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Okpo Ekak Paradox of Passion and Individuality Among the Efi K

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Okpo Ekak Paradox of Passion and Individuality Among the Efi K Okpo Ekak Paradox of Passion and Individuality among the Efi k Onyile Bassey Onyile all photos by the author, except where otherwise noted asks have long been used in religious and trading period. Th ese roles caused the obong or king to impose communal ceremonies concerned with and collect a trading tax called comey for trading privileges on spiritual transformation, disguise, fertil- the river. Aft er the abolition of the slave trade in the late 1880s, it ity rites, or amusement. Th ey are usually quickly made the transition from the slave to the palm oil mar- worn over the face, but in some societ- ket. In 1849, Calabar became the fi rst headquarters of the Brit- ies masks are worn on other parts of the ish consul on the Bights of Benin and Biafra; by 1891 it became Mbody. For example, Gelede and Egungun masks of the Yoruba the fi rst capitol of Oil Rivers Protectorate. In 1846 Reverend people cover the entire bodies of their wearers (Lawal 1996, Dre- Hope Masterton Waddell of the United Presbyterian Church of wal and Drewal 1990, Adepegba 1984). Inuit women wear fi nger Scotland established a Christian mission there with the help of masks during storytelling and dance performances (Feinup- Jamaican catechists. Th ereaft er, Calabar became the fi rst center Riordan 1996). Similarly, among Efi ks, Okpo masks allegori- of missionary expansion on the Bight of Biafra, and many Efi ks cally shape the complexities of sexual maturity with full body professed Christianity. masks (Figs. 1a–b). To Efi ks, masks are cultural objects intri- Th is is a sociocultural study that examines the meaning, aes- cately woven with other aspects of their communal life.1 Th ey thetics, and functionality of Okpo in Efi k society and how cul- view their world as a continuum, composed of the living and the tural forms of knowledge and expression shape and are shaped dead, with the ancestor(s) ever-present in the lives of individ- by Okpo performances. It investigates the character and social uals, families, and the wider society. Efi ks believe that religion values of Okpo in Efi k society, while analyzing various symbol- and life are embodied in the art of masquerading—masquerades isms of traditional and foreign materials used in making Okpo’s are dynamic. Th us, the power of Efi k masks and masquerades attire. It also examines the eff ects of evangelical Christianity on reside in their ability to synthesize several sociocultural ele- Efi k visual culture and practices. In these contexts, it integrates ments to achieve a variety of purposes. the conceptual nature of the Okpo mask within the rich mosaic Efi k people are inhabitants of Calabar—formerly Old Cala- of Efi k culture to inform our understanding of Okpo’s complex, bar—which lies along the Calabar River that fl ows south for enigmatic meaning. Okpo as an Efi k word has two meanings. about fi ve miles into the Cross River estuary. Th e people speak On one hand, it means “the uninitiated,” and on the other, “a the Efi k language—a Cross River language of the Benue-Congo billy-goat” or Okpoebot. family. Th ey settled in their present locale sometime about the While this study acknowledges Okpo’s sexual allusions, it will end of the sixteenth century (Latham 1973:3). From the mid-sev- also attempt to explore sexuality among Efi ks as informed by the enteenth through the nineteenth centuries, Calabar developed Okpo mask through the symbolism, aesthetics, and functionality into a major trading center because of its strategic location at of the mask and its costume. Approaching Okpo from this angle the intersection of Calabar and Cross Rivers. It fi rst became a paints a larger picture of its genre. Th e histories of Okpo are not major slave-trading depot, with Efi ks as middlemen in all trade recorded in any text, but rather as oral accounts and thoughts between Europeans and local inhabitants throughout the slave- expressed in its performances. Accordingly, much of this analysis 48 | african arts AUTUMN 2016 VOL. 49, NO. 3 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/AFAR_a_00299 by guest on 27 September 2021 20160426-001_48-61_CS6.indd 48 4/30/16 8:16 AM 1a Okpo Ekak Masquerade, 2012 1b Okpo Ntaga Ekpat, 1978 is shaped by oral accounts from informants, fi eld notes recorded ety. In an attempt to understand, confront, and solve problems at various times between 2002–2012, and the author’s own experi- that beset Efi k sexual life, Okpo discourse provides a means of ences behind Okpo masks in Calabar. addressing issues of sexuality and morality, paradoxically setting One purpose of Okpo’s existence is to celebrate the sexual up moral boundaries among Efi k people. However, overbear- maturity of boys and girls from pubescence into adolescence. ing evangelical Christian preaching forefronts issues of sexual- (Th roughout this study, “Okpo” is used interchangeably as a ity, morality, and other Efi k cultural objects as ungodly and evil. person, a spirit, or a mask.) Th erefore, Okpo irtsfl petulantly, In Efi k folklore, the expressions and characteristics of Okpo’s pursuing adolescent females to fulfi ll its sexual fantasies—with sexual allure and the sexual behaviors of the carefree, virile billy adult approval. At the sight of any adolescent female, Okpo goes goat2 (Capra aegagrus hircus) are analogous to any man pursu- into a state of infatuation, completely carried away by unreason- ing a woman (Ita 1974:11). Okpo masks dramatize the sexual life ing passion and emotional drunkenness and thus loses his sense of a billy goat that relentlessly pesters nanny goats to sexual sub- of being. It is important to note here that no physical sexual mission for its self-gratifi cation. Ita (1974) describes Okpo as the contact ever occurs in the course of Okpo pursuits or perfor- Efi k god of love—a symbol of sex that evokes multiple messages mances; rather, Okpo’s acts are dramatized desires. In its view, and complex visual metaphors and makes Okpo an oft en-mis- every adolescent female is a living beauty that ignites burning understood mask with complex paradoxical meanings. sexual desires. Okpo’s origin is complicated and closely entwined in Efi k his- Okpo as a symbol of spiritual force validates the acts of its tory. Its discourses include complex engagement with questions bearer. It serves as a visible expression of a spiritual manifes- of individuality, spirit manifestation, and community. Because tation that affi rms society’s values while reinforcing acceptable there are no historical records dating Okpo’s origin, I can only social modes of conduct. It communally celebrates the trans- hypothesize that Okpo must have originated some time in the formation of boys and girls into an exuberant, vigorous adoles- mid-eighteenth century, about the same time as Ekpe (Latham cence. Okpo’s performances represent an attempt to make sense 1973:36; Anwana 2009:78). Th e Ekpe Society is an all-male fra- of what it means to be human amid the social issues in Efi k soci- ternity that takes the spirit of the leopard for its ferocious per- 49 VOL. 49, NO. 3 AUTUMN 2016 african arts | Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/AFAR_a_00299 by guest on 27 September 2021 20160426-001_48-61_CS6.indd 49 4/30/16 8:16 AM 2 Idem Ekpe, 2005 sona (Fig. 2). It transformed into a graded society with initiation acceptable medium for communicating sexuality and morality, rites open to all Efi k men and women, bonded or free, of all ages shift ing it from private into public spaces. Th ese coded commu- that could aff ord it. Among Efi ks—indeed, in most African soci- nications of Efi k sexuality are decipherable by adults but go over eties—there was no distinction between the religious and the the heads of children. political. Ekpe essentially constituted the legislative, executive, Th e compelling questions raised here are: What is the con- security, and law enforcement branches of Calabar. Th us, it ful- ceptual definition of Okpo? How does Okpo apprise sexual fi lled both religious and social functions in Efi k society. matters despite the code of silence cultivated by Efi k adults? Locating Okpo in its historical context informs the under- Okpo celebrates adolescence, marking an important social and standing of its evolution. However, a discussion comparing physiological rite of maturation in the life of every Efi k, male Okpo and Ekpe will be fully articulated later, drawing parallels and female, and defi nes the biological period of transition from to the cross-fertilization between the two masquerades. Unlike puberty into adolescence. Th e gap between biological sexual Ekpe, Okpo does not require initiation rites for those interested maturation and social maturation is generally a source of many in participating in its aff airs. Ekpe does not engage in sexual problems associated with adolescent sexuality. Biological factors overtures like Okpo. It is plausible that those who could not are essential for the development of adolescent sexual behav- aff ord the very expensive cost of initiation into the Ekpe fra- ior, but their eff ects are dependent on social infl uences. Biol- ternity might have introduced Okpo masquerading (Waddell ogy also defi nes the limits on sexual interactions, while social 1863:313, Aye 1967:71, Butt-Th ompson 1970:16). context shapes particular behavioral patterns and imbues them with meaning. Th e discrepancy between biological and social THE CONCEPT OF OKPO maturation is an issue that must be understood in its evolu- Efi ks negotiate sexual matters through metaphors and sym- tionary, historical, biological, and social contexts among Efi ks bols that permeate many aspects of their lives.
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