SOCIAL AND CULTURAL

CHANGES
IN EFIK SOCIETY, 1850-1930

By

Gloria Ekpo Edem

B. A. HONS. (UNICAL) 1981

A Special Research Project Submitted

to

THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY

UNIVERSITY OF
CALABAR, CALABAR

JUNE, 1985.
 SOCLL AND CULTURAL CHANGES
IN EFIK SOCIETY, 1850 - 1930

BY
GLORIA EKPO EDEM
B. A. HONS. (UNICAL) 1981

A Special Research Project

Submitted To

The Department of History

University of-Calabar
Calabaår

In Partial ful1filment of the

for
Requirements
a Master of Arts
Degree.

June, 1985.
 DCL RTION

We declre tht this

thesis/project on
ccinl nd
Culturaihes in Lfik_Society 1850 -1930

is an
oririnal work, written by Miss Gloria Lkp0 Edem

and was carried out under our

supervision. We have.
examined and found it
acceptable for the award of a
Maste
0f Arts de ree
I Nane
: C. E. Uya
(Supervisor) Sirnature: DTE:
Qualification/Status Professor of
History.
II Name: J. S. Manrat Sisnature:
DATE:
(Supervisor)
Qualification/Status Senion Lecturer

III Name: J. G. yse

TChief Supervisor) Sirnature: D TE:
Qualification/Status Senior Lecturer

IV Name:
Sirridture:
(LXternal Examiner) DI.TE:
ualificatión/Status
.ddreSS
 (iii)

DEDIC.TED TO CHIEF E. B. EDEM NOT AS

REWRD BUT ASA TOKEN OP LOVE

AND APPRECIhTION

-
 (iv)
PREFACE
Social and culturel history is concurned vith all sorta

o f relations etween people in communities and between

different cotnunities : For instance i. J. Hobshawn views

sooial history as the. 'history of a variety of human

activities difficult to classify except in such terms as

tmanners, Custtoms and everyday life". To G. ..

Treve lyan,
horever this is history with politics eft outh. While

we hesitate to exclude politics from the consideration of

Our subject, we, however, attempt a defini t i on here. Social

and cul tural history concerns itself with arrangements for

keeping law and order and for naintaining the norms of the

Comnunity, the dynamics of change and the varying amount of

power exercised by various groups within the s ociety, as well

as the educati on of the society generally. Our focus is on

the changes which had taken place within the system.

T h i s study i s thus an attempt t0 analyse the factors of

change in the tracitional social and cultural life of the

Efik people . Ln this regard,. the influence of the Christian

religion, language, and western education on Efik society

will be given much attention. Indeed, this writer felt

obliged to under take this study because she is convinced that

this area of bfik history has not been well advertised.

Furthernore, there seems to be a revitalized interest in the

culture of our people mani fested by both state and federal

Eovernents. These proclaim' their commi tnent to the

preservation, reviva1 and promotion of our rich cultural

epitagp. is in the 1ight of this developaent.that the

.Hobsbawn, "From Social History to the History of Societyt

l u109,
Vol, st douroAiean AcadeD otArts and sciences,
No, 1, 1971), P.25.
FG. M, revalyan,Eng1ish Social History", (London, 19ll)
Cited in Bobsbawh, Ibid., P.21.
 (v)
1ittle we know of Efik traditional culture should be

amplified by improved knowledge based on research. This is

imperativë. For it is only by taking a deep 1ook at Efik
Culture and Social institutions to bring out all that is

beautiful, useful, nay intriruing, that we can ensure a

richer and more rounded knowledge of Efik Cultural and Social

history.
The Chapters discussed in this thesis reflect the

points made above. Besides, the period for this study is

particularly chosen because it marks the beginning and end

of an era of rapid change, starting with the advent of

Christian missionaries into Efik land. These years als0

COver the period of colonial rule in Nigeria as a whole.

Material for this Study is drawn fron both primary and

secondary sources, Under the primary sources, there is much

reliance on oral traditi ons collected from individuals and

on archival material garnered from intelligence reports.

Books, articles and various published works are classified

under Secondary Sources .

In this research effort I am indebted to many people

too numerous to mention here. However, I must express my

profound ratitude to my Supervisors Dr. A.yse,

Prof. 0. E. Uya and Dr. J. S, Mangat who brought their
wealth of experience to bear in directing me throughout
the course of this research. Mention must also be made
of Dr. A, I. Nwabughuoru who made very useful contributions
at the early stares of this paper.
I am also rateful to my colleagues C. M. Sorgwe,
C. chu and P. D, Enyickpon who read throurh the seripts
and wiose advice and criticisIns I found very
useful To
ny huad of deportment I express my special thanks for his
usoful advice,
 (vi)

My gratitude is also extended to

my informants
who not only offered valuable information on the topic
but allowed me access to relevant
written documents in
their possession:To my Nigerian friends at the School
o f Oriental and African Studies, London, I say thank
you all for the help rendered during the period of my

research at the institute.

The Chief Archivist of the National Archives,

Enugu as well as members of staff of the Archival

Section, University of Calabar Library are not left

óut in this
appreciation.
Finally,, I am indebted to Prince Etim J. Vanderpuye
who helped in the typing of the manuscript.

HISTORY DEPARTMENT GLORIA EKPO EDEM

UNIVERSITY OF CALABAR
CALABAR.

JUNE, 1985.
 (vii)

MAP AND PLATES

Settlements and the

1 Map Showing Efik
Environs.

trend of Efik Migration and

Map Showing
idapted from E. U. Aye.
Expansion.
0ld Calabar Through the Centuries.

3. NkUgho and her maid at coming of age

ceremony.

4. Nkusho standing behind a stage (Mkpoto)

ceremony after
a period
during her outing
of fattening.

Betrothing of a daughter to the Bridegroom

5.
t r a d i t i o n a l ceremonial marriage.
during

Shrine.
Masquerades paying homage
at Ekpe
6. kpe

after initiation
candidate
7. Picture showing
Secret Society.
into Elpe
 (viii)
ABBREVIATIONS

A.D.C. Assistant District Conmissioner

Cal Calabar Provinoial Records

C.H.J. Calabar Historical Journal

C.0. Colonial 0ffice

C.S.0. Colonial1 Secretary 's Office

D.C. District Commissioner

F.0. Foreign Office

F.N. Footnote

Inter. J.A.H. - International Journal of African History

usncA SA
est
J.A.H. Journal of African History

J.H.S.N. -Journal of Historical Society of Nigeria

Waddell Training Institution

H.W.T.I. -
Hope

N.A./E. National Archives, Enugu

No Number

PP. Pages

Univ. University

Vol Volune
 ix
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Title Page

Declaration ii

Dedication iii

Preface iv - vi

Maps and Plates vii

Abbreviations .viii

Table of Contents .. ix - x

1. INTRODUCTION: EFIK SOCIETY BEFORE 1850 1 25

(i) Ceographical Location of Efik people.
(ii) Efik migrations and early Settlements.
(iii) Socio-political organisation of Efik
people.
(iv) Economic activities .

2. SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CUSTOMS AND

INSTITUTIONS . . 26 93
(1) Traditional Society.
(ii) Efik Traditional Religion.
(1i1) Erik Traditional Educati on
(iv) Traditional Marriage Instituti on.
(v) Puneral Rites.
(vi) Ekpe Secret Society.

3 , CHANGES IN SFLK SoCIETY AND THEIR

IMPLICT1CNS FOR THE SOCIETY . 94- 137

(1) Misaionary activities amon

the Erik.

(11) Colonial Rule in Efikland .

 TABLE OF CONTEVTS (CONTINUED)
Page
(11i) Western Education and its
impact.

4.CONCLUSION
138-1Lly
5. BIBLIOGRAPHY ... 11,5 155
CROSS THE EFIK SETTLEnMENTS AND THE ENVIRONS
RIVER
STATE

RILOMETRES

Calabar Municipality SLAVE PÜRTI

(MAJOR TRADING/EARLY

bcatiON Rivers
OF THE EFIK
Roads
SETTLE MENT

AKPAP
ADIABO O
oKO N G

bixoNETO

UKIM ITA

ESUK UTAN
IDUNDU
IKOT ANSA
I K O T ISHIE

CREEK TOWN 5 ESSIEN TOWN

Efe Ekpo Iboku-Mbarakom)
AKIMQU TOWN
DUKE TOWNIMQUA
(Efe EkpeAsoHENSHAW TOW IKOT EFANGA

cALADAR oEFUT
ATIMBO

CALABAR

A KA

Cros
ESSIGHI
ORONG

Map showing Efik Settlements and the Environs.

 CHHPTER ONE
GEOGR FHICAL LOCLTION
The Efik ere sOD Of the i r tants dftue Cross River

Aree. They occuy the a wi trdes tron the

G S River to the Eniong Creer.
ettleiqnts on the left n k of ths Gross

at niong, Ukwa, Ttà and the northern regions, of Adiabo

anebiabo which consist of Ikoneto and Ikot 0ffic
ed is also bounded to the North by Eou e
and the iro in the hinterland bo the North-erg ae1Ebo
of Arochukwu. Ohafia of Bende and the Ibiono and Ikono Ibibio
who live mainly in the hinterland. To the east are the
Ejagham, Efut and the Kwa, while the Oron peopleoccupy the

southern borders'. The development of agricultural

plantations located east of Efikland has also brought much
wider expanse of land under Efik control.
This geographical location of the Efik hascontributed
very much to the importance of the people in the Cross River

Estuary According to J. Cnene, for instance, t h e Efik

of the Estuary exploited the opportunities afforded by

their 1ocation to achieve extensive economic power e also
argues thet this economic power carried with i t considerable

o l i t i ç and cultural ignificance. M. 6. Noah an

authority n the Cross River Area,
attributes the ifik
traders', reputti on and influence to accident of grapfiy,
claining that the fik tgaders were 'quick use their
inenuity in manipulating the geographicel advaneeet
econopic gains", Thus, the evidenee is clear ttit the ifik
became whet they vere because they explcited na ture iven
1
Anne Ekpenyong, Eyo, "Evolution of Chieftaincy Institutiens
ang the Efik (Urpublished B. A. Thesis, UNN 1978), P.1.
Cinene, 2he Internntiona1 Beundaries of Nigeria 1885
1950 (LondcntL00 n6, 1970), P.61.

a13
sin1al1 1on ard Influence 1n the Croas Rive
c1abar Hetoricol Journal Vol.1i(1979)p2
 iABAR& ER

ve

CROSS
f u Mbatuz

Ibom

Ukwa

lart An
UIut
Arochuku

LNYONO

EKI
UWEL
AKPA
1TU
OKU TBO U
IKOROFIONG
ONETO
URUAN

IKPA
Tkang

ORON G

gratinii,epin

BENO
cAT

Map showing trend of Efik Migration and Expansion,

Acdagted fron E. U. Aye, 01d Calabar Through the
ture
 3.
leaving for Uruan in Ibibio land." Fromthere, the Efik
further migrated to
the ir present sttes xponents of this
versortry to hold
thei clain by illus t ting simiierities
t ti ané e thoze of hana. y keve
inked Efik
1anguege and
culture to those of the
o
i s oriental version, tiowever, is mere of
spoculatii for
even /ye, one of the exponents of this versiSh, is
z
ay he elain to an oriental Stock for the Etik.
The second version is that
which clains
origin of the Efik, that the Efik were originali
sub-group. It is asserted that
abcut the seventeehta
century A. D., the Efik were driven aut of Uruan
country after their defeat in an inter-ethnic.
leaving Uruan, they settled first at Ikpa Ene an
oved to Ndodoghi but because of the
unheal1thy climate there,
they noved to Creek Town under the leadership of Effiom
Ekpo. While in Uruan, the two
groups appeared to have
nuctured sinilarities in their
some
lenguage and culture.
Purther migration took place among the Efik so that
by 1721 01d Town or Obutong had been established. cononic
rivalry further 1led to another nigration, and a seconad
settlenent known as Duke Town or Atekpa emerged.et, a

fohther migration led to the founding of Henshaw Tom

Nsidun xponents of the Ibibio version include
My1iusand G. I. Jones 10
9
Their view is based oR..the
For dore details see Hart's Report Para.65, y
Calabar P.22 and E.0,Akak (KS of 01d alabar VO,
orpns and Higtory (Calabar, Barous Prese, 1981)*9.2P
U . Aye, Op.Cit.p.15.
E.N. ylius, Intellirence Report on the Etik Chan, Calabar
Division 1932-33" in Enugu Archives (here-in-alter cited as
/E)
10c
G. 1. Jones, Report of the Position Status andInfluence of
Chiefo andNa turi KULOrg n storn Rep ion o geria(nugu,
Governnent Printer, 1957), P.33.
 sinilnritiep of both cultures ono"espe eiatly the fact

that .the' Efik spak a

language which is similar to
that. of
the Ibidio.
Athird vcrsion is the
1gbo inteYpretat
origin of the Lfik. . N. naku as weiL as
E
contend that the Efik cane into existerce as a
reavit
the marriage between Otong Ama, an
Ibibio worian und Okes
an Igbo man iccording to this version, the. Efik
settled at Ututu in the Igbo country where they were known

as Bburutu and later moved to Ibom in rochukwu. hay

later left. Ibom and settled at Uruan in Ibibio land bu 8idue

to a religious controversy between the two groups, the

Efik were expelled snd they moved to Creek Town or Obio oko.

Further migration led to the founding of the settlements

of 0ld Town, Duke Town and Henshaw Town.

From the above traditi ons, it is clear that the Efik

had wandered for a considerable period of tine before

settling down in the various places where we find themn

today. Secondly, certain necessitating and 'diverse factors

must have compelled them to kecp moving until they reached

their present sites.

I t i s aiso difficult to assert the correct date 'of

h e ir rrival in 0ld Calabar due to lack of evidence, since

their arrivel perhaps did not arouse any special interest

uitil they began to trade with the Europeans. However, when

E. N. Amaku, Edikot wed Mbuk, Vel.11 Chepter Tw (Londona:

Thomas ielson, 1949), Seg also A. E. i g b o "EIR Origin and
11grations Xeconsidered" in Nigeria Marezine, No,87
(Decembur, 1965), pp.267 2 8 0 .
 John Barbot visited the 01d Calabar River in 1696, his
account shows the names qf traders which
suCEBt their Efik
identityfrom whom he bought provisions. In
frcy he claims
that bythie cegirtgentury h.D., the Erik
conmuniiy was
a0 vell organised that the
fik had become 'partnerSin-
trede' våth the Ibibio element
Tt is, however, certnin that by the middle
of te seventeenth
Century, 11 the Lfik settlements had
eroy 1rou t
fishing settletents into city states nainly s a result of
wealth acquired by the Efik traders through trade with the
Buropeans, pnrt from this indicating a long pori
settlement in their new sites, there is alao further

which insist that each of the settlements were made up of

Houses which traced their ancestry
directly to the paternal
founder.
Nevertheless, one may conclude that the different
accounts of the origin and migration of Efik people do not

authentically proviue a reliable history s to where the Efik

came from, but it is evident that the Efik wure an
immigrant
group and that the last group among whom they setiled with

were the Uruan people. This is supportcd by tbe evidence

of 1ineuistic and cultural affinitiés existing between the
two grodps In any case, the history ef crigin and migration

o.the Efik though shrouded in obscurity stil1 provides an

.accourt of the people as a distinc tive ethnic roup.
Purther researeh 1s, homover, neded before any autheat ic
conclusions can be taade,

123Guinen
.BarbotA Degoription of the Conat of North and South
uoted in . E. ioah, ldCalahp; p..
 POLITIC L CHG NIZIO
Until.the eighteenth Centurys Eove rpinental contro1
among the Efik was centered around werd
herdg. br family
heade. The system of organisetdon was esäential ly,
as each head of fpmily EOverned
patriarchal
his fenily without.
ithou
interference fron any other family. ge wa.one of .
the mcst
important criturin for the
selection of skiamily head.
The other
inportant issue to be considered for selection as
fanily bead was the ruler's personality.
The fanily head hrd sole prerogative over his people.
It was his responsibi1ity te preside over
fnmily meetings,
settle disputes among different households within the
family and to contract marriages in the family. The fanily
head aleo carried out
important religious duties like the
pourinE of libati on to appease the gods in times of trouble
and calling on the ancestors for continucus
guidance and
help. Most of these duties or activities took place in
the ruler's bouse compound. There was, however, no clear
or

distincti on between political, judicial or religious

functions perfor med by the ruler, his "responsibilities
were inextricably linked n3.

Although the family heads ected unilaterally, their

ndependence was, perhaps modified by the existence of a
council made up of oll the family heads. Normal1y the oldest
anong the rulers prosided over others in the couneil. The

cOuncil dealt only on matters of paramount importence such

8 Wr and famine affecting the entire Efik community.

PRichard W. u11, Munyakare: frican civilization before the

atuureg (Wew York: John iley, 1972), p.103.
Chier asuguo iok Ita, interviewed in Calabar 12/12/82.
 Disputes between different fanilies wiich could ndt be
settled by the family heads concerned were also brought to

the council for arbitration. Thus,' uthorit in Efiklend

t t t 0ime was fairly distributed and not oenralized in

one person or j9s4tipn It is also important to state d

the post of family head was not solely a male reapohsibility.
Women were made family heads if they met such uireneits
Another important organ of governmen t e tha Efik
.
was the age-set or age grade. A set incEe a l l men annd

Wonen born within a three-year period. Their sinetions

were essentially social in nature. These inciyded clearingE
and making of roads as well as serving as guards agairist

the infringement of the community 's boundary by neighbours.

Dach nember of the sane age set addressed another member by

the reciprocal term 'Da' but to cal1l a member of an older

set by this term was regarded as a grave insult. 17
""

Finally, there existed at this time a Society which

was during this period strictly a religious one, but in

tine was to become a very important fector in the political

organisation of Efik soci ety. This society was called the

Ekpe secret society and it was comnon to all Efik eomnunities.

owever, from about the 18th century, the patriarch

nature of Efik governnent began to give way to a bureaucratic

one. The 1ineage, a geneol ogical group, began to be replaced by

the institution of the House which was an enlarged household.

1SMr. R. N. 0. Ironbar, Interviewed in Calabar 14/12/82.

D. Stanons, The Ethnographic Sketch of the fik People'

in Dary11 Forde, Lfik Traders of 01d Calabar
(London: Oxford University Press, 1956), p.15.
 based on patrilineal kinship. Thip new change was due

t o two main factors, First was the dccumulation of

wealth in the hands of Bfik traders. This wealth waas

derived principally from the Atlontic Slave Trade. The
second factor was the increase in populntión due to the

influx of slaves from the hinterland of Calabar .

Reverened Hope Waddell attributed this chanre in

gOvernment to external trade. According to hin, "forein

commerce soon brouyht Calabar affairs into such a state

that the want of a bond of union amonr the different

families and of a supreme authority to enforce peace and

order between equals and rivals became apparentt and the

Bgbo institution (Ekpe Society) was adopted, improved andd

extended in its new field of 18
operation". While one is
not doubting the role played by foreigm commerce in shaping
the history of the Efik, the change in tovernnent could
also be attributed to the internal
dynamic processes which
the society was undergoing . Such processes included the
increase in population, especially the slave population,
the competitive nature of the Houses that had
emerged and
the need by the nobles to control effectively the slave
population and the
traders determination to nanintain their
middlemen position. In fact, it was at this time that
the
institution of
Obonpship or Kingship emerged among the Ef ik.
OH. M. Waddel1, Twenty-nine
Years the est indies
and Central ifrica (London, 1863),in PP.314-316.
 Even thern, the king or Bdidem denlt mainly with matters
19
of external nature such as trade with Eurcpeans.'

Eventunllys by the early 19th Century, Ekpe Secret

Socitty became the main organ for government as well as a

uniting force in the Efik city states which inc1 uded Creek
Towm, 0ld To, Duke Town and Henshaw Tovn. Hitherto, each
of the Ci ty Status were sutonomous and had separate rulers,

bureacracies 2nd laWs. The organisaticn of the city states

was based on the House system. In Duke Town City state,

for instance, there were four houses, namely Ntiero House,

Eyamba House, rchibong House and Duke iouse.20
The Bkpe Secret Society, es already nentioned, formed

an important ins tituticn in Efikland. It was the highest

political and judicial body. The Society though secret hed

a lot of power over the lives of the populace. Its

autherity was usually supreme and its decision final since

i t was belicved that the Ekpe could do no wrong and so would

Eive justice as it was due. The Society also carried out

civic func tions, for example, the clearing of the streetsS.

Night guards were mounted at its command. It wae à titled

society, Menbership was open to all free-born, and age

Was no criterion. In most cases, rulers hat to be menbers

though not necessarily high titled mnburs. in point of

fact, becnuse of the stctus of the Bkpe Socloty in Etikland,

Madan Ene Bnssey Efriotn, Interviewed in Calab.r 16/12/82

G. E. Bden 1Slaves and Slavery anong the &fik of 0ld
Calabar in the 16th and 19th Centuries (unpublished
5. Thesia) University of Calsbar 1981, p.36.
2
Chaef 2len ol Essien, interviowed in Calaber 18/12/82.
 10.
it would appenr.that laws propounded and intreduced by
the Bkpe superceeded all other laws. .much nere de tailed
discussion will be given on the Society in Chopter Two.

sOCT ORG. NISATTON

ong the bfik, the main units of Stcial organisation

were the fomily and the Secret Societies. The Femily in

this regard consisted of a man, his wife or wives, their

children and extended relations.

S already mentioned in the politicnl crgnization of

the Efik, the family as a social unit performed various

functions, For instance, when communal work like the

cleering and cleaning of the conmunity is. to be embarked

upon, such duties were normally executed through the help

of the family heads who organised men and women within the

families to perform the work. Failure to participate in

Community or fanily work often brought penal ties to the

22
offending group. Fines were usually imposed which could
be in the forn of farm produce, cash, wine or as may be

stipulated by the family.

he family head wns regarded as the 'fether of all' or

Etenyin while fani ly property was usually distributed to

all, both male and female chi1dren, on the basis of seniority.
AS the Efik population increased and expanded, there
Was a Corrcsponding Erowth of the fanily s a 6ocial unit.
This in tine embraced the nuclear family, the extended family

Find their slaves. The family then becane an enlarged house-

22
Medan Uiduak Duke, Interviewed in Chlabir 16/12/82.
 11.

hold called Ufok or 'House'. It became a social imperative

to become a member of a house since it wms a point of

refercnce in Erik Society. Hence the attachnent of persons

to Houses. CCcrding to . K. Hart, "for a nan te be an

Efik, he had to belong to a House withi the Society.3

It ir not certain when the Efik Houses began to emerge.

According to M. D. Jeffrey, 'the House system in old

.

Calabar was a direct product of and response to the Buropean

slave trade!4 , K. Nair, however , 15sumes that the House

erew naturally from the patriachal nature of the social1

organisation into the House systen. For, accordingE to him,

tradition has i t that Efik family greups reconised a

common paternity even before they arrived at the estuary

of the Cross River<0. The Efik House system, whatever its

origin, bEcame by and large a useful toui both in the

political ond social organisation of the people. It also

had interest in the economic progress of its members.

i t the head of a house was the Ltubom who was the house-

head. Unlike the selection of the Family hend, the post of

an Etubom did not depend riEidly on age, ncble birth or

personality, However, a prospective tubon hed ta meet the

abeve requirement, supplemented by wealth. Per the House was

K . Hart, Report of Enguiry into the Disputes over the

Obengship of C1Ebar, Enugu: Government Printer, 1964)p.40.
M. D. W. Jeffreys: 01d Calabar and Netes on the Ibibio
pp.56-59.
Lenguee. (Calabar: Hope Waddeli Press, 1935),
lso G. I. Jones, The Trading States of the 011 Rivers
b6.
(Oxford University Press, 1963), pp.56
-

K . K. Nair, Politics ard Society in South-astern Nigeria 181-

1906 tudy of Power,Diplomagy&Conmeroe in old Calabar
onton Frank Cas, 1972) PP27-28.
20Tbid.
 12
an econcnic unit and so
epended trade for its
on
wealth
2nd etononic. power, The leader of the house
therefure
must be a man of welth whc was able to and
n
equip a

certein nunber of trding cances.

Persorb.qualities
were also an added advantage for consideration. It is
rficult to draw a shrp line between the
Etubom's
political and reliious functions. His duties rantedi
fron settling disputes within the house to apportioping
farnland to all menbers of the house. He had a
responsibility
also for the cconomic
well-being of the House members
wn,
conducted trade through him while he received a share

of
the prorit fron such trade.20
In the administration of the house, the Etubom was

assisted by the House council which consisied of the

different family heads within the hcuse. .lthough the

Etubon had the council to assist him in deliberations, all

final decisions on major issues such as war against anether

house or even decisicns as to when to make
peace against
its enemies were, hOwever, taken solely by hin.
The post
of an Etubom therefore was a powerful one and all informants

agree that i t was difficult to dismiss an Etubom for.pod

nanngenent of a heuse, But if such a si tuation arose the
fiouse normo11y declined and menbers moved ta join otherr
huuses. In c s e s where the house had
become very 1arge,
embers could brenk away from the parent house to forn a

Sna 11er house but they nay still recognised the parent house
29
nd seme ti mus Owed allegince to it.
G,. Eden, 1aves and Slvery Op Cit.p.37
2id
 13
Succession and inheritance in these houses were from

the father to the first son, then to the second. The house

headship was not the sole preserve of only one rroup of

However, many cases abound of succession from the

family.
father to any trustworthy, talented family member or even

slaves. In the l a t t e r case, when such a situation arose,

the distinction betwe en slaves and free-born often

30
disappeared in theory,
The second important social unit was the secret society

which could be found in different associations . J. Gould

and W. L. Kolb, erroneously define secret societies as

"associations for which secrecy tend to be an end in itself

and in whi ch medicines as well as material paraphernalia

form a larre part of the societies ' raison d'etre and gain

psychological significance throurh being concealed".31

More correctly, N. U, Akpan, on the other hand, views secret

societies as exclusive cultural societies or clubs with

specific functions, powers, duties, responsibilities, rights

32
reserved to members.

Among the Efik in the pre-colonial period, a man's social

position was deternined by the number and, perhaps more

importantly, the ranks such a person held in societies . It,

therefore, became inperative for individuals who wanted to

maintain and promcte or advance their s t tus to join secret

s0cieties . The societies provided social services ranging from

Chief hsibonr Etim, Interviewed in Calabar th January, 1983.

J . Gould and W. L. Kolb, A Dicticnary oiScial Sciences,
London : Javistock Publications 1964), p.62.
2
Akpan,
n
The Role of Secret Societies in Ibibioland,
heNirerian Chronicle (Tuesday, December, 1974) p.8
6 . E. len, $1aves and S1avery' Cp.C1t. po
 14
medicnl treatment tC orms Of entertainment and recreation

for members of the Bf ik Community. Some cf the associati ons

incluxied witcheraft, k p r i ikata and Ekpe Society.

Among the Bfik, there Were two kinds of wi tchcra f t

prnctised. These were i f i a 1fot and the Obubit Ifot (white

and black witchraft). The sccrecy of this asOciation has,

however, revealed little information on its ctivities.

Most informants were reluctant to comnent as they clained

that they were non members of the associatioh, Thus,

infornation gathered on this were mainly hearsay accounts

Membership into witchraft was opened to beth male and

female. ven children could be members. I t waS aEraded

sOciety which operated mostly at might. The craft wass

normally comunicated to other persons through food eaten.

Special dishes, nostly oily ones such as coconut rice,

plantain or yan cooked in oil, are thoupht to serve the

purpose wel1.-34

Members of the Black Caft were generally believed to

be harmful. It was believed that they had the power to

cause sickness, death, barrenness in wonen and impotence

in men and s0. Were mcre f e a r e d . I t was, therefore,not

unusual to interpret the death of a person, persistent

illnesS, and other bad occurences as resulting from the act

of the black art. Members of the white oraft, on the other

hand, joined the society in order to acquire knowledge of

protecting themselves from persistent attack by the black

nembers whose notives were mainly des tructive.

E . U. ye, 01d Calobar p.Ab Pa79

 15.

n abia idiong or sorcerer was usually consul ted by

the affected herson or persons to identify the witch.

Those found guilty would be riven Esere boans (Physostigma

to prove their innocence. It was the belief that
vuptpsim)
the bean possessed the power to reveal end destroy the

witch. ibout eight of the beans were grounded with water,

the mixture was then given to the suspect to drink;

guilty person after taking the concocti on began to frqh, at

the mouth and ncse, when this happened the person died.

But an innocent sus ect after taking the concoction would

n o t h e r nethod of eliminating suspects was byy

regurEltatee.

the swearinE Of Mbiam which was a concoction supposed to

have magical powers. By employing nbiam i t was believed

that the guilty suspect would fall sick and die i f the curse

was not removed. The Corpse of such a person was usually

burnt and the ashes buried to ensure that such a person was

35
completely destroyed .
nother secret soCiety was the Ekpri k a ta. It was

used among the Efik as an instrument of social control and

36 I t was mainly a
for the naintenance of moral norms

It is still in existence.
mele affair and operated at nightS.
It opers tes in the forn of a masquerade from about ni dnight

November to
espe. ially during the months of Septembar through
early December. Its activities were held to be satirical
It eaveS-dropped on Wrong doings in the 30ciety such as

abortion by young eirls and illegal sexual

adul tery, theft,
These reports were then composed into jeering
intercourse
&ongs rnd sung during their outings.

Madam Uyi. offiong, interviewed in Calabar 8/1/83.

30gpid
 16.
People with 'skeletons in their cupboards' usually

became apprehensive durinC these outinEs while others woulLd

be-eager to hear the latest ECssip. The deviant wou ld be
made a laughing stock in the
community. Sometimes affected
person or persons nad tO defend themselves against the

3 i d allegations and amendnent could be made through the

same medium during the. next outing. 37 This of course
depended on whether the affecte. person could
identify any
member of the secret
group to lay his or her Complaint.
ECONOMIC CTIVITIES:
ECononic activities
among the Efik were centred
around specialised and unspecialised Occupations. These
OCcupations included farming, fishing trading and other
craftS. The fanily within the house was the basic econonic
unit. During the slave trade era, slave labour prOvided
an additional handd.

FARMING
There were three types Of land and land
Ownership.
First, there was the communal
land, the family or household
land and the individual land. 38 The last two were
held by
first Occupation and clearance of
virgin land. Any other
piece of land that was left unclaimed within the
precincts
of such a
comnunity was claimed by that community as a whole.
However, nobody owmed land as one would be
expected to Own
nOvable property; ra ther one was being iven rights to use
the land as part of one's
position within a
kinship system. 39
37Madam Uyi Of 'ong, interviewed at kpabuyo 13/12/82.
3TDid
39Tbid
 17.
Land, therefore, was a
symbol for regulating social relation-
ship i . thehcuse or family and once
acquired was
hereditary.*
The farming season usually started from late December
and lasted through the month of
February when' individuals
and households would clear their
plots of land in
preparation
for planting. The bush was then burnt after
clearing. The
burning of the bush was believed to add to the fertility
of the Soil.
Before the actual planting,
prayers were
offered to the ancestors and rods of the land to ensure a

gOod harvest. Women and children then did the weeding and

removal of burnt sticks. It must be pointed out that even-

though the tilling of the land was a communal effort, thee

harveSted products were not Owned ln common,

Farning was carried out at a subsistence level though

any surplus derived from the farn products were exchanged

through the locel narkets and the neighbourhood. Sinple

mplements such as the difging sticks, the hoe and the

matchet, were used for farming. Farm products imcluded yam,

cassava, kro, maize and several variaties of vegetables.

When the Lfik first established their settlenents in

ti.eir present locations, they practised shifting cultivation

because land was ebundant. This system involved the cropping

of land for a period of one to twO years before i t waS

abandoned for ancther land. Other nethod in use at the time

was the rotational bush fallow in which land was cropped

and left to fallow for a longer period before it was cropped

again. Ey the later nineteenth century, however, these

Mr R. N. 0. Ironbar, Op.Cit. 13/12/82

 18
methods had iven way, to a more permanent type of

aFricuture includinE mixed farming due to growth in

population and scarcity of land. Mixed farning here

involved the c ombina tion of farm products and animal

husbandry.

FISHING:
Until the advent of Eurcpeans alon the coast of OLd

Calabar, the Lfik were largely a fishing group. There were

two groups of fishernen. There were those who rowed in

dugout canoes from creek to cceek along the coast, and those

who fished in the high seas using larger boats and often

extending far inland where fishing settlements such as those

of Effiat socn developed

Fishing was a specialised OCcupa tion which waS undertaken

by skilled men. General1ly, Efik women did not fish,

they rather sold the fishes after they had been caught.

Fishing requires the following tool3 : dugout canoe,

wooden paddles, man-made nets and hooks. These tocls require

a lot of human energy to operate. Before the introducticn

of nylon and synthetic materiale the Efik also made used.of

a collection of rasses, weeds, palms, lianas and barks of

plants in naking their own fishing materials .

The different methods employed in catching fishes

include net-casting which involved about three personnel

the headman, the boat-man and the bailer who ensured that

excess Water in the boat was removed to avoid the sinking of

the boat. The net was cast in the opposite directi on of the

LOWlng river; in this way, several miles were covered.

When the net was pulled out, several fishes were caught.
 19

The second me thod of catching fishes which was most

comman. among the Bfik was the fish trap. This could be

performed by both adults and male children ,

The
children could trek out to nearby c 'eeks and set their traps

while. the adults would look for sites arOund the high seas.
Most suitable areas for this type of fishing were very

narrcw CekS which were virtually waterlesS uring low

tides, foreshores were alright but it allowed for only a

chance catch. The site for the trap was prepared when the

tide was LoW while the trap i t s e l f was made with several

sticks placed on the mash in such a way that i t faced the

direction of water-flow. There were three ways of checking

i f any catch was made, (1) when the tide had receded.

But this method had a disadvantage because when the fish

was entrapped, i t may be sunbeaten, or even eaten by birds

if not checked immediately, (2) by diving into the Creek

to pull out the trap and finally, (3) by going to the site

at full-tide with a dug-out canoe.

Another way of catching fish through the trap was the

use of is im which was a net-1ike structure woven locallyy

into mesh-1ike 2
form.* This was installed near the bush

during high tide. During this period fishes were carried

up the land by tide and so got entrapped by the hsim as the

water receded,

4'Okon Edem Effiong (Fisherman), Interviewed in

Calabar 9th February , 1983.
L2 Tbid
 20
Efik contact with the Oron people brought thne
knowledge and the use of Uwam (hook) and line rear.t

This involved the use of

long-flexible stick to which a

long rope was attached iirmly to the tapering end.

To
the other end of the rope is a sinker hook in which a

bait had been attached. A fish on

swallowing the bait,
Swallowed tie hook as well, it
as
struggled to get free
a certain force would be exerted by the fish and the
angler would then swing it out of water.

In places of frequernt flooding, fencing was employed

particularly in the creeks. Here the femce was built

acrosS the Connecting channel between a swamp and the river

during high tide, while the water receded, the fishes

were 1eft stranded by the fence (which was made of sticks)
and could then be
hand-picked..
Finally, poisonous weeds, foliage, seeds and roots
were also used in catching fishes. This involved appllying
these poisOns to sec ions of large streches of water,
fishes within such area would Suffocate to death and they
would then float and could be hand-picked.

Fishes caught and hand-picked were preserved mainly

through smoking. Temporary preservation COuld be made by

leeving the 1ive fish in baskets immersed in water, for

a short while.

Abasi Asuquo (Retired Fisherman), interviewed at

Creek Town 16th April, 1983.
 21

TRDING
Trading was also an aspect of the economy of the Efik.

This was carricd out both locally and externtlly.

The local
trade was carried out between the Efik settlenents and their

immediate neighbours. Goods were exchanged for those not

possessed by either parties. The trarnsactions Were

essentially by barter, in which meat for instance, was

exchanged for vegetables. Trade of this nature was made

possible by the existence of complementary needs within the

regions. With the developnent of periodic markets, surplus

goods were exchanged during market days which could be

every four days or even twice a week depending on the

population of the area. Both children and adults were

involved in trade as it did not require any specialization.

Inter-regional trade soon developed as a result of

complenentary needs and supplus goods. This new trade was

carried out by specialised traders who equipped their

trading canoes with provisions and operated in relays

through rivers such as the Cross River, Kwa River and the

Calabar River to exchange then with cther parts 0f thee

region.+
L5 This development soon led to the establishment

of daily markets to meet with the requirement of the time

With the coming of the Europeans in early 16th centuryY,

external or cogstal trade developed between t e suropeams

and Efik traders. The early trading activities with the new

Eroup were crganised at the fanily level which resulted in some

1amilies becoming not only wealthy but also economically

powerful,

Chief Effefiom Etin Effion, interviewed in Calabar 17/2/83

5Toid.
 22.
Trade at this time was not only complex but also

sophisticated. It was characterised by the sale of hunan

beings When in 1807 the British government abolished the

trade in slaves and in 1841

treaty was signed by s ome
a

Efik C.iefs to that effect, the trade gradually declined

and tráde in palm produce became more prominent.

.The trade followed a certain pattern in which no

Community was by-passed. I t was like a relay race in which

the i i k traders took a middlemen pOsition. European EOOds

bought at the coast by the Efik traders were taken further

into the hinterland for sale, there in the hinterland , goods

whether of human nature or the palm produce were brought

back by the traders and sold to the Europeans at the Coast.

iny attempt by any other community to break this pettern

or to by-pass the chain of connecti on was often marked by

bitter resistance from the Efik traders. In this way the

Efik traders became very wealthy and their middleman position

was maintained for a very 1ong period. J. C. Anene

describes the situation further:

The Calabers Were rich in goods and

Wanted people. The Barondos had nothing but

brothers and sisters and poor hungry
Slaves and they wished to become rich.*

The main articles of trade included cloths, guns and

Eun powder, alcoholic drinks, and other manufac tured goods

from the Europeans. These were usually bought in wholesale

by the Efik traders and then retailed to their customers

and their neighboursS. From the Efik traders the main articles

Dought by the European traders were slaves and paln produce.

. C. Anene; The International Boundaries, P.62

 21
(zero point six meters) long but bent double. The copper rod
was usually very thln copper wires of a similar shape and
length. The brass was warth two-and-half penny (two-and-half-
dobo) while the copper wires rose
from onC-eighth to une
third of a pence; the copper road at tines
valued one
shilling
and siX pence 50 By 1897, however, the importation of these
Currencies was bnned and they ceased tO
£unction as medi1a
of exchange,

Anc ther important feature of Efik trading system was

the intrcduction of the trust
system. This was a system of
credit facilities whereby goods could be sold to the Efik

traders on credit based on trust to be retailed to

petty
traders until such a time that payments could be made. Some-

times the traders Sons or important slaves were given to

the Buropeans traders in trust However, 1I two traders were

able to establish mutual trust and confidence in each

other,
no demand would be made.51

The Comey or 'cash formed an interesting aspect of

the trade. Before the European could break trade', presents

Were required from them. The presents Consis ted of European

manufacture EOOds, This 'Comey was als0 extended by the Efik

traders to the hinterland traders while they received similar

gestures in the forn of farm produce, meat and fish. In this

Way, a1l sides benefited from the trade - a sort of bond being

created and made for easy trading. The Comey' thus served

as a forn of duty paid on goods that went through Efikland.

50p Talbot, Peoples of southern Nigeria, Vol.II p.875.

Chief Efiom Bossey Duke, interviewed in Calabar
3/7/83.
 25
Craft work was not left out in EEik economic

activities. This was carried out mainly by the women.

Artistic designs were engraved on Calabesh. In the 19th

:pentury, women in Duke House began to extend these

engravings on Birmingham trays and dishes (akpang-kpang)

**

Which were used specially for decora tion in homes and also

served as gifts on important occasions such as the taking

o ft i t l e s . in Ekpe society, coming of age in women and

marriage.
52 From Duke House this art spread to other

houses. Women were not only engaged in this design

decoration but also id patch workS of varying Size annd

colours which served as table covers and for covering gifts

for friends and relations. This was a great contribution

towards crait development in Nigeria as a whole. Artistic

desigms were also made on hats, ShoeS and bags using

varying colOurs of small beads.

Generally speaking, there was no clear division

between those who were involved in one form of economic

activity and another. I t was very Common to find those

involved in various forns of cras abandoning their tools

during the farming seas on and taking to the farm. A farmer

therefore could both be a fisherman and a craftsman.

The foregoing gives us the historical background of the

Efik which will enable us to examine and determine the

extent to which Efik cultural and social ins titutions were

influenced by both internal and external forces in the

period after 1850.

G.E. Edem, S1aves and slavery Op.Cit. p.50,

 26.
CHAPTER THO

By 1850 Efik society presented a picture of highly

developed social and culturel traditions and institutions whichn

were capable of sustaining the society. Some of the main

institutions in this respect form the body of thiS chapter,

and these include Efik traditional society, traditional

religion, traditional system of education, marriage

institution9 burial i t e s and secret soCletles. These

institutions which will be discussed under
separate headlngs
have played recogni.ed roles with wel1 defined functions

in the
society. Traditional education for instance, was
an
acknowledged means of the socialization process5. In many
ways the Efik are committed traditionalist.
What foll ows
explains the points made above.
EFIK TRADITIONAL SOCIETY
Efik society was based upon kinship, and this determined
a man's position in the
society. There was also some
of social
degree
stratification in itS
populationn. At the
the
top of
stratification ladder were the
aristocracies made up
of the
kings, princes, and princesses.
Others included
most of the Chiefs
and the
Etuboms. At the middle of the
ladder were the
ordinary people who were freeborn while
at the
bottom were the slaves who
were
to the work categorised according
they performed. They were, therefore,
distinctive classes two
of slaves in
domestic slaVes and Efikland, namely the
the
Members of the
plantation slaves. 1
nobility class felt
socially
to other classes
and
superior
they tried to maintain the
based on birth. division

'G. E. Edem, 1Slaves and

Slavery'
ery' Op.Cit P.22
 27
Among the Efik, importance was attached to one " s ability

to trace his genealogy al ong agmatic kinship lines. As

K. Nair has rightly comented, failure to perform this

task could deprive persons of the right to be elected or

succeed to the office of kingshiP or heads of houses.

Emphatsis, therefore, came to be plaCed on descent as the basic

qualification for full citigenship in the society.

Efik slaves were acquired througsh va ious ways. These

included cutright purchases from neighbouring markets,
notably Itu marlket, which was the main slave market. Others

included, Eny ong, Umon and Ikot Offiong. In these markets

Slaves Were either hawked or sold directly by established

agentS. S1aves were also obtained through other neans.

For 1nstanCe, it was not uncommon for a man to seek to
attach himself his
or
dependants to a
wealthy individual
in exchange for food, security and clothing. In time
tis type of arrangement later led to slavery. There was,
however, no fixed prbce for the purchase of slaves. It is
speculated that the
younger slaves were more
expensive
than the older ones.
Besides, the sex of the slave also
determined the price, as
able-bodied men attracted higher
priceS. Payment for slaves was nade in European goods
such as clotths and mirrors,

K. K. Nair, Politi cs and

Chapter I p, 13.Despite Society Op.Cit. p.3.See also
this
1nstaices, as I have shown, broad convention, there wereP
Where slave-born
Succeed to people
hendship of houses
P. A. Talbot, In the
V. C, Uchendu Shadow of the Bush quoted in
in Miers and "S1aves and Slavery in Igboland, Nigerie"
sopytoff, Slavery in Africa P.126
 28.
Be f o r e the acceptance O1 a SLave n to the Family or

such a slave, according to Nair, would undereo

the House ,

aimed at droppinE thelr old relationships and

some rituals,

assuming new ones. This involved the shaving of hair from

Slaves were made tO stand directly

the
the head a f t e r which
Owner's housercof. Water in a
eaves of the
under the
then 1lung three times on the roof by the owneer
Calabash was

trickled down on the slave .

in a wa that it
or the Btubom
Uduuk inong (throwing of
This r i t u a l was regarded in Efik as

and initiation
sort of purification
water) and i t served as a

of new members into the new family. The slaves having

aS members off
therm accepted
passed through this ritual
were

received instructions on their

the family. They also
conduct and their demands on the family.

described slavery among the Efik as absolute

Wadde ll
the other.
authority on the one hand and entire subjection on

In practice, according to him, both the authority and

Subjection were che cked and 1imited in many wayS.6 The

treatment of slaves by their Owners differed. In fact,

the situati on of household and trading slaves were different

from that of the plantetion slaves who dwelt in their

masters' plantation. Both the household and trading slaves

had closer personal contacts with thei r masters. These

personal contacts made life much easier for the slaves.

For instance, the trading slaves had better opportunities

to advance themselves since canoe

economically as captains,
hey earned commissions on the trade they conducted for

their nasters.
K. K. Nair
Po1itics and Society Op.Cit.p.38
E, U. Aye, 01d Calabar Op.Cit.P.96
H. M. Waddel1, Iwenty-Nine Yearg Op.Cit pp.312-314
 29.
to trade on their own in

They were
also alLowed
isions
7
and Europesans goOds.

however, t h i s group of slaves had aa

Northrup,
To David
thelr economio advancement int
to Convert
better chance
the case in the other coastal
advancement as Was
social
Brass and Bonny. In the case of the
example,
parts for
Lived directiy with their masters
Since they
domes tic slaves,
offered then some special
this provision
and mistresses,
of
money f o r payment
privileges. These included providing

of male slaves when they were of age

brideprice in case

concubine
female's case, becoming either the mas ter's
i n the

an added advantage in the

Of cOurse, was
or wife. This,

In the latter situation where marriage occurred,

relationship.
for the female and her c h i l d r e n
such contract would provide
a real kinship affiliation that would complete her

integration and legitimize her new posit on within Efik society.

Relationship between the domestic slaves and thei r owners

were so cordial that the master was referred to as father'

while the mistress was called mother in most of the homes.

In an earlier unpublished work, this writer stated

that to the domestic slaves, slavery was a highly modified

institution and t h a t to a large extent, the s l a v e s became

integrated into the different Efik houses. 10

7Tbid. p.320
David Northrup,"Nineteenth Century Patterns of
Econonic Growth in
Slavery
South-Bastern Nigeria", lmterna t1ona
ournal of African History (ierein after Cited as
Inter.JA.H. XII (1979) P.15.
D. S1.mmons, The Ethnographic Sketch of the Efik
in Daryl1 Forde, Efik Traders of 0ld People
G. E. dem, Slaves Calabar, P.25.
and Slavery'
Op. Cit. P.06
 30.
however, argued that
have,
Nair and Latham
Roth
sLaves nto Efik houses were no
not
of
f integration
the other coastal neigh
wlth
the case
as was
complete
Kalabari and Bonny.
otler nand, hai r e l a t i v e
on tne
slaveS,
The p l a n t a t i o n reside with
ten did not
most oI
as
their mas ters
freèdom slaves
hardwarking
Faithful and
plantati on.
them in the head-slaves.
second
first and
appointed
therefore,
were, Although the
sub-chiefs.
as
later regarded
were
They not
freedom, they did
s l a v e s had
this r e l a t i v e
plantation
the town
with
advancement when compared
a better
have
members of the 1ineage
They became largely
dwellers.
soon
of t h e i r owm
settlement. A community
plantation
masters, In comparing
that of their
developed far away from

of slaves, Nair noted that

the conditions of both c l a s s e s
these twO
"difference between the rate at which
the
assimilated into the social
s l a v e s were
categories of
essential clue to an understanding
structure provides the

operative in Calabar society in the

of SOcial forces
13 He further stressed that
middle of the 19th Century".
about by the social
i t was the dissatisfaction brought

in the recOgnition accorded

the slaVes, which
dichotomy
early 1850Os*dissuased
accounted for the upheavals of the

in the next Chapter.

11
K. K. Nair, Po1itics and Society Op.Cit.p.4
12
A. J. H. Latham, 01d Calabar 1600-1891 (Oxford: Clarendon
Press) P.37.
1K. K. Nair, Op, Cit. P.3
lyoid
 31
EFIK TRADITIONAL RELIGION:
annot over-emphaslse the importance attached to

Rfik traditional relig1on berore the advent of the christia

ian
Calabar. Besides, one cannot really under-
religion in 0ld

how change occurred

in such a SOCiety without
stand
of the people. A Clear understand ing
examining the religlon
of the merging of these twO factors, ives us an insight

Efik. Consequently, a study of

into tbe psyche of tlt
cultural and sOcial changes is viewed against the backdrop

of Efik religion.
the
Religion in its broad sense may be defined as

belief in a supernatural power, which is to be obeyed and

worshipped as the creator and the ruler of the universe by

the people who hold the belief in such existence. In like

manner, traditional religion is the system of beliefs and

values which are indigenous to the society concerned. The

nature of African traditional religion, however, has

rema ined a subject of great controversy. Many writers have

given their views on Africen traditi onal religion. Mary

Kingsley described it as a 1fetish religion while John

H. Frankin viewed the early African religion as ancestral

Worship. J. F. Ajayi, on the other hand, viewS African

traditional religion as the cement of good-will and fear

thet kept the family as a unit and the village as a

distintive community. 17 He further stressed that in the

African cene, the welfare of the individual, the fanily,

Vlllage or larger community was believed to depend on the

ry
Kingsley, West African Studies (London: Frank Cas,196l4)
P407.
Uohn H. Franklin, From levery to Freedom Vovir
Knopf, 19147), p.24.
F.A.Ajayi, Christian Missions in Nigeria, 1841-1891,
(London: Longmans,T965) pp.4-5.
 32
members severaliy and collectively and that it was necessary
for the Africans to nalntaln bhe rlght relationship with

their ancestors, EOds and othe unseen powers throl

a
18
complex systen
of r i t u a l observances. Finally, M. E. Noah
claims that traditional Atrican religion was one of un-

19
qualified monotheism.

difficult to ascertain the origin of

It is, however,

One is, therefore, inclined to

Efik. traditional religion.
was not invented nor
accept Robert Brow's View that religion

any man, but that

evolved, neither was i t discovered by
Creator God who
recOgnised the existence of
-

one
man
20
made him and whom he worshipped through sacrificeS. All
informants have also agreed that Efik religi on has been

with them ever since, Efik traditional religion involved

two components religious beliefs, and practices regardin8

the supernatural beings.

Among the Efik, there was the wide belief in the

existence and worshipping of a supreme deity or being

usually referred to as Abasi Enyong or Abasi lbon (God who0

dwells in the sky or eart), "Every man knOws that God

lives and that he made all things" said king Eyo I I t o

Waddel1,< The Efik did not, however, believe in the

resurrection day, This was evident when Waddell preached

about the resurrection day, making use of illustrations such

as the raising of Lazarus and the r e s u r r e c t ion of Christ.

The Efik were not convinced about this, "al1 them old people

18Tbid
19
M, E. Noah, O1.d Calebar: The City States and the
ropean5 1800T85 (Uyo: Scholars Press, T980)p.
Hobert Brow, Religion: Origins & Ideas (London Tyndale
Press, 1972) p.9.
Hope Waddel1, Twenty-Nine Years Op.Cit. P.275
 33.
t i n e "cried king Eyo II will 1ive again?
that died lon1g
them 0ld bones that rot l the round, how will God raise

Where Will they 11ive, the world

them up to 1ife again,
2 These were among the numer ous
cannot hold ther.

asked about the resurrection day.

cuesti ons the people
belief ln the existence of lesser
There was also the
23 Among these Lesser Eods, the most
or e a r t h goddess.
EOds
a water god. Abasi was said
recognised
one was the Ndem
and sO COuld not be approached
to be superior to
the other gods
'
the pe oples
hence the need to
direct
or worshipped directly
a medium -
the
sacrifices through
demands, prayers and
the Abasi Tbon'S earthly re-
lesser gods- whish were

presentatives

cult was of great socio-religious significance

The Ndem
to the Efik, who refer to the cult as Ndem Efik Tboku It

In r i e r s amd streams,
dwells both in land and at sea.

certain deep and black a r e a s which do not dry up during the

as the doma in of
dry seas ons were kept sacred and regarded
2 while the land spirits had their abode in other
Ndem,
natural objects such as trees r o k o , Baobab hills and

even large stones. The symbolic objects were usually held

TO be very sacred and could not be moved or destroyed without

25
Serious consequences for the community. Hami w a t e r Was

regarded as the daughter of the water god. She was believed

by the Efik to be the most beautiful lady deity of the

spirit world. The mother deity was called ka Ndem

22Tbid,D.,277
23p
: A . Talbot, The Peoples of Southern Nigeria Vol.III
(London: Frank
Cass, 1969) P.15.
2
Madan Nsa Okoho (Ndem Priestess), Interviewed in Calabar
Lth January, 19814.
2Ibid. 5th January 1981.
 3L4
People were prohibited on certain days to Visit the streams
TmS
These were usually days when the Spirits came to the

surface of the water irom their dwelling places. On hese

days, people who visited the stream either out of ignone

rance

or disregard for the pronibitlon order were runoured to be

26
taken away to serve the spirit.
Just as the Abasi Enyong Could not be apprached

directly, it was also not possible to approach Ndem directly.

Its affairs were conducted through its Pries ts and

Priestesses. The chief Priest was called Oku Nden. Great

importance was attached to this office. Waddell, in fact,

the
27
'King of Calabar ' .
referred to the chief Friest as

Generally, the Priests were the chief intermediary between

the gods and men. They were also the custodians of the

shrines.Some of them clained to have the powers to

communicate directly with the gods. In the circums tance,

i t was they who could tel1 when the gods were angry and in

what form they could be appeased, The Priests also performed

other duties including the daily, weekly and yearly rites

as well as the pouring of 1ibation and offering of

28
sacrifices for protection and thanks-giving. The Priests,
therefore, could be regarded as the depositories of Bfik

custom, knowledge, tabooS, theology and even oral history.

29

21
Mr 0ffiong Ekpenyong (Ndem Priest), interviewed at
Akpabuyo 16/1/8.
6 . M, Waddell, Twenty-Nine Years Op, Cit. pp.314-315.
28 op.Cit
29 Chief Okokon
amba, interviewed in Calabar 7/2/8.
 35
the chief Priest or Oku Nden
E. U. Aye described
30
his head shaven. He was barred from
as always having

other occupatlon except performing such

taking up any
to his office. For instance he
rituals that be longed
traditional ritual ceremonies
the
alone performed
Nair has emphasized
during the
coronation of an Obong
when the Ndem Priest had
the point that i t was only
from a special type
placed the crown called Ntinya (made
of ornament)
of rope, elephants' teeth and other types

the l a t t e r become acceptable

on the head of the king did
as their legitimate head. This point
to the peopl
The chief
has also been confirmed by many informants.

Priest by virtue of his position became a link between

the worshippers, other priests and their supreme diety.

By 1805, however, the Ndem Priest had 1ost much of his

power, 32
This was not unconnected with the separation

of power in which the priest had to concentrate on his

social and religious responsibilities. Hitherto, the

chief Priest had combined his functions with those of

the Ekpe cult which had 'involved political and judicial

authority.33

ln the fulfillment of their social functions, the

Ndem priests and priestesses offered periodic sacrifices

to the deity t o ensure f e r t i l i t y of the land and peace in

E. U. Aye, o1d Calabor Op.Cit. P.2

3K. K. Nair, Trade and Politics, Op.
32 Cit.P.56
Chief E, Effiwatt, interviewed in Calabar 7/2/84
h . J. H.
Latham, 01d Calabar Op.Cit. P.35.
 36.
in the community, prosperity in trade, and fertility in

Tt was the belief that the deity Fave blessinrs

Women

who consult her. Henc

fortunes and
children to those
nce,
as a result oI such consultation throurh the
children born
sacrifices were knowm as Ndito Ndem or Ndems
offering of
other children born without these
children. There were

in the course of their development,

formalities and s t i l l

their actions and activities

as
they be came detected by
children who could be referred to as Ndito Ndem.
Sacrifices were offered to Ndem at its shrine or any

suspected site of the stream or river where the Ndem

dwelled. In the former situation, a l l worshippers dance in

a circle, in the centre of which sits or stands either the

chief priestess or the chief priest. In all dances connected

with Ndem, both men and women dressed in white only. The men

in white loin clo ths or long jumpers, the women in white

blouses and loin cloths or long flowing white gowns. At

intervals, the presiding priest would pause to call on Ndemn

and offer sacrifice in the form of animals, for example,

fowls, cows and in rare cases human beings. On such occasions,

There was 5Ome sooth-saying, incantations and propitiation by

the priestess for Ndem was among other things, an oracle of

Consultation so that among the worshippers there could be a

childless Wonan who had come to ask for a child from Ndem.
K. K. Nair, Op, Cit. p.296; E. 0. Akak, Efiks of 01d Calabar
Op.Cit. p.293
PMadam Nsa Okoho, Op.Cit.
 37

Also one who was about to undertake a long journey would

i o r such journey. It was believed that

seek for guldançe
the more briskly the worshlppers sang and danced, the greate

Ndem granting their request.

Was the likelihood of
river sacrifice, the affected person or
In the case of a

the whole comnunity,

the priest and some
where it involved
river to perform some
to the mouth of a
worshippers would go

Efik dances especially that of Ekombi are

dances. In fact,
the Ndem and the
the worship of
said to have originated from
dependence on
36 This was probably due to strong
Ekpe cults.
after some incantations

these cults by the Efik. Howeve

had been
and the wish of the people
(purpose of sacrifice)
thrown i n t o the river
s a c r i f i c e would be
said, the animal for
so appointed. If
the priest hinself or any other person
by
i t meant that the
offer had be en accepted
the animal sank low,
On the other hand, i f the
would be granted.
and so their wish
was
to the surface and
was afloat, the converse

animal rose

consulted and the

would then be
true. The divine oracles

sacrifice repeated.P

also offered to Ndem at the beginning and

Sacrifices were

observed such a cerenony

William Anderson
end of every year
Cock-Crow-this
Town in 1850, at Cock speak- that is
in Duke
bells were rung and all sorts of
norning guns were fired,
out oi
the devils and ghosts
101ses.. Were made, to frighten
town138

oMadam Nsa Okoho, Op.Cit

31 Tbid.
K. K. Nair, Trade and Politics Op.Cit. p.56
 38

Efik reached their

Other media
through which the
Which w a s their symbol
being Abasi
were
Usan abasi
supreme
such media were gods and goddesses
Another of
of worship.
houses.
The Usan abasi had
or
individually by tamily
owned Throughout their
earliest times.
Efik from
the
been with It waS a
i t along
with them,
carried
had
sojourn, they placed.
which water had already be en
into
earthern-pot
small then
periodically.
The pot was

could be replenåshed
This individual

under a tree. Here,

a mound made
on
placed which were
sacrifices
and
concerned
would o f f e r p r a y e r s
an
god to help in
ed to implore
believed to be perform
either
supreme
appreciation
for what the
to show an
undertaking or could
The w a t e r in
the pot
ne for the person.
being had served
and it
in cases of s i c k n e s s ,
a curative
also be used as
for the worshippers.
as a unifying f o r c e
by Efik towns5.
several gods worshipped
identified
Aye
Creek Town had
worshipped Akpa Uyok,
According to him,
Cobham boku Anwan,
Town,
0ld Town, Anansa Ikot Obutong,
40
Henshaw Town, Esiet Ebom Nsidung
or Sugku Mogk0.
t r a d i t i o n a l religion.
part of Efik
Libation also formed
drinak
native wine and strong
This involved the pouring of
1
to the gods and ancestors.* It
an offering
(11licit gin) as

for help and

followed with a prayer asking
was normally
supportt from the ancestors
or gods. In pouring 1ibati ons
called by name. Actions
were
involving the ancestors they
Ior which they were best remembered were indicated. After

which they were invited to drink with their human descendants.

39 U. Aye, 01d Calabar Op.Cit. P.29

u0gbid.
41c
Chief B. 0. B. Duke, interviewed at Calabar 17/2/84
2
Esen, Ibibio ProfilaA Psycho 1iterary Projectio
(Calabar: Paico Press and Books Ltd, 1982)p.55
 39
informatlon concerning the history of tho
Tn this way,

could easily
be gathered. In pouring 1ibati or
aOnle
43
was invoked , As O. E. Uya rightly
therefore, history

noticed:
s o When a King has
particularly
This becomes He m u s t
reafilrm confidence
1ibations of the group
to pour b e l i e f s
in the accepted e v e n t s i n the
and faith historical
as s One major
as well
of the group.4
history
nornal ly poured
man or woman among t h e group
The oldest
reason of age,
so
because by
was particularly
This
libation.
ancestors and the gods.
considered nearest to the
was
he or she
drink was pcured i n t o
1ibation some
amount of the
In pouring first
sky-wards calling
The pourer then r a i s e d i t
a cup. of
to the r e c o g n i s e d
gods
on Abasi nyong
then Abasi Isong
which
reference to the gods
particular
the comnunidy making
ancestors of t h a t
Finally, the
such a family Owned.
drink from the
were all called upon to
particular ifamily
the cup and
children so gathered by 1owering
hands of their
In performing this
Content poured on the ground.
some of the
distinction between the
Clear
the p o u r e r made
a
ritual,
of wine
to d r i n k with the cup
ancestors whom he c a l l e d
good
were remembered
ancestors
while the bad
in his right hand
their names were not
the l e f t hand although
with the cup in
been offered, the
After the drink had
usually mentioned.+
he then took a
pourer r e t u r n e d the cup to his right hand,

affirm the fact

that he had not given
gulp of the drink to
that which he too had taken
his ancestors any poison but

him 'welcome' from the spirit

while the people around saluted
is that he was believed
of this 'welcome'
worLd. The s ymbolism

0.E.Uya, African History: Some Problems in Methodology and

erspectivesMonograph series 2 (Gornell University,
African Studies and Research Centre, 1974) P.7O
lul4 Tbid

5Tbid
to be a messernger at the time of the ritual and that after

delivering their messages he must be Iwelcomed'. For he

went on a journey to the metaphysica1 spirit world and his

spirit was in ascent,4 To be very traditional, however,

the pourer may make use of water in pcuring 1ibation for

water was the basic drink of any humar being and believed

also to cool down the temper of the gcds and ancestors i f

the people had offended them in any way.

Another important personage in traditional religion was

the ancestor There was a wide belief in the continued

existence and influence of the ancestors among the Efik. Such

a strong belief was not unconnected with the belief that,

when a person died, such a person was not really dead but had

gone to another world from where he continued to watch oveer

his children and protect them and their interests against

harm,4+ The ancestors, therefore, were revered as they were

s t i l l part of the family. For instance, an Efikman duringE

the process of eating or drinking offered sone to his

ancestor or sometimes to Cod through the ancestors by throwing8

a portion of the food on the ground before taking i t h i n s e l f . *

The belief was that the ancestor would pass the food on to

God. Libation and food-givirg, therefore, were regarded as

signs of hospitality and continued marit of respect. It also

implied amity and especially reconciliation.

The ancestor Occupied such an important place in the

peoples religious Life that it became an offence to accuse

the dead in their absence especially i such assusation lacked

Substance. It was an offence punishable by death or sacrifice

y Chief B. 0. B. Duke Op Cit.

4It is important to point out at this
of the world stage that the Efik idea
hereafter-was quiite distinct from the Christian
idea of the resurreCtion
day.
op.Cat.
 l1.
needed
to appease the ancestorS. Sometimes, the ancestors

through sacrifice in order to avoid theiir

to be appeased
for
anger Sacrifice, therefore, was a symbolic gift-giving,
49
a g1ft, a man gives, in a sense, part of himself.*
in giving
the Efik had a lively
It must, however,
be noted that although

the existence of the ghosts of their ancestors and

belief in
over the Living, they in fact, did not worship the
their power

ancestors.

beliefs.
Religion amomg the Ef1R also manifested itself in

the Efik believed in 1ife after death and

in
For ins tance,
had a sou
animal affinity which is the belief that everyone
that animal was hurt,
in a particular animal and that whenever
.to the
i t affected the possessor of i t in direct proportion

degree thich that animal had been hurt,

50 The belief in re-

ellabora te burlal
lncarnation led to emphas is being placed on

of some slaves and

rituals which included the sacriçice
onalitieS
beloved wives to be buried with some important pers

These slaves and beloved

such as the kings and the Etuboms

were meant to serve their masters in the new world a f t e r

Wives

death. I t waS also o t unusual for relatives to bury a

deceased man's property with the man tO enable him continue

his 1ife beyond.

The belief in re-incarnati on als0 led to the offering

of sacrifices accompanied with recitations of praise for their

ancestors, when a new baby was born whom the family believed

was a re-incarnation of an earlier departed relative. This

A, J. A. Esen, Ibibio Profile Op.Ciü, P.54

50
John Beattie, Other Cultures: AimS Methods and Achievements
i n Social AnthropoloEY (London: Routiedge and Kegan Paul
Ltd, 1972) p.236
 2.
beliefufurther led to the belief in Obio Ekpo or ghost world.

This be came pronounced when prayer: and acrifices were ffered o r

libation was poured. As earlier explained, the person

observing the ritual would hold the cup of wine in the right

hand calling on the good ancestors by name while he turned the

cup on to his eft hand when he called on the bad ancestors.

The Efik also recognised the existence of tvo worlds .

The first was the visible world which everybody was aware of

and inhabited by the human beings and the second, the invisible

world of unreality. which could not be seen but believed to be

inhabited by different spirits who were formerly human beings.51

Both worlds were believed to be inseparable though distinctions

could be made. In order for one to control activities in the

visible world, there was need for such a pers on to contact the

spirits who were believed to be in possession of such knowledge.

This contact could only be made through rituals and divination

hence the performance of periodic sacrifices .

52

There was also the belief in Eka Abasi or the god-nother

which was believed to be responsibl.e for nurturing and

protecting children against dangers. A mild fever in children

between the ages of two and six or those who could not walk

early enough was usually an indication that the spirit eeded

an offering.53 Sacrifices to the spirit were very simple.

The child's mother would prepare a special food called

Udia Okpo Nka - food of the same age grade. This consisted

of rice mixed with pieces of fish and meat. The child and

his mates were then invited to eat the food. The food was

placed before the child while his friends 3at in a circle

around the plate. As the child attempted to eat the food, his

Mr Okokon Ita, Interviewed in Calabar 25/2/8

52 Tbid.
53Toid
 43.
mates followed suit, each attemptin to obtain as much as
possible. In the scramble that followed, some quantity of

the food would drOp on the round and this quantity

represented the spirit's share of the food.

ifter all hada
been eaten, the mOther WOuLd place seven half pennies (three

and a half kobo) in a plate on the pround while the children

5
would scrambled to r e t the money. When the whole food in
the plate had been consumed, the children would rub the ir

hands on the sick child's body as a form of rratitude. 55

A
similar sacrifice was also offered to the spirit of Essien
emana strange birth, to protect the child fron horm.
The birth of twins was most dreaded among the Efik who

believed i t was an abomination as only animals could

deliver more than one baby at a tine. 56 They related this

belief to the fact that when a cow pave birth to twins, it

normally ran into the bush as an indication of her awareness

of the ominous 57
delivery. This belief inspired the Efik

saying that "Enang aman iba efehe oduk ikot when a cow

delivers twins, i t runs into the bush. Consequently, twin

children were killed soon after birth and their mother either

destroyed or 1eft in a bush to perish. Ln sOme Cases,

however, the mo ther had to offer sacrifices to the pods.

Failure to do this could result in the occurrence of some

dreadful happeninr in the society.

Donald C. Sinnon; Sexual Life, marriapre and childhood among

the Efik' in frica: Journal of the International African
nstitute Vol.30, 1960 p.158 (here in after cited as J.LAI)
Ibid.
B , O, Akak, EfikS 0f 01d Calabar Op.Cit. p.343
51 oid
 .
In the examination of Efik traditional religion certain

points become apparent. For instance, there was no distinction

between what was religious and what was secular. They were

a l l inter connected. In fact religion permeated all aspect

of the peoples' 1ife, It was practised where ever they were

found. M. E. Noah in his study of t r a d i t i onal religion in old

Calabar also noted that Bfik religion lacked a sacred text

1ike the Bible or the Koran, neither did i t have visible

20
reformers like Martin Luther,

Religion anong the Efik became the guiding principle in

the peoples' attitude towards life. Tt determined which part

of the river was sacred and which plot of land was due for

Cultivation or otherwise. On the cognitive level, religion

provided satisfactory answers to otherwise insoluble questions :

they f i l l e d gaps in human knowledge and experience and sO

59 Thus, Efik
diminished areas of doubt and unoertainty.

religions beliefs and practices gave confidence to the peoplLe

in the face of impending dangers and also provided the

institutionalized means of coping with such dangers. It also

served to co-ordinate and regulate human behaviours in a

variety of social situation and in this way served as social

sancti ons in the sOciety. This became apparent through

fear of incurring supernatural punishment if approved norms

were breached. Religion, therefore, satis fied the psychological

60
and sociological needs of man in the society, and promoted good

relationship with fellowmen and the dead. With religion self

assurance was maintained and this knowledge and understanding

went a long way in maintaining the unit as well as order and

noderation in the sOCiety.

M.E.Noah, 'African Religion in Old Calabar in Journal of

African Studies Vol.5 (No.1), 1978,pP. 103-105 (here in after
C ted as J,A.S.)
59J,Beat Other Cultures Op.Cit. p.238
b0M. E. Noah, Op.C1t.
 5.
EFIK TRADITIONAL EDUCATION
Education can be regarded as the process through which

a society renews or regenerates itselff. According to J. A.

Majasan, "indigenous education is cultural education , the

nainstay or any group of homogenous people". Traditional

educati on was aimed at transmitting the society 's values and

not necessarily to transform the society. It isopposed t o

modern education whose principal objective is to create men

who are capable of doing new things for themselves.

In traditional Efik society, there existed an informa 1

system of education by which the latter was regarded as a

continous process throughout one's life. It was conducted

under the frame work of the parents and the extended families

as the primary tutors. This type of education was directed

at developing the potentialities of the child right from birth.

I t was also aimed at the preparation of boys for nanhood and

girls for wonanhood. So that the child, right from birth

learnt to speak his nother's tongue first. This symbolised the

62
first step in the educational process.

Children were instructed through oral 1iterature, folk-

tales, fables (Mke) poetry by recitation, dance and arts.

Folktales told were didactic in nature so that the children

were made to be aware of the cons equence o being insulting

and disobedient among other immoral acts. A typical example

of didactic folktale which was accompanied with a song ran thus:

J . A. Majasan, Indigenous Education and PrOgress in

Developing Countries (Tbadan: University Press, 1974) p.6
62 Okokon Ita, Op.Citt
 6.
Fkpri eyen akaka idim
A small girl1 was
going to the stream
Okokut Ekpe Ikot
And saw a Lion
Ekpe lkot Odogho ete
The Lion said
Oyom ndika mmong
Where do you want to go to
Eyen oro odogho ete
The child answeredd
Ny om ndika Idim
I want to go to the stream°3

Folklores more often than not expreSsed the socia. expectations

which in a way helped t o develop the intrinsiC character of

the children. It also explained the comnon rules and estabLished

etiquette. cf daily life to the child.

Instructions in poems helped preserve the history of the

people especially with regard to the great deeds of

individual heroes.6 Furthermore, poems fulfilled didactic

functions. Proverbs, on the other hand, were expressed

through poetry. The importance of proverbs must be stressed

here. Proverbs expressed the philosophy and wisãom of the

people delivered in allusive terminology, usually metaphorical.

65

They were, thus, marked by ters eness of expression and a form

different from that of ordinary speech. To 0. E. Uya, however,

proverbs are ishort statements used often by a group of

people for the purpose of emphasis, stating a moral principle,

supporting an argunent, Eiving advice or in general, statin

what is thought to be true and natural. " It was, therefore,

not out of place that the Efik used proverbs for instruction

in manliness, honesty and acceptable social behaviour. In fact,

63p.U.0ffiont (unpublished
Qualities)
Nkugho: The Coming of Age in Bfik (Li. terary
(unpablished B.A. Thesis, University of Lagos 1979
p.4.
6lhp Aye, 01d Calabar Op.Cit.p.191
bOp.Cit. P.18
O. E. Uya, African HistorY, Op.CitP.6l
 L47
they were used to inculcate an attitude of mind acceptable

to the community. 67

Through the use ot proverbs, parents were able to

comment on patterns of respect and obligations of the children

towards the cOmmunlty. For example, children were not allowed

to use proverbs ir comnunicatlon with elders because proverbs

were thought to be a collective wisdom sanctioned by time. 68

Proverbs provided intormation on the history of the people

and was one of the most important comnentaries on the peoples

orientation and history. Since i t was regarded as an index

of belief in the social system, it became an important medium

of the s o c i a l i z a t i on process within the community. 69

Among the Efik, traditi onal education was also imparted

through organised and unorganised apprenticeship to the

Occupations of the parents or guardians. For ins tance, through

observation, precepts and the freedom to experiment in adult

Occupations, children acquired first, the knowledge of the

Occupation and secondly , the children were brought up to face

the tough task required for such occupations.70 In the

organised apprenticeship, children were taught the trade of
their parents directly. For example, during the farming

season, parents took their children to the farm where they

were taught how to plant and harvest different kinds of crops.

The same was applicable to Other cratt men.

On coming of age, male children were initiated into the

Ekpe Secret society which ran the administration of the

community, The ritual connected with the initiation was

1imáted to only members and so cannot be described here. In the

61Tbid, p.66
68 Tbid
69 Tbid
J . A, Majasan, 1Traditional System of Education in
in Nigeria Mapgazine (1976-77) pp.25-31 Nigeria'
 47A

NkughO and her maid at coming of age ceremony

(Courtesy of Ministry of Information, Cross
River State, Calabar)
 Ly8.

secret society, however, they were taught Nsibidi - a form

of indigenous writing that was secret and known only to

members. Nsibidi thus became the earliest known form of

indigenous writing among the Efik . Mary Kingsley, in her

study of secret societies in West Africa, concluded that the

elaborate formulae of initiation into secret societies

compelled both boys and girls to enter into what she described

as the 'schoolt'so that after the initiation, the training

of the young members became the responsibility of the society .

Formal education for girls was considered comparative ly

unimportant by the Efik and most of their neighbours. The

belief was that a woman's highest expectati on was to have a

72 The sOciety
successful marriage life and motherhood.
therefore, preferred to give their girls education aimed at

preparing them for successful marriages. To successfully

impletent these social objectives, the girls had to be confined

within a period of time. The confinement period and all that

went with i t is known as the fattening/seclus i on period or

kugho in Efik, Mbopo in Ibibio and Moninkim in the Ogoja

area of the Cross River State, Nigeria.

The writer feels justified in giving a detailed account

of Nkugho institution because of the great importance which

the Efik attach to this cultural institution. Indeed, many

who do not understand the intricate aspect of the culture have

specElated on the "raison detre' of fattening by suggesting

explanations. To this end, we believe that by this account,

more 1ight will be shed on the subject to stop speculations

that are uncalled for,

M . Kingsl e y , 1Secret Societies in West Africa ' Op.Cit.p.12

72Madam Atin Effiong Efa, interviewed in Calabar 7/10/83

 9.
The fattening institution as already mentioned was

established exclusively for the training of Efik girls. Because

of the recognition given to the role of the female in society,

it became necessary that girls be specially trained and made

to be aware of their responsibilities right from an early age

since any unbecoming behaviour on their part would be a

discredit to ttheir parents. The need to provide special
education for Efik women is supported with the familiar adage

that, "he who educates a man educates an individual but he

3
who educates a woman educates a nation.
It is not certain how the institution developed especia..y

as i t has a close resembl ance to similar ones in the Cross River

region. All informants, however, agreed that the institution

has been part and parcel of Efik cultural life. 74 The mytas

and beliefs of the instituti on were also upheld as sacred.

There was, however, no fixed period for seclusion. It varied

irom one family to another, and i t depended on the socio-

econonic status of the parents and that of the girls. Thus

the daughters of rich parents had more intensive and extensive

75 The programne for the first daughters
fattening programmes.'
(adiaha) is also elaborate because of their status in the

family. On the average, however, the period of seclusion often

Lasted between six months to seven years. The longer the

period, the greater was the prestige that accrued to the parents

since only wealthy parents could afford to have thei r daughters

'inactive' for as 76
as long seven years.

Ibid.
Ekpo Ita Effi om, interviewed in Calabar 7/10/83, Bassey Asuguo
interviewed in Calabar 8/10/83.
5
Donald Simons, "Sexual1 1ife, Marriage and childhood among
the Efik" in J.I.A.I. Op. Cit. p.159.

76Tbid
 50
The fattening institution was not exclusively for

betrothed girls. Once a girl attained a marriageable age of

between fifteen and eighteen years, she could enter the

institution. The maintenance of betrothed girls in the

fattening institution was the responsibility of the husband

who normally gave Nkpo Ndom to the girl's parents for her

upkeep. For the unbetro thed, they were usually betrothed before

the end of their seclusion period. This also could be

regarded as one of the reasons why some g i r l s had to stay

longer in the fattening room. The maintenance of course wass

strictly the responsibility of the parents. Most important,

i t was not respectable for the girl to terminate her.iptriod of

Confinement without.being asked for in m a r r i a g e . A g i r l .who did

not undergo the training before marriage was often ridiculed

and regarded as an out-cast by her mates and the society at

large. The institution, theref ore, served as a transitional

period when a girl was set aside from the ordinary open-free
life she had lived to participate in the final process of

preparing her for adulthood.

The Efik recognised two types of Nkugho. The first was

the NkUgho yen Owo0g or Mbo bi. This was mainly for circumcisionn

and was performed when a girl had attained the age of about

six tO ten. It involved, a minor surgical operation to reduce

the size of the clitoris. The operation was believed to control

the sex urge of the young and unexposed girls, In this regard,

i t was believed that i t might encourage their faithfulness to

their future hus band. It was also believed especially by women

that the operation would make for an easy and quick parturition.

77
Chief Effanga E. Henshaw, interviewed in Calabar 20/11/83
 51.

After the operation, the girl was secluded fo: a period of

three to six months to allOw her wound to heal and health

to return to normalcy,
78 A EOOd period of rest was necessary

for her to devel ope sufficiently. Her training wi thin the

period was.inot elaborate and was based mainly on domestic

chores. At the end of the period of seclusion, she could visit

the market witth her age mates. She was also offered presents

by her parents, relatives and friends.

The second and most important was the Nkugho akwa anwan

which was performed on the attainment of womanhood by a young

girl. It was normally perforned between the ages of tthirteen

and fifteen. Prior to the seclusion period, the girl ' s

parents were expected to inform relatives and women experts of

their intention as well as the actual date for comnencement of

training. On the appointed day, the girl had to go through

the Nkugho r i t u a l . Close relatives were invited to witness

the occasion which involved the pouring of 1ibation by either

the g i r l ' s father or the Etubom of their house. It was necessary

to perform this ritual because the bel1ief was that the girl

was undertaking a seriOus task and so required the assistance

79
of her ancestors to guide her through the process. BesidesS,
i t was considered a bad omen should a girl die during the

perlod of seclusion hence the importance attached to the ritual.

Talbot observed that on the

Among the Ibibio, however,
appointed day, Mbopo, in the company of her age mates, elders,

and parents, Would g0 to the stream to pay homage to the gods.

On reaching the strean, 1ibation would be poured and prayer's

78
Tbid.
p. A, Talbot, Peorles of Southern Nigeria Op.Cit. p.39
 52.
offered to the gods of the water which ran thus:

Behold here comes your child

who iS about to enter the fattening
room. her that no evil thing
Prote.ct
may have power to harm her
while she dwells there-in.60

Once all the fornalities had been completed, the girl went

into seclusion and her training by traditional expert teachers

begun.
The fattening room or Ufok Nkugho was usually at the

interior part of the Nkugho's parents 1 compound. It was

constructed with a bamboo in the form of a bed but raised

away from the floor. Well-to-do parents normally built a

hut at the baek of their compound. A mat was provided for

her to spread on the floor i f she wanted to eat. She also

had a special stool which was rubbed with native chalk, Ndom.

No other person was allowed to sit on the Nkugho's stool as

after sitting, Nkugho tilted i t to one side. It was considered

a bad omen i f any other person sat on i t . While in seclusion,

Nkugho was not allowed to leave her room in case she was being

observed. When she had occasion to leave her room for the

back yard, she had to greet a bird which was supposed to perch

on a tree in the bush outside her room even though she may

not see the bird. The greeting went thus :

Onukhomi, nukhofi - 0 !
82

which means

You that spy on me, I spy on you.

The bird was regarded as a protective spirit that guarded the

Nkugho. Lt the Nkugho forgot to perform the greetings and the

F . U. Offiong,
81Donald C. Simons'kugho' Op. Cit. p.1
Sexual 1ife, Marriage and Childhood
among the Efik in J.I.A,I. Pp.158- 161.
82
E . E. Bassey, "The Fabulous Brides of Calabar" in
agazine, January, 1974 Drun
 53

bird micmi cked the greetings first, a small sacrifice would

be required to appease the gods, failure to offer the sacrifice

would result in the Nkugho not achieving her end result -

fatnesS.
While in the fattening room, She was called a woman of

seclusion (nwan Nkugho) and had a maid called eyen nkugho

whose responsibilities included going on errands and keeping

the Nkugho company in the room. There also

was
Eka Nkugho
or Nkugho 's mother (not necessarily her own mother) who

supervi.sed all the Nkugho's activities and her instructors.

She visited the Nkugho in the morning and left very late

at night. While in seclusion, Nkugho wore raffia made into

a bangle a t her hands and legs. The bangles were supposed

to be loose a t the beginning of the seclusion and would be

tightemed by the girl's fatness at the end of the period.

83

The significance of the bangles lay in the fact that i t would

serve as a measure of determining the g i r l ' s response to the

treatment.
During seclusion, her body was constæntly massaged with

herbs, ashes mixed with canwood (iduot or Uto) to soften,

smoothen and brighten the complexion. Someone was expected

t omassage her back as she laid face downwards on the

ground, for i t was believed that through such exercises, her

muscles would relax and the spine straightened. More important,

the pelvis was bound to expand and so would facilitate an

easy childbirth, I t must be nemembered that within the

fattening room, everything was done to enharnce a smooth movement

from girlhood to womanhood and then to motherhood. t was,

83
Tbid
AMadan oyo Nyong, interviewed in Calabar 3/12/83
however, necessary that all ends nust be met to accomplish

the transition. After the massage, she was rubbed all over

with coconut oil and palm kernel oil which not only smoothened

her skin but helped to keep i t glOssy. Finally, artistic

designs or Mkpongsong were, drawn on her body witth ndom to

perfect the beauty. AlL the performance described above was

a daily affairr.

Attention was not only paid to Nkughos body,

corresponding interest was given to her food. She was

given a balanced diet of indigenous foods. These included

fermented cassava, yam, plantain with corresponding soups of

85
edikang-Ikong, afia efere and ekpan nkukwO Fruits of al1
kinds were also provided for Nkugho who was expected to eat

quite a lot and in fact in between meals for her to be

fattened. Among the Efik, corpulence in women was regarded

as a sign of good health and beauty. It was the pride of the

parents if the ir daughter got Out of the fattening house twice

her normal size, Otherwise she would not only make a poor

sight during the outing ceremony but would also bring shame

to the parents who i t would be rumoured were not able to

provide for the girl. 86

While eating, a mat was spread on tne floor for her to

sit on. She was not

supposed to lean on the wall while eating
for i t was believed that if she did, the wall would deprive
her of her fatness by taking in all the food she had already
87
eaten, Neither was she to eat with anybody not even with

80Toid
e1 Tbid
 55
her maid. It was not unusual to find an elderly woman or a

chief visiting the girl just after she had eaten to say:

Oh my daughter, for a long timee

I have not seen you8 ej w o u l d 1ike
you to eat before me.oo

Simple etiquette demanded that she should eat again for the

visitor ' s sake. All these were meant to attain the required

plumpness. It was important for the girl to be plump as i t

was a time when men preferred plumpness in women to slimness . 89

In order to avoid constipation from over feeding, Nkugho was

constantly given enema made from a special leaf called Ikong

anwan nkugho-fattened g i r l ' s leaf. She was also oxnected

to drink plenty of water to ease digesti on.

What went on inside the fattening room was quite

interesting. The Nkugho was not only provided a beauty

treatment but was also given educational instruction. According8

to M. E. Noah
The most fascinating aspect and
perhaps one of which the rite was
justified, was that this period of
seclusicn served as a kind of
educational workshop when all the best
female brains would be summoned too
prime the girl for married life. 9
Nkugho's educational programme was elaborate. On the

intellectual level, she was instructed in Efik traditional

1iterature, she learnt folktales which were usually accompanied

With dances and songs. The arts and crafts of the Efik were

taught by specialist wonen. These included beaded works on

shoes, hats and chewing stick-bags,, which were used for

decorations, The latter was considered one of the best gifts

91
a wife could give to her husband.
88Onald C. Sinons, "Sexual 1ife, Marriage and Chil dhood among
the Efik"
JI.h.I. p.160
89Madam Atim Effiong Bfa, Op.Cit.
90 E.
Noah, O1ld Calabar Op.Cit. p.22
ADssien, interviewed in Calabar 12/12/83
 There were lessons on dancing as this would form an

important part during her outing ceremony. If Nkugho could

not dance to the delight of her audience, she would become a

disgrace not only to herself but also to her parents.

To
avoid this shame, i t was necessary that she be taught thne

traditi onal dance-ekombi and its music even though she was

not expected to sing during the outing ceremony, i t was also

necessary to train her voice. For a Sweet and pleasant voice

was expected from a lady. Bkombi was actually an Efik dance

which displayed an imitation of the graceful flowing of the

sea, i t thus involved the forward and backward movenents of

the mid section of the body with the hands as paddles, as

in a rowing boat.< Flexibility was very essential in the dance.

Nkugho was also expected to know how to prepare the

traditional dishes. It was the belief that the key to a man 's

heart was in the stomach. For a successful marriage, therefore,

the woman nust know how to c o o k t o reach her husband's heart".

Besides, the art of cookery and house management were very

much cherished by Efikmen. It was disgraceful and unheard

of to find an Efik girl at that time who did not know how to

prepare traditional dishes. Such a girl became an object of

ridicule amongst her friends and if she had already been

married, the husband would not hesitate to send her back to

her parents for more instructions. She then became a p0int

Of warning and reference in the society. To prevent such an

Occurrence, Nkugho's tutors spent a lot of time exXplaining and

92
Umo B. Lffiom, interviewed in Calabar 14/12/83
93p
Bassey 0. Ekpeny ong, interviewed in Calabar 14/12/83
 S7.
instructing her on when and on what occasi ons different dishes

were prepared and presentted. She was also taught how to be

economical with food allOwance and how to keep the house clean.

Since the main aim of the fattening room education was

to prepare the girl for a happy marital l i f e , there was need

to educate the girl on the relationship between husband and

wife. She was taught to recognise the husband as the head of

the family who must be respected. She was also expected to

speak to her hus band in a low, Sweet and caressing voice that

was both loving, 94

soothing and ronantic." She was made to

understand that the husband would always have the last say ir

matters involving the family although she may be consulted.

She was als0 made to realise that her outside appearance must

always Correspond with her inner behaviour. For the traditional

Efikman was not only concerned with his brides's physical

appearance but also with her inner self.95 She was, therefore,

taught how to behave at home and in public, how to welcome

visitors especially her in-laws, into their home.

As part of her relationship with her husband, Nkugho was

made to be aware that the aking care of a man would also

involve satisfying the man's sexual urges as well as knowing

the subtleties involved in the act.

96 She was taught what to

do to pacify the man when he was annoyed and never to retort

if the husband abused her, but she should get people to

intercede on her behalf.

Anne Essien, Nkugh0: A Dramatio Efik fattening Ceremony

(an unpublished B. Thesis, University of Calabar, 1982), p.40

95Tbid.
Bassey 0. Ekpenyong , Op.C1t
 S8.
Anne Essien, in an unpublished work on the institution

made s one interesting observations on this aspect of instruction.

According to her, hus bands were not supposed to be called by

their names. She identified certain names, for instance,

names of respect (enying ukpono) names that denote bravery

(enying Uko) and praise names (Nditik enying) She further

indentified the different occasions in which these nanes were

employed. According to her, in inf ormal speech or conversation,

titles of respect were used such as this:

amasi mi my Lord.

ete ufok mi . my master

Title names derived from achievements in war, wrestling, or

farming were to be employed when the husband did difficult

jobs. These included

back of tree meaning a toughman)

Ikpaeto
Ukemeke aka attempting some thing beyond you

99
ide ete ete bravest of them al1
other names used included pet names such as

Ufan ama. my beloved

Eye edet okpo iso . he who has nice fronted teeth

Ima mi1 my love.

Armed with this type of training i t is clear that Efikwomen

would perform their wifely duties very well. There was

therefore, no mystery behind the phenomenon of non-Efik people

scrambling for Efikwomen as wives or any truth in the suspici on

that she made love portions for her husband. Now we know the

Anne Essien, Op.Cit.

96Tbid.
99 1uid
P
 59.

uxorial virteuosity of Efikwomen.

explanation behind the

is a song about thils phenomenon:

There

Enam etiene ido owo

to people's character
things are done accordine
ndien ete ke "di ibok ima
and this is taken for love-portion
Ibok ima nsuk nkok nkan anie
what extra-ordinary thing have I done than others
Afo nko utieneke ukok
That you yourself cannot do
Ekpri nkuk odot uwanga ima
Small being good enough for embracing
Ekpri ikpang odot ukop efere O0
Small spoon good enough for dishing.
in marriage among the
The importance of child bearing
a

here.
Suffice i t to say that
Efik can not be Over s tressed
and child rearing
also received education on pre natal
Nkugho
and perform as s0on
She was taught what to expect
practices.
contact with her husband;
as her m e n s t r u a t i o n ceased, efter

feed a child at different stages of growth

how to bath and

different nursery rhymes.

as well as knowledge in the
forued the curriculum
instructions
These and several ther

traditional education for girls. As will be observed

of Efik

bored in the fattening room.

never
from the above, Nkugho was

Neither was the seClusion a period of all work and no play

As a diversion, games like 'ebuk idiok were played

syndrome .

The game waS an oLd popular song-

in which she participated.
riddle which involved questions and answers From the abOve

idea that the fattening

description, therefore, the general
a time for idleness i s very erroneouS.
period was

100p. U, offiong, Nkugho' Op,Cit. p.8

 60.

While in seclusi on Nkugho was not allowed to receive

many
visitors especialy male ones for fear that she may become
pregnant thus bringing shame and disgrace to herself and the

family. If a girl became pregnant during seclusion, her

family promptly discontinued her fattening. The same was

true if she left the fattening ro om for the open life before

her period of termination was duei Another reasor why Nkugho

was not allowed many visitors was that the family would want

the community to be surprised at the girl's beauty and change

of appearance when she left the seclusion. Armed with this type

of educational background, the bride went into her

matrimonia
home an ideall and unique housewife. No wonder E. E. Bassey

described them in an article as the "fabulour brides of

Calabar, n01

As the date for Nkugho's outing approached, serious

preparations were made to that effect. Invitations were

distributed to friends and relati ons. On the eve of the outing

she wore an iron-ringed hose from the ankles to the thighs

to facilitate novement the

following day.
On the actual day, another ritual was performed by pouring

1ibation, thanking the gods and ancestors for their protectiorn

since the seclusion of their
daughter. They were also asked to
guide them throughout the ceremony. The bride was well dressed
in native attire and native cosmetics.

Her hair was given particular attention. The Efik

believed thata woman's hair was her source of beauty - "idet

edi uyai anwan" the saying goes. The hair styles were elaborate

and varied in their symbolism- marital status, age groups and

101
E. E. Bassey, "The Fabulous Brides of Calabari Op.Cit.
 60A

Nkugho standing behind a stage Mkpoto)

during her outing ceremony after a period
of fattening. (Courtesy of Ministry of
Information, Cross River State, Calabar).
 61.
levels of status im the sOciety. The expert invited for the

hair do " would decide what style would suit the Nkugho's
face. The hair was normally plaited with or without extra
hair attachments to go up in the middle of the
head which
earned i t the name "Etinge. The hair was also made to fall
over the Nkugho's neck and shoulders in
long ringlets. The
hair was then decorated with brass combs of
dif ferent styles
and shapes including a star comb which was placed in front of
the head. The star symbolised beauty of the Nkugho. If the
Nkugho was from the royal family, she wore a small coronet, if

she was a member of the Ekpe secret society, she had peacock's
feather - "Ntang Nkamda", pinned on her hair.

About four 0'clock in the evening, the ceremony would

start. By this time drumers and dancers had already arrived

and had taken their seats. Nkugho would sit in Mkpoto or stage
with her maids or Mbet who danced first before the bride.
After
the maids had danced twice, the bride appeared holding a staff

or 3sang Nkugho nade of brass with a colourful scarf tied tu

it near the round head. She was given some applause by the

audience. The bride as a rule danced only three times during

the ceremoney. 102 Presentation of money and gifts or utuak ndom

WOuld start during the second dance. The nane was derived from

the fact that after each gift, native chalk was used to draw a

mark on the bride's right arm. 103

For the presentation of gi S, a high table was set up,

the head of the
girl's house sat as the head of the table.
Gifts presented were displayed on the table. The father made

the first presentation followed by the motther. The girl would

102yiadam Bassey E. Ukpong, interviewed in Calabar. 15/12/83

1031pid
 62.
be given almost all a housewife would
need to start her new
home. These included essential
household items Uto
nkpo
ndung ufok. As each gift was pres ented, somebody made the
announcement while the audience answered
with a round of
applause of e-ye-e-ye-e-ye, meaning that the gift was

beautiful. It also
signified the audience 's
acceptance of
the gift. Apart from household equipments, the mother
presented to the daughter among other things, Ofong idak mbri,
which was one fathon of cloth usually white in colour; i t
symbolized the chastity of the daughter. It was to be used
during the first lovemaking with the husband.
After the parents had presented their gifts, the spouse,
relatives and friends were invited to present theirs. It was
a very colourful occasion . At this time the wealth of the

spouse and the degree of his responsibility towards his

future wife would be gauged by the amount of gifts he presented

to the bride. On the whole, i t was a merry-naking day. Aiter

the chalk ceremorny, Mkugho would make her last dance in which

she would embrace the husband. An Nkugho could visit the

market on a market day to round off the activity and to

exhibit her beauty. On such a market day, she was dressed

and escorted by a procession of Women, her age mates, some

dancers and drummers. 105 The leader of the procession would

start an euloEy about the girl as the procession moved intop

the market. While in the market, Nkugho acknowledged cheers

and received gifts from her admirers. If the Nkugho came out

o1 the fattening i n s t i t u t i o n very healthy and beautiful , she

received praises and

congratulations.
1ol4 Tbid
105Tbid.
 63

The fattening institution as a form of education for

females produced almost the same result as the modern European

education. The only striking difference was that the Nkugho's

education concentrated more on moral and social expectations.

With the institution, girls became morally, mentally and

this went a long way in

emotionally equipped for adulthood and

the maintenance of matrimony. As the ceremony was a ccmnunity

affair the outing ceremony promoted social unity and goodwillL

among all those concerned.

Finally, the fattening institution was a status symbol

where parents and spouses showed off their wealth during the

fattening and the outing ceremony.

TRADITIONAL MARRIAGEINSTITUTION
The origins of narriage among the Efik are lost in the

dim past of Efik history. The exact conditions under which

also not be known, but over

this relationship developed can

and came to be common

time, certain general patterns developed
Marriage among the f ik, therefore, was an
to the community.

Traditionally, i t implied some idea of

age old institution.

well as reciprocal rights and obligations

permanency a s
between the spouses; obligations to their offspring and to a

number of their other relatives.

defined as the union between

Marriage could also be simply
a man and a woman through the mutual consent of two families.

It was one of the nost important events in the life of the

people. In fact, frOn tiie time that boys and girls were capable
 6l
of thinking of themselves, marriage was set before them as an
to be attained. o
object Unmarried persons of either seex
except in special cases became objects o1 10
derision. To be
childless in marriage was the greatest calamity that could
befall a woman. 108

Generally, the Efik were

polygamous. The number of wives
a man had depended on his means and social status.
Marriage
itself served as a fulfilment towards economic and political
objectives. For eXample, the number of wives owned
by a man
brought hin a certain degree of wealth in trade or
farming
(or in any other
occupation). Politically, a member of one
royal family in one
community could marry from another royal
family thus bringing peace and tranguility to both areas
involved. The main feature of this
type of marriage was that
the hus band paid no dowry to the bride's
parents. In most
cases, only the first daughters (adiaha) were given as brides
because first daughters not
were only valuable but highly
respected. This, of course, is not to say that other daughters
cOuld not be given out in like manner. The marriage customn
itself was performed in stages and was based on the unwritten

rules and laws of the people. Marriage also entitled the

husband to the wife 's services; the inclusion of her offspring
as menbers of his family and the right to punish the wife i f
she wronged him. 109

106 1Di
107 Tuid
108Donald C. Simons, Sexual life, Marriage and Childhood
aLnong the Efik'
Op,Cit. p.161
109M:
Madan Asuquoawan Okon, Interviewed in Calabar 4/3/84
 The first stage of Efik
marriage was the bethrotal obr
the Mbup stage which was a
prelude t the actual
marriage.
The Mbup ceremony could not, however, take place without
the performance of certain
preliminaries. During cOurtship,
the boy would propose
marriage to the girl and if this was
accepted, he would
infomPd his parents who would take
over the
arrangenent from there. Some couples, however, did not court.
Most parents took it upon
themselves to seek a wonan's aands
in
marriage for their
son, irrespective of his wishes or

inclinations. The son sometimes was not even informed of the

transaction until it was an
accomplished fact."10 ParentS
decided to make the choice
because they felt that they were
more
experienced in such matters. In the former
circumstance,
if the parents of the boy approved of the girl they would
make enquiries about her and her family
background. Sometimes,
it was
necessary to send out a sort of 'detective' to the
girl's fanily to investigate whether she was already engaged
or nott. Information concerning her capabilities in cooking,
and other useful
accomplis hnents would also be the concern of
the parents. Should these investigations prove satisfactory,
the head of the house of the
boy's parents would be informed.
A verbal nessage carried mostly by some e lderly women would be
delivered to the girl's family, saying, "we have seen
something
good in your house which we would 1ike to take away and

Own 111 Such a

message would require at least two reminders
before a reply was received from the girl's parents. This was
usually a big camouflage because by the next request most

parentS WOuld have

already made up their 112
minds."

110tada
Madam Asuquoawan Okon,
111 bid.
Interviewed in Calabar l4/3/84

112bid
 66.
In the first request, the head
'messenger' offered
confrontation drink or
mmin Ukop Iko which consisted of one
bottle of drink (this used to be a native concocti on, 'but

during the colonial era it consisted of one bottle of hot

drink). In accepting the drink, prayers would be offered to

Abasi and the ancestors for

guidance in the negotiations.
After the "Messengers had left, the girl in question was

informed of the visitors' intention and her opinion sought.

Where the girl approved, the father would consult the elders
of his family through the head of the house. They too would
mount investigation into the
boy' s family background. If this
proved satisfactory a favourable reply would be given to the
messengers' when they returned for a reply. A date was alsso
fixed and agreed upon by both parties to formally receive the
boy's parents and if possible the boy.
It was necessary for parents to mount the investigation
exercise before consent was given because marriage among the

Ef ik not only meant a permanent union betwe en the couples but

also some kind of special relationship between both families

so that member called the other by the reciprocal term Ukot or

in-law. For among the Efik, when a girl got married she not

only married her husband but also the husband 's family. She
had a great responsibility towards her in-laws and looked on

them for support when things went amiss between her and the

hueband

On the appointed day, the boy 's family

would present
Min Ekom, or drink of thanks, which was regarded as an

appreciation to the eirl's parents for granting them theiir

request. It als0 represented an
appreciation of thanks to the
Eirl's family for taking good care of the 113

113Tbid
 67.

nkpo
consisted of imum /efutekiet (sixteen bottles of
The minekom
(five guineas or ten
drink); five pounds and five shillings

keg 01 palm wine and a bottle of hot drink meant for

naira); a

the ancestors to come and

DOuring of
12bation -

calling on

witness, drink and have a hand in the ceremony. The ceremony

itself was quite elaborate. It involved some form of drama

he did
as the head of family on the girl's part would pretend
to
for such gathering and would request
not knOW the reason a

be informed. The spokeaman or woman from the boy's family

would s t a r t a l l over to make a fresh request using idiomatic

his messages acrosSS

expressions and even proverbs in getting
to the people. Despite the fact that everybody was aware of

the acting and pretentions involved the ceremony was carried

out with much pleasure and exchange of repartee.

114 It must,

this only the

however, be pointed out that during ceremony

immediate families were involved. Visitors were not invited.

Besides, the presentation of min ekom did not give a legal

Status to the marriage. Drinks were served to all those present

at the ceremony. The girls parents would also present drinks

and snacks for consumption.

As a result of this presentation the girl's parents would

begin to get her prepared for the actual marriage. This

involved the fattening institution whose activities have already

been discussed. This later development also led to the second

stage of Efik marriage custom. While in seclusion the husband

was responsible for the girl's maintenance. He would also pay

to the future in-laws an additional sum of one pound and ten

shillings (three naira) known as Okuk Ufiok-Ufok money of

knowing the house. This entitled hin to pay occasional visits

to the in Failure to pay this

tirl while she was seclusi on.
114
Tla dan Nkese Efiom Henshaw, interviewed in Calabar 13/3/84.
 67A

Betrothing of a Daughter to the Bridegroom

during traditional ceremonial marriage.
(Courtesy of Ministry, of Informatio, Cross
River State, Calabar)
 68.
amount and any infringement like being caught in the girl1's

room would forielt him a l l the money and gifts which he had

previously Eiven. When the time approached for the i r l to

1eave the seclusion, the groom was informed and preparations

were made towards the outing ceremony. Preparations were also

made tOwards the payment of dowry which had to take place

within three weeks of the outing ceremony, otherwise this

could i v e room for rumour that the man had decided not to go

through with the marriage after all.' '15

On the day of the payment of dowry, friends and relatives

were invited to witness the occasi on. The hus band presented

gifts to the wife and her parents. Among such gifts were the

marriage box or kebe ndo of sewn and unsewn cloths as well as

other items of decoration for the bride. The Dkebe ndo was

optional, but the implication in i t was that where i f was not

given, the wife on her husband 's death would not mourn his

death in the traditional way - Mbukpisi. An additional sum

of twelve pounds was also included in the box. This was meant

for the girl to use in establishing nerself in her new home

The girl was also given one pound, ten shillings (three naira)

which constituted the okponondidi, string of okpono - a sort

of license or authori ty entitling the girl to the man's house;

okuk vkpen anwa money for the restriction of the wife's social
Imovenent. This in essence kept her from being unfaithful for

her acceptance implied a vow of complete faithfulness to the

husband. It was significant because as soon as this gift was

given, the man could refer to the oman as his Wife nwanmi

111Did
116Tbid 0. Aka, ELiksof 01d Calabar Op.Cit. p.319
 69.

and she reciprocated with my husband - ebe ni,

The man also
offered a gift of twO pounds, ten shillings (five naira) which

was callled okuk _utop iso eka eyen money for burning of the

mother in-1aw'S face, meant perhaps for taking good care of the

girl, The customary present for the father consisted of

min ekOm "thank you drink". The last but not the least of

presents offered were nsuan-nsuan min which was meant for

nar

distribution to all those present at the ceremony The wife's

parents, on the other hand, also provided drinks and food for

the entertainment of the guests.

As the Efik marriage was contracted in stages, occasion

sometimes arose where the girl was put in the family way before
final payments were made. In the circumstance, the final

payments had to be delayed until the deliverance of the child.

Brideprice involving a pregnant woman was not accepted.

Acceptance was tantamount to buying a "'pregnant goat". Whenever
the hus band was ready to pay the brideprice, he also had to

present a he-goat - Ebot us ong enyin in cOmpensation for the

'insult' on the girl's family. The pregnancy was regarded as

an 'insult'.

In case of second marriage on the girl's part, she did

not need to go through the second state t h e
fattening room,
but the husband had to
present her with Ukpan awa to ensure
her faithfulness. The hus band sometimes did not offer the
traditional ekebe ndo until after the birth of the first child
so that if the woman proved barren, he would
simply leave the

price. 117
Woman without the loss of his bride At the end of

1
*'Donald C. Simons, "Sexual life, marriage and childhood
21nong the Efik" Oc.Cit.
 70.

the presentations advice was Eiven to the couple. from

both families. A typical one from the father of the wife

was

As from today, your wife is yours look

a1ter her properly. 1f she behaves badly
let us know. Both of you should be in peace.
Take her as yourse1f. If she wrongs you
beat her with your right hand and use your
left hand to bring her back. If she is a
headwith
strong woman, let us know. Let Gobd
be you and may you be in pesce and
harmony. Do notlisten to what other people1 18
say otherwise trouble will come between you.

The wiIe did not, however, go with the hus band immediately

after the presentations. A later date was fixed by the

immediate families towards this event.

on the fixed date, the husband would invite his close

friends and relatives to witness the occasion. The

ceremony normally took place in the evening, about five o'

clock. The girl was taken to the hus band 's house by her

parents and close relatives. She carried with her all the

presents she had received during her outing ceremony

especially the household essentials At the husband's

house the couple were received with merriment. More advice

and introductions were made. At the end of the various

pieces of advice the couple underwent a ritual to mark the

end of the ceremony. This involved the couple standing

outside the groom's house, the wife's father would then

pour water in a cup and throw the water on to the roof

while the couple stood before the eaves so that water from

the roof fell on to then. This gesture signifi ed the hope

OIbid. p.162
 71

that the couple would always enjoy peace and prosperity.

The husband' S father then gave the following advice to his

new daughter in law:

We are very pleased to welcome you

into family. We believe yOu wil1
our
be that will plant unity
one
among u s .
1f your husband
wrongs you, show him
his mistakes with respect. But if he does
not pay hegd to what
you tell him, let
us know. There is your husband, look
after him well, and he should also look
after you wel11. Let God be with you
both and help you to have
good children
that will help to build our
family.1T
The parting of the g i r l with her relations was always a

time of sorrow and

joy. She could be found on her first

days feeling sad and lonely but would later pick up.

There were, however, certain aspects of Efik

traditional marriage that require our attention. The Efik

did not marry their cousins - for the Efik family included

the first, second and third cousins. Neither did they

inherit wives. here the husband died the widow had a

choice of either remaining with the late husband's family

to take care of her children or leaving to remarry else
w h e r e 120

Also whilst polygamy was an indication of social

stending and to some extent an indication of affluence, in

actual fact, the Efik recognised especially the first

wife of the marriage. She alone was granted position

and additional rights by virtue of her position which also
endowed her with a powerful influence over the life and

119 1Did
120,
Madam Enn dns, interviewed in Calabar 20/3/84
 72.
affairs of her husband. In all public affairs such as the

taking of titles, festivals and dances she enjoyed

privileges more than the other wives. This of course

is not to say that the other wives had no right at all but

in comparative terms, the first wife was usually consulteda

and her opini on sought first in matters before the other

wives were Consulted.

The i i k appreciated the fact that a wife was not a

personal property to be sold and bought, ParentS, therefore,

gave out their daughters almost free to be
so as equally
tree to return to their
parental homes when the situation
arose. In the cirumstance, every married daughter of the

Efik remained a member of her parents family with equal

rights with other children. <<
The symbolic aspect of the

Efik brideprice was shown in the s tandardised price of

twelve pounds up t i l l pres ent time irrespective of the wife 's

educational attainnent, social status, physical appearance -

and in fact changes in the value of pound sterling. with

the call for cultural awakening, therefore, every modern

girl is proud to be associated with this aspect of Efik

traditional marriage custom.

As regards divorce, a man could by no means repudiate

his wife or the woman her husband until the two
families
heard and estsblished a case to that end.123
Once the

grounds for divorce had been established the wife was quietly
returned (or she returned on her owm) to her parents.

121 Tid.

122E. 0. Akaik, Lfik gf 01d Calabar Op. Cit. PP.318-319.

12op. Cit
 73
/here there were iSSues involved the questi on of Custody of
the children was
amicably settled. Refund of the
brideprice
was
imnediately made after the
dissolution of the
or after the woman hid
marriage
renarried although the demand for aa
reiund was very
raely made. Even after the dissolution
of
narriage, the two families continued to remain cordial.
A husband could divorce
his wife
according to Efik custom
on the Erounds of theft and
adultery. In the latter
situation,
if a case was
established the culprit had to pay a fine known
as
okuk-efibe to the husband. A husband could also divorce
his wife if she
gave birth to a set of twin
although he was
not entitled to a refund of the
þrideprice.
Marriage as an insti tutionalized social
relationship
was of great significance in the society for it not only
conferred acknowledged social status on the
offspring but it
also contributed to socialization brought nany families
together and, therefore served as
, a
unity force in the
Community.
FUNLRAL RITES:
Burial rites among the Efik folowed st
proceduress
which differed
according to the status of
the deceased. In
other words, the performance of rites tor the
Obong or
nembers of the royal family were not normally the s ame as
those perforned for an
ordin ry citizen. Neither would the
burial of a witch be the same as that performed for
of the
a member
kpe secret 3Ociety We shall discuss in this
thesis, three of such burials for an
rdinary citizcn,
-

pe titled man ind

finnlly that of an
Obong or king.
 Generally anong the Efik, the initial mourning and

preparation of the deceased was performed by women. The

mourning involved sobbing and weeping in a song- like manner.

This was particularly suitable for the women folk because

in Africa as elscwhere, such activities were considered

typically female, 'c4 In actual buriels, however, the men

played the more proninent roles. On the death of a man or

woman, members o1 the imnedi»te family were promptly alerted

and arrangements were made to prepare the deceased for

burial. As soon as this arrangenent was finalised other

relatives, friends and in-laws were informed. The body of

the deceased was normally preserved for up to two days in

the traditional way. However, the Efik preferred to bury

their dead within tventy four hours after death had

OCcurred. '25
In modern times, the duration has been

extended for up to two weeks or more.

The call for the arrangement and rites pertaining to

the deceased were always attended to promptly by the mourners

for various reasons. This included the fact that they saw

the occasion as an opportunity of paying respect to the

deceased, of remembering their dead relati ons but more

importantly, they seized such opportuni ty to send messages

to their 126
a n c e s t c r s . 'G9
This was not unconnected with the
belief among the Efik that, a dead man once on the bier was
only 'a dumbman with closed
eyes butt open ears; his spirit
self was active and that or.ly a
transparent veil sealed him
rom the
ordinary eye of a living man. 127
'
124¢
Chief Ekon Inona, interviewed in Calabar 2/2/84
1251hid
12Tbid.
12 Tnid.
 75

On the day of interment the deceased was washed in the

interior part of his house. This task was performed by

elderly women with the help of some men and weeping was

strictly forbidden during the washing. After the washing

the body was laid in state awaiting the last respect and

rites to be perforned. This consisted of composed songs

of the 1ife work of the deceased which was usually reflected

upon by the chief mourner - the deceased blood relation or

wife. The song was in the form of a speech in-laid with

music and tears and then a chorus by other mourners. The

content of the eulogies varied from individual to individual.

Sometimes, there was no direct reference to the deceased bu

most often the deceased's personal qualities, ancestury and

praised names were emphasized. ' In mourning, the chieff

mourner catalogued the achievements of the deceased as well

as those of his ancestors and in this way, a part of the family

history was recalled. Little wonder then that the Ghanian

comentator, Nketia, has described dirges as "expressions

stored up in the nind of individuals and recreated by them

29
in appropriate context."<7

After the rites had been perforned the deceased was

put into Nkpata the traditional coffin and buried in Eduk

the traditional greve which

-

was prepared outside the

deceased's house. These dayS, a public cene try is provided
for burinls and only the Etuboms and Obongs are buried at home.

128 Tbid
129
J. H. K. Nketia, "The Musical
O, E. Uya, Heritare of Africa" in
African History Op. Cit. p.73.
 76.
Also because of Christianity subSequent services are held

in Churches for christian members. If i t was a suspected

case of unnatural death, the burial of such a person was

followed with incantations and the placing of some charms

and even a knife in the deceased coffin. I t was believed

thet the deceased through those chams would in his grave

wreak vengeance on his enemy within three to fourteen days

after burial. At the interment also, various objects were

put in the grave. This included local weepcris, food and

plates. These objects were meant for the use of the

deceased on his journey to the world beyond so that he would

not appear before his ancestors empty handed.

Back hom , relatives and friends would offer drinks

and cash towards the upkeep of the mourning house as the

funeral was followed by weeks and even months of mourning

This was an elaborate affair.

On the eight day after burial Utim udi was carried out.

It usually started about six 0' clock in the morning anad

continued unti1 late in the afternoon. It involved the art

of consolidating or reclaiming the grave area. First

libation was poured after which women used long sticks in

digging while at the same time they sang, wept and danced

round the grave in a circle enclosing the grave. As the

earth gave way, more sand was added with a repeat action until

the grave arca ws hardened and appeared untouched. The

Wonen were then entertained with native dishes, drinks and

snacks. They wre expected to wash their legs and face

before leaving the grave side. Because it was regarded as a

 77
the house with any grave mud on their le S
taboo to go i n t o

believed that it brought bad luck and

as i t was generally

ill health to pursons. 130 funeral rites a

As part of the

Ufok Ikpo was declared open a day aftar

mourning house or

selected room within the

the actual burial. This was a

Native mats Ita-mbong were laid

house of the deceased.
-

the room to the other end. It waS

to cover from one end of

houge with shoes on. Offenders

a taboo to enter the mourning
house women sat with out-
were fined, in the mourning
their legs to mourn the dead
stretched legs and hands on

on the
through lamentations which rise to greater intensity

visitors. In the case of a male

arrival of each relay of
months if
deceased, hiS widow would be in mourning for some

During this period she had to remain unwashed,

not years.
dressed in old tattered clothes and her hair dirty and

G. Parrinder noted that this was observed to

Scattered.

deceive her husband 's ghost by making herself unattractive

lest he returned to have relations with her which would be

131 According to Aye, these confinements within

dangerous.

the nourning house sometimes lasted from six years to eight

years or even more. '132 I t was a way in which women

expressed their decpest sorrow for the death of their

husbands and they were said to be perforning the ritual of

Mbukpis.

Chief Ekong Imona, Op.Citt

Geoffrey Parrinder, African Traditional Relipion

(London Sheldon Press, 1974), p.100
132 U. hye, Cld_Calabar OD.Cit.p.25
 78.
It must, however, be emphasised here that this custom

as well as othcrs identified in these pages have changedå

with time and are no longer s t r i c t l y followed in modern

Efik society.
The Ufok Ikpo in a way was an interesting place as it

became a place not only for monrning the dead but where

education was reccived as a by product and far away relations

met a f t e r years of separation. Each morning, about four

0'clock the women would wake up to cry This would continue

until about six 0'clock when they would disperse to their

would meet again to

normal duties. In the evening they
while dancing and plays would accompany the
tell folkta e s

tales. If the deceased had been a member of any soclety,

and entertain them withh

such sOciety would visit the mourners

their displays until far into the night. The mourning period

depended on the wealth of the family. On the agreed day to

end the Ufok Ikpo, friends and relations would be informed

so they could partake in the final rites. On the said

morning, aftcr the usual crying, libation was poured by the

eldest surviving relation of the deceased thankimg the gods

and ancestors for helping them to Eo through the entire

ceremony. The mats on the floor were removed first by the

chief mourner and then others. The god ones were shared

anong those prusent while the bad ones were , taken out and

dunped in a strean. The wife or wives of the decease would

then have her/their first bath and cleaning s ince the death

of the husband. The following day witnessed traditional

Plays to round off the

ceremony.
 79

I t was necessary t0 perform a l l these rituals because

they wcre directly and indirectly aimed at separating the

dead person from his earthly family. All informants agreed

that i t was proper to give a befitting burial and funeral

rites to a deceased because:

A proper funeral for the departeed

was essential so that his spirit
may be contcnted in the world beyond
and 10 return to the physical world as a
disgruntled ghost to plafrue his fanily.1333

Members of the Ekpe secret 8ociety buricd their dead

members and the rites performed depended on the rank of the

deceased in the society. When an Ekpe titled holder died,

certain ceremonies associated with the cult were of

Once the immediate family had announced

necessity performed.
the death, the society would also report the death to its

members. As soon as this was done, the section of the

house where the deceased body was laid in state would be

cordoned off and barred to non-members. An "Ukara" cloth

was drapped across the main entrance to that section of the

house Complete with bundles of 'oboti' leaves tied to the

cloth. '34 In an adjoining room (chamber) to the room where

the body was laid in state; or where this did not exist, a

Snall temporery cabin supported by wooden stakes and walled

with Ekpe loth 'kara' would be erected in the front

Corner of the deceased's Ekpe signs and symbc1s

conpound.

Chief Ekon Inona, Op. Cit.

13l4TUid
 80.

in confcrnity
with the grade helld by the deceased ould be

inscribed in the cabin. The money used for the preparation

collected from the Ekpe fine, subscribed

of the chamber was

of the deceased's family. These included cash,

to by nembers

Where the deceased was a senior

drinks, goat and yams.

erected his roof and

member of the cult the cabin would be
on

the Ekpe would play temporarily from there.

Before the deceased was put into the coffin ready for

rituals
interment, an ekpe masquaráde would perform sone

Ekpe title
around the bed and coffin in the presernce of

must be noted that these rituals were strictly

holders. lt
itself would roar
meant for the titled members. The Ekpe
music and calls. It was
several times to some rhythm of Ekpe

the deceased would answer to the call for the

believed that

last time where upon the body was put into the coffin. '2 At

interment the body was buried in accordance with Ekpe

maintained as in the
cultural rites. Normal Ufok Ikpo was

case of an ordinary citizen. The only difference here was

that members of the society would be in control of the mourning

house. In the evenings, they would keep the mourning house

lively with some dancing and displays. Other plays could

also perform.

did not die. He was believed

Traditionelly, the Obong
TO go orn a sojourn, When that haprens, he was declared

treditionally "sick" and this became known f i r s t to nis

messafes would be sent to other

1MInEdlate family. La ter,
People were
royal families of the different Efik communities.

135Chicf sien assey dem, interviewed in Calabar 4/2/84.

 81

forbidden to anounce the obong's death inmediately

after he was dead. offenders were either executed

or exiled from the town.

After assembling, heads of the royal families

were then formally informed about the 0bong's state

and secret ai'rangements were made for the hiding of

the obong. The immediate family had to explain why

the obong was "sick", Besides, the explanation had

to be followed with assorted drinks. During the

would be a joint one of both sexes

session, the meeting
less heard. After a l l the
though the women were

basic arrangement had been completed, the Wonen and

Ekpe non-initiates would withdraw. Further arrangements

Were made by the Ekpe title holders since the Obong

was believed to be the political, social and religious

The corpse, therefore, was not

leader of his people.
to be seen by non-nembers of the Ekpe (the highest

authority in the land)). During interment which usually

took place about two 0'clock in the morning, within

twanty-four hours after the Obong had fallern.'sick,

Slaves, favourite wives and personal property were buried

with him.

Before the obong was hidden, the kpe would

roar in the room where he was 1ying sick' calling on

nin, the nan who poured the libation "answered" questions

136
pOsed on him by the Ekpe.

136
Chief Ekong Inona, Op.C1t.
 82.

The Ekpe would stop the communication after the Obong had

been hidden. AS SCon as this was completed the Ekpe then

called on the title holders one by one and all present

affirmed their presence and hurried home before any person

could recognise them. An account of the burial of Duke

Effiom, a one tine King of Eyamba clan was described by

Reverend Hugh Goldie thus:

A Large grave was dug with a mouth 1ike the

hotchway of a vessel, the inner part being
holloved for several feet. At one end, a
Cavern was formed for the body of the King.
Five of the youngest wives of the 1ate King
were brought to the grave, tteir arms and legs
broken and turned up towards the body h i l e the
body of the late: king was laid on those of
his wives. Then six freemen were compelled
to eat escre beans which sGon caused death,
Fifty slaves were brought near the grave,
struck in turn on the back of their heads
With a club and allowed to fall into the
yawnin6 sepulchre. The sacrifice went on for
several days as all free men were compelled
to brig in a number of slaves from the bush.
Finally, a juju house was built on the beck
of the river in which were placed broken
tables, chairs, cookery etc. which people
thought the dead kint might require in the
next world.137
There is no doubt that human beings were killed on the death
of Efik Kings but the ebove account is more of an

exaggeration
L t u r t e Obong had been hidden, messages would be sent

to the different kfik

communities and their neighbours to
The effect that the
Obongcritically 'ill'.
was Renowned
native doctors, sooth sayers and herbalists would be invitted
Irom ech clan into
the Obong's palace so that they can offer

reatnent to the supposedly sick Obong. The 1atter's wlves

131 .N.My1ius quoting from Calabar and its Missicns by

E n Golaie prefaced at Creek Town, 01d Callabor,
anuary, 1890.
 83.
and women were also called 1n to "prepare firei to warm the

Obong's bosom. Reports on the prOgress or otherwise of

his health would be related by the native doctors and it

was important thát they should prove beyond doubt that the

Obong could not be cured of his 'sickness' before he was

pronounced dead. ieanwhile the helding of secret meetings

continued in preparation for the public burial. However,

there was a time lapse between the passing away of an CbongE

and the commencement of the ceremonies nirkinE his death.

This depended on how elaborate the curemonies were going

to be and also the financial stand of the Obong's inmediate

family. The period could extend from one year to two years.

The night before the official announcement of the Obong's

death, an all night cleansing of the town was carried out

by all male adults. Later it was restricted to the eminent

Ekpe title holders and members of s ome secret societies

such as akata and Obon. The night vigil marked the chas ing

of the Ekpe into bush where i t belonged. This cleansinng

of the town was called Eku in Efik while the official

amnouncement was referred to Ediyarade Mkpa - making the

death known publicly.

At about four 0'clock in the morning following the

noctunal ritual, the town crier would climbed up the r0of

tOp to SCund the talkinr-drum to make the o f i i c i a l announce-

ment. Tne leSsage was always poetic in nature. The drum

LSO Sunded to call the penealogy of the duceased as WeLL as

iLS Lamily history. The public could now pronounce ble

Obong der:d.
 84.

Immediately after the cfficial announcenent the Obong's

first daughter with other 1 i r s t daughters of the rcyal

families, her aye mates and other women, including the wives,

went into the street in twOs from the palace crying - eyet

During the parade the women wore pieces of sack as

anwa.
waist cr loin cloth - akwa and walked bare feet with

scattered hair. The wives had their hair shaven. Meanwhile,

a temporary ban waS imposed on all manner of noise within

offenders were either fined or executed.

the cOmmunlty.

As the women moved around the streets, the first daughter

with a chicken hang ing around her neck would cry first in

a song-1ike manner while the others provided the chorus,

The live-chicken was to remain alive all through the parade

failing which the daughter had to commit suicide. A

typical cry by the daughter ran thus:

Oh my father, there are no two fathers.

If the hen leaves its chicks they wander
around without a protector and the hawk
will pick them at its convenience.
Father guide and protect us whereever z8
ycu are and keep us away from danger. '

The fame and achievements of both the deceased obong and

his fore-fathers were recited. In fact, the parade was

more or less the traditional appraisal of the Obong's royall

birth as well as his personal virtues. His ancestry

would also be brought into focus, The troupe would stop

at royal compGunds to cry. First daughters of such

compounds would come out to cry with them and later console

Them. Drink and meney would also be offered to them. 39

13adem Ekanem Essien Ekpe Oku, interviewed at Creck

Town 5/2/84

1391bid
 85

Strictly speaking, the drinks offered were not taken there.

At the end O1 the parade usually in the afternoon, they

wOuld as semble at Ekpe shrine to perform the royal dance - the

name was derived f r om the steps of the dance. Those with

paternal and maternal royal connections took two steps at

a time on both legs while those with singular roya1 link

either on the maternal or paternal side a l one took a step

each on one Leg

While Eyet anwa was being carried cut, Nsibidi - a

traditionnl pl y in which members consisted of only second

sons or Uào also went in a group, matchet in hand, hunting

for the immediate relatives of the Obong and first sons.

these were found ' they were beheaded. Normally a cw was

slaughtered for all participants while the Nsibidi took the

head, the other parts were shared emong other participants.

A public interment was arrenged in the afternoon of the

same day. The draped coffin that laid in state during this

period was, howEver, always empty, In the evening Ekpe

paraded with various masquerades. It was on such an occasion

that other ekpe masquerades such as OkpchQ, ebonko and isim

appeared along with idem ikwo At this time also, Ekpe resumed
its activity and rounded up the ceremonial rites of the

burial of the
Obcng. Nowadays, the ceremony is rounded up
with Church services. It must be pointed out that neither

christianity nor nolern civilization had mmde the Efik less

faithful to the burial custom of The
the ir royaltieS.
Durlal rites of an Obcng has rema ined more or less the same.
 85A

Kpe Masquerades paying homage at Ekpe Shrine

(Courtesy of Ministry of Information, Cross
River State, Calabar)
 86.
Death among the EIik waS
alwaysOCcasion of SadnesS
an

nd ioy. Sadness because a beloved one had departed but

joy because there would be much to eat and drink.

Besides,
very few deaths were seen a5 being of natural occurrence

Thus logicallys a reason inust be found - a past disagreement

over land-rights, an evil blink' from an elder or an

adulterous encounter and even witchcraf ts were sufficient

proofs for unnatural deaths.

BKPE SECRET SOCIETY

The origin of Ekpe which had been anglicized as Egbo

by early Buropean morchants, is not quite certain. Oral

traditions and available info rmation on the subject indicate

that it may have originated from the Ekoi in the North Cross

River region; then it spread among other coastal tribes

adjoining the Cameroon and thence to the Dfik and other

peoples on the right bank of the Cross River,

therefore, follows that the Ekpe or Leopard society was not

indigenous to the Efik. In fact, its nane was said to have

originated from an association of people who worshipped the

Leopard. 141
It was believed thàt the secret of Ekpe was revealed to

the Efik by two men of Cameroon origin probably from thhe

Bfut, whom the Efik captured in a canoe. The captives

promised to reveal the secrets of Ekpe if their captors

WOuld spare their lives. The captors agreed and having learnt

the secrets, they took the precauti on of strangling the

lnforments to eep them quiet. 142

4M.Ruel,
Ruel, Leoparis
Leoper and Leaders: Constitutional Politics amon8.
ross River People (Lcndon: Tavistock Publications, 1969)
dhaP.216.
Tbid.
1l2
N, A/E Cal Frof 53/1/545: "A Report on the Calabar Division,
t h special reference to the Efik Clan" by E. N. MyLius.
 87
Another legend about the origin of Ekpe society was
aat Ekpe was brought by one
Archibong Ekondo, a man from
1isak Edet who sCLa e1ght Ekpe titles to Essien Ekpe Oku I

dson of Oku Atai, * o n e of the first settlers of Creck

Town. Thus, Essien Ekpe Oku became Eyamba I, the first

president of Ekpe, 144 The eight titles he bought were

(1) Mboko (2) Wboko-Mboko (3) Mbakara (4) Ebongko

(5) Nyamkpe (6) Oku-Akama (7) Okpoho and (8) Nkanda.
Traditi on mainta ined that after he had purchased these

titles, he had informed his kinsmen and gave out some on

payment of fees while he remained as the Obong Ebengko or

Ebongko chief.145

The Efik, however, believed Ekpe to be an earth god

with its own dwelling place in the bush. 146

' It was

represented by Idem ikwo - a masquerade dressed in Esik, a

multi-coloured costume woven out of a rope. Arcund the chest

i t carried a big tuft of raffia and on the waist was

tied a bell which sounded occasionally to arnounce its

non-members. It also carried a s taff in

approach and warn

itself when necessary. In its

its right hand to suPport
left hand, it carried a bunch of special leaves - Oboti

which i t used not only to flog non-initiates and erring

leat
1nitiates but also to communicate with members. Oboti
bush
which Ekpe ate in the
Wias believed to be the only leaf
14,7 Across i t s
Gia s0 served as part of i t s representative.

143A , J , H. Latham, 0ld Calabar, Op.Cit. pp.34 -36

. K. Hart: Report of the nquiry QCit.P.63

111Op.Cit. P.36 Akpabuyo 7/3/84

ubchie1 1Let E. E. Nakanda,
interviewed at
 87A

Picture showing candidate after

initiation into Ekpe Secret Society
(Courtesy of Minis try of Information,
Cross River State, Calabar).
 88.
corehesd, a Ieauler was Stuck and a hat-1ike structure was

++ached
attaci to the back of its head perhaps to add colour to

the out f i t .

Lkpe soclety was a eraded one. In the cirCu Stance,

the Kings ol reeK TOwn and Duke Town were the head and

deputy head respectively. In 1847 Waddell noted a total of

ten grades in the society and mentioned that in that year

a pers on Jolning its highes rank paid an entrance fee to

every member which though small to each, amounted to one

hundred pounds, there being about a thousand nembers, 148

In the early twentieth century, Aye noted ten grades in the

Society49 But in 196l4 the Hart Commission noted twenty-

150 The highest title
three of such grades in the society.
being Eyamba which the holder held for life. It was customary

that all Obongs of Calabar should be titled members of thee

society though not,necessarily holding the Eyambaa.

Membership of the society was open to both freemen and

g e was no barrier for entry and even women and

slaves.
Strangers could be initiated. Intending nenbers, however,

had to go through an initiation rite. The initiation normally

o r Efe kpe and cannot be

Took place inside the Ekpe shrine
witnessed by non-initiates. After the initiation, the persona

tied around his waist

LDOVed fron the shrine with a wrapper

peacock feather
cnd some chalk markings on his body with a

a in his hand which he

Stuck on his head. He carried gong

p.313
H.. addell, Twenty Nine Years, Op.t

114E, .Aye,
U. Aye, 0ld Calabar Op, Cit.
P.71

10 p.. K. t, O.Ci. p.55

 89.

a t Occasi onally from the shrine to his housc.

He could
hon partake in Ekpe rituals and celebrations based cn his

grede in the SOciety. The different

grades in Ekpe had
different initiation ceremonies. The initiation cf non-
indigenes als0 differed as the secrets of Ekpe were not

revealed to them. Theirs was only a kind of superficial

membership. Would-be members were required to pay a fee for
initiation. The higher the grade, the more money and drinks

would be charged. This noney was usually divided among

members of the society. G. I. Jones observed that the more

noney was paid, the more titles were acquired in the society

and that this in effuct established a means test for those

seeking social a vancement and caused menbers of the society

to expand their wealth in a manner which was sociallyy
beneficial, 151
After initiation, initiates could be

recognised om festive occasions or when the Idem Ikwo perfornedd

with a peacock feather on their heads. It must alsO be noted

that, though women and slaves could be initiated into the

SOciety they forned the lowest grade in the society. '2
Women in fact could not take
part in any Ekpe celebrations.
movement from one grade to another based
was on selfless
Services to the community and payments for such grades.
nitiation conferred some honour, advance and distinction to
he 153
individuals concerned in the Efik
society.

151.Jones, The Political Organisation of 0ld Calabar

52Daryll Porde, Efik Traders Op.Cit. p.146
153
hiof E. E. akanda, Op.Cit.
 90.

It is on rccord that the initiation

of non indigenes
Anto the society began with Efik trade with the
Europeans.
The early traders recognising the importance of the society

a the instrument of governnent began to press for initiation

in order to be part and parcel of the society.

A. C. Holman
wrote about one captain Burrel of the Ship 'Heywood' off

Liverpool who held the rank of "Nyamikpe' and found i t

exceedingly to his advantage as it ernabled hiin to recover his

debts from the natives,54 Consequently, this encouraged

influential on-indigenes who may have contribt ted to the
welfare of the society to become members of the Ekpe society

In recent times, writes E. 0. Bassey, somc influential non-

indigenes like the first Prime Minister of Nigeria the late

Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Chief Obafeni iwolowo, the late

Dr. M. I. Okpara and the retired Chief Justice of Nigeria

Sir Ademola Adetokunbo were initiated into the cult. 155

The society had its own language and synbols which could

only be understood by its nembers, this art alone made the

society a distinctive one. The talking drum could be used

to communicate with members as each beat had its own message

and interpretation. Its symbols represented a special kind of

writing - Nsibidi - which was sacred and could only be

interpreted and read by members. These inscripti ons could be

presented on cloths or ukara and on the floor. In the

shrine the inscriptions wre on the walls or objects. It

Was inportant t h a t members should be knowledgeable in the

eadingE and interpretation of the s ymbols, for i t was not

a pride to such person but could be regardled as a measure

Afred C. Holman, Trading Activities in 0ld Calabar (London

.tomis Nelson and Sons Ltd, 1957) P.36
155O . Bassey, "Ekpe Socicty" ACultural
in Heritape.
z i n e of the South Eastern State No.1 P.37
 91

For 1nstanCe, if two

of advancement.

Dkpe mesquerades met

in a s t r e e t the custom was that they saluted each other and

sometimes tested each other's knowledge cf Nsibidi - in the

presence of a high t i t l e d holder who could acknowledge the

correetness oI the sipns and responses. This became a kind

of competition in which each nasquerade made signs with the

staff and bunch of leaves. Where the other could not

t r a n s l a t e or inturpret the other's signs, such masquerade

was taken to a nearby house of an Ekpe member where he wouldd

be questioned. If the Ekpe titled holder who had witnessed

the occasion did not receiVe satisfactory ansvers, such

masquerade had to pay a fine or was banned from parading the

masquerade or more seriously, stripped of the masquerade out-

fit. This type of infomal competition went a long way in

detecting non-initiates who paraded themselves as initiates.

Originally, there were only two Ekpe shrines in al1

Efikland. These were situated in Creek Town and Duke Town

but as the function and membership increased, i t became

necessary to extend the shrines to other Efik settlements.

However, in a meeting concerning Efikland the heads of Duke

Town and Creek Town presided. The establishment of Ekpe

sheds was not exclusive to only Efik settlements but wherever

the influence of the Efik spread people who wished to

by forminE trade alliances with

p r ove their circums tances
t E E1 k towns purchased the Ekpe honours and by so doing,

ley wure brought under Ekpe laws, hence the protection of

the socicty.
 92
The Ekpe society performed many functions in the soCie ty.
These functions included civic, governmental and social
functions. The civic duties took
the form of
cleaning the
streets, nig!t-watching and the organisation of labcur for
community development. While governmental functions took the
form of makirnE, eXecuting the laws and judgricnts of important
cases In the society, senior members or title holders
were the councillors, the judges and the law makers while

the junior nembers acted as the 'police' to ensure that the

promulgated laws were enforced. Ekpe courts were the final

courts of appeal as it not
was possible to epyeal against
its decisions. To enforce its lawS, however, sanctions werre

made gainst offenders which took many forms. In some cases

offenders were asked to pay prescribed fines. In others,

Ekpe members could beat an Ekpe drum on the offenders or

place a yellow flag in front of the offender's house. This

action would prevent other people from having contacts with

the off nder until such a time that the offender adhered to
the law. "56
This was the case when Ekpe in 1885 enforced

boycotts against a British Company, 'Guinea Company' which was

based in Adiabo near Creek Town, the boycott resulted in the

closing down of the companyy.

The Ekpe courts could also direct that on offender be

detained or handed over to the party wi th whom he was in

Conflict with..157 The court could als0 direct that the

offender 's property be sealed by inscripting an Nsibidi symbol

156 Jaryll Forde fik Traders Op.Cit.p. 1,2

Chief Essien Bassey Edem, Op,Cit.
 93.
he property to
Stop 1urther action to
prevent its or

heing used by any Jody until settlenent

had been recchad and
8
5bo
the mark r e n o v e d ,
Finally, an Ekpe sanction could
restrict peoples' movements and confine them to their own
quarters by holsting the yellow flag Brass
or Lgbo -
a very
useful power 1n case of civil disturbances and used for

example, to Stop an
afiray bettween two warring parties.
For social functions, the society provided social

services in the form of recreation and entertainment to the

commumity. This was most pronounced on festive occasions

when the menbers paraded the streets. This Served as ann

entertainment for the public.

From the above, one could notice how important i t was for

the Efik to be initiated into the highest authority of the

land. The society provided its members not only a privilege

in the society but also served as a life insurance for its

members since membership into the society was secured by

payment of initiation fees which were shared among all

members. The sOciety permeated a l l aspect of the peoples'

Life therety bringing into one organisation all the wealthy

and leading men in the polity.

What we have done in this chapter is to identify and

Aplain the many traditions and customs of the Efik people.

ne institutions of marriage, of the Ekpe cult, and thair

of Efik culture. But

Ou3 gods form the "lait motiv"
addresses
LCure is not stitic, and the succeedirng chapter
in
o the changes that had
over the years takon place
cultural values.
SOcicty and how these had affected their
 CHAPTER THREE

CHANGES IN I K SOCIETY AND THEITR

TMPLICATIONS FOR THE SOCIETY
Societies are not static. Changes do occur. This
crapter looks at the changes which occured in i f i k society

during our period of reference. More importantly, attention

is focassed on those institutions discussed in the previous

chapter.
From the middle 1880s, a number of important changes

began to ocCur in f i k society. Those changes were as a

result of three important agents which become manifest in

the society. These were missionary a c t i v i t i e s , colonial

ule and western education.

With the abolition of the slave trade in 1807 and

slavery in 1833 by the British government, and the subsequent

intensification of 'legitimate' trade in Nigeria, the Efik

were brought into closer contact with the Europeans.

Hitherto, the British merchants had remained strictly on

the coast and were not involved directly in the affairs

of old Calabar. Their interaction, therefore, was primarily

on a.commercial basis.

To promote and encourage 1egitimate trade, which

involved trading mainly in oil palm produce, the British

home government realised that missionaries sent among the

Efik and else where in Africa would have the task of re-

orientating the African mind in their values, attitude to

Life and the benefits of westeri civilition before they

could stop the slave trade. bfforts were therefore made,

et, througth the use of frican chiefs and traders t0

 95

stop the trade and secondly through the use cf the British

naval squadron. Both methods proved unsuccessful for two

important reasons. o n e , the African rulers preferred the

slave trade because i t brought to them a higher profit than

the new trade. Two, other European nations were unwilling

to stop the trade.

Indeed, the Europeans believed that for evangelical

work to be effective, some form of civilizati on must first

be introduced. Based on this belief, the missionaries

insisted on a thorough cultural transformation of African

societies as a pre-requisite to a successful spread and

establishment of christianity in their areas of activities.

It was a relief to the British Government when in 1812 they

received invitations from the Kings of Calabar - King

Eyamba V of Duke Town and King Eyo Honesty II of Creek

Town - t o send them missionaries.

The Church of Scotland Mission or the Pres byterian

missionaries as they are known were the i i r s t missionaries

to arrive in 0ld Calabar in 1846. Their arrival was of

voiced in the l e t t e r
Course in response to the anxieties
of appeal sent to London by the Calabar Kings. Eoth King

II faced with the problem of

Eyamba V and King Eyo were

a i t e r the
an alternative trade for thëir people
nding
They wanted Queen V i c t o r i a
a bolition of the slave trade.
to "saby book" so
OSend missionaries to teach their people
on the coastt.
deal with the Europeans
GO be equipped to
o r n a l request from King Eyo Honesty Il ran thus :
 96.

One thing I want for beE your Queen,

I have too much man. I can't sell slaves,
and don't kow wht for do for then.
But if I can get s ome cotton and coffee
to rOW and man for teach me, and make sugar
cane i r me country cone up proner and sell1
for trade side, I very glad. Mr Blyth t e l l
me England glad for send man to tcach book
and make we umderstand God all the same
white man do.1

The idea of inviting the missionaries was pe rhaps suggested

by the £uropcan traders to the Kings who must have been

enlightened by the traders. In fact, the request notes

were delivered to the Queen through Commander Raymond of

man of War Spy' in 1812.

According to M. E. Noah, "to worship the God of the

white man" for the Efik Kings simply meant to learn the

mysteries behind the white man's technological superiority

and this, he argued, had nothing to do with Christian

.

religion as such. Whatever the real intentions of. the

there is no doubt that some proposals were made after

Efik,
the rcceipt of their request notes, asking if they would

In 1843 the chiefs

settle the missionaries in their towns.
the establishment of a
of Calabar replied and accepted
nission but expressing the hope that the missionaries would

educate their children in the English language.

needed to
Apart from the fact that the Efik Kings

they also had political motives for

diversify their economy,

inviting the missionaries.

For there had been persistent

H. 1. Waddell, Twenty Nine-Years Op.Cit. p.66l

Op,Cit. P.111
E. U. Aye, 01d Calabar
M. E. Noai, 01d Calabr Op.Cit. p.106

E. U. Aye, O2,Cit.p.116
 97.
compe t i t i o n for political influence and wealth between

the two important Kings. They saw the coming of missionaries

as an opportunity to boost their power and influence over

others. Little wonder then that the Kings had a favoura ble

disposition towards the coming of mjssionaries to work

amongst them. in retrospect, i t would appear that the Efik

Kings saw the missionari es as the key to Efik prosperity

in trade and industrializati on.

The pioneer missionaries *arrived in Calabar in 1846,

among them were Hope Waddell, Mr and Mrs Edgerley, Andrew

Chrisholi, Edward Miller and a boy, Ceorge. They were

escorted by Captain John Beecroft, then Governor of Fernando

Po who introduced them to King Eyamba. The latter is quoted

to have said, "I glad you come, that palavar done"6 The

missionaries also had a warm reception from King Eyo who

said, "I look long time for you. Glad you come now f o r

live here. Bibles which were sent by friends in Scotand

were accordingly pres ented to the Kings. King Eyo then

remarked, "I am lad you come with this book nowT am sure
8
God will love and bless me."

In later years, other Christian Missions such as the

Catholic and Church missionary societies, did establish

Stations at s trategic areas in Efikland The Catholie Church
EStablished theirs in 1900. It was established. by thne

9C1etý of African 1Missions (S.M.A.) which stertedits

Ssionary work in Onitsha in the 1880s. It was this

å
ey under Bishop Joseph Shanahan that spread the Catholic
9
n to the whole of the present day a s torn NiEeria.

. E.
oat, Op.Cit
H. M. Waddell,
Twcnty-Ninc Yearg, D.Cit.'p.2ll

.. U.
Aye 010 Calabar O - .
Mfon, intervioived at l b a r 7/1:/8p
 98.
l y theretore, there
appeared to have been no known
asition to initial
oppos missionary endeavours among the Efik.
They were ins teed welcomed.
This
willingness on the part
of the Bfik to Ccept the nuw incomrs went a
long way in
influencing thelr
acceptance of western culture.
The Cristian missionariCs, o the other:
hand, Had
isconceived. ide:s about the
nature of Lfik traditional
society which thhey. compared with those customs
prevailingg
in their home countries.
African customs
generally were
looked down ur on as
inferior, sava; e and demora iising.
Ram Desai described best the attitude
of the early
missionaries to Airica when he wrote:

Missions arrived in Africa

already
despising the African and his way of
life. The erly missionaries leboured
under the assumption that Africans were
without any religion, education, or culture
and that Africa provided a virgin field where
they could sow the eeeds of western religion
and civilization.10

This explains their systematic attempt to subvert indignous

Efik culture and in its place impose an alien culture on

the people. Of course the aim was to Christianize and

Civilize the Áfricans along western lines.

W1thin the first ten years of missionary arrival in

LaDar , Efik social customs and institutions began to be

1 e C t e d as:new customs, lass and institutions which had a

r u c t i v e impect on the existing ones were introiuced,

A. hyandele, ' t h e political social and economiC

n c e of Calabar became upset with missioniry intervention.'

10
Ran
eny Deai,i r i s t i a n i t y
,
in Africa: As Scenbythe ricans
TVr: Aian wallow Lta. 1962)1. 13
 99.
adds that the chage waS nore Swift in Calabar than in
He
other parts or Ngeria due to the weakness and susceptibility

of some of the rulers to buropean ethical values."11

The missionaries chief weapon of attack was their

sermons. In 1648 waddell denounced kfik social order through

his sabbath preachings. He pleaded with the Efik to denounce

wealth and sought to ban the people from trading on sundays.

The chiefs only accepted this reform because i t did not

seriously conflict with their commercial interest. The

foundation on which the ifik City states were based was

seriously attacked by the missionaries. They preached for

the amelioration of the slaves' condition; s ome of the

slaves i t must be noted, were objects of sacrifice when

their masters died. The missionaries warned Efik slave

owners that imasters should render to their servants that

which is just and equal; that slaves were their fellow

creatures and as such deserved mercy and justice."

With regard to polygamy, the missionaries decried its

sins before God and cal1led upon the people to denounce the

practice. Both the Roman Catholic and Protestant missionaries

would not baptize or adminis ter sacrament to polyEamist

converts. They declared these so-called social .lapses

as a direct violation of God's law. J. B. e bster

n r ised appropriutely the attitude of European

missionaries towards polygamy:

ssional missionaries
ron the first moment profs foot in Africa they
O urope n d America' set
r e Confronted with the questions whether or hot.

11 E.A.Ayandclc, Missi onary Impact on liode rn Nigeria 16

1966)p.
2 1 L ) (London: Western Printing Bervice: Ltd,,
12.
.eddell, Tventy-Ninc Yers Op.Cit. p.278
Chief A.. B. Mfon, Op.Cit
 100.

the marriage customs associated with polygamy

were
consistent with membership in the
Christian church, A majority came to the
conclusion that they were not. But once this
decision had been taken, the missionaries were
faced with wh:?t many f e l t to be questionable
alternatives - divorce, fatherless, children,

destitute women and prostitution. 14

Nievertheless, the missionaries insisted on introducing

monogamy and Church or Christian marriage among the Efik.

They also demanded those in their employment to accept the

new reform or quit their jobs.

Despite all the condemnations, the practice prevailed

and it became one of the factors which generated enmity

Efik chiefs and the missionaries. The position of

between
the former is unders tandable i f one recalls that polygany was

as indispensable part of Efik society. It was deemed by the

people to be not only economical but that i t also provided

them with a status symbol in which a man's wealth was

measured in terms of the number of wives and male children

such a man had.

The antagonism between monogany and polygamy in the

conflict of views and interests

SOciety, however, rested on a

The missionaries, for instance,

based on misunderstandings.
one in which wives were
interpreted the dowry system as

This view based on a misconception of the

bought." was

for reasons such as those

functions of the dowry. It was

endeavour to induce
1lustrated above that the missionary

anticipated; it often met

SOcial change did not succeed as

of the Efik towns.

th the resis tance of the ruling nobility

J. B. e Webster.
bster, 'Attitudes ard Polices of the Yoruba African
in C.G. Baeta, Christianity in
rches towaerds Polvgamy: 1968), p.224
UnivcrsityPress
Cal Africa (Londón: Oxford
 101.

The missionary preachings were also directed against

ho kill ing of twins and their mothers. The efforts of

Mary
Mitchell Slessor in this regard are worth mentioning.

1Ma ry realised that the system of kil1ling twin children was

the outcome of superstition and fear, and she could even

see how, from the native point of view, i t was essential

for the safety of the House, but her heart was suriously

against it; nothing, indeed, roused her so fiercely as the

senseless cruelty of putting these innocent babies to death,

and she joined in the campaign with fearless energy and

fought strongly against these ills and in fact adopted and

named s ome of the twin children. Traditional religion

as attacked with the hope that with its decline, the people

would accept European civilization. The growing Christian

body also boycotted the old religion and refused with

impunity, to oarry out the necessary rites pertaining to it.

Both the offering of libation and sacrifices were to be

discontinued. Trial by ordeal and the eating of esere

bean became an offence. King Eyo II banned the worship

'?
which a domestic deity.
of Ekpeny ong god' was

One other custom which came under the unrelenting

attack of missionaries was the Nkugho ceremony. The

missionaries considered i t immoral for the Nkugho celebrant

O expose her bosom and other parts of the body and so

preached against i t , F o r the Efik however, equal importance

Lt was a mark of
Was attached to chastity and nudity.

was half
of dressing
E n l t y and as such, Nkugho's mode
n u d i t y . 16 the girl's
This mode of dressing depicted

Chief 1Suquo
Asur Ene Mkpang, intervieWed at. Creck Town
6/2/84

161bid.
 102.
But christian belief
innocence.
taking the opposite end
5W uncompromising1y was against the rituals associated

with the Nkugho 's custom. The pouring of libation and the
crifice s performed before the Nkugho went into confinement
sacr

a s described as a devilish and paganistic act.

As a result
af persistent preaching from the missionaries the Nkugho
institution underwent a lot of changes. The strict
observance of the norms and values of the institution began

to f a d e , 17
There were also changes in the Nkugho's costune.

For instance, in the past the Nkugho used to wear Ikpaya

(raffia) and 1ater cotton materials for ofong ukot anwan

(a small piece of loin cloth tied to the waist with a knot

on the left hand side. Modern Nkugho on the other hand,

prefer to tie theirs down to the knees for modesty 's sake).

During the 19th century, anbther type of costume was

introduced by the missionaries for Nkugho's celebrant to back

up their preachings against nudity. Thiswas the "Onyonyo"

a long gown usually with big sleeves which could be sewn

into different styles. In recent times, 'Onyony o' is widely

used by the Efik women for ceremonial occasions. 18

Although Nkugho is stil1 papular today, modern 1ife and

1deas have, however, affected its activities. Nowadays,

Orpulence is no more regarded as a sign of beauty and good

ealth, Men prefer their women to be slim. Girls now

aSOCiate themselves mainly with the outing ceremony as

s are presented on such occas ions. The recent ban on

*Cunc ision of females by the fovernncnt has restricted

bid.
 103.

Nkagho eyen owong' to the rural..areas where it is performed

lot of Secrecy. Even in these areas, the young

with a
girls
1uded for shorter periods due to the present high cosst
are

+andard of living. Finally, an Nkugho celebrant now

and

roun
1 1up her outing ceremony in the Church where prayers of

thanks-giving are normally offered.

Another Efik institution that suffered from the

missionaries attack was Ekpe. Pressures were mounted by

missionaries on the Ekpe secret society and its activities

thereby causing some church members to abandon their

membership in the society. In 1850, Ekpe laws abolishing

human sacrifice were proolaimed in Creek Town and Duke. Town

as a result of representations by the missionaries. This

law put an end to the immolation of slaves. The reason

for this practice was attached to the belief by the Efik

that slaves accompanied t h e i r dead masters to the world

But again this belief ran counter to the European's

beyond.
missionaries
world view of the here-after. Consequently, the ,

the society for

alongside with some European traders, formed
customs and for
he Abolition of inhuman and superstitious

c i v i l i z a t i o n in Calabar'.
John Beecroft, the then
PEOmoting
Having forced
consul of old Calabar, was one of i t s members.

pe to endorse laws which in

themselves were prejudicial
neiae
its formatlon,
uneir activities, the society, after
For instance,
e t the watch doe of Ekpe laws and custoim.
19 The direct effect.
E Was not to be played on sundayS.
began
of all these was that the society
e on the Ekpe society
members
also lost
It
loose its respect among
the people.

19 Febru»ry, 1855 quoted

Ournals
oy
of H, M. Waddell 26th
oy E.
E, A. OpCit. p.18
Ayandele,
 10l.

f toh
r
eirthelr members became Christian converts. Most
most
as
nt1v. the activities of Ekpe society became restricted.
i m p o r t a n t

1onger enjoyed the independence i t had chcrished. To

It n
A . Ayandele, such reforms were a single act which

etroved the religious and social basis of the indigenous

sOciety, <0
ety. It could, however, be argued that kfik Kings

cented all these reforms so that a conducive atmosphere

micht be created to realise the intentions for which the

missionaries were invited - planting of coffee, cotton

production of sugar cane and education in English Language

held traditions were sacrificed for economic

As such, long
and matterial gain.

There were reactions, however, but attempts by the Efik

to act contrary to missionary reforms always resulted in

the subjugation of the people. A typical example was in

1854 when Samuel Edgerley, one of the early missionaries,

entered the shrine of 'Anansa' the titulary guardian god

of the town and scattered the sacred eggs and images removine
1 This was a repeat
Some for his personal amusement.
PerLormance of an earlier sacrilege when in 18L49 Edgerly
Un, 23
Cntered the palavar house and kicked the Ekpe drun. This
When Reverened
o1fence would have cost an Efikman his 1ire
nC was
lidgerley's behaviour,
PE addell apolorised on
the people.
pardoned. The second act of course
infuriated

and woula
r c h e d in arms towards the Mission house
have ed dEerley but for King Eyo II
who i n t e r v e n e d ,

The missionaries themselves

dispersing the people with Ekpe

20
A, hyandele bid. 21
21 . The
Christianity. i st rica
istory of Int.

Historica.1976),
analysP.98
Publictions

Sis(Ibadan: chools
22mited - 99.
Tbid.
 105.

take kindiy to the inciden

did not They felt a decisivee
blow had been administered on their prestige.
The
s al1sness of the situation was aggravated by the fact
+
that
it was also during this period that Willie Robins the
head chief of Old Town died. As though in defiance of the

autraged missionaries about fifty slaves were killed and

buried with him. The missionaries then seized this opportunity

t0 draw the attention of the then acting consul to the bad

practices of 01d Town. For gross violation of the law

against human sacrifices, 0ld Town was consequently destryed

in 1855. The introduction of British military action in

response to miSsionary invitation is a point worth noting

because this was to beCome the practice whereby the secular

arm of government and its coercive agents were often invited

by the missionaries to bully recalcitrant natives into

accepting new laws or reforms.

An important change brought about by the missionary

presence in 01d Calabar was an improvement in. the status of

Women. In Efik society, women were tegarded as second class

citizens to be seen but not to be heard'. The men always

dd the final say in all important decisi ons. 0n the death

a h u s b a n d for an example, it was held to be the duty of

01s wife to
register sorrOW. This involved the traditional

L n i n g in which the wife was confined and underwent*

In extreme
upsi' until the funeral rites wero completed.

along withh
cases, Some of the VOurite wives were buried

their husbands. The widows backed by the missionaries,

the
reb Many sought refuge
1n
gainst these customs.
against the
nission houses. urthermore, the
missionerics Were
 106.

eik Custom ot "

EKpo quo" or the

E stripping of women in
the Dublic streets by the Ekpe masquerade,
By custom, any
wom
a n found fully clothed in the fashion introduced by the

ni Ssionaries was selzed and

stripped. Such clothes were then
hung upon a tree in iront of the
Ekpe palaver-house.- Because
af this harassment of the
womenfolk,
the missionaries demanded
that women shoyld be allowed to wear 'ducant dresses' to

Church. The custom of

stripping; women was therefore abolished.
Tn Fratitude ior
missionary endeavours many women embraced
christianity. With the abolition of these customs, M. E. Noah
observes, the response by the Efik Kings as the first

novement towards what is now known as women's liberation.**

24
Although the Kings did abolish these customs, they
later became very disturbed by the effect which the abolition

had on women and the society at large. Attempts were,

therefore, made to continue with the custon. Women were
increasingly assaulted and harrassed n reta1iation, the
Women revolted. In 1862 women defied, for the first tine,
an Ekpe order in Creek Town warning them not to appear fully
clothed in the public.<25 In 1868 also, women revolted

against the custom of 'Mbukpisi'. The situati on in Calabar

deteriorated until 1878 when Consul David Hopkins visited
Calabar and drew up a treaty with the Kings and chiefs of
Dke Town on the 6th of September, 1878. by that treaty, the

e l s agrecd among other things, to end 'Ekpo I,uo'. The

PETlodfor 'Mbukpisi was then fixed for only a month.

23 pfione
Ong Okon Cobhan, interviewed at Creek Town 21/3/84
DEe
also E. O, Akak, 0ld Calabar P.340
. E. Noah,
0ld Calabar Op.Cit. p.18
25Effiong Okon Cobham, Op,Cit.
 107.
The
'emancipation' oI the women
was a
freat
sment
achievement for
Ior the miso
missionaries in
changing the custom of
the people. The newly acquired freedom
went a
long way in
1aining the women.'s
wllLingness to join their women
counterparts in the other
parts of the
country during the
1929-30 "Aba riot". The
back-ground to the women's wàr
1ay in the decision which was taken in 1926-7 and
implemented
in 1928 to extend
provinces 26
direct taxation to the Eastern
The cause of the r i o t was that a British officer had
decided
to check the accuracy of local
populati on returns in 01oko
in Bende Division. The job was
warrant chief delegated to a

and from the warrant chief to the local

school master. The
encounter of this man with a woman who misunderstood his
intention resulted in a sharp reaction and the spreading of
the rumour that women were to
pay tax. The women rallied
round to protest to the government. Messages were sent

through delegates to neighbouring towns. In this way, the

war spread among the Efik. Although no actual war was fought

in Calabar. Efik women with their newly acquired freedon,

responded. with enthusiasm by sending money donations to their

cOunterpart.
The most disastrous effect of Christian missionary

resence among the Efik was probably the social revo lution

Mnch took place among the slave class. The preaching of

s S i o n a r i e s greatly appealed to the slave class wh0

'the
Converts. As Noah has rightly pointed out,

26Elizabeth Ischci, AHistory of the Ipbo People Op,Cit.

 108.

aa my emphasis on equality of all men had the effect

m i s s i o n a r y

af making Calabar society more restive because the majority

of

h e inhabitants were people of servile origin'.< Some

of t
t h e S laves mainly the plantation slaves who had been

sOc
cially a l i e n ated,
te formed thenselves into Blood compani ons

or Nka Lyip.
In 1 8 7 when King Eyamba V died, several of his slaves

led his house, renouncing their allegiance to Eyamba's heir

settled in the Qua plantation. Others fled and settled

and
m i s s i o n houses. With time, the number of the runaway
in the
include those from other houses; freemen
slaves increased to
economic hardship from the trust system off
who had suffered

trade and others who were naturally poor and shared common

with the slaves joined the band of r e v o l u t i o n a r i e s .

problems
themselves into a covenant of
This group of people organised
mutual pledges of loyalty and
blood in which parties made
28 The group also detlarred tiemsclveo a opcnial
assistance,
insisted on the a b o l i t i o n of
laws and
group above Ekpe
'bloodmen'
substitutionary punis hment. By so doing, the
29
threatening force in Calabar.
emerged as the most I was very
that King Archibong
In 1851 when they heard
t h r e a t e n e d to destroy it
Calabar and
t h e y marched into
were eventually begged
when Ekpe arrested some slaves. They
in
was 'repeated
to return to the This action
plantation. stood
This time, they
1852
when the King actually died.
non-violent.
These tacti cs
watchful but
the town, prominent
the death of
every
Were uopted by the slaves upon

Cit. P.114
. E. Edem, Slaves and Slavery
'
Op.

1 fiong Okon Cobham, Op.Cit.

29g. Bdem,
B. Slaves and Slavery
P.100
 109.

freeborn man in old Calabar.30

Through non-violent methods
4he activities of the "bloodmen' persisted well into the
88Os when the British took over
the effective administration
and control of Calabar.

The significance of this social revolution was that the

missionaries had provided both the inspiration and assylum
these runaway sLaves needed, thereby making it possible for ther

to attempt to topple the traditional mechanism of civil

control - the Ekpe. Once this began to happen the whole

system of government, customs and traditions of the Efik

began to collapse.

The irony of the above situation is that the main motive

for the invitation of the missionaries was lost sight of in

this prolonged wrangling about customs between the missionaries

and the people. The local people on their part welcomed

the missionaries so that they could learm from them the

white man's technology; the missionaries on the other hand

believed that they came first and foremost to civilize the

benighted Africans. This initial misunderstanding blighted the

IOCus of missionary effort. It became blurred and in-

missionaries were, in essence,

Consistent. Consequently, the
of the
Ot able to fulfil the aspirations and anticipation
cotton or
they neither taught to grow coffee,
k as were

was expressed by
hake SUgar-cane. This disappointment
that he was not EolLng
said
01 Waddel1's studen ts when he
father
because his
ate his time "learninp about God

Sent him
32
to gaby trade b0Ok" ,

301uid.
Yeirs . P.209
Iwenty-Nine
dde ll,
 119.
The

cionaries
m i S S l o n a r i e s

nhy no nave
Taught him 'trade
they certainly .mOuht profound changes book but
-they displaced
1iefs and traditlons of the many "of
the o l d
Efik.

l onialism throughout the world has

always been an
:sentially r0lent
v iol
phenomenon. It was
e s s e
imposed by violence and
nod by
enintainedby
its pOtential capacity for violence. 33
The case
Efik Confirm this truism. On the
of
the other
hand, the Efik
l e is
made more
complex by the fact that the
examp British
was the result of an invitation by Efik
esence
Kings who of
cOi n v i t e d them s that individual Kings could exploit their

acence to some advantage ln their continuing struggle for

pres

Commercial supremacy ln 0ld Calabarr.

Indeed, in 1887, Prince James Eyamba petitioned British

EOVernment asking them to annex Calabar. Both Nair 5 and Obaro

Tkime viewed this outright invitation as a form of

collaboration. Although Efik rulers had invited the imperialist,

they had only hoped to use their support against their rivals for

economic and political interests. They, however, did not see

ihemselves as collaborators of British Imperialism. Purthe rmore,

years of interaction between the Efik and the European traders aad

reduced the level of hostility between the Efik and the Buropean

CL3L, hence the relative ease of establishingE lglo-Lflk

pprochment
P.119
lizabeth Isichei, AHistory of the EbOS. OP.Cit.
A. l a i r , P o l i t i c s a n d Society. OD.Cit. P.198

id.PF.197 199
ro Ikine,
Pall of The British Conguest
Nigerin:
hC 0. Dike, Lrade
ond eEInann, 1977) P.3 See lso.K.
1Pol
Politicg
it. 35
,Noah, C 1 bar, F.122
 111.
+7V
Consequentiy, the
the B r i t i
British Men on the Sp ot'
(consuls)
.isea on +hese
the numerous petltlons to
c a p it a l i

suggest a
complete
n e x at i o i of Calabar by he British. In fact, between

June
1888,
18887
both consuls Hewett
and Johnston had
British
alled the Bri attent2on by
recommending the amnexation,0
cal
The
+ i sh government, however, was
unwilling at this time
imyolve.i t s e l i l n an erIective administration of colonies

hecAuSe of financial and personnel constraints.

During this
per its maln Concern in Calabar was to encourage

17itimate commerce between her traders and the Efik.

British hesitation to accept the Efik invitation for a

colonial take-over of their country was overcome in the

scramble era of the 1880s, after which formal colonial rule

was established among the Efik. Although the Efik accepted

BLropean rule, they rejected European penetration of the

interland districts of the Cross River as that would affect

nelr middlemen position in the 0il Paln trade with the

hinterland peoples. In 1884, this protest decamie explicit

an their rejection of the Free Trade Clause in the 1884 T1reaty

with the British.

ACceptance of the Free Trade Clause would

E V E N European traders free access to the Efik hinterland

to purchase their articles of trade thereby diminishing the

LOlitia and economic power of the Efik. In the circums tance,

the fir;t British attempt to establish political

elatioms wi
**wItti the Umon people were f r u s t r a t e d by a kind

whi3pering canDa.
Canpaign
he Consul". 39
conducted by Efik traders against

Orei n Of F.0,8/1634,
Howett to P.0. 3rd
lovenber,
OVer of CilT333.
i:cords,
Petitio
o n to
British
Govermment

recommendation
tor
A..
take-

Jee also Hewett's

Dir ,
, C. Arene, T. 185
rin in rans i tion,
 112

Although
the
protectorate administration over
n Efikland
off on 5th
5t June, 1885, i t was not
had
t a k e n

until the end

f the
f i r s t world war (191-18) that effective British

-ablished in Calabar and

many parts of
2ule
South
A11 through this
Bastern NIgeria.
period, early Col onial
: a1s were
officials yet
Were ye to decide On the proper initiative to
be taken
ri th regards to the traditional society. The
H1S of the administrative system that was set up in the

area had already been examined by other writers ,4

We shal11
nncern oursellves in this study with the various pieces oof

legislation passed during the colonial era, and how they

have affected the indigenous Efik society.

The introduction of colonial system brought about

changes in the political, economic, judicial and social life

of the Efik. These changes were attained through subtle

mposition of the ideals of 1iberalism which was the "modus

operandi" for the years under review.* I t nust, however ,

De p o i n t e d out here that reforms which drastically affected

e radition were seriously opposed by the Efik.

One of t he tegislative changes which followed the

dOLls hment of colonial rule was seen in the rder-L

Council of 1899. This order established a legal basse

whereby
adminis trative, iudicial, legislative
and soc1al

servi Old be organised under the authority and iniLuence

of the pr With the Order-In-Council

PI'OteCtorate governnent.

K.Nair, Op.Cit. P.202

Colonial Rule
of
1900-atigbo, "The Establishme
of West Africa
and Crowder, History
Cit.
t . PP.ulo-
Pp 1 Jayi
s
Lord Selborne
N. Uzoigwe , Committee of 1898: The Order

had ort", The

The
in J.H.
Niger
Vol , IV, No.3, Dec, 1968.
a Clauses.
Preamb1 main
PEcamble and sixteen
 113

t h e high regard accorded

e st a b l i s h e d to Efik
traditional
gOvernment - Ekpe
-Ekpe iety
soci was
gradually reduced. Hitherto ,
t h e s e c r e t
+ sOciety had perIOrmed both the exeCutive and
al
Cunctions
functions in f i k society The
j u d i c
.
society, through
its mem bers , had also enforced and upheld the customs and

the elders. It also

the
authori ty of adninistered punishments

and,
in fact, to-some extent, regulated the lives of most.
of the society,43 The missionaries had,
nembers however,
roen the a c t i v i t i e s .0f the SOciety as a menance and haad

pressed 1or reforms. These were granted. The Colonial

gOvernment, on the other hand, could not ban Ekpe altogether

for fear of coming into conflict with the local rulers who,

apart from being judges and members of the newly established

native courts, s t i l l wielded some influence among their

kinsmen.
In the circumstance, the colonial o f f i c i a l s were at a

loss on what to do with Ekpe society. This is understand-

able, s i n c e B r i t i s h main interest in the area was the

organisation of a new economic order and a new administratlve

Organ through which residents, district commissioners and

he native courts would be in control . T h e s e o f f i c i a l s 'were

aLso charged with the maintainance of the indigenous

Traditional,SOcieties
poLitical and cultural structure.
the' British.
he Ekpe therefor e, posed a problem to
*
t e british, astute as ever, found a way out there was

5 L O be no direct interference, but a superstructure

which
w owould
uLd embrace these traditiona.l unitS
was lmposed.

Chief Ededer Effiwatt

interviewed in Cala bar 30/3/8
 11.

Jones puts this

nts thi, pOLicy 1n
G.
perspective thus:
What
+he colonial government did and
cubsequent nent have
subs eave the Lnternal aLways done
cOmmunities alone government
but
of
to
T tructure w.ch provide a

S
brought them togethne
ner
arger units and So tied them
into into
administrative organisation
Omstructed for the country,ll which
it
Aminis tritors were then faced
with the task of
The n
those aspectS oI
traditional culture which
ere i n conflict with the new rule and those which
were to
remain lrtact,

within this perspective, the gOvernment moved against

identifiable Cultural norms which militated against native

COurtS. Bkpe the most important judicial body in Calabar,

being inimical to the Huropean sense Of justice, had to

loose i ts forner statust because the early colonial

administrators felt insecured with the high level

organisation in kpe society. Sir Claude Mac Donald a

British colonial officer, saw nothing good in Ekpe. To him

Ekpe was a sort of superstitious, fetish worship kept by

the kings, Chiefs and free-born of 01d Calabar by means

0I which they kept the lower classes in subjJugation* 6 He

further maintained that "there is no force in the country

that works more powerfully against the governnent

n y opinion they ought to be suppressed without

and the
ercy 4/ Thus began the conflict between the Ekpe

LdG. e s From Direct to

Indirect Rule in Lastern Nigeria"
Studles)
Odu (Univ, of Ife Journal of African
2,2Jan. 1966) P.7.
Chief Ededem Effivatt, Op,
S i r Claude Mac Donald to Marguis of Salisbury, 1899;
Encl.osure
e h i l e No.CP.1716, Cal. Prof. (NAE)
T3.1Le
N.
Cheethan, Secret Societies
Report on
1915 in

No, B.1680/15. CSE (NAB)

 115.
1 o n i a l S O v e r n m e n t

Color

895, Sir Claude

In Ju
MacDonald, the
British High
COn.i s s i o n e r A
and
Consul-General of the 0il
Rivers
tuted the
he 'High
'} Court of Native
Protectorate
11nst I
Councils of 0ld
Calabar as a sort of court of Appeal.48
Lmportant Efik
chiefs b e c ame
n members while the court
itself was
manipulated
MacDonald who was the president.
by The 'Native Council
a11owed to enjoy prescribed Judici al and
legislative
powers in the internal affairs of the 49
people.*
Apart from
he High Court of the Native Councils', there vere also

minor courts presided over by native chie fs . The hig

cOurt could entertan appeals irom the minor Courts.
Havinhg
formed these councilS, the High Commissioner emphasized

that "the government should take all possible steps to

naintain the position of the chief with regard to trade

and members of their 'houses " and that i the i r native systems

of EOvernment should be strenously upheld . 50 In

reality, however, this was not the case. As Anene rightly

pOlnted out "it is, of course, clear that the subtle

ynamics of native political institutions of native rule

WEre 51
completely lost on the British representatives
With the establishment of these courts, the role or

p e in the society began to be usurped by the law courts

The cborate government was now dependent on courts Ior

the people and for the

pensation of justice among the
In Tact by
STablishnent of peace and order in the soclety.

.253.
U.C.IIenC,
ir i u
Cdonald
thern Nireria in TransitiOn Urof
wass appointed
Consul-General
the
Offlce
Protectorate

C.0P.
n 1891. eC
Despatches from Forein
.2 of C 0 1114.
18.1..1891 in N,A,.
bin. P.252
id, P.212
 116.
'Nati.ve Council' Wus
The
allowed and
by 109

encouraged
to make iecessary
1egislation affecting the pe0ple even
ha
the peoPle d
had their Own uraditLonal
thourh
Laws and customs
is.
though, the role of Ekpe sOCiety began to
diminish in
sOciety, there were some people who s t i l l had faith in
the
and so
oycotted the newly established
its
ruling
courts.2p
lhon 1ed to the enaC tment of the 1903 'Native! Court
This e
Proclamation which included among other measures, severe
penalt
45eS for boycott of the 'native courts." According

anene, the ultimate result of the proclamation was

natural ly to destroy the old judicial system which the

cummunities understood and respected,24 Though Ekpe had

no place in the new political. and judicial system, it was

not completely lost in the sOciety. It remained, though

not without modifications, as one of the most outstanding

traditional institutions in Efikland. It is of course

involved in
important to point out the social implication
by these
Ekpe 1Osing i t s supremacy. Stripped of its power

no longer attraCting new

innovations, the Ekpe society was

as it was
members. Older members left the society
Membership of the
inconsistent with the Christian norms.
members who
SOciety was therefore reduced. Besides, those
economic
to face
OEnt titles before colonial rule began
and
their expenses. ntry
n aS they could not recoup

distributed among members).

I e e s were usually

with the
accordance

e COurts were established in

Proclamation
No.25 of 1901
Courts
L0ns of the Native on t h e cort
wh i c o n f e r e d power business.

other issues
and places of
eyo ong trade disputes
Control
over

Kirk-Greene, Lord
F.263. 1so A. H.M. Frank Cass, 1970) P.83.
(London:
POL1 mornda,

id.
 117.

1900, both the

Natl ve Cuncils
By and the minor
urts were in
in
operation in all parts of 0ld
Calabar. The
then hecame convinced That their
fik traditional political
had been crippled. The allternative opened for them
hase
was to cO-operate with the new administration.
This co-
opera
manifested itself in the evolution of native
political agents. Prominent Ef ik sons were
appointed to
this high office. These included Prince
Archibong Edem,
Richard Henshaw, Coco Otu Bassey, Magnus Duke, Henry Black

Davis (Ef fa wa) and Daniel Henshaw.p>

These political agents were men who had acquired

western education and were charged with two important duties

First, they were to help the colonial officials to extend

British influence into the hinterland of the Cross River.

Coco Otu Bassey, for example, was in charge of Itu while

Deniel Henshaw was responsible for Oron. The second

1mportant duty was that the political agents were not onlly

placed in charge of 'native courts but were also given

some executive authority as Court Clerks.

56 Unlike the
traditional rulers, the new class of political elites acted

not as agents of the traditional system of government but

EOvernment representatives within the new system or

Frotectorate Administration.57
pOltical agent was expected to have both .'sound'
58
l o n a l backeround as well as a good sOcial status.

gtobe /
7/4/81.
Iiong Obo Obo Offiong,
e e 2lso r. K. Nair, Politics and
soC1ety
interviewed in Calabar

9P.Cit. P.204.
Y.. K..
iNair Ibid, P.206
Iid. F.205
Cal apointment of ns
rof Marnus,
Thl'1O/1909: uk r
f o r reqUent T90, 11/4/1908.
1tiry Inpe CLor 1pprroval
 118.
These q u a l i f i c a t ations were necessary in order to
ensure
their acceptance by the
ce by
traditional sector to ward
off
ulting from the ir rejection as was
c h a o the case with
warrant chiefs of Icboland9
Their role in
the Efik
c in many ways sim1Lar to those of the
S o c i

warrant
chiefs.

the appointnent or e
poLItical agents, however, helped
1
the status of the traditional
rulers to that of
to

Political Subalterns of the Agents". 60

This was a
ha1lenge to the tradltlonal birth rights of the traditional

rulers.

The new status acquired by the 'agents' brought about

reactions by some people who were jealouse of their positions.

They reacted by making various allegations against the

'agents They were accused of using their official

position to further their private interests. They, for

instance, over taxed the people, and in some cases had to

110g them thereby inflicting injuries on the people when

orders were flouted. King Eyo Honesty VIII of Creek Towrm

and his chiefs reported that chief Coco Bassey of Itu had

indered trade on the river by requiring those who used It

O 61 It is difficullt
pay a toll of four boxes of brass rods
but we
ascer tain the authenticity of these al1legations
Ceuse to believe that some of the al1legations were true

and others false. towards the

The peoples' reaction
aL agents was becaUae, the people saw them as an

intep Part of the new power structure.

Calabar 1891-1925"
nne EyO,
E f ik Political Agents of 0ld Calabar
of Calabar,
npublished P.HD. Thesis,
University

1BI,), P.10l4
Y. Iair, F.20l|
Lbid, P.206
 119
AS al menti oned, the soial changes which occurred
nEfik eaciety with the
imauguration of colonial rule were
artly anded up vith
bounded
legisLation or the new
government.
clIch pieces of
One o f s uch
legis Lation was the 1902 0ld
Calabar
5sre Council Rulers (No.4) which affected the
status of
62
the Efik KingsS. The titles of
'King' (Edidem) and
Etinyin were droPped and substituted with Cbong.
In

+aditional Efik society, the three titles, Ddidem, Etinyin

and Obong were used to descri be
traditional rulers. The
1east in order of importance was the Obong which was an

eguivalent to a lord in England and was used in addressing

the house heads.

The change in use of titles could be explained by the

determination of the British government to assert total

control on its subjects. In Nair's opinion, "the change

in traditional rank order is not difficult to understand:

twas considered improper to retain the title of Edidem

Tor the Efik paramount rulers when the Queen of England was

sOvereign ruler. over them. ° With the status of the Kings

educed, it meant that the Kings had lost their sovereignty.

ES1des, authority was now in the hands of the colonia

officials. Attempts were however made to dignify the title

of Obong. For ins tance, it became a punishable oifence for

OErik paramount rulers to use the title. House heads were

asO Only the Kings of

prohibited from using the title.

a n d Creek Towns were qualified to use the tittle.

62 bid. P.211
 120.

5les three arnd I OUr o1 the s me legislation

demoratise
tempted to dem the Obongship instituti.on. It

+he
the
right
r ight of every
obf Iree E1ik family to elect and
declared

an Obong. In principle, i t broke the

he
elected monopoly
of the Okoh0 aroup of families in Duke Town and the Eyo

Tovn. In practice, however, the

eroup
in
creek
legis lation
n t really democratise the Obongship institution.
Apart
ho twO mentioned families, no other family for a ery
froin
1 ang time couLd compete successtully for the Obongship.

t elections , there were generaily more Dukes and Eyos to

their members, The first Obong of Duke Town was

vote in

Obong dem LiIlom while that of Creek Town was Obong Eyo

Honesty VIII.

There was also a drastic change in the regalia of an

The paraphenelia at this time became more or less

obong.
an adulteration of that of the Queen or King of Engl nd.

coronation
oreign influences f i r s t became prominent at the
Efiom Okoho
Of King Archibong III, alias Edem Asibong Ekpo

Efiom of Duke Town in 1873. 64

on attainment of
The Obongs,

which was first

style crown
OI1ce, Wore the B r i t i s h -

65 The Obong
pLaced on the head of the late Eyo Honesty IX
was
office. His oath of o f f i c e
Carried a new staff of
Bible.
but the Christian
to his ances tors
on
o n g e r sworn
to sign a declaration
he was made
assuming office,

of by any of his
predecessors in pre-
Whic was unheard

coloniel era.
in C , H .
ny.197
J. U.
1978,
hsu
P.7guo,
"Antera Duke's Diary" A review

Creek Town B/l4/8l4.

in
Chief Manus Etin
Etim
Eus Oku,
interviewed
 a robe of the west
regalia i t s e l f inc luded
2ct, th

Atbey
A b b e y
fashion,
fas the Okong Etak Itam (tall hat) worn

ter

minis

aSUned the crown and the

Ouk kisoLE (canopy-
b e f o r e

He also wore a white

which he walked.
u m b r e l l a ) un

1ike
of the Shakes
espearan era. These were
s i m i l a r
to that
hose
was made to
a1l foreign inventions. However, an attemp t

(beaded shoes) worn

tradition in the Ikpa Ukot Nkra

ect
re
at that occasion.

before uropean contact, the Obong w are

the era
In
out of s i l k thread.
woven
traditional head gear
Ntinya
-

a
(raffia ) and l a t t e r
the Ukara Wrap
He alsoo ied Ikpaya
symbols) round his
of cloth bearing Ekpe
(hand-dyed type
and Ekpe
was also used by the royalty
attire
loin. This

no shirt but had his body

initiates. The Obong wore

white chalk. His feet

ted with Ndom
-

attractively decora
andlets
wear copper, brass or gold
were bare though he could
His hair could and
on his wealth.
and braceletS depending
b6
was often plaited to keep the Ntinya in position

since itts
Admittedly, the Efik had imbibed European cul ture

but colonial rule had altere1 the Obong's

contact with them

British s07ereign". Of recent,

appearance to that of a "mocked

reverted to what it
have been
nowever, the Obong's regalia
used to be though with some modifications and additionssi

was
knother important developnent during this period
nat while the powers of the Obongs were declining, those

the h o u s e heads were 1ncreasing, This was made poSsiblee

Dy the House Rule Proclanation of 1910. The rule was alSO

 122.
intended to abolish
slavery in the
society while at the
same time ainta ining the
maint:
freed slaves
within their
rlier in the same year, various
houses
the Slave
clamati on had been passed. The
Dealing
antrol of the chiefs
proclamation freed slaves
rom the and house heads,
slaves deserted their
Some of the
houses thus
undermining the
political
and economic pOSitions of the house heads. A state of
anarchy almost Set into the society
To avert
this the
ernment passed the House Rule
Proclamation which sought
to strengthen the
positlon of the house heads and to
Dreserve their control over their members. It became
necessary to effect this because
the break-up of the 'house
System' would have produc ed not only an
uncontrollable
state in the society but also the
legitimate trade which
had been built and
prospered on the basis of the house
system would have been ruined.
The House Rule Proclamation
went further to impose, among other measures, a maximum
Iine of
&50.00 (#100.00) or one year
imprisonment or bothn
O any recalcitrant member of 67
a house. In 1915 the House
Le was
repealed due to pressure from the
Church,
SOnaries and European traders who
saw the house as Still
practising some form of slavery. In 1916, the colonial
rnment enacted a
in
general law against slavery conta ined
Ch:
er 31 of the Criminal Code.
Similarly, Ordinance 35
1916 was aLso
3
also
enacted and was made exclusively for the
Sovthern Protectorate, prohibiting slave dealing in the
repion.68
With these enactnent s , the native cour ts reIused
3. C. anene,
1e, Op.Cit. P.306
Or urard,
Trank. 9
i t i c a l Memoranda 3rd Edition(London:
197O) PP.213 - 220.
 123.
+he status of slaves in
old
recognlse
Calaban
ar.
t0
B e t w e e n
a0and 1906, the British colonial
efforts were d i r e c irected towards the
officers
development of
infrastruc-
as abour
work s and roads in
hai
t u r e s
Such the area. To the
nlonial officers, such terial development was seen as

oo
t other good things,
ot as
a means of
a
means

spreading
ilization, of letting in light' on dark places."
n69
The
0 d also witnessed the ertective establishment of British

1 in the area. This could be seen in Sir Walter Egerton's

report of Southern Nigeria for 1907
Progress in the social cond ition of the people
and expansion in the trade of the country have
been remarkable during the year under review.
There has been no relaxation in the efforts of
the governmernt to make remote districts accessible,
improve the means of communication and transport,..
to suppress slavery, Canibalism_and barbarous
practices of the natives . . ..70

The outbreak of world war one in 1914 had, however,

diverted British attention from this material development

and effective administration of the protectorate towards war

eiTort, But Lord Lugard had in the same year been able to amal-

gamate both the Northern and Southern Protectorates into

One
administration and they became known as Nigeria',
aDar administration then fell under the administration of

Wigeria.
post-war years (from 1917 up to 1931) witnessed a
20 f modelling and remodelling of the a a t

Ilachinery
*OI Nigoria starting with Sir Hugh Clifford, Sir

Graeme nompson and sir Donald Cameron.

71

.F,iicolson,
NEthode
nd
The
O, The administration
Clarendon
of Nigeria 1900-1960: Men2
Press, 1969) P.110
(Oxford Myths
bid. P.11l
and Faber,
Crowder,
97)
)PPP.211
p . 1 n e21
Story Nieria of (London: Faber
 12
T h e r e Weas

therefore
h e r e f o r s

, no
contihuity in the
administrati on
tion. .

t ta n c e
or Ins
Donald Cameron seemed to have quite
1rreiected
d e l i b e r at e l y
the 'Philcsophy' of 'Indirect rule
by
established by Lugard as 'a
rather mysterious business
ad tead
ins tead focussed on tne local natlve
He
administration'
aal Fovernmen t Dy niS introduc tion of a new Native
loca

dministration Ordinance as welL as Protectorate Courts

presided over by ficers who had no political functions.

eneme Thoms on' s attempts to re-establish authoritarian

Iindirect' rule and dlrect taxation in the Southern part of

Nigeria had culminated in a series of riots from 1927 to the

iba riots' of 1929/3 which have already been discussed.

However, within these years, recognizable institutionss

of alien government throughout the country were replacing
the indigenous government. There was also growing
discontent with British rule amongst those who had invited
and welcomed i t in the earlier
days

The history of western education in Cala bar dates back

o he early 1840s when missionaries established their first

Schools in Duke Town and Creek Town. These schools were

eded by the opening of Sunday SchoolS and idult Classes

m p a r t the rudiments of the art of reading and writing..

ereafter, every Christian mission operating in the area

tablished its own pri.mary school according to the basic

ctrines of the particular denomlnation and attracted

upi.
p1ls throuph ifts of books_ CS By 1900, ther
**

Op.Cit P.2l See also Ibid. P.215

1. Crowder, Op. Cit.
P.212
 125.

i n a l l s 1 x t e e n
of these schooLs but. only four of them -

ope Waddell Tr. 11, Training Institute, the ission Hill School
t h e Girls Boarding School and the El ementary
u
in
15.in
i n Creek Town and Ikot Offiong could be called
Schools
Day Sch

and r e g u l a r
schools., 74 One thing common to all
established
schools was the pagation of the ideals of
themission
Missionary educational effort was, therefore,
C h r i s t i a n i t y .

oted towards the Larger process of evangelization.

education that the Christian missions

Tt was through
on both the youths and the
ame to exert direct 1ntluenge
Before the arrival of the
adults in the society.

the Erik had

traditional instiuti ons whose
missionaries ,
youths the noral and religious
to impart to
functi on i t was
76 When the m i s s i o n a r i e s came,
they regarded
educat1on.
in scope hence the
education as primitive and lackimg
such
education. The established
formal western
introduction o f
in
another avenue for effecting change
schools then be came
cuLture was
indigenous
Efik society. In t h e s e sohools,
thet Ndka UbonC
aLlenated. It was within this perspective

one c u l t u r a l innova ti on thap

western e d u c a t i o n as
VLewed
the indigenous cultur
reaching effects
on
lad Iar
cd
anacat.a.

to the Southern
Nigeria
74 Afigbo, The background
in J.H. S.N.
Vol.IV, No.2 Juhe0
code of 1903'
ucatlon
sichei, Op.Cit. PP.185 186
P.72
Op.Cit.
U,Aye, 01d Calabar CuLTural
Nigerian
Education and the
duka Obor Western
CKround (Oxford. 1964) F.
 126.

s t u d e n t s were Gaußnt ari thme tics and literary

+hev were
They
were aaLso made to realise the ' barbarity' of
studies,

ture a1nd adition.

trad They Were a:SKed t0 acmonish
their

and efrain from these 'repugnant culture'. The attempt

to
enlace traditlonal meunods o1 e d u c a t i o n w i t h modern ones

however,
not easy. Most of the pupils begsr to with-
was,

aaw when they realised that conversion to Christianity was

missionaries a priority. The son of Ekpo Jack, one

to the

af the signatories to the letter inviting the missionaries

in 18L3 refused the lesson of Christian instructions saying

that his father had sent him to school to "saby trade book
(0
and he no want to saby God book
School attendance fluctuated. Classes were full when

there was less to be dorie at the beach and fewer trade

vessels called at the Calabar Port. Sometimes, fathers

would want to attend their businesses with their boys while

girls dropped out of school to prepare thenselves for

79
marriage.
nose trained, however, were employed as teacherS to

L p spread the Christian gospel and values into the hinter-

end of Calabar. Some of them were employed as court

employed as
ers end interpreters while others were

in the snips
r orkers,, carpenters and cabin oys
Wnere they were taufht the art of comnercial transac tlons.

, U. ye
ODCi. P.126
3. 0. A. Okon, interviewed in Calabar 7/1/84
 127.

Yet others We Sent to 1 in

Were
thers mission houses
where they
on
unity
ortunit of belng exp0sed to
had
the
European mannerism
Some of the BI LR
Klngs and
and
ideas. traders in fact
sent
oad for studies
t h e i r s o n s

Througth the establisthed

peoTle becane educated
schoo
many
Education helped change
the peorles' ost ttitudes towards traditionai
values. Thus

the
new
t
achools took over almoSt a l l the
educative roles of
hoth the fattening and the secret institutions.

of great signiticance in the development of education

saG the teaching of the English language which opened to the

Efik the way to all learning of the modern vorld.

English
became the language of communication for the learned.

Primary school pupils wrote essays on windmills, snowflakes

and walks in London to the neglect of traditional

occurences. An educational comnission which visited Nigeria

from 1920-1 reported that i f an African class was asked

to sing a song of i t s own choice, i t was likely to be the

81 becane
British Grenadiers. Indéed, the English language
second language amongg the Efik. Before the establishment

OI 1ormal missionary education, the language was sparingiy

pOren and was learnt through trade contact witn the

in
language was being taught
Luropeans as the coast. AS the

Cn00ls, i t became a ma,.jor tool of li teracy upon wnl ch

extent.
to a large
e colonial society depended

lizsbeth Isichoi, Op.Cit P.192

 128.

AnOwle
ledge of +he language then Decame not
only a merk of
+i on but also a
necessary socialisine uc
cl

The spread
of thle language.
however, helped adulterate
Efik language
as it came to borrow
the considerable amcunt
. 70Cabulary Irom Eigllsh and, to a certain extent.
10st
its nhonetical originality.
phonetical
Credit, however, must be
.con to mission schooLS 10r the promotion of Efik
give language
: +celf. Folloing the 1925 memorandum on education in

Eritish col onies which provided for the teaching of

vernacular in schools and for the provision of text books

82
n
in vernacular greater attention was given to the teaching
of vernaculars in mission schools. This was a transient

development. Efik language was then extended to the whole

of the Cross River Region. Along side with English, pupils

were taught to read and write in Efik so that the pupils

ould be able to read and understand the bible, which had

Deen translated into Efik. Church services were also

conducted in ifik. By the 1930s, Efik vas being widely

poKeN by many christian converts, fraders and pupiLs who

e r d e d its knowledge as a mark of civilization. Efik

Cultural traits were also adopted in these areas. Indeed,

indigenous
21caLly took over the place of nost
medium of
languaj of its neigh bours as i t becane
the

churches and schools.

n the house-holds, markets,

82 B.
*

in Nizeria
(London:
. a
funwa, Ory of
. Unwin,
ducation
2orge
en and 197), P.1cu
 129.

hecame
beca
influenced by
peopLe
also
uropean ideas about
The
the
marriage and the family which tended to
concentrate
tion nore on the nuc lear family as opposed to the

traditional extended
family systen. Before colonialism,
maintenan ce of the extended family was a
the highly
righed practice which was deeply rooted in the cultural

heritage of the people. A man was obliged by custom not

151re in tie midst of plenty while his reletives suffered

to

in want. Thus, individuals shared their blessings or woes,

their affluence or poverty with both patrilineal and

materilineal relatives with whom they were united. These

bonds becane weakened through contact with European ideas

and practice of individualisn which was inherently opposed

to a collective way of 1ife - communalism. In 1892, the

foreign marriage Act was introduced into the society. The

act made i t pOSsible for a couple to contract marriage in

the marriage registry This, of course, was an unwelcome

nnovation in Efik society. Consequently, the Efik Nati onal

30Ciety drew up the Efik marriage law in 1905 which was

reprinted with alternations in January, 1918.83

Changes were also seen in the adoption of western

SUyled dresses s h i r t s and trousers for the nale witha tle

on skirts
either blauses
6 W th; while the womenfolk wore

or gowns. as zlnc houses"

western architecture was adopted
and
Storey buildings were erected to displace mud

thatch' houses EVen western names which were meaningless

in the adopted.
raditional societ, were
a

was
National Sttciety
B,O, kok, Op. Cit. P.317. The Efik all free-born nales
or
e8t
the Sned in 1900, It
consisted of
people
the mouthpiece or the
d 1t was reßarded as
n
the making of the 1aw.
 130.

Attempts were made the missionaries to increase the

s u a l
ni culum which consisted of religion,
c u r r i c u
reading,
Wsue

ie84
and
Ari thme t metic4 to include technical education.
writing

increase in CurricuLum De came possible with the

This

tabhishment of Waddell Training Insitution by the

Free Church of Scotland in 1895. The institution

United

designed
to ve industrial training as well as to train
was

teachers and pastors. I t thus became the first institution

in ngllsh urammar combined with practical

courses
to offer
tailoring. According to
p r i n t l n g and
work im carpentry,
and tailoring were extensions of evange-
Nicolson, printing
was i n demand by the chiefs or heads of
lisms carpentry

the purpose of trade, and s0 was

houses and the people for
on palm oil trade in
cooperng in an economy so dependent

puncheons
,85 In 190L this type of education was extended to

convent school was opened at

the girls when in that year, a

Calabar and a Girls' Institute at Creek Town. These schoolss

education and housebold training.

8ave both elementary
the colonial government
s p i t e of these developments,
endeavours.
educational
dlS satisfied with missionary
Carred Oo
4LS dlssatisfacti on led to an inspectio
the governnent
Henry Carr in 1901. During the
inspection,
instruments
schools were
CCorncLusion that missionary
had wol a
missionaries
the
O winning converts and that

Blg.P.A
L, B.
Ajayi, Christian Missions,
Op.Cit.PF.138-139

Nicolson, Op.Cit.
 131

agains
superstition and the older
order of
b a t t a

i n t h e S O C i e t y ,
things

avinced that Smal as is the actual

esult in schooL Learning, produc ed bytthe
i SsionS the r e s u l t which they have
1ntelligen ce and produced
on the temper,
conditions of The people has not been
n important, and tnis 1s the work which it
has as yet becn possible to achieve.96

Ac a result of the nspec1on, a number of

Proclamat ions
nd Bducati onal Codes were enacted, The Proclamation of 1902
and

and
1903, for stance, set Out a number of educational

Tules which sought to extend and upgrade the standard of mass

1iteracy in OLd
Calabar. The Provisional Education Code of

1902 enabled qualified schools to receive Grant-in-Aid or

finan cial assistance from the governnent. To qualify for

the finance, managers of schools were to increase their

efforts towards the improvement of learning in their

respective institutions. I t must be pointed out that even-

though the colonial government showed an interest in revising

the educational programme of the missi onaries , they continued

to uphold religious teaching and moral i n s t r u c t ions in schooLS .

With the expansion of educ ational f a c i l i t i e s in dld

Calabar, there emerged a new class of people who we can

They were an
eler to as the 'western educated e l i t e s ' .

l n g group responsible for mediating betweem Buropea

uid traditional African values . A group of elites 3

though
n Of as an open group, access to whlCu o

Drlcted by birth or family antec edentS .

87 It conno t e s

86-bid. P.90
Changing radi.tlod
Socict rica in Social Change:
OX and
Cox a Wyman
T Ces in the Modern.Norld
World London (London
u1967),T
 132

positions o
influence
f f influ which the educated Efik class held
redefining traditional values
These first generation
in
1ite were nearly alway hrisTlans and served the missions

a 1 l y as teachers, catechists and Priests .

s
They also
n o d certain practices of the traditional society and
conde

to adhered to these practices It must, however,

refused ,

be Dointed out that this new group of elites later played

significant roles in the social and politi cal devel opment of

their country. This was because this group later became

dissatisfied with the i r pOsition under the colonial system

and being well-equipped by their training and education,

thcir
they began to oppose colonial adninistrators and
ruler u n t i l they were able to gain independence for the

Country.
The educational revolution which created the new

elltes also created social inequalities in the society.

nL blough there were inequalities in Efik society berore the

was different
Opean advent, the educational inequality
which
ron the previous class distinction. The new 'breed

"ee mostly teachers became the objects of hero-wOr'stlp

They h white-collar employment which

aSecured respectable

Imade them had not acquired western

Look down on those who
taxation in
education. OWever, the imposition
of direct

the secured.

depressing years made their jobs less

with
educational
occurred
which
Ancther significant clhange
developmWas the influx of school
leavers o
be
Withiln

Where there was ad t L e a s t a

possibility of employment.

from the
an esCape
seen as
PePSpective, education was
88
Erin and p o v e r t y of
rural ife!
y
E. Isichei, Op.C
Cit. P.196
 133.
t h e y became acquainted
with learning the
e
norms and values which in a
way were aiso
new
weapons for
change in the society.
effecting

The establisment o1
COLOnial rule alsO created
job
portunities whether in the construction of roads; clerks
n the postal services established in 1891; or as
agricultural
annrentices, civil servants for the customs and excise and for

administration generally. With this development, the Efik

towns became heavily populated. The social evils which

accompanied this influx, however, was the general disregard

for the culture and the
traditional norms of the society.
In
establishing the elements which have effected
change in Efik society, we have no doubt observed various
10rms oi reaction against these elements. The question which
Conironts us now is, how did the Efik respond generally to the

changes that were occuring in their societies?

ince the Efik sought European intervention in their

Ountry as well as missionary activities, they remained

ELatively peaceful in the event of the establishment of

protectorate over them. Their reaction wes in contrast
O
hat of the Igbos and their other neighbours. In fact,
"len the missionaries first arrived, they ere iven warm

and hospitable welcome.

But in later years, (about the 1880s ).
E f i k began to react as recollecti ons of their experiences

with
" Ch both the missionaries nd the eolouit authorities did

lavOur th:ir trade and traditionai Lnetitutions.

 13l
11.
G e n - r a l 1 y , however, tne LflK reaiised the
importance
eeting +he
t he demanrls Of the
changing pCiod.
of ducation vas
red to ensure that they Were not lcft behind in t h
acqu.

aYDloitation Of some Of the new

opportnities for sociaL and
Dolitical progress. The cases of the
I ik pol1itical agents
ides od examples of adaptation to situe tions.
pro For,
in
4 lke manner, reiorms sucti as the rEVOLUt:ion in the medical
ields, sanitation and the KillinE of twins were welcomed,

though reluctantly. Where reforms becane ininical to their

interest the sOCiety made all available efforts to repulse

them. This could be seen in the introduction of monogamy

into the society.

Efik society was essentially polygamous5. Polygamy was

opposed to the tenets of Christian marriaEe. The introduction

of monogamy was met with serious resistance especially

from the nobility who had large number of wives. It was

not uneommon to find a Christian comvert nm:ried in the

Cnristian way to one wife who attended and received holy

Comnunion with him yet he had other wives or concubines

left behind at 89 This reluctance on the part of the

home
E1 to reflect the new marriage system led to tae

rOduction of three types of lawful marriages under the

These were marriage in a recognised

er'riage ordinance.
90
by tr"ditional custom."
repistrar at court
or
Ch, Defore a

:1 thou h Christian re ligi.on had been

l1 Larly,
the Efik did
intro
iced anongst the Efik and Converus inade,

their traditiomal raligion. Some

07eher atandon

yoEne Okon,
intervicwed in Cal:itar t/4/84

K. Y.. la ir, C i t . P.221

 135

l a r l y attended hurch services on sundays.

convetS re
ys.
othei times, they poured libations to their ancestors.
at

e cases where tradltional apparatus found their

h e r e

eame
into some of
off the established churcheS. Hcnce, it was not
way

0 f extinction of the traditional religion but the

synt.
thesis or blending toge ther of both religions."
Noreover,
me of the churchos also broke off from the mother

chiirches and established independent African churches such

as: The Chist Church Cathedral founded in 1910 in Lagos

and later extended to Calabar.

A marriage of convenience between tradition and

Christianity became explicit also in the church service which

marked the end of the funeral rites of an Obong. On succh

occasions, distant members of the deceased's family

appeared in colourful uniforms while closer relations wear

different traditional attire of royalty. The cldest male

survivor i n the family wears a long red velvet train, a

Crown and carries a bible on a special pillOw. The oldest

92
emale is similarly clad but in a purple robe. There is

als
also a iine up of Ndem maidens and other members of the

íam
amily who wanr Ikpeya outfit or the traditional onyonye

Oungmen of the royal family are not lert out of the

procession. They tie a white 1oin cloth alid hold traditionally

adorned swords. This parade in fac showS the elenent

adaptation of both cultures

y ne kon, OD.C.
92
 136.
s-her institution which resisted to
some extent
do1 chnge of the period wes slavery.
the s o c i a l

A1though the
etituti ons of slavery and slave dealing where abolished

egislations,
ressed le the practices continucd so
by
fest thems e lves in the society,. When cases of
nean
#
slavery
1 D in the estabLished courts, only nasters rho bought

cantured slaves were punished; those who had slaves in

or

Dersonal subjectLon as domestics born into their houses

were not easily handled before the courts. 93

In s u , certain be.liefs and practices survived. For

instance, the idea that 'once a slave, always a slave '

continued to persist in the minds of the people. Other

notions, for cxample, that death was largely associated

WLGh wltchcraf t, tho belief in Ndem, the fattening ins titution,

uie Bkpe society remained firn features of the socie ty . In

cases where certain traditions ceased to exist, force or

e threat of it had to be used by the c o l o n i a l powe to

erIect changes in the socieuy.

s a n it t e d l y , certain facets of western civilization

l l lncorporated into the traditional EIik sOciety

EIOre the introduction of colonial rule. However, the

act
g e n e r a t e d by t h e coming into existence of the

Britipolitical and judicial system wasS one which had not

beer anticipated and so precipitated revo!utionary changes

n the 1r1lmical to Efik interest
society,
SOCiety, some of which were
S
Wnile there was defini tely some reslstaiica to colonial

rule nin the political and soc1al Spaeres a nuch more vigorous

Nair, Op.Cit. P.225

 137

mbativeness
s was demonstrated by the Bfik when thein
Was demonstrater

Combe

invaded, Tn this
omic
interest
WEre
instance, the
of
or the
t Calabar "traders COuld not be over-
h e Calab
resistance

Con any length of tme either by the use of

Com

farce, by the use O Clerm or Smiles, or by the Sp lay

white
umbrellas !
of
Tn the above chapter, we have Sketched, in broed

of the changes which took

Outlines, the magnittude

place in Eiik sOciety in the period 1850 -1930. We

the various response to these changes

have also noticed
out that
by the Efik. I t must, however, be pointed

about by contact with the western

changes brought
for the social
World did not only have repercussions
institutions of the Efik. The changes
and c u l t u r a l

were also manifested both in the political and

more Concerned
since we are
economic spheres. But
we have nott
the social and culturat Changes,
with
consequ ences
of colonial
eLaborated on the economic

establish
Our evidence however, does
rule in Efikland.
colonial rule amongst
ble Iact that the imposition of
social
certain e x t e n t the
ne Biik did modify to a

and cultural history of the people.

Ibid. P.265
 138.

CONCLUSION

ctudy
This
has shoWIn now, Over a period of
ighty
itional Efik society of Old Calabar witnessed
great
ansformation
transfo under the impact of missionaries,
traders and western coloni
nialism.

In accessing the 1impaCt o1 colonial rule on Africa,

four schools of thougrht have emerged. The first is the

Raropean school which is influenced by the myth that

rica had not achieved much before the coming of the

whiteman, and that whatever good things existed in African

1
of colonialisn. Opposed to the
society came as a result
first school of thought is that led by Áfrican politicians

and poets which contends that the colonial impact on

Irica was so pervasive that whatever achievements Africans

ad prior to colonialism had to crunble under the weight

of the latter. The third school of thought, however,

of African
dLn tains that the unchanging and static nature
rule to have
nstitutions made i t impossible for European

2ad much 3 The fourth school represented

impact on them.
asserts that
dismisses these other views and
ide Ajayi

J.d e Ajayi, "The Continuity of ifrican Institutions

e r COlonialisn" in T. 0. Ranger, EmergingThenesHouse, o
Pub.
o T Y ( D a r - e s - S a l a m , East African
can PP.
1Gh - 191.
bid. P. 191
Ibid. P. 192
 139
coloniaLism was
was merely 2
superstructura built unon

ifrican EOCiety,
socie and that under colonialism, frio

1ife
n t inued, and that while some institutions changed
nGe to colonialis!n, Others persisted.* The prese
i s obliged to agree with Ajayi's view as our study
write

An the Efik sOClety has amply shown.

As we have seen, EI 1k soClety was not static, and

where chanres did occur, some of them were not as

devastating as others. Also, some of the fundanentals in

the structure of the society were not changed by the

colonial presence. What i t did was to make some ad

justments.
Completely new phenomena were introduced into

traditional Efik society such as Christianity, Western

education as well as western s o c i a l values which had a

remendous impact on the society. Christianity, of course,

brought new ideas, modes, fashion and outlock. But

*aler than see it as provoking a clear sweep, the changes

Cnristianity brought should be seen more as a change

continuity.
Flrst, tiie Efik welcomed selective imdices of

Opean material culture, such as manufac tured oods

his initinl acceptance also witnessed some

Euns.
new
of the society, and these increased asS
caticin
ide
S 1 n v a d e d tlhe society with accompanying tensioi
OI
Dtwcen old and new values. Indced, at the beginning

CL o n i a l rule, Lfik society was already acculturated.

Ibid.
 was a ceneral acceptance of wes tern life-s tyles as
There

ideal by tne people. In time, however,

being
a
syathesis
old and new values did present itsel out of these
01 pul1l
nmos inc sides resulting in the birth of the present
sOciety. One such development supporting this
Lfik new

was the Efik dress,

situation
The social and cultural changes discussed in the

nreceeding chapters, however, can best be assessed in

terms of difïerences in objectives as conceived by the

promoters and the practitioners. The missionaries, on

their part, were more interested in establishing a new

sOcial and economiCorder. The Efik people, on the other

hand, embraced the Christian religion with the object of

improving their economic position. The result was the

which influential in the

emergence of a middle class, was

The interaction between

Church, coamerce and politics.
bhe two did not only influence Efik social thought and

practice but a l s o brought among other things, technological

agriculture patterned
PO8ress such as a system of imnproved
The agricultural nethodo-
C u r r e n t western techniques.
to
the plantation
system which appeared
E y adopted w a s
success flattered the
This
ave achieve1 some success.
as n indication of
held this up
LSSionaries, and they
truth was that these
Dut the
riumph of their efforts.
oI the European world,
more to the advantage
orts were

wiS Eeared towards their nceds

structure
3inc
Ce the eco:101!ic
 1l41

interes
ts .
Conseqiently, hatever sociial and
cultural1
2nd
the
colonizers had
cobl hoped to effect were not as
es
chang
instance, unose in the econonic sector. It
rapia as,
here 4ht.
t h much that were
indigenous were displaced,.
Has

HOwEver, one lasting effect of the interaction between

i k and the Luropean missionaries, as demoas trated by
he
#he evidence aU Our dLsposal, was the intepration of

heistian practices into the traditions of the Lfik. As

chOwD in chapter three, the Church had a grip on the people

sh
but did not eradicate totally the peoples' custom. Rather,
it effected what can be referred to as "a marriage of

convenience". Indeed, it was not unusual for people to

react tO unusual situations by falling back on the traditional

religion despite devotion to the new faith.

S evidence of continuing change in the society, the

EILk have, in the l a s t twenty years or so, broken from the

Dssionary mould, There is a noticeable religious developb-

form of local
Wth a strong local flavour in the
E
Cross and star. These
ECs Such as the Brotherhood of the
associated with the menace
ECoS claim to deal with problems
of their
Wltchcrafi. sickness and m a t e r i a l well--being
these s e c t s i s
worship of
Lembers. Besides. the o r d e r of
of worshippinE in
which
traditional way
mu clOser to the
hands annd dance.
their
The Worshippers drum, clap
soclal ant Cultural changes
shown that
have
Thus, we

witnessed many tus2ons; new modes

Tk society have
VaLues lave becn retained.
and old
ne
Ve bcen introduced
 1l,2.

this end, We Can further argue that traditional

Catiol9 c1iCi as was ODtained in the secret societies

and the
t.i enim institution
which were aimed
at not
ittaininL The Values oI the society but as
only
pedogOEical iodules for the education of the
youth,
ht usefuliy De empioyed 1n our
present circums tances
of folling standard of behaviour and decadence to
uphold
the yalues of s0ciety and to enhance its development.
Furthermore, the study has shown the importance of
languare in socialization process in the society.
The idea
and values of the society were accumulated and transmitted
by word of mouth. The motivations and aspirations of the
SOciety were thus articulated by the use of language developed
over the years. The study also shows that the socialization

process among the Efik was also done through primary and

informal groups. The signifioance here i s that the

raditional system compared favourably with the modern

anels churches, schools, public services, social clubs

and governnent agencies.

Many social and cultural practices declind but some

ins Ultutions continued to exist despite the changes.

Pol
OLygamy, extended family system, Nkurho and D e Secret

sOCiety s t i l l remain the basic elements of the peoples

culture. Beliefs in charms , witahcraët, unnatural deaths

and
Ndein Politically, traditi onal rulers
stil.1 persist.
Stil
*LL CXercise sone measure or control and influence over
 1u43

though the new

the pec gOvernment has left
them with
1ittle judici pOwe The old laws
very and custom
to
xtent,
ertaln ext. still Euide the
a people
's
attitude towards
1ife 2nd behaviour.

e cannot, hoWever, ConcLude this

study vithout
n CFOut that becauSe Of the
pointi

antagonisSn of the
anialist towards certain sOCial
colon
institutions, the colonial
once aided the abolition of
certain social
practices
1ch as human sacriilce, whi.ch had been accepted by the
sOciety because numan blood was regarded as the hirhest
sacrifice that could be offered to the
gods; the killinhg
of twins which was sanctioned by custom because the
bearing
of twins was regarded as a curse from the and
gods ,

therefore, an abomination; and trial by ordeal which was

an accepted way of detecting crimes. Happily today, the

bearing of set of twins is regarded not as a curse from

the gods, but as God's blessing. Equally important was

the introduction and provision of western education for the

EOpLe especially the ability to read and write and finally,

ue preservation of record through writing of the historical

past of the
people.
It can be said in conclusion that social, ecornomic

tid p o l i t i c a l i n t e r a c t i o n between the Efik and other groups

Ve altered to s ome extent the Efik cultural outlook and

eds,
hencc, the chanf e s we have noticed in the prevlous
 1Ll.

chapters. Nevertheless, no
culture has evwer
remained
statiC. xternal influence on Efik cultural life
1 1 dtherefore be seen as a
his torical necessitv.
Tt is hoped that this dissertation will provoke
e
intensive research into
aspectS of the social
history of other groups in the Cross River
region of
Nigeria.
 LS
BIBLOCRAPHY
PRIMARY SOURCES
(a) O R A L D V D E N C E

bout one hundred and

Iitty people were
in the COurse of the research ior this
interviewedd
thesis, This
nsure the was
neces.
authenticity of the
study. The
informants all provided relevant and useful
inf ormation
on the topic. However, it has not
been possible to
all names of the
publish
informants. Below is a list of
some of the informants:

NAME PLACE
APPROXIMATE DATE OF
AG INTERVIEW
Chief Obo 0. 3 Offiong
Offiong Square, Cal. 83 years 7/4/814
2. Madam Eme
10, Lagos St.
Bassey Effiom Calabar 70 years 16/12/82,
17/12/82
3. Chief Asibong 14, Wembly
Etim St. Calabar 69 years 4/1/83
4. Madam Uduak 6, Etim Edem
Duke St, Calabar 90 years 16/12/82
5. Mr R. N. O. 6 , Eyo Edem 70 years 13/12/82
lronbar St. Calabar
6. Chief N. O0. 9/10/83
11, Ekeng 6 years
Nsefikk Iwatt Street,
Calabar
7. Mr Offiong
Ikot Edem
Ekpenyong Ndarake 70 years 16/1/8
Akpabuyo
8. Mr. Ekpo Ita 40, Eyo Edem
7/10/83
Effiom St. Calabar 83 years
9. 10/11/83
Chief Effanga 33, Edibe- 76 years
E. Henshaw Edibe Road,
Calabay
10, Chief Ekong
8, Atekong y8 years
2/2/8
mona Road, Cal.

11, years
/2/8h
Chief Essien 6, Duke Town
B. Edem Drive, Cal.
 1l6.
PLACE AFPROXIMATE
NAME
ACE DATE OF
Chief E. E. Ikot Nakanda
INVERVIEN
Akpabuyo 94 years
12 Nakanda
7/3/84
Chief Magnus Adak Uko,
1 Btim Oku Creek Town
78 years
i r Eyo Ene 136, Goldie
8//8
St. Calabar
Okon 50 years
8/4/84
15. Chief E s s i e n 10, Hawkins
E. Okn Road, Calabar 76 years
10/5/84
Madam Atim Efa 10, Efa Street,
16.
Calabar 66 years
7/10/93
17. Chief Ededem 13, Ekong Etta
Effiwatt St. Calabar 70 years
7/2/B,
10/3/84
18. Mr Effiong 0. Mbarakom, Creek
Cobham Town 69 yearrs
21/3/84
19. Chief Asuquo Mbarakom, Creek
Mkpang Town 90 years 6/2/84,
21/3/8
20. Chief A. B.
8, Bonny Street, 7/4/84,
Mfon Calabar 40 years
8/4/84

i) ARCHTVAL MATERIALS: Intelligence Reports kept

in National Archives, Enuguu.
1. Cal. Prof. 278/1 History of Calabar
Correspondence on the subject of

2. Cal. Prof. History of Calabar

5/1/6333 on the subject of
Correspondence
3. Cal. Prof. T h e Efiks (anonymous and no
2/688
dates)
4. Cal. Prof. 14/6/99 Annual Report on Calabar
District for the year 1910
by Mr C. Punch (District
Commissioner )
 17.

Prof. 14/3/327 BIik National Committee.

Calabar: Petition from
members of afiecting
of Calabar Chiefs grievances
in
-

1908.
Prof. 14/3/452: Plan of Calabar Printing of
in England.

7 Cal. Prof. 14/37794 : Adam, iphraim Duke - Obong of

Calabar Llection of - in 1908.

8. Cal. Prof. 14/3/837 Henshaw House Disputes and

Differences in Settlement.

9.Cal. Prof. 14/3/966 Duke Mr. Nagnus, appoin tmenn

of as Sanitary Inspector
approval for requests 1908.

Foreign Office Pecords.

ARCHIVAL MATLRIALS:
1. File No.B.16/80/15: J. N. Cheetham, Report on
Secret Societies 1915.

2. File No. CP.1716 : Sir Claude MacDonald to

1899.
MMarguis of Salisbury,
: Hewett to F,0. 3rd November,
3. F.0. 81/16 34 to British
1883. Petition take-Over of
Government for

Calabar.

(1ii) GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS

ofthe nquiry into _the
1. Hart, A. K. Report
Ca1abar, Enugu:
Dispute over the Obongship of
Government Printer, 1964.

tieEosition, Status
G. I . Report of
2. Jones,
Rulers in
Chietsend Natural
and Influence of Government
NIgeria, nugu:
Fastern Region oL
Printer, 1957.
 118.

SECONDARY SOUILCES
BOCKS
Afigto, A. E.
1. The WiarrantChiefs Lndirect
Rule in south bastern
London:
Longman, 1972. Nigerie21891-1929,
2. Ajayi, Jacob F. Ade
Christian
Hiissions in Nigeria
1841-1891: The Making of a
Northwestern University Press, NewDLite,
1965.
Evanston:

3. Akak, E. O. A
Critique Of 01dCalabar History,
Ikot Offiong Welfare
Works, Calabar, 1981.
Association, Barouse Printing
. Akak, E. O.
and
Efiksof 0ld CalabarVol.1 Origins
History Calabar: Barouse Press, 1981
5 Akak, E. O.
and
Efiks of 01d Calabar, Vol.III Culture
Supers titions, Calabar: Akak and Sons,
1982.
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Akpan, N. U. iThe Role of Secret

1. Societies in
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Bassey, E. E. iThe Fabulous Brides of

2. Calabar,
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UNPUBLISHED THESES5:
1. Edem, G. E. Slaves and Slavery Among the Efik
of 01d Calabar in the 18th and 19th Centuries " B. A.

Thesis, University of Calabar, Cala bar 1981.

2. Essien, Anne "Nkugho: A Dramatic Efik Fattening
Ceremony " B. A. Thesis, University of Calabar,
Calabar, 1982.
3. byo, A. E. "Evoluti on of Chieftaincy Ins titutions
nong the Efiks", B. A. Thesis, University of Nigeria,

Nsukka, 1978.
Eyo, A. B. Efik Political Agents of 0ld Calabar
189 1925". P.HD. Thesis, University of
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Offiong, F. U. "Nkugho: The Coming of Age
(Liteerary Qualities) ". B. A. Thesis, University
Lagos, Lagos, 1980.
 UMIVERSITY OF CALABAT
CALABAP

EORANDUM

FROM:The Head T0 Prof. 0.E. Uya and

History Dept. Dr.Erim O, Erim
REF.NO: UC/H.136/vol.11/134 DATE 12th Novembr, 1985
SUBJECT:

DEFENCE OF CLORIA E. EDEM'S THESIS

urther to our Memo Ref, No.. Uc/H.136/vol.11/1:
dated 25th October, 1985 I am directed to inform youu
taet the above de?ence has now been fixed for Monday,

25th Novenber, 1985 at 10.00 a.m in the History

Conference Room. Prof. A.I. Asiwaj. the Externa?
Dniner has now wzitten to inforu t h a t he will

be arriving here on the 2lth November, 1985 for the

abcve purposc.

You are please requested to be present on

that date and time.

Ignatius P. Umoh
for:Head, Dept. of History
 UNIVERSITY OF CALABAR
CALABAR

MEMORANDUM

FROM Head, Dept of Hist TO: See Distribution

Below:
DATE: October 18, 1985
REF NOUc/H.136/Vol. II/11
SUBJECTS

DEFENCE OF GLORIA E. EDEM'S THESIS

above
I a r directed to inf orm you that the
defence has now been fiXed for Thursday,
2l4th 0ctober, 1985 at 9.00 a.n. i n the
Professor A.I.
History Conference Room.
Asiwaju, the External Examiner has giveen
his acceptance to be in attendance.
So
please you a r e kindiy asked to be present.

A.E. 'Ufot
for: Head, Dept of H1story.

Distrtbution
Professor 0.E. Uya,
2 Dr. E.0. Erim
3. Professor G.N. Uzoigwe.
i