NEED TO CHECK URHOBO LOSING NAMES TO CULTURAL INFUSION
January 14, 2025 | News
NEED TO CHECK URHOBO LOSING NAMES TO CULTURAL INFUSION
By Zik Gbemre
NEED TO CHECK URHOBO LOSING NAMES TO CULTURAL INFUSION
My beloved Urhobo is gradually losing real names and spellings of communities and other landmarks to European colonisation in language infusions.
I am pained over the development.
I grew up knowing that my clan is
Ughievwen, names after our progenitor and our ancestral headquarters called Otughievwen, the land of Ughievwen.
Today, the younger generation hardly know or identify with these original names Ughievwen people. The Europeans came and corrupted Ughievwen to Jeremi and Otughievwen to Otu-Jeremi.
The added offensive oddity is the infusion of English additives to some sites and communities. Why should Okuagbe-Urhie be called Okwagbe Waterside and Okuagbe-Otor now Okwagbe Inland?
I grew up to know Ephron-Otor, but today it is corrupted to Effurun-Otor, Urhiephron now better known as Usiefrun. Ephron in Uvwie has been corrupted to Effurun, Avwraka made Abraka, Idjerhe now corrupted to Jesse.
We had Ughene now modern day Ughelli, Agbarha-Ame in Warri now corrupted to Agbassa. Okpara now has Okpara Inland and Okpara Waterside instead of Okpara-Urhie and Okpara-Otor.
Ekete-Otor has been corrupted to Ekete Inland and Ekete Urhie to Ekete Waterside. No less annoying is Urhiapele being corrupted to Sapele.
There is urgent need to reverse these names of Urhobo communities,Clans and places to what they were from origin before coming of the Europeans.
Even more annoying are names of Urhobo enclaves corrupted by ethnic neighbors, particularly our Itsekiri brothers. They mutilated Uduvwo-Urhobo as Udumusobo among one or two other places.
Unless reversed, the real consequence is gradual extinction of the Urhobo language. That must not be allowed to happen.
Zik Gbemre
January 14,2025
We Mobilize Others To Fight For Individual Causes As If Those Were Our Causes
NEED TO CHECK URHOBO LOSING NAMES TO CULTURAL INFUSION
My beloved Urhobo is gradually losing real names and spellings of communities and other landmarks to European colonisation in language infusions.
I am pained over the development.
I grew up knowing that my clan is
Ughievwen, names after our progenitor and our ancestral headquarters called Otughievwen, the land of Ughievwen.
Today, the younger generation hardly know or identify with these original names Ughievwen people. The Europeans came and corrupted Ughievwen to Jeremi and Otughievwen to Otu-Jeremi.
The added offensive oddity is the infusion of English additives to some sites and communities. Why should Okuagbe-Urhie be called Okwagbe Waterside and Okuagbe-Otor now Okwagbe Inland?
I grew up to know Ephron-Otor, but today it is corrupted to Effurun-Otor, Urhiephron now better known as Usiefrun. Ephron in Uvwie has been corrupted to Effurun, Avwraka made Abraka, Idjerhe now corrupted to Jesse.
We had Ughene now modern day Ughelli, Agbarha-Ame in Warri now corrupted to Agbassa. Okpara now has Okpara Inland and Okpara Waterside instead of Okpara-Urhie and Okpara-Otor.
Ekete-Otor has been corrupted to Ekete Inland and Ekete Urhie to Ekete Waterside. No less annoying is Urhiapele being corrupted to Sapele.
There is urgent need to reverse these names of Urhobo communities,Clans and places to what they were from origin before coming of the Europeans.
Even more annoying are names of Urhobo enclaves corrupted by ethnic neighbors, particularly our Itsekiri brothers. They mutilated Uduvwo-Urhobo as Udumusobo among one or two other places.
Unless reversed, the real consequence is gradual extinction of the Urhobo language. That must not be allowed to happen.
Zik Gbemre
January 14,2025
We Mobilize Others To Fight For Individual Causes As If Those Were Our Causes