HISTORY LESSON

An individual from Cairo claimed no other region in Africa had writing until Europeans arrived. This is more a reflection of the ignorance of the individual than a reflection of true African achievements.

Clearly this individual had to ignore lots of books, lots of library resources, facts, the internet, archaeological knowledge, various branches of knowledge, and about 30 writing systems other than ancient Egyptian writing. If a full grown adult can ignore all that, and insult 53 countries, does such a person meet the internal basic standards of being able to use common sense?

Let’s debunk this comical notion that Africa “lacked writing” outside of Egypt with a lesson on Nsibidi, an ancient and highly sophisticated symbol system from southeastern Nigeria. This writing system, especially prevalent among the Ejagham people, pre-dates colonial contact and developed independently, shattering any claims that African societies needed European influence to become literate.

Unlike Egyptian hieroglyphs, which our Egyptian friend might imagine as Africa’s only form of writing, Nsibidi was not restricted to a single language. Instead, it allowed communication across multiple ethnic groups in southeastern Nigeria and southwestern Cameroon, including the Ejagham, Ibibio, Efik, and Igbo. This is remarkable, as Nsibidi didn’t rely on any single spoken language but was a pictorial and abstract medium, transcending linguistic barriers and unifying people who otherwise spoke entirely different dialects.

What makes Nsibidi unique is its range and versatility. For centuries, Nsibidi symbols covered an impressive array of topics from love and law to warfare and spirituality. It was far from being a decorative or isolated art form—it was a functional tool for societal organization and communication. Secret societies, such as the powerful Ekpe (or Leopard) Society, wielded Nsibidi as a potent tool for governance. The Ekpe Society, which held political, judicial, and legislative power in southeastern Nigeria, used Nsibidi to codify laws, resolve disputes, and pass on sacred knowledge. This wasn’t some simple, crude system; it was an organized and complex method of recording and transmitting information, reinforcing that African societies had their own sophisticated systems of law, literacy, and communication long before Europeans “discovered” the continent.

Historically, Nsibidi dates back to 100BCE-1400CE, with archaeological evidence such as symbols found on pottery and ceramics in the Calabar region of Nigeria. Some of the earliest Nsibidi symbols have been discovered on artifacts like headrests, calabashes, and carved items, dating back centuries, which shows that the system was deeply embedded in daily life and spiritual practices long before Europeans arrived. Symbols were also inscribed on fabrics and body tattoos, creating a visually rich, coded world of communication that extended beyond simple written words to include complex symbolic meanings, like the representation of legal and moral codes.

This system wasn’t just confined to Africa, either. When Africans were forcibly taken across the Atlantic during the transatlantic slave trade, they didn’t leave their cultural heritage behind. Nsibidi crossed the Atlantic with them, surviving and adapting in the Caribbean, particularly in Cuba and Haiti. There, it evolved into what we now recognize as Anaforuana and Veve symbols, which are used in Afro-Caribbean religious practices. These descendants of Nsibidi reveal the resilience and adaptability of African traditions, preserved by enslaved people and transformed into symbols of spiritual identity and resistance in the New World. This is clear proof that African literacy and symbolism were carried far and wide, creating lasting cultural legacies beyond the African continent.

But let’s bring Nsibidi into the modern era. Today, Nsibidi symbols aren’t just historical artifacts; they are alive and influential in contemporary art. Nigerian artists like Victor Ekpuk have taken Nsibidi symbols into the global art scene, using these ancient motifs to create narrative-driven pieces that explore identity, culture, and history. Ekpuk’s work is celebrated worldwide and has been displayed in prestigious venues, often fetching high prices at international art markets. His art is not just admired; it commands the kind of financial and critical acclaim that would make a pharaoh’s jaw drop. The fact that these symbols, which originated centuries ago among the Ejagham people, now feature prominently in contemporary art and sell for considerable amounts underlines that Nsibidi is a living cultural treasure, not some forgotten relic.

Moreover, Nsibidi isn’t merely the focus of art or a historical curiosity; efforts are underway to revive and teach it in Nigeria. Pro-African scholars and cultural advocates are working to preserve this indigenous knowledge and to reintroduce Nsibidi in educational curricula, pushing against the colonial bias that valued Western forms of literacy over Africa’s own writing systems. Despite the impact of colonialism, which forced African cultures to adopt foreign languages and scripts, Nsibidi has endured, both in Africa and the diaspora.

Nsibidi, a writing system from southeastern Nigeria, predates many popular writing systems widely used today. It existed at the same time as Latin, which underpins most European languages. It existed before Arabic, central to the Islamic world. It’s also older than the Devanagari script of Hindi and Sanskrit, Hangul in Korea, and Cyrillic, which is used across Russia and Eastern Europe. Similarly, it predates Ethiopia’s Ge’ez script, Japanese Kana, and Brahmi, the ancestor of many South Asian scripts. Nsibidi’s age even surpasses the origins of Thai and Khmer scripts, highlighting its deep-rooted legacy in Africa’s intellectual history and challenging misconceptions about African literacy.

In short, Nsibidi is an irrefutable testament to Africa’s rich intellectual heritage and its capacity for complex written communication, which existed independently of and in parallel with Egyptian hieroglyphs. Far from waiting for Europeans to bring them literacy, African societies like those that used Nsibidi had already developed sophisticated means of encoding, preserving, and passing on knowledge. Whether carved into pottery, emblazoned on cloth, tattooed onto skin, or painted onto canvases in modern art galleries, Nsibidi proves that Africa’s contribution to the world of symbols, literacy, and culture is as old and rich as civilization itself. So, to those who would claim Africa lacked writing systems until the Europeans arrived, let’s be clear: the evidence is here, and it’s both ancient and undeniable.