Miller's current book, Voice of the Leopard (UP of Mississippi, 2008), documents the little known history of the Cuban Abaku, a mutual-aid institution derived from the Ekpe (leopard) society of the Cross River region of Nigeria and Cameroon. Iboku, Enwang, Usukakpa and Abayen. Black Spirituality / Religion - General Discussion, http://odinanilawsofnature.wordpress.com/2010/11/10/finding-god-in-nature/, http://tourismafricana.com/origin-history-ekpe-soceity.html. [62][63] The first missionaries arrived in 1846. Originally, items such as onions (Oyim mbakara) was rare in Efik meals. Right now, Ekpe . "[35] Simmons assertion which was made in his 1958 dissertation is similarly reiterated at the Hart's enquiry in 1964 by chiefs such as Chief Efiom Obo Effanga of Obutong. [47] Antia Ekot Otong is regarded as one of the descendants of the patriarch Otong Ama Ide. an extraordinarily powerful woman, who can change herself into a buffalo, the proud oldest daughter of a king, who insists on being respected, enraged by her brother's refusal to give her the inheritance she feels she is owed, guilt-ridden for having killed many of her brother's people, and for having pushed her youngest sister too hard and too soon into magical power. Imhotep was a revered personality as he was believed to be with super powers of healing and influencing people and affairs of the community. Okoho Efiom bore the twins at Nsutana and raised them up for years. Although Behrendt and Graham reveal that Calabar had been a major trading port since the first half of the seventeenth century, Efik historians such as Aye assert that the Efik had been trading with the Europeans since the last quarter of the 15th century. The indigenous drums of the Cross River region of southeastern Nigeria and southwestern Cameroon are distinctive for their "wedge and ring" method of tightening the skin. At its peak, it permeated the social, economic and political life of the Efiks but lately its dominance has been eroded as urbanization and modern political administration expanded. Several types of English dresses were introduced to Efik women such as the Victorian dresses known in Efik as nyny. Written March 01, 2015 by Web Services Editor, Guarini School of Graduate & Advanced Studies, Copyright 2023 Trustees of Dartmouth College. Instead, each settlement had its own lodge of the initiation society called kp, or "leopard," which was the highest indigenous authority. It is also used by the Igbo and Efik. Due to the rise of Calabar as a commercial centre since the 18th century, Efik settlements experienced a high rate of inward migration consisting of Sierra Leoneans, Lebanese, Cameroonians, Jamaicans and several other communities. The Ekpe society is estimated by most foreign scholars to have been introduced into Old Calabar in the 18th century. [37] A captured invader confessed that they were set to retrieve royal emblems which they believed the Efik had taken with them when they left Uruan. On behalf of Ekpe-USA Leadership, I hereby remind every member of Ngbe who has taken the aoth that our fathers and great grand fathers took to uphold those sacred traditions and beliefs, to immediately start preparations to do what they must do to send our brother to join our ancestors. The earliest accounts are narrated in the second half of the 19th century by Explorers and missionaries. . This material is believed to have been imported by the Portuguese (Oboriki). In the case of the latter, in the heat of the confusion, villagers would be kidnapped and sent to Calabar were they were sold. They use a variety of masks to execute social control. [44][52] Aye uses Adiaha Etim Anwa's ballad as one of the basis for his hypothesis. Known generally as Ekpe, Egbo, Ngbe, or Ugbe among the multi-lingual groups in the region, these closed groups all used the leopard as a symbol of masculine prowess in war and political authority in their various communities. [49] Prior to the arrival of the Efiom Ekpo group, oral tradition has it that when some Efik migrated to Creek town from Ndodoghi, The Enwang did not join them but migrated to the present site of Duke town. Here is a list of some of Africa's most prominent cults of all time: The Ekpe is a secret society that lives mostly in Nigeria and whose members are typically law enforcers and politicians. One theory asserts that Ukpong Atai Atai Ema Atai, Adim Atai Atai Ema Atai and other co-founders founded Obutong after one of Eyo Ema's people was killed during a wrestling match with Ukpong Atai at Creek town. It is not just because of its spiritual or cultic functions but for the fact that the institution was a pre-colonial police judiciary system (Bassey, 1998). [82] The name Itu ita translates to three manatees and is named because the masts of the ship resembled the manatee (Itu). [32] Aye argues that the Efik could not have taken the royal emblem of the Uruan people as they would have already had their own royal emblem. According to Parker, When there, Dick Ebro' asking him to go to war with him, he complied, and accordingly having sitted out and armed the canoes, they went up the river, lying under the bushes in the day when they came near a village; and at night flying up to the village, and taking hold of every one they could see. Hope Waddell, Samuel Edgerley and four others. AHR ~ 125 [76] Uffp (native gin) is distilled from palm wine and is sometimes mixed with the bark of Edat to increase the alcoholic content. Among these included Yams, Fufu and an unidentified type of black soup frequently mentioned in 19th century Old Calabar literature. Initiated into ekpe society at 9 as was done in those days and now not even a word is mentioned each time you talk about ekpe in manyu. In the culture we have discussed, the term jamu refers to: each person's family name, which connects the person to a famous character in the story of Sunjata. An entire topic will be dedicated to discussing the Ekpe society and its legacy in the near future. of Bamum, of Cameroon in his kingly attire seated on the throne with his chiefs flanked round him (Plate 2). It has a variety of different characters and is indigenous to areas of Southeastern Nigeria and . Group members would disguise themselves as leopards, wearing leopard skins, carrying claw-like weapons, and attacking their prey. Their king on the eastern Calabar coast was known as Ating Anua Efiom. Write the meaning in the blank. Charles Ekpo Arthur Jarvis University, Akpabuyo, Nigeria The Cross River region is a vast socio-cultural mosaic which accommodates peoples of distinct ethnic, religious, social, economic and. Welcome, Love, Peace and Unity in Nsibidi. Large amounts of pepper was also uncommon in Efik cuisines. For the first time in history, Ekpe had a presentation at the highest institution of cultural anthropology in the world, the Smithsonian Museum. LEFT Ekpe cage during Ikot Ekpe ritual in 2009. Within Nigeria, the Efik can be found in the present-day Cross River State and Akwa Ibom state. [15] Ekereke and Ekereke further assert that the word was later changed to "Efik". Several theories have been propounded on the origin of the word. [45] What is most certain is that the Efik arrived Creek Town led by Edidem Eyo Ema Atai together with Oku Atai Atai Ema Atai, Ukpong Atai Atai Ema Atai, Adim Atai Atai Ema Atai, Efiom Ekpo Efiom Ekpo and several others. Adire Adire means 'tie and dye' in Yoruba. The economics of the society is based on paying tribute to the village ancestors. [32] Oku adds that the Uruan were adverse to the Efik custom of burying strangers with their dead and did not share in the practice carried out by the Efik. There is not even one single manyangero mentioned on all the write up on any of the ekpe/mgbe stories. It may not display this or other websites correctly. The masquerade tradition itself is most popular in Calabar and the Oron nation of Udung-Ukko, Mbo, Urue-Offong Oruko, Okobo, as well as the Eket and Uruan local government areas in Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria, and even western Cameroon. society to its Caribbean incarnation, which has deeply influenced Cuba's creative energy and popular consciousness. These drums are a regional phenomenon; they are not identified with any particular ethnic community, nor with any specific cultural group or initiation club. Corrections? [11] Ibonda (an Efut clan) has sometimes been appended to Adiabo as one of the seven Efik clans. Ekpe could take life and could give it; it could condemn a whole town to a heavy fine and was promptly paid; it could punish offenders and could forgive; even kings and Obongs could never escape Ekpe laws and edicts.[69]. Modern Efik society is a melting pot of people of diverse origin. [51] The Enwang people who were fishing at Duke town saw the twins approaching and fled in terror saying "Mbiomo oduk ine"(English: A curse has befalling our fishing sites). At Old Calabar, traders had slowly started transitioning completely into the lucrative palm oil trade. Members of the Ekpe society are said to act as Due to the volume of cultural exchange, many other ethnic groups have often been regarded as being one with the Efik such as Kiong and Efut. The Freemasonry's affiliation to the Imhotep is clearly evident and this is probably why they are accused of several conspiracy theories, since their objective is geared towards the restructuring and controlling of global affairs. What role does religion play in society today? I hope Queen Victoria and young prince will live long time and we get good friend. Jeffreys also stated, "There is reason to believe that a considerable portion of a small Ibibio clan called Ebrutu or Eburutu was the earliest stock of the Efik; for, when the missionaries settled in 1846 at Old Calabar amongst these people for the first time, it was found that they called themselves not Efik but Ebrutu or Ebrutu Efik. Efik society consists of various clans which were originally known as "Esien Efik itiaba" (English: Seven clans of Efik) and later known in the 21st century as "Esien Efik Duopeba" (English: Twelve clans of Efik). Aye provides the following names among these priest-kings including Ema Atai Iboku, Ekpe Atai Iboku, Ukpong Atai Iboku. [80] Ivory bracelets (Efik: Mme) were worn by wealthy women. According to him . With the inception of the transatlantic slave trade, a number of foreign clothes were introduced into Efik society. The group is a mutual aid society known for elaborate street dances and very high. The Ekpe society may be regarded as one of the most important institutions among the Efik people. It is uncertain the specific year that the Efik arrived Creek Town. [5] kp philosophy is grounded in "Cross River region concepts of community that include the living, the ancestors, and the land itself" [ Ekpe being] "a school for esoteric teachings [ revealing] ideal stages in a person's life [ in their growth to] maturity within their communities [ framing terrestrial experience within the context of the Ivor Miller: The voice of the leopard is the main symbol of the Ekpe society of the Cross River region ofNigeria and Cameroon, which was re-created in colonial Cuba as the Abaku society. These they handcuffed, brought down to the canoes, and so proceeded up the river, till they got to the amount of 45, with whom they returned to New town, where sending to the captains of the shipping, they divided them among the ships.[56]. [81] Ema Atai Ema Atai, Edidem, Biop sai." JavaScript is disabled. The version of Sunjata we have read is not the only version because: No version was ever written down by a skilled jeli, since Mande traditional society considers any story written down to be "dead". The design is left to the discretion of the Ezillo creators, who are not Ekpe members and do not know the meanings of nsibidi. One-word searches work best.Use AND to require multiple terms: LEFT Small ukara with minute patterned design and Omu Aro symbol. Plenty sugar cane live here and if some man must come for teach book proper, and make all men saby God like white man, and then we go on for same fashion. (Multiple Deaths at Ndodoghi creek, Ema Atai Ema Atai, Priest-king, lost his sight in death). [58] Antera Duke also known as Ntiero Edem Efiom was an Efik trader whose diary reveals several daily activities in Old Calabar between 1785 and 1788. [46] On their exit from Obutong, they are believed to have sought the permission of Oku Atai to use the Ntinya. Omissions? ekpe society cameroonworld market toblerone. The missionaries who arrived in 1846 contributed to the changes in women's attire in Efik society. The process of creating this richly symbolic cloth is laborious. The ethnic group to which most of the characters belong is the __________________people. These missionaries together with King Eyo Honesty II brought several changes to Old Calabar society. The primary society is located in the Cross River, Akwa Ibom and Arochukwu areas of Nigeria, and the secondary society consists of members from the Southern and Eastern Igbo groups of the same country. Proponents of this theory range from missionaries, explorers, colonial anthropologists and later historians. She or he is a random of nature, a result of mixed up and confused spiritual genetics. (Ed.). Hugh, Goldie. Sunjata's half-brother, Dankaran Touman, enrages Sunjata and nearly causes civil war by: murdering an innocent young man, thinking he is Sunjata. Oge ruru ka laja nyefee lasha r ya ma gaa rwa r e nyere ya ebe z. This created a need for Ekpe DC to have a full Ayamba Nkanda (Nkanda Chief). Each grade has a chieftain or an Obong. In this light, the Cameroon National Council of Traditional Rulers would be a welcomed . In his well researched thesis titled "Ekpe Imperium in South Eastern Nigeria", Anwana (2002) identified a plenitude of evidences to validate the Ejagham/Ekoi origins of the Ekpe society. The society is now seen as a fraternity along the masonic lines which tries to represent the interest of Efiks. [6][7], The name Efik first appears in historical literature in the nineteenth century. [79] Ikpaya a royal type of gown also made from raffia. The Ekpo society uses black masks, often of naturalistic appearance and with movable jaws, to maintain social order and propitiate the ancestors; some of these masks represent disease and deformity. This is evident in a testimony by Isaac Parker, a ship-keeper who lived at Duke town in 1765 for 5 months. [49] Several events at Creek town later led to a wave of migration from Creek town to Duke town. Imbued with transcendental aura, ukara conveys the sacrality and prestige of the Ekpe secret society. Aye in 2000 does not mention the Efut as being the primary occupants. Hood Quarterly, spring 2015 This exhibition examines the ukara cloth of the Ekpe secret society, a multi-ethnic all-male association in southeastern Nigeria and western Cameroon, exploring both the longstanding cultural practice the cloth represents and the artistic process involved in its creation. They give me thesum of $1,200,000 and many thing. The Osirica is a black Egyptian masonic order that existed in ancient Egypt. Unblock notifications in browser settings. Define monsoon, Sanskrit, raja, caste system, caste, Hinduism, reincarnation, karma, dharma, yoga, Buddhism, ascetic, nirvana. The persistence oftheAbakua society contradicts the official construction ofa Cuban national identity. [65] Although the missionaries and rulers of Creek town and Duke town protested, their protests fell on deaf ears. Ekpe Society 1st Conclave from Sept 16 to 17 2009, Ekpe DC Sessekou relaxing during the conclave, Ekpe Society members with Justice Hilman Egbe at a MECA DC meeting. The Ekpe society had become, by the time Antera Duke began his diary in 1785, the Efik's primary socio-political institution. Some other clothings introduced into the market include smit, brutanya, isadh and nkisi. [45] Eyo Ema's people occupied Otung in the south of Creek Town, Adim Atai and Ukpong Atai occupied the east and Efiom Ekpo's family occupied the Adakuko in the west. The practice and display of Ekpe masquerade have been modified. But, Ekpe in the course of the colonial period underwent a wide range of fundamental changes in their structure, roles, status . The Ekpe Society. Animals such as goats, chicken and dogs are consumed in Efik cuisine. What's significant about the black fraternities and sororities in America is that they also trace part of their lineage to the Ekpe society of southeastern Nigeria. [32] The men were wet and complained of hunger and fatigue. At Creek town, the Efik ruler was Efiom Ekpo Efiom Ekpo who had a number of children including Nsa Efiom, Edem Efiom, Okoho Efiom and Odo Efiom. [68] The society is believed to have been introduced in Calabar from Usahadet. According to E.U. Additional Touches [61] These papers were signed by the reigning monarchs of Creek town and Duke town who were Eyo Honesty II and Eyamba V.[61] King Eyamba and King Eyo had written letters to the British requesting that they bring in teachers to teach them trade and commerce and missionaries to aid them to know more about God. Resume: La communaure cubaine Abakua-descendantedes communautes :EB:k Ekpe et Ejagham ~gbedu Sud Est du Nigeria etdu Sud Ouest du Cameroun-a ete fondee ala Havane dans les annees 1830 par des leaders captures des villages de Cross River. Talbot asserts that a great cotton tree had fallen down on many of the Abayen and in their pride of numbers, they believed they could hold the cotton tree. [72] I hope some Man-of-War come sometime with proper captain all same you look out and help we keep word when French Man-of-War come. Efik traders could speak, write and read the English language. Ekpe Efik was used as a government instrument in Bakassi in exercising authority for more than 200 years ago (E.O.Efiong-Fuller, 1996). The Ogboni fraternity is said to have a strong affiliation to royalty, gerontological system of governance and the law enforcement of the community. He views the Cuban initiation system known as Abaku, which was based on kp society, as a collective way for African descendants to maintain their historical memory. Formerly the society earned a bad reputation due to what the British viewed as the barbarous customs that were intermingled with its rites. Ekpe masquerade mimic the form of a lion or leopard moves. The Efik people occupy the basins of the Lower Cross River, down to southwestern Cameroon including Bakassi, the Calabar River and down to its streams - the Kwa River, Akpayafe (Akpa Ikang) and the Eniong Creek. [32] Another theory states that there was a disagreement between an Efik woman known as Abasi and an Uruan woman. In the culture we have discussed, the term dalilu refers to: an individual's personal power, knowledge, or ability, inborn but enhanced and developed through training and experience. [76], Prior to the introduction of European-styled clothing, the Efik wore loin clothes made of Raffia (Efik: Ndam). The area from which the Sunjata Epic comes was historically: the geographical location of the great medieval African kingdoms - Ghana, Mali, and Songhai. The Ekpe Masquerade Jun. History The Ekoi people, while all speaking the same language, have not tended to live in complete unison. It is a male-only society, and members are bound by secrecy. In Cuba, the Ekoi are always evoked as early founders of the Abaku society,18 and their spirits are worshiped. The Efik speak the Efik language which is a member of the Benue -Congo subfamily of the Niger - Congo language group. Upon leaving the Cameroon territory, the Ibibio arrived at their present location following two major directions.