EKPO IKPE ANNANG │Se anam fiok utut │Annang dance │Akwa Ibom State
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Akirika Uku Nwaotam Cultural Dance Jan 1 2023 SD 480p
THE origin of Nwaotam Masquerade in Opobo Kingdom is traced to Ndoki people of South-Eastern Nigeria in the present Abia State of Nigeria. Traditions indicate that the Ndoki people have had long time relationships with the Ibani people of Bonny and Opobo. In fact, historical documents claim that the founding fathers of Bonny were Ndoki migrants. Apparently, since the founding of Bonny, the Ibani people have always travelled upstream through the Imo river to the Azumini and other Ndoki areas for trades, cultural and social interactions.
The Nwaotam cult emerged from the deity of ancient Ibani people called the Ottam people. These people were brought in mostly to satisfy the Europeans' quest for human commodities in the 18th and 19th century. According to the memories of late captain Hugh Crow of Liverpool (1791: P 201) who visited Bonny for trade, 'the Ottam tribe are stout and robust and of a deeper black than any other tribes at Bonny. Their bodies and face are carved and tattooed in a frightful manner.' The Ottams were notable for the worship of spirits they called 'Mmoh'.
The Ibani tradition has it that the Nwa-Ottam originated from a dark mythical grove in Mkpuajaekere around Ohambele, Ndoki. By this time, the Ndoki native, which included the Ottam tribes men, had started serving this 'Mmoh' gods and would organise dance during a season of the year. Those dances were mostly organised based on age grade systems; and after several years, the deities' head was changed to masquerade head of the Nwaotam. The nucleus of the Nwaotam masquerade at that time metamorphosed into a cult, because this domestic deity at Ndoki had acquired a great deal of ritual authority. It was at these instances that Opobo people of the Captain Uranta family adopted the cult of Nwaotam called 'Ntuma Mkpa' and then ferried the male native original totem (mummified Nwa-ottam head) through Azumini river to Imo river, then to Queenstown by 1920 on the authority and assistance of King Arthur Mac Pepple, the then Amanyanabo of Opobo kingdom.
The nucleus of the Nwaotam cult originally as a secret society was its strict hierarchy and important religious and judicial roles as the Okonko of the South East and the Ekpe cult of the Calabar people. Later, it became a great carnival parade and display.
The Nwaottam cult reveals the recognition of the ancestors and the spirits of the dead great men of a town. It is believed that as the nucleus Nwaottam cult members (called Ntuma in Queens town, Mkpa in Opobo town and Uke Mkpa in Bonny) goes to the cemetery seven days before the day of display; they are able to appease the spirits of the ancestors of the town called 'Ndi Itchie' or 'Amaduo apu'; and curry spiritual powers from them.
It is believed that the Nwaottam spirit (Mmoh) was the guiding ancestral deity of the Ottam people and to depict the original mummified totems, the masquerade head must have big tribal and bleeding marks like gutters on its face, with a facial expression of strength and aggression, with the face looking up as a medium to God called 'chineke'.
There is a belief that these spirits possess both male and female personalities; both in performance and in responses to metaphysical issues. For instance, the original totem that was taken to Queenstown was said to be the male gender of the original masquerade at Mkpuajaekere, Ndoki. It is also believed that the female spirit is stronger than the male spirit, and can only be displayed after certain number of years.
There is the belief in the Nwaottam nucleus cult, that for the numbers of days they will be communicating with the ancestors of the town, they must not eat foods cooked by any woman, but must only cook yam, corn and plantain by themselves.
The Nwaotam masquerade is believed to be the spirits of the ancestors made one with the deity and can only perform on house tops, without having its heels touch the ground, by bringing good omen to the town after displaying on the roof and jumping straight down to the ground. It is believed that the Nwaottam spirit communicates with other deities of the town being air borne on a housed roof, to grant protection to the town as it performs to entertain.
Nwaottam is another masquerade found in the Niger Delta area, borrowed from the Igbo, Ndoki area to the Ijaw areas of Opobo and Bonny.Though the masquerade heads of the uplands depict the spirits of the dead and that of the Ibani Opobo people represents the water spirits. Nwaottam masquerade head represents both. The drum beats of the masquerade is still original as in the Ndoki hinterland with differences in the display probably because of spiritual efficacy and originality. Traditions have suggested that the two original deities that became masquerade heads of Mkpuajaekere in Ndoki and Queenstown Opobo are called 'Nwaottam'; while every derivative Nwaottam masquerade are called 'Nwattam'.