The Leopard Society, also known as Ekpe or Mgbe, was the oldest of the Cross River secret societies in West Africa and known as Anyoto or Aniota in Central Africa. It was all-male, most likely originating as a warrior society, and assumed importance during the Atlantic slave trade, which was centered in Calabar and dominated by the Efik people by the late 1700s. The trade brought wealth and a range of imported products into Calabar. The Efik, seeking to augment this wealth, also sold memberships in the society to other groups, enabling it to spread widely through the area.