The Efik calendar () is the traditional
calendar
A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is also a physi ...
system of the
Efik people located in present-day
Nigeria. The calendar consisted of 8 days in a week (''urua'').
Each day was dedicated to a god or goddess greatly revered in the
Efik religion
The Efik religion is based on the traditional beliefs of the Efik people of southern Nigeria. The traditional religious beliefs of the Efik are not systemised into a logical orthodoxy but consists of diverse conceptions such as worship of the supr ...
.
It also consisted of festivals many of which were indefinite. Definite festivals were assigned on specific periods during the year while indefinite festivals or ceremonies occurred due to certain social or political circumstances.
Days of the week
The names of the eight day week in the traditional Efik calendar include:-
* Akwa ederi
* Akwa eyibio
* Akwa ikwọ
* Akwa ọfiọñ
* Ekpri ederi
* Ekpri eyibio
* Ekpri ikwọ
* Ekpri ọfiọñ
Donald C. Simmons, an anthropologist who undertook several studies on the Efik society asserts that the presence of the adjectives, Akwa "big" and Ekpri "small" suggests that the Efik may have once possessed a four-day week.
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, p. 127
Each Efik day was of great importance in the religious life of the Efik.
[ Aye, p.102] On Akwa ederi which was also known as ''Usen Ibet'', day of rest, the Efik did not work but spent the day resting and feasting.
[ Amaku, p.1] Europeans also nicknamed Akwa ederi as "Calabar Sunday".
The 8-day week had an adverse effect on the routine of European traders who often visited Old Calabar. Savage attests that the day was also dedicated to Eka ndem, the mother of Ndem.
[ Savage, p.310] The Christian Sunday came to be known as due to the Christian prohibition of work on Sunday.
It was common for families, houses and towns to have their separate deities. These communal deities were worshipped on Akwa eyibio.
Akwa eyibio was originally known as ''Akwa ibibio'' but was later changed in 1967 by Chief Efiong Ukpong Aye. The use of Akwa ibibio has since become redundant. Akwa ikwọ was set aside for the display of the Ekpe masquerade (). On this day, women and non-Ekpe initiates were allowed to watch Ekpe displays.
The last day of the Efik week was Akwa ọfiọñ. According to Savage, The national deity and patron of
Nsibidi, ''Ekpenyong Obio Ndem'' was also worshipped on Akwa eyibio.
Akwa ọfiọñ was also a day dedicated to grand Ekpe or Nyamkpe.
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, p.247 On this day, slaves, women and non-Ekpe initiates were not allowed to watch the Ekpe display. Anyone who was prohibited from watching this display would usually not leave the door of their house open and would go through a bush path away from the ceremonies if they needed to undertake an errand.
Festivals
The timing of Festivals in Efik society was mainly indefinite. Definite festivals occurred at particular periods in the year at Old Calabar. Among such festivals were Ndọk and Usukabia. Ndọk was a biennial purification ceremony that occurred sometime between November and December. Usukabia was the ceremony of first partaking of new yams in the year.
[ Cotton, p.303] The festival occurred at the beginning of the harvest season.
[ Aye, A learner's dictionary, p.46] Environmental factors were the main determinant for the setting of the time and day of these festivals. Indefinite ceremonies included Victory in war celebrations; purification carried out after war or illness; the coronation of an Edidem; the funeral rites of an edidem.
See also
Ekpe
References
Bibliography
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* {{cite journal , last=Cotton , first=J.C. , year=1905 , title=The People of Old Calabar , journal=Journal of the Royal African Society , volume=4 , issue=15 , pages=302–306 , jstor=714561 , ref=refCotton1905
Calendars
Efik