Cuban Abaku Chants: Examining New Linguistic and Historical Evidence for the African

Diaspora
Author(s): Ivor Miller
Reviewed work(s):
Source: African Studies Review, Vol. 48, No. 1 (Apr., 2005), pp. 23-58
Published by: African Studies Association
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Cuban Abaku? Chants: Examining New

Linguistic and Historical Evidence for
the African Diaspora
IvorMiller

Abstract: The Cuban Abaku?

of

societies

Ugb?

in the

in Havana
ines

1830s

the process

torical

leaders

West

and

Cuban

Abaku?
This

methodology

Cuban

elders,

Abaku?

chants

aid of West

with

Ef?k

African

in documents
centuries

chants,

created

then

The

texts may

of data
from

many

same

in these
the

con

interpreting

chants

chants

with

the
those

with

to twentieth

eighteenth

ethnic

and

geographic

as his

be used

and

recording
these

exam

paper

to understand

able

these

interpreting

includes

This

villages.

were

first

and Africans
that

vocabulary

founded

Cameroon?was

River

correlation

by Europeans
a

indicates

of Cross

involves
and

speakers.

southwestern

members
?kp?
indicates
how

African

documents.

temporary

and

Nigeria

by captured

by which

from the ?f?k ?kp? and Ejagham

society?derived

southeastern

names

of
lead to a r??valuation
may
examples
were
trans
to which
culture
African
and
transmitted
the
the extent
identity
during
to extol
Abaku?
intellectuals
have
used
commercial
Atlantic
recordings
diaspora.
indicates
that Cuban
Abaku?
is
and ritual
Evidence
their history
identity
lineages.
an

and

occasional

on

based
their

historical

figure.

of ritual
knowledge
lineages
a vague
not upon
notion

detailed

of
The
identity.
persistence
of a Cuban
national
identity.

La

from
stemming
specific
of an African
"national"

and

homelands,

R?sum?:

These

the Abaku?

communaut?

cubaine

contradicts

society

fond?e

?t?
de

Cross

? la Havane
River.

munaut?

?kp?
la communaut?

raient
sist?

?tre
en

Cet

de

Abaku?

l'Ouest

L. Miller

DePaul
gence
versity

teaches

University
of Hip-Hop
Press of

de

? enregistrer

African Studies Review, Volume

Ivor

ont

documents

temps

in

in

the

His
Chicago.
visual
arts, Aerosol
23

des

construction

Ef?k

communaut?s

par

des

leaders

lequel

des

captur?s

les membres

de comprendre
capables
et montre
comment

Cuba,

"ethnic"

et du Sud Ouest du Cameroun?a

par

?t?

La m?thodologie
historiques.
et
les chants
interpr?ter

48, Number

courses

Mississippi.

1830

le processus

moderne

comme

premier

les ann?es

examine

d'Afrique

utilis?s

un

dans

essai

or

the official

Abaku??descendante

?kp? et Ejagham Ugb? du Sud Est du Nigeria

in

locations

de

villages
la com

les chants
ces

textes

utilis?e
Abaku?

de

pour
a con
avec

1 (April 2005), pp. 23-58

cultural

of the African
history
diaspora
on
research
the emer
history-based
was
in
2002
Kingdom,
published
by the Uni
oral

les

at

24

African

anciens

de

membres

la communaut?

de

ments

Review

Studies

cubaine,

la communaut?

ces

et

?f?k
ceux

puis

d'Afrique

les m?mes

interpr?ter
de

La

l'Ouest.

avec

chants

corr?lation

entre

les

les ?l?

et les
documents
les
par
produits
Europ?ens
com
? un glossaire
le vingti?me
si?cle
aboutit
noms
et
et
de
des
occasionnellement,
prenant
beaucoup
ethniques,
g?ographiques
mener
une
Ces
?
de
r??valuation
historiques.
personnalit?s
exemples
pourraient
et de la culture
l'?tendue
de la transmission
de l'identit?
africaines
lors de la dias
de

chants

entre

Africains

des

le dix-huiti?me

et

Les
ont
intellectuels
la communaut?
de
Abaku?
trans-Atlantique.
jusqu'?
en
mettre
utilis?
des
commerciaux
valeur
leur his
pour
pr?sent
enregistrements
et les
de
Il est
toire
leurs
rituels.
de d?montrer
l'identit?
que
origines
possible
sur une
est bas?e
de
Abaku?
cubaine
connaissance
d?taill?e
des
rituels
l'origine
pora

de

provenant
vague

d'une

munaut?
nationale

locations

Abaku?

dans

sp?cifiques

identit?

"ethnique"
une

constitue

ou

leurs

"nationale"

r?sistance

pays

et non

d'origine,

africaine.

? la construction

sur

La persistance
officielle

la notion
la com

de
d'une

identit?

cubaine.

is

Scholarship

usually

its own

reward,

butin

rare

cases,

it can

pro

of samples of Abaku?
results. After my publication
other remarkable
a
from
recorded
album
(Miller 2000), Nigerian
commercially
phrases
States
members
of the Cross River ?kp?
living in the United
society
informed me that they had recognized
these texts as part of their own his
in the U.S. had learned about the Cuban Abaku?
and
tory. Ef?k people
were
contact
for
its
site
members.
The
with
Web
searching
actively
to Cuban tourist literature on the Abaku?
had references
>www.efik.com<
the first meeting
in Spanish; our communication
led to what was perhaps
duce

this material with both

groups. The privilege of examining
has provoked me to grapple with
and Ef?k ?kp? members
as evidence
for rethinking
the
of using oral history materials
questions
in the Caribbean.
African diaspora
can illustrate this interpretive
A specific example
process. The phrase
awana bekura mendo/
Itia Ororo K?nde Ef?
N?nkue
"Okobio Enyenis?n,
the actions
Oo Ekue" is part of an Abaku? chant memorializing
Kebut?n/
between

both

Cuban Abaku?

leaders
leaders who helped
found the society. Abaku?
as: "Our African brothers,
from
sacred
the
this
place /
interpret
phrase
came to Havana,
and in Regla founded Ef?k Ebut?n / we salute the Ekue
in the U.S., equates
drum." Orok Edem
(2001), an Ef?k scholar residing
name
of
with
"Ef?Kebut?n,"
Cuba's first Abaku? group,
the
"Obutong," an
terms as
?f?k town in the Cross River region. He interprets many Abaku?
an
term
Ef?k
in
for the Qua settlement
Calabar, orig
deriving from ?b?kp?,
area to the north.1
from the Ejagham-speaking
inally formed by migrants
I was invited to facilitate an exchange
After connecting
with Edem,
of Ef?k and Efut

between

a group

of Cuban

Abaku?

and West

African

?kp?

at the Ef?k

Cuban Abaku? Chants

25

in New York in 2001.

In preparation
for this
Association
meeting
an
to
Ef?k
several
event, I introduced
member,
Asuquo Ukpong,
?kp?
at a local cabaret performance.
Abaku? musicians
As they played, Ukpong
to ?f?k culture in the
identified many possible relationships
enthusiastically
an
form of dance and musical
instruments.
Abaku?
chant, he
During
danced
toward the Cuban musicians;
then, as the lead drummer
stepped
National

forward, Ukpong
gestured
symbolically with his eyes and hands. A Cuban
Abaku? dancer joined them, also using a vocabulary of gestures dense with
symbolism. This was perhaps the first time that ?kp? and Abaku? members
in a performance
and their ability to communicate
had met
context,
movement
with
contrasted
the
divisions between
them created by
through
and
their
colonial
Spanish
English,
respective
languages.
A week later, a group of Abaku? attended
the ?f?k National Association
A man in an "idem ?kp?" costume visually very similar to that of
meeting.3
to the accompaniment
the Cubans danced
of a large ensemble
of musi
an
cians and chanters. Goldie
translates
?f?k
term, as
Idem,
(1964:116-17)
runs about
"a representative
of Egbo
who
town."
Essien
the
[?kp?]
as
translated
Idem
in
Ib?b??.
(1986:9)
"masquerade"
to perform,
As
the Cubans
that their
prepared
they realized
a term derived from ?f?k
"Ireme"costume ?Ireme
of
being
pronunciation
as
as
"idem Ef?"?lacked
the ananyong?
well
waist
nkanik?
the
(ritual
sash)
bells placed over it (see Goldie
that an Ireme
1964:214). They explained
cannot function without
a
with
and
staff
in the hands.
herbs
these, together
are nearly identical to those of Abaku?,
As ?kp? masquerades
these items
could be lent by the ?f?k. This lending of ritual objects occurred
in a mat
ter-of-fact
two

fashion,

a further

indication

of

cultural

similarity

between

the

areas.

Similar use of nkanik? bells has been recorded on both sides of the
Atlantic. While
in the Cross River region in 1847, the Rev. H. M. Waddell
two
described
dancers wearing bells: "Two Egbo
(1863:354)
?kp? masked
runners in their harlequin
costume
entered
the town to clear the
[?kp?]
streets. Their bells, dangling at their waists, gave notice of their
approach."
In

the

streets

of Havana,

late-nineteenth-century

notes

description

"covered

in coarse

of

the Three

so
Day processions
and
that
their
and
like
sides[,] arms[,]
large
bulky
legs appeared
simple
?
behind
the dancers, who did not
appendages
They marched
slowly...
from shaking the many bells they car
cease, in their startling convulsions,
ried bound to their waists" (Meza 1891; cited in Ortiz 1960:12).
In contemporary
New York, the Cubans danced
in procession with the
?f?k elders; their set of four biankomo drums?ekomo
is drum in ?f?k (Goldie
and played in the same style as those of
1964:73)?were
clearly designed
the ?f?k.4 The Ireme greatly impressed
the ?f?k by greeting
their elders
with specific gestures and cleansing
them ritually with a branch of herbs.
a long enkame (chant) in Cuban ?f?k
The lead singer performed
composed
for this event, and the ?f?k responded with great enthusiasm.
In ?f?k, the
King's

the Abaku?

hoods...

26

African

Abaku?

Studies

enkame

Review

is ekama,

"to

meaning

call

to attention,

people

to

to

begin,

2001). As a result of this

for further exchanges
in

declare"
communication,
(Orok Edem, personal
and later encounters,
plans are in the making
West Africa and Cuba.5
Mutual
the ?kp? and Abaku?
between
recognition
provokes many
as well
in the Caribbean,
about West African cultural continuities
questions
as the implications
of this knowledge
for present-day West Africans. Both
to use their traditional practices
in order to
groups are currently struggling
to contemporary
respond
in the other's
themselves
of

oral

and

history

issues. That both ?kp? and Abaku?

perceive
language and ritual practice points to the vitality

performance

as

sources

for

new

in

evidence

the African

diaspora.

as well as
derived
practice
from the ?f?k people's
?kp? societies
societies of southeastern
and
south
the Ejagham people's Ugb?
Nigeria
western Cameroon,
in Havana
in the 1830s by
the Abaku? was founded
In the ensuing
170 years, this
leaders of Cross River villages.
captured
a
to become
aid society has expanded
mutual
multiethnic
distinguishing
feature of Cuban cultural identity. Ceremonies
consist of drum, dance, and
the esoteric Abaku?
Cuban
scholars
activities using
language.
chanting
on
"is
based
that the Abaku?
have long thought
language
principally
A

or maxims
Efik terms predominate"
in which
(Deschamps
proverbs
1967:39).
For the past ten years I have worked with leaders of these traditions to
In the past, knowledge
of these
their history.
and interpret
document
chants

has

been

restricted

to members

of

the

Abaku?,

but

recently,

por

in commercial
cited in this essay.
tions have been included
recordings
of an ?f?k scholar to
The enthusiastic
and knowledgeable
response
for interpreta
tremendous
these Cuban chants has opened
possibilities
literal meanings
tion. After 170 years of separation, we would not expect
to Cuban
to correspond
from West African
derived
neatly
languages
even
chants
Abaku?
Abaku?, which is a ritual language. When
interpreting
a multiplicity
one encounters
of meanings,
since Abaku?
into Spanish,
are poetic and rich in metaphor.
All elders who interpreted
expressions
use
me
of
to
their inherited manuscripts
of
the
made
vocabularies
passages
as well as their powers of deduction,
based on the use of the passage dur
are col
of ritual action. That Abaku? practices
sequence
ing a particular
lective yet maintained
within a ritual hierarchy has served to keep transla
in other words, unstudied
certain boundaries;
of passages within
be
learned
elders. In this intellectual
would
by
challenged
interpretations
as
to
add
the
richness
Abaku? masters explore
variations
tradition, possible
own
In
Ab?mb?l?
another
their
and
history.
example,
interpret
in ora
reinforcement
of
collective
described
the
(1976:15-16)
orthodoxy
tions

cle poetry among If? diviners inWest Africa.

of translation
One of the first difficulties

has

to do with

the transcrip

Cuban

Abaku?

27

Chants

in the above example

into words. For instance,
tion of spoken phrases
awana
bekura
N?nkue
Itia Ororo K?nde Ef?
mendo/
("Okobio Enyenis?n,
as
was interpreted by
I
Keb?ton
written
had
what
Oo
Kebut?n/
?kue"),
Ef?
that in Cuban usage, Cross River
Orok Edem as Efik Obutong, indicating
terms may be joined or resegmented,
them additionally
difficult to
making
texts
in
the
the
I
word
breaks
Cuban
determined
generally
interpret.
most
did
of
the
to
Abaku?
who
instructions
elders,
by
interpre
according
in doubt, I referred to published Abaku? vocab
tations into Spanish. When
with Abaku? elders. In
ularies. In fact, I reviewed many such vocabularies
some instances, I intentionally
do not translate some terms fully, because to
to hide information
to
do so would articulate obscure passages designed
Abaku?

noninitiates.
ular

leaders would

not approve

translation

of these partic

phrases.

is the fact that Cross River ?kp? and

translation
complicating
an "initiation dialect" which is derived from local
seem
to
have
Ugb?
so that they are unintelligible
languages whose codes have been switched
to a noninitiate
Ruel
1969:231, 245). The fact that we can
(see Miller 2000;
some
sense
of
make
Abaku? through ?kp? and ?f?k terms suggests a direc
tion for further linguistic study.
In what follows, I document
leaders use these chants to
how Abaku?
a transcribed Abaku?
I
express their cultural history.
begin by presenting
an
chant, followed by
English translation of the Spanish phrases and terms
used by Abaku?
leaders to interpret them. After this, I document
transla
or
tions into ?f?k
another Cross River language by Orok Edem, Joseph
an author
Edem, and Callixtus
Ita, all native speakers6; by Bruce Connell,
on
the languages of the Cross River region; and from published
sources,
ity
1862 Dictionary of theEf?k Language, the stan
mainly the Rev. Hugh Goldie's
are hard to read, I
dard work. Because
these multilayered
interpretations
a
to
toWest
terms
text
in the
that correspond
used
identify
graphical device
or
terms.
in
For example:
Goldie
another
African
anything
published
source is placed in square brackets
[ ], and anything identified by O. Edem,
is placed in angle brackets < >.Where
both kinds
J. Edem, Ita, or Connell
of sources identity an item, then both kinds of brackets are used. Immedi
each bracketed
gets its
ately under the Cuban
interpretation,
expression
on the
translation with a citation. My own comments
if any,
interpretation,
I begin with the already mentioned
follow this. As an example,
chant.
Further
each

First Chant
Okobio
[Ororo]

< [Enyenis?n] >, awana <bekura> mendo/

Oo <[?kue]>.
[K?nde] [Ef? Kebut?n]>/

Our African
Regla

from
brothers,
founded Ef?k Ebut?n/

<[Nunk]ue

came to Havana,
the sacred place/
we salute the Ekue drum.

[Itia]

and in

28

Studies

African

Review

In Abaku?:
= brother
= Africa
Enyenis?n

Okobio
awana

mendo

bekura

sacred

place

the

where

or Bakura Efor
Awana Bekura Mendo,
the most important
locality of the Efor

society

originated

(formerly Bekura) was

(Cabrera 1958:79).

= Havana

Nunkue

Itia = land
Ororo = center

(of a river)
K?nde = name for Regla, Havana
= first Abaku?
Ef? Kebut?n
group
Itia Ororo

Ekue

Line

= sacred

1: Okobio

drum.

<[Enyenis?n]>,

awana <bekura> mendo

= child of the
soil, a native, a free man;
[Enyenis?n]
E-yen'-i-so?
ata even iso? = free by both parents
(Goldie 1964: 97)7 In
to ?f?k peo
local usage then, eyenison would refer specifically
1986:75).
ple (seeEyo
<Enyenis?n>

enyenis?n

= son

of

the

soil,

"we

meaning

are

owners

of the land" (O. Edem, personal

communication,
2001)
<bekura> "Bekura is a village east of Usaghade,
adjacent to or
(Balondo)
part of Ekondo Titi. This is Londo
country" (Con
communication,
nell, personal
2002).
line

2: <[Nunk]ue

[Ma]

You cannot push

[Ororo]
that stone

[K?nde]
farther

[Ef? Kebut?n]>.
than the Efik Obutong.

Itia ororo k?nde

entire phrase in ?f?k would be <Nunkue
a standard ?f?k boast meaning
"We are stronger
?f?k Ebuton>,
than anyone else" (O. Edem, personal
communication,
2001).

This

= to
or away
[Nunk] Nuk
push; to push aside
=
a
stone
[itia] F-ti-at
(Goldie 1964:139)

(Goldie

1964:234)

that (Goldie 1964:256)

=
(Goldie 1964:312)
superiority; mastery
= Old
Town, a village situated a short
[Ef?Kebut?n]
Qb'-u-to?
distance above Duke Town (Goldie 1964:360)
=
an ?f?k town near Duke Town (O.
<Efi Kebuton>
Obutong,
communication,
Edem, personal
2001)
[ororo] 0'-ru=
[k?nde] U'-kan

It should be noted that Orak Edem's translation, above, does not coincide
to be place
and Ororo
which hold N?nkue
with Cuban
interpretations,
names
is plausible, however,
(see Cabrera 1958:73). Edem's
interpretation

29

Cuban Abaku? Chants

initiation jargons commonly

because southern Nigerian
as the above, as a form of figurative
speech (see Green
Line 3: Oo

use proverbs,
1958).

such

<[?kue]>

=
[Ekue] Ekp?
leopard (Goldie 1964:74). Hence
is literally "leopard men."
institution
= the
Ek'-pe
Egbo [?kp?] institution as a whole,
the grades (Goldie 1964:74)

the name

comprising

of this
all

to
(Ortiz [1955:208] wrote: "In Cuba the word ?kpewas converted
can
?kue because
of
the constant phoneme
the
?f?k
kp
language
or written
not be well pronounced
in European
languages." See
In both the Cross River region and
also Simmons
[1956:66].
is also the name of the unseen drum that
Cuba, ?kp?/?kue
"roars" to authorize
ritual action [see Waddell
1863: 265-66]).
Within
this example are many Cuban terms that translate directly into
are very dif
the meanings
?f?k and whose meanings
overlap. Even where
in the Abaku? phrase "Nunkue...
ferent?as
kande"?the
phrase would be
an
context
in
This
indicates
the
?f?k
of
intelligible
by
speaker.
possibilities
Abaku? for gaining
into
trans-Atlantic
insight
history.
The process of interpretation
documented
in
by this article began
earnest when Orok
first
Edem
Cuba's
Abaku?
"Efik
group,
equated
Ebut?n," with "Obutong," an ?f?k town that was part of Calabar in south
eastern

Nigeria.

Leaders

of

this

town

and

their

retinues

were

captured

by

an incident well docu

to the Caribbean,
ships and transported
sources. The battle of 1767, known as the "Massacre of
in written
Old Calabar," was the climax of a power struggle between
the neighboring
Old Town
and
Town
Duke
New
(a.k.a. Obutong)
(a.k.a.
Town) over for
trade
Simmons
Town
Duke
leaders
made a secret
(see
1956:67-68).
eign
with
of
British
in
the
slave
anchored
Old
Calabar river.
pact
captains
ships
These captains in turn invited Obutong
leaders aboard their vessels, osten

British
mented

the dispute. Once on board, three brothers of the Obu

sibly to mediate
chief
three
tong
Ephraim Robin John were held captive, and an estimated
were
hundred
One
to
released
the
Duke
brother,
townspeople
slaughtered.
Town leaders, was beheaded,
and the other two, along with several of their
Clark
retinue, were sold as slaves in the West Indies (Williams 1897:535-38;
son 1968 [1808]:305-10).
on the Calabar River lasted several
The rivalry among ?f?k settlements
1978:37; Lovejoy 8c Richardson
years (see Northrup
1999:346); events such
as the one described
above brought a large enough number of
?kp? lead
ers into slavery for them to establish Abaku?
in Havana.
"Grandy King
the loss of four of his sons "gone
George"
[Ephraim Robin John] described
allredy with [captain] Jackson and I don't want any more of them caried of

30

Studies

African

Review

Connell
(Williams 1897:544).
(personal communi
by any other vausell"
claim of ?f?k actu
cation, 2002) points out that "this is a rare documented
were
to
The time
doubt
sent
there
the
Indies
West
more].
[no
ally being
of
the
and
assumed
this
between
Abaku?,
incident,
1767,
gap
founding
1836, is nearly sixty years, which suggests that the sons of Ephraim Robin
not involved." In fact, the Robin John brothers were
John were presumably
in Virginia,
then traveled to
sold in Dominica,
escaped, were reenslaved
in a legal battle over their status, and
Bristol, where they became enmeshed
to
Calabar
returned
2002;
(Paley
eventually
Sparks 2002).
in Calabar were trans
of Africans who embarked
hundreds
Meanwhile,
on British ships directly to Havana. For example,
in 1762 the Nancy
ported
in 1763 the Indian Queen dis
and Havana;
disembarked
423 at Barbados
in 1785 the Quixote disembarked
and Havana;
496 at Kingston
embarked
in 1804 the Mary Ellen disembarked
375 in
and Havana;
290 at Trinidad
in spite of linguistic and ethnic diversity, they would have
Havana.9 There,
as "Calabari." In the mid-eighteenth
been known generally
century, five
in
Havana
existed
Calabar?
cabildos
(Marrero
(nation
groups)
these groups were known to include ?kp? mem
1980:158-60);
generally,
bers and acted as incubators for the emerging Abaku?. The historian Jos?
in 1812
rebellion
L. Franco
(1974:179)
reports that during the attempted
in
discov
authorities
Havana
led by the free black Jos? Antonio
Aponte,
an
Abaku?
's possession
in Aponte
with
ered a document
symbol.
signed
of the Abaku?
that early models
These factors raise the possibility
society
were

in the late eighteenth

century.
developed
but not the final
have known the point of departure,
?f?k historians
and place names
the language
documented
Cuban Abaku?
destination.
from
this with information
but, until now, they had no way to corroborate
sources. Thus Edem's
the
remarkable
African
strengthens
interpretation
of slav
secret society being recreated under conditions
story of a complex
inti
and
of
leaders
their
was
facilitated
the
This
feat
ery.
by
proximity
?kp?

mate

circle,

all

of whom

were

brought

to Havana,

cosmopolitan

city

con

in a large free black population.

taining many
The mutually
?f?k and Abaku?
interpretations
reinforcing
present-day
a
us
account of events leading
to
create
acts
connected
allows
historical
of
This contin
in the Caribbean.
of an African
institution
to the refounding
the
that describe
other interpretations
uous narrative?which
contradicts
Cross River people

assembled
Middle Passage as a historical discontinuity?was
through years
on
the Atlantic
of
and subse
both
sides
of field work and document
study
One of
intellectuals.
and
traditional
between academic
quent collaboration
were
traditions
is that African cultural
the myths of slavery in the Americas
was
consid
the
lived reality
The Abaku? example
suggests that
destroyed.
than that.
erably more complicated
with Orok Edem, I learned that Fernan
Months
after communicating
in Cuba, had nearly fifty
influence
do Ortiz, a leading scholar of African
term
Ortiz
"Efik Obut?n."
years earlier correctly traced the origin of the

31

Cuban Abaku? Chants

wrote
that the Cuban pronunciation:
(1955:254)
"Ef? But?n or Efique
in the pure language of the ?f?k should be pronounced
but?n...
Efik
was in Efik the name of a great region of Calabar...
and
Obut?n_Obut?n
also of its ancient capital, today called Old Town by the English." Ortiz's
on Cuban
influence
society. To my
primary concern was tracing African
or
to
never
Africans
he
traveled
worked
with
Africa; he was
knowledge,
in

interested

the

Cuban

not

nation,

trans-Atlantic

sever

While

dialogue.

and
the post-1958 Revolution
works had been edited during
read by several Abaku? Imet, the work in which he states the above?avail
to obtain in Cuba and thus
able only in a first edition?was
very difficult
not well known by Abaku?. Abaku?
leaders had always known
that the
source for their institution was the Calabar region, but they had never had
al of Ortiz's

an opportunity
to travel or to meet ?f?k people. Only
in contemporary,
1991) and "the
global New York City, "the Secret African City" (Thompson
first Caribbean
city" (see James 1998:12), could Cuban Abaku? and West
African ?kp? meet.

Oral

and

History

Performance-Oriented

Research

Methods

largely on oral
From the early
oral methodologies
transmission,
nineteenth
of their own
century onward, Abaku? have passed manuscripts
texts from elders to selected neophytes,
who have then memorized
and
recited them in various performance
contexts.10 The secrecy surrounding
Since African-derived

texts

these

in the Americas
depend
are vital to scholarship.

traditions

is evidence

of

the

continued

society's

over

control

information.

to work with Abaku?

texts
fortunate
leaders who distinguish
historical
data from those with spiritual allusions. Without
containing
access to at least some of these historical passages, with their richly detailed
I have been

insights

into

cultural

transmission

and

we

transformation,

can

hardly

fath

om

to the West African diaspora.

the meaning
of Abaku?
scholars create historical documents
of
By recording oral testimonies,
the memories
and accounts of the people
they interview. The audio record
in much
ed document may be examined
the same way that a written docu
ment
is examined, making
oral history a type of historiography.
All histor
none of which can be taken at face
is based on documents,
ical research
value. The student must ask: Who made
them, why, for what audience; what
did they have available to them; what was their purpose
information
in cre
ating

these documents?
In establishing
this oral history,

Afro-Cuban

diaspora.11

Cubans

use

in North
many

as

known

technique

performance

to forms of "signifying"

Iwas greatly

America

terms

aided by a variation

and other

to describe

musical

regions
variants

of an

is similar

which

controversia,

in the African
of

call-and

interactions.
Ortiz
(1981:54) wrote: "The congos often employ,
response
other
those in Cuba called de puya, makagua or
chants,
among
responsorial

32

African

Studies

two

in which

managua,

Review

of

Chants

alternating

soloists

chant,

sustaining

controversy.

of

[are offered by] payadores [singers

'counterpoint,'
'challenge,
who perform
musical
At times the chorus meddles
dialogues].
improvised
to stimulate
with the phrases of the chanting gallos [soloists]
the perfor
mance."

one

"Between

ceremony

and

another

in

their

rites,"

wrote

Ortiz

to the rhythms of
"entertain
themselves
the Abaku?
(1981:75),
publicly
or
in?as
their orchestra,
chanting
befumas, which
they also call decimas, or
verses of challenge,
or
of
history." In Efik, the literal meaning
aphorism,
it can mean
?n?a ismouth;
figuratively
boastful and is related to the word
eneminua, which is a flatterer (Aye 1991:56).
In Abaku? ritual performance,
lead singers compete with each other to
texts. When
I
demonstrate
musical
skill as well as knowledge
of historical
Iwould take it to various Abaku?
learned a passage and its translation,
lead
some sages would offer
ers.12 I found that in reciting their own versions,
or
text
into
the
material
the
by extending
by giving more complex
insights
also
of the form.13
while
mastery
interpretations,
demonstrating

Abaku?

Chant Their History

I visited an Abaku?
leader in Havana.
After the ?kpe-Abaku?
encounter,
Interested
that West African ?kp? had interpreted Cuban texts, and in the
chant containing
what he
spirit of controversia, he gave me the following
to be the names of ?f?k founders
of the society in Cuba. This
believed
chant,

one

of

hundreds

in

contemporary

practice

the

commemorating

of West and Central West African

is performed
transmission
traditions,
in remembrance
of ?f?k leaders considered
before
initiation ceremonies
in Cuba.14
founders of the group ?f?k Ebut?n

Second
line

1: <?kue
?kue
or
?kp?

[asanga]
came

abi?

Chant

[ep?]> nip ?.

to the land of the whites,

around in the land of the ghosts,

in a boastful context"
used
[O. Edem,
("Walkingis
communication,
2001]),
that walks

personal

or
?kp? walks
[asanga]
[asanga]

in the village

of ghosts.

?s??a = walking
(in Ibibio) (Essien 1990:147)
F-san = a walk; a journey; a trip; a voyage" (Goldie

1964:135)

Cuban

asa?a = to move,

[asanga]

in whatever

Abaku?

manner

Chants

(Goldie

33

1964:264)

(Each of these translations coincides with the interpretation

by
many Abaku? elders of as?nga as walking [see Cabrera 1958:55]).
=
ghost, spirit" (Aye 1991:32)
[ep?] ?kp?
<abia> = village, town (if one interprets this word
Line

2: Endafia
We give

awerek?
thanks

[Abas?] <[obon]>
to God

as obio in ?f?k)

Ef?.

and to the Efik rulers.

= the
[Abas?] A-bas'-i
Supreme Being, God" (Goldie 1964:2)
= a
A-bon'
[obon]
chief; one having authority; a principal
ruler; a

king (Goldie 1964:3)

<obon>

obong
tion, 2001)

Line

3: <Afot?n

konom?

I am from

king

in ?f?k

?kue

Enyemilla>.

(O. Edem,

personal

communica

the land of Enyemiy?.

<Afot?n konom? ?kue Enyemilla> Afotang okonomi ?kp? enye

mi da = A boastful phrase identifying
the source of the speak
er's particular kind of ?kp?" (O. Edem personal
communica
tion, 2001).
Line 4: Jura
I was

[Nataku?].
consecrated

in the land of Nataku?.

[Nataku?] A-tak'-pa

= Duke

Town,

the largest town in Calabar

(Goldie 1964:355)
Not

say they have ?f?k roots, but many key Abaku?

only do Abaku?
are
words
also slightly transformed
from words still used in the Calabar
For example, Abaku? itself is likely
an
region (Sosa 1982:395-414).
?b?kp?,
?f?k term for the Ejagham people
1956:66 n.la). This makes
(Simmons
to Abaku? mythology,
in
according
Ejagham participated
as
the
Abaku?
Ekoi
translate
this
also
makes
sense,
originating
society.
power,
because Africanists
also identify the word as an ?f?k term for the Ejagham
term for friend (O. Edem,
is an Ejagham
(ritual brother)
people.15 Montna
term
The
the
"Voice" of ?kue
communication,
2001).
(Ortiz
personal
Uyo,
sense,

because

1955:233), may derive from

Cuban phrase
"Abas? ama"

the ?b?b?? ?yo (voice)

(Essien 1986:10). The
name
is a contemporary
in
(Ortiz 1954:83)

34

African

Studies

Review

"It is God who

loves" (Essien 1986:45).

in cultural performance
in
styles, especially
of
relation
with
oral
evidence
historical
traditions,
strong
regions
provides
these sources with traditional historical documents,
the
ships. Correlating
were
of
created
outsider
under
which
observers,
by
promotes
majority
In a study simi
standing of the complex dynamics of the African diaspora.
found that in Suri
lar to this one, for example, Richard Price (2001:54)
?b?b?? meaning
Information

name

embedded

were

there

Saramaka

"historians

who

behaved...

rather

that "their collective vision of the Saramaka

to more
traditional
records constructed
compared

own"; he suggests
fruitfully

like

our

past could be
by non-Sara

maka."

Abaku? Ritual Lineages

Abaku?
region
begat

was established
from the Calabar
by the 1830s when ?kp? members
the first "cre?les" (Cuban-born blacks). As each new group

initiated

ritual

another,

lineages

were

created

which,

in many

cases,

continue

is generally agreed to have been established

in
?f?k Ebuton
its progeny,
Ef?. Since ?f?k Ebuton eventually disappeared,
in 1845, is considered
the oldest group of "tierra
established
?f?k Abaku?,
commenced
Ef?" (?f?k land) in Cuba today. The Efut lineage in Abaku?
and others as witnesses)
established
when Apapa Ef? (with ?f?k Ebuton
in 1840.
Efori Nkom?n
in Havana.
The lineage of
The group Efori Nkom?n
still functions
to have commenced
"tierra Or?" (Or? land) is believed
when Or? Apapa
across the Havana har
was established,
in 1848, in Guanabacoa,
probably
bor. Or? is likely Oron, a Cross River ethnic group.
Ef?, Ef?, and Or? are the three major "ethnic" lineages which structure
Abaku? society. Of course, genetic ancestry from one of
the contemporary
to the present.
1836 by Apapa

for initiation. One is invited to join after

is not a requirement
a good
moral
by being a "a good friend,
preparedness
demonstrating
a
a
a
son."
Once
husband
and
initiated,
father,
good
good
good brother,
of their group in order to assume and
members
learn the ritual genealogy
in. Just as many con
"ethnic" lineage they now participate
extol the mythic
are able to trace their family genealogy
to specific
temporary Cubans
can recite
the ritual-kinship
intellectuals
Abaku?
African
ancestors,
these groups

genealogies
?f?k, Efut,
River

basin.

to the
their connection
of their own group in detail, including
or Or? founders of the society in specific regions of the Cross
These

genealogies

are

often

recited

during

ceremonies.

there has been little systematic research on the genealogies

Although
in locating their
of Cuban families, many individuals have been interested
the folklorist Rogelio Mart?nez-Fur?
ancestors. For example,
told me (per
creator
"el
of the
that
Pello
sonal communication,
Afrikan,"
2002)
June
name
this
because
in
he
his
chose
knew
the
1970s,
rhythm
Mozambique

Cuban Abaku? Chants

was

grandmother

a Bantu

Makua,

from

group

Mozambique.

Members

35

of

can
the Arar? cabildos (nation groups) of Perico and Joveanos, Matanzas,
trace their ancestry to the Republic
of Benin. The Calle family of Matanzas
of
tradition, know they are the descendants
city, who conserve the Brikamo
Calabar?.

Mart?nez-Fur?'s

great-great

grandmother

Mam?

Incarnaci?n

the daughter
of a Mandinga
In a recent
[i.e., Malinke].
D?az
mate
"Rom?n"
traditional
Andabo,
(Yoruba
1997)
arranges
recording,
rial to reflect upon the role of his own groups' ritual lineage within Abaku?
was

(1831-1937)

mythic

history

and records

chant.

the following

Third Chant
Line

1: [Um?ni] Apap?

Ef? Eku?ri Tongo

Um?ni.

In Abaku?:
Um?ni Apap? = a Cross River territory. It is the name of Diaz's
also called Eku?ri Tongo Apapa Um?ni,
and
group in Havana,
from an Ef? lineage.
= an island in the Cross River estu
Umon
(a.k.a Boson)
of
miles
north
Old
Calabar
2000: 9, 19).
(see Northrup
ary thirty
In his diary from 1785-87,
the Old Calabar trader Antera Duke
as the location of a
referred to Umon
(he called it Boostam)
slave market
to Connell
(Forde 1956:39). According
(personal
now
"the
Umon
have
communication,
2002),
largely switched to
Ef?k, though at least until recently their own language was still in
[Um?ni]

use."16

Line

2: Bonk?

[Eku?ri tongo]

In Havana,

erendi?

Eku?ri Tongo

eku?ri

was founded

ten?.
by Eku?ri Ten?.

The Cuban Abaku?

in Havana
founded

group Eku?ri Tongo Apapa Um?ni was

in 1848 by African-born
Ekp?. Historically,
this group represents a parallel Cuban ?f?k lineage to that com
in the 1830s.
menced
with ?f?k Ebuton
=
'Ekuritonko' and Tkotltunko'
[Eku?ri tongo]
indigenous names
for Creek Town, Calabar (Jones 1956:119, 121; Simmons
1956:
72 n. 45)
= Creek
Town, the second largest
[Eku?ri tongo] O-kur-i-tu?-ko
town in Calabar"
(Goldie 1964:361; see also Goldie
1890:11;

Waddell 1863:309)

36

Studies

African

Review

of the Abaku? group ?papa Umoni may not

though members
know the identities of specific ?f?k ancestors,
they do have ritual-kinship
a relationship mythically
recreated dur
with others in their ritual-lineage,
and
in com
dance,
music,
ceremony
chanting
performed
through
ing
of ?kp? from the Efut to the ?f?k in the
of the transmission
memoration
Cross River region, and then from Calabar to Cuba. Both ?kp? and Abaku?
Even

of ancestral memory
for maintaining
the importance
appreciate
On both sides of the Atlantic, Africans
have steadfastly
cohesion.
their identities as a form of resistance against political domi
maintained
nation. The similarity of experiences
helps to explain why both groups rec
leaders

social

one

ognize

after

another

two

nearly

centuries

of

Earlier

separation.

notions

a belief that
reflected
in the Americas
(atavisms)
with
time.
Abaku?
and
would
identities
fade
African-derived
away
practices
cultural practices
that these are productive
activities
indicate, however,
of African

out and studied by contemporary

sought
tant

"retentions"

needs

in

the

they meet

because

peoples

impor

present.

to recognize
each
In sum, the ability of ?kp? and Abaku? members
that
indicates a historical
other through cultural performance
relationship
on
sides
of
now has become
to
of
African
both
heritage
people
significant
an
is
of a common
international
The establishment
the Atlantic.
history
that

connection

gives

able and ancient

their

nations,

respective

al support

for

identity
economic

history,

mythic

new

groups

tradition.
their

Abaku? Chants
Historical Data
rites

arenas

for

groups
may

exchanges

greater

cultural

in

mutu

include

understanding

as

a valu

are marginal
of mutual
and

politi

and Cuba.

in Commercial

are

of

representatives

both

a deeper
as well

exchanges,

as

status

Because

contemporary

construction,

within West Africa

cal recognition

Ceremonial

both

cultural

Generate

Recordings

competitive

chanting

where

reputations

of the ceremonial
corpus.
style and knowledge
of Cuba, lead chanters convey who they are,
their rites derive, and what cere
from which African places and peoples
the ?kue drum is
Famb?
is
inside
the
mony
(temple) where
occurring
in a place called F??kue. In Calabar, "Efamba [consists of]
sounded unseen
In ?f?k,
a secret display of Ekpe artifacts" in a temple
(Bassey 200T.22).17
or
an
cult
where
"the
house
is
shed"
"Efe ?kp?"
(Aye 1991:27),
"Ekpe
?kp?
2001), or an
only the initiates gather" (O. Edem, personal communication,
to
is
Goldie
house
[1964:68],
9-fe' a shed and
(according
?kp? meeting
is
"a
feikpe
palaver house").
are earned for performance
In African-derived
religions

During

through
doorway

the

course

of

chanting,

of gesture
vocabularies
of the Famb? outward.

dancers

and

drummers

and rhythm. All of this unfolds

In Abaku? plantes (ceremonies),

converse

from the
la valla (a

37

Cuban Abaku? Chants

human

in the temple's
corridor of call-and-response
chanting and dancing
is
of
the
Cuban
holds
that both
contribution.18
?f?k
part
patio)
mythology
Moru? Yu?nsa
and
the
lead
biankom?
drums
became
(the
chanter)
part of
the society when
the ?f?k were initiated in precolonial West Africa. In la
of tratados (myth
valla, singers with ibiono (swing) display their knowledge
to the public. On these occasions,
ic histories)
lead chanters engage in con
troversias. One by one, chanters attempt to dominate
the action by starting
with well-known
chants that inspire the chorus and dancers;
then they
move
are
or
into complex
that
for
difficult
liturgical passages
impossible
chanters to follow or respond to. Tratados are the bases for extended
In this chanted discourse,
conversations
intellectuals.
the
among Abaku?
leader must demonstrate
the
of
linguistic dexterity beyond
comprehension
less knowledgeable
competitors.
Commercial
and anthropological
lack ceremonial
recordings
competi
use codes to demonstrate
tion among lead chanters, but Abaku? musicians
as well as to discourse
on Abaku? history. In the early
their knowledge
1960s a series of recordings
of Folklore
the
in Havana
by
Department
documented
"national
folklore"
with
"tradition
(M?sica afrocubana 1993)
al" instruments
and language. An analysis of the Abaku? recording
reveals
to evoke the his
that the lead chanter, Victor Herrera,
used the occasion
in the structure of a
tory of his own group and its lineage. Performed

other

in which
the sacred ?kue begins to sound),
the
rompimiento (a ceremony
chant is ended by Herrera
before
the moment
when
the drum would
sound. The importance
of this recording
is that Herrera?by
playing with,
the boundaries
of secret liturgy?was
able to perform
yet respecting,
Abaku? ritual music
in a secular context and was still able to maintain
his
among

reputation

celebrated

Herrera's

Abaku?.

by contemporary

Abaku?

performance

of

"Encame"

has

been

musicians.

Fourth Chant
a ceremonial
Using rhetorical phrases to commence
rera begins by
the
attention of the chorus:
gaining
Line

1: <Jeyey barib? ben[kam?]

Attention,

I will speak ?

performance,

Her

Wa!>

We

are

ready!19
"

'
? Wa!>
ooo...
<Jeyey barib? benkam?
'Oye bari...
Spoken as
one enters a crowd of
wants
to
and
call
?kp? people
everybody's
or a call to order before business or a
attention,
speech could
this kind of identification,
because after
begin. Wal here confirms
the salutation or call to order all present would answer: Uwa" (O.
Edem,

personal

communication,

2001).

38

African Studies Review

<benkam?>

be nkama

(likely)

tion, 2002)
be = tell a story in Londo
in the area
languages

(Connell,

personal

communica

(= 'Efut'?) and other Bantu/Bantoid

(cf. Ib?bi?: bo= speak, tell)

= I declare

n-kama

= "share in the
[kam?] k?m?
play by displaying your knowledge
of its secrets as an initiate or member"
(Aye 1991: 61)
Herrera
category
Line

then salutes a leading figure

of the Abaku? hierarchy:

2: <[Efim?remo]>

<enkr?koro>

indiob?n,

ob?n,

etenyeb?n,

in Abaku?

mythology,

and then each

<[iti?]>, Abas? arominy?n,

<obon?kue>.

In Abaku?:
=
Efim?remo
Iy?mba (mythologically,
M?remo Ob?n
Iyamba")

the first initiate,

<as?re>

a.k.a.

"Ef?

= union

enkr?koro

iti? = the land

Abas? = God
as?re

I salute

obon = king
indiob?n = second initiation grade (india = birth; obon=
= another
initiation grade
etenyeb?n
=
low level initiates.
obon?kue

king)

this as a complete ?f?k phrase in which

Orok Edem identified
someone
is singing the praises of Efiom Edem, a particular
Iyam
to Edem
is
"This
ba. According
communication,
2001),
(personal
a common ?f?k manner
of speaking, especially during funeral
the
'so and so, the greatest of all men,
for example:
obsequies,
owner of all farmlands,
the man who decides when rain falls or
not,

etc.'"

Edem O = name of a particular

Iyamba
iti?> Okut Ukot = stone
<enkr?koro
- ?s?!
as?re> Abasi Orok Inang
<Abas? arominy?n,
or achievements:
"the act of
?s? = an affirmation;
exploits
a poetic eulogy in
achievements
publicly,...
proclaiming
(Aye 1991:8)
praise of a king or any famous person"
- ?s?!
<Obon> = Obong
- ?s?!
= Edi
<indiob?n>
obong
- ?s?!
= Et?
obong
<etenyeb?n>
=
<Obon?kue>
Obong ?kp? (?kp? ruler)
<Efim?remo>

Efiom

Cuban

Abaku?

Chants

39

= "Efiom
<Efim?remo>
Edem, who was Eyamba, the leader of
as well as king of Duke Town in the late
?kp?,
nineteenth

eighteenth-early

centuries"

(Connell,

personal

communication).

found
that by 1805 Efiom Edem
(1973:47-48)
(a.k.a. Duke
on
was
far
the
trader"
the
Cross
River.
greatest
"by
"By 1828 Duke
Ephraim)
was
or
sole
of port
[collector
comey recipient
Ephraim
Obong, Eyamba,
?
was
and
of
He
the
external
the
virtual
trade
duties/tariffs],
monopolist
most influential man in Efik history." If this interpretation
is correct, it is a
rare reference
to a known historical figure.
in Abaku?
Latham

Efimerem?:
"This Efik king received the first sacred
[Efim?remo]
drum skin from the Efor" or "Efim?remo Nataku?: King 'of
the Akanar?n Efik'" (Cabrera 1988:150-51).
These Cuban
because Natakua =
support that of Connell,
interpretations
Atakpa, Duke Town in Calabar. Akanaran is likely
"A-kan'-?-ren"
is, an

that

<as?re>
in

= an

late

or

an

old

man

(Goldie

1964:7),

authority.

= "a common
the

elder

greeting

afternoon/evening"

(esiere in ?f?k, asiere in Ib?b??) used

(Connell,

personal

communi

cation, 2002)
<as?re> emesiere = greeting
in the morning,
good morning
Kom Abasi emesiere = thank God that you have seen the day,
that you are able to wake up and see the day (Ita pesonal
communication,
2003)
= all in ?f?k
<enkrukoro>
(Connell, personal communi
kpukpuru
.
cation) This coincides with union, the Abaku?
interpretation.
=
[iti?] It?e place, seat; "Itie Ekpe, the place where Ekpe is kept"
(Aye 1991:59). This may coincide with Cuban translations of
iti? as land.
<iti?> "Itiat = stone; itie = place, but in ?kp? dialogue
itmeans
=
a position
in the hierarchy of
Idaha
occupying
?kp?;
height, but in ?kp? context it refers to one's standing in the
communication,
(O. Edem personal
2001).
?kp? hierarchy"
<obon?kue>
obon ngbe (possibly) :a term used to group together
the lower grades of Ugb? among the Ejagham; literally, chil
dren + Ugb?, the new initiates to the society (Connell 2004).
=
a first level
<obon?kue>
aban?kp?
neophyte,
?kp? initiate"
Edem,
communication,
2003). This coincides
(J.
personal
with Cuban usage, in which aban?kue has also been used since
the nineteenth
1925:123).
century (see Roche
In the following passages Herrera
as a leader of the group

himself

claims his legitimacy to speak by presenting

to a ritual lineage
Is?n Ef?, which belongs

40

African Studies Review

to Cuban mythology,
begat in 1840 in Havana by Efut founders. According
Is?n was the capitol of Ef? (Efut) territory in Usagar??called
Usakadet, Usa
hadet, Bakasi, or Backasey in various nineteenth-century
(see Goldie
maps
was
chants:
is
the
Herrera
where
founded.20
1964:361)?and
place
?kp?
3: <[Is?n]>

Line

Is?n < [enseniy?n]

Ef?,

>, bekuramend?.

Is?n Ef? is under the same sky (Enseniy?n)

alternative name for Usagar?).
= land
Isong
= Efut
isong Efut

as Bekuramend?

(an

<Is?n>

land

(O. Edem,

personal

communication,

2001)

= the
from enyo?, the heav
earth, "as distinguished
[Is?n] F-so?
ens" (Goldie 1964:598)
=
to us
enyene nyin
belongs
<enseniy?n>
= the land
to us (O. Edem,
Thus, isong enyene nyin
belongs
communication,
2001)
personal
= the
the firmament,
the lift, the
heavens,
[enseniy?n]
En'-yon
resonates
translation
This
directly with
sky (Goldie 1964:79).
Abaku?

usage.
= a
place name within Ekoi, "on the east
[enseniy?n] Nsa?inya?
to
bank of the Cross river" (Goldie 1964:357). According
on
"this
would
be
Connell
2002),
(personal communication,
of nsa? is "red
the Calabar side of the river. One meaning
earth" (presumably
lat?rite); inya? is river.
Abaku?
"a place

leaders

where

translated

Is?n as face, as well

ceremonies

important

were

as capital: in other words,

One

performed."

elder

Abaku?

of a table, etc." The

"Isun is any kind of face: of the sun, the moon,
wrote
"Is?n
that
Cuban scholar Lydia Cabrera
[is] the face of
(1988:252)
a
name
founder
of Abaku?.
for
the
female
the
latter
is
Sik?n";
mythological
a
is the
is
of
"iso
esikan"
In the Cross River region, Sikan
water;
goddess
shrine for the goddess
communication,
2001). The
(O. Edem, personal
a
are
an
face and
altar
found through
between
metaphorical
relationship
told me:

Kwa-language

to Thompson
"Yoruba and other
(1993:28),
according
groups inWest Africa (Fon, Igbo, Edo, Ijaw) define their tra

ditional

as

out West

Africa;
altars

'face'

the

or

or

'countenance'

of

'forehead'

the

Tal

gods."

bot (1923: 178-79) wrote that among the ?b?b??, west of Calabar, an initia
to a sacred
tion into the Ekong society was followed by a sacrifice made
location called "Isu Abassi, i.e., the Face of the God." Goldie wrote that in
in the entrance yard of every home was called isu
Calabar, a shrine made
face

Abasi?"the
i-su A-bas-i

was wont

"the

or

presence
little

to be made

round

to Abasi"

of Abasi"
mound,

(1890:42;

(F-su
as

an

1964

the

face,

altar...

[1862]:

the
before

countenance";
which

137-38).

prayer

Cuban Abaku? Chants

Line 4: Is?n kanom?

eniw?

tafia [?kano]

bekons?

/ aba?reme

41

tafia serend?

<akanar?n>.

Is?n participated

in the first
were

/ we

tree

sacred

born

ceremony
the

from

under

performed
same

the

mother.

In Abaku?:
Ukano

= ceiba

bekons?
=

aba?reme

eniw? = born

from

= mother

akanar?n

<akanar?n>

eren

akani

communication,
=

a-kan'-ni

old;

?-ren = male;
sense

Itmakes
mean

also

ancestor")

"powerful

(fig.

= the African

?k?na

[?kano]

tree

ireme

the

= old

tree (Aye 1991:139)

oil bean
or

man,

ancestor

(Connell,

personal

2002)

aged;

?wan

ancient

= a woman"

(Goldie

that what Abaku? metaphorically

1964: 7, 80)
refer to as "mother" would

"ancestor."

later commercial

Enkama Africa habla" (Africa

recording?"Enyenis?n
Andabo
coherent
(1993)?reconstructs
Speaks)
liturgical
in
this
the
more
authentic
"folklore"
chants, surpassing
regard
supposedly
in situ. A translation of the Efik version of this title would be
recordings
by Yoruba

"the

sons

of

the

land

speak"

(Ekama

declares,

speaks)

(O.

Edem

person

al communication,
is based on the tratado of
2001). This composition
recited
of
the
consecration
his
drum. Empeg? was key to
Empeg?,
during
the founding
of ?kp? during
the original
in Usagar?: with his
ceremony
chalk
he
drew
that
the
ritual
authorized
actions of others.
magic
symbols
After a standard invocation,
"Rom?n" D?az introduces his topic:

Fifth Chant
Line

1: [Bat?nga]
Where

Batanga
Moru?,"

derives
meaning

Laminy?n?

did Empeg?
from
"one

go to find his magic

a title of
who

the dignitary

chants

lot"

chalk?
Moru?
("canta

Yu?nsa:
mucho").

"Batanga
Cabrera

as congo, one of several Cuban

(1988:102) documented
Batanga
interpre
tations indicating Bantu
influence
from the Cameroons
region. Nicklin
that the Efut and Batanga are part of the same ethno
(1991:11) reported
in
southwest Cameroon.
to Austen and Derrick
linguistic group
According

42

African

Review

Studies

in
is one of several Sawa Bantu speaking communities
not
of
This
connection?if
Cameroon.
possible
Estuary region
inWest Africa?was
enabled
later in Cuba by the esti
occurring previously
to
from this region by
thousand
enslaved
carried
mated
thirty
forty
people
to
from
American
1807
and
vessels
1752
British, Dutch,
(Austen 8cDerrick
(1999:14),
the Wouri

Batanga

1999:18).
Line

2: Ekok?

< [ibi?no] > mima

tanze.
consecrated

With his chalk, Empeg?

divine drum (muna).
In this phrase

ibi?no (music)

is used

the skin

as one

of the

(ekok?)

for the

of several metaphors

drum.

= a town of Ibibio

I-bi-on'-o

[ibi?no]

(Goldie

1964:358)

to legend Abaku? drum music was a contribution

Since according
since Efik people
Efik?and
lived in Ibibio territory before settling
sense.
Latham
association makes
Calabar region (see
1973:9)?this
<ibiono>

mbiono

munucation,

I = people,

m'-bi-o
Line

3: <[Akam]a
We will

Edem,

in the

com

personal

2001)
to draw a congregation

music
tends
is possible.

Since well-performed
ers, this interpretation

(O.

congregation

of the

(Goldie

collectively"

about

the play

1964:172)

ny?re Or?>.

speak of Or?.

In Abaku?:
= come

akamany?re

[Akam] A-kam
<Akama ny?re>
akam

According
is uttered
the Obong

enye

forward;

evocation.

(Goldie

= to
answer,

yere
oro

an

to God

prayer

= to
call;

ekama
Ete

=
prayer

is

1964:6)

or
good

to Orok Edem
2001), this
(personal communication,
after an elder pours the libation, akam, when greeting
Ekp?.

efi?n
efi?n [enk?ko], obon?kue
Line 4: Obon?kue
<Or? Bib?> urab? kiny?ngo / Ekue bar?r?.

<bongo>

43

Cuban Abaku? Chants

Initiates were cleansed; rooster blood was given to the bong?

drum / Or? Bib? was consecrated
/ the Ekue was powerful.
In Abaku?:
= initiate
obon?kue
=
efi?n
blood
= rooster

enk?ko

Bib? = Ib?b??, an ethnic-linguistic

term

barori

strong

[enk?ko]

= he

Ekiko-unen

cock,

the male

of

the domestic

fowl

(Goldie 1964:72)

?kue = Mbongo
Ekomo Ekp? (Ekomo = drum)
<bong?> Bong?
communication,
(O. Edem, personal
2001)
= the fifth
of
ebonko
<bongo>
grade
Ekp? in Calabar; also the
chief of the four lower grades (Connell, personal
communica
tion)
<Oru Bibi> Oron = a town, a people, and a language
;Bib? = Ib?b??:
a people and a language.
The Oron pronunciation
of Ibibio is Ibibi. Both groups are found
on the west bank of the Cross River (Connell,
communi
personal
cation,
Line

2002).

5: India Abaku? / Makanika

Eriete [Moru?] Yereg?bia
Moru?

chanted when

Aya gas?gama / Erendi?

/ [Akam?] Erib?.21

the Erib?

drum was consecrated

In Abaku?:
india = birth
= nkanika
Makanika
(bells)
= Iwill be
Aya gas?gama
loyal till death
akam? Erib?
Kama

Kama

word,

to

Yamba

or? /

in Or?.

(an oath)

speak.

ribo= speak through

1958:82).

the Erib?

[drum]"

(Cabrera

= "The name of an officer

[Moru?] Mu'-ru-a
possessed by the
three highest grades in Egbo
who
goes as a mourner
[?kp?],
to the funeral of any one who dies free of these grades,
and...
and howls" (Goldie 1964:196).
= one of the
Mur?a
[Moru?]
degrees of Ekpe cult; during the
coronation
of an Obon,
the Murua and Idem Ikwo are the
first to start the coronation
celebrations
(Aye 1991:86).

44

African Studies Review

[akam?]

= to call

enkame

(O. Edem,

communication,

personal

2001)
next passage
segues from a discussion
in Cuba
that of a ritual lineage established

The

Line

6: <Muny?nga

Ef?>

African

to

mythology

Ita

sank?bio
[nkom?n]>
/ <Eforis?n
awarariansa
?kue
eng?mo>.

<[Ef?ri]
/ <obons?ro

Amananyu?o>

of West
in 1840.

The

the groups Muny?nga

alliance between
Ef?, Efori Nkom?n,
was
authorized
Isun Ef?, Ita Amanayu?o
through symbols drawn

by Empeg?.
are from the same Ef?
of Ef?ri Nkom?n.

These groups
the founding

In Abaku?:
ef?ri = herbal
nkom?n

begat

in Havana

in 1840 with

arts

= drum

=
ef?ri nkom?n
powerful
=
obonsiro
family

drum

(see Cabrera

to authorize

consecrations

1958: 38)

= alliance

awarariansa
engomo

lineage

= chalk

used

=
a town in
people of Uyanga,
<Muny?nga Ef?> Me Uyanga Efot
the Cross River Basin" (O. Edem, personal
communication,

2001)
<Ef?ri nkomon>
"Used

to

Efri = to blow; ekomo

introduce

a sanction,

for

= drum.
to

example,

or forbidding

stop

the mis

to do busi

sionaries from preaching

anyone
ness with them" (O. Edem, personal
communication,
2001).
in a 1788 diary entry Antera Duke wrote: "I
For example,
took 2 Ekpe drums and blew to forbid any men to sleep in
the houses"
(cited in Forde 1956:64).
= to blow with the
to breathe
mouth,
[Ef?ri] Fri

(Goldie

1964:106)
of the Efik efri as to blow or sound the drum of author
interpretation
is admittedly
and
Cuban
the
efori as herbal arts (literally, witchcraft),
ity,
in
and place
tenuous. Abaku? mythology
tells that Efori was a people
were
herbs
the
ceremonial
where
gathered.
original
Usagar?
The

[nkom?n]

e-kom-o

= short
drum,

the Egbo

(?kp?)

drum

(Goldie

1964:73;Aye 1991:30)
<Eforis?n

sank?bio

Ita Amananyu?o>

Efe usun

esan ke obio

ita

Cuban

=
amananyuao
phrase describing
of
people
Yuanga first went into
sonal communication,
2001)
Ekue awarariansa engomo>
<obonsiro
was
ansa ekomo = a special
?kp?
communication,
Edem, personal
Edem identifies this as an entire
appropriate
Line

7: Erendi?

hyperbolic

<Isun Ef?>,

ebong?

Abaku?

45

Chants

an incident in which the

a town of Ita (O. Edem, per
iso ?kp? awawari
Obon
then brought out (O.
2001). In other words,
phrase in ?f?k, using the

language.
Ef?ri Nkom?n.

group Is?n Ef? was born from that of Ef?ri Nk?mon

literal
or,
meaning,
Isun Ef? was born through the Bong? drum of Ef?ri Nkom?n.

The

<Isun Ef?> = Efot

land (O. Edem,

personal

communication,

2001)

call and response structured with polyrhythmic

percus
Using a ceremonial
and contemporary
ritual lineages. By
sion, Diaz extolled Abaku? mythology
knowledge without revealing intimate ritual procedure, Diaz
demonstrating
to the Abaku? presence
in Cuban popular music.
added a new dimension
Another

Enkama
2" (Yoruba Andabo
arrangement
by D?az, "Enyenis?n
his explorations
into Abaku? mythology.
leader
Abaku?
1997), continues
that
in
Efik
the
Ef?
the
West
believe
founded
the
Africa;
(Efut)
society
ship
were believed
to have joined
the society later. 22While Cuban narratives
several West African narratives claim Ejagham origins
relate Efut origins,
to the ?f?k through Usak Edet
for ?kp?, which was eventually
transmitted
"claim to have origi
(1912:37) wrote that the Ejagham
(Usagar?). Talbot
start
nated the whole
idea" of ?kp?; later "Efut in the South Cameroons,
ed a similar society," while still later "the Efiks of Calabar...
founded
the

(1973:36) wrote that circa 1750, "one of the first Efik

Ekkpe Club." Latham
a
settlers at Creek Town...
is said to have bought
the Ekpe secrets from...
man from Usak Edet." According
to Jones (1956:123),
"In addition to [the]
there were resident in the Old Calabar area two distinct
Efik communities
and older elements,
the Efut and the Qua
[Ejagham]." The ?f?k received
from
"the
it with them
who
said
Qua[,]
neighboring
they brought
?kp?
from the Ekoi [Ejagham] homeland"
1956:136;
1963:19).23
(Jones
the tratados, D?az highlights
in
the role of Ef? ancestors
By reexamining
a revision of the West
the history of Cross River ?kp?,
in effect offering
African mythology.
Since Diaz is a leading member
of an Abaku? group
derived from Ef? traditions,
this arrangement
is no simple exercise, but
conversation
about the role of West African ethnicity
part of an extended
in ?kp?/ Abaku? and Cuban history. In this recording, Diaz identifies him
self as a leader of his group whose role is that of Moni Bonk?, the player of

46

African

Review

Studies

?f?k bonk? drum. Connell

2002)
(personal communication,
identifies "Moni Bonk?" as possibly derived from Muni, a term for an Efut
as "the exalted position
it has also been
of
identified
chief in Calabar;
o? Ekpe" (Latham 1973:39) .24
Ebunko, vice-chairman
to convey that inWest Africa, the Ef? knew
ismeant
This composition
it was caught by the
about the "secret" of the sacred "Fish Tanze" before
the ceremonial

Ef?. Furthermore,
instruments,

the ?f?k contributions

without

and

ensembles,

masquerade

specific

(in the form of music,

ritual

leaders),

the

soci

is: "Peace and unity;

ety would not function as it does today. The message
we are family, let's get along as equals." In other words, the Ef? should not
the society.
feel superior because of the legend that they founded
the chorus, Diaz begins:
After greeting

Sixth Chant
Line

enkrukoro>.

1: <Abas? meng?ame
We

are united with

the blessings

of God,

or,
God

over

watches

In ?f?k,
guarne

kpeme

enkrukoro

Line

all.

= watch

kpukpuru

(over)
= all

2: <Enkr?koro
<[eny?ne]> Abaku?,
iti? oror? k?nde, iti? n?nkue>.
We

are united

in Abaku?.

I salute

[iti?] [Fondo],

the Abaku?

iti? kan?ma as?re,

of Matanzas,

of

of Regla, of Havana.
1983: 250)
(cf. Thompson

C?rdenas,

In Abaku?:
=
enkr?koro
group
iti? = land of
= All
env?ne Abaku?> Kpukpuru
enyene ?kp?
to
belong
?kp?
<Iti? fond?> Itie/ itiat ifondo = Place of Ifondo
<Iti? kanima as?re> Itie/ itiat nkamina = Place of nkanima
<Iti? oror? k?nde> Itie/ itiat nkanda = Place of nkanda
= Place of
<Iti? n?nkue>
Itie/ itiat nuk ?kp?=nuke
?kp?
to each
"Itiat ?kp? is buried at the entrance
?kp? house.
it depends
in ?kp? cosmology;
is the position of authority
<Enkr?koro

Itie
on

47

Cuban Abaku? Chants

character

the

and

the words,

uttering

are being

words

used"

(O Edem,

context

in what

the

communication,

personal

2001).
=
<eny?ne>

Eny?ne

own

has,

(O. Edem,

communica

personal

tion, 2001), i.e., "All own Abaku?."

=
(Goldie 1964:569)
[eny?ne]
inyene
possession
=
itiat
stone; itie = place.
[iti?]
an
"stone" theme resonates powerfully with ?kp? / Ugb? practice;
stone
at
is
of
the
foundation
the
base
of
the
central
Ngbe
placed
pillar
to Talbot
(Nicklin 1991:4). According
Ngbe
lodge in Ejagham settlements
Etia
the
Itiatt
"The
Efik
is
the
(1969 [1926] :347),
Ngbe,
Ekkpe,
principal
to the secret society_It
represents not only the ances
symbol belonging
tors who have been members
but also the tutelary spirit of the club."
The

Because
they

Line

Cuban Abaku?
rename

would

= a small
village

I-fon-do'

[Fondo]

3: Erendi?n

were

"Matanzas"

enyenis?n

Town"

in Cuba,

?kp?

a Cross

with

<ekoria Abaku?>

River

place

(Goldie:358)

itmakes

sense

that

name.

eri?ro bons?ro

kiny?ngo

nans?o.

<bar?ko>

Let us remember
nal

recreating

near Duke

that Abaku?

was born

in Africa

during

the origi

ceremony.

In Abaku?:
bons?ro = family
= initiated
kiny?ngo
bar?ko

bar?ko

nans?o

ceremony

<ekoria Abaku?>
The meaning
whole world

= a

founding

ceremony

ekori = the territory of

of the phrase "ekori enyene Abaku?"
is "the
a
to
boast
Abaku?,"
i.e.,
(O.Edem,
per
belongs

sonal communication,
2001). Ekorio
of
the
title
Cuban
complete
society.
= an idem that comes
<baroko> mboroko
communication,
(O. Edem, personal
= an
mboroko
?kp? grade (Ita, personal
Line 4: Okobio
K?nde

Enyenis?n, Awanabekura
Efik Ebut?n/ Oo ?kue.

Mendo/

enyene Abaku?
out when

the king dies"

2001)
communication,
Nunkue

is the

2003)

Itia Ororo

48

Review

Studies

African

Our African brothers,

and in Regla founded

from the sacred place/

Efik Ebut?n/ we salute

came

to Havana,
the Ekue drum.

In reciting the passage "Okobio enyenis?n," D?az recounts the founding

of
in Havana by ?f?k leaders. He comments
in this way upon a
?f?k Ebuton
of Ef? and Ef? ritual lineages in
still existing rivalry among the members
Cuba over who was the first to "own" the secret inWest Africa. The fact that
the Ef? were the first to found a group in Cuba raises the question: How
could the ?f?k have the authority to create the first group if it is indeed the
Ef? who "own" the fundamental
secret? Diaz then returns toWest Africa to
investigate
Line

?kp?

history:
<Ekue Ef? okobio

5: <[Ob?ne]>,
I come

to represent

the ?f?k

Ob?ne>.

territory

= an
Ejagham region north
are
there
referred to as the Oban

<Ob?ne>

communication)
= a town of
[Ob?ne] O'-ba?
There

may

not

be

contradiction

of Ob?ne.
east of Calabar; the hills
hills (Connell, personal

'koi" (Goldie

1964:360).

here

Oban

in

that

is known

as

an

an ?f?k
is considered
Ejagham region inWest Africa, while in Cuba, Ob?ne
Cabrera
2002)
(see
1958:73). Connell
(personal communication,
region
wrote: "I have the impression from Talbot that Oban was heavily influenced
to Calabar even in the nineteenth
by ?f?k and its proximity
century."
<?kue Ef? okobio Ob?ne> ?kp? ?f?k ke obio Abana = ?kp? in the
town of Abana
is by the sea" (O.
(Oban is in the hills, Abana
communication,
Edem, personal
2001).
A-ban'-a = the point called East Head, at the entrance of the Cal
abar river
Line 6: End?

(Goldie

kair?n <kokorik?>/

1964:353)

a being was

In a river of Obane,

ent?me

<akanaw?n>

sent from

taror?ko.

the "land of the phan

toms."

In Abaku?:
kokorik?
akanaw?n

taror?ko
sound

= a worm
= a

(reference

masquerade

to death)

costume

= a toad

(representing

(a code for the divine

that of a toad)
resembling

In the private manuscript

of inherited

ancestors)

fish, who made

tratados in which

a loud

I saw the passage,

49

Cuban Abaku? Chants

"from the land of the phantoms" was translated as "from the land of the
is
In Abaku?
ceremony, white chalk used for funeral ceremonies
one
to
color
Abaku?
the
death.
leader,
According
metaphor
equated with
means
that the divine Fish was sent by the ancestors
("the land of the
ghosts") to unite the tribes.
whites."

= cock crow
2003)
(in Efik) (Ita, personal communication,
= old woman
<akanaw?n>
communication,
2001)
(O. Edem, personal
sense in Abaku? mysticism, where the spirit of Sik?n,
This makes
in the dance of some Iremes.
is present
founding woman,
<kokoriko>

Line

7: <[Ubi?ko]

Ob?ne

Embemor?/

is it that the Ekue

How

Ef??represented

entire

phrase

mboko

emb?ko/

yene

Iy?mba.>

is from Ef? [Ob?ne Embemor?],

of it?25
possession

but the

by Iy?mba?have

to Orok

According

eroko

Edem

means

belongs

(personal

"Obioko?Creek

communication,
Town?has

the

2001)
agreed

that

to Eyamba."

= a
type of idem, a stage of membership
communication,
Edem, personal
2001)
= Creek Town
[Ubi?ko] Obio Oko
(Simmons

Mboko

in

?kp?

(O.

1956:3)

as a spring of water important

to their
Abaku?
interpret Obioku
so
was
is
Creek
Town
named
because
it
surrounded
creeks.
mythology.
by
Cuban

Line

8: <[Ek?n]

kr?bia ek?n endib?>

A title of the ek?n, used to "bring the voice." According

this metal
bell is sacred
mythology,
idiophonic

Abaku?

to
to the

?f?k.
= a
instrument made of iron
musical
[ek?n] ?k??
funnel-shaped
and beaten in play (Aye 1991:107)
<Ek?n kr?bia ek?n endib?> Ekong akiriba ekong dibo = a song in
Calabar" (O. Edem, personal
communication,
2001)
Line

9: <Kamany?re
Let

us

speak

?reme ayerem?>.

enkr?koro,
of

union,

our

ancestors

guide

us.

ireme ayerem?> Akama ny?re kpukpuru,

enkr?koro,
<Kamany?re
I own idem. "When one
idem enyene mi = all call and respond,
enters an ?kp? gathering,"
said Orok Edem (personal communi

50

African Studies Review

cation,

must

"one

2001),

demonstrate

For

membership.

example,

if I travel to Bakassi and witness ?kp? being played as a stranger,

as an initiate is to kama/y ere."
the only way I would be recognized
coincides
Edem's interpretation
same phrase. Both give insight

with those by Cuban Abaku?

leaders of the
into the role of ?kp?/ Ugb?
inWest Africa
in Cuba, where initiates enjoy a common bond while traveling
and Abaku?
away from their home to other regions where ?kp?/ Ugb?/ Abaku? reside.
as well as a club for aesthetic plea
The society serves as a form of protection
sure; as Fitzgerald Marriot
(1899:23) observed over one hundred
years ago:
"All members
of the [?kp?] society can travel without
danger." Based on
his

in Cameroon,

research

as an

functions
basically
Ngbe
one which
caters primarily
This
of its members.
fact
derive

as much

for

interest_Away
different
communities

another,

protection.

so

that

club,

elaborate
highly
and common

one

but

enjoyment
functions

for the
be stressed,
of
political
the
its bringing
members
of
together
leading
as from
as
its formal
activities
constitution
general
means
the
which
otherwise
became]
by
indepen

from

individual

esoteric

the entertainment

should

from

Ngbe
a
in these
community
such.
[In Calabar,
?kp?
dent
communities
could

which

wrote:

Ruel

act

Calabar

in matters

jointly
the

a person

politically
could
be
transferred
passing

their

common

of Ekpe
possession
lodges
as a means
rather
important

was
rights

affecting

common

between

from
communities

one

community
was
given

by
by
to

some

(Ruel 1969: 231, 254-55)

initiates traveling to and from from Havana

and
So too in Cuba, Abaku?
their
Matanzas will "call and respond" to demonstrate membership,
enabling
in regions not their own. By evoking the
in Abaku? gatherings
participation
initiates
ritual lineage of their particular group through chanted passages,
for
of
sacred
their
evidence
authority.
legitimate acquisition
provide

Conclusion
contexts, and differ
separation for two centuries, highly different
Despite
ent colonial
of
and Abaku?
the
similar
functions
languages,
?kp?/Ugb?
for initiates on both
has made
it possible
and the training of its members
to recognize
their relationship.
sides of the Atlantic
of Abaku? materials
by Cuban
groups?notably
recordings
de
Matanzas
Los
AfroCuba
(1994, 1995), Yoru
(1998),
Mu?equitos
Grupo
several
ba Andabo
(1993, 1997), and the album Mono
(2001)?convey
own
a
our
are
and
We
with
traditions;
people
history
overarching messages:
Recent

we have intimate contact with the divine; our ancestors were royal person
there
ages who did great works; do not belittle our history or achievements;
is strength in unity.

Cuban

51

Chants

Abaku?

collaborative
By interpreting Cuban Abaku? chants through extended
efforts with Abaku?
leaders, I learned how these were used to comment
itsWest African origins, and its reestab
upon the history of this institution,
in Cuba. By working with ?f?k speakers who
identified many
lishment
Abaku? terms as part of their own language and history, as well as research
terms in published
that many
sources, I was able to determine
ing Abaku?
are derived from Cross River languages. Many Abaku? chants reveal West
in Cuba.
African place names and ritual lineages founded by West Africans
in written
is found
Little of this information
Abaku?
sources, making
on the Cross River
in gaining new perspectives
chants useful to historians
a
rare
of
cultural transmis
and
providing
example
organized
?kp? society
sion from West Africa to the Caribbean.
contra
of Africa among the Cuban population
The historical memory
notions
of Cuban
them
identities which proclaim
state-supported
"mestizo," a new identity based on a blend of cultures which erases ties to
an African homeland.
The Cuban intellectual Alejo Carpentier
(1989:130)
as
saw it in Cuba: "Popular dance of the early nine
he
described
mestizaje
dicts

century was the melting

tiveness of the blacks?Andalusian
teenth
lads

...

and

the

African

French

were

orchestras...

the

contradanza
creators

roots?regarding

excluded."

That

is,

the heat of rhythmic inven

pot where?in
and staged tonadilla bal
boleros
songs,

the

of

melody
term

mestizo

merged
a mestizo

to
music,

and percussive
excludes

any

create
from

new

forms.

which

all

ritual rhythms?had
direct

strains

These
the

pure

been

of African,

forms or identities. To be mestizo iswithin the national

European,
to
to mixing
resistant
is to be outside of it.
be
project;
own
research
has
found
that
identities in Cuba
many West African
My
are not limited to family genealogy
but are also directly linked to religious
practice. These are based on ritual kinship, not necessarily
corresponding
to family lineage from identifiable African "tribes." I am not suggesting
that
initiates can trace their genealogical
inheritance
back to the places men
tioned in their chants. I am suggesting, however,
that they know the histo
were
of
their
and
that
there
who could
ry
lineages
founding members
or Asian

make

such connections.

markers

they memorialize

The perpetuation
of these lineages
is in itself a form of resistance.

and the ethnic

Acknowledgments
I would

like

to thank

Bruce

Connell,
Dawson,
Jill Cutler, C. Daniel
Orok
Edem, David Eltis, Angel Guer
D?az-Ayala, Joseph Edem,
rero, Callixtus E. Ita, Chester King, Jane Landers, Maria-Teresa
Linares,
Victor Manfredi,
Mar?a-Elena
Robin
Mart?nez-Fur?,
Mendiola,
Rogelio
Pablo Pacheco-L?pez,
Ruth Paley, Helen
Moore,
Tanner, Robert Farris
Crist?bal

Thompson,

several

Abaku?

leaders

who

wish

to remain

anonymous,

as well

as all ?f?k scholars and

I am also
who aided my research.
?kp? members
for
I
the
the
from
late
received
Antonio
grateful
help
Benitez-Rojo.

52

Review

African

Studies

I thank

the Cuba

for Study in Cuba,

Exchange
Program Fellowship
the
Centro
de
(2000),
y desarrollo
Johns Hopkins University
investigaci?n
in Havana
and the
de la cultura cubana "Juan Marinello"
(2000-2002),
at
for
Amherst
(2001-2002)
sup
College
Copeland
Fellowship
generously
at the
porting my research. Earlier versions of this article were presented
2001, and in 2002 at
Center at CUNY, the

Houston
annual meeting,
the
Graduate
DePaul University, Columbia University,
of Louisville,
and Amherst College.
University
African

Studies Association

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afrocubana

'D?a de Reyes.'

de Cultura.
_. 1981
Letras
Ruth.

Paley,

In Law,

165-84.

dau,

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folklore

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Richard.

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2002.

1772-1830."

Price,

Los

[1951].

La Habana:

de Cuba.

Cubanas.

Crime

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and English

the

and

Slavery

1660-1830,

Society,

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"The Miracle
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New

West

lb

(1-2):

35-64.
& Sally

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1991.

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Chicago

Rafael.
1925
y Monteagudo,
Havana:
Poes?a.
La Moderna

Troche

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Ruel,

D.

1956.

Rodr?guez,

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University

Chicago:

Randy

La polic?a

y sus misterios

Constitutional

Politics

[1908].

and Leaders:

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London:

66-78.

1-26;

Leopards
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Diary
Sosa

1969.

London:

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Simmons,

in Saramaka.

Two Evenings

Press.

Sketch

of

the

Efik

en Cuba.

3rd

a Cross River

among

on

"Notes

People";

ed.

the

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Institute.

African

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Havana:
1982. Los ?a?igos.
Enrique.
An
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"Two
Princes
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J.

Casa

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from

to

Slavery

Freedom." William andMary Quarterly 69 (3): 555-83.

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In the Shadow
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in Southern
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the Bush.
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The Magic,

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London:

and

Beliefs,

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Customs

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the Ibibio

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nology,
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Robert

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"New York:

with

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an Abstract

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and Afro-American
York:

Caribbean

Oxford

Art

and

Cultural

Cuban

_. 1993.
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V?lez,

Art
of the Gods:
Art.
for African

Face

Museum

and

of Africa

55

Chants

the African

Americas.

New

Drumming
for the Gods: The Life and Times
of Felipe Garcia
and Abaku?.
Press.
University
Philadelphia:
Temple
Years in the West Indies and Central
1863. Twenty-Nine
Masterton.

Teresa.

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and Altars

Abaku?

2000.

Palero,

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an

and Letters
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1897. History
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the
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of
Liverpool
Yoruba Andabo:
Del Yoruba al Son. 1997.
Enkama
2" (D.R.). Arrangement
"Enyenis?n
Gomer.

Williams,

Account

and

lead

FMD
Yoruba

"Rom?n"
D?az
Ogduardo
isla de la m?sica,
vol. 6.

voice,
La

75141,

Andabo:

el callej?n

(Abaku?).

de

los rumberos.
and

Arrangement

lead

Anaya.

1993.

voice,

Enkama

"Enyenis?n

"Rom?n"

Ogduardo

CD

Universal.

Music/

Magic

habla"
?frica
D?az Anaya.
La

in EGREM Studios, 1993.

Habana: CDPm Records 2039. Recorded

Notes
1.

The
tioned

is a list of Cuban

following
in this

essay.

All

Cuban

Abaku?

ritual
names

place

those

lineages,
including
to Havana
refer
and

men

its outlying

regions.

?f?k lineages:
Ten?

Eku?ri

from

(presumably

(1848,

Tongo

Creek

Town,

Apapa Ef? (from Africa) established ?f?k Ebutong

?f?k Ebutong established ?f?k Abaku? (1845).
Efut

established

Calabar)

Ekueri

Havana).

(1836, Regla).

lineages:

(1840, Havana).
Apapa Ef? (from Africa) established Efori Nkom?n
Efori Nkom?n established Muny?nga Ef? (1871, Havana); Isun Ef? (1938,
and

Havana);
Or?

lineage:
An unknown

Ita Amanayu?o

(1940,

of Africans

group

Marianao).
Or?

established

(c.

Apapa

Guan

1848,

abacoa).
Or?

Apapa

established

Or?

Abaku?

Akondomina

Mefe

(1877,

Guanabacoa).

Or? Abaku? established Or? Bib? (1934, Guanabacoa).

2.

thank

Ukpong,

the
association
Eyo,
of information
of

Samuel
director

the

In
president.
?f?k Association,

preparation,
helped

Asuquo
organize

program (on July 18) with Diabel Faye, host of the "Rhythm and News" show
atWBAI, Pacifica radio inNew York, about the upcoming ?f?k meeting and the
Cuban

3.

cultural

C. Daniel

On

28,

July

issues
at

Dawson

regarding
the Pratt

Frank Bell; Ogduardo

"Pepe"
4.

On

connection.

Ukpong,
discussed

Hern?ndez,

Isue

it, Chief

(an African

Joseph
diaspora
culture

?kp?/Ugb?
in
Institute
Brooklyn.

Edem,

an Efut

leader,

Diabel
specialist),
and
its diaspora.
The

Cuban

participants

"Rom?n" D?az, Moni Bonk? of Apapa Um?ni

of Ef?ri

Nandib?

Mos?ngo;

David

Oquendo;

Asuquo
and

Faye,

were

Ef?; Jos?
Vicente

Obon?kue
of Apapa
Um?ni
Ef?.
S?nchez,
In a similar
Kubik
traced
and
(1979:21-23,51)
study, Gerhard
"Angolan"
a
as
Yoruba
traits in Brazil
of
evidence
such
structures,
using
variety
rhythmic
related
instrument
and methods
of
construction,
styles,
singing
vocabulary,
handling

instruments.

56

5.

African Studies Review

On
his
me

I met with
July 26, 2003,
in Detriot,
retinue
Michigan,
were

two Cuban

Majesty
cultural

6.

Abaku?

leaders:
Nta

Professor

Edidem

the Obong?Paramount
the Obong's
during
D?az

"Rom?n"
Henshaw

Elijah

Ruler?of
first
and

VI

Calabar

and

to the U.S.

visit

With

Guerrero.
Angel
us to Calabar

invited

His
a

for

exchange.

isObong Nkanda

Joseph Edem

Callixtus

Calabar.

is a full member

chemist,

pharmaceutical

in

title) from Efut Ekondo

(the highest ?kp?

a retired

Ita,

of

a Creek Town lodge.

?kp? through
7.

I have

the umlaut

replaced

orthography
as well
for ?f?k,

8.

as

and Yor?ba

Igbo

Lovejoy and Richardson

Robin

Ephraim

"Grandy

ca.

10.

Contemporary
was
uscripts
born
(those
the Cross

11.

River

oral

on

(2000:159-60)
In Suriname,
the

Prices

of Saramaka

performance:
soloist
(temporary)

between
dance/drum

are

'plays'

individual

whose
learn
the

person.

(Nancy), 17552 (Indian

not

may

language

have

been

from

more

readily.
controversia

of

subject

the

noticed

(1991:8)
"A closely
and
other

of whom

same

the

75899

the purpose
of creating
these man
so that Creole
the African
founders,

first

them

characterized

each

soloists,

that
of

traditions

initiates,
could

Basin,

See V?lez
ing.
tern"

told me

leaders

as

George"

King

Eltis et al. (2000). The voyages are numbered

Queen), 83268 (Quixote), 82646 (MaryEllen).
Abaku?

1982;

in the old
by Goldie
official
orthography
Essien
1985).

351, 353) ismy source for identifiying

9.

to preserve
in Cuba)

current

in the

(cf. Essien

(1999:341-42,

and

John

as used

subdot,

as used

a vowel)

over

(two dots

the

with

?f?k

participants.
the emergence
center

enjoys

Lukumi

For
of

example,
song/
a succession
of

and

stage

chant

pat
dialogic
is role switching

feature...

related

by

briefly

in Cuban

"fundamental

then

to

yields

another."
12.

My

for

criteria

region?someone
he

although
informed
to

scripts
13.

Creating

phase

This

chant

Jos?
Abaku?

de

Jes?s
leaders).

Matanzas
15.

The

and

term

"there

literal
input

its translation
"Chuchu"
A

version

(1994).
is in fact
Ekoi

project
of

guardians

me
guided
the manu

to be
I present
here
proved
on the
Nigeria-Cameroon

a factor

been

2001:52,56).
(Connell
longer"
perhaps
communica
in this essay, Connell
(personal
a mix
a
to
of
be
lot
non-?f?k
appears
(probably

?f?k

were

that would

Spanish)
from
and

in process?entails
the ?f?k and

Efut

members

to be

need
a
other
of

the

(one
Capaz
of this passage

indiscriminately.

recorded

Talbot

by

in West

society

in the manuscripts
Cuba's
twentieth-century

was

of

identified."

inves
thorough
Cross River
lan

documented
of

used

my

and

translations
from

supported
lore and

the

century.
of the texts

has

and some
Ejagham,
of translation?currently

including
as
as well

tigation

14.

that

who
of

in ?f?k

translation

contact
Language
"at least 500 years,
texts
the Abaku?

Another

guages
Africa.

members
masters

task.

or Londo,

leaders

of

the nineteenth

from

reviewing
2002) wrote

tion,
Efut

Abaku?

considered

on
passed
a literal

complex
borderland
After

Then

elder.

com
to work with were
part of a
and
ceremonies,
studying
attending
from
the Calabar
member
of an
?kp?
as
Abaku?
leaders
by
knowledgeable,
was
a well
to understand
I begin
who

Abaku?

years
by many
a descendant

widely
regarded
not Abaku??could

was

leaders

those

which

selecting

process.
Only
plex
with
Abaku?
history

of

the

the Mu?equitos

(1912:153)

late

renowned

wrote

de

that

57

Cuban Abaku? Chants

the Ekoi
call themselves_The
[is] the name
by which
"'Ejagham'
later wrote:
itself is Efik." Jones
"One group
of Kwa was
(1963:21)
Ekoi which,
tribal fragment
the Ejagham
with
another
the Efut
of Old
of the middle
the original
Calabar."
inhabitants
Writing
River

Cross
Andah

own

their

17.

speakers
In Cuban

that

word

"the

cluster,

language

in the upper

another."

most

are

Ejagham

including
approximately
basin
(cf. Crabb
1965).

River

Cross

Contemporary

and

of

were
upper

Cameroon,
of

these

up river
are clear

people
the Boki

like

Ekoi

[Efot],

all

indiscriminately
'Ekoi' groups

so-called

one

from

and
southwestern
Nigeria
name
to denote
Ekoi used

to describe

used

lands_These

ly distinguishable
part of the Ekoi
16.

southeastern

observed

(1990:27)
is an Efik

people
from

of

peoples

word
a subtribe

considered
thousand

eighty-five

in a river of
Um?ni
"a spring
of water
represents
mythology,
Apapa
umon
to the
of the
In Abaku?
is
Ef?," a place
important
society.
founding
?kp?
a
name
as well
as a term for water. Goldie
mon as
defined
(1964:193)
place
Fish Tanze
sacred
from
the river;
thus all
water,
river, or sea. The
appeared
as a divine
source.
to
Abaku?
element
this
myths
point
"In Calabar,
'a display
of articles
of
the
efamba means
among
Usually
?kp?.'

Efut and Ejagham ?kp?, this display would take place in the forest, but the ?f?k
it by placing

urbanized

in a

them

(J. Edem,

temple"

communication,

personal

2003).
18.

and valla are Spanish

terms. Orok
Edem
translated
"to plant"
plante
(per
=
= to
a
as ntuak
in ?f?k
nda wuk: planter
ntuak
nda
wuk;
ceremony)
a land
one person
a
a
branch,
may
plant.
During
dispute,
symbol
plant
palm
to claim
of
into the ground
it. The
to
contender
would
then be forced
?kp?,

Both

form

deal with the matter

terms

20.

through the ?kp? society. Goldie

(1964:567) also trans

are described
with
concepts
Spanish
as arena or
English
cockpit, the place where
are known
as
the lead singers
because
(cocks).
gallos
translation:
Bara barib?
[attention!]
gave a similar
Jeyei!

African-based
plant. Many
in Cuba.
Valla translates
into

meet

cocks
19.

as

wuk

lated

to

fight,

Cabrera

(2000:145)
to
benkam?
[I am going
speak].
is
the contemporary
which
also serves as a term for the lan
Usaghade
ethnonym
term
"The
is
in
?f?k
while
official
Cameroon
the
Usakedet,
guage.
parlance
areas
name
are Usa
the
Other
variants
(Connell
goes
2001:72).
by
Isangele"
and Usakere
of Portuguese
contact
As a result
hadit, Usarade,
(Nicklin
1991:8).
in the early

the

1500s,

"has historically

region

been

to as Rio

referred

del Rey"

(Connell 2001:53).
The

Efut

from

"migrated

the

Cameroons"

(Latham

1973:5).

Simmons

(1956:4) wrote: "When the Efik first settled at Creek Town they found a small
village of Efut settlers living in the immediate vicinity. The Efut had originally
21.

migrated
Cabrera

from

the

(1988:

236)

southern

Cameroons

22. Most versions of Abaku? mythology

the

Usagar?,
major

Ef?

Ef?ri,

and

transmitted

territories.

River

participated
from
the Ef?

Therefore,
and

Much

Ef?

2001) commented:
?f?ks."

was

"secret"

Cuban

area."

a version

documented

received

hold

of

this phrase.

that during

by Usagar?,

Eforis?n,

variants.

and

of ?kp?

Bakok?,

from
Afiana
later,
(Or?),
representatives
in a ceremony
in
where
the "secret"
Usagar?,
to others.
Orok
Edem
communication,
(personal

"The Usak Edet people would

the

founding

legend

of

Usagar?

origins

in

three
Ef?,
was

tell you they sold it to the

is reinforced

in both

Cross

58

African

Studies

his investigation

23. During

of

leaders
founder
the

voice

into this mythology,

the Bateka
their

of

which

Review

of

the
call

they

in Usak

village
had
village

leopard,"
Butamu"
are

Edet,
a fish

"landed
leading

to the

(Cuban

Abaku?

and

in Usak

people
that

Edet

are

which

started

founding
refer

of

Often
Ejagham

there,

in the Cuban
term.

For

they

to

that

the

vibrating
the "leopard
their
temples

sister

of

the

and making
cult,
spirit
as butame).

and

that

literature
example,

'never

true

of

that of Cuban

supports

is based
ogy
made.
24.

the

that

(1991:10) questioned

indicated

from
Butamu
any per
bought
the
cult_All
they
originators
leopard
spirit
were
that the Ejagham
the originators
of
elders
emphatically
deny
Isangele
some
it from
and many
Isan
say that while
groups
Ejagham
purchased
Ekpe,
in turn
it from
the Efik who
others
it from
gele,
purchased
acquired
Isangele"
In
other
the
collective
of
leaders
words,
(Nicklin
1991:10,11).
memory
village
"Bateka

son',

adamant

Nicklin

who

Abaku?:

later

bonko

transfer

is an Ef?k

Cabrera

the

epicenter

ritual

power

that
of

term,

whereas
wrote:

(1958:61)

of
to

bong?
"Bonk?:

the mythol
?f?k was

the

is an Efut
the

or

sacred

drum of the Efik ([Bong?] Ekue, that of the Efor)." This distinction is not
reflected in the Cross River literature: In 1773 ?f?k leader "Grandy King
George"

of Old

Town

wrote

the

phrase

"blowed

abuncko"

to mean

that

the

a new law (Williams 1897:544); Tal

?kp? drum had been sounded to declare
"ebu nko" (ebonko) as an Ugb? grade [Ejagham].
bot (1912:41) documented
25.

In most

Cuban

interpretations,

"Iyamba

is king

of

the Efor"

(Cabrera

1958:95).