Awka who Travel: Itinerant Metalsmiths of Southern Nigeria

Africa ◽  
1979 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 352-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy C. Neaher
Keyword(s):  
Southern Nigeria ◽  
Opening Paragraph ◽  
Metal Work

Opening ParagraphThe activities of Igbo metalsmiths caught the eye of foreign observers of southeastern Nigerian cultures well over a hundred years ago, but it was not until the turn of this century that the unorthodox character of Igbo smithing achieved some recognition. G. T. Basden's typical remarks, made after a long missionary sojourn among the Igbo, highlight this striking dimension:There are some towns which practically monopolise certain specialised professions. For example, Awka, Nkwerre and a few other places manufacture nearly all the metal work produced in the Ibo country .… These men travel widely, not only in the Ibo country, but in the regions beyond its borders as far as Calabar, Bonny, Warri and even farther afield. (Basden 1938: 318; italics mine)

The Winged Solar Disk or Ibo Itεi Facial Scarification

Africa ◽  
1951 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. D. W. Jeffreys
Keyword(s):  
Solar Disk ◽  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
Southern Nigeria ◽  
Nigerian Government ◽  
Opening Paragraph

Opening ParagraphThis article is based on researches, undertaken in 1930-1 at the request of the Nigerian Government, into the magico-religious beliefs of the Umundri group of Ibo in the Awka Division, Onitsha Province, Southern Nigeria. Umundri means ‘children of Ndri’ (a ‘Sky-Being’).

The Religions of Nigeria

Africa ◽  
1943 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 106-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. K. Meek
Keyword(s):  
British Empire ◽  
Northern Nigeria ◽  
Lake Chad ◽  
Southern Nigeria ◽  
The Times ◽  
Opening Paragraph ◽  
Master Builder ◽  
River Niger ◽  
Official Recognition

Opening ParagraphMost people are aware that Nigeria is named after the river Niger, but many may be surprised to hear that the word Niger is not derived from the Latin adjective niger meaning ‘black’, but from a Libyan and Sudanic root, meaning ‘water“or ‘river’. This word was used by the geographer Ptolemy some 1,800 years ago in the Greek form of ‘Niγɛιρ’, and it is used to-day by the tribes of lake Chad in the form of njer. But Pliny employed the form Nigris, and from very early times the land of the Niger was called Nigritia. The modern name of Nigeria was only invented forty-six years ago by Miss Flora Shaw, who became, quite appropriately, the wife of Lord Lugard, the master-builder of Nigeria. In a letter to The Times, written in 1897, Miss Shaw said, ‘It may be permissible to coin a shorter title for the agglomeration of pagan and Mahomedan States which have been brought, by the exertion of the Royal Niger Company, within the confines of a British Protectorate.’ Her suggestion that the new title should be Nigeria was at once accepted. But it did not receive official recognition until the territories of the Royal Niger Company were formally taken over by the Imperial Government in 1900, and were formed into the two administrations known as Northern Nigeria and Southern Nigeria. Fourteen years later these two administrations were amalgamated into a single Nigeria, which then became, next to India, the most populous dependency in the British Empire.

Some Aspects of the Otu System of the Isa Sub-tribes of the Edo People of Southern Nigeria

Africa ◽  
1935 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-162
Author(s):  
H. L. M. Butcher
Keyword(s):  
Large Area ◽  
Benin City ◽  
The People ◽  
Or Groups ◽  
Southern Nigeria ◽  
Opening Paragraph ◽  
River Niger

Opening ParagraphThe Isa people are a sub-tribe of the Edo or Bini tribe, who inhabit a large area to the East of Benin City—their parent town—called ‘Esan’ or Ishan, which is bordered on the East by the River Niger. The language spoken is a dialect of Edo, and their customs are a development of those found in Benin. The people are organized into a large number of independent communities, some of which are true clans (according to the definition given in Notes and Queries on Anthropology), and others which can only be described as ‘Village Groups’. Each of these clans or groups has at its head a hereditary chief called Onogie (pl. Enogie), who traces his descent to the original founder from Benin or elsewhere, who was given the land by the Oba of Benin. The title of Onogie was also given by the Oba to recognize his right to rule over the community which was composed of his descendants and immigrants from other districts.

Concubinage among Ngwa Igbo of Southern Nigeria

Africa ◽  
1965 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor C. Uchendu
Keyword(s):  
South Eastern ◽  
Southern Nigeria ◽  
The Status ◽  
Opening Paragraph ◽  
The Impact

Opening ParagraphThis paper reports the pattern of concubinage among Ngwa Igbo of south-eastern Nigeria. In this study attention is focused on: (i) the role of concubinage in the disposal of certain rights in women among the Ngwa Igbo, (ii) the folk evaluation of the status of the partners in this institution, and (iii) the strength of concubinage under the impact of acculturation.

The Divine Umundri King

Africa ◽  
1935 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 346-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. D. W. Jeffreys
Keyword(s):  
Left Bank ◽  
Southern Nigeria ◽  
Opening Paragraph ◽  
The Town ◽  
Personal Research

Opening ParagraphThis paper is based on personal research among the Igbo, and more especially among the Umundri group. It describes the coronation-ceremony of two divine kings who are the spiritual heads of the Umundri. The two divine kings occupy different towns which are in the Awka District, Onitsha Province. This Province is in Southern Nigeria and lies on the left bank of the Niger. Originally there was only Aguku and only one divine king. Dissensions arose and a part of Aguku seceded, to found the town of Oreri with its own divine king.

Improvement Associations among the Afikpo Ibo

Africa ◽  
1955 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Ottenberg
Keyword(s):  
Present Report ◽  
Initial Development ◽  
European Contact ◽  
Cultural Conditions ◽  
Southern Nigeria ◽  
General Improvement ◽  
New Type ◽  
Opening Paragraph

Opening ParagraphIn recent years a new type of association, the improvement union or ‘meeting’, has become common in Southern Nigeria. Associations of this kind may be formed on a lineage, clan, village, village-group, divisional, or tribal basis, and may carry out various economic, educational, political, social, and general improvement activities directly related to changing cultural conditions. The present report is concerned with the development of this kind of association in the Afikpo villagegroup of the Ibo-speaking people. Its growth in this section of Ibo country has been more recent than in the more central Ibo areas, where European contact has been of longer duration, a circumstance that has made it possible to study its initial development in detail.

A Linguistic Tour in Southern Nigeria. Certain Problems Re-stated

Africa ◽  
1935 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-97
Author(s):  
Ida C. Ward
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Southern Nigeria ◽  
Opening Paragraph ◽  
Future Work

Opening ParagraphA six-months' tour in Southern Nigeria has afforded a valuable opportunity for review of certain questions about the chief languages of this part of West Africa and for a re-statement of the problems connected with them. The main questions are:1. With what success can one dialect be used as a literary medium?2. Is the new orthography suggested by the Institute suitable for the purposes for which it was designed?3. Are educated Africans interested in their own language and its development?4. Can Europeans learn to speak these languages with any degree of accuracy ?5. What are the present needs, and what lines should future work take?I can here express on these points only my own views, based on the experience of my tour and my work previous and subsequent to it. The two districts with which this article is mainly concerned are the Efik and Ibo speaking areas in Southern Nigeria.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document