Abakuá

Abakua or Abakuá is a men's secret society, which originated in what is now Nigeria, within the Negbe people of the Calabar region, and was brought to Cuba by the African slave trade http://www.cse.ogi.edu/Drum/groove/abakua.html. The first such societies are thought to have arisen around the port of Havana in the latter part of the 19th century, and this remains the main area of Abakuá implantation, especially the district of Guanabacoa in eastern Havana, where Afro-Cuban culture is vibrant. Nevertheless, Abakuá rapidly included members of European descent, especially among freemasons.

Related Topics:
Secret society - Nigeria - Negbe - Calabar - Cuba - African slave trade - ñañigo

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Abakuá members, known as ñañigos, derive their culture from the Efik and Efo of the Cross River Delta in Nigeria. They worshipped a water deity known as Ndem Efik, and Epke was the name of both a forest deity and a leapord related secret society http://www.batadrums.com/background/abakua.htm.

Related Topics:
Efik - Efo - Ndem Efik

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The rhythmic dance music of the Abakuá can also be traced to one of Cuba's musical traditions, the rumba. The Calle family of Efo origin supposedly invented the guaguanco, a type of rumba.

Related Topics:
Rumba - Guaguanco

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