Hebrews Words of Igbo Origin - Onyeji Nnaji
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| The image of Eri, the fist Igbo ancestor |
“Such is the imperfect sketch my memory has furnished me with of the manners and customs of a people among whom I first drew my breath. And here I cannot forbear suggesting what has long struck me very forcibly, namely, the strong analogy which even by this sketch, imperfect as it is, appears to prevail in the manners and customs of my countrymen and those of the Jews, before they reached the Land of Promise, and particularly the patriarchs while they were yet in that pastoral state which is described in Genesis–an analogy, which alone would induce me to think that the one people had sprung from the other.”
People should stop interpreting the cultural similarities of the Igbo and Israel to mean that one migrated from the other. How long shall we continue to bear the names given to us by foreigners even when we have names given to us at birth. Igbo name children after ancestors, mourn deaths, observe circumcision etc. each of which has an aspects of the Igbo history it depicted. Israel observe almost all of these; but rather than allow them to form parts of their history, they claimed their God told their father to observe them. But people have not studied to realise that the word ''Hebrew" originated from Moses in Egypt and that it was the same Moses who invented the Hibrew tongue. If you read the late 19th century publication of Rudolph R. Windsor you will see how Hebrew tongue was formed. If you want to know the origin of this deceitful claim, read the next subheading below.
The Confusionists' Claims
George Basden who wrote in 1912, pointing out certain constructions found in the Igbo language and what he considered the deep religious feeling of the people, propagated the view that Igbo culture probably evolved under the impact of the Levitical Code. Impressed by what he considered the superior intelligence of the Aro Igbo and by their religious systems and rituals, he and Sir Herbert Richmond contended that the Aro carried Hamitic blood in their veins and that it was under their leadership that the “higher” aspects of Igbo culture had evolved.
Similarly, impressed by Igbo sun-worship and by the feature of dual organization in their social structure, M.D.W. Jeffrey held that the Igbo, at some stage in the past, had come under Egyptian influence. Jeffrey helplessly concluded that the carriers of this Egyptian influence probably were the Nri of Awka in northern Igboland. Jeffrey could conclud wrongly this way because, about that time he was too shallow to have read books that would have taught him better. Had he read books like the Egyptian Book of the Dead, Before the Pyramids, Reminiscence, Myths or Reality etc. he would have known that it was rather the Egyptians who carried the Igbo culture to Egypt. How did they do this? Read the books above and you will see that Egyptian Civilization was the product of the Nsukka civilization. If you want the whole information in a jiffy, then see The History and Origin of Egypt.
Another error is the application of the Oriental hypothesis to Igbo cultural history by colonial officials. It enforced a propagandistic side to those confusionists' claims. These men refused to concede the Igbo cultural traits which they traced to the East could indicate that the Igbo came from there. To do so would, in the intellectual climate of the time, have been to assign this despised colonial people a higher place on the world tree of culture than the colonial masters would have found convenient. Instead, the colonial theorists claimed that these traits showed that the Igbo had once been under Egyptian or Jewish cultural dominance.
Implicit in this claim was the idea, not hitherto emphasize by anyone, that British colonialism was not a radical departure from the past, but in some sense a continuation of the cultural education of the Igbo which had been started long ago by the Egyptians. In this regard it is revealing that the Oriental hypothesis was imported as an explanation of Igbo history in the 1920s, when the colonial government was experiencing great difficulty in the administration of the Igbo. It was in this situation that it came to be argued first that Igboland had once been under Egyptian influence, second that the spread of Egyptian culture in Igboland was the work of a small elite, who after interbreeding with the people, became the Nri and Aro of today, and third that if the British really wanted to rule the Igbo “indirectly”, then they had to do so through the Nri and the Aro.
Colonial Masters knew the truth about the Igbo race. If you study the works of MacGregor you will notice that they knew that the human history evolved from Africa, but the exact point and people among whom human history stemmed was the big question. If you read the account of Mungo Park's expedition of the Niger, you will hear him say that he was told already before the journey that the river has a course: flowing towards the place of beginning. Read also the account of the missionary, Pa Elton, and hear him lament that we did not know that creation began with us. So, when they stepped into Igboland, they sought to hear our story but could not untill 1911 when Eze Nri (Obalike) told the Igbo story at a court in Awka.
Unfortunately, the more curious historians and archaeologists who had had their minds deluged by the thought of Egypt and Israel origin for the Igbo race were not there. Yes, the likes of Basden and Jeffrey were not there to hear the truth. That is why someone would wake up today to say that Ndigbo originated from Egypt which was founded by Umudiala pygmies or Israel who wedded Igbo culture into theirs from Egypt. Abomination! Researchers who want to have glimpse of Igbo history should read the works of Northcote Thomas. He was in the meeting when Obalike told the world who we are for the first time. Read the works of Onwuejiogwu and learn what the Igbo origin is.
Hebrews Words Traced to Igbo
Hebrew words | Implied Meaning | Igbo equivalents | Impied Meaning |
Amar | Command | (h)amara or mara | Command |
Hayah | Let there be | Haa ya | Let it be/let there be |
Hayah uwr | Let there be light | Haa ya owuru | Allow it to lit |
Hayawu | Name of the creating deity | Anyanwu | Sun (Igbo also take the sun as the creation deity). |
Genesis | Go to the beginning | Ge n’isisi | Go to the beginning |
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