The Process of  "UFUK NKUHO "

Festivals in any part of the world are naturally irresistible, a celebration of tradition and the ways of life of many different communities in particular Cross River State and celebrations and dances are an integral part of our customs and traditions in Nigeria which happen to be the largest black nation on the earth where will you san only find such rich diversity.

Every ritual and dance communicates and teaches something important, as these festivals also help to strengthen the values that keep our communities together and proudly celebrate their uniqueness.

In Cross Rivers and Akwa Ibom states, some ceremonies are associated with customary marriage and such ceremonies must be carried out before the bride and bridegroom can live together as wife and husband. Such ceremonies include: fattening festival or seclusion, “Coming-of-age” and “Coming-to-meet” festivities.

This ceremony marks the transition of young girls from maidenhood to womanhood and it is exclusive by the fattening exercise called NKUHO among the Efiks and MONINKIM among the Ejaghams. Maidens are often exposed to the intricacies and demands of womanhood preparatory to their assuming such characters in society. For months, away from family and home, maidens are taught and instructed on their roles as women, wives, and mothers as they are also very well fed, changing their appearance to reflect affluence and majesty.

Fattening isolation is a kind of incarceration of a maiden who has reached the age of fourteen years or above thereby preparing her for marriage at the completion of seclusion. Thus the maiden is withdrawn from all domestic chores and social activities of her family and that of the community as well, and she is kept indoors.

It is a long period of rest, relaxation and refreshment, a period of enjoyment and pleasure which involves a lot of eating, sleeping, and recreation; as she is not allowed to cook or wash her clothes not even her inner wears. A throng of beautiful young girls are always around her to take care of the domestic chores, she is bathed by the elderly women who are invited by her mother, perhaps, those who have reached the age of menopause or whose daughters have been married off.

At this fattening period all that is required of the maiden is to eat and sleep, wake and eat, and nothing else. She does not engage in any exercise but indoor games, and this enables her to gain some weight as she is lavishly fed with nourishing food and This the fattening seclusion by the Efiks of Cross River State is called, “Ufuk nkuho”.

Among the Ibibio people and Efiks of Cross River state, it is compulsory for a girl to be fattened, notwithstanding the period of seclusion. It is commonly said that no matter how charming, succulent and beautiful a girl might look or how rich and wealthy her parents might be, no eligible son of Ibibio land dares to marry a girl who is not fattened.

It is a thing of pride for a girl to be fattened in Ibibio land before marriage so she can fit in among other fattened ladies as a wife because when these newlyweds meet to discuss on important agenda is their life experiences about the fattening seclusion as housewives. It can also be a thing of scorn and criticism among relations and friends of the husband whose wife is not fattened.

Fattening seclusion varies from one family to another, one area to another and from one ethnic group to the other. The length of time may also vary in years or months and besides that, fattening seclusion may also take place in groups or individually. The Efik people of Cross River State, for example, hold their fattening seclusion in a group, this is also applicable to the people of Oron in Akwa-Ibom state of Nigeria.

The body of each girl to be fattened is coated with palm oil at the commencement of the seclusion and she is given a secluded room which is barricaded with raffia strands, provided with a mat to lie upon, which must be removed after a few days and replaced with a bamboo bed and calabash for the storage of her valuables. In her secluded room, a string of raffia is tied across the room where she hangs all the bones of the fishes she eats during the period of the fattening seclusion, this is to exhibit the wealth of her parents and exhibit to her visitors how sumptuously she is being fed and the opulence of her family.

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