English language is spoken in the South-Western part of Cameroon. Although Duke town is believed to have been occupied since the 15th century by the Enwang, it was not until the 17th century that the Efiom Ekpo families moved in large waves to the site. 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]. a king whose attempts to have a special son lead him to make bargains with one Islamic missionary and two noble travelers. The Ogboni is a fraternity indigenous to Nigeria, Benin and Togo. . Ed Keazor Follow Barrister-at-Law Advertisement Advertisement Recommended 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. Ekpe Society Emblem, Ejaham, Cameroon Dog Fetish, Vili, Congo Mlbuya (sickness) mask, Pende, Zaire Nimba Mask, Baga, Guinea Picasso Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, 1907 Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, 1907 (detail) Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, 1907 (detail) Bust of a Woman, 1931 Tte de taureau (Bull's Head), 1942 La chvre (The goat) 1950 Other references Festival organised by Global Music Exchange (ht. Ekpe members request nsibidi designs of personal or communal significance. Sunjata's half-brother, Dankaran Touman, enrages Sunjata and nearly causes civil war by: murdering an innocent young man, thinking he is Sunjata. Nigeria and Cameroon (Lebialem and Manyu), Ekpe Society Resolutions from meeting held on September 16th 2011 in DC, Auto-Biography of Sisiku Emmanuel Ojong-Orock, Leader of Cameroonian Ekpe Lodge in Metropolitan DC. What I want for dollar side is a fine coat and sword all same I tell you and the rest in copper rods. These are: the oral historians, kings' advisors, poets, and musicians whose power is the ability to manipulate words. [51] When the twins were older, they left for the opposite end of the island to Duke town. [13] Throughout the centuries, Efik traders traded with the Portuguese, Dutch, English and French. and Dahomean towns, and among the tribes of Congo and the Cameroon.17 According to the same author, Ngbe, was another society influenced by the Ekoi and originally considered Egb [Ekp]. The story of The River Between by Ngugi wa Thiong'o, takes place in _________________ (name of present-day country) in the mid 1800's. [10] The original seven clans are scattered between Cross River state and Akwa Ibom state and consist of Iboku (Duke town, Henshaw town, Creek town and Cobham town), Obutong, Adiabo, Mbiabo (Mbiabo Edere, Mbiabo Ikot Offiong, Mbiabo Ikoneto), Enwang, Usukakpa and Abayen. ekpe society cameroon. It is uncertain when Obutong was founded but most Efik scholars hypothesize that it was founded in the 16th century. 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. Historians recognize the advent and rapid rise of Ekpe as a direct result of a need for a new and effective mechanism of sociopolitical control in the complex economic environment created by the Atlantic slave trade. Okoho Efiom bore the twins at Nsutana and raised them up for years. Meat and fish are the major sources of protein in Efik cuisines. With the inception of the transatlantic slave trade, a number of foreign clothes were introduced into Efik society. Residents in Ekpe villages often go to the group to help them seek justice when theyve been wronged. Wake Keeping, Viewing and service in Dallas, Texas. LEFT Ekpe cage during Ikot Ekpe ritual in 2009. Several periods have been estimated by foreign scholars and indigenous historians. Photo by Eli Bentor. Only males can join, boys being initiated about the age of puberty. One account narrates that the Mbiabo group left first to their present location while the Iboku, Enwang and other clans were still at Ndodoghi. [42] K.K. Many families sent their children to European captains to teach them English and the processes involved in the international trade. Although used exclusively by members of Ekpe, ukara is produced by a sub-group in a village of the Ezillo community in present-day Ebonyi State in the Igbo area in southeastern Nigeria. Group members would disguise themselves as leopards, wearing leopard skins, carrying claw-like weapons, and attacking their prey. Another account claimed that Efik people introduced the Ekpe between 1720 and 1729 during the initial migration of Calabar. [64] It took several years before the town was rebuilt.[64]. [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. The Ekpe society is the most renowned traditional institution in Efik history. [59] According to Rev. 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]. Membership in the Ekpe (Egbo), or Leopard, society, for example, available to wealthy men who can meet the expense involved, confers high social status and political authority; these men participate in ceremonies concerned with ancestral spirits and are believed to protect the community through magic and religious ritual. [9][38] The Adiabo group is believed to have left to their present location after the Mbiabo exodus. As a child, Sunjata at first looks unpromising because: In one of the most dramatic episodes in the Sunjata Epic, Sunjata first begins to demonstrate his extraordinary abilities when he: avenges an insult to his mother by uprooting a tree and placing it in front of her house. [37] The Uruan invasion at Ikpa Ene is believed to be the origin of the Efik saying, "Ama okut Ibibio, ku n enye ika, Idem amasat Ibibio eyewot owo"(English: When you see Ibibio do not give him fire(to warm himself), when he is dry he will kill you). The Efik are an ethnic group located primarily in southern Nigeria, and western Cameroon. Ekpe masquerade mimic the form of a lion or leopard moves. And there are definitely more than 10 Ekpe members still around today. 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. 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. The Ekpe society may be regarded as one of the most important institutions among the Efik people. One theory states that the Efik and Uruan had separate religious customs and the Efik refused to worship the Uruan deity Atakpor Uruan Inyang. Bell of King Eyo Honesty II at Creek Town, Ekeng ita (also known as James Henshaw), Obong of Henshaw Town (c.a 1875). [1] The trade-off is that the Amama often control the majority of the community wealth. Modern Efik society is a melting pot of people of diverse origin. [79] Ikpaya a royal type of gown also made from raffia. by Web Services Editor. To cast light on African perspectives, and on the point of view of enslaved men and women, this group of top Africanist scholars has examined both conventional historical sources (e.g., European. In Amos Tutuola's The Palm-Wine Drinkard, the narrator leaves his home and begins his adventure in the bush when: In the excerpt that we read from The Palm-Wine Drinkard, the narrator and his wife encounter: In the Song of Lawino, by Okot p'Bitek, a woman speaks to: Lawino's husband's new wife is called _______________________(Either of two possible answers) in the text. Enyi laja na lasha b nyeere ha aka idi nsogbu nd baara ha. Several theories have been propounded on the origin of the word. The Ogboni fraternity is said to have a strong affiliation to royalty, gerontological system of governance and the law enforcement of the community. Sunjata's sister, Kolonkan, angers her younger brother Manding Bori when she: uses her powers to take the internal organs from animals he and his brothers killed, without cutting the animals open. Hugh, Goldie. As Sidney Kasfir has pointed to (in reference to the Ekpe society in southeastern Nigeria and adjoining Cameroon), material, performative, and ritual structures in masking are not fused together but can be used to different ends and can travel different paths ( Kasfir 2019: 15). [52] On the death of Chief Willy Tom Robins, a number of rituals were performed. There are two distinct but related societies. Oral tradition holds that a type of clothing known as "Itu ita" was the earliest fabric imported into Old Calabar. [59] Ekpe is first mentioned in the historical literature of Old Calabar in the 1770s. During the colonial era, The Efik language was the only language taught in schools in many parts of the present-day Cross River and Akwa Ibom state. [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. Determine the meaning of the italicized word in each sentence by examining the context. The practice and display of Ekpe masquerade have been modified. Historians and archaeologists have worked to piece together the human story from prehistory up to today. Sunjata's aunt, Tenenba Conde, childless herself, must raise the child Fakoli, son of Kosiya Kante, after Kosiya sacrifices herself for her brother's sake. I'm a queer mom and my daughter has decided to attend an anti-gay Bible college. [33] Abasi's husband insisted that the problem should be resolved by the chiefs. The Ekpe was vested with the powers of policing and bringing justice to the Efik kingdom. This theory asserts that the Efik migrated from Palestine or somewhere close to Palestine. The Ekpe society is estimated by most foreign scholars to have been introduced into Old Calabar in the 18th century. [9] The largest group moved to Creek town from Ndodoghi led by the priest-king Eyo Ema Atai.[38]. http://Ekpesociety.blogspot.com; www.ekpe.org; http://Ekpesocietyusa.blogspot.com; http://ndiboyevengo.blogspot.com, 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, Ekpe Chief Maurice Enoh's funeral in Dallas on January 27th and 28th 2012, Maurice Enoh: The 1st Manyu Ekpe USA Sessekou to die in USA, Maurice Enoh returning from his crowning ceremony as Ekpe Chief in Kepelle Village, Ekpe-USA received at the Smithsonian Museum.