Onígbógi

Extended Meaning

'My grandmother and uncles generally understand the name to mean "akíkanjú ènìyàn" (i.e. a very brave person). This semantic interpretation might be partly hinged on the fact that my great-great-great (don't know the exact one, really) was a "great" warrior. They also argue that the full stretch of our own name is: Olúgbogí-Àrán ("àrán", being velvet, a kind of highly valued fabric, serves in this context as an extended metaphor for a sophisticated person (whether as a hunter or as a wealthy fellow)). Taken together, these ethnographic sources suggest to me that the name Gbogí may roughly mean "a very brave and/or sophisticated person" or put differently “a person of high status in a town”. Compare Yorùbá “Gboogi” which roughly translates as “important.” - Tósìn Gbógi (via email)

Morphology

oní-ìgbógi

Gloss

Geolocation

Common in:

Variants