Calabar Kingdom

Origin of the People

Oral tradition has it that the Calabar Kingdom and the indigenes of the old Calabar Kingdom, located at the coastal Southeastern Nigeria existed thousands of years before the current era. Many believe that the old Calabar Kingdom is the original location of the Biblical Garden of Eden ((APF, Dec. 26, 2007), (Macau Daily Times, January 6, 2008)).

Others believe that the indigenes of the old Calabar Kingdom were Jews that resulted from mixed marriage of Israelites and Egyptians who migrated from Egypt through Ethiopia and Sudan and settled briefly in Ghana, Africa from where they moved to Cameroon, and from Cameroon to their location at the coastal Southeastern Nigeria where they formed their Kingdom thousands of years before Christ.

However, the people of Calabar have had ancient religious practices that strongly resembled some of the Jewish Torah which European missionaries and traders that arrived in the early 1400s called "Traditional Religion". These include their traditional sacrifice of animals (rituals) by the presiding male of each village, or of a group of villages, for purification, especially during times of sickness.

According to Nair (1975), in early history of Nigeria, the Efik people (people of old Calabar Kingdom were often referred to as Efik Eburutu, "Ebrutu" being a local term that came into being as a result of the corruption of the word "Hebrew", and Ututu. Ututu being one of the early settlements of the Efik people in the coastal southeastern Nigeria. Hence, the Jewish origin of the Efik people (Efik/Ibibio/Annang) was well known in early history (see Akwa Ibom and Cross River Jews).

Also, Hebrew words are in common use within the region of the old Calabar Kingdom. For example, Itai, the traditional head of Annang group is a Hebrew word and the name of one of King David's Army General. Another group in the Calabar Kingdom, has the name Oron which is a name of a prominent Hebrew Industrial city in Israel.

Territory of Calabar Kingdom

The old Calabar Kingdom covered the entire Akwa Ibom State, Cross River State, Western Cameroon, the offshore island of Fernando Po (now Equatorial Guinea), and extended into parts of Abia State and Imo State (Onah, 2004).

The Calabar Kingdom comprised of loosely governed states that included: Annang, Akamkpa, Efik, Eket, Ibibio, Ikom, Ogoja, 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.

Government in Calabar Kingdom

The government of the old Calabar Kingdom was controlled by the Ekpe secret society. At the center of power was the King of Calabar who governed the Kingdom along with Kings of individual states in the Kingdom but the power of King of Calabar was weak outside Calabar, the Capital City of the Kingdom which also was a name of one of the states in the Kingdom.

The Kings' title and the sovereignty of the Calabar Kingdom was protected by the Ekpe Secret Society. The Ekpe Society made sure that citizenship in the Calabar Kingdom was not allowed for any ethnic group outside of the Kingdom.

Written Script of Calabar Kingdom

The Ekpe secret society of Calabar Kingdom was also active in research and development as the society invented and developed one of the major ancient African writing, the Nsibidi script.

Trade and Currency of Calabar Kingdom

The old Calabar Kingdom was an active trading Kingdom. The location of the Kingdom by the Atlantic Ocean helped their development of the Calabar port and trading with foreigners.

By 1905, the Kingdom already developed and was using the Manillas as currency for trading in the West African sub-regiion. The currency, the Manillas was also universally known as Okpoho, a Calabar word for money.

Calabar Kingdom in Colonial Period

The location of Calabar in the coast with a port made the indigenes of the Calabar Kingdom to be the first group in the present southeastern part of Nigeria to have contact with European traders, missionaries and European education.

The arrival of Europeans in Calabar Kingdom brought about the gradual collapse of the Kingdom. In the late 17th century, the King of Calabar signed a protection treaty with the British government. This treaty made the Kingdom a part of the Southern Protectorate, and Calabar, the Port City and the capital city of the Calabar Kingdom became the first British Administrative Headquarter in Nigeria. In 1908, the British signed an agreement with the King of Calabar abrogating the title of King within the Kingdom replacing it with the title - Obong, for example, Obong of Calabar (Edem, 2008). As the Calabar Kingdom became a British colony, the British probably saw it necessary to keep the British monarch (the King and Queen titles) only the British monarch and not a title of local rulers of their colony.

The British later signed similar protective treaty with other groups or control them without a treaty. All the groups within southern such as the Old Calabar Kingdom, Ijaw, Igbo, Lagos, Benin, etc were later grouped together as Southern Nigeria and the Capital was moved from Calabar to Lagos, a coastal southwest Port City. Southern Nigeria was later amalgameted in 1914 with Northern Nigeia to form the present day Nigeria.

Calabar Kingdom and Nigerian Independence

With the exposure of the indigenes of Calabar Kingdom to Europeans, King Archibong III of Calabar Kingdom was crowned in 1878 with a regalia sent directly by Queen Victoria of United Kingdom. The Kingdom produced the first Nigerian Professor, Professor Eyo Ita of Calabar, who moved to Lagos to become the founding and the pioneer champion of youth movement for Nigerian independence. He was a leading member of the Nigerian team that negotiated Nigerian independence in Europe. He later became the first Premier of the former Eastern Region of Nigeria in the post-colonial era. Others included Louis Edet, the first Nigerian Inspector General of Police, Margaret Ekpo, the first women special member in Nigerian Eastern House of Chiefs and later Eastern House of Assembly; Hogan "Kid" Bassey, the frist Nigerian's World Boxing Champion. The Kingdom also produced Sir/Dr. Egbert Udo Udoma, the first Nigerian to earn a Ph.D. in Political Science and Law, who served in the Nigerian Supreme Court, served as Attorney-General of the Coutry of Uganda, and the Chair of Nigerian Constitution drafting body in the 1970s. The Kingdom also produced and Mr. J. A. Eka of Uyo, the father of Nigerian Cooperative movement (old name for Chamber of Commerce), (Noah, 1988).

Calabar Kingdom in Present Nigeria

After Nigerian independence in 1961, the old Calabar Kingdom (eastern Niger Delta), the Ijaws and other ethnic groups in the western Niger Delta, and the igbo people were grouped together to form the Eastern Region of Nigeria (one of the initial three regions of Nigeria, and later became one of the four regions of Nigeria). The capital of the Eastern Region was at Enugu, an Igbo city.

The people of the old Calabar Kingdom did not feel comfortable being a member of the Eastern Region. Therefore, they championed the creation of the Cross River/Ogoja/River (COR) State after Nigerian independence. During the Nigerian Civil War, on 27 May 1979, all the former ancient states in the old Calabar Kingdom excluding Fernando Po (now Equatorial Guinea), Western Cameroon, and Igbo speaking territories (parts of Abia and Imo States that used to belong to Calabar Kingdom) became one of the the twelve states of Nigeria, named "Southeastern State". It was renamed "Cross River State" when the original twelve states became nineteen in 1987. On 23 September 1987, the nineteen states became twenty-one, with Cross River State being divided into two states: "Cross River State" and "Akwa Ibom State".

Calabar Music

Calabar music include the music of the Annang, Efik, Ibibio, Oron, Eket and Ikom of Akwa Ibom State and Cross River State. Their music is unique to their custom and secret socities such as the Ekpe, Ekong, Ekpo, and Ekpriakata. Their custom and music have had significant impact on the custom and music of other ethnic groups in the Niger delta area of Nigeria and the southeastern part of the country. Drums, and various forms of obodom are their import musical instruments. In modern days, european musical instruments have gained wide-spread use in their music and cultural performances.

Therefore, in present Nigeria, the core old Calabar Kingdom is the present Akwa Ibom State and the present Cross River State of Nigeria.

Also, see

*Efik Kingdom
*Akpamkpa
*Annang
*Bakassi
*Efik
*Eket
*Ibibio
*Ikot Abasi
*Oron
*Ikom
*Ekpe
*Egbo
*Nsibidi
*Ogoja
*Manillas
*African Jews

References

*Nigeria's Answer to Stonehenge: the Ikom Monoliths. AFP., Dec. 26, 2007
*Nigeria's Answer to Stonehenge: the Ikom Monoliths. Macau Daily Times, Sunday, January 6, 2008
*Nair, Kannan K. (1975). Origins and Development of Efik Settlements in Southeastern Nigeria. Ohio University, Center for International Studies.
*Onah, George, Factions on Obong title embrace peace. Vanguard, Monday, August 2, 2004
*http://www.crossriverstates.gov.ng/home_news36.htm (Cross River, Akwa Ibom chart a New Course, June 10, 2008)
*Edem, Tatabonko Orok, The Obongship Dispute in Calabar: A Rejoinder, April 23, 2008.http://www.kwenu.com/nigeria/crossriver/calabar/dem_obongship_dispute.htm
*Noah, Monday Efion (1988), Proceedings of the Ibibio Union 1928-1937, Modern Business Press, Uyo.