Qua Tee · Plate II · Keepers of Mgbe and Nsibidi · Pre-Order (Ships ASAP)

The Qua are the Ejagham people of Calabar, keepers of Mgbe, the leopard institution, and of Nsibidi. The plate marks Akim Qua Town in the collection's survey style.

Navy shirt carries ivory and fern-green ink; white shirt carries navy. Full-front print.

History

The Qua descend from the Ejagham of the forest country between the Cross River and the Cameroon border, and their settlement at Calabar is held in tradition to predate the Efik arrival on the estuary. Through Mgbe, the leopard institution the Efik later adopted as Ekpe, the Qua carried one of the oldest systems of law and secrecy in the region, and with it Nsibidi — an indigenous sign-writing centuries older than colonial contact. Under their paramount ruler, the Ndidem, the Qua remain one of the three founding nations of Calabar alongside the Efik and Efut.