For those who do not know, the book Professor Otagburuagu, written by me and illustrated by Scandinavian artist @katharsisdrill has just been published. You can get the soft copy from me here for 4 HBD or you can order the hard copy from anywhere in the world via this link: https://katharsisdrill.art/the-katharsisdrill-shop/professor-otagburuagu/
The villain Professor Otagburuagu is a very educated dark magic-practising middle-aged man who is consulted far and wide by corrupt politicians and other crime lords who need his advice and criminal master plans.
Part of creating this character was, of course, choosing a great Igbo name for him. Nothing seemed better than "Otagburuagu". Most African names are very meaningful and I'm always swayed by African names that have powerful meanings and sound powerful to even those who don't know the meaning. I bet the name " Otagburuagu" sounds like a handful to you even if you don't know the meaning. Isn't it?😉
Otagburuagu is an Igbo name that means "One who preys on lions". Other more literal translations can be: " One who kills and eats lions", or "One who kills a lion by biting and chewing it".
Then when I first put this character in a story contest hosted by @vcelier back in 2017, I added the meaning of the name and it invoked nothing but admiration and intrigue from the audience; look at these screenshots:
And this was how our collaboration began:
It was a long story written by 3 people including me, but this Otagburuagu character I introduced in my part stole the show, and @shortcut and @katharsisdrill had to base their illustration entries on Otagburuagu. @katharsisdrill's illustration won.
You can view the full post that had these comments here
Now, 4 More Igbo Names That are Giving Me the Same Inspiration and Feel that Otagburuagu Does.
Igbo is the name of one of the 3 major ethnic groups in Nigeria. They occupy the Southeastern part of Nigeria. Nigeria is the most populous black nation in the world, so...
1. Agujiegbe
Meaning: A lion holding a gun.
This name inspires the living hell out of me. What can be more deadly than a lion? What can be more deadly than a gun? Now imagine a lion holding a gun. My fucking God!! 🤣🤣🤣. He is deadly from distance because of his gun and up close he's arguably the worse force to reckon with.
I, however, think there is a lot of humour in the name, it robs off as funny somehow. But still a powerful name. I'm considering bringing in a character by that name to go against Professor Otagburuagu. The one who preys on lions versus a lion holding a gun. Hahahahah.
2. Ikuku
Meaning: Wind
One other very powerful-sounding name. This is actually my favourite among the 4.
I now realize I should have probably made this post a video where I'll be pronouncing these names so you get the picture. Because you'll probably miss it if you haven't heard a native speaker say it. But till I make that video, trust me, these are powerful-sounding names that just strike you even if you don't know the meaning.
3. Odenigbo
Meaning: Reigning in Igboland
Further forms of the meaning are: "famous and glorious in Igboland"
4. Odinkonigbo
Meaning: Scarce (and therefore very valuable) in Igboland
Conclusion
I really love these names, they get my African storyteller juices flowing 😂. I would surely make characters bearing these names in future as I have done with Otagburuagu.