The Moving Finger: A Rhetorical, Grammatological and Afrinographic Exploration of Nsibidi in ...

213 Pages·2015·2.62 MB·English

The Moving Finger: A Rhetorical, Grammatological and Afrinographic Exploration of
Nsibidi in Nigeria and Cameroon

A dissertation presented to
the faculty of
the Scripps College of Communication of Ohio University

In partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree
Doctor of Philosophy

Kevin Hales
August 2015
© 2015 Kevin Hales. All Rights Reserved.
This dissertation titled
The Moving Finger: A Rhetorical, Grammatological and Afrinographic Exploration of
Nsibidi in Nigeria and Cameroon

by
KEVIN HALES

has been approved for
the School of Communication Studies
and the Scripps College of Communication by

John W. Smith
Associate Professor of Communication Studies

Scott Titsworth
Dean, Scripps College of Communication
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ABSTRACT
HALES, KEVIN, Ph.D., August 2015, Communication Studies
The Moving Finger: A Rhetorical, Grammatological and Afrinographic Exploration of
Nsibidi in Nigeria and Cameroon
Director of Dissertation: John W. Smith
The debate involving the origins, nature and utilization of Nsibidi has raged since
the earliest years of the twentieth century. Western scholars in the fields of archeology,
anthropology, linguistics and other areas of study have offered differing insights to the
collective body of information now known as Nsibidi Studies. Three central questions,
using communication studies as a disciplinary frame, allowed me to probe deeply into
Nsibidi to see if it could be reframed and reimagined as visual rhetoric, visual nommo
and actual writing. I first wanted to know what is Nsibidi? Next, how does this system
work? Lastly, I wanted to discern who created and used Nsibidi? It was at this point that
I had to also investigate so-called African secret societies.
Nsibidi is a system consisting mainly of gestures, tattoos, symbols, signs and
other markings. It is possible that Nsibidi is one of the oldest organized systems of
nonverbal human communication, dating back to at least 2000 C.E. As such, I believe it
is time to explore in far more detail the ways in which communication studies scholarship
can explore its rhetorical and grammatological potential. I spent three months in
southeast Nigeria and southwestern Cameroon conducting fieldwork, which includes my
investiture into the ancient West Africa so-called secret society known as Ekpe/Mgbe.
My method of exploration was initially ethnography, but I ultimately utilized a
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significantly newer, fresher and less stigmatized approach called Afronography. I prefer
spelling this method as Afrinography.
I ultimately concluded that Nsibidi can be understood as visual rhetoric and visual
nommo. Whether or not the system is truly actual writing as defined by Western
scholarship is debatable. Further examination is possible on all three issues.
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DEDICATION

To all Afrikan Ancestors, both known and unknown. Be you Continental, Caribbean,
Carolina or carried elsewhere, you suffered through the Great Maafa for me. Know that
I remember you, I mourn you, I thank you and I love you.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I want to thank all of the people who made this dissertation possible. I begin with
my dear mother, Pearl Green Hales. Although she rests with the Sacred Ancestors, I still
think about her constantly. Next would be my maternal grandfather Ezekiel Green; great
uncle Jerry Hales and his wonderful wife Ann Hales; Gullah/Geechee cousins Elizabeth
German and Sadie-Bell Hales. Each was ever supportive of me. Jerry Hales was in
many ways my very first male role model. At Ohio University I will always be indebted
to the world’s greatest dissertation committee. It consisted of Yea-Wen Chen, Assan
Sarr, Bill Rawlins and J.W. Smith. They will never fully understand how much I respect
and appreciate all of their efforts on my behalf. Next, I want thank Regina Smith,
Caroline Lewis, Ben Bates, Jerry Miller, Valerie K. Miller, Scott Titsworth and Sarah
Pemberton. My time in Athens was made easier by their positive energy and assistance.
Each morning during my first year in Athens, I would walk past the office of Dr. Lewis
and she would always inquire about how I was adjusting to my new life.
At historic Fisk University, I must thank the people who have been my de facto
parents since my undergraduate days on that great campus Reavis L. Mitchell and his
wife Patricia Walker Mitchell. Both have acted as my parents. I love you both! No
Fulbright or NEH awards would have ever been possible without their love, guidance and
encouragement over the years. Along these same lines, I thank Gladys Truss and Derrick
Dowell, my other Fisk parents. Without these two giving me the opportunity to leave the
Bronx, my life would have undoubtedly taken a distinctly different path.
All of my Geechee Kunda Family, with Jim and Pat Bacote, Greg O. Grant,
Vernon Gill and Jamal Toure at the top of the list, must be mentioned. It was Jim and Pat
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who served as my ultimate inspiration for the Ph.D. They have fought hard to make
Geechee Kunda “America’s Gullah/Geechee Center.” Greg I cannot thank enough
because he made sure I was in the Lowcountry by early May. Jamal was the first person
in Chatham County to believe in my vision for a Gullah/Geechee research center located
in the Corridor. I also cannot ever thank Queen Quet and her Gullah/Geechee Sea Island
Coalition sufficiently. Queen Quet is a true champion of African American Lowcountry
people. No one person has done more internationally to serve the Gullah/Geechee cause
than Queen Quet.
I must give a very special thank you to Brenda Allen. We first met back in 2011
and she offered to act as a mentor in the field of communication. I could not have
foreseen just how critical a role she would play in coming years. Without Brenda’s truly
generous financial support, my fieldwork in West Africa during 2014-15 would not have
been possible.
Speaking of Nigeria, I must thank David Ebio Kobo, Florence Umo, Jerry
Benson, Ador Carol, Joel “Joe” King, Obong Ekpe Epenyong Bassey, Peace Osagu,
Okon Etim Efanga, Chief Okpokam, Etok Jumbo, Mfon Jumbo, Happiness Jumbo, Ben
Opeh Itang, Edim Itakpo, Lawrence Etim, Effanga Etim, Nsa Henshaw, Chief Inyang
Henshaw, Paul Nya, Chief and Curator Sylvanus “Orlando” Ekoh Akong, Prince
Anthony A. Akong, Itoro Akpan, Engineer Bassey E. Bassey, Ndidem Thomas Ika Ika
Oqua, Prince Oqua Etim Ika Oqua (Esi Njo), the Nigerian National Museum, the
Nigerian Cultural Center in Calabar, CBAAC and Daniel Yusuf for all of their invaluable
assistance during my three months in Nigeria. A special thank you goes to my brothers,
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Sunday S. Adaka, Patrick Osagu, Philip Fotokun, Arikpo Gabriel, Okamoko B. Edet,
Lebo Imoh and Etok Jumbo.
I also must mention J.W. and Regina Smith again. JW has been an advisor,
mentor, brother, friend and confidant over the past four years. I will sorely miss having
my annual Thanksgiving meal at their home. No doctoral student could ever hope for
better souls to lead them to the Ph.D. Promised Land.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page

Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iii
Dedication ........................................................................................................................... v
Acknowledgments............................................................................................................. vii
List of Figures ..................................................................................................................... x
Chapter 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1
Chapter 2. Literature Review and Historical Context ......................................................... 7
Chapter 3. Methods: Of Distance and Intimacy: Afrinography ........................................ 86
Chapter 4. Discoveries and Observations from Cross River State……..........................113

Chapter 5. Conclusions, Limitations and Future Research………………………..…...179

References ....................................................................................................................... 196

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LIST OF FIGURES
Page
Figure 1. This image is of the Nsibidi symbol for the human hand. …………………15

Figure 2. Map of southern Nigeria and Cameroon. ………………………………..…38

Figure 3. Map of Cross River State. ………………………………………………….39

Figure 4. Map of all 36 Nigerian states. ………………………………………………39

Figure 5. Photo of an osam taken in Cross River State, Nigeria. …………………….118

Figure 6. Photo of the outside signage from Efe Ekpe Atu at Efut Ekondo, in Calabar
South, Nigeria. …………………………………………………………………………118

Figure 7. Photo of Osam Mgbe Mfam Akin Ayen taken at different angle in Cross River
State, Nigeria.
………………………………………………………………………………………….119

Figure 8. Photo of Mgbe sign at Mfam Akin Ayen………..…………………………119

Figure 9. Photo of me minutes after finishing the first stage of the Ekpe initiation
process in Calabar, Nigeria. …………………………………………………………...122

Figure 10. Photo of me while undergoing the opening of an Ekpe initiation process in
Calabar, Nigeria.
…………………………………………………………………………………………122
Figure 11. Photo of me at the opening of an Ekpe initiation process in Calabar, Nigeria.
Sitting next to fellow Ekpe initiate and participant Okamoko Edet.
…………………………………………………………………………………………122

Figure 12. Photo of the sacred oboti leaf in water. This is a typical item used
during an Ekpe initiation. ………………………………………………………..127

Figure 13. Photo of an Ekpe masked spirit. ……………………………………127

Figure 14. Photo of an Ekpe masked spirit. …………………………………………..128

Figure 15. Photo of an Ekpe masked spirit. …………………………………………128

Figure 16. Photo of an Ekpe dancer. ………..………………………………………129

Figure 17. Photo of an Ekpe masked spirit. …………………………………………129
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