2 Abasi
Wagner, G. (1965). The Abaluyia of Kavirondo (Kenya).
In Daryll Forde (Ed.),African Worlds(pp. 37–38).
New York: Oxford University Press, 1965.
ABASI
Abasirefers to the Supreme Creator God in the
language of the Efik people of Nigeria and
Cameroon. The Efik people are a branch of the
Ibibio, who are often called Calabar. The Efik have
devised an elaborate narrative about the existence
and function of the Almighty God, Abasi.
Although there are variations to the account as
given by the elders and priests of the people, the
general contours of the account are the same.
According to the belief of the Efiks, the wife of
Abasi, whose name was Atai, convinced him to
allow their adult children, one man and one
woman, to settle on the Earth, but to prohibit
them from reproducing or working the land. The
idea, according to Efik understanding, was that
the children should depend on their father and
mother for shelter, food, and protection. However,
the children resented these prohibitions and soon
returned to heaven when Abasi called them to eat
food when they became hungry.
While they were in the sky with Abasi and
Atai, the children explored many things; they
learned to create, sing, make musical instruments,
and make food. This was not pleasing to Abasi,
and wanting to protect him, Atai did everything
to prevent the children from exceeding Abasi in
wisdom, power, and strength. Atai believed that if
the children exceeded their father in knowledge
and wisdom, there would be great chaos in the
universe. The children, of course, like other
children, wanted to see how far they could go
without being chastised or prevented from their
activities. Atai was so disturbed by this that she
set her mind on preventing a rebellion at all costs.
She loved the children but watched them care-
fully, yet the children eventually broke the rules
that had been established by Abasi. They could
not live in peace with Abasi and Atai and there-
fore were forced to leave the sky again.
The son and daughter returned to Earth with
their limited knowledge and violated most of
Abasi’s rules. They had many children and
worked on the land creating many items for liv-
ing. Soon they caused strife, heartbreak, tensions,
jealousy, hatred, war, and death among their own
children. Abasi and Atai were so disgusted with
the happenings on Earth and with the affairs of
their own children and their grandchildren that
the two deities soon withdrew to the sky, leaving
humans to deal with their own affairs.
This is why Abasi is not known to be involved
in the ordinary lives of the people. He created the
universe and all things that are in it and then, after
failing to control his own human creation, retired
to the far reaches of the sky. Therefore, for ordi-
nary issues of taboos and rituals, the Efik people
must rely on strong ancestral spirits, sometimes in
societies of secrets, to assist them with the mani-
fold problems and concerns of daily living. They
have no possibility of coaxing Abasi to return to
their society to give advice or wisdom; this is now
the affair of lesser spirits.Molefi Kete AsanteSee alsoNkulunkulu; Nyame; OlorunFurther Readings
Quarcoopome, T. N. (1987).West African Traditional
Religion. Ibadan: African Universities Press.
Scheub, H. (2000).A Dictionary of African Mythology.
New York: Oxford University Press.
Smith, E. W. (Ed.). (1950).African Ideas of God:A
Symposium. London: Edinburgh House.ABELA
Abela is a simple form of greeting strangers and
familiar people among the Ngemba people of
Cameroon. It is usually interpreted as “How is it?”
The response is “abongne,” meaning “It is good.”
This is a common expression among the Ngemba,
an ethnic group from the Northwest province,
Cameroon. The Ngemba live in several important
towns in Cameroon and comprise nearly 2 million
inhabitants in Tuba, Mankon, Nkwen, and other
towns in Western Bamenda province.
Among the Ngemba speakers are various
family groups who use “abela” as a greeting. They