The Choirmaster (3)

Ukoko's father was the 'akwa ekpo', the bare-faced leader of the ekpo masquerade, who shook his 'ekpud', the hand-held wooden musical instrument with clappers, chanted and sang from the village square to favoured homes across the clan. When entering a house, the masked man walked backwards, removed his mask and sat on the floor. The ekpo remained ekpo from the start to the end of his activity and the owner of the house or whosoever was free to join them, and of course only initiates, and would never identify them by their real names. When done eating and drinking, the masked men warmed the house with their songs and the rendition would be charming. Apart from the 'ekpud' shook by their leader, the song and the accompaniment were made by the voice. When departing the house, the masked men walked backwards.

During the stipulated days of the week for the adult ekpo masquerade, no feet other than those of the initiates walked the paths of the clan. All the basic necessities were stockpiled in the homes right before the masquerade days arrived for use by the women and non-initiates. Mortars were not pounded while the masked men roamed the paths and even peeking was forbidden. The mortars could be filled with blood and the peeping non-initiate could turn blind.

The dreaded adult ekpo masquerade season ended with a stunning open market show. Their drums were mounted in the heart of the market square and everyone: initiates, non-initiates, women and children were free to come and watch. The masked men would come to the market without their arms. They would come to contest among themselves in dance and let the crowd judge who was the best.

A masked man could be identified by the features of his mask (no two masked men wore similar masks) or the shapes of his legs. One after the other, they moved into the arena and dictate the tune with their gestures. The drums beat every move made by the masked man and they rolled 'Gwok!' for every wheeling of the body in the air and the masked man who wheeled the most without any of his trappings dropping won the contest of the season. The drums showed the end of an individual's wheelings with 'Gwok-gwok-gwogorogwok!'

The spectacle was so stunning that the Annang folks had one phrase for it: 'Abung akpo adak ikara.' 'Abung' is break, 'akpo' is bone, 'adak' is to support; and 'ikara' is a cushion for carrying loads on the head. It means an activity is so exciting that even if you hurt yourself you would look for a way to cushion the effects till you see the end of it. The excitement surrounding the ekpo market display was the reason also why the sound of their bells was interpreted as 'Ntap-nkunam!' 'Ntap' means to beckon and 'nkunam' means to do (in this case, harm) to someone. Non-initiates hated and yet loved them.

A dance parade for all the masked men preceded the end of the show; then, the masked men looked for their 'enemies' and went rubbing them with the charcoal on their limbs. It was an invitation for the non-initiates to join them in the next season or they would still be made to suffer some humiliation.