Nkana Iman: A community where sheep cannot survive

By Uwem Akpan, Ph.D

Iman is one the clans in Central Ibibio nation. Iman consists of four lineages, namely: Afaha, Nnung Asuna, Nnung Oku Ubo and Nnung Oku Itina with 64 villages.

It is not uncommon to present a narrative that the 64 villages were founded by the “sons” of four children of Iman listed above, whose ancestral home is at Ekom Iman in the Northern section of present-day Etinan Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.

This perspective is not synonymous with Iman clan. It is common with other clans within and outside Ibibio land.

However, research has shown that apart from the earliest migrants who expanded from Ekom Iman to establish some villages within Iman geo-political space, migrants from many other directions accessed Iman area, settled and got integrated as part of Iman society.

One area that has recorded extensive diaspora in Iman clan is Annang.

Nkana Ikot Edong

Nkana is one of the largest and thickly populated villages in Iman clan. Nkana belongs to the Afaha lineage.

Afaha has 18 villages. Eight of the Afaha villages are located in the Northern part of Iman while ten domicile in Southern Iman.

Nkana means “wandering”. It was established by people from many places who had wandered and settled in diverse places before they eventually agreed to form a distinct community for themselves.

Tradition states that the last abode from where Nkana expanded from to settle in the present abode is Ikot Idem Udo in Afaha Inang, Awa/Afaha clan of present-day Onna Local Government Area.

The movement was triggered by conflict.
Tradition posits that the main body of the migrants were from Ikot Edong in present-day Abak Local Government Area, thus, the community was given the name “Nkana Ikot Edong”. Their section is known as Otung Annang.

Otung Annang consists of three sub-families namely: Nnung Ekwere, Nnung Inyang Inyang and Nnung Imiana.

Within Nnung Ekwere is a nuclear family known as Ufok Oton Idem which is the ruling family in the entire village.

The issue of royalty and succession had long been established and consolidated. Thus, there is no village headship conflict in Nkana Iman. It should be added that any man whose wife gives birth to twins cannot mount the saddle as the village head of Nkana Iman.

In fact, an informant states that if the wife of a reigning village head gives birth to twins, such a chief automatically relinquishes the throne. All the major sections in the village have their distinct “Ata Essien” (Village Square).

The Sheep Issue:

One of the striking ethnographic landmarks in Nkana is the fact that sheep (Edong) cannot survive in any section of the village.

If a sheep is brought into the village, it must be used for the purpose it was brought for immediately.

If it is left till the next day, the animal would die in the night or disappears. This is a significant cultural pointer that their forbears migrated from Ikot Edong in present-day Abak clan, which shares a similar cultural norm.

Apart from Nkana Ikot Edong, there are some communities in Akwa Ibom State that sheep do not thrive.

Many other communities do not eat the sheep at all. The case of Nkana Ikot Edong is that they can eat the sheep, but they cannot keep it in the village talk less or raring it. This shared value indicates a deep linkage and is another pointer to the fact that the people of Akwa Ibom have a common heritage, despite their expansion to different locations and the distinct labels their communities are now associated with.

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