EKPO – The Black Masquerade

When the sound of big ekpo drums
Reverberated from the village square
Talking drums conveyed messages
Cracked by trained ears of initiates
The cult ensured a peaceful social order
And guided the steps of men for good

Everywhere became black and dark
Not by threatening rain cloud, nor smoke
But by masquerading guiding spirits
Of our customs and values in the clans
When criminals and evil doers were nailed
From head, pinned to the ground, in disgrace

Dom – Dom – Dom, the drums beat
The white man knows his book
We, the sons of the soil, knew ekpo

Ekpo danced and jumped over the roof
Akpan ekpo, possessed by a skull, ran wild,
Restrained by two hefty men with ropes
Kids, women and non initiates stayed away
The eighth month had its peak and taboos
It was the spiritual cleansing of the land

Criminals are running wild, now
With reckless abandon and impunity
Thieves, no longer afraid of being known
Kill, steal and swear in God’s holy name,
Blab blabs blab ‘the evidence I shall give…’
The accused is discharged and acquitted

The drums are not beating anymore
We, the sons of the soil, who knew ekpo
Now know book and ekpo is history.