Evolving to Abstraction - Seclusion of Efik and Ibibio Women from the Precolonial Era to the Present
Date of Award
1-1-2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.A. in History
First Advisor
Mohammed Salau
Second Advisor
ZacharyGuthrie
Third Advisor
Jaime Harker
School
University of Mississippi
Relational Format
dissertation/thesis
Abstract
Female seclusion was an important cultural practice to the Efik and Ibibio peoples in southernmost Nigeria. Before the advent of Western education in the precolonial and colonial eras, it was particularly essential to the development of the girl child as she received a first-rate education and preparation for maturity, marriage, and motherhood. However, despite its crucial role in both cultural societies, studies on the Efik and Ibibio female seclusion cultures are far and in-between. Furthermore, the nkuho and mbopo – as they are called in Efik and Ibibio respectively – are often analyzed and presented as one singular entity, in both scholarly and popular contexts. This mischaracterization hinders the discovery of each seclusion culture’s nuances from the other, and feeds into the “Efik/Ibibio” lens wherein the two neighboring ethnic groups are viewed as one. Employing comparative analysis, this thesis examines each female seclusion culture independently from the other. Utilizing archival materials, oral interviews, and other extant primary and secondary literature, it argues that the nkuho and mbopo are similar but not identical. Finally, it concludes that due to modernity, Western influences, legality issues, and new-age ideals, these female seclusion cultures are evolving to an abstract structure to combat its sharp decline.
Recommended Citation
Williams, Itunuoluwa, "Evolving to Abstraction - Seclusion of Efik and Ibibio Women from the Precolonial Era to the Present" (2024). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2986.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/2986