Christmas in Calabar

Masquerades, Rituals and Recycling

Calabar is one of those place names like Popacatapetl or Timbuktoo that have always suggested to me locations so distant and exotic as to be nearly unreachable. While it is certainly far off the beaten path, Calabar is on this planet, but even long after I had become a resident of the city I still felt a thrill when the name rolled off my tongue. Calabar!

Calabar is in southeastern Nigeria, on the southern bank of the Cross River, about 5 degrees north of the equator. When I lived there about twenty years ago it was a sleepy city with more of a history than a future. Calabar, early developed as a slave port, became a major export location for the trade from the “oil rivers” when slavery declined in the mid-nineteenth century. In those days, the oil referred to was not from offshore wells but was the palm oil derived from the abundant natural growths of oil palms in this area and the vast Niger delta just to the north. This oil was a hot commodity during the industrial revolution and is still widely used in many industrial processes

Though most of us have used palm oil all our lives in soaps, cosmetics and processed foods, very few of us know this beautiful ruby-colored oil in its natural unrefined state. Refining destroys its unique aroma and flavor and to truly experience it you must visit this area and eat some of the splendid local cuisine. I recommend Mumy Abak, a kind of palm oil soup, as a great gastronomic experience.

The climate in Calabar is hot and humid. The average air temperature is slightly less than body temperature (around 85 degrees Fahrenheit) and the humidity is often as close to 100% as it is possible to get without actually being under water. Calabar averages 116 inches of rain per year. By comparison, Seattle, in the rainy northwestern USA gets about 38 inches per year. If you sit perfectly still in Calabar, large beads of perspiration will form on your skin and roll down until they drip off you. People install electric lights in closets, not for their light but for their heat, to keep the clothes a little dry. Without such bulbs, clothes hanging in closets become moldy within a few days.


Calabar in the rain – photo by Fern Long

There is a brief period each year around Christmas, euphemistically termed “the dry season,” when it rains less than normal and the temperature is marginally cooler. The local people don woolen sweaters, wrap scarfs tightly around their throats and complain of the cold when the temperature drops below 75 degrees F. However, these “cold” days are few and far between.

This season is also an intense period for traditional activities of the Efik people of Calabar when many secret societies display their dances and songs to the public by walking in their groups from compound to compound. When they arrive they are invited in and will usually perform for fifteen minutes or longer depending on the amount of encouragement they get. It is traditional to offer them a donation and some refreshments. The photographs on this page indicate only a few of the many different kinds of masquerades that can be seen on the streets of Calabar during this time of year.


The photo above and the two below are of a girl’s or women’s group called the Abang Society.

“The Abang dance is essentially a voluptuous dance that emphasizes flexibility and grace, aimed at attracting the admiration of the opposite sex. To give the audience an appearance of lightness and balance, the Abang dancer balances her entire weight on her toes as she dances from side to side, with spontaneous ninety degrees turns; while wiggling her back muscles down to her waist to the rhythm of the drummer.”

The above is quoted from “Abang Dance: Radiance from the River and Efik ideal of Femininity” by Onyile Bassey Onyile



On the left below is a small boys’ masquerade called Ekong. I have written about this masquerade in the short story entitled “One of the Boys from Home,” published elsewhere in this blog. On the right is another masquerade for boys. There is a small boy beneath those dry banana leaves and this is quite a common masquerade. If any readers can help me with information about this masquerade I will be most grateful.





Above left are two more Abang dancers. Right and below are some versions of the Ekpe masquerade. Ekpe is a very important society in Calabar and was formerly responsible for law and order and other aspects of social life.


One society I do not have any pictures of here is the dread Ekpo. While I lived in Calabar it was illegal to perform Ekpo. I believe the official excuse given was that Ekpo was too socially disruptive and dangerous. Ekpo of course continued to be played since he is the spirit of chaos and disorder, but he was played so much more secretively that I seldom caught more than a brief glimpse of him at this time.

Most of these pictures were taken in my compound during the Christmas season when masquerade groups move around and display their dances and songs to the public. A few were taken on the streets when I encountered masquerades while moving around in the city.

It is easy to see some similarities here with Halloween and infer that the substance of these activities, their intrinsic signficance, is also similar. In fact, it is very different.

The difference has to do with our relationship to the world around us. Generally, in traditional societies, the actions of humans are thought to have an effect on the operations of the universe. Rites and rituals are the ways that humans make the universe continue to operate in such a way that we can exist and live happy and productive lives. Rites are not simply decorative or symbolic or, as in the case of Halloween, entertaining. They are the actual means whereby humans turn the wheel of universal forces. The correct and timely performance of rituals is what makes it possible for life to continue. The ritual activities of children’s groups such as the examples above are not assumed to have life and death implications for the universe. But they are important activities and they do have an impact on the quality of life. Naturally the most important rituals are the responsibility of adults. These activities, while they may be entertaining and colorful, are not performed solely for their entertainment value or as empty relics with only historical or nostalgic significance. In traditional societies, these rituals are performed because they MUST be performed if we wish the world to continue to operate properly.

This may seem strange unless you analyse it with some similar aspect of our own culture in mind. Every week here people put blue plastic boxes in front of their houses. Some of these boxes contain cans, bottles or plastic containers and others contain newsprint or cardboard. This is called “recycling” and we believe it is a better way of getting rid of waste than just throwing it into a landfill. We believe that if we do not do this then the world will become too polluted with garbage for us to live well. If one thinks of traditional rituals as performing the same kinds of functions they begin to make much more sense.

Except where noted, photographs above were taken by the author in Calabar, Nigeria, during 1986-88