Nsibidi (also known as nsibiri,[2]nchibiddi or nchibiddy[3]) is a system of symbols or proto-writing developed by the Ekpe secret society that traversed the southeastern part of Nigeria.
They are classified as pictograms, though there have been suggestions that some are logograms or syllabograms.[4]
Use of the symbol system was first discovered in 1904.[4] Excavation of terracotta vessels, headrests, and anthropomorphic figurines from the Calabar region of southeast Nigeria, dated to roughly the 5th to 15th centuries, revealed "an iconography readily comparable" to nsibidi.[5][6]
There are several hundred nsibidi symbols. They were once taught in a school to children.[7] Many of the signs deal with love affairs; those that deal with warfare and the sacred are kept secret.[7] Nsibidi is used on wall designs, calabashes, metals (such as bronze), leaves, swords, and tattoos.[2][8] It is primarily used by the Ekpe leopard society (also known as Ngbe or Egbo), a secret society that is found across old Cross River region among the Igbo, Ekoi, Efik, Bahumono, and other nearby peoples.
Before the colonial era of Nigerian history, nsibidi was divided into a sacred version and a public, more decorative version which could be used by women.[8] Aspects of colonial rule such as Western education and Christian doctrine drastically reduced the number of nsibidi-literate people, leaving the secret society members as some of the last literate in the symbols.[9] Nsibidi was and is still a means of transmitting Ekpe symbolism. Nsibidi was transported to Cuba and Haiti via the Atlantic slave trade, where it developed into the anaforuana and veve symbols.[10][11]
^Dayrell, Elphinstone (July–December 1911). "Further Notes on 'Nsibidi Signs with Their Meanings from the Ikom District, Southern Nigeria". Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute. 41. Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland: 521–540. doi:10.2307/2843186. JSTOR 2843186.
^ abElechi, O. Oko (2006). Doing Justice without the State: The Afikpo (Ehugbo) Nigeria Model. CRC Press. p. 98. ISBN 0-415-97729-0.
^Diringer, David (1953). The Alphabet: A Key to the History of Mankind. Philosophical Library. pp. 148–149.
^ abGregersen, Edgar A. (1977). Language in Africa: An Introductory Survey. CRC Press. p. 176. ISBN 0-677-04380-5.
^Slogar, Christopher (2005). Eyo, Ekpo (ed.). Iconography and Continuity in West Africa: Calabar Terracottas and the Arts of the Cross River Region of Nigeria/Cameroon. University of Maryland. pp. 58–62.
^Slogar, Christopher (Spring 2007). "Early Ceramics from Calabar, Nigeria: Towards a History of Nsibidi". African Arts. 40 (1). University of California: 18–29. doi:10.1162/afar.2007.40.1.18. S2CID 57566625.
^ abIsichei, Elizabeth Allo (1997). A History of African Societies to 1870. Nsibidi: Cambridge University Press. p. 357. ISBN 0-521-45599-5.
^ abRothenberg, Jerome; Rothenberg, Diane (1983). Symposium of the Whole: A Range of Discourse Toward an Ethnopoetics. University of California Press. pp. 285–286. ISBN 0-520-04531-9.
^Slogar, Christopher (2005). Eyo, Ekpo (ed.). Iconography and Continuity in West Africa: Calabar Terracottas and the Arts of the Cross River Region of Nigeria/Cameroon(PDF). University of Maryland. p. 155.
^University of Southwestern Louisiana (1987). Baking in the Sun: Visionary Images from the South. University of Southwestern Louisiana. p. 30.
^Asante, Molefi K. (2007). The History of Africa: The Quest for Eternal Harmony. Routledge. p. 252. ISBN 978-0-415-77139-9.
Nsibidi (also known as nsibiri, nchibiddi or nchibiddy) is a system of symbols or proto-writing developed by the Ekpe secret society that traversed the...
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BCE), Vinča signs (c. 5300 BCE), early Indus script (c. 3500 BCE) and Nsibidi script (c. before 500 CE). There is disagreement concerning exactly when...
Nnedi Okorafor. It is a sequel to Akata Witch and the second book in The Nsibidi Scripts series. It won the inaugural Lodestar Award in 2018 as well as...
Indus script, c. 3500 BC, as its nature is disputed[better source needed] Nsibidi script, c. before 500 AD[citation needed] Writing has been invented independently...
is depicted as being written in a Wakandan writing system based on the Nsibidi writing system; the Wakandan writing system was created for the film by...
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peace in the Bight of Biafra, and its secret writing system, Nsibidi. The word, nsibidi, is possibly derived from the Oroko word, njibidi, which means...
4000 BCE and 1000 BCE. Though possibly developed as early as 5000 BCE, Nsibidi may have also developed in 2000 BCE, as evidenced by depictions of the...
paintings and drawings, which reflect indigenous African philosophies of the Nsibidi and Uli art forms. Ekpuk's work frequently explores the human condition...
Mainstream". deadline.com. Emeka Keazor, "Notable Nigerians: Stella Thomas", NSIBIDI Institute (4 November 2014). "West African Lady Barrister Called to the...
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needed][dubious – discuss] writing sometimes taken to be an early form of nsibidi. The postal code of the area is 551. Ikom Local Government is in the Central...
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