Ejagham

The Ejagham are a Cross River people found in south-eastern Nigeria and neighbouring Cameroon. In older literature they are often called Ekoi, but Ejagham is widely used for the people and language.

Ejagham history is rooted in the Cross River region, where forest communities maintained trade, ritual societies and artistic traditions across what is now the Nigeria-Cameroon border. Their cultural influence is especially noted in masking, script and secret-society traditions.

Ejagham society is organised through villages, lineages, elders, title holders and age-grade institutions. Traditional societies historically supported law, ritual authority and community education.

Traditional Ejagham religion includes ancestral veneration, forest and water spirits, and ritual institutions associated with social order. Christianity is now widespread, while Ekpe and related traditions remain culturally important.

Ejagham communities are known for Ekpe society, nsibidi-associated cultural heritage, elaborate masking, dance and body-art traditions. These practices influenced parts of the wider Cross River cultural area.