States in Ancient Calabar Kingdom

States in Ancient Calabar Kingdom

=Ancient Calabar Kingdom=

Calabar Kingdom sometimes referred to as the Efik Kingdom is an ancient Kingdom that existed thousand of years before Christ in the Coastal Southeasterrn Nigeria. The City of Calabar was the seat of power of the Calabar Kingdom. According to the Obong of Calabar, Edidem (Dr./Prof. Nta Elijah Henshaw, Calabar Kingdom cofered the entire present Akwa Ibom State and Cross River State, Western Cameroon, the offshore island of Fernando Po (now Equatorial Guinea), and extended into parts of present Abia States and Imo State (George Onah). The indigenes of the old Calabar Kingdom were referred to as the Calabar people or the Efik people (even in present day Nigeria, some Nigerians still refer all the indigenes of Akwa Ibom and Cross River States as Calabar people or the Efik people.

tates (Territories) and Kings in Ancient Calabar Kingdom

The old Calabar Kingdom comprised of loosely governed territories that included: Annang, Akamkpa, Efik, Eket, Ibibio, Ikom, Opobo (now Ikot Abasi), Oron, Western Cameroon, and the offshore island of Fernando Po (now Equatorial Guinea). Calabar served as the capital city for the Kingdom as well as for the Efik State (George Onah).

The Kingdom was ruled by the King of Calabar, but his power was not very strong outside Calabar city, the capital of the Kingdom and also the capital of Efik state. The King title was protected by the Ekpe Secret Society, as Ekpe made laws and executed them and the King became the upper grade of Ekpe (Nair, 1972, page 19).

The Ekpe was used as a means of bringing the interland people who lived in Cross River within the orbit of Calabar influence which was done by selling Ekpe honors to those who duelled outside Calabar (Nair 1972, page 19), but Calabar did not exercse extensive control over the territory - Kingdom (Nair, 1972, page 234).

The Ekpe Secret Society of the Calabar Kingdom had a major contribution to the ancient development of the Calabar Kingdom as it invented and developed one of the major ancient African writing, the Nsibidi script.

Also, see

*Akwa Ibom State
*Annang
*Calabar
*Calabar Kingdom
*Cross River State
*Efik
*Eket
*Ibibio
*Ikot Abasi
*Ikom
*Bakassi
*Ekpe
*Nsibidi
*Oron
*Manillas
*Ogoja

References

*George Onah, Factions on Obong title embrace peace, Vanguard, Monday, August 2, 2004
*Noah, Monday Efiong, Proceedings of the Ibibio Union 1928-1937. Modern Business Press Ltd.
*Nair, Kannank K. (1972). Politics and Societies in South Eastern Nigeria 1841-1906. Frank Cass, London.
*http://www.crossriverstate.gov.ng/home_history.htm


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