Nsibidi: pictographic communication in pre-colonial Cross-River societies (Nigeria)

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Periodical article

Title:	Nsibidi: pictographic communication in pre-colonial Cross-River societies (Nigeria)
Author:	Kalu, Ogbu U.
Year:	1978
Periodical:	Cahiers des religions africaines
Volume:	12
Issue:	23-24
Pages:	97-106
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Nigeria
Subjects:	writing systems secret languages
Abstract:	Nsibidi is an ancient script which existed before the Europeans came. There has been a debate about the origin of nsibidi script. It was the Rev. J.K. Macgregor, who was deployed to teach in Hope Waddel Training Institution, Calabar, who opened a new vista on the study of nsibidi. It was P.A. Talbot who confirmed the Ekoi origin of the script. Macgregor's hypothesis was that it was of Uyanga origin. He made the mistake of considering Uyanga, which is after all Ekoi, to be an Igbo group. There is evidence of the diffusion of Ekoi culture throughout the Cross-River basin. Though various societies there use nsibidi, the language has been preserved mostly by the Ekpe Society. From Ekpe nsibidi spread along the precolonial trade routes. Yet, the monopoly of nsibidi as the secret language of Ekpe society is probably the product of cultural change. Even more complicated, it does appear that nsibidi was not always restricted to the use of secret societies. In the Cross-River basin nsibidi acquired at least four levels of meaning: secret language of secret societies; secret language of the Ekpe Society; secret code for messages; official language. Notes, French sum.