SLC-S25/W3 | Community World Tour : Landscapes and Sacred Sites

It may surprise you to see that this river is called a beach when it doesn't have a standard beach site. Anyways, it has a borrowed beach standard which is different from the many beaches we have in Akwa Ibom state. This is one of the older rivers, far older than I am. How did it come into existence? Who created it? You know most beaches are created when the river may be a linkage of different rivers and streams. Let's get something right. So far, this is the oldest river in Akwa Ibom. Then why isn't it popular if it's the oldest? Let's get to know its history and why it's not a known river or beach, so to speak.

This river is Akwa Ibom's cultural heritage preserved by villages in the Uruan local government area for quite a period of time now. Before the first missionaries arrived and the British claimed the Nigerian delta region of Nigeria, this river was there. We usually call it ibaka, a play where people get symbolic woods to carve images and make good coffins for sale, one that would take time before termites break through.

This is what the people here believe in. This is a beach that emerged and was not created by anyone. It has lots of channels from different beaches, which this one tends to be its central, located in the rear region of forest life.

From the name of the beach, there's an emotional connection between the water and land. The meaning of the name Nwaniba in English means child of Aniba. Aniba, as believed, is the river goddess who guides the waters and parted land to create her own niche. She is believed to stay in the water while her children stay on land. Whenever someone is sick, that person is to drink water from the river to heal. This is a belief of the residents of Nwaniba.

They believed the mother, which is the river, chose to stay far away from her child, which is land, due to certain protective reasons. There's a belief that colonisers may come from other routes to steal Uruan treasures and natural resources. The only way they can do so is through the river without being seen. Receiving this gift from nature, she chooses to nurture it to the best of her ability. Though I don't believe in superstitions, I know that there's a superstitious connection to the name Nwaniba.

The black soil on the ground is there to show the mistakes of foreigners and insiders, and this is visible by the oil spillage we see on this loamy soil. It is believed that anyone who sits on the loamy soil with crude oil spillage and sings, his or her voice is carried by the water to the future where blessings are installed. People can summon their loved ones and get to hear them speak to them through the wind. You get to see your future and fate by reflecting on the water for 3 hours under intense heat. I also hear the place is a haven for meditation and reflection. One can become wise by merely spending 10 hours from 7 to 11 am and from 5 to 9 pm. All these are beliefs which the residents here cherish.

There are a couple of things done by the residents here on a daily basis to show their appreciation for the gift of water, which helps in sustenance. There's what they call Eka Akwa Ibom Award Ceremony. This means the mother of Akwa Ibom, which is an honorary title and given to an outstanding environmentalist who is still a youth. The person receives blessings from the elders and swims in the water for recognition.

After this, ancestral songs would be sung, and there'd be a campfire where everyone would sit and eat fish from the river. Drums would be beaten by local guides, and kola nuts would be contained in a calabash and shared round.

The walls of the river are surrounded by thick mangroves where boat men go to get the best wood, as I stated earlier.

There's a symbolic boat that was made and kept in a glass house to signify the return of the stolen boat by the foreigners who came to invade the resources of residents in this village.

This place has always been in existence since creation; that's why it has no notable year of founding or creation. It links or connects to the Cross River and channels into the Atlantic River, which makes it an ideal place for timber, spiritual practices and fishing. At the end is normal water with microorganisms. As you go further, you tend to have a taste of salt.

The historical story tied to this place that made people discover its importance is that a young man went swimming in the river, and at some point, he felt the waves of the water pushing him in one direction. He tried to escape but to no avail. He was moved to a part of the river with trees as its cover.

He was still afloat, though, even when he knew the depth of the place he was afloat was great. He kept moving, calling for help, but to no avail. One thought then struck him to call out to the river spirits even though he didn't believe in such. He did that, and the river spirit appeared and rescued him. Shocked, he thanked the river spirit for rescuing him from dying. He explained to her that he had been poor all his life and didn't know there was a river spirit.

He explained how his wife does compare him with other men and how he comes to the river to clear his mind. After hearing his story, the river goddess told him to go home and that he would be wealthy. So difficult to believe, he saw it as a myth, or maybe he was dreaming. When he got home, he saw his wife and children run to him for the first time, saying they love him.

The wife started apologising, and they amended their lives. The man was the wealthiest in the village. Anytime he was asked, he'd tell them the river gave him water to drink. Everyone laughed because it was hard to believe such. It was then another healing was seen in the village and attributed to the river that everyone came to know; the river is alive and real, other than just the water they are seeing.

This place is located in the outskirts of Uruan LGA and these are the pinned locations on Google Maps and Steem-atlas

	Boats or canoes
	geographical area
	river bay

You can take the tradition out of the river but you can't take the river out of the tradition because a river has no end. People will always have different beliefs from now till eternity.

I invite @basil20, @imohmitch and @us-andrew