In Kalabari, the dead look after the living

Ancestral worship is a common ancient practice in several parts of Nigeria. For the well- being of the living, Africans believe that it is very important to communicate with the ancestors. The ancestors or the dead are said to have power to intervene in the affairs of the living.

In traditional society, there are certain places like shrines and forests or some families or communities built as a meeting place with the ancestors. Ancestors are believed to be spirits. So, most of the time, replicas are made with wood, stone and iron to represent the ancestors.

The Kalabari

The Kalabari people live on the costal Delta of the Niger River. The Kalabari are related by language to a larger group called the Ijaw, but maintain a distinct culture. Their major occupations are fishing and trading. Their religions and art reflect the importance of their marine environments to their livelihood. 

According to their tradition, it is widely believed that their ancestors remain very active in their community and family affairs even after death.
The Kalabari treat their ancestor with great respect. They honour the spirit of their important ancestors by constructing an elaborate memorial screen for them in remembrance of their great achievements.

The Kalabari believed by doing that, their ancestors have been given a good resting place.
The early Kalabari society consists of small villages and communities with complex family lineages or groups of different sizes. Members of a lineage live together as a land holding unit controlled by an elected head or chief. Late in the 15th century, their economy became largely dependent on trade. Their location around water areas was an added advantage when the European merchants began voyages to Africa. The Ijaws served as middlemen in the exchange of gold, ivory and slaves for European products. The trade with Europeans made some families to become wealthy and their social statue changed considerably. Trading (activities) involved both export and import of goods and services. These trading houses consist of an elected head, and members comprising men and women of different origins who were adopted into the lineage as sons and daughters.

Both kingship and economic interests bound the members of a trading house together. Many of the trading houses acquire great wealth and economic powers, and the successful house head is highly honoured and respected for his accomplishment
Religious belief of
Kalabari people
Religiously, the Kalabar believed in two types of spirits, which controlled and influenced a lot of things in their life. One of these spirits is the Duen (forehead).

Duen is the spirit of the dead, the ancestor that looks after the living and intercedes with God on their behalf. The strength and influence of every lineage depends on the spirit of the deceased leaders. For the Ijaw people, they believed that one’s immortal spirits resides in the forehead.
Ancestral practice – Duen Fubara
In the traditional Kalabari belief system, the living dead or the ancestors, are particularly important spirits who have a great influence over the daily lives of the living. The Kalabari attend to the needs of these ancestral spirits known as Duen, to ensure that the spirits will continue to bring good things to the family and community as a whole. When a particular important member of a treading house dies, extra great care is taken to ensure its well-being.

Regularly in the past and occasionally today, relatives, commission artist to produce a memorial screen to immortalise the person.
Then a screen will be constructed. The screen will be placed in an inner room of the treading house behind an altar of three mind pillars where offerings are regularly made to the deceased spirit following a big consecration and installation of rituals. The head of the deceased person’s house brings food and drink to the altar every eight days to appease the spirit.

Features of Duen Fubara object

Like other memorial screens made during 19th century, Duen Fubara is made out of “Odumdum wood. Due to the importance the Kalabaris attached to the Duen, they believed that the Odumdum tree belongs to the heroes and cannot be easily polluted. Traditionally, the Kalabaris have motifs or patterns that are restricted to the dead.

The heads, bodies, appendages and accessories are individually carved and assembled with nails, staples and pegs in relief against the backdrop of a framed screen.
Also featuring on the screen are the followers or “house people” who were messengers to the ancestors. They carved to the left and the right of the ancestor. The objects that these messengers held in their hands are of great importance and have meaning in revealing the heroic exploits of the ancestor while on earth.

On the memorial screen, the house people flanked the major character (ancestor) who wore crown, indicating royalty and those who controlled coastal trade. For example one of the messengers is holding a skull, which suggests that the ancestor represented during his lifetime captured a very big and important man from an important house.

The masquerade on the head of the ancestor is that of Ekpe-cult with its numerous skulls suggesting that the ancestor was the head of Ekpe-cult when he was alive.
Both the messengers and the ancestor wore skirts around their waist. The pegs above the frame probably supported a row of small heads that symbolised the great numbers of dependant the leader had. On the ancestors hands were elephant tusks and staff, which indicate power and command. Certain features of the ancestral screen – the mouth, the eye, pupils and noise are differentiated in blue and white colours.

Ancestral worship is a common phenomenon in Nigeria.
Apart from the Kalabari, other prominent tribes in Nigeria also have ancestral figures as a means of worship and paying of homage to their ancestors. Good examples are Edjo ancestral (Urhobo) in Delta State.
This ancestral figure is being venerated by the people and is being kept in their community shrine. Urhobo people believe that Edjo protects them.
It also has similar features like Duen – Fubara through one of the largest wooden carved figure.

It has two messengers or servants by his right and left hand sides with a big round hat on his head.Also the Oron people in Akwa Ibom honour their dead with wooden figure (Ekpu). They believe that the spirit of the dead living in the carved figure is overseeing the affairs of the people. They celebrate twice in a year.

Haba is another ancestral figure from Agulu in Anambra State. This figure is placed in the shrine for the dead hero and Agulu people appeased haba spirit yearly, it protects them.
Mummuye from Adamawa State intercede for the people hence they appease the spirit occasionally.
The concept of ancestral worship is one phenomenon that is rather very strong in typical Nigerian traditional societies. In other words, it is not counted to the Kalabari alone. As mentioned above, other prominent ethnic groups in Nigeria such as the Yoruba, the Urhobo, the Igbo, the Efik etc also believe and practice ancestral worship. The way this is done may differ, the concept or idea is the same.

However, the practice is only sustained in the belief system and the people. This is because, death as something that every mortal must experience, is seen by others as end of life on earth.
In spite of the threat of modern religion to this practice, it is still being sustained by the people as part of their traditional heritage that must not be allowed to die.

Source: The Nation