On a dark indigo cloth called ukara, white symbols repeat in rows: circles, crossing lines, shapes that look like people, animals and tools. To most outsiders they look like decoration. To members of the Ekpe society of south-eastern Nigeria and western Cameroon, they carry meaning. These are nsibidi, a system of signs used for centuries to communicate ideas, record events and mark membership in secret societies.
Origins, Ekpe and ukara cloth
Nsibidi is associated with the Cross River region, among peoples including the Ejagham, Efik, Ibibio and Igbo. Nsibidi uses pictorial and abstract signs that can represent objects, actions, relationships and ideas, such as love, conflict or authority. The Ekpe, or Leopard society, a powerful men’s association, used nsibidi in rituals and communication. Some signs were known only to initiates.
Ukara cloth, dyed with indigo and decorated with nsibidi, is worn and displayed by Ekpe members. Some nsibidi signs were widely known and used on walls, pottery, calabashes and body art.
Gestures, colonial attitudes and modern art
Nsibidi also included gestures and performance alongside written signs. Scholars debate how old nsibidi is. It was certainly in use long before colonial times. Colonial officials and missionaries often dismissed or misunderstood nsibidi. Nigerian artists, especially from the Nsukka school, such as Uche Okeke, drew on nsibidi and uli designs in modern painting. Nsibidi-inspired symbols appeared in the film Black Panther, bringing wider attention.
Cultural groups work to document and teach nsibidi. Related symbols are used by the Abakuá society in Cuba, founded by people of Cross River origin taken there during the slave trade.
Uli, learning and secrecy
Uli, the body and wall painting tradition of Igbo women, shares some motifs with nsibidi. Artists of the Nsukka school drew on both, creating a modern Nigerian visual language rooted in local traditions rather than European models. Some designers and educators have created resources to teach nsibidi signs to young Nigerians, and the symbols appear in fashion and graphic design.
Because some signs were restricted to initiates, outsiders have never had a complete picture of the system. Nsibidi was never meant to be read by everyone. Today, more people know of it than ever, and its signs appear on gallery walls as well as Ekpe cloth.
