Etchen: A Female Puberty Rite among the Borum People of Bokyi, Cross River State

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Periodical article

Title:	Etchen: A Female Puberty Rite among the Borum People of Bokyi, Cross River State
Author:	Obi, Joe
Year:	1987
Periodical:	Africana Marburgensia
Volume:	Special issue
Issue:	12
Pages:	55-60
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Nigeria
Subjects:	Bokyi rites of passage female circumcision Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups) Religion and Witchcraft Women's Issues Cultural Roles Health, Nutrition, and Medicine Genital Circumcision/Cuttings/Surgeries
Abstract:	Etchen is the most elaborate rite of passage among the Borum of Bokyi, Cross River State, Nigeria. It concerns the initiation of young girls into adulthood. The rite is essentially a preparation for marriage and serves to transmit the ideals of womanhood which society wishes to instil into the young girls who undergo the rite. Etchen is celebrated once a year between the months of June and July, when the rains are heaviest. This is because the notion of rain embodies fertility, health, peace and plenitude. The rite itself is made up of five different stages: the confinement of the initiate, clitoridectomy, a ritual dance, the shooting of guns and the feeding of the community by the girl's parents. Ref., sum. in French.