By Igbo History
Leopard is Agu in Igbo and not lion. The Igbo Bible translation is very much on point about this.
The recent argument on my post,on whether lion should be Agu and not Leopard might have a minimal reason to ponder but at the end, Igbo name for leopard is as clear as the day. Leopard is Agu in Igbo. Let’s consider below –
Igbos is a vast language, I really don’t understand it when people say Igbo as a language is severally lacking. Igbo is a super language that is almost perfect. There’s nothing obtainable in Igbo land and the surroundings that does not have Igbo name the problem is that we are confusing Igbo language with recently introduced (foreign) things.
Leopard is definitely Agu, and nothing is confusing about it. Igbo have a clear pattern of naming animals that look similar but are slightly different.
Lion = Odum.
Tiger = Agu Owulu.
Leopard = Agu.
Cheetah =Agu Awara.
Form the above names, Leopard has been a familiar animal throughout Igbo land from time immemorial, according to animal discovery Channel, leopard is said to have a very old base which is a sort of origin point at West Africa, whose natural habitat is tropical rainforest.
Ancient Igbo folklores are built on two animals – Agu (Leopard) for its strength and charisma and mbe (tortoise) for its wisdom and cunning.
Leopard is clearly described in Igbo folklore as a strong animal with spots on its skin, aggressive and charismatic. Agu is said to be the king of animals but here comes the question that opposes the view – can Agu (leopard) be the king of animals and the strongest in presence of Lion (odum)?
Seems unlikely! Leopard has no chance in a combat against a lion.
Now, here is a point to ponder. Did a typical thousands years ago Igbo know what Lion is? Did they come in contact with the beast?
In most Igbo towns and communities including my town Uturu which is said to be among the oldest Igbo towns, leopard is still recognized as the King of animals.
Whoever kills Agu is regarded as a great hunter with a title – Ogbu Agu (the killer of leopard).
To hit the nail at the head, it is likely that lion (odum) is not recognized in ancient Igbo folklore because our people never came in contact with it.
Odum as a name might not be over 200 years old while Agu is clearly thousands of years.
Leopard skin has been existing in Igboland ages ago, they still exist today and one thing is clear – they have spots.
Lion cannot be Agu because lion does not have spots.
Cheetah is called Agu Awara because it looks like a leopard (Agu) and has outstanding speed (awara = speed) remember what I said earlier about Igbo naming of similar animals. Cheetah seems a new animal to Igbo.
Agu Owuru (tiger?) also have spots like leopard but is much bigger and stronger. Tiger is also a new animal to Igbo.
Lion (odum) seems not that popular like leopard because ancient Igbo might not be aware of the existence, this is the only reason why leopard will be named the king of animals instead of lion.
Lion is odum while leopard is agu . Igbos say odum na-egbu agu (the lion that kills the leopard).
Wall gecko is called agu-ulo) because it has spots like leopard.
Crocodile is called agu-iyi because it has patches that look like the spots of a leopard.
The body of a lion is brown with no spots or lines.
In the Bible, Daniel was put in the lions’ den. The Igbo Bible calls it “olulu odum.” The lion of the tribe of Judah is interpreted in the Igbo Bible as “odum nke ebo Juda.” When the Bible asks if the leopard can ever change its spots, the Igbo Bible interpreted it as agu
(Jeremiah 13:23) . Please look for an Igbo Bible and confirm this.
Chinua Achebe published Chike and the River in 1966. What killed Chike’s father was a leopard, not a lion. Chukwuemeka Ike published
The Leopard’s Claw in 1950 and The Bottled Leopard in 1985. The generation of Achebe and Chukwuemeka Ike had no confusion over agu and odum.
It was rare to find any old Igbo novelist writing about the lion. It was always the leopard that was written about. The reason is simple: The leopard was more common among the Igbos than the lion. It may seem small to us today because we watch animal documentaries, but in the days of our forefathers, the leopard evoked fear in the villages. It killed people. Once it was sighted, an alarm would be sounded. Women and children would not go to the stream or farm alone. Strong men would go out in search of it to kill it. The community would not be at rest until it had been killed or there was news that it had left the community. Anybody who killed a leopard was honoured as an ogbuagu .
Yet the Igbos admired the leopard because of its beauty, strength and agility. And many people took the name or sobriquet of agu because of this admiration. That could have contributed to the choice of two leopards as part of the coat of arms of the Republic of Biafra in 1967.
