Nsibidi

Nsibidi (also known as nsibiri,[2] nchibiddi or nchibiddy[3]) is a system of

symbols indigenous to what is now southeastern Nigeria that is apparently an
Nsibidi
ideographic script, though there have been suggestions that it includes
logographic elements.[4] The symbols are at least several centuries old—early
forms appeared on excavated pottery as well as what are most likely ceramic
stools and headrests from the Calabar region, with a range of dates from 400 to
1400 CE.[5][6]

There are thousands of nsibidi symbols, of which over 500 have been recorded.
They were once taught in a school to children.[7] Many of the signs deal with
love affairs; those that deal with warfare and the sacred are kept secret.[7]
Nsibidi is used on wall designs, calabashes, metals (such as bronze), leaves,
A symbol simply described as "Nsibidi
swords, and tattoos.[2][8] It is primarily used by the Ekpe leopard secret society
name written" by Elphinstone Dayrell in
(also known as Ngbe or Egbo), which is found across Cross River among the
1911.[1]
Ekoi, Efik, Igbo people, and other nearby peoples.
Type Ideographic with
Outside knowledge of nsibidi came in 1904 when T. D. Maxwell noticed the pictographic and perhaps
symbols.[4] Before the British colonisation of the area, nsibidi was divided into a logographic elements
sacred version and a public, more decorative version which could be used by Languages Igbo, Ekoid,
women.[8] Aspects of colonisation such as Western education and Christian Efik/Ibibio/Annang.
doctrine drastically reduced the number of nsibidi-literate people, leaving the Time pre–15th century –
secret society members as some of the last literate in the symbols.[9] Nsibidi was period present
and is still a means of transmitting Ekpe symbolism. Nsibidi was transported to
Parent Nsibidi (see also Proto-
Cuba and Haiti via the Atlantic slave trade, where it developed into the systems
anaforuana and veve symbols.[10][11]
writing)

Nsibidi
Child anaforuana (Cuba),
systems veve (Haiti)
Contents
History
Origin
Status
Uses
Court Cases - "Ikpe"
Ukara Ekpe

Examples of Nsibidi
Gallery
References
External links

History
The origin of the wordnsibidi is not known. One theory traces the word to the Ekoid
languages, where it means "cruel letters", reflecting the harsh laws of the secret
societies that hold nsibidi knowledge.[12][13] In Calabar, nsibidi is mostly associated
with men's leopard societies such as Ekpe. The leopard societies were a legislative,
judicial, and executive power before colonisation, especially among the Efik who
exerted much influence over the Cross River.[5]
The name of a boy called 'Onuaha'
as recorded by J. K. Macgregor in
Origin 1909. Macgregor interpreted the first
Nsibidi is known to be at least several centuries old, dating back at the very least to two symbols as corruptions of the
the 16th century CE, and possibly as far back as the 5th century CE. The writing on Latin letters 'N' and 'A' and the last
symbol a generic nsibidi. Macgregor
the Ikom monoliths is sometimes taken to be nsibidi,[14] which would push the date
[14]
noted the growing European
back to 2000 BCE. Some believe it dates back as far as 5000 BCE.
influence on nsibidi.

The origin of nsibidi is most commonly attributed to the Ejagham people of the
northern Cross River region, mostly because colonial administrators found the
largest and most diverse nsibidi among them. Nsibidi spread throughout the region over time and mixed with other cultures and art
forms such as the Igbo uri or uli graphic design.[5] In 1909 J. K. Macgregor who collected nsibidi symbols claimed that nsibidi was
traditionally said to have come from the Uguakima, Ebe or Uyanga tribes of the Igbo people, which legend says were taught the
script by baboons,[3] although one writer believes Macgregor had been misled by his informants.
[15]

Status
Nsibidi has a wide vocabulary of signs usually imprinted on calabashes, brass ware, textiles, wood sculptures, masquerade costumes,
buildings and on human skin. Nsibidi has been described as a "fluid system" of communication consisting of hundreds of abstract and
pictographic signs. Nsibidi was described in the colonial era by P.A. Talbot as "a kind of primitive secret writing", Talbot explained
that nsibidi was used for messages "cut or painted on split palm stems". J.K. Macgregor's view was that "The use of nsibidi is that of
ordinary writing. I have in my possession a copy of the record of a court case from a town of Enion [Enyong] taken down in it, and
every detail ... is most graphically described". Nsibidi crossed ethnic lines and was a uniting factor among ethnic groups in the Cross
River region.[5]

Uses

Court Cases - "Ikpe"

Nsibidi was used in judgement cases known as
'Ikpe' in some Cross River communities.
Macgregor was able to retrieve and translate an
nsibidi record from Enyong of an ikpe judgement.

The record is of an Ikpe or

judgement case. (a) The court was Contemporary Igbo art: carved mahogany doors covered in nsibidi
symbolism and Christian iconography in Aba, Nigeria
held under a tree as is the custom,
(b) the parties in the case, (c) the
chief who judged it, (d) his staff
(these are enclosed in a circle), (e)
is a man whispering into the ear of
another just outside the circle of
those concerned, (f) denotes all
the members of the party who
 won the case. Two of them (g) are
embracing, (h) is a man who holds
a cloth between his finger and
thumbs as a sign of contempt. He
does not care for the words
spoken. The lines round and
twisting mean that the case was a
difficult one which the people of
the town could not judge for
themselves. So they sent to the
surrounding towns to call the wise
men from them and the case was
tried by them (j) and decided; (k)
denotes that the case was one of The Ikpe from Enyong written in nsibidi as recorded by J. K.
Macgregor
adultery or No. 20.[16]

Ukara Ekpe
Nsibidi is used to design the 'ukara ekpe' woven material which is usually dyed blue
(but also green and red) and is covered in nsibidi symbols and motifs. Ukara ekpe
cloths are woven in Abakaliki, and then they are designed by male nsibidi artists in
the Igbo-speaking towns of Abiriba, Arochukwu and Ohafia to be worn by members
of the Ekpe society. Symbols including lovers, metal rods, trees, feathers, hands in
friendship war and work, masks, moons, and stars are dyed onto ukara cloths. The
cloth is dyed by post-menopausal women in secret, and young males in public.
Ukara was a symbol of wealth and power only handled by titled men and post-
menopausal women.[17] The Igbo 'Ukara' cloth of the Ekpe
society, covered in nsibidi
Ukara can be worn as a wrapper (a piece of clothing) on formal occasions, and lar
ger
version are hung in society meeting houses and on formal occasions. Ukara motifs
are designed in white and are placed on grids set against an indigo background. Some of the designs include abstract symbols
representing the Ekpe society such as repeating triangles representing the leopard's claws and therefore Ekpe's power. Ukara includes
naturalistic designs representing objects such as gongs, feathers and manilla currency, a symbol of wealth. Powerful animals are
included, specifically the leopard and crocodile.[5]

Examples of Nsibidi
Below are some examples of nsibidi recorded by J. K. Macgregor (1909)[16] and Elphinstone Dayrell (1910 and 1911)[1][18] for The
Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland and Man. Both of them recorded symbols from a variety
of locations around the Cross River, and especially the Ikom district in what is now Cross River State. Both of the writers used
informants to retrieve nsibidi that were regarded as secret and visited several Cross River communities.

"Calabash"
"Nsibidi" "Matchet"

"Big drum"
"Welcome"
"Woman"
"Two men talking" "Etak Ntaña Nsibidi —
Nsibidi's bunch of
 "Door" plantains. When the head "Man"
of the house wants
plantains he sends this
"Gun" "Moon"
sign to the head boy on
the farm."[18]
"Crossbow"
"Umbrella" "Tortoise"[1][16][18]

"Toilet soap"

Gallery
More Nsibidi symbols

Nsibidi symbols Recent nsibidi symbols

with descriptions for
each

References
1. Dayrell, Elphinstone (July–December 1911). "Further Notes on 'Nsibidi Signs with Their Meanings from the Ikom
District, Southern Nigeria".Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute. Royal Anthropological Institute of Great
Britain and Ireland. 41: 521–540. doi:10.2307/2843186 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F2843186).
2. Elechi, O. Oko (2006).Doing Justice without the State: The Afikpo (Ehugbo) Nigeria Model(https://books.google.co
m/books?id=jIqKJX0BUx4C&pg=PA98). CRC Press. p. 98. ISBN 0-415-97729-0.
3. Diringer, David (1953). The Alphabet: A Key to the History of Mankind
. Philosophical Library. pp. 148–149.
4. Gregersen, Edgar A. (1977).Language in Africa: An Introductory Survey(https://books.google.com/books?id=w4lyt
Wv1JKAC&pg=PA176). CRC Press. p. 176. ISBN 0-677-04380-5.
5. Slogar, Christopher (Spring 2007)."Early Ceramics from Calabar, Nigeria: Towards a History of Nsibidi"(http://www.t
hefreelibrary.com/Early+ceramics+from+Calabar,+Nigeria%3A+towards+a+history+of+nsibidi.-a0160331983) .
African Arts. University of California. 40 (1): 18–29. doi:10.1162/afar.2007.40.1.18 (https://doi.org/10.1162%2Fafar.2
007.40.1.18).
6. Slogar, Christopher (2005). Eyo, Ekpo, ed.Iconography and Continuity in West Africa: Calabar Terracottas and the
Arts of the Cross River Region of Nigeria/Cameroon(http://www.lib.umd.edu/drum/bitstream/1903/2416/1/umi-umd-2
280.pdf) (PDF). University of Maryland. pp. 58–62.
7. Isichei, Elizabeth Allo (1997).A History of African Societies to 1870(https://books.google.com/books?id=3C2tzBSAp
3MC&pg=PA357). Nsibidi: Cambridge University Press. p. 357.ISBN 0-521-45599-5.
8. Rothenberg, Jerome; Rothenberg, Diane (1983).Symposium of the Whole: A Range of Discourse o Tward an
Ethnopoetics (https://books.google.com/books?id=re_NEJJL7AAC&pg=PA285). University of California Press.
pp. 285–286. ISBN 0-520-04531-9.
 9. Slogar, Christopher (2005). Eyo, Ekpo, ed.Iconography and Continuity in West Africa: Calabar Terracottas and the
Arts of the Cross River Region of Nigeria/Cameroon(http://www.lib.umd.edu/drum/bitstream/1903/2416/1/umi-umd-2
280.pdf) (PDF). University of Maryland. p. 155.
10. University of Southwestern Louisiana (1987).Baking in the Sun: Visionary Images from theSouth. University of
Southwestern Louisiana. p. 30.
11. Asante, Molefi K. (2007).The History of Africa: The Quest for Eternal Harmony
. Routledge. p. 252. ISBN 0-415-
77139-0.
12. Sublette, Ned (2007). Cuba and its music: from the first drums to the mambo, V
olume 1 (https://books.google.com/b
ooks?id=fZZ4QKZEumIC&pg=PA196). Chicago Review Press. p. 196.ISBN 1-55652-632-6.
13. Marshall, Richard (1992).Jean-Michel Basquiat. Whitney Museum of American Art. p. 68.ISBN 0-87427-081-2.
14. http://www.taneter.org/writing.html
15. "West African journal of archaeology".West African Archaeological Association. WAJA by Oxford University Press.
21: 105. 1991.
16. J. K., Macgregor (January–June 1909). "Some Notes on Nsibidi".Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute.
Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland.39: 209–219. doi:10.2307/2843292 (https://doi.org/10.23
07%2F2843292).
17. Chuku, Gloria (2005). Igbo women and economic transformation in southeastern Nigeria, 1900-1960
(https://books.g
oogle.co.uk/books?id=Z3jouPZxPC4C&pg=P A73). Paragraph 3: Routledge. p. 73.ISBN 0-415-97210-8.
18. Dayrell, Elphinstone (1910). "Some "Nsibidi" Signs".Man. Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and
Ireland. 10: 113–114. doi:10.2307/2787339 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F2787339).

External links
Nsibidi Script — Cornell University Library

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nsibidi&oldid=820534279

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