Greetings! I have a question and I am hoping someone here may be able to give me an amswer. In Cuba and the Spanish speaking Caribbean we have a phrase, "Equelecuá", and I have heard many different ideas as to where this phrase comes from. One of the main things I've heard is that it is Igbo, and that the spelling of Equelecuá is a Europeanized version of Ekele KUA or Ekele KWA. so I would like to know if in fact Ekele Kua or Ekele Kwa actually is an Igbo phrase, and if so, what is the translation? Thank you for taking time with this, any and all info will be much appreciated!!!!!

equelecua:
Greetings! I have a question and I am hoping someone here may be able to give me an amswer. In Cuba and the Spanish speaking Caribbean we have a phrase, "Equelecuá", and I have heard many different ideas as to where this phrase comes from. One of the main things I've heard is that it is Igbo, and that the spelling of Equelecuá is a Europeanized version of Ekele KUA or Ekele KWA. so I would like to know if in fact Ekele Kua or Ekele Kwa actually is an Igbo phrase, and if so, what is the translation? Thank you for taking time with this, any and all info will be much appreciated!!!!!

Yes Ekele kwa is an Igbo phrase.
Ekele means Greetings
Kwa is an intensifier which is found very frequently in Igbo speech.
Ekele kwa = Greetings o!

Ekele kwa'm = I am greeting o! (This could be addressed to a person or group). The M = I
Anyi Ekele kwa = We are greeting o! Anyi = We
Fa Ekele kwa = They are greeting o! Fa = They

Ekele also means Thanks. You will see this a lot in gospel songs were they are giving praise/thanks to God.

Check out these two videos:

@ 0:47

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdwYaXgXs-M


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qK8vaLFJ37M

Naalu ekele =Receive thanks/praise.

There are regional variations in accent. Ekele is pronounced as Ekene in other areas

are you referring to the cult?

just say it, don't be sneaky.

tpiander:
are you referring to the cult?

just say it, don't be sneaky.

Do you have some paranoia attached with quoting the person you are referring to? Some of the questions you ask and you style of post seem decidedly, looney

Ekele kwa has nothing to do with a cult. @ 0:47, 2 men bumped fists and greeted themselves (Ekele).

'Qu', more often than not, corresponds to 'kw' in Igbo and some other African languages, so that 'Equelequa' may more rightly be re-written as 'Ekwelekwa' than as 'Ekele kwa'. 'Ekwelekwa' means something like 'don't agree' among some Igbo.

However, I feel that this may not be where 'Equelequa' derived from. It may help if you can tell us what 'Equelequa' means in Cuba.
Is it an expression? If yes, in what contexts is it used? Is it a society like the Afro-Cuban 'Abacua/Abakua'?

The similar endings in 'Equelequa' and 'Abakua/Abacua' was the first thing to strike me. The similarity suggests to me that both terms may come from the same general area and culture-complex. Abakua derives from the Efik(?) 'Abakwa'. Due to interchangeability between 'kw' and 'kp' in some areas, it is also written as 'Abakpa'. Now, Abakpa/Abakwa, to the best of my knowledge, refers to Ejagham settlements in and around the city of Calabar. The Ejagham are said to be the major proponents of the Ekpe/Ngbe Society, which explains why they gave their name to the Cuban version of that society - Abakua/Abacua.

Equelequa -I feel - probably derives from that same general area. Especially, if it turns out to be a society like Abakua. You'll need someone who knows the Eastern Igbo/Ibibio-Efik/Ekoi region of Southern Nigeria well to answer your question. ChinenyeN and odumchi, perhaps?

MODIFICATIONS/CORRECTIONS : I wrote 'Equelequa' instead of 'Equelecua'. My mistake.

Also, I just realised that 'qu' corresponds to 'kw' in English-to-'Igbo orthographic change, but 'k' in Spanish. So Equelecua=Ekelekwa sounds about right.

Radoillo:
Also, I just realised that 'qu' corresponds to 'kw' in English-to-'Igbo orthographic change, but 'k' in Spanish. So Equelecua=Ekelekwa sounds about right.

Heh, this was going to be my comment, but you beat me to it.

Equelecua, mind telling us more about the equelecua expression, what it's supposed to mean and how it's used? Is it a greeting?

Thank you all for your comments, knowledge and information. To clarify the use of this phrase in Cuba I'll explain it in a small dialogue:
Caro: Hey what is the name of that restaurant we used to go to?
You: Pizza Palace?
Caro: No that's not it
You: Los Taquitos?
Caro: No...
You: Cuban Cafe?
Caro: EQUELECUA!! or Ekele Kwa!!

SO i'm not sure if its a way of exclaiming THANK YOU! or if we use it to mean, "Yes that's right!" or "That's it!"

Now as we have knowledge of history we know that many people were stolen from the Motherland and carried to the Caribbean, and in particular many were taken from Nigeria to Cuba, but obviously there were many stolen from other parts of the continent as well, sooo maybe Ekele was the "giving thanks" or "greeting" part and KWA was a way of indicating that they were speaking to someone of the same "ethnicity"? kind of like how folks from the coasts of Colombia, known as Costeños will speak to another person from the same region and would say something like, "Gracias Costeño".
NOW there is another aspect to all of this that I had not thought about till today, and that is that aside from the African and Spanish roots, Cuba also has the indigenous who were known as Taino, and Puerto Rico's indigenous who were also Taino also go by the name Boricuas, so maybe there is a combination of several things goin on here....
Again I thank all of you for your feed back, and I await more knowledge....

equelecua:
Thank you all for your comments, knowledge and information. To clarify the use of this phrase in Cuba I'll explain it in a small dialogue:
Caro: Hey what is the name of that restaurant we used to go to?
You: Pizza Palace?
Caro: No that's not it
You: Los Taquitos?
Caro: No...
You: Cuban Cafe?
Caro: EQUELECUA!! or Ekele Kwa!!

SO i'm not sure if its a way of exclaiming THANK YOU! or if we use it to mean, "Yes that's right!" or "That's it!"

Now as we have knowledge of history we know that many people were stolen from the Motherland and carried to the Caribbean, and in particular many were taken from Nigeria to Cuba, but obviously there were many stolen from other parts of the continent as well, sooo maybe Ekele was the "giving thanks" or "greeting" part and KWA was a way of indicating that they were speaking to someone of the same "ethnicity"? kind of like how folks from the coasts of Colombia, known as Costeños will speak to another person from the same region and would say something like, "Gracias Costeño".
NOW there is another aspect to all of this that I had not thought about till today, and that is that aside from the African and Spanish roots, Cuba also has the indigenous who were known as Taino, and Puerto Rico's indigenous who were also Taino also go by the name Boricuas, so maybe there is a combination of several things goin on here....
Again I thank all of you for your feed back, and I await more knowledge....

If the phrase is Ekele kwa, then it is definitely Igbo from beginning to end. Like I said previously, Ekele is thanks and kwa is used as an intensifier.

Intensifier is a linguistic term for a modifier that makes no contribution to the propositional meaning of a clause but serves to enhance and give additional emotional context to the word it modifies. Intensifiers are grammatical expletives ....

When Nigerians speak English they often say: come o! Go o! Eat o! Most English speakers would not understand what the "o" means, but Nigerians do. The "O" is a grammatical expletive. This is the same thing with Kwa in Igbo language. That is why I earlier translated it as Greetings o! Or Thanks o!
Kwa is a grammatical expletive.
Ekele = Thanks
Ekele kwa = Thanks!!!!!!!

Kwa can be and is attached to all verbs in Igbo language to give additional emotional context.
Thus you'll hear Igbo's say:
Biko kwa! Bia kwa! Je kwa! Naalu kwa! Rie kwa! Ra kwa! lacha kwa! Gbu kwa! Mara kwa! Muta kwa! Biri kwa! Nama kwa! Soro kwa! Shi kwa! Ekele kwa! The list is endless.
I daresay kwa is the most common and most used intensifier in Igbo language.

To all, again I send my gratitude for the knowledge. As this is the name of my restaurant in Los Angeles, it was/is very important to me that what i tell people, or rather that the information I give them, be accurate. I always held steadfast to the notion that this phrase was in fact Igbo/African, and NOT of European origin, and I now feel armed with good and proper understanding, so EKELE KWA to all of you who helped me with this. PHUT, you are a gem, and I have used your explanation and thus proven my point to the fullness
1Luv,
Caro Lafaurie
Equelecuá Cuban Cafe
1120 W FLORENCE AVE, Unit C
INGLEWOOD, CA 90301
323-741-CUBA (2822)

equelecua:
To all, again I send my gratitude for the knowledge. As this is the name of my restaurant in Los Angeles, it was/is very important to me that what i tell people, or rather that the information I give them, be accurate. I always held steadfast to the notion that this phrase was in fact Igbo/African, and NOT of European origin, and I now feel armed with good and proper understanding, so EKELE KWA to all of you who helped me with this. PHUT, you are a gem, and I have used your explanation and thus proven my point to the fullness
1Luv,
Caro Lafaurie
Equelecuá Cuban Cafe
1120 W FLORENCE AVE, Unit C
INGLEWOOD, CA 90301
323-741-CUBA (2822)

It was my pleasure. Maybe I will come visit your restaurant when I am in LA. I have never been to the West Coast.
I will leave you with one more word: #Udo (#Peace)