THE GOSPEL OF THE WOMB:How Annang Women Pioneered Liberation 81 Years Before Missionaries Arrived

THE GOSPEL OF THE WOMB:

How Annang Women Pioneered Liberation 81 Years Before Missionaries Arrived

AUTHORS

Da Effiong Daniel, B.Sc., Founder, African Holy Land Research Initiative

Great-Great-Grandson of Anwada Umoette

Father of Twins (b. 2012)

AFFILIATION

African Holy Land Research Initiative

Ikot Nsekong Ubon-AbasiIbom, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Correspondence: daniel4altar@gmail.com | Extended Resources: virgingeneration.blogspot.com

ABSTRACT

This paper presents a groundbreaking historical and theological re-evaluation that challenges the prevailing narrative crediting Scottish missionary Mary Slessor (1848–1915) with ending twin killings in southeastern Nigeria. Through the framework of testimonial historiography—which privileges indigenous oral history as legitimate counter-archive—we demonstrate that an Annang woman named Anwada Umoette defied the Ikpaisong deity and saved her twins in 1795, eighty-one years before Slessor’s arrival in Calabar.

Anwada’s declaration, “I have not given birth to ghosts (ekpo), but to children,” was neither anomaly nor isolated rebellion. It represented the most documented instance of a widespread underground movement where women, branded eka nkpopo (“mothers of ghosts”), secretly protected twins through covert networks and spiritual subversion. This resistance constituted what we term Africa’s “first church”—an unorganized, maternally-led community that practiced the Gospel’s core ethic of protecting the vulnerable long before missionary institutionalization.

Tracing a remarkable 217-year chronology (1795–1912–2012) through a single family line, we reveal prophetic, century-spanning patterns of divine covenant-keeping. This indigenous awakening represents a praeparatio evangelica within Annang spirituality—evidence that divine revelation regarding human dignity preceded and prepared the way for formal Christian mission. The paper culminates by documenting the 1964 indigenous completion of this liberation process, when Nigerian evangelist Dr. Henry Farrar confronted the Ikpaisong at Ikot Nsekong, declaring its demise not through colonial imposition but through African theological agency.

I. INTRODUCTION: POSITIONALITY AND METHODOLOGY

Author’s Positionality

I write not as a detached observer but as:

· A great-great-grandson of Anwada Umoette, inheritor of the oral history I document

· A sociologist and anthropologist (M.Sc., University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria) trained in systematic analysis of social and cultural transformation

· Founder of the African Holy Land Research Initiative, dedicated to recovering and centering indigenous African theological narratives

· A minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who recognizes divine revelation operating within and beyond institutional Christianity

· Father of twins born in 2012—the centennial fulfillment of a family covenant spanning 217 years

This multiplicity of roles informs my methodological approach, which I term testimonial historiography—a practice that treats family oral tradition as legitimate historical archive while employing rigorous verification methods drawn from sociology, anthropology, and theological studies.

The Core Challenge

For over a century, mission histories have presented Mary Slessor’s 1876 arrival in Calabar as Year Zero in the liberation of twins. This paper presents documentary and chronological evidence that:

1. Liberation began in 1795 with Anwada Umoette’s defiance

2. Indigenous theological awakening preceded missionary arrival

3. The Gospel’s completion occurred in 1964 through African, not European, agency

II. THE ONTOLOGICAL REVOLUTION: FROM EKPO TO HUMANITY

Naming as Theological Act

In Annang cosmology, naming constitutes ontological definition. The Ikpaisong priesthood exercised this power by classifying twins as ekpo (ghosts/non-human spirits), thereby justifying their ritual destruction. Mothers of twins were branded eka nkpopo (“mothers of ghosts”), their wombs considered spiritually contaminated.

Against this institutional dogma, women initiated a quiet revolution. By privately naming their twins “my children” rather than ekpo, they performed radical theological work—reclassifying the unclassifiable, asserting humanity where priesthood saw only spectral threat. This was not sentimental maternal instinct but systematic theology born of embodied experience—what European theologians would later term “hermeneutics of suspicion.”

Anwada’s Threefold Gospel (1795)

Anwada Umoette’s 1795 defiance constituted what we term “indigenous Christology”:

1. The Gospel of Declaration: “They are not ghosts, but children”—redefining twins’ ontological status from within Annang cosmology, anticipating Christian human dignity theology by eight decades.

2. The Gospel of Sanctuary: Surviving with her twins in the spiritually lethal forest between Abanannang and Owokndeden—a zone where spiritual powers demanded women’s blood—demonstrated protection from a higher authority.

3. The Gospel of Lineage: Establishing a counter-tradition that continues through her son Ukpong Anwada (1912), her great-great-grandson Da Effiong Daniel (2012), and living descendants—empirical proof that her defiance was cosmologically valid.-

III. THE UNDERGROUND NETWORK: AFRICA’S FIRST CHURCH

Ngwa Owo Reinterpreted

Historical accounts often present Ngwa Owo as mere exile for twin mothers. Sociological analysis of oral histories reveals it functioned as the Annang Underground Railroad—a network of sanctuary and spiritual resistance. Like Harriet Tubman’s network (1849–1860) that guided enslaved Africans to freedom, Ngwa Owo and surrounding forests provided covert routes to safety from at least 1795.

Covert Organizational Structure

Anthropological examination of oral testimonies reveals organized resistance, not random desperation:

· Communication Networks: Women whispered about safe routes and sympathetic families

· Sanctuary Households: Families risked punishment to hide twins (like the Umoette family protecting Anwada)

· Spiritual Subversion: Using sacred forests meant to be lethal as places of divine protection

· Alternative Rituals: Transforming acts of survival into sacraments of resistance

Sacramental Motherhood

These women performed what we term “sacraments of survival”:

· Baptism: Protective wrappings during flight, not water

· Eucharist: Shared food in forest hideouts, not bread and wine

· Ordination: Maternal embrace declaring “You are human,” not clerical laying on of hands

· Confession: To their own conscience: “This is wrong, and I will resist”

This constituted Africa’s “first church”—unorganized, unordained, but operating on divine conviction that what grew in wombs was human, not spectral.

IV. PROPHETIC CHRONOLOGY: 1795–1912–2012

The Century Pattern Revealed

Our family’s oral history, analyzed through sociological and anthropological methods, reveals astonishing chronological symmetry:

1795: Anwada Umoette's defiance establishes covenant

1912: Ukpong Anwada's conditional acceptance continues it

2012: Da Effiong Daniel's answered prayer fulfills it

1912: Theological Negotiation

Ukpong Anwada’s 1912 actions represent sociological “liminality”—a transitional generation negotiating between old and new:

· Accepted twins’ humanity (built housing, provided sustenance)

· Maintained ritual boundaries (forbade sexual relations)

· Embodied partial liberation—humanity recognized but not fully celebrated

Historical Context: While global events unfolded (Titanic sinking, WWI brewing), Annang theology transitioned independently, demonstrating indigenous agency rather than mere reaction to external forces.

The Silent Century (1912–2012)

For exactly 100 years, no twins appeared in our immediate lineage—a period serving multiple sociological functions:

· Theological incubation allowing new understandings to mature

· Trauma healing creating generational distance from horror

· Cultural preparation readying family to receive twins as blessing rather than compromise

2012: Covenant Fulfillment and Verification

In 2012—exactly a century after Ukpong—my prayer functioned as both theological petition and methodological verification: “Lord, if our family’s story is true, give me twins, and I will love them as Christ loves.”

My twins’ birth served multiple evidentiary purposes:

1. Historical verification of oral tradition through experiential confirmation

2. Prophetic fulfillment of century-long pattern

3. Theological completion from persecution to celebration

V. REFRAMING MISSION HISTORY: DECOLONIZING THE NARRATIVE

What Missionaries Actually Encountered (1876)

Sociological analysis of missionary records alongside indigenous testimony reveals that Mary Slessor arrived to find:

· ✅ Established theological precedent (Anwada’s 1795 defiance)

· ✅ Functioning sanctuary networks (women hiding/protecting twins)

· ✅ Spiritual authority in contestation (Ikpaisong power already challenged)

· ✅ Living proof of alternatives (survivors like Anwada’s descendants)

Slessor as Amplifier, Not Originator

Anthropological assessment of Slessor’s contribution distinguishes between:

· Indigenous innovation (the idea that twins were human, born in Annang wombs)

· Missionary amplification (political protection, institutional sanctuary, public advocacy)

Slessor embodied the biblical principle she would have recognized: “One sows, another reaps” (John 4:37). Anwada sowed in 1795. Slessor reaped in 1876–1915.

The 1964 Indigenous Completion

In 1964—four years after Nigerian independence—Nigerian evangelist Dr. Henry Farrar performed what we term indigenous completion of the liberation process. His declaration before the Ikpaisong—“You are dead!”—and the reported explosion constituted not colonial imposition but post-colonial African theological agency.

This event represents the Gospel returning to its point of origin (Ikot Nsekong, where Anwada first defied the deity) to complete its work through indigenous confrontation rather than foreign introduction.

VI. THEOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS: ABRAHAM’S GOSPEL IN AFRICA

The Pauline Parallel Revisited

Paul’s declaration that “the gospel was preached to Abraham before we all heard” (Galatians 3:8) establishes biblical precedent for divine revelation preceding formal messengers. If God could preach the gospel to Abraham 2,000 years before Christ, why not to Anwada 81 years before missionaries?

Praeparatio Evangelica in Annang Spirituality

The Annang spiritual system, while containing oppressive elements, also contained:

· Sacred forests as potential sanctuaries

· Concepts of ancestral protection superseding priestly decree

· Possibility of individual revelation challenging institutional orthodoxy

This constitutes what theologians term praeparatio evangelica—God preparing cultures for the Gospel through their own traditions.

Reciprocal Missionary Exchange

Traditional framing: Europe (gives theology) → Africa (receives)

Sociological reality: Africa (possesses theological insight) → Europe (provides political support) → Liberation emerges from African initiative amplified by European alliance

VII. METHODOLOGICAL INNOVATION: TESTIMONIAL HISTORIOGRAPHY

Oral History as Legitimate Archive

As a sociologist-anthropologist, I practice testimonial historiography—treating family oral tradition as:

· Legitimate historical archive, not subordinate to written colonial records

· Privileged insider perspective on cultural-theological transformation

· Verifiable source through chronological patterns and experiential confirmation

Verification Framework

Our research employs multidisciplinary verification:

1. Oral history triangulation across family lines and community elders

2. Chronological analysis of prophetic patterns (e.g., 1912–2012 century)

3. Geographical correlation between oral accounts and physical sites

4. Experiential confirmation through answered prayers and living witnesses

5. Documentary correlation with missionary records and anthropological studies

Why This Methodology Matters

Colonial archives systematically marginalized indigenous perspectives. Testimonial historiography recenters those voices while maintaining scholarly rigor, recognizing that families can be living archives of national transformation.

VIII. LIVING PROOF: A FAMILY’S TESTIMONY

The Daniel Family Timeline

1795 – Anwada Umoette defies Ikpaisong, saves twins

1912 – Ukpong Anwada negotiates conditional acceptance

1964 – Udoekong Ukpong witnesses deity’s decommissioning

2012 – My prayer for twins answered in centennial fulfillment

Present – Twins celebrated where they were once destroyed

Embodied Theology

I am not merely studying this history—I am living its fulfillment. The same compound that once housed Ikpaisong priests now houses descendants of the twins they would have killed. My existence at Ikot Nsekong is sociological and theological proof of systemic dismantling.

My twins, born 2012, are more than my children. They are:

· Living epistles of Anwada’s 1795 declaration

· Embodied theology of the gospel that awakened in Africa

· Prophetic fulfillment of a century-spanning covenant

· Hope incarnate that God speaks to all cultures in all times

IX. CONCLUSION: THE GOSPEL THAT AWAKENED WITHIN

The Final Declaration

As Anwada’s great-great-grandson, a sociologist-anthropologist, and founder of African Holy Land, I declare:

The Gospel came to Calabar not first in 1876 with Mary Slessor, but in 1795 with Anwada Umoette—and it came not from across the sea, but from within the African soul.

Call for Historical and Theological Integrity

We call for:

1. Historians to rewrite textbooks beginning the timeline in 1795

2. Theologians to recognize Anwada as exemplar of praeparatio evangelica

3. Sociologists/Anthropologists to center indigenous voices in transformation narratives

4. Churches to celebrate indigenous faith alongside missionary stories

5. All to understand liberation emerges from within communities before external support

X. POSTSCRIPT: WALKING WHERE DEITIES DIED

The Transformed Landscape

When I walk through Ikot Nsekong today—as researcher, descendant, and father—I see:

· Empty shrines where power once resided, now testifying to its overthrow

· Open forests where women once feared to tread, now welcoming all

· Family compounds where priests once lived, now housing their would-be victims’ descendants

· Children playing where twins would have been destroyed, now celebrated as double blessings

The Continuing Echo

The 1964 explosion still echoes—not as sound but as silence where there was oppression, as freedom where there was fear, as life where there was death.

The story continues. Not as European gift to Africa, but as African testimony to the world. Not as missionary conquest, but as maternal revelation. Not as historical footnote, but as living covenant.

We are not just studying history. We are its living proof.

APPENDIX: RESEARCH FOUNDATIONS

Primary Sources

· Oral testimonies from Umoette and Ibanga family elders (2000–2019)

· Community memory from Ikot Nsekong and surrounding villages

· Family land records and geographical sites correlated with oral accounts

Archival Correlation

· Missionary records concerning Mary Slessor’s work (1876–1915)

· Documentation of Dr. Henry Farrar’s 1964 confrontation

· Anthropological studies of Annang/Ibibio cosmology

· Historical analyses of pre-colonial and colonial southeastern Nigeria

Methodological Framework

· Testimonial historiography as counter-archival practice

· Oral history verification through triangulation and chronological analysis

· Integration of indigenous and documentary sources

· Theological reflection on experiential confirmation

Digital Repository

Extended resources, testimonies, and supplementary materials: virgingeneration.blogspot.com

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Da Effiong Daniel, B.Sc., is a Nigerian sociologist and anthropologist (University of Port Harcourt) specializing in indigenous knowledge systems and religious transformation. As founder of the African Holy Land Research Initiative, he employs testimonial historiography—centering family oral tradition as legitimate historical archive—to recover marginalized African narratives. A minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Daniel approaches his research with both scholarly rigor and theological reflection, recognizing divine revelation operating within and beyond institutional frameworks. He is the great-great-grandson of Anwada Umoette and father of twins born in 2012—the centennial fulfillment of a family covenant spanning 217 years. His work bridges academic scholarship, community engagement, and theological inquiry to present more complete narratives of African agency in religious and social transformation.

Contact: daniel4altar@gmail.com

Research Portal: virgingeneration.blogspot.com

Institutional Affiliation: African Holy Land Research Initiative, Ikot Nsekong,(Ubon-Abasi Ibom) obot Akara Akwa Ibom State Nigeria

ETHICAL POSITIONALITY STATEMENT

As great-great-grandson of Anwada Umoette, I write from within the tradition I document, honoring ancestors while maintaining scholarly integrity. As a sociologist-anthropologist, I employ rigorous verification methods. As a minister of the Gospel, I recognize divine revelation transcending cultural boundaries. This work is dedicated to all unnamed women who defied death to protect children, affirming that truth often resides in marginalized voices and embodied experience.

CITATION:

Daniel, Da Effiong. “The Gospel of the Womb: How Annang Women Pioneered Liberation 81 Years Before Missionaries Arrived.” African Holy Land Publications 1, no. 1 (2026)