Nsibidi which dates as far back as the 4th century was a secretive language, based on pictography, so it was about how you put the symbols together and the image you create. Nsibi was primarily used by the Ekpe leopard society, a secret society found across Cross River State among the Ekoi, Efik and the Igbo people.
Aspects of colonial rule such as Western education and Christian doctrine drastically reduced the number of nsibidi-literate people, leaving the secret society members as some of the last literate in the symbols. Nsibidi was and is still a means of transmitting Ekpe symbolism. Nsibidi was transported to Cuba 🇨🇺 and Haiti ðŸ‡ðŸ‡¹ via the Atlantic s.lave trade, where it developed into the anaforuana and veve symbols.
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