In keeping with the theme of this year's festival, it comes as no surprise that Nigeria's rich cultural heritage would be on display in all its glory. Aduko Paul's The Kalabari People portrays the ethnic group within the Ijaw people living in the western Delta region of Nigeria. Originally known as the Awome, the name Kalabari was derived from their ancestor Perebo Kalabari, son of Mein Owei.
Their original settlement was spelt as Calabar by the Portuguese but pronounced "Kalabari". As the people moved to other fishing settlements, the town was abandoned. The Portuguese settlers, however, continued to maintain the name Calabari, which became surrounded by the Efik of Duke town. Upon the arrival of the British, the word Calabari came to be pronounced as "Calabar" (Kalaba).
By then, the original Ijoid Kalabaris had moved to another location, which became the new Calabar territory. Old Calabar became an Efik town, which retained its original name. There are some Ijaw, who consider the Kalabari a different ethnic group. Elem Kalabari (New Calabar) became a large kingdom with about 35 settlements including Buguma, Abonnema, Bakana, and Tombia.
Director Aduko Paul focuses largely on major festivals of the Kalabari People and the custodians of same in this 110-minute film. Although a very entertaining documentary, its flaw is a lacklustre post-production. First, subtitles were absent till the 25th minute rendering the words of the very first culture custodian and drummer, Mr. Sasime Barango entirely lost.
Second, very little attention was paid to colour grading, thus, facial expressions of the dancers and culture custodians were affected by poor lighting.
One interesting aspect of the documentary is the Igba Alabo, who must first perform a powerful ritual using a bunch of fresh palm fronds - made to look like pom-poms - to cleanse the land in an open square. Only after this cleansing will the festival commence.
At some point in the festival, the maidens from the royal compound come out in their full regalia: each bare-chested damsel is garbed in expensive royal attire and sits in the front row throughout the festival. Flamboyant masquerades like Gbasa (Omubo Polo), Ngbula Amako Polo (Tiger's compound), Igba Alabo, Agbara Elebike Polo (West IndiES), Egbelegbe (Abbi Polo), and Ikaki (Ama-Owu) also bring colour to the occasion.
Despite its poor production quality, Paul's documentary is no less a relevant, informative archive on the rich history and culture of the Kalabari people.
by Wome Uyeye
Paper first published in The Irep Report - 2014 iREP Newsletter Vol. 2, pp. 1 & 3. Reprint courtesy of Goethe Institut Lagos & Irep.
