Nigeria's rich cultural heritage

Nigeria's rich and varied cultural heritage derives from the mixture of

its different ethnic groups with Arabic and western European cultural

influences. Secret societies, such as Ekpo and Ekpe among the peoples

of the southeast, were formerly used as instruments of government,

while other institutions were associated with matrimony. According to

the Fulani custom of sharo (test of young manhood), rival suitors

underwent the ordeal of caning as a means of eliminating those who were

less persistent, while in Ibibio territory girls approaching

marriageable age were confined for several years in bride-fattening

rooms before they were given to their husbands. These and other customs

were discouraged by colonial administrators and missionaries. Some of

the more adaptable cultural institutions have been revived since

independence; these include Ekpo and Ekong societies for young boys in

parts of the southeast and the Ogboni society found in the Yoruba and

Edo areas of southern Nigeria.