Tibari: Discovering the Efik name for the Fulani and its cultural significance

Old Calabar in the 19th century was a melting pot of cultures, with migrants from various ethnicities such as the Igbo, the Ibibio, and the Hausa calling it home. The Efik people, who were native to the area, had names for the different ethnicities and races they encountered, including the generic term “Mbakara” for white people. Among these names was “Tibari,” which was the Efik name for the Fulani. This name is now extinct, but early missionaries like Rev. Hope Waddell recorded its use in the Efik vocabulary in the 1860s. According to Waddell, the Tibari were a “Moorish tribe” known for being slave hunters and referred to as “white men” because of their clothing, horses, and straight hair.

Image Caption: Fulani People


Rev. Hugh Goldie also mentioned the Tibara, speculating that they were “most likely the felatas,” a subgroup of the Fulani. The true origin of the name Tibari remains a mystery, but it is possible that it may have come from Tibati, a settlement in present-day southwestern Cameroon established by Hamman Sambo, a follower of Uthman Dan Fodio during his jihad to spread Fulani hegemony. The Fulani of Tibati raided and enslaved communities in present-day northeastern Nigeria and southwestern Cameroon. The captives of the Fulani were brought to the port of Old Calabar and on seeing white people for the first time, they referred to them as Tibari due to the similarities they saw between the Fulani and their new captors. Today, the term “asanu” or “sanu” is used by the Efik to describe people of Hausa and Fulani extraction, but it is important to recognize that Tibari was once a commonly used term for the Fulani.


Bibliography

Dictionary of the Efïk Language, in Two Parts: I. Efïk and English, II. English and Efïk — Rev. Hope Waddell (1964)

A Learner’s Dictionary of the Efik Language, Vol. One. — Efiong Ukpong Aye (1991).

Fulani Hegemony in Yola (Old Adamawa) 1809–1902 — M. Z. Njeuma (2012)

Calabar and its mission — Hugh Goldie (1890)

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