THE ORIGIN OF EKPE OHAFIA.
Ekpe Ohafia is Different from Ékpè Masquerade of Ibibio/Effik.
Ekpe is the altered form of Ékpè. Ekpe is not an Ohafia language, it is the Ibibio/Efik language and it means Leopard(Agu).
In the ancient days, Thieves clothes themselves with leopard skin, wore constructed gloves that had a kind of leopard fingernails on their hands, and hid in a bush waiting for traders who were going to the Ibibio market to attack them and cart away their goods and belongings.
So, when they see traders on their way to the market, they will attack them from behind, and upon the attack, the traders will leave/ throw away their goods and flee for their lives thinking they are being attacked by a leopard. then the thieves will cart away their goods and belongings.
As time went by, it was discovered that it was criminals who had been attacking the traders and not leopards and the people of Ibibio called the criminals Ékpè-Ekpo/Ekpo Ékpè, meaning Masqueraded Leopard.
The criminals (ékpè-expo/expo-ékpè) severely dealt with the Ibibio people and traders till the point the Ibibio people and the traders made many plans on how to put an end to the Ékpè-expo activities in Inibio land and at last they succeeded.
The Ibibio people and traders were happy being delivered from these horrible criminals and with joy in their hearts they established Ekpe to mark the historic milestone and struggle to put an end to these horrible criminals.
HOW ABAM AND OHAFIA ADOPTED EKPE AND IGBA EKPE
Nkalu people and Nde Oji Abam Onyerubi have a strong positive relationship. There was/is a harmonious connection between these two communities. Nkalu People travel a long distance to Eke Nde Oji to trade, Nde Oji people also travel the same distance to Nkalu Ibibio to trade. Because of the mutual respect and cooperation that exist between these two communities, Nkalu taught Nde Oji how to knit Ūgbō Ekpe(Ekpe cloth) using Ngbo(a plant used in making rope ). Nde Oji learned it, modified It to suit their tradition, and added it to their culture.
In the year 1870 war broke out between Isiugwu Ohafia and Nde Oji Abam Onyerubi. The war was regarding a boundary dispute. The war lasted for 22 years. From 1870 to 1892. It was called Agha-mkpa-ochu and that’s because it was fought in ochu( cleared and burnt farmland ready to cultivate).
Before the war ended in 1892, Nde Oji delegates/delegates from other villages in Abam and Isiugwu delegates/delegates from other parts of Ohafia entered a peace conference meeting. At the conference meeting, they agreed to restore peace between Isiugwu and Nde Oji and decided on a particular spot as their boundary. To concrete the agreement, the two communities went to the agreed spot to be a boundary, planted Ogirishi and Odu trees, and took an oath that Nde Oji and Isiugwu would never wage war against themselves again, Nde Oji man would not infli*ct or ki*ll Isiugwu man and Isiugwu man would not infli*ct or ki*ll Nde Oji man, if Nde Oji man ki*lls someone from Isiugwu or Isiugwu man ki*lls someone from Nde Oji, the ki*llers head will be used for the atonement of his cr*ime, no one should tamper or adjust the boundary, anyone who tampers or adjust the boundary will face the wr*ath of the Gods of Abam and Ohafia land, Isiugwu/Ohafia and Nde Oji/Abam are brothers and should see themselves as brothers. And they name the boundary “Ogbugbandu”
When peace was finally restored, a man named Odo from Nde Oji came to Isiugwu and helped Isiugwu to knit their first Ugbo-Ekpe and at the same time teach them how to knit Ugbo-Ekpe from Ñgbo(a plant used to make rope)
Afterward, the first Ekpe festival(igba-ekpe) was celebrated to concrete peace between Nde Oji/entire Abam and Isiugwu/entire Ohafia.
As time went on, Isiugwu started using Ngbo-okwuru-ele to knit Ugbo-Ekpe and other Ohafia villages adopted Ekpe celebration.
Today, Ekpe is used to celebrate the new yam festival and to mark an age grade in Ohafia and Abam Onyerubi.
