Etara Mgbè Burial: age-old legacies attacked by churches
Text and photographs (2015) by Dr. Ivor Miller and Dr. Abu Edet, Department of History and International Studies, University of Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria. Etara is an Éjághám-speaking...
View ArticleIf We Lose Our Monolith Heritage, We Lose Our Identity
The Guardian, a national newspaper in Nigeria, published an article about Dr. Miller's research on Monolith Heritage in Africa (June 28, 2015). (Pdf version)
View ArticleCross River Monoliths: Nigeria's Stonehenge
Research reports from our surveys of the monolith sites in the Upper Cross River, January-March 2015. By Dr. Ivor Miller and Dr. Abu Edet, Department of History and International Studies, University of...
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Professor Eskor Toyo (1929-2015)
Professor Eskor Toyo in Agoi-Ibami community with member of the Ǹsìbìdì grade of the Ékpè ‘leopard’ society, after Toyo’s initiation into Nsìbìdì, 2011. Second to left in white shirt is Honorable...
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The Globalization of Calabar drums
Drums with antelope skin used during a meeting of the Ékpè society, Bechei-Umon community, Middle-Cross River region. Ivor Miller photograph, March 2010. The traditional drums of the Cross River region...
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The Transition of a Calabar Traditional Leader
Poster announcing the calendar of events required to mark the demise of a Calabar Traditional Leader.According to indigenous tradition in the Cross River region of Nigeria and Cameroon, when a...
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Trans-Atlantic Folklore from Nigeria and Cuba: Defense of Community and...
Ukwa play during the traditional rites for Etubom Ekeng Abia Ewa, Calabar South, Cross River State. I. Miller photograph, 2016In the port city of Calabar in southeastern Nigeria, the Ukwa play as...
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The Masked Theater of Cuban Abakuá: Communication by Gestures, Costumes and...
Cubans and Cameroonians share Ékpè-Abakuá heritage at Smith College. Patricia González photo Link to video of the Ekpe-Abakua-Piano performanceThis was a very productive first year for our NEH funded...
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Celebration of Cuban bàtá percussion: the 80th anniversary of an historic...
(image courtesy of María Fernanda Ortiz)“Object of veneration and worship by some, defiled and prohibited by others; considered as messenger of the gods and embodiment of the ancestors in the black...
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Èbòngó society initiation - South West Cameroon
Senator Agnes Mambe moves in procession with the Èbòngó leaders after her initiation in Ekondo Titi, 2009.Èbòngó is a traditional society for royal women of the Bàlóndó-speaking area. Senator Agnes...
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‘Voice of the turtle’, Èyòngó nèwèn
Turtle 'nèwèn' on the center post of the Ékpè (Mgbè) hall,Mgbè Àfànghá, of Ègbékàw village, Mamfe, CameroonIn the Kenyang language of the Bayangi people, Nèwèn ‘turtle’ is an instrument of the Mgbè...
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Ẹ́bị́rị́bá, an Ìgbò-speaking community with links to Cuban Abakuá
Cuban Abakuá mask, 1870s (left); Ẹ́bị́rị́bá funerary mask, 2015 (right) Ùmọ́ọ̀n Ékpè mask, Cross River State, Nigeria. I. Miller photo, 2010Ékpè masks in Ẹ́bị́rị́bá community. I. Miller photos, 2016...
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Tata Ikpi (1959-2018): "Each person sees his own Ékpè"
Chief 'Tata' Ikpi with Miller, holding a copy of Voice of the Leopard, Ugep, 2015.Chief Eteng ‘Tata’ Ikpi, the Iyamba Ékpè of Lebolkom village in Bikobiko Ward of Ugep, generously introduced me to the...
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Cross River Monoliths: Living Heritage Stones
Monolith custodian evokes ancestors through the capped stone, Òwòm community. I. Miller photo, 2016Research on the carved “Akwanshi” monoliths of Cross River State, Nigeria, has led to the question:...
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Literature in the Èfị̀k language
Cover: E.N. Amaku, Inyang Abasi Ndem (Lagos: Thomas Nelson [Nigeria] Ltd, 1973).There exists a small but significant body of published literature written in the Èfị̀k language that seems to document...
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Manyu Ékpè Funeral Rites in Yaoundé, 2019
Manyu Ékpè procession in Yaoundé, March 29, 2019A delegation of Ékpè ‘leopard’ society initiates, as well as family members, traveled from Mamfe, Manyu Division of southwest Cameroon, to Yaoundé, the...
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Reconstructing early photographs from the Cross River region
Inter-generational 'second' burial rite, Ékpè hall, Akin Kúọ̀ ["Qua"], Calabar, 1905 The small boys on either side of this photograph are great-grandsons of the late Ntoe ‘village head’, who was...
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Darlington Offiong “Duke” (1949 - 2019) “Highlife is Alive!”
Darlington Duke and his daughter Glory. “àsuá nkpó owo” (‘Envious People’) Darlington “Duke”, a highlife musician from Bayside (Àtákpà), Calabar, Nigeria, generously guided me through the history of...
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Ǹkàndà-Dibo in Úrúán Ìnyàng Àtáàkpọ̀, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria
Ídèm Ǹkàndà. I. Miller photographThe people of Úrúán Ìnyàng Àtáàkpọ̀ are unique in Nigeria for their display of Ékpè Ǹkàndà, a royal branch of Ékpè traditional society that Úrúán ancestors carried...
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Calabar community Ùkwà dance, Cross River State, Nigeria
Ùkwà dance group from different communities in Akpabuyo L.G.A. with Efut, Èfị̀k and Kúọ̀ ["Qua"] members. I. Miller photographThis troupe was invited to Ikpai Kúọ̀ ["Qua"] Town to honor a deceased...
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