Brief Explanation of the philosophy of Igbo Nomenclature

Onwutalobi literally means “Death has eaten up a kingdom" is a typical Igbo Name with a fascinating meaning that depicts Igbo nomenclature. Igbo names express the reality of what is. In the olden days, Igbo names are given base on situations, facts and historical reasons. Most often, the names may be meaningless to the third parties but essentially the meaning of the name can be very educating and highly appreciated if explained.
As mentioned above, Igbo’s give names to their children base on situation, for example if riches is anticipated after childbirth... The Igbo man will name the child Obiageli “The Child has come to eat" If the child is born in a wealthy family, he could be called "Obanuju" - he met us at the good time.

Etymology of the name Onwutalobi

In this note, Onwutalobi as an Igbo name has a mythological definition which is widely claimed by the bearers of the name to suffice for the meaning. As narrated by Anthony Claret, he opines that the situation that caused the formation of the name was a story told by one okeneye (late Vincent Onwutalobi (1901 - 1972) of a particular Igbo kingdom, that the name " Onwutalobi" was given to an only child of a man in one Igbo kindred
(obi), whose kingdom nearly went to extinct by untimely series of death of their communities. After several years, a new child was born to the community; it was a joyful moment in the history of that Community. During the naming ceremony the community named him "I ga adi makana Onwu talu obi" that means “you have come to stay as death has eaten up our entire family members" The name has a commanding note... The Child
is reminded that his existence will retain the lineage of his kindred and his name will be a resounding command to nature to allow the God to keep his family lineage going. The name is shortened to Onwutalobi although the full meaning could be said to be in sentence form.

Today’s Usage of the Name
Today, the name exists, given that the child survived. The name sustained the family
lineage and more than sixty people in that Igbo community still bear the name as their
surname.
About

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Anthony Claret has been a professional part-time freelance writer for over five years. He
is the founder of African Voice Society and African Student Association Malaysia. He is
an independent consultant based in Helsinki, Finland.

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This site was last updated 24/09/07