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| Nupe cultural drummers |
Introduction
We will graciously start this blog with the rich cultural heritage of
the Nupe people, The Nupe are divided into different subgroups,
including Batau, Kyedye,
Eghagi, Ebe, and Benu, along with several others that speak related
languages. Some Nupe have always lived outside the group's boundaries,
and other peoples have lived in Nupeland. Although the Nupe are
scattered over several states in west-central and northern Nigeria,
the majority resides in Niger State in Nigeria. A sizable population
lives in Kwara and Kogi states as well as in the Federal Capital
Territory. The main towns are Bida, Minna, Agaie, Lapai, Mokwa, Jebba,
Lafiagi, and Pategi.
Population.
Recently
due to reduced infant mortality rate and increased birth rate in the
region the population has greatly increased the population of the Nupe
nation. The Census of 1952-1953 carried out by the British government
puts the population of the Nupe province at 319,465. Censuses conducted
by the independent Nigerian governments in 1962
(revised in 1963) and 1973 are considered unreliable. The controversial
1991 census placed the population of Nupe at 1,062,000.
Today
we have over 3.5 million Nupe people principally within Niger state
alone not to talk of the ones living in various locations all over
Nigeria and a considerable growing Nupe population in the diaspora.
Linguistic Affiliation
Linguistic evidence suggests that the
Nupe language belongs to a branch (Nupoid) of the Benue-Congo group of
languages. Others languages in the group are Igbira (Ebira), Gbagyi
(Gbari), Gade, and Kakanda. Nupe is related most closely to Gbari and
Kakanda in structure and vocabulary. There are at least two markedly
different dialects: Nupe central and Nupe Tako.
History and Cultural Relations
The oral traditions of the Nupe credit the foundation of the Nupe
state to Tsoede in the fifteenth century. Before his time there were a
number of small semiautonomous states in the area, such as Ebe, Gbidye,
Kusopa, Benu, Beni, Dibo, Kede, Ebagi, Batsoi, Kupa, Cekpa, and Gwagba.
Tsoede, who first took the title of Etsu (king), was an Igala
prince from Idah, south of the Niger River. The Nupe state was brought
about by conquest. The Nupe have influenced and been influenced by their
neighbors in cultural matters, including language, religion, arts,
agricultural techniques, and trade. Bronze figures found at Tada and
Jebba suggest a connection with Ife and Benin. Stone figures found among
the Igbomina-Yoruba of west-central Nigeria that have Nupe and Yoruba
cultural traits suggest interactions between those groups.
The
history of Nupe in the early part of the nineteenth century
was marked by political instability caused by disputes over succession.
This conflict culminated in 1796, when two rival Etsu, Jimada and
Majiya II, claimed the throne. Islam has been an important northern
influence, and the first Nupe king to become a muslim reigned about
1770. The fulani conquest that occurred in stages after 1820 was even
more influential.
At the end of the century British rule was established through the
activities of the Royal Niger Company. The Bida Emirate was governed as
part of the British colony of Nigeria until 1960, when Nigeria gained
independence. During the creation of states by subsequent Nigerian
governments, Minna was made the capital of Niger State, although Bida
remains the largest predominantly Nupe town. Although there have been
controversy about the legitimacy of the current current family of the
Etsu Nupe stool, history shows that during the reign of Muhammadu,
prince Jimada went on exile to Patigi southwest of Bida, on the
southern and opposite bank of the Niger River protesting against being
ruled by a Fulani (Vandeleur 1898). Now Jimada’s descendants are
fighting for the post of
Etsu Nupe claiming to be the only existing pure Nupe ruling family.The present Etsu Nupe is Yahaya Abubakar Kusodu Nupe.
The Etsu Nupe Yahaya Abubakar |
Economy.
Most
Nupes are subsistence farmers, and they grow staple crops e.g millet,
guinea-corn,
yams, rice, groundnuts. Cassava, maize, and sweet potatoes are of
secondary importance to this the Nupe nation. The large proportion of
seasonally
flooded (fadama) land has allowed a greater emphasis on growing
rice, sugarcane, and onions. This has encouraged the establishment of
commercial growing and refining of sugar at Bacita. The Nupe practice
hoe agriculture, using a large, heavy hoe called a zuku and a small hoe called dugba.
The Nupe system of agriculture is based on shifting cultivation
combined with rotation of crops. The low population densities and less
intense form of agriculture allowed more of the original savanna to
survive, and woodland products are significant, particularly from the
shea-butter tree and the locust-bean tree. There are many fishermen in
the villages on the banks of the Niger and Kaduna rivers and their
tributaries. Cattle raising is engaged in by the Bororo Fulani, who move
their herds from one pasture to another as necessity dictates.
Marriage.
Traditionally, marriage could be contracted in one
of two ways: The would-be bridegroom asked for the consent of the girl
(sometimes the girl suggested to her father whom she wanted to marry),
or the marriage was arranged by the heads of the families. Polygymous
marriages were very common both before and after the introduction of the
Islamic faith. Marriage involves the payment of a bride-price by the
groom, and pos-tmarital residence is patrilocal. Marriage has no real
meaning without procreation a ceremony is carried out on the eve of
every marriage where the bride her sisters and other maidens shows their
dance steps. Barrenness is regarded as a curse and a
misfortune, and traditional means are utilized to secure fertility or
cure barrenness. Divorce rarely occurs because men want to avoid the
publicity and ridicule of divorce proceedings in Alkali court (Islamic
court). Most marriages are terminated only by the death of a spouse.
Widows must remain in the compound for five months before they can
remarry.
Inheritance.
The deceased's property is divided between his
oldest son, other sons, full brothers, and daughter in decreasing
proportions. If the children are very young, the money is held in trust
for them. If the marriage did not produce children, a woman may inherit
from her husband or the deceased's brothers may forgo their right in her
favor if they feel she has been a very good wife.
Social Organization.
Social organization in Nupe villages and
towns follows a consistent pattern. Normally, the village chief rules
over his community, assisted by the village elders, the nusazi,
or Old Ones. The elders are the heads of families or of groups of
families that live together in one compound or efu. Appointment to the
position of an elder is expressed in the titles the chief confers on
these members of his council. The office of the elders is very loosely
specialized. Certain titles reflect the special occupations nusazi and
their families follow, such as hunters, drummers, and blacksmiths. No
"house" may be excluded from a share of village offices or "own" more
than one title. The village elders are the representatives of the chief
through whom his orders reach the community; the informants on whom the
chief depends, and the spokesperson of the people they represent both in
their official capacity and as heads of kin groups.
Political Organization.
Among the pre-Fulani (Islamic)
Nupe the link with magic and myth, rituals and taboos, and the law of
succession separated the king from his subjects. Fulani rule turned this
semisacred kingship into strong rulership. The king became the highest
rank holder in a royal nobility characterized by precedence and
promotion. The elimination of primogeniture provided a system of
succession that allowed for a balance of power
that could satisfy rivals. The Fulani created emirs (kings), who in a
loose sense became vassals of the Fulani Empire of Gwandu. Under British
indirect rule in Nigeria the Etsu was still elected from the ranks of
the royal princes by gitsuzi and sarakizi (title royal and non-royal elites) and assisted by a council of four.
The Etsu is the head of his government. He is responsible for law and
order in his domain, carries out measures of administration, and tries
certain legal cases, advised and guided by the district officer in
charge of the division. The appointment of a new Etsu was subject to
confirmation by the colonial governor of Nigeria, and in some cases the
governor could depose the emir on the advice of the district officer.
The Etsu Bida and other chiefs of the emirate are paid a salary in
accordance with the importance of the office. Since the independence of
Nigeria in 1960, the position of Nupe king has continued to be affected
by the political situation. However, the practice of compensating
traditional rulers with salaries and confirmation of new appointments to
the throne has continued under subsequent Nigerian governments.
Conflict.
Before the British conquest Nupe history was
characterized by conflict with other groups for the purpose of
expansion, conquest, or revenue. Villages frequently were involved in
the wars of the kingdom, either causing wars by rebelling against the
central government or being forced to take part in the wars the kingdom
waged against other groups. Three subgroups of the Yoruba close to
Nupeland—the Yagba, Abunu, and Igbomina were victims of this aggression. The defeat of Old Oyo (katunga)
by the Nupe took place in the early sixteenth century. The Nupe later
penetrated deep into Yorubaland, sacking Ede on the Osun River and
raiding some Ijesha villages. These military activities continued until
the Nupe were conquered by the Fulani and then by the British Royal
Niger Company in about 1900.
Religious Beliefs.
Precontact religion involved a variety of
local deities and the honoring of ancestors. Among pre-Islamic Nupe
veneration of the guardian spirit Gunu was the most widespread religious
practice and represented the peak of ceremonial life. Animals are
sacrificed in his honor, and their blood is poured out as a libation to
him. Every eleven months the men go to his altar, where they kneel down
and bow their foreheads to the ground. There is also a semireligious
institution called Ndakogboiya, in which a man may complain of a
wife's conduct and beg that she be exposed, together with any other
guilty party. The man then mounts a stilt and appears among the people,
proclaiming their evil deeds and receiving propitiatory offerings of
goats and fowl. The Ndakogboiya lost most of its efficacy when Islam
replaced ancient religious beliefs.
Jubril, a Nupe king of about 1770, was the first to adopt Islam,
though Islamic influence in the area may date back to 1700 c.e. Toward
the end of the eighteenth century, under Etsu Mu'azu, the impact of
Islam was felt through the activities of Mallam Dendo, who came to
Nupeland as an emissary of the Fulani.
Religious Practitioners.
In Nupe communities religious rituals
are relegated to different officials. At Doko the Dibo Saba ritual
addressed to an ancestor chief is performed by the chief, while the sako
ritual, which involves a small group of hereditary hunters, is
performed by the head of that group. The hereditary gunnu priest is known as Gunnuko (Great gunnu) or, more specifically, Ndazo,
"the rare man." In Jebba the Ejuko is the guardian of the lineage of
Tsoede. The importance of these rituals has not shielded them from the
impact of cultural change. After Islamization these activities were
curtailed, and they now are regarded as Satanic worship.
Ceremonies.
Ceremonial events play a major role in the social
life of the Nupe. Ceremonial occasions include funerals, weddings, the
naming of newborn, the coronation of a new chief, graduation from a
school, the anniversary of Nigeria's independence from Britain, and
Islamic and church events. The advent of Islam brought many celebrations
to Nupe life: the Islamic New year (Muharram), Id el Fitri (Ramadan) , and Id el-Kabir
(falling in the month of pilgrimage). These ceremonies involve the
giving of alms and the sacrifice of a ram by those who can afford it to
commemorate the name of God On these occasions people wear their best
clothes and visit friends, relatives, and persons of importance.
Arts.
At the time of the Fulani conquest the main forms of
artistic expression included weaving, cotton spinning, and hairdressing
by women. Other art forms include embroidery, leatherwork, indigo
dyeing, straw hat making, mat making, the manufacture of rope and twine,
basketwork, and canoe building. These items are not marketed overseas.
Drumming, singing, dancing, and oratory (including preaching) are also
prevalent art forms.
Medicine.
Therapeutic practices among the Nupe include the use
of natural materials such as herbs, grasses, roots, and the leaves of
trees, which are processed by pulverizing, boiling, or mixing. The
manufacture or application of medicine often involves invocations of the
deity and sacrifices. The knowledge of medicine is transmitted through
teaching and in some cases is considered hereditary. With Islam came Mal· lams,
who administer cures and sell charms or amulets prepared in accordance
with Islamic belief. Western medicine is practiced in hospitals and
dispensaries, but the high cost of such treatment leads people to depend
on traditional medicine.
Death and Afterlife.
After conversion to Islam the Nupe came
to believe that life emanates from God and exists with
God in the sky. At birth it is sent down when the child is in the womb,
and at death "God takes it away." During sleep body and life soul are
separated temporarily; normally the soul will return to the body, but at
times a person may die while asleep. Death is accompanied by ceremonial
observance. This is consistent with the Nupe religion, which emphasizes
ends rather than beginnings. While Islam has reduced the incidence of
extravagant burials, ritual elaboration at the death of old people
continues, since "they have seen the world" and there is no cause for
grief. Drumming, singing, dancing, and feasting accompany their death.
This festive aspect is absent in the case of younger people, whose death
makes "the heart ache." The funeral includes the burial, called mba,
and funeral rites performed after 8 days, 40 days, and 120 days in some
cases. The number and scale of funeral rites vary with the age, sex,
and status of the deceased. Old men and family heads and old women are
buried in their sleeping rooms, beneath the floor; everyone else is
buried in the space between the houses or by the compound wall.
Sometimes graves are built from concrete cement blocks to make them more
permanent and keep the memory of the deceased alive.
The Nupe people peace loving people in Nigeria, with a rich cultural heritage.
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