 |
| Obolo | |
|---|---|
| Andoni | |
| Native to | Nigeria |
| Region | Rivers State, Akwa Ibom State |
| Ethnicity | Obolo people |
Native speakers | 318,000 (2011) [1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | ann |
| Glottolog | obol1243 |
Obolo (or Andoni) is a major Cross River language of Nigeria. Obolo is the indigenous name of a community in the eastern Delta of the River Niger, better known as Andoni (the origin of this latter name being uncertain). [2] Obolo refers to the people, the language as well as the land.
There are six major dialect groups in the language, namely: (from west to east): Ataba, Unyeada, Ngo, Okoroete, Iko and Ibot Obolo. [3] Ngo is the prestige dialect, hence the standard literary form of Obolo draws heavily from it.
Obolo language is written in the Latin script. The alphabet is as follows:
| a | b | ch | d | e | f | g | gb |
| gw | i | j | k | kp | kw | l | m |
| n | n̄ | nw | ny | o | ọ | p | r |
| s | (sh) | t | u | (v) | w | y | (z) |
Obolo is a tone language. There are five tones in the language: low, high, mid, falling and rising tone. [10] In writing, only the low tone and falling tone are indicated. [11] Tones are marked compulsorily on the first syllables of verbs and verbal groups. For other classes of words, a standard literature will show the way to go.
Obolo language is regulated by the Obolo Language and Bible Translation Organization (OLBTO), a community-owned research and development organization that does dialect surveys and research, oversees the development and introduction of new terminologies, publishes books in the language, etc.
Hausa is a Chadic language spoken by the Hausa people in the northern half of Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Benin and Togo, and the southern half of Niger, Chad and Sudan, with significant minorities in Ivory Coast.
A macron is a diacritical mark: it is a straight bar ¯ placed above a letter, usually a vowel. Its name derives from Ancient Greek μακρόν (makrón) 'long' because it was originally used to mark long or heavy syllables in Greco-Roman metrics. It now more often marks a long vowel. In the International Phonetic Alphabet, the macron is used to indicate a mid-tone; the sign for a long vowel is instead a modified triangular colon ⟨ː⟩.
Yoruba is a language spoken in West Africa, primarily in Southwestern and Central Nigeria. It is spoken by the ethnic Yoruba people. The number of Yoruba speakers is roughly 50 million, plus about 5 million second-language speakers. As a pluricentric language, it is primarily spoken in a dialectal area spanning Nigeria, Benin, and Togo with smaller migrated communities in Côte d'Ivoire, Sierra Leone and The Gambia.
FulaFOO-lə, also known as Fulanifuul-AH-nee or Fulah, is a Senegambian language spoken by around 25 million people as a set of various dialects in a continuum that stretches across some 18 countries in West and Central Africa. Along with other related languages such as Serer and Wolof, it belongs to the Atlantic geographic group within Niger–Congo, and more specifically to the Senegambian branch. Unlike most Niger-Congo languages, Fula does not have tones.
The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states, which include: all six states from the South South geopolitical zone, one state (Ondo) from South West geopolitical zone and two states from South East geopolitical zone.
The Obolo people, Obolo is an ethnic group in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Obolo people are found in Rivers State and Akwa Ibom State.
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Abua (Abuan) is a riverine kingdom which is currently located in the Abua–Odual LGA of Rivers State, Nigeria. It is located 10 miles away from Port Harcourt. The main occupation of resident of Abua includes: fishing, hunting and farming.
Eastern Obolo is a Local Government Area (LGA) in southern Nigeria, with its headquarters at Okoroete. It is a coastal local government area in Akwa-Ibom State under great tidal influence from the Bight of Bonny. Eastern Obolo LGA was mapped out of Ikot Abasi LGA by the Federal Government of Nigeria on 4 December 1996 with over 30,000 residents across a total area of approximately 17,000 km2. It comprises 16 villages, divided into two clans, namely Okoroete and Iko. It has ten political wards. All the villages in Eastern Obolo are of the Obolo ethnic group, there exist a common ancestral lineage which allows for peaceful coexistence and inter-relationship amongst them.
Ibeno is located in the south south of Nigeria and is a Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. Ibeno town lies on the eastern side of the Kwa Ibo River about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from the river mouth, and is one of the largest fishing settlements on the Nigerian coast. Ibeno lies in the Mangrove Forest Belt of the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, bounded to the west by Eastern Obolo Local Government Area, to the north by Onna, Esit Eket and Eket, and to the south by the Atlantic Ocean.
John Theodore Bendor-Samuel was an evangelical Christian missionary and linguist who furthered Bible translation work into African languages, as well as making significant contributions to the study of African linguistics. Amongst his friends and colleagues he was widely known by his initials, JBS.
Izon (Ịzọn), also known as (Central–Western) Ijo, Ijaw, Izo and Uzo, is the dominant Ijaw language, spoken by a majority of the Ijaw people of Nigeria.
John Ikuru (1877–1947) was the son of king Ikuru Efuya, founder of Ikuru Town and Madam Obiringene of Opobo; his mother came from Ekede. He was born in 1877 in Ikuru Town, and had his primary school education at St. Paul's School, Opobo/Nkoro, from 1887 to 1895, and secondary school education at the Wesley Boys’ High School, in Lagos. At that time, Christianity was already sweeping through the entire Western Region of now Nigeria and the Niger Delta, through the evangelistic activities of the Church Missionary Society with Bishop Ajayi Crowther as the pioneer Missionary. So, trained in Lagos, John Ikuru embraced Christianity and became exposed to Christian ethics and philosophy.
Asarama is a riverine city in Andoni, Rivers State, Nigeria. It borders Bori to the north, Nkoro to the east, Ngo to the south, and Bonny and the Kalabari Kingdom to the west.
The South South is one of the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria representing both a geographic and political region of the country's eastern coast. It comprises six states – Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, and Rivers.
The Unyeada Kingdom, sometimes referred to as "Ayanda" a corrupted version of Unyeada, is literally interpreted as "prowess of Edabiri". Unyeada is an ancient riverine settlement (Kingdom) located in western part of Obolo Land, administratively in Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria. Situated in the south of Ogoni tribe and Kingdom of Bonny to the east. Originally, Unyeada territory stretches from Iburubu Sea near the mouth of Andoni River to Okwan Obbu or Imo River.
The Andoni River is one of the many rivers in Rivers State, Nigeria. Andoni River is located between the New Calabar River and Imo River. It is believed to have derived its name from St. Anthony, a European explorer who visited the area in 15th century. The mouth of the river gives way to large mangroves which are an important habitat for aquatic animals.
Agwut-Obolo Town (Alabie) is literally interpreted in Obolo language as. Also, the tribal seat of the Obolo people. Located in Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria. Agwut-Obolo is an ancient religious centre in the pre-colonial Eastern Niger Delta where the deity of "Yok-OBolo", the National god of the Obolo Nation is situated. Following the exit King Jaja of Opobo and his group from the Kingdom of Bonny in 1869 seeking refuge in Obolo (Andoni) Land, Jaja entered a traditional oath of allegiance to venerate the deity of " Yok-Obolo" at Agwut-Obolo or Alabie as condition of his acceptance into the Obolo territory.
