TFA Vocab List (Q2 Vocab)

agadi-nwayi

an old woman

agbala

woman; also used for a man who has taken no title

ani

earth goddess

chi

personal god

efulefu

worthless man

egwugwu

masquerade who impersonates one of the ancestral spirits of the village

ekwe

type of drum made from wood

eneke-nti-oba

a kind of bird

eze-agadi-nwayi

the teeth of an old woman

foo foo

food made from yams that serves a chief role in the annual Feast of the New Yam

iba

fever

ilo

the village green where assemblies for sports, discussions, and so on take place

inyanga

showing off, bragging

isa-fi

if a wife had been separated from her husband for some time and were then to be reunited with him, this ceremony would be held to ascertain that she had not been unfaithful to him during the time of their seperation

iyi-uwa

a special kind of stone that forms the link between an ogbanje and the spirit world; only if the iyi-uwa were discovered and destroyed would the child not die

jigida

string of waist beads worn by women

kola nut

food used to greet visitors and guests

kwenu

short of approval and greeting

ndichie

elders

nna ayi

our father

nno

welcome

nso-ani

a religious offense of a kind abhorred by everyone, literally earth’s taboo

nza

a very small bird

obi

large living quarters of the head of the family

obodo dike

the land of the brave

ochu

murder or manslaughter

ogbanje

a changeling; a child who repeatedly dies and returns to its mother to be reborn. it is almost impossible to bring up this child without it dying, unless its iyi-uwa is first found and destroyed

ogene

musical instrument; a kind of gong

oji odu achu-ijiji-o

cow (i.e. the one that uses its tail to drive flies away)

osu

having been dedicated to a god, this was taboo and not allowed to mix with the freeborn in any way; an outcast

oye

one of the four market days

ozo

the name of one of the four titles or ranks

palm wine

fermented palm sap used for celebration and ceremony

tufia

a curse or oath

udu

musical instrument; a type of drum made from pottery

uli

a dye used by women for drawing patterns on the skin

umuada

a family gathering of daughters, for which the female kinsfolk return to their village of origin

umunna

a wide group of kinsmen (the masculine form of the word umuada)

uri

part of the betrothal ceremony when the dowry is paid

yam

edible root; most valuable cash crop grown in the village