The Female King of Colonial Nigeria: Ahebi Ugbabe

Glossary of Igbo and Igala Words

GLOSSARY OF IGBO AND IGALA WORDS The vast majority of the words on this list are Igbo; I indicate which ones are not in parentheses. Many of the titles (and other words) used in Nsukka Division are ancient and borrow from neighboring dialects; thus, the literal meanings are not always apparent. Afo: the third day of the week in both Igbo and Igala attah (Igala): literally, “father,” king attama (Igala): literally, “lord of many,” priest be ikwu nne Ahebi: the town where Ahebi’s mother was born chi: a personal spirit that protects and guides a person throughout life dibias: medicine men Ede (Igala): the second day of week ego nwanyi: bride-price or as used in this biography, child-price. Eke: the first day of the Igbo week and the fourth day of the Igala week ewo (Igala): goat ewu (Igbo): goat fulu efu: got lost Gabaidu: the attah’s praise-name; the respectful way to address the attah ife di egwu: thing of great incredulity Igba afa: to seek out the divine; to divine the root of their problems igberema: a person dedicated to a deity in a marriage-type relationship as a living sacrifice Igbo enwe eze: the Igbo have no kings igo mma ogo: becoming the in-law of a deity; a type of spiritual “slavery” in which the individual is tied to a deity in a marriage-type relationship igu afa: act or performance of naming 222 GLOSSARY OF IGBO AND IGALA WORDS ikpo: “to call” somebody or something or “to peg” something to the ground nkowa: the introduction nkwado: the preparation Nkwo: the fourth day of the Igbo week nna anyi: our father nnenne: literally “my mother’s mother,” but the term is not often used to refer to that relationship; it is instead used as a pet name, a name that a mother often bestows on a favorite daughter or a niece on an aunt nwada: daughter [of the lineage] nwatakili walu anya: a difficult and conceited girl or boy who does not listen to reason o be taa na o chie: if things begin to get better today (i.e., immediately ) or (even better) if identified problems are solved today, that would be sufficient o gbapu: he or she took flight ogba afas or ndi ogba afa: diviners ogu umunwanyi: war of the women oje gba afa: to trace the origin of ill fortunes; sought out the expertise of a diviner okanga: okanga drums are two ended drums made out of rare animal skin, and played only by men; egwu okanga is one of the oldest and most prestigious traditional musical forms in Enugu-Ezike and was performed by and for men of substance in the community. omenani: literally that which the goddess Ani says is right or wrong; the law of the land onye elugwu: the hill dweller onye obia: visitor or guest onyishi: oldest man in the community Otikpo: the destroyer Oye: the second day of the week umu: children of GLOSSARY OF IGBO AND IGALA WORDS 223 umunna: the children of a common forefather umunne: the children of one mother umunne na ununna: the children of a common forefather and the children of one mother utaba: snuff walu anya: a wayward person ...