Efik Moonlight Tales, Calabar Nigeria

Efik is a Language spoken in Nigeria.

Growing up in Calabar, Nigeria, I spent countless hours listening to my elders tell tales. Being the only girl in a family with five boys, and second to the youngest, I learned about and understood my role from my maternal grandmother.  

Both my paternal and maternal grandmothers gathered all the children around and taught us important life lessons through narrative stories.

They typically used animals to illustrate the types of behaviors they wanted to reinforce or discourage. I remember many nights listening to my elders share these stories against the backdrop of a dazzling full moon.