akpan

Pgina 1 de 13

Akpan, Joseph J..

Ekpo society masks of the Ibibio. African Arts 27:(4,1994): 48-53;

94-95.

The society known as Ekpo Nyoho (or, in its shortened form, Ekpo) is the most important and widely distributed of three secret societies still active in various Ibibio towns in southeastern Nigeria. In the absence of a centralized political state, Ekpo regulated social, legal, political, and economic matters in its community during precolonial times (Atmore & Stacey 1979:77). As instruments of social control, its masks were carved to heighten a sense of fear and mystery (Jones 1984:183). Despite the existence of various data about Ekpo Nyoho, I am aware of no systematic study that places its masks in cultural context, perhaps because of the secret nature of most Ekpo activities and ceremonies. During my research in Nigeria in the summer of 1987, I collected a representative sample of twenty-three Ekpo masks, some of which are illustrated here, and interviewed five past and current heads of the Ekpo Nyoho society in five large Ibibio communities. (1) I was not so much interested in the descriptions of rituals, dances, and songs, as these are aspects with which, as a member of Ekpo Nyoho, I am already familiar. Rather I wished to examine the functions of the society and how certain Ekpo masks and their symbols were related to it. Those I interviewed were not in complete agreement about these relationships, but when asked to identify the general purpose of Ekpo, they were unanimous in replying, "Eka eda ekpeme idung: "It is used to protect the village from crimes and enemies." The following is a result of our dialogue about aspects of Ibibio culture as they relate to the practice of Ekpo. The Ibibio About 2 million Ibibio live in the state of Akwa Ibom in southeastern Nigeria. They are bordered on the west and north by the Igbo, on the east by the Efik, and on the northeast by the Ogoja. Most Ibibio are agriculturists who grow yams, cassava, plantain, and maize. Economic success and general well-being are dependent upon the good will of the ancestors, who may be appeased with occasional sacrifices and libations. Traditionally Ibibio society is more egalitarian than many of the societies which surround it. Individuals rise in the social structure primarily because of their own personal characteristics and achievements, though wealth is also a factor. The traditional chieftainship tends to rotate among several leading families. The Ibibio are subdivided into two groups, the Anang and the Ibibio proper. Each group is further subdivided into a number of dispersed towns composed of nucleated villages. The differences between the Anang and the Ibibio, such as that of dialect, are minor. Intermarriage is frequent, and there is a sense of shared ethnic identity. Before the advent of colonialism in the early 1900s, village government functioned on two overlapping structural levels; it still does so today, though to a lesser extent. The first level consists of the civil mechanism of traditional patriarchal authority. The head of the family rules his immediate household. Beyond him is the head of the extended family, who hears complaints and settles disputes between families united by ties of kinship and living side by side in the town. He is concerned with the everyday management of the community, with rules and customs governing conduct. These town

http://academic.csuohio.edu/curnowk/curnowk/html/akpan.html

31/03/2014

akpan

Pgina 2 de 13

and family chiefs frequently call upon elders to help decide important matters during town councils, where opinions are openly expressed. The secret societies, constituting the second level of government, are concerned with crises and emergencies affecting the town collectively. It was on this level, devised to deal with powerful socially disruptive or dysfunctional forces, that the mask found its special place. Ekpo Nyoho is the principal secret society in most Ibibio towns and villages. A second society, Ekpo Ekong, is active only in Ibiono, where it is of first importance.(2) The third society, Ekpe, has been described in detail by Nair (1972:14-20). Though found in all Ibibio towns it is of first importance only in Opobo and Oron and among the Efik of Calabar and the Ogoja of Cross River State. Ekpe is also practiced in many Igbo towns, and beyond. The Ekpo society serves as an enforcement arm of village government, though it plays a smaller role in this regard than it did in the past. It provides an outlet for youths and men to channel their energies into activities which are beneficial to the community. During the Ekpo season, which lasts from June to December, the society exerts an enormous influence on people's lives. For example, on the days when the masks come out, farming activity is suspended. Women and nonmembers cannot go to the market or perform activities outside their homes: food, water, and firewood must have been obtained in advance. When they are not patrolling the village border or assembling at the village shrine to sing and dance, society members also remain at home.(3) Quarrels and fights are prohibited. Visitors to the village are thoroughly checked by Ekpo to make sure their missions are harmless. Stealing carries particularly heavier penalties during the season; about fifty years ago, the penalty was death, carried out by Ekpo. Masks are used by each of the three secret societies but are most common in Ekpo Nyoho, where face masks with raffia hanging down to the waist are the most characteristic type.(4) If a rule is violated, the chief sends masked characters to enforce sanctions. The authority and legitimacy of these characters are due partly to their established history and partly to imagery and symbols carefully manipulated to arouse fear and and to create an impression of the masks' invincibility. Without the mystique surrounding hem, masks and costumes are merely objects. The physical characteristics of a masquerade depicted in the carving breathe artistic life into the mystique. For the purposes of this paper, we shall focus our attention upon the Ekpo Nyoho society and its masks. Ekpo Nyoho Ancestors (ekpo) can protect their relatives and children on earth. Masked spirits act as intermediaries who relay messages from the living to the ancestors, and also carry instructions and warnings from the ancestors to the living. Only the spirits of heroic men are portrayed as messengers of the Ekpo society. It is not the wandering, restless ghosts who are worshiped, but the good ancestors who have reached the spirit land. These unseen ancestors are part of the family and are interested in its welfare. They are invited by name to the family meal through libation and prayer. Sacrifices to them demonstrates filial piety and love. Despite the characterization of Ekpo as a "secret society," its activities and functions are not shrouded in mystery. Nonmembers, including women, are fully aware of its role and functions, because every villager is subject to its adjudications and code of conduct during the Ekpo season. However, only members participate in the rituals and practices

http://academic.csuohio.edu/curnowk/curnowk/html/akpan.html

31/03/2014

akpan

Pgina 3 de 13

which prepare them for their role. The main secrets are the series of code words and dance steps that a member learns when he goes through initiation. These give him the right to travel within and outside his village during the season. When a traveler encounters a masked Ekpo, he is challenged to utter these words and to perform the dance steps. Failure to do so results in arrest. Through Ekpo Nyoho, the ancestors supervise the activities of their descendants, advise them about conduct, and protect them from their enemies. These duties are performed through five masked supernatural figures who are representatives of the ancestors. Akpan Ekpo is the head of the society--the wise old leader (akpan), a warrior, and the principal mediator between the living and the dead. He is supported by Adiaha Unak and Nkubia, who carry out his directions. In the past, members of Ekpo Nyoho who were initiated into the adult grades of Adiaha Unak and Nkubia had to be great warriors who could pierce a rolling orange with an arrow from a considerable distance. According to oral history, death was the penalty for failure in this important trial. The three senior figures are served by Udo Ekpo and Ukpaka Ekpo, who are younger and not so fierce or uncontrolled. These five characters are divided into four grades, with Adiaha Unak and Nkubia both being in the second grade, below Akpan Ekpo but above Udo Ekpo (third grade) and Ukpaka Ekpo (fourth grade). A person need not pass through the lower grades to achieve the full adult roles of Adiaha Unak or Nkubia. He may buy his way into the senior level, but the cost of initiation is very high. Consequently, despite the importance of the society many men remain uninitiated even into the lower grades through early adulthood. In principle, to become accepted as adult members of the community they should be fully initiated before marriage. Members of the senior grades are expected to be tough, not only against internal lawbreakers but particularly against external enemies.(5) As recently as seventy or eighty years ago, disputes over farmland would often lead to intervillage wars and the destruction of crops through raids, especially on contested land. Though less frequent, such disputes still take place. Hostile encounters are most likely to occur at village boundaries, where one Ekpo masquerader might challenge another to cross a line that he has drawn in the earth. If the second Ekpo refuses to cross, he is taunted as a coward. During a fight between two masked Ekpo, society members on both sides must lay down all their weapons (guns, machetes, bows and arrows). The dispute is settled through wrestling, the most popular traditional Ibibio sport. Whichever masquerader wrestles his opponent to the ground and removes the other's mask is the victor The loser surrenders his mask--or he may have to pay a price to be allowed to keep it and return home. The village whose Ekpo masquerader has been defeated endures great shame. Those in the victorious village rejoice because they have "taken a head"--for it is the "head," the face mask itself (iwot ekpo), that has the power. Captured masks are often displayed on village shrines as emblems of the victors' strength and bravery; they are not, however, visible to women (though women might be told that a head has been taken). "Head taking" has occurred frequently within the past ten years. The Masks of Ekpo Nyoho When a man dons an Ekpo mask, he loses his human identity and assumes the identity of an ancestral spirit. He may use a mask that belonged to the deceased ancestor or have one made that depicts the ancestor's physical and heroic qualities. Masks can also

http://academic.csuohio.edu/curnowk/curnowk/html/akpan.html

31/03/2014

akpan

Pgina 4 de 13

portray popular village heroes of the past, now idolized for their bravery or other achievements. In addition, members of the society have masks made whose physical features resemble their own. The mask, its edges strung with raffia that hangs to the waist, is usually worn with a knee-length raffia skirt. The only parts of the body not covered are the lower legs, which are painted with charcoal powder, and the hands and forearms. A man must be able to wear a mask with ease while performing his assigned role. It is difficult to imagine people fighting while wearing them, but the masks have several features that make this possible. Many of them are carved from a tree known as ukot, whose light wood makes them comfortable to wear. In addition, the mask is securely fastened with a rope at the back of the head. Further support is offered by a short stick, usually fitted horizontally across the inside of the mask, which the wearer clenches with his teeth. There is only one Akpan Ekpo in a village. As the head of the Ekpo Nyoho society, he may be called upon by the chief to help if people in the village fight among themselves or if they refuse to pay certain dues or taxes. He can ask society members to patrol certain farm roads to prevent people from stealing, and he may call out the fearsome Nkubia if there is conflict with another village. Akpan Ekpo is accountable to the chief for the behavior of society members, a serious responsibility since Ekpo masks have been used to hide the identity of those committing crimes. Each elder who performs the role bases the depiction of this masked spirit on one of his ancestors. The masks are usually carved to resemble specific individuals between the ages of 50 and 60 who had a reputation for upholding order and justice--wise and principled, but also tough and uncompromising, men with the courage to fight social deviance within the limits of traditional rules. In addition to physical prowess and courage, Akpan Ekpo is known to have a special power to confront evil. A man performing Akpan Ekpo must have these same qualities. He is usually chosen solely on the basis of ability from among a group of elders who have attained the title of idiong. These elders are distinguished by headbands, also represented on most Akpan Ekpo masks, or by circular signs on their temples. The idiong title indicates that a man has achieved the spiritual power that enables him to control evil spirits and to mediate between the worlds of the ancestors and the living.(6) Unlike traditional chieftaincy titles, which rotate among leading families, Akpan Ekpo is appointed by the chief for life, or until he is no longer able to fulfill the role. Akpan Ekpo masks are notable for their variation. The only common feature of those I collected is the headband, symbolic of idiong, which is decorated in three of the four examples. The individualized features of Akpan Ekpo usually express a royal, serene temperament (Figs. 1, 3). (Figs. 1 and 3 omitted) Occasionally, however, he is portrayed as tough, cynical, or mean, to remind people how he regards wrongdoers. The character of one Akpan Ekpo mask I collected was seen by my informants as an evil old man whose unquestioned authority derives partly from his reputation for unpredictability, A second mask was characterized as an "uncompromising and stubborn old man, but fair." Another was "tough, royal, and fair." The last (Fig. 2) was said to be "tough, mean, and brutal." (Fig. 2 omitted) Adiaha Unak ("Fearsome First Daughter") (Figs. 4-6) enforces order within the village under the command of Akpan Ekpo. (Figs. 4-6 omitted) Usually many Adiaha Unak appear at the same time. Less individualized than Akpan Ekpo, this character's macabre image is typically conveyed through physical deformity. Carrying weapons such as

http://academic.csuohio.edu/curnowk/curnowk/html/akpan.html

31/03/2014

akpan

Pgina 5 de 13

bows and arrows, swords, machetes, and guns, they represent the spirits of strong and heroic men who were killed at a young age, perhaps in war. Adiaha Unak carry many protective talismans on their masks and around their necks, arms, and legs. To wear this mask is the goal of most young men who belong to Ekpo; usually 20-45 years of age, they are the bravest and most able bodied members of the society. The mask in Figure 6 holds a manilla in its mouth, a symbol of bravery. Introduced in the sixteenth century, manillas were one of the early forms of money among the Ibibio (Eyo 1979:61). Most important, they refer to one of the early functions of Ekpo as an agent of the chief: the collection of taxes. Nkubia is similar to Adiaha Unak but functions primarily in conflicts between villages. He is regarded as being almost mad--completely uncontrollable and therefore particularly dangerous. His madness is believed to be partially derived from the tree from which the mask is carved. The nkubia tree is the dwelling place of the spirits of youths who died accidentally. According to divination, these spirits, unsettled because of the manner of death, rose from the grave to reside in the tree. Akpan Ekpo calls upon Nkubia only in times of great crisis, when the village is seriously threatened. He is an added weapon, a show of strength. Society members, especially those from another village, would confront Adiaha Unak but not Nkubia. Even other masked Ekpo fear him. In the past he was always accompanied by Akpan Ekpo or Adiaha Unak, often tethered with a long rope. Akpan Ekpo controls Nkubia through intricate incantations and powerful charms. This masked character is infrequently seen today; some years he does not appear at all. Perhaps it is because there are fewer intervillage conflicts in which he plays his principal role, but it is also true that he is unpopular: people fear that they will take on the madness associated with him. Nkubia masks are intended to be even more frightening than those of Adiaha Unak. In addition to exposed teeth (Fig. 7), they may also have the great fangs of a ferocious beast of the forest. (Fig. 7 omitted) The pain of sticks driven into his face especially induces Nkubia into madness (Fig. 8). (Fig. 8 omitted) In contrast to Adiaha Unak and Nkubia, Udo Ekpo, which serves the senior grades (do means "second"), is friendly and benign. He usually goes out alone and is meant not to harass people but rather to reinforce Adiaha Unak's demands for law and order. This role is usually played by an older boy who will become an Adiaha Unak. There are liable to be a fair number of this junior mask in a village at any one time. The faces of Udo Ekpo are more naturalistic and even child-like than those of the preceding characters (Fig. 9). (Fig. 9 omitted) Their smooth faces and open eyes create an impression of innocence. Hairstyles are emphasized. The small heads sometimes carved atop the masks of Nkubia and Udo Ekpo are not markers of grade or rank, but rather are protective images that symbolize the inseparable connection between the living and the dead. Ukpaka Ekpo (called Ekong by the Anang) is the entry role in the Ekpo society. The word ukpaka means "useless person," one who is not very tough or quick-witted. Ukpaka Ekpo are servants who go out to beg money and food from everybody. The player tend to be a little younger than those who play Udo Ekp--usually boys 11-13 years of age. Nonmembers, the uninitiated, and even women may come into close contact with Ukpaka Ekpo. Like Udo Ekpo's, the face of Ukpaka Ekpo is naturalistic

http://academic.csuohio.edu/curnowk/curnowk/html/akpan.html

31/03/2014

akpan

Pgina 6 de 13

and childlike, with wide-open eyes, but it is perhaps even less sophisticated in appearance and character (Fig. 10). (Fig. 10 omitted) Ekpo society masks become more particularized as the mask wearer matures. The characters of Udo Ekpo and Ukpaka Ekpo masks are virtually unformed. Adiaha Unak and Nkubia masks exhibit greater individuality Akpan Ekpo masks are the most individualized, clearly portraying the personality of the wearer. Carving the Mask The spirit of an ancestor may be represented by many masks. Different masks may portray the same spirit as angry, serene, or vigorous. The appearance also varies according to the role to be played. Although these masks are highly individualized, they must convey the general theme or symbolism of the owner's grade. For example, the personality of Adiaha Unak and Nkubia must be angry, fierce, or fearsome. How this look is expressed is up to each artist. The work of a good Ibibio carver results from the interplay of the client's view of his own features and strengths and the artist's perception of his client's personal characteristics. The artist, who himself must maintain the image of the institution, is not an impartial judge. The creative freedom of Ibibio carvers is particularly evident in the masks of Akpan Ekpo, each of which has a distinctive character. Since the men who play Akpan Ekpo can generally afford to pay higher prices, we may presume that these masks are among the best that Ibibio artists could produce. Those who perform Akpan Ekpo are respected men in the community, and artists consequently take requests for their masks more seriously than they do the requests for masks of lesser rank. They try to make the portrayal reflect the qualities and reputation of the owners as much as possible. Not every village has a carver, but a single village may boast several. Today most Ibibio carvers of Ekpo masks live in Ikot Ekpene, an Anang town. Though a mask is sometimes included in the initiation fee, a society member must usually commission one. He pays half the price when the order is placed and the remaining half when the mask is ready to be picked up. The carver may attach raffia to the mask or paint it with charcoal or river sediment (black), ochres or camwood (red), or kaolin (white). Alternatively the customer may have this done by another artist. Most members learn to perform the mask with a raffia attachment. The mask is strung with raffia at the beginning of each Ekpo season; during the off season it is hung, minus its fiber, on a family shrine or a village shrine in the sacred bush, near the place where Ekpo sessions are held. No women or boys are supposed to go near them.(7) To appease the spirits of the masks, the native doctor pours a libation of human or animal blood, chicken feathers, and yellow ochre over the masks before they are used again. With the exception of the Nkubia character, the kind of wood used for carving a mask is not fixed. The ukot (palm wine) tree, whose wood is very light in weight, is the most widely used, especially for large masks. Cork wood (Musanga smithii) is also often chosen. A mask that will have carved permanent detail requires a denser variety such as iroko (Chlorophora excelsa), ebony (Diopyros), or mahogany (Swietenia). The woodcarver offers a sacrifice to the tree before felling it. Afterwards a chunk of wood is carried to an isolated hut where it is carved; the hut is in the bush near the village shrine and off limits to nonmembers and women. The artist's conception of the mask is guided by either an old mask to be duplicated or the client's verbal description.

http://academic.csuohio.edu/curnowk/curnowk/html/akpan.html

31/03/2014

akpan

Pgina 7 de 13

Most carvers work without using any drawings. In the first stage of carving, machetes and chisels are used to rough out the features of the mask. In the second stage, the mask is dried slowly to prepare its surface for smoothing with the ukouk leaf. Then, using a knife and scraper, the artist carves the face, feature by feature from top to bottom, and sands the piece. The next step is painting-and attaching headgear and raffia. The mask is not complete when it leaves the hands of the carver: it must be consecrated through rituals performed under the supervision of Akpan Ekpo, which include libations to propitiate the ancestors and a sacrifice to the mask's newly adopted spirit. Morality and the Masks John Messenger examines the distinction between good/beautiful (mfon) and ugly/evil (idiok) Ekpo masks (1973:121-23). According to Messenger, a deceased person who had led a good, moral life is represented by a beautiful mask when he visits his family; and one who had led an evil life is impersonated by an ugly mask. Messenger's explanation of the distinction between good and evil is accurate. I have found, however, that the representation of these concepts in mask use is oriented more toward the idea of justice, which is the basis of Ibibio morality, than toward the ancestor's moral qualities. The relationship between Ekpo and the community does not depend significantly on how a mask looks but rather on whether the laws of the community have been obeyed or violated. When a masked Ekpo shoots a woman or a nonmember with his bow, it is not because the Ekpo is ugly or wild, but because these people have left their houses on an Ekpo day, which is viewed as an act of defiance and disrespect for authority. In assuming the spirit of the ancestors, the wearer of an Ekpo mask executes the collective wishes of the community's forefathers. If an individual violates community morality, his action causes concern to all forefathers in general and to his own ancestors in particular. Thus each Ekpo carries messages of good will for good behavior, and ill will for wrongdoing. Its forbidding appearance warns of the unmistakable consequences of violation. In other words, the threat of evil is used to ensure good. Akpan Ekpo and the village chief use both beautiful and ugly masks as messengers. The masks' actions are specifically directed toward the maintenance of law and order. The difficult task for Akpan Ekpo is to regulate the excesses of Ekpo characters in the performance of these duties. If, for example, an Ekpo enters a person's premises to harass or injure someone, he is held accountable; Akpan Ekpo may fine him or suspend him from wearing his masks. From the inside, the society is a very disciplined organization. The Mask Carver Ultimately the artists who carve the masks are responsible for creating the psychological relationship between masked Ekpo and village members. By calling upon certain widely recognized metaphors, the artists evoke the sentiments desired by the members of the secret society. They create images of fear as a means to control and manipulate the people. The intimidating behavior of mask wearers reinforces the artistic effort. On seeing characters like Adiaha Unak or Nkubia, even from a distance, nonmembers of the society run for safety. Their appearance is a warning to every person in the village to behave in an orderly way or face swift reprisal. The artist knows his people. He knows that they obey village rules only if they fear the consequences of disobedience. The masks must be frightening in order to invoke the threat of force and authority necessary for the masked characters to maintain order. Artistic talent in such circumstances is measured by the carver's success in accomplishing this artistic cum socially defined objective. The successful Ibibio carver

http://academic.csuohio.edu/curnowk/curnowk/html/akpan.html

31/03/2014

akpan

Pgina 8 de 13

also demonstrates that art is a universal language, or at least that metaphors of the Ibibio are shared by non-Ibibio. When the latter regard Nkubia and Adiaha Unak masks as frightening or horrible, then the artist has made his point. His goal is for every viewer to react in precisely this manner. Ekpo images of power and invincibility, and its symbols of retribution and punishment, are expressed and maintained through the works of the carvers. Upon their shoulders falls the social responsibility of creating effective instruments for the maintenance of law and order. Their talent cannot be fully appreciated without understanding the history and cultural values of their community. In Ibibio, as in other parts of Africa, the people relate to many aspects of life through art. [This manuscript was accepted for publication in April 1990.] Fig 1

Fig 2

http://academic.csuohio.edu/curnowk/curnowk/html/akpan.html

31/03/2014

akpan

Pgina 9 de 13

Fig 3

Fig4

http://academic.csuohio.edu/curnowk/curnowk/html/akpan.html

31/03/2014

akpan

Pgina 10 de 13

Fig 5

Fig 6

http://academic.csuohio.edu/curnowk/curnowk/html/akpan.html

31/03/2014

akpan

Pgina 11 de 13

Fig 7

Fig 8

Fig 9

http://academic.csuohio.edu/curnowk/curnowk/html/akpan.html

31/03/2014

akpan

Pgina 12 de 13

Fig 10

I am indebted to many Ekpo society members who shared their knowledge of the society with me, particularly Sunday Udo Okpo, the head of the Ekpo secret society at Ikot Ifot, Efiong B. Umoren, Udo Udo Etuk, and Akpan Akpan Ukpong, all of Ono, Akwa Ibom State. I appreciate the special Ekpo session they held for me so that I could interview various members, record their songs, and refresh my dance steps. My ritual incantations go the "ancestral spirits" who allowed me to photograph them. I hope that I have begun to meet their needs and desires. I am also indebted to Dr. Thomas P. Myers, professor of anthropology and curator at the museum of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Not only did he type and edit a substantial part of the manuscript, but he also carefully examined my facts and raised vital questions for me to consider. Dr. Robert Hitchcock of the Anthropology Department at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln deserves special mention for taking the time to read the manuscript and offer corrections and suggestions. Elizabeth Otradovsky did a fine job of taking photographs of the masks. Finally, my special gratitude goes to my wife, Patricia Ortmann Akpan, for the encouragement and assistance in this project. I am however, responsible for all the views and opinions expressed in this paper. 1. Sunday Udo Okpo of Ikot Ifot, 91 years old, offered me great assistance in assembling knowledgeable members of the society for interview. Chief Okpo, who himself has seen a few generations of the Ekpo society, gave me the historical account of its evolution up to the present. I met with the interviewees five times during my stay at home (Ibibio) for about four hours each day. The sixth and final meeting occurred at the village shrine during an Ekpo session. This research is a significant part of that dialogue.

http://academic.csuohio.edu/curnowk/curnowk/html/akpan.html

31/03/2014

akpan

Pgina 13 de 13

2. This society will be the subject of a separate study, since it is barely understood outside Ibibio. 3. Although these actions impinge upon individual freedoms, Ibibio communities tend to place collective rights above private ones in matters of order and security. Private rights prevail in the spheres such as the economy and private ownership. 4. Ekpo Ekong and Ekpe use body masks or raffai costume covering the body from head to knee. 5. A weak man who has attained senior status might not be allowed to participate in hostile situations. 6. However, contrary to the view of some scholars (e.g., Leuzinger 1972:204; Loran et al. 1974:53), idiong is not necessarily a grade in Ekpo society; many elders attain the idiong title whether or not they participate actively in the society. The title, however, adds power and prestige to Akpan Ekpo. 7. In contrast, the Anang store their masks in the shrines of native doctors, but women do not enter the shrines. References cited Atmore, Anthony and Gillian Stacey. 1979. Black Kingdoms Black Peoples: The West African Heritage. London: Orbis Publishing. Eyo, Ekpo. 1979. Nigeria and the Evolution of Money. Lagos: Central Bank of Nigeria. Jones, G.I. 1984. The Art of Black Africa. Greenwich, CT: New York Graphic Society. Loran, Erle, Thomas K. Seligman, et al. 1974. African and Ancient Mexican Art. San Francisco: The Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco. Messenger, John C. 1973. "The Role of the Carver in Anang Society," in The Traditional Artist in African Societies, edited by Warren L. D'Azevedo. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Nair, Kannan K. 1972. Politics and Society in South Eastern Nigeria, 1841-1906: A Study of Power, Diplomacy and Commerce in Old Calabar. London: Frank Cass. Ottenberg, Simon. 1988. "Psychological Aspects of Igbo Art," African Arts 21, 2. Los Angeles: University of California.

p.48

http://academic.csuohio.edu/curnowk/curnowk/html/akpan.html

31/03/2014