Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Diaspora
Author(s): Ivor Miller
Reviewed work(s):
Source: African Studies Review, Vol. 48, No. 1 (Apr., 2005), pp. 23-58
Published by: African Studies Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20065044 .
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societies
Ugb?
in the
in Havana
ines
1830s
the process
torical
leaders
West
and
Cuban
Abaku?
This
methodology
Cuban
elders,
Abaku?
chants
aid of West
with
Ef?k
African
in documents
centuries
chants,
created
then
The
texts may
of data
from
many
same
in these
the
con
interpreting
chants
chants
with
the
those
with
to twentieth
eighteenth
ethnic
and
geographic
as his
be used
and
recording
these
exam
paper
to understand
able
these
interpreting
includes
This
villages.
were
first
and Africans
that
vocabulary
founded
Cameroon?was
River
correlation
by Europeans
a
indicates
of Cross
involves
and
speakers.
southwestern
members
?kp?
indicates
how
African
documents.
temporary
and
Nigeria
by captured
by which
society?derived
southeastern
names
of
lead to a r??valuation
may
examples
were
trans
to which
culture
African
and
transmitted
the
the extent
identity
during
to extol
Abaku?
intellectuals
have
used
commercial
Atlantic
recordings
diaspora.
indicates
that Cuban
Abaku?
is
and ritual
Evidence
their history
identity
lineages.
an
and
occasional
on
based
their
historical
figure.
of ritual
knowledge
lineages
a vague
not upon
notion
detailed
of
The
identity.
persistence
of a Cuban
national
identity.
La
from
stemming
specific
of an African
"national"
and
homelands,
R?sum?:
These
the Abaku?
communaut?
cubaine
contradicts
society
fond?e
?t?
de
Cross
? la Havane
River.
munaut?
?kp?
la communaut?
raient
sist?
?tre
en
Cet
de
Abaku?
l'Ouest
L. Miller
DePaul
gence
versity
teaches
University
of Hip-Hop
Press of
de
? enregistrer
ont
documents
temps
in
in
the
His
Chicago.
visual
arts, Aerosol
23
des
construction
Ef?k
communaut?s
par
des
leaders
lequel
des
captur?s
les membres
de comprendre
capables
et montre
comment
Cuba,
"ethnic"
par
?t?
La m?thodologie
historiques.
et
les chants
interpr?ter
48, Number
courses
Mississippi.
1830
le processus
moderne
comme
premier
les ann?es
examine
d'Afrique
utilis?s
un
dans
essai
or
the official
Abaku??descendante
in
locations
de
villages
la com
les chants
ces
textes
utilis?e
Abaku?
de
pour
a con
avec
cultural
of the African
history
diaspora
on
research
the emer
history-based
was
in
2002
Kingdom,
published
by the Uni
oral
les
at
24
African
anciens
de
membres
la communaut?
de
ments
Review
Studies
cubaine,
la communaut?
ces
et
?f?k
ceux
puis
d'Afrique
les m?mes
interpr?ter
de
La
l'Ouest.
avec
chants
corr?lation
entre
les
les ?l?
et les
documents
les
par
produits
Europ?ens
com
? un glossaire
le vingti?me
si?cle
aboutit
noms
et
et
de
des
occasionnellement,
prenant
beaucoup
ethniques,
g?ographiques
mener
une
Ces
?
de
r??valuation
historiques.
personnalit?s
exemples
pourraient
et de la culture
l'?tendue
de la transmission
de l'identit?
africaines
lors de la dias
de
chants
entre
Africains
des
le dix-huiti?me
et
Les
ont
intellectuels
la communaut?
de
Abaku?
trans-Atlantique.
jusqu'?
en
mettre
utilis?
des
commerciaux
valeur
leur his
pour
pr?sent
enregistrements
et les
de
Il est
toire
leurs
rituels.
de d?montrer
l'identit?
que
origines
possible
sur une
est bas?e
de
Abaku?
cubaine
connaissance
d?taill?e
des
rituels
l'origine
pora
de
provenant
vague
d'une
munaut?
nationale
locations
Abaku?
dans
sp?cifiques
identit?
"ethnique"
une
constitue
ou
leurs
"nationale"
r?sistance
pays
et non
d'origine,
africaine.
? la construction
sur
La persistance
officielle
la notion
la com
de
d'une
identit?
cubaine.
is
Scholarship
usually
its own
reward,
butin
rare
cases,
it can
pro
of samples of Abaku?
results. After my publication
other remarkable
a
from
recorded
album
(Miller 2000), Nigerian
commercially
phrases
States
members
of the Cross River ?kp?
living in the United
society
informed me that they had recognized
these texts as part of their own his
in the U.S. had learned about the Cuban Abaku?
and
tory. Ef?k people
were
contact
for
its
site
members.
The
with
Web
searching
actively
to Cuban tourist literature on the Abaku?
had references
>www.efik.com<
the first meeting
in Spanish; our communication
led to what was perhaps
duce
both
Cuban Abaku?
leaders
leaders who helped
found the society. Abaku?
as: "Our African brothers,
from
sacred
the
this
place /
interpret
phrase
came to Havana,
and in Regla founded Ef?k Ebut?n / we salute the Ekue
in the U.S., equates
drum." Orok Edem
(2001), an Ef?k scholar residing
name
of
with
"Ef?Kebut?n,"
Cuba's first Abaku? group,
the
"Obutong," an
terms as
?f?k town in the Cross River region. He interprets many Abaku?
an
term
Ef?k
in
for the Qua settlement
Calabar, orig
deriving from ?b?kp?,
area to the north.1
from the Ejagham-speaking
inally formed by migrants
I was invited to facilitate an exchange
After connecting
with Edem,
of Ef?k and Efut
between
a group
of Cuban
Abaku?
and West
African
?kp?
at the Ef?k
25
forward, Ukpong
gestured
symbolically with his eyes and hands. A Cuban
Abaku? dancer joined them, also using a vocabulary of gestures dense with
symbolism. This was perhaps the first time that ?kp? and Abaku? members
in a performance
and their ability to communicate
had met
context,
movement
with
contrasted
the
divisions between
them created by
through
and
their
colonial
Spanish
English,
respective
languages.
A week later, a group of Abaku? attended
the ?f?k National Association
A man in an "idem ?kp?" costume visually very similar to that of
meeting.3
to the accompaniment
the Cubans danced
of a large ensemble
of musi
an
cians and chanters. Goldie
translates
?f?k
term, as
Idem,
(1964:116-17)
runs about
"a representative
of Egbo
who
town."
Essien
the
[?kp?]
as
translated
Idem
in
Ib?b??.
(1986:9)
"masquerade"
to perform,
As
the Cubans
that their
prepared
they realized
a term derived from ?f?k
"Ireme"costume ?Ireme
of
being
pronunciation
as
as
"idem Ef?"?lacked
the ananyong?
well
waist
nkanik?
the
(ritual
sash)
bells placed over it (see Goldie
that an Ireme
1964:214). They explained
cannot function without
a
with
and
staff
in the hands.
herbs
these, together
are nearly identical to those of Abaku?,
As ?kp? masquerades
these items
could be lent by the ?f?k. This lending of ritual objects occurred
in a mat
ter-of-fact
two
fashion,
a further
indication
of
cultural
similarity
between
the
areas.
Similar use of nkanik? bells has been recorded on both sides of the
Atlantic. While
in the Cross River region in 1847, the Rev. H. M. Waddell
two
described
dancers wearing bells: "Two Egbo
(1863:354)
?kp? masked
runners in their harlequin
costume
entered
the town to clear the
[?kp?]
streets. Their bells, dangling at their waists, gave notice of their
approach."
In
the
streets
of Havana,
late-nineteenth-century
notes
description
"covered
in coarse
of
the Three
so
Day processions
and
that
their
and
like
sides[,] arms[,]
large
bulky
legs appeared
simple
?
behind
the dancers, who did not
appendages
They marched
slowly...
from shaking the many bells they car
cease, in their startling convulsions,
ried bound to their waists" (Meza 1891; cited in Ortiz 1960:12).
In contemporary
New York, the Cubans danced
in procession with the
?f?k elders; their set of four biankomo drums?ekomo
is drum in ?f?k (Goldie
and played in the same style as those of
1964:73)?were
clearly designed
the ?f?k.4 The Ireme greatly impressed
the ?f?k by greeting
their elders
with specific gestures and cleansing
them ritually with a branch of herbs.
a long enkame (chant) in Cuban ?f?k
The lead singer performed
composed
for this event, and the ?f?k responded with great enthusiasm.
In ?f?k, the
King's
the Abaku?
hoods...
26
African
Abaku?
Studies
enkame
Review
is ekama,
"to
meaning
call
to attention,
people
to
to
begin,
declare"
communication,
(Orok Edem, personal
and later encounters,
plans are in the making
West Africa and Cuba.5
Mutual
the ?kp? and Abaku?
between
recognition
provokes many
as well
in the Caribbean,
about West African cultural continuities
questions
as the implications
of this knowledge
for present-day West Africans. Both
to use their traditional practices
in order to
groups are currently struggling
to contemporary
respond
in the other's
themselves
of
oral
and
history
performance
as
sources
for
new
in
evidence
the African
diaspora.
as well as
derived
practice
from the ?f?k people's
?kp? societies
societies of southeastern
and
south
the Ejagham people's Ugb?
Nigeria
western Cameroon,
in Havana
in the 1830s by
the Abaku? was founded
In the ensuing
170 years, this
leaders of Cross River villages.
captured
a
to become
aid society has expanded
mutual
multiethnic
distinguishing
feature of Cuban cultural identity. Ceremonies
consist of drum, dance, and
the esoteric Abaku?
Cuban
scholars
activities using
language.
chanting
on
"is
based
that the Abaku?
have long thought
language
principally
A
or maxims
Efik terms predominate"
in which
(Deschamps
proverbs
1967:39).
For the past ten years I have worked with leaders of these traditions to
In the past, knowledge
of these
their history.
and interpret
document
chants
has
been
restricted
to members
of
the
Abaku?,
but
recently,
por
in commercial
cited in this essay.
tions have been included
recordings
of an ?f?k scholar to
The enthusiastic
and knowledgeable
response
for interpreta
tremendous
these Cuban chants has opened
possibilities
literal meanings
tion. After 170 years of separation, we would not expect
to Cuban
to correspond
from West African
derived
neatly
languages
even
chants
Abaku?
Abaku?, which is a ritual language. When
interpreting
a multiplicity
one encounters
of meanings,
since Abaku?
into Spanish,
are poetic and rich in metaphor.
All elders who interpreted
expressions
use
me
of
to
their inherited manuscripts
of
the
made
vocabularies
passages
as well as their powers of deduction,
based on the use of the passage dur
are col
of ritual action. That Abaku? practices
sequence
ing a particular
lective yet maintained
within a ritual hierarchy has served to keep transla
in other words, unstudied
certain boundaries;
of passages within
be
learned
elders. In this intellectual
would
by
challenged
interpretations
as
to
add
the
richness
Abaku? masters explore
variations
tradition, possible
own
In
Ab?mb?l?
another
their
and
history.
example,
interpret
in ora
reinforcement
of
collective
described
the
(1976:15-16)
orthodoxy
tions
has
to do with
the transcrip
Cuban
Abaku?
27
Chants
noninitiates.
ular
leaders would
not approve
translation
of these partic
phrases.
First Chant
Okobio
[Ororo]
Our African
Regla
from
brothers,
founded Ef?k Ebut?n/
<[Nunk]ue
came to Havana,
the sacred place/
we salute the Ekue drum.
[Itia]
and in
28
Studies
African
Review
In Abaku?:
= brother
= Africa
Enyenis?n
Okobio
awana
mendo
bekura
sacred
place
the
where
or Bakura Efor
Awana Bekura Mendo,
the most important
locality of the Efor
society
originated
= Havana
Nunkue
Itia = land
Ororo = center
(of a river)
K?nde = name for Regla, Havana
= first Abaku?
Ef? Kebut?n
group
Itia Ororo
Ekue
Line
= sacred
1: Okobio
drum.
<[Enyenis?n]>,
= child of the
soil, a native, a free man;
[Enyenis?n]
E-yen'-i-so?
ata even iso? = free by both parents
(Goldie 1964: 97)7 In
to ?f?k peo
local usage then, eyenison would refer specifically
1986:75).
ple (seeEyo
<Enyenis?n>
enyenis?n
= son
of
the
soil,
"we
meaning
are
owners
2: <[Nunk]ue
[Ma]
[Ororo]
that stone
[K?nde]
farther
[Ef? Kebut?n]>.
than the Efik Obutong.
This
= to
or away
[Nunk] Nuk
push; to push aside
=
a
stone
[itia] F-ti-at
(Goldie 1964:139)
(Goldie
1964:234)
It should be noted that Orak Edem's translation, above, does not coincide
to be place
and Ororo
which hold N?nkue
with Cuban
interpretations,
names
is plausible, however,
(see Cabrera 1958:73). Edem's
interpretation
29
use proverbs,
1958).
such
<[?kue]>
=
[Ekue] Ekp?
leopard (Goldie 1964:74). Hence
is literally "leopard men."
institution
= the
Ek'-pe
Egbo [?kp?] institution as a whole,
the grades (Goldie 1964:74)
the name
comprising
of this
all
to
(Ortiz [1955:208] wrote: "In Cuba the word ?kpewas converted
can
?kue because
of
the constant phoneme
the
?f?k
kp
language
or written
not be well pronounced
in European
languages." See
In both the Cross River region and
also Simmons
[1956:66].
is also the name of the unseen drum that
Cuba, ?kp?/?kue
"roars" to authorize
ritual action [see Waddell
1863: 265-66]).
Within
this example are many Cuban terms that translate directly into
are very dif
the meanings
?f?k and whose meanings
overlap. Even where
in the Abaku? phrase "Nunkue...
ferent?as
kande"?the
phrase would be
an
context
in
This
indicates
the
?f?k
of
intelligible
by
speaker.
possibilities
Abaku? for gaining
into
trans-Atlantic
insight
history.
The process of interpretation
documented
in
by this article began
earnest when Orok
first
Edem
Cuba's
Abaku?
"Efik
group,
equated
Ebut?n," with "Obutong," an ?f?k town that was part of Calabar in south
eastern
Nigeria.
Leaders
of
this
town
and
their
retinues
were
captured
by
British
mented
30
Studies
African
Review
Connell
(Williams 1897:544).
(personal communi
by any other vausell"
claim of ?f?k actu
cation, 2002) points out that "this is a rare documented
were
to
The time
doubt
sent
there
the
Indies
West
more].
[no
ally being
of
the
and
assumed
this
between
Abaku?,
incident,
1767,
gap
founding
1836, is nearly sixty years, which suggests that the sons of Ephraim Robin
not involved." In fact, the Robin John brothers were
John were presumably
in Virginia,
then traveled to
sold in Dominica,
escaped, were reenslaved
in a legal battle over their status, and
Bristol, where they became enmeshed
to
Calabar
returned
2002;
(Paley
eventually
Sparks 2002).
in Calabar were trans
of Africans who embarked
hundreds
Meanwhile,
on British ships directly to Havana. For example,
in 1762 the Nancy
ported
in 1763 the Indian Queen dis
and Havana;
disembarked
423 at Barbados
in 1785 the Quixote disembarked
and Havana;
496 at Kingston
embarked
in 1804 the Mary Ellen disembarked
375 in
and Havana;
290 at Trinidad
in spite of linguistic and ethnic diversity, they would have
Havana.9 There,
as "Calabari." In the mid-eighteenth
been known generally
century, five
in
Havana
existed
Calabar?
cabildos
(Marrero
(nation
groups)
these groups were known to include ?kp? mem
1980:158-60);
generally,
bers and acted as incubators for the emerging Abaku?. The historian Jos?
in 1812
rebellion
L. Franco
(1974:179)
reports that during the attempted
in
discov
authorities
Havana
led by the free black Jos? Antonio
Aponte,
an
Abaku?
's possession
in Aponte
with
ered a document
symbol.
signed
of the Abaku?
that early models
These factors raise the possibility
society
were
mate
circle,
all
of whom
were
brought
to Havana,
cosmopolitan
city
con
assembled
Middle Passage as a historical discontinuity?was
through years
on
the Atlantic
of
and subse
both
sides
of field work and document
study
One of
intellectuals.
and
traditional
between academic
quent collaboration
were
traditions
is that African cultural
the myths of slavery in the Americas
was
consid
the
lived reality
The Abaku? example
suggests that
destroyed.
than that.
erably more complicated
with Orok Edem, I learned that Fernan
Months
after communicating
in Cuba, had nearly fifty
influence
do Ortiz, a leading scholar of African
term
Ortiz
"Efik Obut?n."
years earlier correctly traced the origin of the
31
wrote
that the Cuban pronunciation:
(1955:254)
"Ef? But?n or Efique
in the pure language of the ?f?k should be pronounced
but?n...
Efik
was in Efik the name of a great region of Calabar...
and
Obut?n_Obut?n
also of its ancient capital, today called Old Town by the English." Ortiz's
on Cuban
influence
society. To my
primary concern was tracing African
or
to
never
Africans
he
traveled
worked
with
Africa; he was
knowledge,
in
interested
the
Cuban
not
nation,
trans-Atlantic
sever
While
dialogue.
and
the post-1958 Revolution
works had been edited during
read by several Abaku? Imet, the work in which he states the above?avail
to obtain in Cuba and thus
able only in a first edition?was
very difficult
not well known by Abaku?. Abaku?
leaders had always known
that the
source for their institution was the Calabar region, but they had never had
al of Ortiz's
an opportunity
to travel or to meet ?f?k people. Only
in contemporary,
1991) and "the
global New York City, "the Secret African City" (Thompson
first Caribbean
city" (see James 1998:12), could Cuban Abaku? and West
African ?kp? meet.
Oral
and
History
Performance-Oriented
Research
Methods
largely on oral
From the early
oral methodologies
transmission,
nineteenth
of their own
century onward, Abaku? have passed manuscripts
texts from elders to selected neophytes,
who have then memorized
and
recited them in various performance
contexts.10 The secrecy surrounding
Since African-derived
texts
these
in the Americas
depend
are vital to scholarship.
traditions
is evidence
of
the
continued
society's
over
control
information.
insights
into
cultural
transmission
and
we
transformation,
can
hardly
fath
om
these documents?
In establishing
this oral history,
Afro-Cuban
diaspora.11
Cubans
use
in North
many
as
known
technique
performance
to forms of "signifying"
Iwas greatly
America
terms
aided by a variation
and other
to describe
musical
regions
variants
of an
is similar
which
controversia,
in the African
of
call-and
interactions.
Ortiz
(1981:54) wrote: "The congos often employ,
response
other
those in Cuba called de puya, makagua or
chants,
among
responsorial
32
African
Studies
two
in which
managua,
Review
of
Chants
alternating
soloists
chant,
sustaining
controversy.
of
one
"Between
ceremony
and
another
in
their
rites,"
wrote
Ortiz
to the rhythms of
"entertain
themselves
the Abaku?
(1981:75),
publicly
or
in?as
their orchestra,
chanting
befumas, which
they also call decimas, or
verses of challenge,
or
of
history." In Efik, the literal meaning
aphorism,
it can mean
?n?a ismouth;
figuratively
boastful and is related to the word
eneminua, which is a flatterer (Aye 1991:56).
In Abaku? ritual performance,
lead singers compete with each other to
texts. When
I
demonstrate
musical
skill as well as knowledge
of historical
Iwould take it to various Abaku?
learned a passage and its translation,
lead
some sages would offer
ers.12 I found that in reciting their own versions,
or
text
into
the
material
the
by extending
by giving more complex
insights
also
of the form.13
while
mastery
interpretations,
demonstrating
Abaku?
I visited an Abaku?
leader in Havana.
After the ?kpe-Abaku?
encounter,
Interested
that West African ?kp? had interpreted Cuban texts, and in the
chant containing
what he
spirit of controversia, he gave me the following
to be the names of ?f?k founders
of the society in Cuba. This
believed
chant,
one
of
hundreds
in
contemporary
practice
the
commemorating
Second
line
1: <?kue
?kue
or
?kp?
[asanga]
came
abi?
Chant
[ep?]> nip ?.
personal
or
?kp? walks
[asanga]
[asanga]
in the village
of ghosts.
?s??a = walking
(in Ibibio) (Essien 1990:147)
F-san = a walk; a journey; a trip; a voyage" (Goldie
1964:135)
Cuban
asa?a = to move,
[asanga]
in whatever
Abaku?
manner
Chants
(Goldie
33
1964:264)
2: Endafia
We give
awerek?
thanks
[Abas?] <[obon]>
to God
as obio in ?f?k)
Ef?.
= the
[Abas?] A-bas'-i
Supreme Being, God" (Goldie 1964:2)
= a
A-bon'
[obon]
chief; one having authority; a principal
ruler; a
obong
tion, 2001)
Line
3: <Afot?n
konom?
I am from
king
in ?f?k
?kue
Enyemilla>.
(O. Edem,
personal
communica
[Nataku?].
consecrated
[Nataku?] A-tak'-pa
= Duke
Town,
(Goldie 1964:355)
Not
because
34
African
Studies
Review
name
embedded
were
there
Saramaka
"historians
who
behaved...
rather
own"; he suggests
fruitfully
like
our
past could be
by non-Sara
maka."
was established
from the Calabar
by the 1830s when ?kp? members
the first "cre?les" (Cuban-born blacks). As each new group
initiated
ritual
another,
lineages
were
created
which,
in many
cases,
continue
genealogies
?f?k, Efut,
River
basin.
to the
their connection
of their own group in detail, including
or Or? founders of the society in specific regions of the Cross
These
genealogies
are
often
recited
during
ceremonies.
was
grandmother
a Bantu
Makua,
from
group
Mozambique.
Members
35
of
can
the Arar? cabildos (nation groups) of Perico and Joveanos, Matanzas,
trace their ancestry to the Republic
of Benin. The Calle family of Matanzas
of
tradition, know they are the descendants
city, who conserve the Brikamo
Calabar?.
Mart?nez-Fur?'s
great-great
grandmother
Mam?
Incarnaci?n
the daughter
of a Mandinga
In a recent
[i.e., Malinke].
D?az
mate
"Rom?n"
traditional
Andabo,
(Yoruba
1997)
arranges
recording,
rial to reflect upon the role of his own groups' ritual lineage within Abaku?
was
(1831-1937)
mythic
history
and records
chant.
the following
Third Chant
Line
1: [Um?ni] Apap?
Um?ni.
In Abaku?:
Um?ni Apap? = a Cross River territory. It is the name of Diaz's
also called Eku?ri Tongo Apapa Um?ni,
and
group in Havana,
from an Ef? lineage.
= an island in the Cross River estu
Umon
(a.k.a Boson)
of
miles
north
Old
Calabar
2000: 9, 19).
(see Northrup
ary thirty
In his diary from 1785-87,
the Old Calabar trader Antera Duke
as the location of a
referred to Umon
(he called it Boostam)
slave market
to Connell
(Forde 1956:39). According
(personal
now
"the
Umon
have
communication,
2002),
largely switched to
Ef?k, though at least until recently their own language was still in
[Um?ni]
use."16
Line
2: Bonk?
[Eku?ri tongo]
In Havana,
erendi?
Eku?ri Tongo
eku?ri
was founded
ten?.
by Eku?ri Ten?.
Waddell 1863:309)
36
Studies
African
Review
of ancestral memory
for maintaining
the importance
appreciate
On both sides of the Atlantic, Africans
have steadfastly
cohesion.
their identities as a form of resistance against political domi
maintained
nation. The similarity of experiences
helps to explain why both groups rec
leaders
social
one
ognize
after
another
two
nearly
centuries
of
Earlier
separation.
notions
a belief that
reflected
in the Americas
(atavisms)
with
time.
Abaku?
and
would
identities
fade
African-derived
away
practices
cultural practices
that these are productive
activities
indicate, however,
of African
sought
tant
"retentions"
needs
in
the
they meet
because
peoples
impor
present.
to recognize
each
In sum, the ability of ?kp? and Abaku? members
that
indicates a historical
other through cultural performance
relationship
on
sides
of
now has become
to
of
African
both
heritage
people
significant
an
is
of a common
international
The establishment
the Atlantic.
history
that
connection
gives
nations,
respective
al support
for
identity
economic
history,
mythic
new
groups
tradition.
their
Abaku? Chants
Historical Data
rites
arenas
for
groups
may
exchanges
greater
cultural
in
mutu
include
understanding
as
a valu
are marginal
of mutual
and
politi
and Cuba.
in Commercial
are
of
representatives
both
a deeper
as well
exchanges,
as
status
Because
contemporary
construction,
cal recognition
Ceremonial
both
cultural
Generate
Recordings
competitive
chanting
where
reputations
of the ceremonial
corpus.
style and knowledge
of Cuba, lead chanters convey who they are,
their rites derive, and what cere
from which African places and peoples
the ?kue drum is
Famb?
is
inside
the
mony
(temple) where
occurring
in a place called F??kue. In Calabar, "Efamba [consists of]
sounded unseen
In ?f?k,
a secret display of Ekpe artifacts" in a temple
(Bassey 200T.22).17
or
an
cult
where
"the
house
is
shed"
"Efe ?kp?"
(Aye 1991:27),
"Ekpe
?kp?
2001), or an
only the initiates gather" (O. Edem, personal communication,
to
is
Goldie
house
[1964:68],
9-fe' a shed and
(according
?kp? meeting
is
"a
feikpe
palaver house").
are earned for performance
In African-derived
religions
During
through
doorway
the
course
of
chanting,
of gesture
vocabularies
of the Famb? outward.
dancers
and
drummers
converse
from the
la valla (a
37
human
in the temple's
corridor of call-and-response
chanting and dancing
is
of
the
Cuban
holds
that both
contribution.18
?f?k
part
patio)
mythology
Moru? Yu?nsa
and
the
lead
biankom?
drums
became
(the
chanter)
part of
the society when
the ?f?k were initiated in precolonial West Africa. In la
of tratados (myth
valla, singers with ibiono (swing) display their knowledge
to the public. On these occasions,
ic histories)
lead chanters engage in con
troversias. One by one, chanters attempt to dominate
the action by starting
with well-known
chants that inspire the chorus and dancers;
then they
move
are
or
into complex
that
for
difficult
liturgical passages
impossible
chanters to follow or respond to. Tratados are the bases for extended
In this chanted discourse,
conversations
intellectuals.
the
among Abaku?
leader must demonstrate
the
of
linguistic dexterity beyond
comprehension
less knowledgeable
competitors.
Commercial
and anthropological
lack ceremonial
recordings
competi
use codes to demonstrate
tion among lead chanters, but Abaku? musicians
as well as to discourse
on Abaku? history. In the early
their knowledge
1960s a series of recordings
of Folklore
the
in Havana
by
Department
documented
"national
folklore"
with
"tradition
(M?sica afrocubana 1993)
al" instruments
and language. An analysis of the Abaku? recording
reveals
to evoke the his
that the lead chanter, Victor Herrera,
used the occasion
in the structure of a
tory of his own group and its lineage. Performed
other
in which
the sacred ?kue begins to sound),
the
rompimiento (a ceremony
chant is ended by Herrera
before
the moment
when
the drum would
sound. The importance
of this recording
is that Herrera?by
playing with,
the boundaries
of secret liturgy?was
able to perform
yet respecting,
Abaku? ritual music
in a secular context and was still able to maintain
his
among
reputation
celebrated
Herrera's
Abaku?.
by contemporary
Abaku?
performance
of
"Encame"
has
been
musicians.
Fourth Chant
a ceremonial
Using rhetorical phrases to commence
rera begins by
the
attention of the chorus:
gaining
Line
I will speak ?
performance,
Her
Wa!>
We
are
ready!19
"
'
? Wa!>
ooo...
<Jeyey barib? benkam?
'Oye bari...
Spoken as
one enters a crowd of
wants
to
and
call
?kp? people
everybody's
or a call to order before business or a
attention,
speech could
this kind of identification,
because after
begin. Wal here confirms
the salutation or call to order all present would answer: Uwa" (O.
Edem,
personal
communication,
2001).
38
<benkam?>
be nkama
(likely)
tion, 2002)
be = tell a story in Londo
in the area
languages
(Connell,
personal
communica
= I declare
n-kama
= "share in the
[kam?] k?m?
play by displaying your knowledge
of its secrets as an initiate or member"
(Aye 1991: 61)
Herrera
category
Line
2: <[Efim?remo]>
<enkr?koro>
indiob?n,
ob?n,
etenyeb?n,
in Abaku?
mythology,
In Abaku?:
=
Efim?remo
Iy?mba (mythologically,
M?remo Ob?n
Iyamba")
<as?re>
a.k.a.
"Ef?
= union
enkr?koro
I salute
obon = king
indiob?n = second initiation grade (india = birth; obon=
= another
initiation grade
etenyeb?n
=
low level initiates.
obon?kue
king)
etc.'"
Efiom
Cuban
Abaku?
Chants
39
= "Efiom
<Efim?remo>
Edem, who was Eyamba, the leader of
as well as king of Duke Town in the late
?kp?,
nineteenth
eighteenth-early
centuries"
(Connell,
personal
communication).
found
that by 1805 Efiom Edem
(1973:47-48)
(a.k.a. Duke
on
was
far
the
trader"
the
Cross
River.
greatest
"by
"By 1828 Duke
Ephraim)
was
or
sole
of port
[collector
comey recipient
Ephraim
Obong, Eyamba,
?
was
and
of
He
the
external
the
virtual
trade
duties/tariffs],
monopolist
most influential man in Efik history." If this interpretation
is correct, it is a
rare reference
to a known historical figure.
in Abaku?
Latham
Efimerem?:
"This Efik king received the first sacred
[Efim?remo]
drum skin from the Efor" or "Efim?remo Nataku?: King 'of
the Akanar?n Efik'" (Cabrera 1988:150-51).
These Cuban
because Natakua =
support that of Connell,
interpretations
Atakpa, Duke Town in Calabar. Akanaran is likely
"A-kan'-?-ren"
is, an
that
<as?re>
in
= an
late
or
an
old
man
(Goldie
1964:7),
authority.
= "a common
the
elder
greeting
afternoon/evening"
personal
communi
cation, 2002)
<as?re> emesiere = greeting
in the morning,
good morning
Kom Abasi emesiere = thank God that you have seen the day,
that you are able to wake up and see the day (Ita pesonal
communication,
2003)
= all in ?f?k
<enkrukoro>
(Connell, personal communi
kpukpuru
.
cation) This coincides with union, the Abaku?
interpretation.
=
[iti?] It?e place, seat; "Itie Ekpe, the place where Ekpe is kept"
(Aye 1991:59). This may coincide with Cuban translations of
iti? as land.
<iti?> "Itiat = stone; itie = place, but in ?kp? dialogue
itmeans
=
a position
in the hierarchy of
Idaha
occupying
?kp?;
height, but in ?kp? context it refers to one's standing in the
communication,
(O. Edem personal
2001).
?kp? hierarchy"
<obon?kue>
obon ngbe (possibly) :a term used to group together
the lower grades of Ugb? among the Ejagham; literally, chil
dren + Ugb?, the new initiates to the society (Connell 2004).
=
a first level
<obon?kue>
aban?kp?
neophyte,
?kp? initiate"
Edem,
communication,
2003). This coincides
(J.
personal
with Cuban usage, in which aban?kue has also been used since
the nineteenth
1925:123).
century (see Roche
In the following passages Herrera
as a leader of the group
himself
40
to Cuban mythology,
begat in 1840 in Havana by Efut founders. According
Is?n was the capitol of Ef? (Efut) territory in Usagar??called
Usakadet, Usa
hadet, Bakasi, or Backasey in various nineteenth-century
(see Goldie
maps
was
chants:
is
the
Herrera
where
founded.20
1964:361)?and
place
?kp?
3: <[Is?n]>
Line
Ef?,
>, bekuramend?.
as Bekuramend?
(an
<Is?n>
land
(O. Edem,
personal
communication,
2001)
= the
from enyo?, the heav
earth, "as distinguished
[Is?n] F-so?
ens" (Goldie 1964:598)
=
to us
enyene nyin
belongs
<enseniy?n>
= the land
to us (O. Edem,
Thus, isong enyene nyin
belongs
communication,
2001)
personal
= the
the firmament,
the lift, the
heavens,
[enseniy?n]
En'-yon
resonates
translation
This
directly with
sky (Goldie 1964:79).
Abaku?
usage.
= a
place name within Ekoi, "on the east
[enseniy?n] Nsa?inya?
to
bank of the Cross river" (Goldie 1964:357). According
on
"this
would
be
Connell
2002),
(personal communication,
of nsa? is "red
the Calabar side of the river. One meaning
earth" (presumably
lat?rite); inya? is river.
Abaku?
"a place
leaders
where
translated
ceremonies
important
were
performed."
elder
Abaku?
Kwa-language
to Thompson
"Yoruba and other
(1993:28),
according
groups inWest Africa (Fon, Igbo, Edo, Ijaw) define their tra
ditional
as
out West
Africa;
altars
'face'
the
or
or
'countenance'
of
'forehead'
the
Tal
gods."
bot (1923: 178-79) wrote that among the ?b?b??, west of Calabar, an initia
to a sacred
tion into the Ekong society was followed by a sacrifice made
location called "Isu Abassi, i.e., the Face of the God." Goldie wrote that in
in the entrance yard of every home was called isu
Calabar, a shrine made
face
Abasi?"the
i-su A-bas-i
was wont
"the
or
presence
little
to be made
round
to Abasi"
of Abasi"
mound,
(1890:42;
(F-su
as
an
1964
the
face,
altar...
[1862]:
the
before
countenance";
which
137-38).
prayer
tafia [?kano]
bekons?
/ aba?reme
41
tafia serend?
<akanar?n>.
Is?n participated
in the first
were
/ we
tree
sacred
born
ceremony
the
from
under
performed
same
the
mother.
In Abaku?:
Ukano
= ceiba
bekons?
=
aba?reme
eniw? = born
from
= mother
akanar?n
<akanar?n>
eren
akani
communication,
=
a-kan'-ni
old;
?-ren = male;
sense
Itmakes
mean
also
ancestor")
"powerful
(fig.
= the African
?k?na
[?kano]
tree
ireme
the
= old
oil bean
or
man,
ancestor
(Connell,
personal
2002)
aged;
?wan
ancient
= a woman"
(Goldie
1964: 7, 80)
refer to as "mother" would
"ancestor."
later commercial
"the
sons
of
the
land
speak"
(Ekama
declares,
speaks)
(O.
Edem
person
al communication,
is based on the tratado of
2001). This composition
recited
of
the
consecration
his
drum. Empeg? was key to
Empeg?,
during
the founding
of ?kp? during
the original
in Usagar?: with his
ceremony
chalk
he
drew
that
the
ritual
authorized
actions of others.
magic
symbols
After a standard invocation,
"Rom?n" D?az introduces his topic:
Fifth Chant
Line
1: [Bat?nga]
Where
Batanga
Moru?,"
derives
meaning
Laminy?n?
did Empeg?
from
"one
a title of
who
the dignitary
chants
lot"
chalk?
Moru?
("canta
Yu?nsa:
mucho").
"Batanga
Cabrera
42
African
Review
Studies
in
is one of several Sawa Bantu speaking communities
not
of
This
connection?if
Cameroon.
possible
Estuary region
inWest Africa?was
enabled
later in Cuba by the esti
occurring previously
to
from this region by
thousand
enslaved
carried
mated
thirty
forty
people
to
from
American
1807
and
vessels
1752
British, Dutch,
(Austen 8cDerrick
(1999:14),
the Wouri
Batanga
1999:18).
Line
2: Ekok?
tanze.
consecrated
ibi?no (music)
is used
the skin
as one
of the
(ekok?)
for the
of several metaphors
drum.
= a town of Ibibio
I-bi-on'-o
[ibi?no]
(Goldie
1964:358)
mbiono
munucation,
I = people,
m'-bi-o
Line
3: <[Akam]a
We will
Edem,
in the
com
personal
2001)
to draw a congregation
music
tends
is possible.
Since well-performed
ers, this interpretation
(O.
congregation
of the
(Goldie
collectively"
about
the play
1964:172)
ny?re Or?>.
speak of Or?.
In Abaku?:
= come
akamany?re
[Akam] A-kam
<Akama ny?re>
akam
According
is uttered
the Obong
enye
forward;
evocation.
(Goldie
= to
answer,
yere
oro
an
to God
prayer
= to
call;
ekama
Ete
=
prayer
is
1964:6)
or
good
to Orok Edem
2001), this
(personal communication,
after an elder pours the libation, akam, when greeting
Ekp?.
efi?n
efi?n [enk?ko], obon?kue
Line 4: Obon?kue
<Or? Bib?> urab? kiny?ngo / Ekue bar?r?.
<bongo>
43
enk?ko
term
barori
strong
[enk?ko]
= he
Ekiko-unen
cock,
the male
of
the domestic
fowl
(Goldie 1964:72)
?kue = Mbongo
Ekomo Ekp? (Ekomo = drum)
<bong?> Bong?
communication,
(O. Edem, personal
2001)
= the fifth
of
ebonko
<bongo>
grade
Ekp? in Calabar; also the
chief of the four lower grades (Connell, personal
communica
tion)
<Oru Bibi> Oron = a town, a people, and a language
;Bib? = Ib?b??:
a people and a language.
The Oron pronunciation
of Ibibio is Ibibi. Both groups are found
on the west bank of the Cross River (Connell,
communi
personal
cation,
Line
2002).
chanted when
the Erib?
In Abaku?:
india = birth
= nkanika
Makanika
(bells)
= Iwill be
Aya gas?gama
loyal till death
akam? Erib?
Kama
Kama
word,
to
Yamba
or? /
in Or?.
(an oath)
speak.
the Erib?
[drum]"
(Cabrera
44
[akam?]
= to call
enkame
(O. Edem,
communication,
personal
2001)
next passage
segues from a discussion
in Cuba
that of a ritual lineage established
The
Line
6: <Muny?nga
Ef?>
African
to
mythology
Ita
sank?bio
[nkom?n]>
/ <Eforis?n
awarariansa
?kue
eng?mo>.
<[Ef?ri]
/ <obons?ro
Amananyu?o>
of West
in 1840.
The
by Empeg?.
are from the same Ef?
of Ef?ri Nkom?n.
These groups
the founding
In Abaku?:
ef?ri = herbal
nkom?n
begat
in Havana
in 1840 with
arts
= drum
=
ef?ri nkom?n
powerful
=
obonsiro
family
drum
(see Cabrera
to authorize
consecrations
1958: 38)
= alliance
awarariansa
engomo
lineage
= chalk
used
=
a town in
people of Uyanga,
<Muny?nga Ef?> Me Uyanga Efot
the Cross River Basin" (O. Edem, personal
communication,
2001)
<Ef?ri nkomon>
"Used
to
introduce
a sanction,
for
= drum.
to
example,
or forbidding
stop
the mis
to do busi
(Goldie
1964:106)
of the Efik efri as to blow or sound the drum of author
interpretation
is admittedly
and
Cuban
the
efori as herbal arts (literally, witchcraft),
ity,
in
and place
tenuous. Abaku? mythology
tells that Efori was a people
were
herbs
the
ceremonial
where
gathered.
original
Usagar?
The
[nkom?n]
e-kom-o
= short
drum,
the Egbo
(?kp?)
drum
(Goldie
1964:73;Aye 1991:30)
<Eforis?n
sank?bio
Ita Amananyu?o>
Efe usun
esan ke obio
ita
Cuban
=
amananyuao
phrase describing
of
people
Yuanga first went into
sonal communication,
2001)
Ekue awarariansa engomo>
<obonsiro
was
ansa ekomo = a special
?kp?
communication,
Edem, personal
Edem identifies this as an entire
appropriate
Line
7: Erendi?
hyperbolic
<Isun Ef?>,
ebong?
Abaku?
45
Chants
language.
Ef?ri Nkom?n.
The
personal
communication,
2001)
Enkama
2" (Yoruba Andabo
arrangement
by D?az, "Enyenis?n
his explorations
into Abaku? mythology.
leader
Abaku?
1997), continues
that
in
Efik
the
Ef?
the
West
believe
founded
the
Africa;
(Efut)
society
ship
were believed
to have joined
the society later. 22While Cuban narratives
several West African narratives claim Ejagham origins
relate Efut origins,
to the ?f?k through Usak Edet
for ?kp?, which was eventually
transmitted
"claim to have origi
(1912:37) wrote that the Ejagham
(Usagar?). Talbot
start
nated the whole
idea" of ?kp?; later "Efut in the South Cameroons,
ed a similar society," while still later "the Efiks of Calabar...
founded
the
46
African
Review
Studies
Ef?. Furthermore,
instruments,
without
and
ensembles,
masquerade
specific
leaders),
the
soci
Sixth Chant
Line
enkrukoro>.
1: <Abas? meng?ame
We
the blessings
of God,
or,
God
over
watches
In ?f?k,
guarne
kpeme
enkrukoro
Line
all.
= watch
kpukpuru
(over)
= all
2: <Enkr?koro
<[eny?ne]> Abaku?,
iti? oror? k?nde, iti? n?nkue>.
We
are united
in Abaku?.
I salute
[iti?] [Fondo],
the Abaku?
of Matanzas,
of
of Regla, of Havana.
1983: 250)
(cf. Thompson
C?rdenas,
In Abaku?:
=
enkr?koro
group
iti? = land of
= All
env?ne Abaku?> Kpukpuru
enyene ?kp?
to
belong
?kp?
<Iti? fond?> Itie/ itiat ifondo = Place of Ifondo
<Iti? kanima as?re> Itie/ itiat nkamina = Place of nkanima
<Iti? oror? k?nde> Itie/ itiat nkanda = Place of nkanda
= Place of
<Iti? n?nkue>
Itie/ itiat nuk ?kp?=nuke
?kp?
to each
"Itiat ?kp? is buried at the entrance
?kp? house.
it depends
in ?kp? cosmology;
is the position of authority
<Enkr?koro
Itie
on
47
character
the
and
the words,
uttering
are being
words
used"
(O Edem,
context
in what
the
communication,
personal
2001).
=
<eny?ne>
Eny?ne
own
has,
(O. Edem,
communica
personal
Because
they
Line
Cuban Abaku?
rename
would
= a small
village
I-fon-do'
[Fondo]
3: Erendi?n
were
"Matanzas"
enyenis?n
Town"
in Cuba,
?kp?
a Cross
with
<ekoria Abaku?>
River
place
(Goldie:358)
itmakes
sense
that
name.
eri?ro bons?ro
kiny?ngo
nans?o.
<bar?ko>
Let us remember
nal
recreating
near Duke
that Abaku?
was born
in Africa
during
the origi
ceremony.
In Abaku?:
bons?ro = family
= initiated
kiny?ngo
bar?ko
bar?ko
nans?o
ceremony
<ekoria Abaku?>
The meaning
whole world
= a
founding
ceremony
sonal communication,
2001). Ekorio
of
the
title
Cuban
complete
society.
= an idem that comes
<baroko> mboroko
communication,
(O. Edem, personal
= an
mboroko
?kp? grade (Ita, personal
Line 4: Okobio
K?nde
Enyenis?n, Awanabekura
Efik Ebut?n/ Oo ?kue.
Mendo/
enyene Abaku?
out when
2001)
communication,
Nunkue
is the
2003)
Itia Ororo
48
Review
Studies
African
came
to Havana,
the Ekue drum.
?kp?
history:
<Ekue Ef? okobio
5: <[Ob?ne]>,
I come
to represent
the ?f?k
Ob?ne>.
territory
= an
Ejagham region north
are
there
referred to as the Oban
<Ob?ne>
communication)
= a town of
[Ob?ne] O'-ba?
There
may
not
be
contradiction
of Ob?ne.
east of Calabar; the hills
hills (Connell, personal
'koi" (Goldie
1964:360).
here
Oban
in
that
is known
as
an
an ?f?k
is considered
Ejagham region inWest Africa, while in Cuba, Ob?ne
Cabrera
2002)
(see
1958:73). Connell
(personal communication,
region
wrote: "I have the impression from Talbot that Oban was heavily influenced
to Calabar even in the nineteenth
by ?f?k and its proximity
century."
<?kue Ef? okobio Ob?ne> ?kp? ?f?k ke obio Abana = ?kp? in the
town of Abana
is by the sea" (O.
(Oban is in the hills, Abana
communication,
Edem, personal
2001).
A-ban'-a = the point called East Head, at the entrance of the Cal
abar river
Line 6: End?
(Goldie
kair?n <kokorik?>/
1964:353)
a being was
In a river of Obane,
ent?me
<akanaw?n>
sent from
taror?ko.
toms."
In Abaku?:
kokorik?
akanaw?n
taror?ko
sound
= a worm
= a
(reference
masquerade
to death)
costume
= a toad
(representing
of inherited
ancestors)
tratados in which
a loud
49
"from the land of the phantoms" was translated as "from the land of the
is
In Abaku?
ceremony, white chalk used for funeral ceremonies
one
to
color
Abaku?
the
death.
leader,
According
metaphor
equated with
means
that the divine Fish was sent by the ancestors
("the land of the
ghosts") to unite the tribes.
whites."
= cock crow
2003)
(in Efik) (Ita, personal communication,
= old woman
<akanaw?n>
communication,
2001)
(O. Edem, personal
sense in Abaku? mysticism, where the spirit of Sik?n,
This makes
in the dance of some Iremes.
is present
founding woman,
<kokoriko>
Line
7: <[Ubi?ko]
Ob?ne
Embemor?/
How
Ef??represented
entire
phrase
mboko
emb?ko/
yene
Iy?mba.>
but the
by Iy?mba?have
to Orok
According
eroko
Edem
means
belongs
(personal
"Obioko?Creek
communication,
Town?has
the
2001)
agreed
that
to Eyamba."
= a
type of idem, a stage of membership
communication,
Edem, personal
2001)
= Creek Town
[Ubi?ko] Obio Oko
(Simmons
Mboko
in
?kp?
(O.
1956:3)
Line
8: <[Ek?n]
Abaku?
to
to the
?f?k.
= a
instrument made of iron
musical
[ek?n] ?k??
funnel-shaped
and beaten in play (Aye 1991:107)
<Ek?n kr?bia ek?n endib?> Ekong akiriba ekong dibo = a song in
Calabar" (O. Edem, personal
communication,
2001)
Line
9: <Kamany?re
Let
us
speak
?reme ayerem?>.
enkr?koro,
of
union,
our
ancestors
guide
us.
50
cation,
must
"one
2001),
demonstrate
For
membership.
example,
in Cameroon,
research
as an
functions
basically
Ngbe
one which
caters primarily
This
of its members.
fact
derive
as much
for
interest_Away
different
communities
another,
protection.
so
that
club,
elaborate
highly
and common
one
but
enjoyment
functions
for the
be stressed,
of
political
the
its bringing
members
of
together
leading
as from
as
its formal
activities
constitution
general
means
the
which
otherwise
became]
by
indepen
from
individual
esoteric
the entertainment
should
from
Ngbe
a
in these
community
such.
[In Calabar,
?kp?
dent
communities
could
which
wrote:
Ruel
act
Calabar
in matters
jointly
the
a person
politically
could
be
transferred
passing
their
common
of Ekpe
possession
lodges
as a means
rather
important
was
rights
affecting
common
between
from
communities
one
community
was
given
by
by
to
some
Conclusion
contexts, and differ
separation for two centuries, highly different
Despite
ent colonial
of
and Abaku?
the
similar
functions
languages,
?kp?/Ugb?
for initiates on both
has made
it possible
and the training of its members
to recognize
their relationship.
sides of the Atlantic
of Abaku? materials
by Cuban
groups?notably
recordings
de
Matanzas
Los
AfroCuba
(1994, 1995), Yoru
(1998),
Mu?equitos
Grupo
several
ba Andabo
(1993, 1997), and the album Mono
(2001)?convey
own
a
our
are
and
We
with
traditions;
people
history
overarching messages:
Recent
we have intimate contact with the divine; our ancestors were royal person
there
ages who did great works; do not belittle our history or achievements;
is strength in unity.
Cuban
51
Chants
Abaku?
collaborative
By interpreting Cuban Abaku? chants through extended
efforts with Abaku?
leaders, I learned how these were used to comment
itsWest African origins, and its reestab
upon the history of this institution,
in Cuba. By working with ?f?k speakers who
identified many
lishment
Abaku? terms as part of their own language and history, as well as research
terms in published
that many
sources, I was able to determine
ing Abaku?
are derived from Cross River languages. Many Abaku? chants reveal West
in Cuba.
African place names and ritual lineages founded by West Africans
in written
is found
Little of this information
Abaku?
sources, making
on the Cross River
in gaining new perspectives
chants useful to historians
a
rare
of
cultural transmis
and
providing
example
organized
?kp? society
sion from West Africa to the Caribbean.
contra
of Africa among the Cuban population
The historical memory
notions
of Cuban
them
identities which proclaim
state-supported
"mestizo," a new identity based on a blend of cultures which erases ties to
an African homeland.
The Cuban intellectual Alejo Carpentier
(1989:130)
as
saw it in Cuba: "Popular dance of the early nine
he
described
mestizaje
dicts
...
and
the
African
French
were
orchestras...
the
contradanza
creators
roots?regarding
excluded."
That
is,
the
of
melody
term
mestizo
merged
a mestizo
to
music,
and percussive
excludes
any
create
from
new
forms.
which
all
ritual rhythms?had
direct
strains
These
the
pure
been
of African,
make
such connections.
markers
they memorialize
The perpetuation
of these lineages
is in itself a form of resistance.
Acknowledgments
I would
like
to thank
Bruce
Connell,
Dawson,
Jill Cutler, C. Daniel
Orok
Edem, David Eltis, Angel Guer
D?az-Ayala, Joseph Edem,
rero, Callixtus E. Ita, Chester King, Jane Landers, Maria-Teresa
Linares,
Victor Manfredi,
Mar?a-Elena
Robin
Mart?nez-Fur?,
Mendiola,
Rogelio
Pablo Pacheco-L?pez,
Ruth Paley, Helen
Moore,
Tanner, Robert Farris
Crist?bal
Thompson,
several
Abaku?
leaders
who
wish
to remain
anonymous,
as well
52
Review
African
Studies
I thank
the Cuba
Houston
annual meeting,
the
Graduate
DePaul University, Columbia University,
of Louisville,
and Amherst College.
University
African
Studies Association
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The
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names
place
those
lineages,
including
to Havana
refer
and
men
its outlying
regions.
?f?k lineages:
Ten?
Eku?ri
from
(presumably
(1848,
Tongo
Creek
Town,
established
Calabar)
Ekueri
Havana).
(1836, Regla).
lineages:
(1840, Havana).
Apapa Ef? (from Africa) established Efori Nkom?n
Efori Nkom?n established Muny?nga Ef? (1871, Havana); Isun Ef? (1938,
and
Havana);
Or?
lineage:
An unknown
Ita Amanayu?o
(1940,
of Africans
group
Marianao).
Or?
established
(c.
Apapa
Guan
1848,
abacoa).
Or?
Apapa
established
Or?
Abaku?
Akondomina
Mefe
(1877,
Guanabacoa).
thank
Ukpong,
the
association
Eyo,
of information
of
Samuel
director
the
In
president.
?f?k Association,
preparation,
helped
Asuquo
organize
program (on July 18) with Diabel Faye, host of the "Rhythm and News" show
atWBAI, Pacifica radio inNew York, about the upcoming ?f?k meeting and the
Cuban
3.
cultural
C. Daniel
On
28,
July
issues
at
Dawson
regarding
the Pratt
On
connection.
Ukpong,
discussed
Hern?ndez,
Isue
it, Chief
(an African
Joseph
diaspora
culture
?kp?/Ugb?
in
Institute
Brooklyn.
Edem,
an Efut
leader,
Diabel
specialist),
and
its diaspora.
The
Cuban
participants
Nandib?
Mos?ngo;
David
Oquendo;
Asuquo
and
Faye,
were
Ef?; Jos?
Vicente
Obon?kue
of Apapa
Um?ni
Ef?.
S?nchez,
In a similar
Kubik
traced
and
(1979:21-23,51)
study, Gerhard
"Angolan"
a
as
Yoruba
traits in Brazil
of
evidence
such
structures,
using
variety
rhythmic
related
instrument
and methods
of
construction,
styles,
singing
vocabulary,
handling
instruments.
56
5.
On
his
me
I met with
July 26, 2003,
in Detriot,
retinue
Michigan,
were
two Cuban
Majesty
cultural
6.
Abaku?
leaders:
Nta
Professor
Edidem
the Obong?Paramount
the Obong's
during
D?az
"Rom?n"
Henshaw
Elijah
Ruler?of
first
and
VI
Calabar
and
to the U.S.
visit
With
Guerrero.
Angel
us to Calabar
invited
His
a
for
exchange.
isObong Nkanda
Joseph Edem
Callixtus
Calabar.
is a full member
chemist,
pharmaceutical
in
a retired
Ita,
of
I have
the umlaut
replaced
orthography
as well
for ?f?k,
8.
as
and Yor?ba
Igbo
Ephraim
"Grandy
ca.
10.
Contemporary
was
uscripts
born
(those
the Cross
11.
River
oral
on
(2000:159-60)
In Suriname,
the
Prices
of Saramaka
performance:
soloist
(temporary)
between
dance/drum
are
'plays'
individual
whose
learn
the
person.
not
may
language
have
been
from
more
readily.
controversia
of
subject
the
noticed
(1991:8)
"A closely
and
other
of whom
same
the
75899
the purpose
of creating
these man
so that Creole
the African
founders,
first
them
characterized
each
soloists,
that
of
traditions
initiates,
could
Basin,
See V?lez
ing.
tern"
told me
leaders
as
George"
King
1982;
in the old
by Goldie
official
orthography
Essien
1985).
9.
to preserve
in Cuba)
current
in the
(cf. Essien
(1999:341-42,
and
John
as used
subdot,
as used
a vowel)
over
(two dots
the
with
?f?k
participants.
the emergence
center
enjoys
Lukumi
For
of
example,
song/
a succession
of
and
stage
chant
pat
dialogic
is role switching
feature...
related
by
briefly
in Cuban
"fundamental
then
to
yields
another."
12.
My
for
criteria
region?someone
he
although
informed
to
scripts
13.
Creating
phase
This
chant
Jos?
Abaku?
de
Jes?s
leaders).
Matanzas
15.
The
and
term
"there
literal
input
its translation
"Chuchu"
A
version
(1994).
is in fact
Ekoi
project
of
guardians
me
guided
the manu
to be
I present
here
proved
on the
Nigeria-Cameroon
a factor
been
2001:52,56).
(Connell
longer"
perhaps
communica
in this essay, Connell
(personal
a mix
a
to
of
be
lot
non-?f?k
appears
(probably
?f?k
were
that would
Spanish)
from
and
in process?entails
the ?f?k and
Efut
members
to be
need
a
other
of
the
(one
Capaz
of this passage
indiscriminately.
recorded
Talbot
by
in West
society
in the manuscripts
Cuba's
twentieth-century
was
of
identified."
inves
thorough
Cross River
lan
documented
of
used
my
and
translations
from
supported
lore and
the
century.
of the texts
has
and some
Ejagham,
of translation?currently
including
as
as well
tigation
14.
that
who
of
in ?f?k
translation
contact
Language
"at least 500 years,
texts
the Abaku?
Another
guages
Africa.
members
masters
task.
or Londo,
leaders
of
the nineteenth
from
reviewing
2002) wrote
tion,
Efut
Abaku?
considered
on
passed
a literal
complex
borderland
After
Then
elder.
com
to work with were
part of a
and
ceremonies,
studying
attending
from
the Calabar
member
of an
?kp?
as
Abaku?
leaders
by
knowledgeable,
was
a well
to understand
I begin
who
Abaku?
years
by many
a descendant
widely
regarded
not Abaku??could
was
leaders
those
which
selecting
process.
Only
plex
with
Abaku?
history
of
the
the Mu?equitos
(1912:153)
late
renowned
wrote
de
that
57
the Ekoi
call themselves_The
[is] the name
by which
"'Ejagham'
later wrote:
itself is Efik." Jones
"One group
of Kwa was
(1963:21)
Ekoi which,
tribal fragment
the Ejagham
with
another
the Efut
of Old
of the middle
the original
Calabar."
inhabitants
Writing
River
Cross
Andah
own
their
17.
speakers
In Cuban
that
word
"the
cluster,
language
in the upper
another."
most
are
Ejagham
including
approximately
basin
(cf. Crabb
1965).
River
Cross
Contemporary
and
of
were
upper
Cameroon,
of
these
up river
are clear
people
the Boki
like
Ekoi
[Efot],
all
indiscriminately
'Ekoi' groups
so-called
one
from
and
southwestern
Nigeria
name
to denote
Ekoi used
to describe
used
lands_These
ly distinguishable
part of the Ekoi
16.
southeastern
observed
(1990:27)
is an Efik
people
from
of
peoples
word
a subtribe
considered
thousand
eighty-five
in a river of
Um?ni
"a spring
of water
represents
mythology,
Apapa
umon
to the
of the
In Abaku?
is
Ef?," a place
important
society.
founding
?kp?
a
name
as well
as a term for water. Goldie
mon as
defined
(1964:193)
place
Fish Tanze
sacred
from
the river;
thus all
water,
river, or sea. The
appeared
as a divine
source.
to
Abaku?
element
this
myths
point
"In Calabar,
'a display
of articles
of
the
efamba means
among
Usually
?kp?.'
Efut and Ejagham ?kp?, this display would take place in the forest, but the ?f?k
it by placing
urbanized
in a
them
(J. Edem,
temple"
communication,
personal
2003).
18.
Both
form
20.
are described
with
concepts
Spanish
as arena or
English
cockpit, the place where
are known
as
the lead singers
because
(cocks).
gallos
translation:
Bara barib?
[attention!]
gave a similar
Jeyei!
African-based
plant. Many
in Cuba.
Valla translates
into
meet
cocks
19.
as
wuk
lated
to
fight,
Cabrera
(2000:145)
to
benkam?
[I am going
speak].
is
the contemporary
which
also serves as a term for the lan
Usaghade
ethnonym
term
"The
is
in
?f?k
while
official
Cameroon
the
Usakedet,
guage.
parlance
areas
name
are Usa
the
Other
variants
(Connell
goes
2001:72).
by
Isangele"
and Usakere
of Portuguese
contact
As a result
hadit, Usarade,
(Nicklin
1991:8).
in the early
the
1500s,
"has historically
region
been
to as Rio
referred
del Rey"
(Connell 2001:53).
The
Efut
from
"migrated
the
Cameroons"
(Latham
1973:5).
Simmons
(1956:4) wrote: "When the Efik first settled at Creek Town they found a small
village of Efut settlers living in the immediate vicinity. The Efut had originally
21.
migrated
Cabrera
from
the
(1988:
236)
southern
Cameroons
Usagar?,
major
Ef?
Ef?ri,
and
transmitted
territories.
River
participated
from
the Ef?
Therefore,
and
Much
Ef?
2001) commented:
?f?ks."
was
"secret"
Cuban
area."
a version
documented
received
hold
of
this phrase.
that during
by Usagar?,
Eforis?n,
variants.
and
of ?kp?
Bakok?,
from
Afiana
later,
(Or?),
representatives
in a ceremony
in
where
the "secret"
Usagar?,
to others.
Orok
Edem
communication,
(personal
founding
legend
of
Usagar?
origins
in
three
Ef?,
was
in both
Cross
58
African
Studies
his investigation
23. During
of
leaders
founder
the
voice
the Bateka
their
of
which
Review
of
the
call
they
in Usak
village
had
village
leopard,"
Butamu"
are
Edet,
a fish
"landed
leading
to the
(Cuban
Abaku?
and
in Usak
people
that
Edet
are
which
started
founding
refer
of
Often
Ejagham
there,
in the Cuban
term.
For
they
to
that
the
vibrating
the "leopard
their
temples
sister
of
the
and making
cult,
spirit
as butame).
and
that
literature
example,
'never
true
of
that of Cuban
supports
is based
ogy
made.
24.
the
that
(1991:10) questioned
indicated
from
Butamu
any per
bought
the
cult_All
they
originators
leopard
spirit
were
that the Ejagham
the originators
of
elders
emphatically
deny
Isangele
some
it from
and many
Isan
say that while
groups
Ejagham
purchased
Ekpe,
in turn
it from
the Efik who
others
it from
gele,
purchased
acquired
Isangele"
In
other
the
collective
of
leaders
words,
(Nicklin
1991:10,11).
memory
village
"Bateka
son',
adamant
Nicklin
who
Abaku?:
later
bonko
transfer
is an Ef?k
Cabrera
the
epicenter
ritual
power
that
of
term,
whereas
wrote:
(1958:61)
of
to
bong?
"Bonk?:
the mythol
?f?k was
the
is an Efut
the
or
sacred
drum of the Efik ([Bong?] Ekue, that of the Efor)." This distinction is not
reflected in the Cross River literature: In 1773 ?f?k leader "Grandy King
George"
of Old
Town
wrote
the
phrase
"blowed
abuncko"
to mean
that
the
In most
Cuban
interpretations,
"Iyamba
is king
of
the Efor"
(Cabrera
1958:95).