Why are there Non-Igbo Lexicons in Okpanam Cosmology?

Map of Okpanam used here is not meant to be authoritative and should not be used as such. User is advised to use with caution.

Any one interested in the history of Okpanam would easily notice that there are many lexical items that seem normal now but may not have been so some years, decades or centuries ago. Family names, villages and names of Quarters show clearly that their origin come from different sources. Why is it necessary to study these lexical items? 

First, America is, today, replete with Zimmermans, Okafors, Obamas and Chibuogus whose ancestory is far from that continent. Today it is possible to locate the origin of those names because of technology and also because, their frequency or occurrence is low. In a couple of years or decades, those names would become household names in America. Then, it would have been possible to mistake the names for traditional American names but we know, now how those names have arrived from various parts of the world, because this is happening in our generation. Knowing the origin of a word or its etymology would help to understand the influences that shaped the history of any community. In the same way, there was a time when some of the words now occurring in Okpanam history were clearly easily isolated as being 'foreign'.

Second, words have meaning in the context of use. In a predominantly Igbo community, some words in use in Okpanam today do not easily lend themselves to meaningfulness in the context of the universal language form in use. 

Thirdly, it is impossible to understand the history of a people if you do not understand the history of the ordinary folks who make up that history. Although history is predominated by tales of the strong and mighty, yet, as Howard Zinn, the American scholar has found, the lives of the ordinary man is the raw materials with which the history of their community is made. Bill Bigelow summarized the Zinn view like this: "Societies are dynamic, conflict-ridden, with power played out in every aspect of life. Historians cannot remain outside or “above” these struggles, Zinn argues. None of us can." What happens is that the lives of the ordinary people interact and influence history one way or the other. To therefore narrow their history to the account of their 'heroes', would take away the evolutionary reciprocity in the formation of the outcomes passed down as their history.  Zinn himself puts it this way: ''We don't have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in the process of change. Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.” It is therefore certain that in seeking an understanding of the units of history it would be possible to locate the bigger picture in the absence of grand-book of records that contains every thing

Finally, it is pretty clear that in the absence of written records, archaeological finds and other forensic forms of account, deductions have been the bases of historical reconstruction. Therefore, it is hoped that in this process of reconstructing the history of Okpanam, cords of linkage can be created that help to show the history of Okpanam in clear light.

Let's get started. The predominant lexicon of Okpanam is Igbo. Could this town have spoken any other language apart from Igbo?  

Evidence abounds that Igbo language has intermingled with other languages which have left a few words that remain part of Okpanam repertoire today. Stories abound of a time when the language form, Olukumi, was spoken. Olukumi is still spoken in Obamkpa, Ebu and Ukwunzu (all towns in the same local government as Okpanam). Therefore, there must have some relationship that held these communities together. Olukumi, is variously called 'Orukumi,' 'Orukanmi' or any of the other variations by which it is known. It is a dialect that has massive infusion of the Yoruba lexicon. In deed, any speaker of Yoruba is more likely to understand Orukumi speakers more than the Igbo speaking neighbours.  The Olukumi influence is discernible in the language of the masquerades that still predominate Okpanam history today. That suggests tha it was an esoteric tongue spoken by the initiate. 

Bini language is also discernible. However, the Bini influence is seen more in the names of people and places than in the spoken language. If there was an era when Okpanam spoken predominantly Bini, that era must be far gone now. However, there is a likelihood that the language may have been the palace tongue when the monarhical institution was alive. 

Let's profile some of these names, words and places that show the diversity of Okpanam origins. Osume, Ezegbe (close to Izegbe), Igbenoba (Igbinovia), Ogba, Ideh, kuro, Ozoma, Laguti, are some of the words that stand out as evidence that Okpanam has a rich diversity of interactions which joined to become the beautiful home for all. 

Ezegbe as in Umu-Ezegbe is a village. So is Umu-Osume. Even Obodo-Ogba suggests that Ogba in the name ties the Quarter with some of the other well known Ogba names and deities that bear that name in Ijaw, Urhobo or some of the coastal areas. When you try to understand the name Igbenoma or Ogbechie, you run into trouble because they do not lend themselves to easy understanding in the context of the Igbo language. However, those names resonate in the other parts of Delta such as Ijaw, Kwale, Agbor and even Urhobo. 

Amongst the initiates of Egugu, the expression "ogbodi kuro" is often heard. Both words do not mean anything in Igbo but "kuro" 'means move out', 'get away', 'scram' or 'disappear' in Yoruba. The same meaning is what the Egugu dancers infer when they say the same exact word, usually, to the non-initiate. It then means that this word is borrowed form a place other than the Igbo language and Bini. The Olukumi is the most likely since it is spoken by the neighbouring communities, who share similar masquerades and environmental affinity with the Igala and Okun of Kogi State.  Ozoma is very closely related to 'Ozomo', in Bini or the Benin language. So if we are able isolate these words and trace the etymology, we may be able to create a collage of the influences that constitute the beautiful city, Okpanam.

I can't seem to remember many other ones now. Do you know of any? Sharing your insights would make this history clearer and better.