The Annang is a cultural and ethnic group native to "South- South Nigeria. The Annang people are indigenes of 8 local government areas of the present 31 local government areas in Akwa Ibom State. namely Abak, Essien Udim, Etim Ekpo, Ika, Ikot Ekpene, Obot Akara, Oruk Anam, Ukanafun in Akwa Ibom State , and part of Obi Ngwa LGA of Abia state, e.g Akirika and others, Nigeria. They were formerly located in the former Abak and Ikot Ekpene Divisions of the Annang Province, in the former Eastern Region of Nigeria. The proper name for the Ika of Akwa Ibom is Ika-Annang.
Location
The Anaang people are located in South -South Nigeria and specifically Akwa Ibom State. The political capital of the Annang people is Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area.
Culture
Annang society is patriarchal. Individuals locate their place in the social world from the Idip, literally translated as "womb". Thus a brother/sister from the same Idip means that they can trace their origin to the same mother or father. Since polygamy is practised in the society, those who can so trace their ancestry to the same parents form Ufok (literally a house or compound). Several ufoks make up Ekpuks or extended family and several Ekpuks (extended families) make up "Idung" (meaning village) and several villages make up the "abio" or clan.
Leadership at the family, lineage, village, or clan level remains the prerogative of the men, and lineage ties extends to women even after marriage. There are many societies and associations (Urim also called "udim" for men and women which are very important in traditional village life. Individuals are measured by both the number and types of memberships in Urim and by the achievements of one or more Urims. Governance is done by elderly males who act as the legislative arm called Afe Ichong, directed by the Obong or Abong Ichong (Village Chief and Clan Chief) who is the head and the chief executive but without the authority beyond what the Afe Ichong gives. A chief can be appointed by the Afe or can be an inherited office.
The Annang speak the Annang language and perform a masquerade after the yam harvest to mark the visit of ancestral spirits, or ekpo. This is also the name of a men's associations that once had great influence among Ibibio groups. The Annang carve masks with grotesque features, known as idiok, which are considered dangerous and may only be viewed by members of the ekpo. Other masks embody the beautiful spirit, or mfong.
The strength of any individual, family (or group for that matter) is typically based upon a consensus of the village or clan through this complex social system. In all this, Annang women are not completely subordinate to men. Instead Annang women are partners and leaders in many aspects of Annang tradition, including serving as female chief priests Abia "Awia Idiong" in the Idiong cult or as healers in the healing cults. The first-born female known as Adiaha is important and commands respect in the family and lineage. Some traditions hold that a woman's first birth should take place in her mother's compound. Women's organizations such as "abi-de" and "Nyaama", and "Isong Iban" play important roles in giving the women voice and status in society. There are no traditional or cultural barriers that prevent women from attaining high offices or positions.
Annangs value the ability to speak well and oratory ability using proverbs is highly desirable, especially among the leaders. The American anthropologist, Peter Farb, stated that the name "Annang" among this group means "they who speak well". An individual who has the gift of eloquent speech is often complimented as Akwo Annang, meaning the "singer of Anaang".
Fattening room (Mbobo)
The fattening room is traditionally where virgin adolescent girls were fattened up in preparation for marriage. A fattening room girl is known as a mbobo. This was an occasion for a major village celebration. As part of her preparation for marriage the girl was also instructed on how to be a wife. She would spend her time in the room naked so that her fattening could be observed, and would sleep on a bamboo bed which was thought to fatten her up. It was also meant to make it more possible for her to conceive easily.
This use for fertility purposes was also used at time for infertile wives and as a prerequisite for entrance into secret societies.
Eulogy
Agwodeen Itiaba =Complete/perfect man
Agwoodeen itiaba refers to the man who has attained the plenitude of his manhood.
Itiaba is the Annang name for seven. And the number seven is a symbol of completeness or perfection in Annang thought and tradition.

Annang Taboos (Ibed).
Taboos were associated with rituals and were thus held in absolute sacredness and sanctity. Contraventions brought undesirable material consequences to the offender and the community. Rituals were often performed to expiate and propitiate the evil committed. Some days were set aside and held to be sacred. For example, No woman was expected to fetch from the community stream on Ared market day (Usen Urua Ared). I some Annang communities women who gave birth to twins (Aka Amaniba) are not allowed to fetch from the community streams. No one was expected to offend his grandchild or grandchildren (Ajejen or Nto Ajejen), his or her grandparents (Etebom and/or Ekam), his inlaws (Ukod). A woman is prohibited from having sexual intercourse with another man other than her husband. Contravention of this injunction attracts the dead of the husband, who is believed to be killed by the wife through the evil minstrels of eros called Ekpo Nka Agwo. This is not a general rule, as this rule operates contrariwise in some Annang communities. Be it as it may, this law appears to be an unjust law as the punishment for the offence does not devolve on the offender, but on anotherperson. This contradicts the Annang belief in retribution and the belief that “the ashes follow its thrower” (Aduok ntong ke nton akene)

The following are some of Iman Annangs and their food taboos. Eka Abiakpo clans do not eat turtle. The Afaha people forbade its members from eating the (Nserise) squirrel. They identified with the quickness and intelligence of the animal. Other examples of clan groups and their food taboo are: Ukana python (Asabo); (Ibom); Ekpenyong (albino Python); Ikpe Uruk- Ikot (snake); Utu, Ebom, Midim (birds); Nto Usung (African black bird). Other Annang clans chose vegetables as their food taboo. Thus Ika has sweet yam (anem) as taboo, and Nto Edino has the river reed (Nyama). The food taboo was so important to the Annang that it was used as a distinguishing characteristic to locate the origin of an individual and to separate one Iman from another. Children learnt as part of the socialization process that a particular Iman are people living in a particular geographical area with a given food taboo. Ekanem (2002) reported that those from Midim preferred to starve rather than violate their food taboo during the Nigerian civil war that lasted from 1967 to 1970.
Religious belief
The traditional religion of the people is based on the belief in the existence of a Supreme Being called Abasi Ibom (Abasi Enyong) whom they believe lives beyond the clouds, and myriads of divinities and spiritual beings (Abasi Isong) that assist Abasi Ibom to deal with human problems of moral, social, economic, political and psychological nature “Ibom” means the whole limitless universe. Here accordingly, he is the lord of the whole boundless universe and everything within it. Due to his boundlessness, there is no temple nor shrine for him, since that cannot accommodate him Awasi-Ibom is ubiquitous, and, and because of this, no particular temple, place or shrine can accommodate him. He, therefore, needs no temple nor shrine since he can neither be localized nor spatialized. He transcends space and time continuum. The temple is, therefore, non-existent in the Annang religion. As the Awasi-Ibom is unlimited, so are his powers.However, Abasi Ibom is a withdrawn God, the so-called ‘deus-otiosus’ and hence assistance from other divinities and ancestral beings. Awasi Ibom or Abot is the creator, the creator of the divinities, humans, animals, plants and other existents in the world. Awasi Ibom comes first in the hierarchy of existence.
Though with this belief some of the traditionalist indulges in deity worships such as Ikpa Isong
Idiong, Ndem and Ibok,
Name Approximation English Equivalent Abode Function
Awasi Anyong Sky god The Sky In charge of the ethereal region
Awasi Isong Earth god The earth In charge of the earth
Eka Awasi Earth goddess The earth Responsible for female fertility
Eka nnem Head of divinity The earth Protection of other deities
Nnem usung god of the road Road corners Protection of the roads
Ekpenyong god of the wood The wood Protecting the woods
Ikpa isong god of the village Village squares Protection of the villages
Nnem utin god of the sun The sun Responsible for sun light
Nnem idung god of the home Compound entrance Protection of the home
Mmiam deities of truth Compound entrance Responsible for truth and justice
Idio inwang goddess of farm The farm Responsible for good harvest
Nnem iman god of the clan Clan headquarters Protection of the clan
Nnem akai god of the forest The forest Protection of the forest
Abot god of fertility Road corners Responsible for reproduction
Nnem mmong goddess of water Seas,rivers,streams,spring In charge of water bodies
Mbama god of first harvest Village square Responsible for first harvest
Esien emana reincarnation deity The forest In charge of reincarnation
Nnem erim god of the rain The atmosphere In charge of rain
Annang Mythology
It is the Annang belief that the universe had its orgin from a divine supreme being who was self-begotten, Awasi-Ibom. He created Anyong (the sky) and Isong (the earth) and Inyang-Ibom (ocean). Both Anyong (sky) and Isong (earth) existed in the heavens while water was below. Tradition has it that Anyong (sky) and Isong (earth) were joined together.
Awasi-Ibom sent one of his creatures whose name is not mentioned to separate Anyong from Isong. This creature had a human form but as a giant: about seven times the size of a normal human being that we know of today. The giant came with a tool and separated Anyong from Isong. And since that time, Anyong (sky) and Isong (earth) have been at constant enmity. Whenever Anyong (sky) covers Isong (earth) we have day and whenever Isong (earth) covers Anyong (sky) we have night. Awasi-Ibom ordered Anyong and its children (the heavenly bodies: sun, moon, stars, etc) to move upward while earth was ordered to more
downward. While moving downward, earth (Isong) fell into massive water, the ocean (Akpa Ibom, the Annang name for the Atlantic Ocean). A section of it was submerged in the water and the portion that floated became the dry land. The giant went to bathe in the water after he had completed his work. He got drowned and died in the water. The particles of the decayed body of the giant, tradition holds, gave birth to the living animals and plants in both land and water. His teeth which were washed ashore germinated into many plants, shrubs and grasses. His bones became the rocks; his breath became the air and the wind. The insects which stuck to the decaying head (after having been washed ashore) grew up to become the land animals.
A certain animal “Ukpong-ajen” (wall gecko), which literally means “soul of the child”, was seen licking the dust of the remains (head) of the dead giant. Awasi-Ibom instructed Awasi-Isong to make a pot from a mixture of sand and water and put Ukpon-ajen (wall gecko) in there for eight days. Awasi-Ibom then sent “akuwe” (chameleon) to spy and monitor if AwasiIsong had carried out the orders, without allowing anyone to see him. Akuwe (chameleon), unseen by Awasi-Isong, inspected the work of Awasi-Isong and reported to Awasi-Ibom that the job had been done. On the eight day, Awasi-Ibom came and spat into the pot, and in the company of Awasi-Isong, broke the pot open. Suddenly, two hitherto unknown beings (male and female) emerged from the pot. Awasi-Isong asked the male being with a thunderous voice “ade anyie?” (Who are you?), to which he answered with a small voice “nde agwo” (I am a human being). Awasi-Ibom thundered” Agwo, du uwem” (human being keep on living!). Till date
History
Oral history
According to oral tradition, the Abiakpo came to the northern range of Anaang from Eka Abiakpo. They were quickly followed by the Ukana clan, the Utu, Ekpu, Ebom and Nyama (the British lumped these groups together and gave them the name Otoro), and other Anaang clans. The Annang and the entire people of Akwa Ibom and Cross River States of Nigeria (AkwaCross people) have occupied their land in the coastal Southeastern Nigeria for thousands of years.
The group is related to the Efiks and the Ibibios. Migration brought the groups to live among the Twi of Ghana where the name Annang means "fourth son". From Ghana, the group moved eastward into present-day Cameroon. It was in the Cameroon highlands that the group broke off but later arrived at same territory in the Coastal Southeastern Nigeria. Lineages were recognized and the groups organized themselves into clans based on old family origins known as Iman, a similar structure extends into the land of their northern neighbors, the Igbo.
Written history
Very little was written about the Anaang people before the mid-19th century. Early European traders who arrived in the cross river territories referred to groups who lived outside of the coastal areas as residents of Egbo-Sharry Country. The first written mention of the Annangs is in Sigismund Koelle's account of liberated slaves in Sierra Leone. He mentioned a liberated slave named Ebengo who hailed from Nkwot in Abak. Ebengo was captured and sold to the Portuguese but was subsequently freed by a British warship and later settled in Waterloo, Sierra Leone. The British soldiers listed the languages spoken by the slaves in that captured ship as "Annang". The second mention is a description of what is known as the Ikot Udo Obong Wars. The British described the killings of the Annangs by King Jaja of Opobo as a punishment for defying his orders and trading in palm oil directly with the British merchants instead of going through him as a middle man. In the war that ensued, the British intervened and with the help of the Annangs, they captured King Jaja and exiled him to the West Indies. The British established a military post at Ikot Ekpene in 1904.
Following British colonialism and with changes and ban in ancient hunting practices, the Annang witnessed attacks by wild animals. As the men went to fight in World War II these attacks intensified. The British authorities called the attacks murder and blamed it on "the barbarism of the Africans". The Annang were accused of belonging to a secret society called Ekpeowo (The Human Leopards Society). It has been argued that killings born out of insurgency against the British elsewhere in Africa led to the branding of leopard attacks as murders by the British authorities among the Anaang. Between 1945 and 1948 about 196 people were killed in Ikot Okoro community in the present-day Oruk Anam LGA; the Ikot Okoro Police station was set up because of this reason. The British convicted 96 people and executed 77 innocent people. The Annang religion called Idiong was banned and the priests arrested. Articles and worship materials were publicly burnt and those who did not convert to Christianity automatically became suspects.
The Annangs have a history and reputation for fearlessness and the ability of villages and clans to bind together to fight a common enemy. This is perhaps why they were able to thrive living so close to the Aro Confederacy's center, Arochukwu with its famed Ibini Ukpabi oracle. A particular interesting war group, or "Warrior cult", was the famous Oko warriors. This war group was highly functional in the 1950s. These warriors were considered invulnerable to penetration of knives, spears, and arrows. In various instances sharp machetes were tested on the body parts of members.
The Annangs suffered genocide during the Nigerian Civil War. The war lasted for three years (1967–1970) and the Annang lost a significant number of its people. The effect of the war and the resulting neglect of the Anaang is now a serious political issue and a source of unrest in the area.
Written language
Parts of the Annang lanuguage may be intelligible to speakers of Efik, Ibibio, Oron, Eket (also known as Ekid) of the Old Calabar Kingdom. Though the Anaang speech pattern was not written down, linguists have now produced an orthography of the language which makes it possible to produce written materials in the language. In Annang dialect,the word "ilung"means village while in Ibibio it is called " Idung". The major linguistic difference between the Annang and other dialects is the predominant use of the letter "L" in place of "r" or "d",and the use of "g" in place of "w".The Annang dialect sounds hard but it is a dialect of freewill, ie the words roll out easily from your tongue than the Ibibio.

Reference and sourcesIdem-Agozino & Udondata, 2001). (Enang, 1979:5). Udo E.A. 1983/Esen 1988, Wikipedia, Google.

compiled by Udofia Ignatius

The Ekpo masquerade (Ekpo Annang)

The Annang masquerade popularly known as Utu Ekpe

Ekpo Annang on their festival.

The People

Artifacts

PennywysCares:
Artifacts

Impressive artifacts.