TRIBE OF THE DAY : Efik
The Efik are an ethnic group located in southeastern Nigeria.
‘Efik’ is also the name of their language. The actual origin of the Efik people is unknown and a subject of debate. There are claims that the Efik people migrated from the hinterlands and settled in the Ibibio, Ibo and Cameroon territories. The European missionaries and traders that arrived in the Calabar territory in the early 1400s concluded that the burial practice of the indigenous people was quite similar to that of the ancient Jews of Semitic origin. A ritualistic sacrifice of animals for the purpose of purification, especially during times of sickness, was performed by the predominant male(s) of each village or group of villages.
There is also a claim that suggests that the Efik are of Bantu origin. Due to civil conflicts and war, the Efik people migrated down the Cross River to seek new homes for themselves in the 1600s. They first attempted to relocate to a place which has since been called Old Efik. It rests on the upper end of one of the adjacent islands in the Cross River. Various differences and wars created more separation and migration up the river to Mbiabo. Some of the Efik people chose to settle in what are now known as Creek Town, Duke town and Henshaw Town.
The afore-mentioned locales are what comprise present day Calabar. The Efik also created settlements such as: Efut Abua, Efut Ekondo, Qua settlements of Akim qua and big Qua towns. Some of the Efik ascended the other branch of the river and formed Adiabo. This area is within the boundaries of the current Cross River State, Nigeria. The Efik settlement over time expanded into the territories of the modern day Ibibio of Akaw Ibom state, Ibo and Qua. The Efik also migrated across the river onto a land that is now called Cameroon. Firstly, all but one mention Ibom in Arochukwu and Uruan in Eastern Ibibio as major centres of dispersion of the Efik. The people seem to have run into trouble first in Arochukwu: The Aros wanted the Efik immigrants to worship their Longjuju called Ibritam Chuku but the Efik refused and said they were worshippers of Abasi Ibom (i.e. Ibom god). The Aros asked them to get away from their town if they were not prepared to worship Ibritam and so a religious dispute arose (Hart, 1964, p. 59) Secondly, the last major ethnic group among whom the Efik lived in fairly recenttimes were the Ibibio (possibly at Uruan) from whom they may have acquired the name Efik meaning "oppressors" or "Those that oppress others" (Noah, 1980a, p. 6, 10). Thirdly the majority of the Efik once lived in Creek Town (Okurotunko) by the creeks of the great bend of the Calabar river estuary, from where they finally settled in the city states of Old Calabar namely, Old Town (Obutung), Duke Town (Atakpa) and Henshaw Town (Nsidung). It would seem that what has gained currency in the traditions of origin of the Efikis part of their recent history in which a section of Greater Ibibio clans crossed what mayhave been a great barrier, the Cross River, to the left bank where they came into contactwith the Qua, Efut, Ekoi and other ethnic groups which were culturally different from theirown. Up till this day the Efik still pay homage to the Qua people (Noah, 1980a). According to the 2006 Nigerian census, the Efik make up 2% of the nation’s population. The language is predominantly spoken in the Calabar municipality, Calabar south, Odukpani, Akpabuyo and Bakassi local government areas. It is the second predominant language to the surrounding neighboring areas. Statistics shows that 360,000 people in the afore-mentioned municipalities (as well as in parts of Cameroon) speak Efik as a first language and that 3.5 million people speak Efik as a second language. It is believed however that, in recent years, the use of the Efik language is decline in western Cameroon.
Efik Language
Nsibidi
The literal importance of the Efik language dates back to a time period between 4000 and 5000 BC. The language is as old as the Ikom Monoliths which date back to AD 170. The language is perhaps the earliest known signifier of an attempt at keeping written records after the Efik started a form of secret writing known as "NSIBIDI."
Ancient Nigerian numbers (nsibidi).
Nsidibi is used by the Ekpe secret leopard society. Nsibidi was used as a means of transmitting Ekpe symbolism. In 1812 King Eyo Nsa Honesty II of Creek Town, Calabar, created the Efik language orthography. Rev. Hugh Goldie became proficient in the Efik language and in 1862 Goldie translated the Old Testament and the book of Psalms into the Efik language making it the first Nigerian language used in translating the Holy Bible. Goldie's other publications included an Efik dictionary and grammar books.
this tribe has so much history around it so ill have to do another post about it later but the source is from 101lasttribes.com but i recommend to do your own research on the efik people
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LETS CELEBRATE THE EFIK PEOPLE
