AbakuĆ”, also sometimes known as NaƱigo,Ā is an Afro-Cuban men's initiatory fraternity or secret society, which originated from fraternal associations in the Cross River region of southeastern Nigeria and southwestern Cameroon. AbakuĆ” has been described as "an Afro-Cuban version of Freemasonry". The Cuban artist Belkis AyĆ³n intensively investigated the AbakuĆ” mythology in her prints.
AbakuĆ” members derive their belief systems and traditional practices from the Efik, Efut, Ibibio Igbo and Bahumono spirits that lived in the forest. Ekpe and synonymous terms were names of both a forest spirit and a leopard related secret society.Ā Much of what the Abakua believe in terms of religion is considered a secret only known to members
Due to the secrecy of the society, little is known of the AbakuĆ” language. It is assumed to be a creolized version of Efik or Ibibio, both closely related languages or dialects from the Cross River region of Nigeria, because this is the cultural region and ethnic groups where the society originated
