Debates Regarding the Name “Ibibio”

What’s in a name? The answer is not so clear for the Ibibio of southeastern Nigeria. Today, the name “Ibibio” is accepted as the name of the ethnic and linguistic group for millions of people in Akwa Ibom State and beyond. But where did it actually come from? There are many conflicting theories as to the origin, none of which are fully accepted.

An Ibibio Origin: “Brief” and “Precise”
The most common from the Ibibio historians in Nigeria is by Professor Udo (1983), who claimed that the name ‘Ibibio’ itself is ‘Ibibio’. The word means ‘short’, ‘brief’ and ‘precise’, he suggests, referring to the direct and efficient nature of the Ibibio people and their language, where a word may have several meanings depending on the way it’s pronounced. From this perspective, their name signifies their cultural identity, that is, of people who do things in a precise and short way.

A Darker Meaning: “Beheading” or “Slaves”?
Other readings have more disturbing connotations. Another derivation of the name is suggested by Udo (1983), who suggested that the name comes from the Ibibio command word ‘ibobio’, which means ‘to behead people or animals’, a practice that was followed when the culprit or sacrificial animal was executed. But this theory is not accepted. Ibobio, as an ethnic name, is what Umoh-Faithman (1999) considers both of Udo’s assertions to be incorrect.

A more controversial suggestion is that “Ibibio” might have been a contraction of Igbo-Obio (Ibi means “people” or “slaves”, and Obio means “country, bush, or forest”) (Jeffreys 1935). This would make the name “people of the bush” or “slaves of the bush”, which may be disrespectful to some people.

European Nicknames and Colonial Encounters
It is evident that the Ibibio, like their Igbo neighbours, had no original common term that recognised them as a whole. The name ‘Agbisherea’ was used by the European explorers in the nineteenth century to describe the Ibibio, but this name soon vanished.

The early European arrivals to the coast of Ibibio were given different nicknames by the invaders; these include the names ‘Agbishere’, ‘Egbo Shary’, ‘Kwa’ and ‘Moko’ and were later used to name the Ibibio. Many of these were variants of Ibibio phrases. For example, the name ‘Egbo Shary’ could have been a combination of the words ‘ekpo esiere’ (secret society) and ‘good morning’, while ‘Moko’ was a corruption of the phrase ‘moko’ (I have heard you or I understand you), which was a term in trade vocabulary used by every European trader. Ibibio speakers were also known as ‘Mong’ or ‘Kwa’ by their neighbours who spoke the Igbo language.

Perceptive Method: An Alternative View – Ibom Obio
Faithman believes that the name handed down by generations by Ibibio kinfolk is not Ibibio but Ibom Obio/Obio (Abasi) Ibom, stating that Ibibio is a corruption of the original name. This is an Ibibio/Efik/Annang/Eket word that means “the ancient universe, the cradle earth, or the cradle original or ancient community from which others sprang forth”.

What We Still Don’t Know
But the reality is we’ll probably never know for sure. The term ‘Ibibio’ might have been an indigenous self-designation of a positive connotation, ‘brief and precise’. May be a corruption of local phrases by the colonists or Europeans. May have derogatory connotations relating to slavery or intergroup relations. Or it might be something entirely different, an evolution of language, the meaning of which has changed over the centuries.

This is an area that is still being explored. We are inviting you to share what you know or have been told by your elders about the origin of the name “Ibibio.