about nigerian culture

The most populous country in Africa and the largest in area of the West African states, Nigeria was an early twentieth century colony that became an independent nation in 1960. A country of great diversity because of the many ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups that live within its borders, Nigeria is also a country with a long past. The history of the peoples that constitute the present state dates back more than 2,000 years. The earliest archaeological finds were of the Nok, who inhabited the central Jos Plateau between the Niger and Benue rivers between 300 B.C. and 200 A.D. A number of states or kingdoms with which contemporary ethnic groups can be identified existed before 1500. Of these, the three dominant regional groups were the Hausa in the northern kingdoms of the savanna, the Yoruba in the west, and the Igbo in the south.

Nigerian culture reflects African, Islamic, and European influences. In northern Nigeria, Islam has shaped architecture and calligraphy. As Islam traditionally forbids the representation of people and animals, art forms such as ceremonial carvings are virtually absent in the north. In the south, indigenous peoples produced their own art long before Europeans arrived. Portuguese figures first appeared in Benin bronzes dating to the 16th century. Since the dawn of the colonial era, Western influences have challenged, threatened, and in certain ways enriched Nigerian culture. Nigeria¡¯s rich and diverse artistic heritage goes back more than 2,000 years. The earliest noteworthy pieces are finely produced terra-cotta sculptures produced by the Nok culture in the vicinity of the Jos Plateau between 500 bc and ad 200. These, together with bronze heads from Ife dating from the 13th century and bronze plaques, bronze statues, and ivory carvings from Benin from the 11th century and later, are generally considered Nigeria¡¯s most important artistic legacy. Many such pieces, however, reside in Western museums, where they were taken during the time of colonial conquest. The Nigerian government has demanded the return of looted art, particularly from Benin, with little success.

Nigeria's rich and varied cultural heritage derives from the mixture of its different ethnic groups with Arabic and western European cultural influences. Secret societies, such as Ekpo and Ekpe among the peoples of the southeast, were formerly used as instruments of government, while other institutions were associated with matrimony. According to the Fulani custom of sharo (test of young manhood), rival suitors underwent the ordeal of caning as a means of eliminating those who were less persistent, while in Ibibio territory girls approaching marriageable age were confined for several years in bride-fattening rooms before they were given to their husbands. These and other customs were discouraged by colonial administrators and missionaries. Some of the more adaptable cultural institutions have been revived since independence; these include Ekpo and Ekong societies for young boys in parts of the southeast and the Ogboni society found in the Yoruba and Edo areas of southern Nigeria.

Music and dance are integral to Nigerian culture, and each ethnic group has its own specialties. Traditional instruments include various types of flutes, trumpets, musical bows, xylophones, and wooden clappers, as well as many varieties of drums. Music is used to celebrate rulers and to accompany public assemblies, weddings and funerals, festivals, and storytelling. At one time the Edo of the Kingdom of Benin distinguished between urban music that was performed at the palace and less complex music that was played in rural areas. Dance also has many varieties: Ishan stilt dancers in colourful costumes twist themselves in the air; while one Tiv dance, called ajo, features male dancers who work in pairs, and another involves teams of women who perform a dance called icough by composing songs about current events. Dance for the Ubakala shows their value system, helps resolve conflicts, and also institutes changes. Ekiti Yoruba dancers wear head masks so heavy that they can only do processional dances. The Hausa, who do not consider dancing to be a craft, divide their dances into the categories of social dancing and ceremonial b¨°orii dances.

Nigerian art forms reflect their occult and animist origins. Yoruba masks are carved out of wood, representing the forces of nature and gods, and their use in ceremonies like the annual Gelede masquerades helps maintain a connection with the spirit of ancestors. The masks also appear at funerals in order to appease the spirits of the deceased. Of all the Yoruba masks, the large helmet masks of the Epa cult are the most spectacular. Occult influences can also be seen in the sculptures of bronze, terracotta and wood made by the Yoruba, Nupe, Igbira and Igala, and in the large Ife and Benin bronze casts.

Until his death in 1997, the world-renowned musician Fela Kuti was Nigeria's hottest ticket on the nightclub scene. His eclectic fusion of traditional Yoruba call-and-response chanting with freestyle jazz (Afrobeat) was always in demand. His music and memory live on at The Shrine, his old nightclub and home, in Ikeja. Other popular Nigerian musicians include the king of juju music Sonny Ade, the grandaddy of afro-reggae, Sonny Okosun, and the soul singer, Sade. Nigeria has as many writers as the rest of West Africa combined. Among their most famous is the Nobel Prize Winning author Wole Soyinka, the internationally acclaimed writer, Chinua Achebe and Ben Okri, a crowd-pulling favourite on the Western literary circuit. Ken Saro-Wiwa, Nigeria's other distinguished novelist and playwright, was hanged for political activism in 1995; an event that rightly incurred the anger and condemnation of the Commonwealth and other Western nations.

Generally speaking, the food in Nigeria is nothing to rave about. However, the best chance of a good feed is the roadside stalls, called Buka, where the best cooked local cuisine is found. Peppery stews are common in the southern states, while menus of grains and beef are common in the north. Much of Nigerian food is grain-based. Tuwo, made from maize, corn rice or millet, is popular as is Efo (vegetable soup), Egusi (a hot stew made with meat and red peppers) and Isi-ewu (goat head pepper soup). There's also lots of snack food including fried yam chips, meat pastries and fried plantain. Palm wine, a natural juice from palm trees, is a favoured drink all over Nigeria, especially in the south where these trees grow wild.

Nigeria is often described as a country of unity in diversity. This description probably stems from ttie fact that the country is made up of over 400 linguistic groups, three principal religions, a multiple of socio-political opinions and organisations and varying weaiher and climatic condi- tions between ihe North and the South.

Nigeria boasts of a plethora of customs and traditions, cultures and festivals, that would appeal to the tastes of the average tourist. (In the Northern States of the country, the customs, cultures and traditions of the people who are mainly Hausa/Fulani, Nupe, Kanuri, Igalaand Tiv are governed by the Musfim religious traditions).

Most of the festivals held in these areas, such as the Durbar in Katsina and Kaduna States, are associated with religious celebra- tions. The Argungu Fishing Festival in Kebbi State which has over the years acquired international recognition, is however removed from traditional religious celebrations.

The Northern States of Nigeria, especially Sokoto, Kebbi, Jigawa, Kano, Yobe, Borno, Katsina and Kaduna are semi-desert and so experience little rain within the year. The weather is generally hot during the day and cold during the night through most of the year. The common dress in these States is the Babanriga, a large, flowing top over large trousers. The dominant dress colour is white.

The major means of transport, from time, and as in case in other semi desert and desert areas are the camel, the donkey and the horse. The horse, most of the times, is bred for the purpose of traditional and religious festivals such as the Durbar when they are dressed in very flamboyant colours and attires as active participants. In these Northern States, education, the judicial system and other institutions are influenced by the muslim religion. They practice the sharia (taken from the Koran) system of justice, education begins with learning Arabic and reading the Koran.

Western education has however gained much ground here with the establishment of the Ahmadu Bello university, Zaria, Kaduna State in 1962. It is arguably the largest university in Africa. Other universities in the North include University of Maiduguri (Bomo), Uthman Dan Fodiyo University (Sokoto), Bayero University of Science and Technology, Bauchi. In what is described as the Middle Belt in Nigeria are the States of Niger, Kogi, Benue, Adamawa, Taraba and Plateau.

Plateau State and its capital of Jos remain the tourist capital of the whole of Northern Nigeria. The State boasts of a temperate weather, a number of rising, picturesque Plateau and a near-rural population that boasts of the largest concentration of foreigners among the States of the North. Add to this list the quiet environment of the University of Jos, the Highbrow National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, NIPSS, Kuru and the National Museum that depicts the cultures and traditions of several Nigerian nationalities.

The commonest language in use in the Northern States isHausa. The Western States of Lagos, Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Edo constitute the most developed axis in the country The people, who are united almost by a single language, Yoruba, also constitute the most articulate of the Nigerian populace.