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|
Total population | |
---|---|
448,000 | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Rivers, Nigeria Ghana | |
Languages | |
Kalabari language | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Ijaw, Bille |
The Kalabari are a sub-group of the Ijaw people living in the eastern Niger Delta region of Nigeria. [1] Originally, they were known as the Awome. The name Kalabari was derived from their ancestor Perebo Kalabari who was a son of Meinowei. [2] Their original settlement was spelt as Calabar by the Portuguese which was pronounced Kalabari. This settlement (town) was abandoned as the people moved to other fishing settlements. Portuguese settlers continued to maintain the name Calabari which became surrounded by the Efik people of Duke town. When the British came the word Calabari was pronounced as Calabar (Kalaba) instead of Kalabari. At this time the original Ijoid Kalabaris had moved to a new location which became the new Calabar territory since the old Calabar is occupied by different people. Old Calabar became an Efik town with time which has the name Calabar. [3]
Elem Kalabari became a large kingdom that has about 35 settlements including Bakana, Abonnema, Buguma, Tombia and others. [4]
King Amachree XI (Professor Theophilus Princewill CFR), passed on [5] and was buried [6] in November 2003. The Kingdom is currently being overseen by a Regent [7] till a new king is crowned.
The king along with his Chiefs, most of whom are royal princes, form the royal court.
The Kalabari people are Ijaw speaking settlers who came from the lineage of a man called Mein Owei. The people were originally fishermen before the coming of the Portuguese to the West African coastline.
The Kalabari, like most Nigerian coastline tribes, were wealthy as a result of their interactions with the Europeans. There are some Ijaw who consider the Kalabari as a different ethnic group and vice versa. [8]
Historically Kalabari settlements have always been close to a river, this is because they believed their powers came from deities in the water. [9]
There are a variety of traditional dishes (or native food) of the Kalabari, the three popular dishes are Onunu (pounded yam, ripe plantain and palm oil), Tominafulo (fresh fish, prawns, periwinkle and oyster and other local ingredients), Odo’fulo (aka Native Soup made with fresh seafood and other local ingredients).[ citation needed ]
Marriage
Kalabari people have one of the cheapest forms of legal marriage in the south-south region of Nigeria, their marriage is cheap compared to the neighbouring cites such as the Ikwerre, Okrika, Ahoada, Ogoni, Bonny, and Opobo. The cheapest form of marriage which is recognized in Kalabari is called "Ari Ibara emi" (meaning she is with me). As the name implies, her parents should not look for her elsewhere, for she is with me. [10] Kalabari tribe has about three types of marriages, the Iya, Igwa, and Waribiobesime. The Iya marriage is said to be the highest and most expensive form of marriage in the Kalabari culture. [11] The Iya is the most expensive form of marriage in Kalabari land. The special thing about this type of marriage ceremony is that, at first, there are some catchy traditions that may seem weird for other cultures or tribes, but all of them are respected and they must be honored in the ceremony. For instance, the marriage cannot be complete until the ceremony of BIBIFE (buying the mouth) is being done. BIBIFE signifies that the potential wife can not eat any food until her “mouth is bought”. There must be a rite in order to “buy her mouth” and only after that, she is able to eat in her husband's house. This BIBIFE signifies the responsibility and role of the man towards his wife that shows his willingness to care and feed her for the rest of her life.[ citation needed ] [12]
Abonnema, Abalama, Abisse, Angulama, Aleleama, Atuka, Angalabio, Adumama, Amosama, Buguma, Bukuma, Bakana, Captain kiri, Cawthrone Channel, Dialafiari ama, Elem Tombia, Elem Kalabari, Elem Ido, Elem Ifoko, Elem Bekinama, Elem Abalama, Elem Sangama, Horsefall ama, Harrison ama, Ido, Idama, Ilelema, Ifoko, Ipokuma, Kula, krakrama, ke, Kien ama, Minama, Mbiakafiama, Ngeribarama, Oporoama, Obonoma, Oguruama, Okpo, Owoko, Obuama, Omekweama, Omekwetariama, Ogo ama, Opubenibo ama, Soku, Sama, Sangama, Tema, Tombia, Usokun, Ipokuma Degema consulate, Arugbana, Ekweoboko .
The Bight of Biafra, also known as the Bight of Bonny, is a bight off the west-central African coast, in the easternmost part of the Gulf of Guinea.
The Ijaw people, also spelled Ịjọ, are an ethnic group found in the Niger Delta in Nigeria, with significant population clusters in Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers. They are also in Edo, and small parts of Akwa Ibom occupying six Nigerian states. Many are found as migrant fishermen in camps and settlements in Benue, Ondo and Kogi states and as far west as Sierra Leone, Ghana and as far east as Gabon. As of 2023, Nigeria's Ijaw population is estimated at over 15 million, accounting for around 6.9% of the country's 223 million people, positioning them as the fourth largest ethnic group in Nigeria. The Ijaws are the most populous tribe inhabiting the Niger Delta region, and one of the world's most ancient peoples.
Mary Mitchell Slessor was a Scottish Presbyterian missionary to Nigeria. Once in Nigeria, Slessor learned Efik, one of the numerous local languages, then began teaching. Because of her understanding of the native language and her bold personality Slessor gained the trust and acceptance of the locals and was able to spread Christianity while promoting women's rights and protecting native children. She is most famous for her role in helping to stop the common practice of infanticide of twins in Okoyong, an area of Cross River State, Nigeria.
Calabar is the capital city of Cross River State, Nigeria. It was originally named Akwa Akpa, in the Efik language, as the Efik people dominate this area. The city is adjacent to the Calabar and Great Kwa rivers, and the creeks of the Cross River.
The Eastern Region was an administrative region in Nigeria, dating back originally from the division of the colony Southern Nigeria in 1954. Its first capital was Calabar. The capital was later moved to Enugu and the second capital was Umuahia. The region was officially divided in 1967 into three new states, the East-Central State, Rivers State and South-Eastern State. East-Central State had its capital at Enugu, which is now part of Enugu State.
The Aro Confederacy (1640–1902) was a political union orchestrated by the Aro people, an Igbo subgroup, centered in Arochukwu in present-day southeastern Nigeria. The Aro Confederacy kingdom was founded after the beginning of the Aro-Ibibio Wars. Their influence and presence was all over Eastern Nigeria, lower Middle Belt, and parts of present-day Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Arochukwu Kingdom was an economic, political, and an oracular center as it was home of the Ibini Ukpabi oracle, High Priests, the Aro King Eze Aro, and central council (Okpankpo). The Aro Confederacy was a powerful and influential political and economic alliance of various Igbo-speaking communities in southeastern Nigeria. It emerged during the 17th century and played a significant role in the region until the late 19th century.
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.
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Dẹgẹma is an Edoid language spoken in two separate communities on Degema Island in the Niger Delta, Nigeria, by about 120,000 people, according to 1991 census figures. The two communities are Usokun-Degema and Degema Town in the Degema Local Government Area in Rivers State. Each community speaks a mutually intelligible variety of Dẹgẹma, known by the names of the communities speaking them: the Usokun variety and the Degema Town variety. Both varieties are similar in their phonological, morphological, syntactic and semantic properties.
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The Kula tribe of the Ijaw people lives in Akuku Toru Local Government Area, southwestern Rivers State, Nigeria. The Kula people were not originally speaking Kalabari as their language but has lost their real language due to trade and close interactions with the Kalabaris. The small Kalabari-speaking tribe is sometimes classified as a Kalabari community rather than as its own tribe. The tribal seat is the town of Kula founded and established by King Sara 1.
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