Institution

Ekpe

Also known as Ekpe society

Ekpe, the leopard society, is a graded men's society of the Efik and neighbouring peoples of the Cross River region of Nigeria and Cameroon. In 18th- and 19th-century Old Calabar it acted as a government, making laws, settling disputes and enforcing debts, including those owed to European traders. It survives as a cultural institution, and its nsibidi signs form an indigenous system of symbols.

Ekpe
Image: Bohr 12:27, 13 August 2006 (UTC) · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 state history

Old Calabar

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Ekpe. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ekpe
MLA
“Ekpe.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ekpe. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Ekpe.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ekpe.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Ekpe’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ekpe (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻