winged. [aba iyer, feather thing]

2.      Be. or mbe. : to be, to exist, to live. [be: to live]

3.      Akpati: that which is thrown away or put aside. [Irkpachi: that which is thrown away or put aside because it is deemed of low quality or ineffectiveness, etc.]

4.      Adagun: pond, lake, pool. [idagu: small, natural ponds, that characterizes the freshwater Niger Delta]

5.      Adibo: one casts lots. [a-dor-ibo, we-contest-bet/wager]

6.      Da: to cause to have. [dor: to be the cause]

7.      Da: throw down in a wrestling. [da: fall down]

8.      Togbera: to place in rows. [“to” = line up; “gberder” = together; “ya” = it. “togbbeda”: to place it in rows.]

9.      Odo: mortar. [odo: mortar]

10.  Ododo: scarlet. [ododo: scarlet]

11.  Otutu: cold, bleak. [ududu: foggy, misty]

12.  Ada: cutlass, bill-hook with wooden handle. [adha: sharp, sometimes double-cutter, cutlass/matchet]

13.  Agan-nigan: warlike person, marauder. [urgadhiga: to roam about, with or without danger. Ga+dhi+ga, pass by + continuously + pass by]

14.  Amuni: a captor. [aumodhi: a captor. Au-mo-dhi = of or about a person, thing or action + capture + verb suffix denoting continuous action]

15.  Atanu: castoff, useless. [tadhu: spoilt, go bad, become useless]

16.  o.kpo.lo. : toad. [erkpudho: toad]

17.  o.re. : small whip, scourge. [irdher: pain]

18.  o.ro. : word, conversation. [ur+dhor: to converse]

19.  o.ro. : clay for building. [urdhor: clay, especially from swamp]

20.  o.ro. : ghost, fairy. [urdo(iryer): another(being), i.e., spirit being, ghost, etc]

21.  oro-ainimo. : a meaningless word/conversation; nonsense. [aini mor: nonsense. Ur+dhor+aini (alternatively ‘agirnir’) + ma-or: conversation + ‘aini’ + narrated. Aini = a conversational deadwood, referring to an unspecific/unnamed person, thing or place]

22.  Kpohunrere: cry aloud, lament, bewail. [kpor-hudhidhi: call out for attention repeatedly. Kpor-hu-dhi-dhi = speak + shout out or loud call + continuous + continuous]

23.  Karo: may we speak. [kadho: able to say. Ka + dho = talk + able]

24.  Kori: harvest. [kordhir: to harvest, especially crops needing shearing, or shaving., e.g., cocoyam. ‘kor’=shave, shear]

25.  Korin: sing, warble. [kordhir: to render a folktale wholly or substantially in song or poem as opposed to prose]

26.  La: lick with tongue. [dha: lick with tongue]

27.  Modi: to know the origin, to be conversant. [murdhir: learn purposefully]

28.  Olodi: a fortified place, a walled town. [Olodi is the prefix to the name of 1 out of every 3 towns in Ekpeye. It refers to a land, good for both habitation and farming, resulting from the effective clearing of a virgin forest]

29.  Olu: mushroom. [Odhu: mushroom]

30.  o.dari: nay, never, in no wise. Same as NDAO. [urdadher: it will never, or did not, happen again. Similar to URDAADHO: it cannot possibly happen. ‘da’ = happen; ‘dho’ = able/possible; ‘-er’ = negative particle]

31.  Edi/idi: binding or tying. [edyi: 1. Rope; 2. Umbilical cord]

32.  o.yinyin : one spoiled by indulgence. [edyedyi = e + dyi + e dyi = he + eat + he eats: impulsive consumer; a descriptive term for a lazy person who loves to consume but hates to produce]

33.  tori: frightfully. [tudyi: be frightening]

34.  o.jo. : place, lodging, accommodation. [odyo: a friendly neighbour’s or well-wisher’s home.]

35.  ojo. ejo. : court day. [eye erdyor: day of pleadings]

36.  Aga: chair, stool. [short for agida, aga+i+da = bow-shaped wood/structure + pronoun + fall/rest on = chair, typically with arm and or back rest]

IGBO from Akalaka-Ekpeye language

(Dictionary Definitions from Williamson & Blench, [1972]2003)

37.  Abo. : long basket for fishing. [obo: long basket for fishing]

38.  Abu. : song. [orbur: song]

39.  Ba: peel with knife. [ba/badhi: peel with knife]

40.  Ba: enter. [badhur: detour]

41.  Be: dwell. [be: dwell, live]

42.  Bi: terminate, bring to an end. [bi/bili: cease, put an end to]

43.  Bido: start. [bido: start]

44.  Bo. : dig up, rake surface. [bor: search up minute details, or dig up]

45.  Bu: carry something heavy. [bu: carry something heavy]

46.  Bu. : be. [bur: be]

47.  Ebe: yam beetle. [ebe: beetle]

48.  Ebi: porcupine. [obi: porcupine]

49.  Ebubo: accusation, charge. [aburbor: deliberate, usually hate-motivated, allegation that the target does not belong, as of right, to the family the target claims or has been associated with.]

50.  Oba: calabash. [erba: half calabash, used to hold and bail water]

51.  Obala: blood. [Urbala: blood]

52.  Uba: increase, abundance. [irba: increase, productivity. ‘irbala’ = profit]

53.  Ubo. : musical instrument with strings. [urbor: musical instrument, played with the fingers. ‘urbor’ = fingernail]

54.  Chi: (a) animate, purposeful essence; procreative life-force; (b) life-force of an individual (or his spiritual essence). [chi: (a) the focused release on to earth, of light and life-giving energy by the Sun; (b) the focusing of an artificial light on a dark spot, such as torchlight, in mimicry of the sun’s focusing of light on earth.]

55.  Chiukwu: God. According to M A Onwuejeogu, in Nri-Igbo, Chukwu = Anyanwu (sun) + Agbala + Chi + Okike. [Chi: one of four attributes of Erlanwu, the Sun-God. Others: Ke (warm), Sa (brighten), Nwu(combust/burn)]

56.  Chiukwu Abiama: God the Provider. [Chi Orbiorma: Heavenly Energizer; praise name of the Sun God. Orbiorma is the region of space where the Sun is located, and from which ‘ama’, lightning/thunder, issues forth]

57.  Iche: difference. Separateness. [ise: different]

58.  Ncha: soap. [ircha: soap]

59.  Nchi: cane rat, grasscutter. [gbuchi: grasscutter]

60.  o.tulukpokpo: woodpecker. [erchirkpokpo: woodpecker]

61.  Ada: a fall. [erda: a fall]

62.  Ada: eldest daughter. [ada: eldest daughter]

63.  Da: fall, befall, happen. [da: fall, happen]

64.  Do. : draw, pull. [dor: draw, pull]

65.  Du: lead, accompany. [du: lead]

66.  Du. : prick, pierce, sew. [dur: sew, pierce with needle]

67.  Ede: cocoyam. [ede: cocoyam]

68.  Edo: yellow. [odo: yellow]

69.  Ndo: shade. [udo: shade]

70.  Ndu: life. [burdur: life]

71.  Odo: wooden mortar. [odo: wooden mortar]

72.  Ododo: purple, crimson [ododo: scarlet]

73.  Odudu: damp, coldness. [ududu: misty, foggy]

74.  Ogede: plantain, banana. [irdeni: plantain. (ir-dernir = you + fry it; while ogede = oga + er + der = oil + you + fry]

75.  o.du: advice. [Urdur: advice]

EDO from Akalaka-Ekpeye language

(Dictionary Definitions from Melzian, 1937)

76.  ava: wooden or iron wedge, to split wood. [abana: wooden or iron wedge, to split wood]

77.  be: to tap palm wine. [bi: to tap palm wine]

78.  bie: cook thoroughly, only of beans. [bie: any cooking that results in a porridge]

79.  e.bo: any charm of powdery substance with which people wash themselves or rub their forehead/chest. [bur: to blow a powdery or grainy substance into the air, with the mouth, the usual means of activating powdery/grainy medicines, positive or negative, the remainder of which is then turned to paste and rubbed on the client]

80.  e.vbo: 1. Country 2. People. [erbor: a geographical area distinguished by the abundance or dominance of a particular thing, e.g., a plant. Erbor-orhu = land full of oil palm trees, erbor-gburgor = land full of raffia palms, erbor-irdeni = plantain plantation, etc.]

81.  gbigbi: to spread rumour. [gbbibi (gbba+ibi): narrate + render opinion, especially secretively = unauthoritative revelation of secret, especially to the party whom the owner of the info does not wish to presently reveal it to.]

82.  ibi: charcoal; soot. [abi: indigo, whose color is the standard reference for all things black.]

83.  ibie: secret language of iwebo society with many Portuguese language. [Ibi: to pass on secret information, especially with the expectation that the recipient will not divulge the information and or the source. Ibie = ibi+ye = ‘ibi’ + we/our = our secretive communication code]

84.  ibobo: thin skin not strong as ikpakpa. [ibobo: phobia for what can harm the skin]

85.  ivie: beads. [ibier= ibiyer=ibe-iryer: piece + thing. Ibier was the original name for beads. The alternative is ‘orlor’, which derives from the verb ‘lor’, to sway/swing or state of hanging loosely]

86.  ivbi: scrotum. [ibbi: oversized scrotum (elephantiasis of the scrotum)]

87.  ovba: spleen. [aba: spleen]

88.  o.be. : salutation, similar to Yoruba ‘oku’, ‘e.ku’, which is followed by time and occupation of the addressee. [erbor (er+bor = you+awake): salutation, originally offered only once per day per addressee; from which came erborler/erberler, ‘You are hale’, from which came Yoruba ‘e.kpe.le.’]

89.  o.bo: doctor. [see e.bo = medicine] NB: O.bo is also the name of a sib, headed by Ogie-Ugo, the best of all Bini doctors, their base Ugo N’iyek-orhiomwon, (Ugo town behind River Ethiope), also the center of Osun cult]

90.  ubi: pointed sticks used by farmers for making the holes for yam-sticks. [u bi: to procure sticks for yam poles, building a house, etc]

91.  uvie.n : in Ogwega divining, group of combinations belonging together. [ur-bur-iryer = urbiye : it + is + one thing, i.e, ‘to be same’]

92.  da: pour down hard (of rain). [da: fall down, but not of rain]

93.  de: to fall. [de: rainfall]

94.  do. : stretch itself e.g. spring. [dor: to draw or stretch out]

95.  idu: wild dove. [gbido: wild dove]

96.  odo: wooden mortar. [odo: wooden mortar]

97.  orhu: musical instr., kind of horn, big mouth. [ordur: musical instr from animal horn]

98.  ude: advice. [urdur: advice]

99.  ude. : oil from fried palm-kernels, grease. [ur-der: to-fry]

100.        ada: state sword. [type of cutlass, typically double-cutter, not used for farming]

101.        ade. : buyer. [a dher: we won’t sell. a-dhe-er = we + sell + not]

102.        agberhie : shooting contest [agbbadhie = a + gbbadhi + iye = we + shoot + object/thing]

103.        arhue: circumcision [adhuer = au + dhu + wer = of/about + belong + with which = formal admission into womanhood; occasion of a woman’s first menstruation, which leads to her circumcision, and start of permanent clothing (ukani) of the private parts]

104.        ale. : fixed selling. [a dhe wer = we-sell-with = fixed price]

105.        de. : to buy [dhe-er : sell + not]

106.        irho: cheek. [idho: tongue]

107.        luluulu: fat and strong, of a cow, etc. [udhudhu = udhu + udhu = all flesh/meat. (udhu=flesh/meat)]

108.        orhue: chalk found at river side; symbol of luck and of the Oba. Olokun, god of sea, is said to have brought it. [urdhor: chalk, made of ‘white’ clay from river side, an important ingredient in most medicines, symbol of peace, and where easily available, the choice clay for scrubbing the walls of houses]

109.        orru: a larva that lives in the tapping-cut of palm trees (udin or o.go.). [edhu: a larva that grows and lives in rotten raffia palm trees.]

110.        o.gbbalame: nickname for person whose business is to interfere with other people’s affairs. [agbbadhormer: a + gbadhor + mer = it + does concern + me = it always concerns me]

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About me:

I was a Student Leadership Activist, became a Senior Legislative Aide to the DSP of NASS, went to work in Oil Services sector, returned to public service as a Candidate for House of Assembly seat, and have since 2012 settled down to my private research and publishing career, based out of Port Harcourt, specializing in Research and Publishing of ‘Historicals’ . My new Book “Akalaka-Ekpeye & How They Ruled Benin, Ile-Ife and Igboland” is due for release soon.