With the flow of time, since the year dot that generations of people lived here, the monastery, cathedral and the ancient popular spiritual habitat have placed their stamp on nature and cultural activities of Ekeya.
Favoured by nature with a mild climate, protected from the wild winds, and a manageable size, with the river providing an ideal means of transportation and trade to early dwellers.
Around 1904, the first Catholic nomads arrived on Akwa Ibom State soil along the steep slopes from the ancient capital city of Calabar to introduce the inhabitants to the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. They also stopped the killing of twins, like Mary Slessor also did in most parts of the then Cross River State. What a renaissance of a colonial footprint it has turned out to be for history to reckon with.
Witness to this ancient history of a community-based church is an exceptional architecture and an 11cm high limestone monument to savour this historic piece of relics. It was only within years that St. Peter’s Catholic Church gave birth to St. Mark’s Catholic Church, Oron and St. Paul’s Catholic Church, Amamong and St. Joseph Catholic Church, Anua-Uyo were the hospital replicated after the early days’ missionaries journeyed.
The church structure, finally completed in 1905, was acknowledged worldwide as the existing statuette and remains a stone sculpture in the modern Akwa Ibom State. A replica can be admired in the Vatican and the English Westminster models, which have original natural historical linage.
Following the chaos of the emigration of nations, this monastery shaped the economic and cultural life of Ekeya and, by extension, the entire Catholic community in Akwa Ibom State. By the end of the 20th century, almost three-quarters of the vineyards were owned by the church. At a time, it became a center point for other monasteries within the suburbs. Its winegrowing, fishing, exploration, and trade flourished with woods and seafood transported by barge to Europe, and in return, other goods arrived in Ekeya.
Beyond the spiritual, pathways were created on the riverbanks, laying sea routes to water resources and trade ways. Many world monasteries did not survive the reforms of 18th-century secularization, but the mendicant order monasteries of later dates, like St. Peter’s Catholic Church, did. It survived the times: the hardships and the betrayals. On the other hand, Unaffected was St. Peter’s Catholic Church, Ekeya, which displayed the natural history of the old town.
This supposedly living world cultural heritage connects the exemplary revitalization of an old town with an old-time religion. As I strolled across the lawns, I got lost in thoughts, dolling out accolades through its medieval lanes, romantic arcades, convivial cafes, and spiritually seduced into secluded tavern gardens that help one stroll and pass the time.
On its vantage account of fantastic positioning high on a cliff hill that creates a magnificent view of the MataShaw building along Calabar Marina, the abbey of the eastern end impresses with its monumental imperial stairs and the frescoes of saints-like trowelled dust plasters. The building is a true treasure for festive moods and occasions, as if her bonnet were made of brocade and hand-formed tips. If, in the past, church structures were used to underscore social status, St. Peter’s church in Ekeya is likened as magnificently constructed during the Baroque era by the best architects of their time. Even with the maintenance failures, that tower still makes its mark on the cliff and is a much-visited cultural centre with regular exhibitions and music festivals pre-independence.
Even the caricature museum like Krantz biting contemporary satire, images from the deepest depths of the Catholic soul. It forces the observer to confront questions concerning aesthetics and modern art. Great scripts and sensual thrilling worship theatre with a unique atmosphere of the cliff and lowland forests. All ingredients may guarantee a fascinating day after day. Traditional and contemporary are united here, offering impressive settings of worship session cultures. Centred in a picturesque Renaissance building. The First. The most renowned work of art from two centuries.
Please excuse my emotions. Since time immemorial, the St. Peter’s Catholic Church Ekeya has inspired painters and thinkers. Photographers and filmmakers would love its enchanting river valley. That is the essence and QED of rural tourism, captured in a house of worship. Ancient as it is, archaic as it may look, its modern accents are set by the cultural actions of today’s individuals. The 19th-century Catholic missionaries discovered Ekeya in Akwa Ibom State, which is the movement’s genesis. History is kind. Man is, unfortunately, unkind to history.
What fascinated the early Catholics as I tried to subsume as an undercover agent, strapping my emotional self in a submarine kind of thought line? What would have reduced me to a mere kindergarten of ancient history books? What fascinated them was the intense atmosphere of Ekeya and its people. The old houses and courtyards of old, the narrow lanes and the slow-paced deliberate scene of daily life. Here, the artists in the mission were among their own kind, creating for the ‘High Society” experience a replica of space and pace elsewhere.
St. Peter’s Catholic Church Ekeya is a museum that displays traditional costumes from the West, leaving footprints in the sands of time. That should be the location of the TV footage today, rolling out todays and future films. It hosts high-ranking religious festivals and musical rituals that provide an annual rendezvous. With an open-air theatre production, St. Peter’s Catholic Church was traditionally built to act as a magnet for the public.
The drive of The Catholic Mission around the world represents and is an example of such contemporary cultural activities of the art mile, but not the case in St. Peters Catholic Church, Ekeya. If only its were an individual, I will address the drive a failure. You have not only failed Ekeya here, but you failed this early arrival of Catholic nomads and their mission. Allowing such an edifice swallowed up by gully is a shame. You wasted a place designed by plans of a national art form. The relics that conjured images of the 19th and 20th centuries that Nigeria should have been known still stands out. Betraying the ones upon a time monastery. That is the story of St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Ekeya.
Today we witness changes to this house of honour and fame. Changes to its true story and identity. Deliberate changes that have de-phased it caricature, satire and critical graphics of the upper floor and windows.
It is time to rescue Ekeya. From a demise caused by societal neglect. Yes, the entire space of Ekeya. A community that uses to be a simple, just stand still, jaw-dropping, observe and enjoy. Anyone travelling to Ekeya will continually be impressed by the perfection of the countryside. By the extraordinary blend of cultivated nature and lusciously growing wilderness is now threatened by massive gullies swallowing up its character and form. Battering a landscape of the one-time rurality that was flowing with sensory pleasure.
A walk to the Convent School complex, an extension of the Church Mission established and named by the colonial visits as once nature’s gift to mankind, reveals the level of decay. A countryside of old once characterized by an interaction between gardens of every kind. This reminds us of the Abbey Gardens in Melk and Gottweig, which are laid out with exact details. Place of peace and tranquillity.
Artfully arranged Convent School vineyards and sun-caressed primitive hilly terraces supported by the typical flower walls. Fertile fruit gardens, where the famous apricot and their likes grew. In April, a perfumed white sea of flowers and everywhere the outdoor dining and an invitation to where birds fester and linger for a while.
A beauty to behold is rapidly degrading. Changing cycle paths and hiking trails connect the most beautiful market spots, farmland, and attractions. Looking deeper into the lowlands view from atop hips provides an exciting perspective. That winding valley is getting wild and untamed, swallowing up residents and public buildings. It is becoming a more expansive deathtraps ravine, turning the steep terraces of the winepress destination into a standstill couloir.
Let us stand up for Ekeya, a destination that once stood still for humankind at some point in the Middle Ages with many surprises in store. Every step of the rustic wine tavern, traditional cozy palm wine bars, with elegant cuisines displayed at exquisitely gourmet restaurants. It is a great refuge that invites peace and contemplation and promises a wealth of delicious moments. Ekeya community, her experience makes the rural community a natural paradise for bon vivants and fans of the native fineries and fine arts.
By Hilerus Edet [Public Commentator and Rural Tourism Consultant]
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