Efik mythology consists of a collection of myths narrated, sung or written down by the Efik people and passed down from generation to generation. Sources of Efik mythology include bardic poetry, art, songs, oral tradition and proverbs. Stories concerning Efik myths include creation myths, supernatural beings, mythical creatures, and warriors. Efik myths were initially told by Efik people and narrated under the moonlight. Myths, legends and historical stories are known in Efik as Mbụk while moonlight plays in Efik are known as Mbre Ọffiọñ.
The Ibibio people are a coastal people in Southern Nigeria. They are mostly found in Akwa Ibom, Cross River State and the Eastern part of Abia State. They are related to the Efik people. During the colonial period in Nigeria, the Ibibio Union asked for recognition by the British as a sovereign nation.
Anaang is an ethnic group in Southern Nigeria, whose land is primarily within 8 of the present 31 Local Government Areas in Akwa Ibom State: Abak, Essien Udim, Etim Ekpo, Ika, Ikot Ekpene, Obot Akara, Oruk Anam, Ukanafun in Akwa Ibom State. The Anaang are the second largest ethnic group after the Ibibios in Akwa Ibom state.
Cross River State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Named for the Cross River, the state was formed from the eastern part of the Eastern Region on 27 May 1967. Its capital is Calabar, it borders to the north through Benue state, to the west through Ebonyi state and Abia state, and to the southwest through Akwa Ibom state, while its eastern border forms part of the national border with Cameroon. Originally known as the South-Eastern State before being renamed in 1976, Cross River state formerly included the area that is now Akwa Ibom state, which became a distinct state in 1987.
Central Ibibio is the major dialect cluster of the Cross River branch of Benue–Congo. Efik proper has national status in Nigeria and was erroneously made the literary standard of the Ibibio language, though Ibibio proper has more native speakers.
Abakuá, also sometimes known as Ñañiguismo, is an Afro-Cuban men's initiatory fraternity or secret society. It originated from fraternal associations in the Cross River region of present-day southeastern Nigeria and southwestern Cameroon.
The Efik are an ethnic group located primarily in southern Nigeria, and western Cameroon. Within Nigeria, the Efik can be found in the present-day Cross River State and Akwa Ibom state. The Efik speak the Efik language which is a member of the Benue–Congo subfamily of the Niger-Congo language group. The Efik refer to themselves as Efik Eburutu, Ifa Ibom, Eburutu and Iboku.
The Aro-Ibibio Wars were a series of conflicts between the Aro people and a Ibibio in present-day Southeastern Nigeria at Ibom Kingdom from 1630 to 1902. These wars led to the foundation of the Arochukwu kingdom.
The Aro people or Aros are an Igbo subgroup that originated from the Arochukwu kingdom in present-day Abia state, Nigeria. The Aros can also be found in about 250 other settlements mostly in the Southeastern Nigeria and adjacent areas. The Aros today are classified as Eastern or Cross River Igbos because of their location, mixed origins, culture, and dialect. Their god, Chukwu Abiama, was a key factor in establishing the Aro Confederacy as a regional power in the Niger Delta and Southeastern Nigeria during the 18th and 19th centuries.
Nsibidi is a system of symbols or proto-writing developed by the Ekpe secret society that traversed the southeastern part of Nigeria. They are classified as pictograms, though there have been suggestions that some are logograms or syllabograms.
Ekoi people, also known as Ejagham, are an ethnic group in southeastern Nigeria and extending eastward into the southwest region of Cameroon. They speak the Ejagham language. Other Ekoi languages are spoken by related groups, including the Etung, some groups in Ikom, some groups in Ogoja, Ufia, and Yakö. The Ekoi have lived closely with the nearby Efik, Annang, Ibibio, and Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria. The Ekoi are best known for their Ekpe headdresses and the Nsibidi text. Whereas the Igbos are the creators of the Nsibidi ideograms, the Ekoi, like other peoples from the old Cross River region still use them as a part of tradition.
The Oron Nation was a sovereign and egalitarian society from c. 1200 to its forced incorporation into Nigeria in 1914. The Oron people share a strong ancestral lineage with the Efik people in the Cross River State. Some other related indigenous groups include the Uruan, Ibeno and Andoni people, both in the Akwa Ibom State and in the Rivers State, along with the Balondo-ba-Konja. The Oron people are a major ethnic group still present in Akwa Ibom.
The Oron people are a multi-ethnic tribal grouping that make up the Akpakip Oro or Oron Nation. The Oron people (Örö) are located primarily in southern Nigeria in the riverine area of Akwa Ibom State and Cross River State and in Cameroon. Akpakip Oro are regarded as an ancient warrior people, speaking the Oron (Oro) language which is in the Cross River language family of the Benue–Congo languages. They are ancestrally related to the Efik people of the Cross River State, the Ibeno and Eastern Obolo in Akwa Ibom, the Andoni people in Rivers State, Ohafia in Abia State and the Balondo-ba-Konja in the Congo.
The Ibom or Mbot Abasi Kingdom was an Ibibio nation with its seat of government in Obot Okon Ita. The Mbot Abasi kingdom was located in present day Arochukwu, Abia State in Nigeria. Around 1630, an Igbo group from Abiriba known as the Eze Agwu arrived to Ibom. This caused a long term conflict and stalemate known as the Aro-Ibibio Wars.
Okobo is located in the South Eastern part of Nigeria and is a Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. Following the local government creation exercise of the federal government in 1989 Okobo Local Government Area was carved out of Oron, Akwa Ibom same year.
Uruan is a Local Government Area in Akwa Ibom State, south of Nigeria.
Ibibio is the native language of the Ibibio people of Nigeria, belonging to the Ibibio-Efik dialect cluster of the Cross River languages. The name Ibibio is sometimes used for the entire dialect cluster. In pre-colonial times, it was written with Nsibidi ideograms, similar to Igbo, Efik, Anaang, and Ejagham. Ibibio has also had influences on Afro-American diasporic languages such as AAVE words like buckra which come from the Ibibio word mbakara and in the Afro-Cuban tradition of abakua.
Ekpo (Ghost) is a cultural society art form that originates from the Efik, Ibibio and Annang peoples in the Cross River/Akwa Ibom in Southern Nigeria. The practice was also adopted by neighboring regions, namely Arochukwu and Ohafia (Abia state) during the expansion of the Aro-Kingdom.
Efik names are names borne by the Efik people of Southern Nigeria and Western Cameroon. The naming system of the Efik is unique and differs from contemporary African names in several ways. The word for name in Efik is Enyiñ and the act of assigning a name to a child is Usio enyiñ.
