Facts About Kalabari people of River State, Nigeria.
Fun facts about the Kalabari people of Rivers State, Nigeria 🇳🇬
The Kalabari Kingdom, also called Elem Kalabari is an independent traditional state of the Kalabari people, an Ijaw ethnic group in the Niger River Delta.
The Kalabari is recognized as a traditional state in what is now Rivers State.
They were originally known as the Awome.
The name Kalabari was derived from their ancestor Perebo Kalabari who was a son of Mein Owe.
Kalabari is a language spoken by the Ijo people domiciled in Rivers State and Bayelsa State. Its three dialects are mutually intelligible. The Kalabari dialect (Kalabari proper) is one of the best-documented varieties of Ijo, and as such is frequently used as the prime example of Ijo in linguistic literature.
Kalabari, Opobo and Bonny were the first to trade with the whites in Rivers state alongside Okrika and Andoni.
They engaged in overland trade with the Portugese in the 1400s, later Dutch, then British whom arrived by sea for trade and missionary work. They also traded clothes from India.
The favourite dish of the Kalabari is the Rivers Native Soup – Odu Fulo
typically made with fresh fish, nsam (blue periwinkles), ngolo (white periwinkles), ofingo (clams) and any other sea food that might tickle your fancy and eaten with pounded yam or any other swallow of your choice.
The Kalabari treat their ancestor with great respect. They honour the spirit of their important ancestors by constructing an elaborate memorial screen for them in remembrance of their great achievements. The Kalabari believed by doing that, their ancestors have been given a good resting place.
Kalabari people are highly educated; they are known to have a high concentration of Professors, Lawyers and Doctors in Nigeria.
It was discovered that in the 1980s, that the nearly extinct Berbice Dutch (Kalabari Language) was spoken in Guyana.
Kalabaris were originally fishermen before the coming of the Portuguese to the West African coastline.
The kalabari people are also known to bear European names like Briggs,Jack, etc due to their inter-racial relations.
Kalabari women are absolutely stunning and probably have some of the most beautiful women in Nigeria.
