MYEKEE
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OPENING THOUGHT:
“A person is said to be literate if he/she can read in his/her mother’s tongue, and write so that it could be read and understood by another person” –United Nations.
IGEDE PROVERBS:
To effectively use and interpret proverbs, the context of discourse must be taken into consideration. Therefore, there is a need to research more on the pragmatics of Igede proverbs. A clarion call!!!
Proverbs collection- continuation 4
16.Abwẹla nya ọngịnyị ya ẹla gbo gu ikokonu.
17. Agbila agbila nya abya a ka kpa uchu ka wo ori.
18. A ka ube kpa ka a jẹ ọ nọ la imyi ka.
19. Ọngọgbẹpwa á yere ka ijata nya ohe ka.
20. Igbachiwu a da ka a jẹ ọmwụ nya ụnụ ka.
STILLWATERS POEM:
Theme: OHE OJIJI MAGA-MAGA.
Ale ahịgboo á tì kpehe bwu?
Ale igbachịwụ ọlọmwụ-ẹnụtụrụ á tìì kaa da bwu?
Amkpaa ojiji maga-maga á da ụgbẹyị ọlẹ ká enyi bala ịkpala ka bwu lẹ.
Ọọwa á tì ka do enyi ẹ-ẹga ká angịnyị á kụ ka lẹ.
Ọọwa á tì ka do enyi u-ugbileji ọlẹ ká ọngọngọhẹ-ẹ á ji ka lẹ.
Ohe ojiji maga-maga á ri enyi nyamwụ lẹ.
Ọọwa họ ka ahị pyẹ kahị jẹ yẹ ikiti bala ẹga ọkpọọ gede-gede lala ugbọọnụ ọmwụba nya awụrụ lẹ.
Ohe ojiji maga-maga obe ọhọhọ.
À jè ogirigba nya igu-u?
À jè ọnang o-bwu ka ẹpwụ nya ukpowu okpẹmkpẹm-ḿ?
À jè jaabwọ ká Odehe la gbamgbam kaka ba-á?
Ohe ojiji maga-maga ụbwọmwụ a je lẹ.
Ohe ojiji maga-maga! OBE ỌHỌHỌ.
TREASURE FROM THE BIBLE:
THEME: ANỤ TỤ ỤDỤ NYANỤ ANỤ GURU ÁM ODEHE ỌLẸ KA.
TEXT: ỊMATIYU 6:19 TREASURES IN HEAVEN
IJisọsị myịmyị byaa yẹkẹẹ, “Anụ tụ ụdụ nyanụ anụ guru ám odehe ọlẹ ka. Chajị ụdụ olodehe ọlẹ kaa ru ịrụ myị́, ikiriwewe kaa ryaa myị́, ị kaa chị ẹga myị́, aloyi tị ka kele kaka gaa yoyi kpa rụ myị́ ịnyịnyị.
ABOUT THE LANGUAGE:
ABOUT THE PEOPLE AND HER LANGUAGE-HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE.
Armstrong (1995) define Igede as land, people and their language, hence it could be mentioned as Igede land, Igede people and Igede language.
Igede is situated in Benue State in the North Central part of Nigeria. Igede land has boundaries with the Tiv people to the North and North East. Idoma people of Otukpo, Akpa, Ufia and Izigbang in the Northwest and West respectively.
The area also shared common boundaries with Igbo of Ebonyi State to the South and Yala and Ukele people of Cross River State to the Southeast.
Apart from Oju and Obi local government, a substantial number of Igede people live in the present Gwer, Konshisha and Vandekiya local government areas of Benue State; and Yala and Bekwara local government of Cross River State. Igede people live in villages and communities and exhibit communal life.
The beginning of the British effective administration in Igede area following the defeat of Ogbuloko the Igede warlord in 1928 saw the emergence of the form and pattern of Igede orthography.
However, Igede language has three dialects that coincidentally spread across the three districts. The Uwokwu, the Ito and the Igede central district. The purest form appears to be the dialect spoken in the central district of Igede area.
Igede language is known as “Igede” or “Myekee” meaning “I speak” (A Frampton, 1935:58). Some other basic traits of the language include its tonal and descriptive nature which involves indirectly going round and round to explain what one has to say.
Duryll Forde (1970:141) had suggested that Igede language belongs to the “Kwa group” of African languages and closely associated with Idoma and Igbo languages as well as Yala in Cross River State and more or less a resemblance of Yoruba as part of the larger “Kwa Family”. What appear to have distinguished Igede language from the rest of the ‘Kwa family’ is that the neighboring groups exhibits three tonal levels while Igede has four and not tied to any syntactical construction or phonetic environment. According to Forde, Igede also has “a host of plural nouns distinguished by vowel prefixes from the singular”.
HISTORICAL SNIPPETS:
SKELETAL HISTORY OF IGEDE BIBLE PROJECT.
The effort to translate the Bible into Igede Language started in the mid- 60s. The New Testament was translated and published in 1980; with Reverend John Adima as the key translator. The translation of the Old Testament started in 1990 by Reverend John Adima before he left the shores of Nigeria. A total of 9 translators worked on the Old Testament and the review of the New Testament; they are Reverend James Okah, Reverend Moses Eje, Very Reverend Jarius Alobo, Mr. Mike Ochuokpa, Reverend Matthew Atee, Mr. Kingston O. Ona, Reverend Peter Onah, and Mr. Godwin Alobo who died in June 2011. Only Reverend Peter Onah stayed till the completion of the project. Mr. Okaje Uke and sister Jane Ijwo keyboard the manuscript.
Similarly, 6 translation consultant supervised the project at one time and another. Among them were: Dr. Rob Koops, Dr. Yetunde Ofulue, Prof. Andy Warren, two of the consultant Dr. David Moomo and Reverend Stephen Mundat died at the process in 2009 and 2011 respectively. While the consultant that saw the Bible to completion, Mr. Aroga Bessong died on 20th April, 2014 about 10 days to the dedication and presentation of the Bible. The complete Igede Bible was dedicated and presented by THE BIBLE SOCIETY OF NIGERIA TO IGEDE PEOPLE ON 1ST MAY,2014 IN OJU BENUE STATE. Igede Bible is the 21st in Nigeria to be translated to indigenous language and the 2nd in Benue after the Tiv Bible.
To God be all the glory, it is a privilege to have God Almighty talk to us in our mother’s tongue. May we not take the opportunity for granted. Do you have this Bible at all in your home?
DO YOU KNOW THAT?
DO YOU KNOW THE ESTABLISHED YEAR OF THE FOLLOWING SCHOOLS?
St. Joseph’s Secondary School Ito-1972
Government Secondary School Ikachi-1978
Igede Community Secondary School Okileme-1978
Government Secondary School Obusa-1979
Government Secondary School Ito-1981
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