From parts of Imo State to the Southwest province of Cameroon, Ekpe is celebrated in different communities around December, the styles of music and masquerade varying. The Ekpe festival is said to originate from the Cross River area from the Qua or related peoples. Ekpe spread to what is now the Southwest province of Cameroon and other areas and spread west towards what is now Abia and parts of Imo and Ebonyi state, largely due to the old Aro Confederacy.

'Ekpe' means leopard and the many masquerades across the Bight of Biafra region, although differing in shapes and size, usually mimic the movements of the leopard. Ekpe is not confined to a religion or ethnic group. It was originally used as a way of enforcing laws. Ekpe is usually only used for festivals now although many people are still initiated into the society. Ekpe is strictly for men only and there are masquerades that women are barred from seeing, along with non Ekpe members.

These are some videos found from Ekpe from the December 2010/January 2011 period:

[center]
Igbo - Ikwuano
[flash=480,385]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fz_D-VKYL50?fs=1&hl=en_GB[/flash]

Efik - Calabar
[flash=480,385]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pxgi496Pfhw?fs=1&hl=en_GB[/flash]

Efik - Calabar
[flash=480,385]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJVQ4AK6mgA?fs=1&hl=en_GB[/flash]

Igbo - Umuahia
[flash=480,385]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWfVJVOd5kQ?fs=1&hl=en_GB[/flash]

Manyu - Cameroon
[flash=480,385]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HS6dy3b_34?fs=1&hl=en_GB[/flash]

Igbo - Umuahia
[flash=480,385]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFGPz68CX4Q?fs=1&hl=en_GB[/flash]
[/center]

Lekwe Ekpo 
I have celebrated diverse Ekpes and i tell y'all,Ekpe Ikwuano is for kids while Ohuhu's is the real deal.lol
Mbiarabia laaaaaa

People are confusing this ekpe thing. One is a festival, the other is the actual Cross River/Aro-originating leopard society (Okonko). The two are not the same.
Nice videos though. I especially like the Umuahia and Efik ones.

^I have overheard elders talk abt the Okonko,what is it all abt?
Make u try hafu ala bekee small ga gbatukwanu ekpe.

ChinenyeN:

People are confusing this ekpe thing. One is a festival, the other is the actual Cross River/Aro-originating leopard society (Okonko). The two are not the same.
Nice videos though. I especially like the Umuahia and Efik ones.

Okonoko is a related but separate society that is almost completely Igbo. Ekpe, meaning Leopard in Efik is another society that exists over a wider area. The Ekpe in Umuahia was for the most part only introduced in the 20th century by a lady and in some villages it was introduced as early as the late 1980's so Okonko is actually superior to Ekpe in places like Umuahia, even some elders do not recognise Ekpe and have fought against it. Okonko people do not perform as frequently as Ekpe people do, but they are active in the funerals of ndi ichie and their members, new yam festivals and other major Omenala events. So you can say Okonko is the Igbo version of Ekpe. Any village person can gbala Ekpe, but only initiates are allowed to follow Okonko processions.

ifyalways:

^I have overheard elders talk abt the Okonko,what is it all abt?
Make u try hafu ala bekee small ga gbatukwanu ekpe. 

Okonko is a society of men, members who talk about Okonko rites to non-initiates and women are cursed. Okonko is like Ekpe, only that they do not have a regular festival.

This is an Okonko masquerade from Umuahia (don't know which community or village).

[img]http://mccoy.lib.siu.edu/jmccall/jones/igbo/ekpe11.JPG[/img]
G. I. Jones

Ohuhu-Umuahia Ekpe
In the Umuahia Ekpe the festival is danced on the villages market day centred on the villages square, the night before the Ekpe festival is used for practice and is called nchichi ekpe and this night is for the ekpe people and the drummers in the ogba. The oke ishi ekpe is the president of Ekpe and leads the other maskers through the night. Wood is burnt so that the people who carry the Ekpo (ndi na fu ekpo) can rub on their skin to make the masquerades darker. On Ekpe day the nkpo na ala (Igbo explosives) are exploded to start the Ekpe usually in the afternoon depending on how quick guests arrive from other villages. The Ogba music plays in the little makeshift roofless hut where no one but male members of the village can enter. The black Ekpo masquerades are the first of a variety of masquerades to come out and they act as evil spirit police. These Ekpo are dangerous and carry whips with them, their masks are big and sometimes have multiple faces or hinged jaws that open and close (an Ibibio influence). They also have male village members who follow them singing music (usually the ekpos theme music) and usually carry canes as well along with cutlasses. The Ekpo come from different parts of the village but all must pass through and dance in the village square.

The next masquerade to appear is Eru or Nwa Eru, a feminine masquerade. The dancer has a carved head or carved full figure of an Owumiri on his head and many wrappers tied around their waist. The dancer dances iborokiti which is a sort of waist dance that Umuahia people are known for. This masquerade is not violent and women accompany it but it barges past people in its way when dancing. When Eru reaches the market or village square the loud ogba music stops and the Odumodu music accompanying eru is all that is heard. After dancing around the village square (like in the video in the first post) the Eru leaves for the rest of the village to dance in peoples compounds. All Ekpe masquerades enter peoples compounds and collect money and usually stop cars passing by.

Red danger flags are flown twice through the lively village square by an Ekpe member over a few minutes then nkpo na ala is blown again. The last masquerade to appear is the president himself, oke ishi ekpe. No one but male village members and special male guests are allowed to see the oke ishi ekpe. The masquerade is accompanied by male members of the village with a larger wrapper hung in front of him so no uninvited people can see him. The oke ishi ekpe and the followers are usually armed with whips and machetes. The oke ishi ekpe is covered from head to toe, sometimes carries a carved head, it carries a special knife and a carved head as a headdress. If this headdress is taken by another village then the village cannot dance Ekpe for a certain amount of years. The oke ishi ekpe dances in the village square (usually with chaos of other villagers and visitors running away) and visits peoples houses marching around the village. After the oke ishi ekpe has done his procession he goes near the ogba where a special line of omu is hung and cuts it ending the Ekpe, nkpo na ala is blown again.

[center]
An Umuahia Ekpo

[/center]

I will try and do the Calabar one next.

ezeagu:

Okonoko is a related but separate society that is almost completely Igbo. Ekpe, meaning Leopard in Efik is another society that exists over a wider area. The Ekpe in Umuahia was for the most part only introduced in the 20th century by a lady and in some villages it was introduced as early as the late 1980's so Okonko is actually superior to Ekpe in places like Umuahia, even some elders do not recognise Ekpe and have fought against it. Okonko people do not perform as frequently as Ekpe people do, but they are active in the funerals of ndi ichie and their members, new yam festivals and other major Omenala events. So you can say Okonko is the Igbo version of Ekpe. Any village person can gbala Ekpe, but only initiates are allowed to follow Okonko processions.

I think I understand what you're saying here.

ifyalways:

^I have overheard elders talk abt the Okonko,what is it all abt?
Make u try hafu ala bekee small ga gbatukwanu ekpe.

I really don't know anything about Okonko except for that I've heard elders sometimes refer to it as Ekpe Aro, and that the society is like a society of political businessmen (very simplified way to put it though).

ezeagu:

Ohuhu-Umuahia Ekpe
In the Umuahia Ekpe the festival is danced on the villages market day centred on the villages square, the night before the Ekpe festival is used for practice and is called nchichi ekpe and this night is for the ekpe people and the drummers in the ogba. The oke ishi ekpe is the president of Ekpe and leads the other maskers through the night. Wood is burnt so that the people who carry the Ekpo (ndi na fu ekpo) can rub on their skin to make the masquerades darker. On Ekpe day the nkpo na ala (Igbo explosives) are exploded to start the Ekpe usually in the afternoon depending on how quick guests arrive from other villages. The Ogba music plays in the little makeshift roofless hut where no one but male members of the village can enter. The black Ekpo masquerades are the first of a variety of masquerades to come out and they act as evil spirit police. These Ekpo are dangerous and carry whips with them, their masks are big and sometimes have multiple faces or hinged jaws that open and close (an Ibibio influence). They also have male village members who follow them singing music (usually the ekpos theme music) and usually carry canes as well along with cutlasses. The Ekpo come from different parts of the village but all must pass through and dance in the village square.

The next masquerade to appear is Eru or Nwa Eru, a feminine masquerade. The dancer has a carved head or carved full figure of an Owumiri on his head and many wrappers tied around their waist. The dancer dances iborokiti which is a sort of waist dance that Umuahia people are known for. This masquerade is not violent and women accompany it but it barges past people in its way when dancing. When Eru reaches the market or village square the loud ogba music stops and the Odumodu music accompanying eru is all that is heard. After dancing around the village square (like in the video in the first post) the Eru leaves for the rest of the village to dance in peoples compounds. All Ekpe masquerades enter peoples compounds and collect money and usually stop cars passing by.

Red danger flags are flown twice through the lively village square by an Ekpe member over a few minutes then nkpo na ala is blown again. The last masquerade to appear is the president himself, oke ishi ekpe. No one but male village members and special male guests are allowed to see the oke ishi ekpe. The masquerade is accompanied by male members of the village with a larger wrapper hung in front of him so no uninvited people can see him. The oke ishi ekpe and the followers are usually armed with whips and machetes. The oke ishi ekpe is covered from head to toe, sometimes carries a carved head, it carries a special knife and a carved head as a headdress. If this headdress is taken by another village then the village cannot dance Ekpe for a certain amount of years. The oke ishi ekpe dances in the village square (usually with chaos of other villagers and visitors running away) and visits peoples houses marching around the village. After the oke ishi ekpe has done his procession he goes near the ogba where a special line of omu is hung and cuts it ending the Ekpe, nkpo na ala is blown again.

[center]
An Umuahia Ekpo

[/center]

I will try and do the Calabar one next.

Correct guy.
Now i know the real reason behind the famous "Mbiaraba laa" warnings.The Oke ishi ekpe is highly guarded and so anything can happen once its out.Visitorw,women and kids are warned beforehand to start heading home or to safety before it is unleashed.Nice

ezeagu:

Okonoko is a related but separate society that is almost completely Igbo. Ekpe, meaning Leopard in Efik is another society that exists over a wider area. The Ekpe in Umuahia was for the most part only introduced in the 20th century by a lady and in some villages it was introduced as early as the late 1980's so Okonko is actually superior to Ekpe in places like Umuahia, even some elders do not recognise Ekpe and have fought against it. Okonko people do not perform as frequently as Ekpe people do, but they are active in the funerals of ndi ichie and their members, new yam festivals and other major Omenala events. So you can say Okonko is the Igbo version of Ekpe. Any village person can gbala Ekpe, but only initiates are allowed to follow Okonko processions.

Okonko is a society of men, members who talk about Okonko rites to non-initiates and women are cursed. Okonko is like Ekpe, only that they do not have a regular festival.

This is an Okonko masquerade from Umuahia (don't know which community or village).

[img]http://mccoy.lib.siu.edu/jmccall/jones/igbo/ekpe11.JPG[/img]
G. I. Jones

Imeela.

Ekpo masquerade from Ututu in Abia State.

The funeral service of an Ekpe member.

An Okonko masquerade.

An Ekpo masquerade from the Akwa Ibom axis.

Very interesting....but why do they let a woman stand next to a masqurade. Will never happen in Anambra. Infact,its an ABOMINATION!

Secondly,why are the masqurades bearers reaveling their skin...This things are against Igbo masquradic rites. This is what happens when you borrow a culture. I hate seeing that. In Anambra,we even have masqurades that a woman must not see; like Ayaka and Ogbo Ito masqurades.

NRI PRIEST: Very interesting....but why do they let a woman stand next to a masqurade. Will never happen in Anambra. Infact,its an ABOMINATION!

Secondly,why are the masqurades bearers reaveling their skin...This things are against Igbo masquradic rites. This is what happens when you borrow a culture. I hate seeing that. In Anambra,we even have masqurades that a woman must not see; like Ayaka and Ogbo Ito masqurades.

You have a problem of not being exposed to much of Igboland. Your knowledge is restricted to a particular area and you believe that yours is the only Igbo culture. FYI they don't have that your type of masquerade in Eastern Igbo where Ekpe, Ekpo and Okonko reigns.

Well in Onicha, "nne nmuo" can stand beside a masquerade. Nku di na mba n'ezuru mba nni,no size fits all.

Where is Omo ibo? He better get ready to host me this december cos "I'm feeling this year's ekpe ohuhu badly"

NRI PRIEST: Very interesting....but why do they let a woman stand next to a masqurade. Will never happen in Anambra. Infact,its an ABOMINATION!

Secondly,why are the masqurades bearers reaveling their skin...This things are against Igbo masquradic rites. This is what happens when you borrow a culture. I hate seeing that. In Anambra,we even have masqurades that a woman must not see; like Ayaka and Ogbo Ito masqurades.

Sigh.

There are different grades of Okonko and Ekpe masquerades and each masquerade serves a unique function. Some are docile while others are aggressive and capable of killing or inflicting serious injury. Those particular ones that you saw are used for events and social gatherings, and therefore can be seen by both men and woman. However, the one in the picture of the burial is highly sacred and cannot be touched by a woman or an uninitiated man. Okonko masquerades generally leave the bearer's hands and feet exposed.

Ekpo masquerades are more energetic and are also capable of killing and inflicting serious injury. Only the bearer's head and torso are completely covered.

You should really try and leave Anambra more often. Just know that in the area where these masquerades are popular, there's nothing like mmanwu.

This is an Ekpe masquerade called "Nwekpe".

Some Ekpo from the Akwa Ibom axis. Note: The way Ekpo masquerades are used among the Ibibio/Annang is very different from the way they're used among the Igbo. Same masking genre though.