Herspects: Efik Women Of Nigeria

Hear it from me, Efik women are GORGEOUS; like their Igbo counterparts...Lol. Truth be told many Nigerian women are Wow! in our costume. A former classmate of mine told me that we wore costume to formal occasions and I thought, nope! They are prints, but yeah, some performers wear costume. However, I'm going to showcase the beautiful women of Efik in Nigeria.

The Efik are an indigenous people of Cross River State of Nigeria. They are situated we call South-South geopolitical zone. The local people are farmers, hunters and fishermen. Again, their women are beautiful. The Efik are known to do everything to get their girls ready for marriage.

                                                                Pictures credit: Internet

Popular belief (sorry, gossip) has it that Efik women begin early to teach their daughters how to take care of their men. It's a common belief among Nigerian men that you don't become friends with Efik girls if you don't want to be a suitor. In fact, when they have razzled and dazzled a man with their charm and sweetness, he'd begin to wonder whether it's better to wed on a Tuesday or Thursday.

A popular culture among the Efik when it comes to marriage is the Fattening Room, which they call Nkuho. It's considered an important culture among the Calabar people of Cross River state and has become somewhat archaic. If you want to learn more about this tradition, click here.                                                              

Times have, of course, changed and African women don't have the time for this culture that made them more naturally beautiful and prepared for marriage. Efik women were traders, basket weavers, fisherwomen and home makers. The stereotype is that Efik women use their feminine mojo to even seduce other women's husbands. The stereotype is overstated as with others of people from other cultures in Nigeria. Don't go setting a trap for your Efik woman neighbour, but mind your own business and all would be well. Nowadays, Efik women are among the creme de la creme of the Nigerian society with many professionals among them, such as lawyers, medical doctors, teachers, engineers, politicians and academics.

                                                            Fattening Room Beauty 
Efik couple

                                     Former Senator Florence Ita Giwa: A popular Efik woman

P.S. My American classmate was actually correct, when you think of costume as the clothes of a people from a particular place. Please pardon my clouded mentality; my mind was on finery and for costume, I would think Othello. Thanks for letting me think more out of my head.