Kengema Kalabari

About the Book

The purpose of this book is to bring the history and life of the great Kalabari people to the world and especially the growing generations of the clan who know virtually nothing about their history and tradition, as well as information about others around them. The Kalabari story, like many oral traditions, continue to die away with time as Western civilization gains control of the younger generation who, for lack of better knowledge and practice of their culture, indulge wholeheartedly in the Western tradition hook, line, and sinker.

About the Author

Sonny Oko Braide was born in Bakana, Kalabari in the present-day Rivers State of Nigeria in 1942. He came to the world with no silver spoon in the mouth, but struggled to make headway. He educated himself by whichever means that came to him, and enrolled into a university to get a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. He achieved this feat by first working his way into the Nigerian Diplomatic Service, which opened the world for him to travel from Africa to Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Born into the Kalabari culture, the man defied the detracting influence of his exposure to the Western way of life, and continued to propagate his beloved native culture. He got involved in the performing art at very tender age while in elementary school, and since it was sort of a calling, circumstances forced him to stick to it much longer than necessary even after leaving home for Lagos, and in paid job. His interest in the culture encompassed all aspects - Dancing, Singing, and Drumming - but because expert drummers had always been in short supply, he was forced to lean heavily to that part of the art, and developed as a Kalabari drummer, playing all the different types of instruments which include: 1. Akuma (for national masquerades); 2. Alili (also for national but not strictly direction-pointing masquerades); 3. Arungu (A modern adaptation from neighboring clans); 4. Okolokrukru (Also a modern adaptation from neighboring clans); and 5. Kuku (clay-pot) – (mainly for women – later named mermaid dancers). It was his kuku (clay pot) drumming that won, in 1969, bronze (the only) medal for Nigeria at the first All Africa Festival of Arts and Culture in Algiers, Algeria.