The True Identity Of Bonny/Opobo People Facts Versus Fiction

A lot of debates or arguments have been going on mainly between(we ndi igbo and our brothers ijaws) about the identity of Bonny and Opobo people. So much that lots of indigenes are confused about their own identity. The reason for this is not far fetched. The igbo language is an indigenous language in both places and while most inhabitants bear English names, some bear ijaw names and few still retain their igbo names. A large portion of videos which could be found on YouTube also portrays a largely igbo heritage till date.

However, I will try to be as neutral as possible while I implore you to be a little objective as we embark on this historical fact check.
Most of the arguments in my opinion have been nothing more than mere conjectures. For instance, ijaw people claim the igbo language spoken in both places is foreign or creolized version while trying to force inhabitants to start learning an entirely new language different from their mother tongue. There are also claims from Ijaw people that igbo language was the language of igbo slaves the ijaws were trading. It is surprising how this eventually became an indigenous language making it the first of such incidence on the Gulf of Guinea. Even Calabar another important slave port nearby didn't experience such.

Amanyanabo-Ama onye nabo/Ama-nya-nabo (igbo for he who ties up another, like master tying up slave).
It might interest you to know that the title Amanyanabo use by ijaws originated from Bonny. The igbo interpretation means, “The town/community of 2 kings/persons”.
Bonny traditionally had 2 kings as documented by Captain Hugh and he was friends with both men who held him in high esteem.
King Pepple and King Holiday were both kings that reigned in Bonny at the same time.

To understand the reality of who Bonny and Opobo people are I would be rellying on the Memoirs of Captain Hugh Crow of Liverpool(1765-1829) and I implore any true son of Bonny or Opobo to consult this book or any other one written before it to really find out their identity. If you do not have much time, you can read from chapter 10, however reading the whole book gives a huge insight into slave trade era. It is important to note that while the author confirmed Eboes/igbos as natives of Bonny, there was no mention or acknowledgement of ijaws. But I am using my discretion to assume that the ijaws were the Brass people as the author asserts that they came from the Brass country which is located North West of Bonny.

Impotant dates:
Captain Hugh Crow of Liverpool(1765-1829)
King Jaja of Opobo 1821-1891
Technically King Jaja was born 12 years after slave trade was abolished.
Slave trade was abolished in 1809 by Sir Wilberforce.
King Jaja of Opobo founded Opobo in 1870.

Apart from being a popular slave merchant, Captain Crow(a.k.a Play man) was very popular with Kings and Natives of Bonny. He was so popular that he was invited to crown one of the Kings of Bonny at a time and he was regularly invited to help resolve palaver in the kingdom. He was captain of the last ship that left Bonny with slaves after slavery was abolished.

The author's memoir is insightful for many reasons:
It rendered a vivid first person account of what trans Atlantic slave trade looks like. In his assertions, slaves taken off the West African coast to America were better off than their countrymen left behind in Africa. During the period in review, whites were also slaves and most Britons including the author became prisoners of the French.

The author asserts that:
Bonny people are chiefly a mix of Eboe/Igbo and Brass/ijaw people.
He described/mentioned the igbo country in the hinterland and the brass country lying north-west of Bonny.
However, most of the details of daily living amongst the natives was more in tune with igbo lifestyle.
He talked about igbo native doctors he referred to as dibia and the enormous influence they wield in justice and health administration, even the kings respect them. He also described details of igbo marriage customs and funneral as observed in Bonny.
He talked about the use of elephant during the commemoration of King Pepple's father 10 years after the father's death. He mention the value of elephant tusk.
Contrary to conjectures that the name Pepple was European's attempt at pronouncing Perekule, the author asserts that Bonny people derived joy in bearing english names as he himself was responsible for crowning a King who he named after an English prince. An incident that excited the populace. He confirms that both King Pepple and King Holiday were igbos.
He described in detail the physique, including complexion and character of different tribes eboes, brass, appas, quaws and ottams. No mention of Ijaw in his record.

The author described one Chief Fubara who was an acquaintance of King Pepple. He asserts that Chief Fubara was not an indigene of Bonny but a stranger who migrated from his country during a crisis with a false claim that he was a warrior in his native country.

The author proved that ijaws were not selling igbo slaves as claimed in some quarters. According to him, everyone/every tribe was sold as slave. He described instances where some igbo chiefs set people up with their beautiful young wives and victims eventually pay a fine or become slaves. He explained the reason why more igbo slaves were sold. They were more relatable to Europeans than most other tribes.

Captain Hugh is credited with one of the earliest attempt to create an Eboe/igbo dictionary.
The author asserts that Opobo is an Igbo name for male children.
He also said that natives are often marked according to their origin and that Bonny natives often have short cupped perpendicular markings on both sides of their temple(this is consistent with the igbo tribal mark).

He confirmed the existence of Cannibalism, that Andoni was considered a dangerous place to venture, the fact that Calabar people eat dog meat,the fact that he planted coconut trees on one of the islands, the influence of Benin empire, that some Brass people were usually employed to make salt during dry season under the Benin empire amongst other things.

CONCLUSION

Bonny people are a mix of Eboe/Igbo and Brass people in origin. This document however asserts a more igbo origin or dominance as most of Crow's history of the ancient kingdom was about igbos(The word Brass appeared 14 times in the history of Bonny, while the word Eboe appeared 48 times). This perhaps explains the existence of the indigenous igbos there and the presence of igbo masquerades like nwaotam. However, Opobo is a more recently founded city state by King Jaja who established his sole ownership authority and set up the kingdom with friends who accompanied him from Bonny. While Ebane/Igbanni/Ubani/Obani is the igbo dialect spoken in these locations. The same dialect that was used to write the first igbo bible commissioned by King Pepple. Shalom

P.S: I am being challenged to prove that Brass people are Ijaw people, so I must state once more that this was an assumption on my part and it remains to be proven or disputed.

Current literatures been submitted seems to indicate that the Brass were indeed a different people from the ijaws as they are known today.

Courtesy; Igbo History @FB

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