| dc.description.abstract | The mbopo institution, popularly known as the “fattening room” is a cultural rite of passage for
young virgins, who are being prepared for marriage among the Ibibio/Efik people of southern
Nigeria. It is a complex cultural institution which marked the change of status from girlhood to
nubile womanhood in Ibibio/Efik culture. This study examines the practice of mbopo ritual
among the Ibibio/Efik people across the previous century. Through an engaged and detailed
visual analysis, the study argues that in the first decade of the 20th century, the mbopo ritual had
a degree of vibrancy with an attached sense of secrecy and spiritual mystery. But between 1920
and the present, this vibrancy and spiritual undertone has been subtly but progressively
compromised. A buildup of tension on the ritual by modern forces, not only of the outside
missionaries, but also indigenous converts set in motion a process that would eventually
transform the ritual from a framework of an actual cultural practice into the realms of “cultural
reinvention” and re-rendering. Feminist critiques of the 1980s and the 1990s led to the popular
awareness of the damaging impact of clitoridectomy, just one core aspect of the ritual. As a
direct result, clitoridectomy was outlawed across the country, leaving mbopo to be seen as a
morally suspect practice. In recent year, the once vibrant, secret and spiritually grounded rite of
seclusion for nubile women has been reimagined and reinvented through the public display in
art, painting, cultural dance troupe, music and television shows. | en_US |
