Biase

Biase Obutong
LGA
Country	Nigeria
State	Cross River State
Time zone	WAT (UTC+1)

Biase is a Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Akpet Central. It has an area of 1,310 km² and a population of 169,183 at the 2006 census.

History

The people of Biase are direct descendants of Obutong town in Calabar. History has it that they migrated to present day Biase due to a brief conflict with their Efik brothers. The ancient killing twins was widely practiced by Biase people and their Efik brothers before Mary Slassor stopped it more than a century ago.

Tradition

Biase people observe all Efik traditions and dance including Ekpe, Ekombi and Abang. The Ekpe Society is the authority in some parts of Biase whilst Agban is observed in Ubaghara, while Abbu is observed by the Erei north mostly which comprises (Umuolor, Ipene, Elu, Egbor, Obum) and Ijom across the River.

Language

The Efik language is the main language of Biase people but several variations of the Efik language, such as Ubaghara and Ukwa, are also spoken in Biase.

Another major language spoken in Biase is the Erei language which is the original language of the Erei and Biase people, which comprises ten groups of communities or towns, namely, Abanwan, Afono, Edu/Elu, Egbor, Etana, Ibini, Ipene, Obum, Umuolor and Urugbam, which is the capital, and Abayong people on the other side of the river. Erei is also spoken by the Etono people in Ugbahara and partially spoken by the Abini people. The Agwuagwune and Adim people also understand and speak Erei at a basic level.

The postal code of the area is 542.^[1]

References

1. "Post Offices- with map of LGA". NIPOST. Archived from the original on 7 October 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-20.

Adim Igiriga