“DOES EKPE GO TO THE CHURCH ?” MY INFORMED ANSWER IS YES AND NO?
© Holyns Hogan, 2024
1. YES! because Ekpe (originally seen as an offshoot of the Egyptian Sulvan deity that later developed from Nyana-Nyaku to its present embellished form in the 15th century A.D.) is one of the Efik’s most ancient, deified, sacred-secret cults/triumvirate, ranked after Ndem/the Usan Abasi described by Waddel (1863) as “a mimic of the Hebrew Arc of God”. In effect, Ekpe as Efik popular historical instrument of governance, religion, orderliness, politics and fraternity aided the foundation and development of Christianity in Old Calabar nay Nigeria South Eastern region from the 16 through 1800s A.D. Therefore, given the significant role played by Ekpe to superimpose Christianity on Old Calabar people and the fact that Ekpe was always present to wake, escort and ensure people went to the Church and stayed till the end on Akwa Ederi affirmed the reason that Ekpe is hitherto inferred as a totem/deity or immortal in the “tua fi toto, Abasi ikpaha Ekpe ikpaha” eulogistic slogan.
More so, the mere fact that it usually takes Ekpe to escort new Obong of Calabar to his Church Coronation infers that Ekpe goes to the Church when deemed fit or as invited through its institutional Agents.
2. NO! because Ekpe in modern times has grow to establish its institutional values, principles, secrecy and sacredness as a totemic confraternity that is solely restricted to initiates. Thus, Ekpe’s Church is the Ekpe Shrine or lodges as Efe Ekpe Iboku (from where the inserted purple Ekpe emerged as the 2023 Nyọrọ Ekpe star prize winner under the leadership of Ọbọñ Ekpe and Chairman, Board of Directors of this group, Sen. Bassey Ewa Henshaw) and the Efe Asibọñ Ekondo etc.
So, nothing now concerns Ekpe with “Mbakara’s Church”, when even Ekpe had Akwa Ọfiọñ as its Nyamkpe sacred Day in the ancients. This fact is inferred when Ekpe initiates insisted in the Ekpe song that -Utu ke ebọ mi ñyamkpe, ebọ mi Mary o- aya aya” (loosely translated to- rather than collect Ñyamkpe, a symbol of traditional religion from an Ekpe initiate, collect Mary, used figuratively as synecdoche to infer Christianity by its totemic rosery of the Catholics/scriptural records of Mary as the mother of Christ as seen in “edisana Mary Eka Abasi” (Holy Mary the mother of God).
