Biafra At 50: The Need To Avert Another Genocide And Give Way To A UN-Backed Referendum

A major busy highway looking deserted as a result of the observance of the Sit-at-Home Order of IPOB to mark Biafra @50. Photo credit: Naira Land

Yesterday, May 30th was marked as Biafra's Heroes and Heroines day. This year's celebration was a double-barreled celebration, which at one hand is commemorating Biafra at 50 and in the other, marking a Memorial about the over 3 million innocent men, women and children that lost their lives in various ways as a result of the war. As one source had put it, those who died from deprivation and extreme hunger due to British sponsored land, air and sea blockade in Biafraland, far out-numbered those killed from the barrels of the gun. 

This year's remembrance was special in at least two ways: There was no record of any single casualty; as it was as marked peaceful as a dove. Secondly, it recorded a huge success. 

To mark the celebration, Nnamdi Kanu who is regarded today as the New Face of the Pro-Biafran Movement, made a call for all Biafrans to sit at home and avoid the streets, in order to checkmate the usual brute following the Nigerian Police and Army use of maximum force to quell their peaceful protests. 

There was total compliance to the Order as was reported from several sources, including BBC.

Below is the result of the Sit-at-Home report according to a post circulating in the social media:

The Indigenous People of Biafra Sit at Home Order and Scores of each State:
Anambra (Exceptional) 100%
Abia (Exceptional) 100%
Rivers (Unrivalled) 100%
Bayelsa (Excellent) 100%
Cross River (Excellent) 100%
Akwa Ibom (Overwhelming) 100%
Imo (Intimidatingly) 100%
Enugu (Very good)100%
Ebonyi (Very good) 100%
Delta (Exceptional) 100%
Igbanke/Edo (Very good) 100%
Igala/Kogi/Benue Very good) 100%
Idoma/Benue  (Excellent) 100%
Igede/Benue (Very good) 100%
Agatu/Benue (Benue (Very good) 100%

The Biafra Sit At Home 2017 is a resounding success. This was made divinely possible by God of Israel and Biafra. Is there any Referendum more than this?The answer is no. 

The international observers and foreign journalists that gave coverage expressed satisfaction and poured encomiums on the Biafran nation.

Referendum not contained in the Nigeria criminal Constitution of 1999 as handed down by....in khaki is now Nigeria's headache, not that of Biafra again. 

The Indigenous people of Biafra have eloquently spoken, saying bye to Nigeria. A good riddance to a bad rubbish.

Long live Biafra, long live Nnamdi Kanu. Long live lovers of freedom all over the world. All hail Biafra.
Biafrans in Italy and all over the world, also joined in marking the 50th anniversary of Biafraland.

Were There Advantages Of Traditional Wrestling Of The Igbo People Or Was It Just An Observance Of A Mere Culture?

By Okechukwu OKugo

From ancient times, sporting has been a part of the culture of people all over the world. Examples are the Olympic observance of the ancient Greeks and the gladiatorial fights of the Romans etc. Thus, the Igbo people of West Africa were not left behind in these types of sporting cultural observance.

There were certain things that would culturally bestow honor on both men and women in Igbo societies, and one of such things, which though in this case, was exclusively reserved for the menfolk was traditional wrestling. Male folks of different age brackets engage in it. It can be a leisure activity or a big communal event.

Unlike the western style of wrestling or other sporting activities, which had involved a lot of blood and gore, with extreme violence that had in many cases led to people losing their lives participating, Igbo traditional wrestling does not involve any violence. It basically seeks to search out among two people, the one with more strength, courage, resilience, and physical power, who will succeed to make his opponent's back touch the soil of Igboland. 

Understandably, the corresponding struggles and the grapple to hold the other's body parts, to find a leverage that will enable the other lift his opponent high in the air, before cheering spectators who would usually gather at the village square to witness the contest. 

Traditional wrestling is a culture of the Igbos and many other African ethnic nationalities. Contests can be organized between two different villages in which each one presents their champions to represent their entire community.

Much communal prestige is bestowed on the contestants such that it is regarded that the one who had won in the contest had brought honor to the entire village. And this explains why the champions of various villages were regarded with honor and respected among the male folks and admired among all the village maidens. 

Most times, in the olden days, families from whom the champion would be seeking the hand of their daughters in marriage were regarded as privileged families; and in most cases, the most beautiful belles were reserved for them.

One of the numerous advantages of this tradition was that, in certain cases, it had served as a protection for the entire community. This is because, villages in which it's known that there are many gallant and valiant men who perform well in these traditional wrestling contests, were very famous, and regarded as strong and courageous people. 
As such, their neighbors would not want to go up to them in communal skirmishes or warfare. In cases, when certain disputes like land tussles, arose among the people and their neighbors, they would seek to resolve their matters through dialogue than facing them in tribal battles.

K'anyi waa Oji

K'anyi waa Oji
Source: Aka Ikenga

Ibe-anyi Oji abianu - by Kevin Ndubuisi Anaruagu

Egbe belu Ugo belu.......
Nnekwu okpa ga adi,
Obele okpa ga adi,
Udo adiro na uwa taa, mana nke fodulu nu ka ga ezulu onye obula. Chukwu ga
emezuru anyi nine nkpa anyi di n'iche n'iche.
Ana m ayo Chukwu ka O gozie Oji a m' ji n'aka gozikwa nke gi bu onye na agu
edemede a ji n'aka ka ozua anyi aru na mkpurobi, n'ihi JESU CHRISTI onye nwe
anyi.

Igbo Culture In Photos

Cultural Dance.   Nairaland Forum





Cultural Dance. Alliance of Nigerian Organizations in Georgia, USA



Igbo Traditional Wrestling. Observe Nigeria




Igbo Traditional Wedding. Nairaland Forum



New Yam Festival. Pulse.ng



Igbo Traditional Flutist. ICSN



Chieftaincy Coronation. Tori News




Conferring Chieftaincy Title on Timipri Sylva, Ex-Governor In Nigeria. OnlineNigeria News



Palmwine Tapper. Igbo Culture and Tradition



Blessing of Kola Nut. LiteracyBase


Burial Ceremony In Igboland. Ask Naij.com








































Titled Igbo woman with Ichi marks.  Pinterest

Nsibiri: The Pre-colonial Writing Of The South Eastern People

• 

by Crayola1
Source: NairaLand

The logograph for Nsibiri Nsibidi (also known as nsibiri,[2] nchibiddi or nchibiddy[3]) is a system of symbols indigenous to what is now southeastern Nigeria that is apparently ideographic, though there have been suggestions that it includes logographic elements.[4] The symbols are at least several centuries old: Early forms appeared on excavated pottery as well as what are most likely ceramic stools and headrests from the Calabar region, dating between 400 and 1400 CE.[5] Nsibidi's origin is generally attributed to the Ekoi people of southern Nigeria. Alternatively J. K. Macgregor claimed in 1909 that it is traditionally said to have come from the Uguakima, Ebe or Uyanga tribes of the Igbo people, which legend says were taught the script by baboons,[3] although one writer believes Macgregor had been misled by his informants.[6] There are thousands of nsibidi symbols, of which over 500 have been recorded. They were once taught in a school to children. Many of the signs deal with love affairs; those that deal with warfare and the sacred are kept secret.[7] Nsibidi is used on wall designs, calabashes, metals (such as bronze), leaves, swords, and tattoos.[2][8] It is primarily used by the Ekpe leopard secret society (also known as Ngbe or Egbo), which is found across Cross River among the Ekoi, Efik, Igbo people, and related peoples. Outside knowledge of nsibidi came in 1904 when T.D. Maxwell noticed the symbols.[4] Before the British colonisation of the area, nsibidi was divided into a sacred version and a public, more decorative version which could be used by women.[8] Aspects of colonisation such as Western education and Christian doctrine drastically reduced the number of nsibidi-literate people, leaving the secret society members as some of the last literate in the symbols.[9] Nsibidi was and is still a means of transmitting Ekpe symbolism. Nsibidi was transported to Cuba and Haiti via the Atlantic slave trade, where it developed into the anaforuana and veve symbols.[10][11] The origin of the word nsibidi is not known. One theory traces the word to the Ekoid languages, where it means "cruel letters", reflecting the harsh laws of the secret societies that hold nsibidi knowledge.[12][13] In Calabar, nsibidi is mostly associated with men's leopard societies such as Ekpe. The leopard societies were a legislative, judicial, and executive power before colonisation, especially among the Efik who exerted much influence over the Cross River.[5] Origin The origin of nsibidi is most commonly attributed to the Ejagham people of the northern Cross River region, mostly because colonial administrators found the largest and most diverse nsibidi among them. Nsibidi spread throughout the region over time and mixed with other cultures and art forms such as the Igbo uli graphic design.[5] Status Nsibidi has a wide vocabulary of signs usually imprinted on calabashes, brass ware, textiles, wood sculptures, masquerade costumes, buildings and on human skin. Nsibidi has been described as a "fluid system" of communication consisting of hundreds of abstract and pictographic signs. Nsibidi was described in the colonial era by P.A. Talbot as a "a kind of primitive secret writing", Talbot explained that nsibidi was used for messages "cut or painted on split palm stems". J.K. Macgregor's view was that "The use of nsibidi is that of ordinary writing. I have in my possession a copy of the record of a court case from a town of Enion [Enyong] taken down in it, and every detail ... is most graphically described". Nsibidi crossed ethnic lines and was a uniting factor among ethnic groups in the Cross River region.[5] Uses Court Cases - "Ikpe" The Ikpe from Enyong written in nsibidi as recorded by J. K. Macgregor Nsibidi was used in judgement cases known as 'Ikpe' in some Cross River communities. Macgregor was able to retrieve and translate an nsibidi record from Enyong of an ikpe judgement. The record is of an Ikpe or judgement case. (a) The court was held under a tree as is the custom, (b) the parties in the case, (c) the chief who judged it, (d) his staff (these are enclosed in a circle), (e) is a man whispering into the ear of another just outside the circle of those concerned, (f) denotes all the members of the party who won the case. Two of them (g) are embracing, (h) is a man who holds a cloth between his finger and thumbs as a sign of contempt. He does not care for the words spoken. The lines round and twisting mean that the case was a difficult one which the people of the town could not judge for themselves. So they sent to the surrounding towns to call the wise men from them and the case was tried bv then (j) and decided; (k) denotes that the case was one of adultery or No. 20.[14] Ukara Ekpe [b]The Igbo 'Ukara' cloth of the Ekpe society, covered in nsibidi Nsibidi is used to design the 'ukara ekpe' woven material which is usually dyed blue (but also green and red) and is covered in nsibidi symbols and motifs. Ukara ekpe cloths are woven in Abakaliki, and then they are designed by male nsibidi artists in the Igbo-speaking towns of Abiriba, Arochukwu and Ohafia to be worn by members of the Ekpe society. [/b]Symbols including lovers, metal rods, trees, feathers, hands in friendship war and work, masks, moons, and stars are dyed onto ukara cloths. The cloth is dyed by post-menopausal women in secret, and young males in public. Ukara was a symbol of wealth and power only handled by titled men and post-menopausal women.[15] The Igbo 'Ukara' cloth of the Ekpe society, covered in nsibidi Ukara can be worn as a wrapper (a piece of clothing) on formal occasions, and larger version are hung in society meeting houses and on formal occasions. Ukara motifs are designed in white and are placed on grids set against an indigo background. Some of the designs include abstract symbols representing the Ekpe society such as repeating triangles representing the leopard's claws and therefore Ekpe's power. Ukara includes naturalistic designs representing objects such as gongs, feathers and manilla currency, a symbol of wealth. Powerful animals are included, specifically the leopard and crocodile.[5] The name of a boy called 'Onuaha' as recorded by J. K. Macgregor in 1909. Macgregor interpreted the first two symbols as corruptions of the English letters 'N' and 'A' and the last symbol a generic nsibidi. Macgregor noted the growing European influence on nsibidi. Examples of Nsibidi Here are some examples of nsibidi recorded by J. K. Macgregor (1909)[14] and Elphinstone Dayrell (1910 and 1911)[1][16] for The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland and Man. Both of them recorded symbols from a variety of locations around the Cross River, and especially the Ikom district in what is now Cross River State. Both of the writers used informants to retrieve nsibidi that were regarded as secret and visited several Cross River communities. "Nsibidi" "Welcome" "Two men talking" "Door" "Gun" "Crossbow" "Calabash" "Big drum" "Etak Ntaña Nsibidi — Nsibidi's bunch of plantains. When the head of the house wants plantains he sends this sign to the head boy on the farm."[16] "Umbrella" "Toilet soap" "Matchet" "Woman" "Man" "Moon" "Tortoise"[1][14][16]

Re: Nsibiri: The Pre-colonial Writing Of The South Eastern People by Crayola1: 4:10pm On Jun 25, 2012

More Examples  1 Like 1 Share

Re: Nsibiri: The Pre-colonial Writing Of The South Eastern People by Crayola1: 4:20pm On Jun 25, 2012

There have been various attempts to revive the writing for daily use, one such site with this goal is http://nsibiri.blogspot.com The site author's mission statement: Mission Objective The mission of the Nsibiri Project (the name 'nsibiri' chosen for no particular reason apart from the fact that nsibidi was an already occupied blogspot/domain name) is to record, modernise, and make the nsibidi ideographic symbols relevant for communication in the Igbo language and Cross River languages such as Efik, Kwa and Ejagham, by transitioning it into a (fully) logographic script. Nsibidi is also meant to inspire and encourage Igbo descendants, and people in general, to learn the languages it will be used in, and to attempt to add the Igbo and other related cultures to the worlds general consciousness, in a positive light, overtly! Why not just the current önwu script? I don't know about you, but I know quite a few fluent Igbo speakers that have trouble reading a sentence in the önwu (very ironic name) Latin-derived alphabet. If you give an average Igbo speaker a novel in Igbo, even with all the accents, they will not be able to read it as fluently as an English speaker reading an English book. The problem, for Latin, is that Igbo is a tonal language and it has limited grapheme's (symbols) to represent the many different tones, phonemes (sounds) and syllables that Igbo utilises. Latin was never made for Igbo, it was there for the convenience of those who wanted to tell Igbo speakers that they have a new queen. Using Latin in Igbo is like using a nice silver Italian (wait for it...) designer fork to eat some extra spicy, thick, meaty, and flavourful pepper soup made with aged ingredients (sorry...). Do you ever wonder why most African cultures never independently developed a writing system above the level of ideographs?  (nothing really wrong with that) I believe this has something to do with many of the languages being tonal. I believe a Chinese speaker fluent in the Latin alphabet will not be able read any of the Chinese languages in Latin, I found a perfect example of why this is on Wikipedia: 妈妈骂马的麻吗?/媽媽罵馬的麻嗎? Pinyin: māma mà mǎ de má ma? English: "Is Mother scolding the horse's hemp?" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tone_%28linguistics%29 Chinese, and some other tonal languages are read by billions of people with logographic writing systems. To a certain extent, Igbo/Ibibio was using some logographic symbols. Logographic symbols do not require you to pronounce a word, but, rather, to understand the word which is important in languages with lots of homophones (where multiple words have the same phonemes). Ákwà, Àkwá, Ákwá are popular examples of Igbo tonality. Let's not forget the issue of Igbo languages, central Igbo, and general intelligibility; nsibidi could almost provide a solution to the issue of Igbo literature being unintelligible to certain Igbo languages, and the perceived bias towards certain languages by leaving open the pronunciation and variation of certain words and their tones. Nsibidi also cuts down words/sentences in Igbo, or those new/translated words that are actually sentences and that cannot be understood in one word using the Latin alphabet. With nsibidi, you'll only have to teach the person the word and the nsibidi that goes with it and they'll have no problem understanding it somewhere else where it is written in nsibidi. With a logographic script, backed by a simpler yet relevant syllabary derived from the grapheme's of nsibidi, Igbo writing can go places that it may have never gone before. Why use nsibidi? Because nsibidi is a legacy and cultural artefact that the Igbo/Efik/Efut-speaking ancestors developed with their own ideas independently. It is a window into the genuine and independent ideas of these cultures and the people who developed the cultures. Nsibidi was a channel for the ancestors to communicate their love, their spirituality, their fears, their greed, their lust, their wants, their needs, their knowledge, their anger, their sorrow; it documented their organisational skills, their marriages, court cases and other sorts of thing. Why not nsibidi? Why has it died in the first place? Nsibidi has been used for over a thousand and a half years as we now know, and Igbo has been using a Latin-based orthography for roughly a hundred and a half years. Something invested in and passed on for countless generations should not be discarded and forgotten so easily, this is 'why use nsibidi'. How many characters will there be Hundreds, or probably thousands of current old nsibidi characters as well as compounds and simplified characters. Where there's an Igbo word, there ideally should be a unique character/compound for it. How will people remember all these characters They won't have to, there would a standard set of nsibidi people would learn, then they will be given a nsibidi-derived syllabary to use when they don't have an nsibidi character for something. For example, a computer keyboard will have a basic form of the syllabary (plus computer combinations/short-cuts) to use in digital typing. There can be a software for locating nsibidi symbols if the user wants. All this will be done if the nsibidi script is successful in capturing the imagination of Igbo speakers and if it is taken further as a serious and legible writing system; nsibidi and its syllabary can be created digitally with a special unicode for it to be distributed in computers and other digital products. The syllabary will also be used to pronounce words that are foreign to Igbo ('London', 'Ferrari', 'Snow', etc). Will the Latin script be thrown away? The Latin script will have its paramount status demoted, but it will be at the same level as nsibidi (and derived syllabary). This project is not an attempt at isolationism, but a language preservation action. If it is accepted, when/where will nsibidi (or neo-nsibidi) be taught The same place it has been taught in for hundreds (if not thousands) of years, which is school. Igbo language, I believe is a compulsory subject in Igbo-speaking states of Nigeria up till a certain level when it can be dropped; nsibidi can be taught here, just like önwu is being taught in Igbo classes. Are you not messing original nsibidi up? [b]No, did the person who added a steam boats wheel to the nsibidi script mess it up? That will be the latest addition to nsibidi I hope will be accepted, because I don't think adding Martini glasses and car engines to the script will do it much good. The project is not to completely recreate nsibidi characters, but to utilise them in the creation of compounds (multiple grapheme's), if there are no characters good enough (or not existing at all) they will be made from the radicals (basic characters) that the ancestors used in making the other characters. [/b]For example the straight line with one horizontal bar at its top and bottom is a common radical and will be looked at, as well as other old characters, for inspiration when creating new characters. This is silly, how can we write with drawings? Look @ these signs & tell me if they R not = to logographs, or ideographs!(?) + there R plenty > you use without knowing. In fact lift your Panasonic radio, see 'drawings' full, open your Sony TV manual, see 'drawings' full. What about Ekpe, Okonko, Ojuju Calabar, etc? If this project gets attention, and is recognised by a good amount of Igbo language key connects and contacts (whatever that is), then the nsibidi characters, all of them, will be reviewed with societies along with all other nsibidi fluent people, to see if any symbols are too personal to them for them to released, or for any other corrections. The project does its best to steer away from any Ekpe/Egbo/Okonko characters to avoid any possible future conflict. I would like to remind people that Ekpe/Egbo/Okonko really isn't necessarily a religion. As for ojuju Calabar, and any other spirits that anyone thinks is a part of nsibidi (because we all know African things are usually demonic, true?) they should answer whether they want their children to be greeting them in "Hi". What about other languages that use(d) nsibidi, and possibly even created it? The plan is to consult them to plan how this script can be used for those languages if they are interested. This project focuses on developing nsibidi for tonal Igbo language, true, but the other Cross River languages that used nsibidi are also in mind and they can't be forgotten as they played the biggest role in developing nsibidi. It would be an easy transition from Igbo characters to ______ characters as this is a logographic script, an Igbo/Cross river language speaker may even be able to read a Igbo/Cross river language book written in nsibidi, depending on the languages' patterns. Show your face! No!

Re: Nsibiri: The Pre-colonial Writing Of The South Eastern People by Crayola1: 4:24pm On Jun 25, 2012

http://nsibiri.blogspot.com Nsibiri conjunctions Some conjunctions in Igbo and English. 'And' has already been explained. 'Or' is made out of Nsibiri 'talk' (top), 'question' (bottom left) and 'unity' (bottom right). So it is interpreted literally as 'Speech question unity', e.g 'Decision conjunction'. 'But' is made out of Nsibiri 'talk' (top), 'fight' (bottom left) and 'unity' (bottom right). Interpreted as 'Talk fight unity', e.g 'Conflict conjunction'. 'So' is made out of Nsibiri 'support stick' (e.g fall, left), 'talk' and 'unity'. 'Fall/Drop/Come out (from Igbo fùtàrà) talk unity', e.g 'Conclusion conjunction'. 'For/Because' is made out of Nsibiri 'talk', 'path/journey' (middle) and unity. 'Talk journey unity', 'The point, the mission conjunction'. Character Sheet 1 Many of the characters I have created so far will change as I try to simplify nsibidi (most won't change). Apart from this, the following will probably no change. Break down 'Market' - The character on the left (a straight line with a bar on top and on the bottom) is a very common nsibidi radical. Depending on the context it can mean anything from human to a pillar. In this context it is one of its other uses, this time a house. The character on the left is the old nsibidi sign for 'trade' probably used frequently in public. Together it is understood as 'trade house', 'market'. 'Entrance' - The top character is the old nsibidi for 'door', the bottom character is a woman or just a general person. The compound character (njíkọ) is understood as 'door of people', 'entrance'. 'Beauty' - The old characters for 'woman' (big left-facing curve) and 'mirror' together make 'beauty'. 'Chief' - Old character for a chief. 'Feather' - Old character for feather. 'House' - The straight line with bars can be a house in nsibidi writing, so can a square or an oval. 'Leopard' - From nsibidi motifs representing the leopard. 'Water' - From water depicted in nsibidi documents. All derived from 20th century sources. Warrior "Watchman/guard" + "Sword/Matchet".

Re: Nsibiri: The Pre-colonial Writing Of The South Eastern People by Zeruchi: 4:55pm On Jun 25, 2012

Sorry the spambot must have found the updates a little too much at one time  More... Nsibiri conjunctions 2 Character Sheet 2 Enugu I looked for nsibidi for "above/top" and "hill" and could not find any. I decided that from previous radicals in nsibidi, that the simple 'I' shaped radical could be used to depict a hill or a mountain and from these I forged these two characters meaning 'top' and 'hill'. These characters may change if I find out there are characters for 'hill' and 'top/above'. Restaurant Igbo Chí Middle + Fire/energy + Top + Land/Life = Chí Note - 18 March 2011: I understand that 'Chí' is a very abstract concept in Igbo culture (among many things), and this character was created to capture the basic "idea" of Chi. Many concepts in Igbo culture may not be able to be explained with words. The characters that will be created do not intend to add any meaning to the concepts, but to create a character that is, in a basic form, relevant to the concept as has been done with old nsibidi. Nsibidi characters used to import words into nsibidi writing will not attempt to explain the complete purpose of the concept it represents, but, instead, to roughly rationalise its use as a representative of that word. A circle with strokes around it will not explain the role of the sun in photosynthesis. Thanks for bringing this to my attention so I could explain. Scholarly Comparison between Egyptian writing and Nsibiri  From 'General History of Africa: Methodology and African prehistory', (1981) University of California Press. Umuahia My hometown. Child in a house = household = children = úmù + Ahiá = market > Umuahia. I actually saw an original copy of a symbol where children were in a house which is where I got children from. Idemili Symbol for Idemili, which literally means "pillar (represented by the symbols on the side) of water (represented by the symbol in the middle)" Diary Entry 1 Like 1 Share

Re: Nsibiri: The Pre-colonial Writing Of The South Eastern People by Zeruchi: 5:05pm On Jun 25, 2012

Nsibiri (rough) list (Dictionary) http://www.scribd.com/doc/63616534/Ikpo-Nsibidi-Dictionary Ọwụwa Ụwa Òzọ - Anaéto abụzíala nkwákpụ (Movie Poster)