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Ekpe
Ekpe, also known as Mgbe/Egbo (Ekoi language: ''leopard''; derived from the Ibibio term for the same), is a West African secret society in Nigeria and Cameroon flourishing chiefly among the Efiks. It is also found among a number of other ethnic groups, including the Bahumono of the Cross River State, the Ibibio, the Uruan and the Oron of Akwa Ibom State, Arochukwu and some other parts of Abia State, as well as in the diaspora, such as in Cuba and Brazil. The society is still active at the beginning of the 21st century, now playing more of a ceremonial role. There are two distinct but related societies. 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. Ekpe ''Ekpe'' is a mysterious spirit who is supposed to live in the jungle and to preside at the ceremonies of the society. Members of the Ekpe society are said to act as ...
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Efik Mythology
Efik mythology consists of a collection of myths narrated, sung or written down by the Efik people and passed down from generation to generation. Sources of Efik mythology include bardic poetry, art, songs, oral tradition and proverbs.Aye, Old Calabar, p.189 Stories concerning Efik myths include creation myths, supernatural beings, mythical creatures, and warriors. Efik myths were initially told by Efik people and narrated under the moonlight. Myths, legends and historical stories are known in Efik as while moonlight plays in Efik are known as . Sources Historical literature Since the inception of the triangular trade, the Efik people have been in the limelight of historical scholarship. Several works have centred on different aspects of Efik culture and tradition. Although little focus has been made on the subject of Efik mythology, several works have been written on aspects relating to Efik mythology. The earliest Efik dictionary by Rev Hugh Goldie reveals a number of mythical ...
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Efik People
The Efik are an ethnic group located primarily in southern Nigeria, and western Cameroon. Within Nigeria, the Efik can be found in the present-day Cross River State and Akwa Ibom state. The Efik speak the Efik language which is a member of the Benue–Congo subfamily of the Niger-Congo language group. The Efik refer to themselves as Efik Eburutu, Ifa Ibom, Eburutu and Iboku. Simmons, p.11 The name Efik first appears in historical literature in the nineteenth century. The most popular historical accounts of Efik migration attest a movement from Ibom in Arochukwu to Uruan and from Uruan to numerous settlements along the lower Cross river. The bulk of the Efik can be found in Calabar. Prior to 1905, Old Calabar was a term used to describe the Efik settlements of Duke Town, Creek Town, Old town, Cobham town, Henshaw town, Adiabo and Mbiabo (consisting of Mbiabo edere, Mbiabo Ikot Offiong and Mbiabo Ikoneto).Cotton, p.302 The Efik have also been referred to as "Calabar people" in histor ...
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Egbo Secret Society, Mgbe, Etuam, Egbo, South Nigeria Wellcome M0005360
Ekpe, also known as Mgbe/Egbo ( Ekoi language: ''leopard''; derived from the Ibibio term for the same), is a West African secret society in Nigeria and Cameroon flourishing chiefly among the Efiks. It is also found among a number of other ethnic groups, including the Bahumono of the Cross River State, the Ibibio, the Uruan and the Oron of Akwa Ibom State, Arochukwu and some other parts of Abia State, as well as in the diaspora, such as in Cuba and Brazil. The society is still active at the beginning of the 21st century, now playing more of a ceremonial role. There are two distinct but related societies. 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. Ekpe ''Ekpe'' is a mysterious spirit who is supposed to live in the jungle and to preside at the ceremonies of the society. Members of the Ekpe society are said to ac ...
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Oron People
The Oron people or Örö people are a sub- ethnic group of the larger Ibibio people, that make up the Akpakip Oro or Oron Nation. The Örö are located primarily in southern Nigeria in the riverine area of Akwa Ibom and the Cross River States and in Cameroon. Akpakip Oro are regarded as an ancient warrior people, speaking the Oro language which is in the Cross River language family of the Benue–Congo languages. They are ancestrally related to the Efik people of the Cross River State, the Ibeno and Eastern Obolo in Akwa Ibom, the Andoni people in Rivers State and the Balondo-ba-Konja in the Congo. The geopolitical restructuring of states and local government within Nigeria has seen the egalitarian society of the Oron Nation being fragmented politically in the Niger Delta. They have been divided across two separate Nigerian states, the Cross River State and Akwa Ibom state, and then into five Oron local government areas (LGAs) within the Akwa Ibom state. The Oron Nation is ...
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Ibibio People
The Ibibio people (English: / ɪbɪˈbiːəʊ/) are a coastal people in southern Nigeria. They are mostly found in Akwa Ibom and Cross River States. They are related to the Efik people. During the colonial period in Nigeria, the Ibibio Union asked for recognition by the British as a sovereign nation. The Annang, Efik, Ekid, Oron and Ibeno share personal names, culture, and traditions with the Ibibio, and speak closely related varieties (dialects) of Ibibio which are more or less mutually intelligible. The Ekpo and Ekpe societies are a significant part of the Ibibio political system. They use a variety of masks to execute social control. Body art plays a major role in Ibibio art. Origin The Ibibio people are reputed to be the earliest inhabitants of the south southern Nigeria. It is estimated that they arrived at their present home around 7000 B.C. In spite of the historical account, it is not clear when the Ibibio arrived at state. According to some scholars,they might have c ...
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Nsibidi
Nsibidi (also known as nsibiri, nchibiddi or nchibiddy) is a system of symbols or proto-writing developed in what is now the far South of Nigeria. They are classified as pictograms, though there have been suggestions that some are logograms or syllabograms. Use of the symbol system was first described in 1904. Excavation of terracotta vessels, headrests, and anthropomorphic figurines from the Calabar region of southeast Nigeria, dated to roughly the 5th to 15th centuries, revealed "an iconography readily comparable" to ''nsibidi''. There are several hundred nsibidi symbols. They were once taught in a school to children. Many of the signs deal with love affairs; those that deal with warfare and the sacred are kept secret. Nsibidi is used on wall designs, calabashes, metals (such as bronze), leaves, swords, and tattoos. It is primarily used by the Ekpe leopard society (also known as Ngbe or Egbo), a secret society that is found across Cross River State among the Ekoi, Efik, I ...
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Akwa Ibom State
Akwa Ibom State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered on the east by Cross River State, on the west by Rivers State and Abia State, and on the south by the Atlantic Ocean. The state takes its name from the Qua Iboe River which bisects the state before flowing into the Bight of Bonny. Akwa Ibom was split from Cross River State in 1987 with its capital Uyo and with 31 local government areas. Of the 36 states, Akwa Ibom is the 30th largest in area and fifteenth most populous with an estimated population of nearly 5.5 million as of 2016. Geographically, the state is divided between the Central African mangroves in the coastal far south and the Cross–Niger transition forests in the rest of the state. Other important geographical features are the Imo and Cross rivers which flow along Akwa Ibom's eastern and western borders, respectively while the Kwa Ibo River bisects the state before flowing into the Bight of Bonny. In the southeast corner of the s ...
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Akwa Ibom
Akwa Ibom State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered on the east by Cross River State, on the west by Rivers State and Abia State, and on the south by the Atlantic Ocean. The state takes its name from the Qua Iboe River which bisects the state before flowing into the Bight of Bonny. Akwa Ibom was split from Cross River State in 1987 with its capital Uyo and with 31 local government areas. Of the 36 states, Akwa Ibom is the 30th largest in area and fifteenth most populous with an estimated population of nearly 5.5 million as of 2016. Geographically, the state is divided between the Central African mangroves in the coastal far south and the Cross–Niger transition forests in the rest of the state. Other important geographical features are the Imo and Cross rivers which flow along Akwa Ibom's eastern and western borders, respectively while the Kwa Ibo River bisects the state before flowing into the Bight of Bonny. In the southeast corner of the st ...
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Uruan
Uruan is located in the south of Nigeria and is a Local Government Area of the Akwa Ibom State. Uruan Local Government Area was created in 1988 from the Uyo Local Government Area. It covers an approximate land mass of 449 km2. Its population, according to the 2016 Census is 164,000. The Capital City of Uruan Local Government is Id[ The area lies in the rain forest belt with extensive arable land and the region abounds with the wildlife, raffia palm and timber. The rich coastal plains support the cultivation of crops such as cassava and maize. Uruan people speak the Uruan language. History Uruan people have maintained a good relationship with their neighbors. Their seven-clan structure is also maintained. This is the structure depicted during the coronation and burial of the Edidem Atakpor, the Nsomm of Uruan, by the presence of seven traditional bow-men, seven spear-men, seven sword-men, and seven royal staff-men each of which represent Essien Uruan. The principal deity of ...
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Igbo People
The Igbo people ( , ; also spelled Ibo" and formerly also ''Iboe'', ''Ebo'', ''Eboe'', * * * ''Eboans'', ''Heebo''; natively ) are an ethnic group in Nigeria. They are primarily found in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo States. A sizable Igbo population is also found in Delta and Rivers States. Large ethnic Igbo populations are found in Cameroon, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea, as well as outside Africa. There has been much speculation about the origins of the Igbo people, which are largely unknown. Geographically, the Igbo homeland is divided into two unequal sections by the Niger River—an eastern (which is the larger of the two) and a western section. The Igbo people are one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa. The Igbo language is part of the Niger-Congo language family. Its regional dialects are somewhat mutually intelligible amidst the larger "Igboid" cluster. The Igbo homeland straddles the lower Niger River, east and south of the Edoid and Idomoid gr ...
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Cross River (Nigeria)
Cross River (native name: Oyono) is the main river in southeastern Nigeria and gives its name to Cross River State. It originates in Cameroon, where it takes the name of the Manyu River. Although not long by African standards its catchment has high rainfall and it becomes very wide. Over its last to the sea it flows through swampy rainforest with numerous creeks and forms an inland delta near its confluence with the Calabar River, about wide and long between the cities of Oron on the west bank and Calabar, on the east bank, more than from the open sea. The delta empties into a broad estuary which it shares with a few smaller rivers. At its mouth in the Atlantic Ocean, the estuary is wide. The eastern side of the estuary is in the neighbouring country of Cameroon. The major tributary of Cross river is the river Aloma coming from Benue State to merge with the Cross River in Cross River State. Cross River State is connected with a major highway to its sister state Akwa Ibom. Th ...
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Bahumono
The Bahumono (Ehumono, Kohumono) people are the ethnic group in Nigeria located primarily in the Abi local government area of Cross River State. They are the largest ethnic group in the region. They speak the Kohumono language. History The Ehumono live along the Cross River and are known to have migrated from Hotumusa around the region of a rock called Ekpon á Rara, which they claim to be their spiritual and ancestral home. The tribe consists of eight villages namely; Ebijakara (Ebriba), Ebom, Ediba, Usumutong, Anong, Igonigoni, Afafanyi, and Abeugo. They are closely related to the Efik, Waawa , Yakurr , Akunakuna, Ekoi people and Annang people. The Bahumono people during the pre colonial period were adamant to accept the laws of the British administration. They and other upper Cross River tribes foiled the Cross River expedition of 1895, 1896 and 1898 leading to the massacre of several British personnel. They were once part of the Aro Confederacy. Culture and tra ...
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