Simon Ottenberg, the Man

Growing up in Nigeria's Afikpo region, the name of Simon Ottenberg, commonly known as “Beke Ibe-Okwu,” evoked this near-mythical figure. Simon has been associated with Ehugbo (Afikpo) since the 1950s when he came to do his field work in anthropology, which continued up till his passing. “Beke Ibe-Okwu” means a naturalized White person of the Okwu maternal family, signifying his acceptance into Afikpo family social structure. As stories have it, his adoption into the Ibe Okwu maternal family occurred when someone approached Simon and inquired of his maternal linage. Simon responded “none.” The man said one has to belong, and took Simon to his mother, placed Simon's hand on his mother's breast, and proclaimed, “You and I drank from the same breast and thus, we are of the same maternal family.” In this way, Simon was accepted as a full-fledged member of the Okwu family. Indeed, during Simon's last visit to Nigeria in 2010, the Okwu family organized a celebration for him as one of their own.I first met Simon in person when I was an undergraduate student at the University of Montana, Missoula, where he was invited to speak by then Professor Thomas Payne of the Department of Political Science. I met Simon again during the summer of 1982 in the Ballard neighborhood in Seattle, while I was staying with my uncle, Dr. Matthew Alu, who was completing his Masters Degree in Geography from the University of Washington, Seattle, WA, where Simon taught. Uncle Matthew had assisted Simon in his 1989 publication, Boyhood Rituals in an African Society: An Interpretation.My next in-person encounter with Simon was in summer 2004 in Chicago at the Annual Meeting of Afikpo Organization Inc. (AOI), where I was serving at AOI's president, and later at the launching of the republished Double Decent in an African Society: The Afikpo Village Group, authored by Simon in 1968. Simon was instrumental in obtaining the republishing rights for Afikpo Organization Inc. After the meeting, I spent half the day with Simon at the Chicago History Museum. Although years earlier I thought that perhaps Simon had capitalized on the culture of Ehugbo to boost his own career, I now began to see Simon for who was—a compassionate, caring person.Simon then invited me to Seattle to work with him on an exhibition project at the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) to display an extensive collection of Afikpo masquerades, which he had assembled during his previous visits to Nigeria and later donated to the museum. Our friendship blossomed during the SAM project when we both traveled to Nigeria in April 2006 to collect more masquerades with their costume elements for the museum display. This was when I truly recognized Simon's deep affection for Ehugbo culture and her people. Simon's work in Ehugbo was not just an academic exercise; he understood the culture and cherished it.To better understand the culture, it was helpful that Simon had been initiated into the Ogo system during his early visit to Nigeria as a young researcher. Becoming a member of this male “secret” society permitted Simon to gain full insight to the masquerades. Although Simon's work on Ehugbo (Afikpo) was anthropological in nature, because of his careful attention to detail his work also served as historical reference material guiding land disputes and aspects of Afikpo culture. For example, in February 2022 the village of Mgbom recreated the Ojeogwu masquerade performance using as reference material (particularly pages 174 to 178) Simon's 1975 book Masked Rituals of Afikpo—The Context of an African Art. Simon's books and articles on Afikpo life and customs were very informative, insightful, and thorough. His standing in the Afikpo community led to the conferment in 1982 of the chieftaincy title “Enyo Mba of Ehugbo” which translates to “The Mirror that Reflects Ehugbo to the outside world.”I pray and hope that Simon Ottenberg's writing will lead to more restoration of Ehugbo culture—a topic of numerous discussion with him during my many visits to Seattle (Fig. 1)

Art · African cultural and philosophical studies · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Colonialism, slavery, and trade

• Masked Rituals of Afikpo

  Herbert M Cole, Simon Ottenberg•African Arts•1976

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• Double Descent in an African Society

  G II JONES•African Affairs•1970

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• Boyhood Rituals in an African Society

  Ben G Blount, Simon Ottenberg•African Studies Review•1990

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