A black and white photograph, widely circulated online and commonly titled “Burial Ceremony of the late Chief Coco Ota Bassey, Calabar, 1910s”, has become one of the most recognisable historical images associated with Old Calabar. The image shows a large gathering assembled for burial, a moment of solemn order that reflects the strength of communal life in early twentieth century Calabar.
The photograph draws attention because it feels complete. It captures people standing together in mourning, marking the passing of a figure important enough to bring an entire community into public witness. Long after the moment itself, the image continues to speak, not through words, but through presence.
Chief Coco Otu Bassey in the historical record
Chief Coco Otu Bassey was a recognised chief of Old Calabar whose name appears in documented accounts of the region’s leadership. He is listed among the titled figures in The Kings and Chiefs of Old Calabar (1785–1925) by Ekei Essien Oku, a work preserved in the National Library of Nigeria’s collections. This situates him firmly within the leadership structure of Old Calabar during a period of profound political change.
Beyond lists of chiefs, Chief Coco Otu Bassey also appears in scholarly writing that examines the political tensions of the Cross River region during the expansion of British authority. In Ropes of Sand: Studies in Igbo History and Culture, historian A. E. Afigbo describes negotiations involving the Aro on the Cross River and notes that they were willing to negotiate through Chief Coco Otu Bassey, described in the text as a British agent. The account refers to a proposed meeting in 1897 arranged by Coco Bassey under the orders of Sir Ralph Moor, then High Commissioner, intended to address disputes connected to British expansion.
This reference places Chief Coco Otu Bassey within the active political life of his era. He emerges as a figure operating between local societies and colonial authority, at a time when negotiation, resistance, and accommodation shaped daily realities along the Cross River.
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The Cross River world of authority and negotiation
Old Calabar was not an isolated coastal town. For generations it had been shaped by Atlantic trade, regional diplomacy, and shifting alliances. By the late nineteenth century, British colonial administration sought firmer control over the Cross River corridor, a route vital for trade and movement into the interior.
In this environment, authority was not exercised by colonial officials alone. It depended on recognised local figures who could command respect within their communities while engaging with colonial power. Chiefs like Coco Otu Bassey moved through a landscape where diplomacy was constant and political balance fragile. Decisions made at this level affected security, commerce, and the movement of people along rivers and roads.
Understanding this context helps explain why Chief Coco Otu Bassey’s name appears in accounts of negotiation and why his death would have resonated beyond his immediate household.
Reading the burial photograph
The burial photograph associated with Chief Coco Otu Bassey shows a large public gathering. The scale of the crowd suggests that the deceased held considerable status. Funerals of prominent chiefs were not private affairs. They were civic moments that brought together families, titled figures, and wider community members to honour the dead and reaffirm social order.
The image also reflects a society living through transition. Indigenous authority remained visible and publicly expressed, even as colonial structures reshaped administration and power. Clothing, posture, and arrangement in the photograph hint at this overlap, a world where tradition continued to assert itself within changing political realities.
The strength of the photograph lies in what it shows directly, communal presence, organisation, and dignity. It stands as a visual record of how honour and remembrance were performed in Old Calabar during the colonial period.
Burial as a moment of continuity
In societies like Old Calabar, the burial of a chief carried meaning beyond grief. It was a moment when relationships were acknowledged, responsibilities prepared to pass on, and continuity publicly affirmed. The gathering itself declared that leadership and social bonds would endure beyond the life of one individual.
For a chief involved in regional diplomacy and political negotiation, such a funeral also marked the closing of a chapter. It signalled the loss of a figure who had stood at the intersection of local authority and external power, and it reminded the community of the need to adapt while holding fast to established values.
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Why the image still speaks today
The enduring appeal of the burial photograph lies in its ability to humanise history. Colonial records often focus on officials and policies, but the image brings attention back to local society, to the people who lived, negotiated, mourned, and remembered on their own terms.
Chief Coco Otu Bassey remains significant because the written record places him within the real political currents of his time, and the photograph preserves the communal response to his death. Together, they offer a glimpse into how authority, respect, and memory were woven together in Old Calabar at the turn of the twentieth century.
Author’s Note
This story brings together image and record to honour a man remembered both in writing and in communal memory. Chief Coco Otu Bassey stands as a reminder that history is shaped not only by distant administrators, but by local leaders who navigated power, negotiation, and responsibility in their own communities. His burial scene endures because it reflects a society affirming dignity, continuity, and respect at a moment of profound change.
References
Ekei Essien Oku, The Kings and Chiefs of Old Calabar (1785–1925), National Library of Nigeria repository.
A. E. Afigbo, Ropes of Sand: Studies in Igbo History and Culture.
Nigerian Nostalgia Project, burial photograph post identifying Chief Coco Otu Bassey and dating the image to the 1910s.
ASIRI Magazine, reposted burial photograph identifying Chief Coco Otu Bassey and describing the image as circa 1910s.
