ISONG EYEMAN EKPO: ISAIAH 26:19, LIBATION, AND THE ANNANG WORLDVIEW A Revelatory Anthropological Investigation into the Relationship Between the Efik Bible and Indigenous Annang Religious Thought Da Effiong Daniel African Holy Land Research Centre Altar of Virgin Generation Ministry African Holy Land (Ubon-Abasi Ibom), Nigeria --- Abstract The translation of Scripture into indigenous languages frequently establishes a交汇 point between biblical revelation and pre-existing cultural worldviews. A significant example is the Efik rendering of Isaiah 26:19, "Isong eyeman ekpo" ("the earth shall bring forth the dead"). Within the traditional Annang worldview, the earth (isong) is not merely physical soil but the sacred realm associated with ancestors and the ritual practice of libation. Consequently, the Efik translation has resonated deeply with indigenous beliefs concerning the continuing presence of the dead, ancestral invocation, and the proverb Ekpo akpa enyin ikpaha u...
THE LEOPARD, THE SEVEN-MAN, THE LION, AND THE LORD What Annang Spiritual Power Teaches About the Incarnation --- By Da Effiong Daniel African Holy Land, Ubon Abasi Ibom Former Ikot Nsekong, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria --- Introduction: Two Questions, One Answer For centuries, Christian missionaries proclaimed that God became man in Jesus Christ. For just as many centuries, African traditionalists objected: "How can God, who is spirit, become flesh? If He becomes a man, He ceases to be God. He cannot be in heaven and on earth at the same time." But the traditionalist objection collapses when placed against the backdrop of Annang cosmology—specifically, several well-documented phenomena: 1. Owoden Itiaba (Seven-Man): Abasiekong Umoren Ekut, a chief priest, could appear in seven different villages simultaneously, fighting wars in all of them at once. His people called him Owoden Itiaba—the man who is seven. 2. Metamorphosis (Leopard): Essien Amankpa could transform into a leopard i...