Calabar Radio Broadcast W/Ene Ita and Dr. (Chief) Ivor Miller #2

Thanks to all those folks who have been tuning in to the blog and our podcasts. I am now compiling transcripts of these transmissions; for those who are interested please email me at ndiboyevengo@gmail.com. In this weeks' podcast Ene Ita and Dr. (Chief) Ivor Miller talk about the shared traditions of Cuba and Calabar through Ékpè and Abakuá culture. Cuba's Abakuá music is maintained in epic poetic form, a tradition that has enabled Cuban Abakuá to maintain the memory of their ancestors. They also used it to survive the repression of a colonial government looking to strip them of their cultural identity, recording their own history in the hearts and minds of Abakuá members for generations to come and for our enjoyment in the 21st century nearly 200 years since the first consecration took place in Regla;Havana, Cuba.

Please click on the logo below to hear the podcast.

Okim Agbor Esija "The True Essence"

Okim Agbor Esija. Interview by Dr. (Chief) Ivor Miller with H.H. Okim Agbor Esija, Clan head of Ikom, Village head of Abokim Ngbabor, Ikom Town. February, 2008.

Chief Agbor Esija introduces himself, then explains what the term 'brikamo' means in the Nkòmè language spoken by the people of Ikom urban. Among Cuban Abakuá, 'bríkamo'is a reference to 'the real origin', the sacred land of Usagaré. While visiting this chief, I heard the term 'bríkamo' in reference to palm wine, and the local gin made from it, used to pour libations to the ancestors. 'Brikamo' means 'the real one', the best quality drink, or, 'the essence of' the drink used by Ékpè. One can see how this term would become used in Cuba to mean 'the essence of Abakuá'.

Since Chief Esija passed away in April of 2008, we are posting this five minute video in his memory, and so that Cuban Abakuá can learn about the culture of the source region of their own traditions.