Nigerian Peoples, Culture and Arts Up to 1800 PDF Download

THE NIGERIAN HISTORY, CULTURE AND ARTS UP TO 1800

DR. YUSUF UMAR MADUGU

Department of History, Bayero University, Kano

Phone No: 08036552762

E-MAIL: yumadugu.his@buk.edu.ng

“The labor of our Heroes past shall never be in vain”

The above quotation is from the Nigeria’s National Anthem. It underscores the

following importance which we place on the efforts of our ancestors in bequeathing to us a

nation which we are proud of. It recognizes the dignity of labour and selfless service to

humanity. It encourages patriotism among citizens and reminds us of our past that is our

history. Let us proceed with a clear understanding of the terminologies or concept involved in

this discourse. “Culture and Arts” are our heritage which refers to the things which our

ancestors create in the past which has historical importance and passed on to us. Such things

can be divided into two namely materials and non-materials. The former refers to such things

as historical artefacts that is the handiwork of our ancestors ranging from buildings, domestic

utensils to farm implements, weaving tools/artistic works etc. And by non-material, we are

referring to religion, beliefs, knowledge, traditions, values, witchcraft, sorcery, ideas and

anything within the material realm of man, which can or are transmitted from generation to

generation.

How then do we know about our past and our heritage of the past (culture and arts)?

We knew these through our study of history. You may then want to know what is history?

History is the study of the activities of man carried out over time (Collinwood 1946) i.e. what

was done in the past, what is being done in the present and what is to be done in the future.

However, the discipline of history and its relevance is all encompassing and therefore, far from

limiting to the past alone. History entails the understanding of the past and how it is related to

the present which will serve as a key to the preparation of the future (Jenkins: 1995). For that

to be achieved, the heritage of the past has to be properly upheld, conserved and maintained.

That has been the duty of historians. Since we are talking about the past about several decades

or centuries, how do the historians recreate or re-discover the past? Put in other words, what

are the sources of history? Every thing on earth has history, but only man makes history

because he is the only animal that consciously relates with his environment and transforms it

according to his wishes and desires. The conscious transformation here refers to the act of

production and reproduction, which entails a number of other things such as social relations,

organization and change. But we need to make it clear that as man transforms his environment

so does the environment transforms him. For the historian, the source of history are traces or

evidences of man’s existence which he leaves behind and this could be material or non-

material – written documents, oral tradition and archaeology. Hence as Collingswood rightly

points out; the historian can rediscover what has been completely forgotten, in the sense that no

statement of it has reached him by an unbroken tradition from eye witnesses. He can even

discover what until he discovered it no one ever knew to have happened at all. This he does

partly by the critical treatment of statements contained in his sources, partly by the use of what

are called unwritten sources which are increasingly employed as history becomes increasingly

sure of its own proper methods and its own proper criterion (McCall 1970).

Written Document: This refers to records, which are kept in any language, or inscription that

is understood by people. In this respect we have letters, chronicles, memos, maps, pictures,

record of transactions, travelogues, newspapers, magazines, sale, agreements, receipts,

membership registers, membership cards etc Written documents can be categorized into two

primary and Secondary documents. A primary document refers to a document which has not

been subjected to any interpretation by anybody. In other words documents, which are original

such as, are listed above while secondary document refers to document, which have passed

through a third party. Another person has subjected it to interpretation and one can go beyond

such interpretation to the original document and produce an alternative view or position.

Primary documents therefore serve as the raw materials for the production of secondary

documents. In pre-colonial Nigerian area for nearly seven hundred years before the British

conquests only written documents in Arabic language and character i.e. in Ajami (Arabic – any

language other than Arabic) such as Hausa and Fulfulde can be found. Later in the 19

century

with the coming of Europeans – explorers, missionaries, traders and colonial officers, written

documents in French, German and English became available. Written Document was much

more available in English because the British were our colonial masters and English was

forced on us as our lingua franca. As a result written documents can be found in several

Nigerian languages.

Oral Tradition: Since non-Muslim communities in Nigeria did not have the art of writing for

several centuries before the coming of the British, how did they preserve their history? Oral

tradition was one means which the historian uses in collecting historical facts about a people

whether they are literate or illiterates. It simply means verbal information passed from one

person to another through a chain of transmission or narration. It must be made very clear that

this is different from the type of journalistic interviews of people which we see daily on the

television or hear in radios. Its collection has to be carefully planned and carried out. In some

societies some people serve as the custodians of oral traditions and the researcher has to

identify such people in order to retrieve them. The source of oral tradition has to be properly

documented. The name of the informant, his/her occupation, educational background age,

address and circumstances, under which the information was collected has to be recorded.

Oral tradition serves as a primary source of history. The researcher has to be very proficient in

the language of the tradition or rely on a competent interpreter, in which case the interpreted or

original document has to be made available for further scrutiny by interested persons.

Archaeology: We cannot discuss the preservation of our heritage without pointing out the role

or relevance of Archaeology in this process. It helps in the recovery of historical artefacts and

provides the historian with concrete material evidence for the reconstruction of the past. What

is Archaeology? It is simply the recovery and the scientific study of the material remains of

man. Society always leaves behind it material evidence of its existence in a place because of

the fundamental difference which exist between man and animal - the ability to consciously

produce materials and to transform his environment. So the archaeologist excavates the earth

for the material evidence of the existence of man in an abandoned site or place, which is

occupied by people who may have settled in an area later. The materials which are excavated

by the archaeologists for example include skeletons of human beings and animals, figurines,

ornaments, pots, weaving utensils, dye pits, graves etc in various sites across the country. The

archaeologists gets to know about sites through aerial surveys, search on foot, accidental

discoveries by people digging wells, constructing roads, houses etc. The archaeologists have to

rely on so many experts and laboratory tests/examinations in the study of the materials

recovered i.e. the botanists, dentist, chemist, physicist, geographer and a host of others assist

him in the study of the recovered materials. This is what makes archaeology very expensive

and time consuming (Shaw 1978). Some examples of Archaeological discoveries in Nigeria are

(i) Nok Culture: is an early Iron Age population whose material remains are named after the

Ham village of Nok in Kaduna State of Nigeria, where their famous Terracotta Sculptures were

first discovered in 1928. The Nok Culture appeared in Northern Nigeria around 1000 BC and

vanished under unknown circumstances around 500 AD, thus having lasted approximately

1,500 years. (Fagg 1977). (ii) The Igbo-Ukwu: this revealed bronze artefacts dated to the 9th

century A.D. which were initially discovered by Isiah Anozie in 1939 while digging a well in

his compound Igbo-Ukwu, an Igbo town in Anambra State, Nigeria. As a result of these

finding, three archaeological sites were excavated in 1959 and 1964 by Thurstan Shaw which

revealed more than 700 high quality artifacts of copper, bronze and iron, as well as about

165000 glass, carnelian and stone beads, pottery, textiles and ivory. They are the oldest bronze

artifacts known in West Africa and were manufactured centuries before the emergence of other

known bronze producing centers such as those of Ife and Benin. The bronzes include numerous

ritual vessels, pendants, crowns, breastplates, staff ornaments, swords, and Fly-whisk handles

(Shaw 1965).

Emergence of State and their Administration

Having given in brief what history is and its sources, what then can we say are the heritage,

which our ancestors have left for us? They are certainly numerous and we can only mention or

discuss a few of them here. First, the country in which we live and carry out our activities

which today is known as “Nigeria”, before the coming of the British, various people lived in

the Nigeria area in kingdoms and chiefdoms and even in hat some scholars have described as

stateless societies. Let us mention some of them; Hausa states – Katsina, Kanem Borno, Nupe

kingdom, Jukun, Igala Kingdom, Oyo, Ijesha, Benin, the Igbo people, Ebira, Tiv etc. let us

briefly discuss some of them.

The Hausa Kingdoms: also known as Hausaland, was a collection of states started by the

Hausa people, situated between the Niger River and Lake Chad (modern day northern Nigeria).

Hausaland lay between the Western Sudanic kingdoms of Ancient Ghana and Mali and the

Eastern Sudanic kingdoms of Kanem-Borno. Hausaland took shape as a political and cultural

region during the first millennium CE as a result of the westward expansion of Hausa people

(Hogben & Kirk-Greene 1966: 145-155). The first Hausa states began to develop in the Sahel

around 500–700 AD. Gradually, seven principle city-states emerged - Biram, Daura, Gobir,

Katsina, Kano, Rano, and Zaria. They developed close trading relationships and economic

cooperation. The Hausa kingdoms were first mentioned by Arab geographers in the ninth

century, having become known for their role in trade. The seven Hausa city-states never

unified, but they cooperated closely. They had a common language, laws, and customs. They

were known for fishing, hunting, agriculture, weaving, dying and blacksmithing. Biram was

the initial seat of government for the city-states, while Gobir provided soldiers and, since it

bordered the rival empires to the west, protected Hausaland from foreign invasion. Kano and

Rano grew cotton and produced textiles. They were also known for their valuable and beautiful

indigo dye, which they used both for art and for dying their textiles. They traded these with the

other Hausa states, such as Zaria, which provided slaves and grain. Katsina and Daura had

direct access to the trans-Saharan caravans, and so traded the products produced in Hausaland

for foreign goods, such as salt and sugar, needles, swords, horses, guns etc. (Mahdi 1978).

However, the 14

century also saw the rise of one city-state over all the others. At first it was

Katsina whom dominated the affairs of Hausa states and later Kano became the most

economically important city, thanks to its cotton cloth and dye industry. It provided most of the

cotton to the western Sudan. Kano became one of the most important trade centers in all of

Africa and became the base for the Trans-Saharan trade in cloth, leather and grain (Palmer

1928).

The Decline of the Hausa Kingdoms: Besides the Hausa, another ethnic group lived in their

lands: the Fulani. The 19

Century Islamic Revolution known as Sokoto Jihad (led by Sheikh

Usman bn Fodio in 1804) enjoyed full support of the Fulani which resulted in the overthrow of

the Hausa habe and the Fulani took over the leadership of the Hausa states. The success of the

jihad led to the establishment of the Sokoto Caliphate with outstanding centralized political

Overview

Nigerian Peoples, Culture and Arts Up to 1800

Nigerian Peoples, Culture and Arts Up to 1800 explores the rich cultural heritage of Nigeria before colonial rule. It examines historical artefacts, oral traditions, and the evolution of various ethnic groups, including the Hausa, Yoruba, and Igbo. The work highlights the significance of culture and arts in shaping societal norms and values. This comprehensive study is essential for students and scholars interested in Nigerian history and cultural studies. Key Points Explores the historical significance of Nigerian cultures before 1800. Examines the contributions of major ethnic groups like the Hausa and Yoruba. Discusses the role of oral traditions and historical artefacts in preserving culture. Analyzes the impact of colonialism on Nigerian cultural heritage.

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FAQs

What are the main sources of history discussed in the document?

The document identifies three primary sources of history: written documents, oral tradition, and archaeology. Written documents include records such as letters, chronicles, and newspapers, which can be categorized into primary and secondary documents. Oral tradition refers to verbal information passed down through generations, often collected from custodians of such traditions. Archaeology involves the recovery and scientific study of material remains left by humans, providing concrete evidence for historical reconstruction.

How did the Hausa Kingdoms develop and what were their key features?

The Hausa Kingdoms, also known as Hausaland, began to develop around 500–700 AD and consisted of seven principal city-states: Biram, Daura, Gobir, Katsina, Kano, Rano, and Zaria. These states were known for their economic cooperation and trade relationships, particularly in textiles and agriculture. They shared a common language and customs, and although they never unified, they cooperated closely in trade, especially in cotton and indigo dye. The rise of the Fulani and the Sokoto Jihad in the 19th century significantly altered the political landscape of the Hausa Kingdoms.

What role did oral tradition play in preserving Nigerian history?

Oral tradition served as a crucial means of preserving history in Nigeria, especially among non-literate communities before colonial times. It involves the transmission of verbal information from one person to another, often through a chain of narrators. Researchers must carefully document the sources of oral tradition, including the informant's background and the context of the information collected. This method allows historians to gather historical facts and insights about cultures and societies that may not have been recorded in writing.

What are the characteristics of culture as defined in the document?

The document outlines several characteristics of culture, including its symbolic nature, learned behavior, and collective sharing among members of society. Culture is adaptive, dynamic, and integrates various components despite conflicts. It is universal, found in every society, yet particular to specific groups, and it evolves over time. These characteristics highlight how culture shapes human existence and social relationships.

What significant archaeological discoveries are mentioned in the document?

The document highlights two significant archaeological discoveries in Nigeria: the Nok Culture and the Igbo-Ukwu artifacts. The Nok Culture, known for its terracotta sculptures, dates back to around 1000 BC and lasted until approximately 500 AD. The Igbo-Ukwu site revealed bronze artifacts from the 9th century A.D., including ritual vessels and decorative items, showcasing advanced craftsmanship long before other known centers in West Africa. These discoveries provide valuable insights into the region's early civilizations.

How did Islam influence the cultural landscape of Nigeria?

Islam began to spread in Nigeria around the 7th century, becoming more prominent by the 11th century when it was adopted as the state religion in Borno. The Hausa states saw the introduction of Islam in the 14th century, facilitated by trade and interactions with Muslim traders. This religion significantly impacted daily life, cultural practices, and inter-group relations, fostering a blend of Islamic and traditional beliefs that shaped the region's socio-political landscape.

What was the significance of the Sokoto Jihad in Nigerian history?

The Sokoto Jihad, led by Sheikh Usman Dan Fodio in the early 19th century, was a pivotal movement aimed at reforming Islamic practices among the Hausa rulers. It sought to address issues like over-taxation and the oppression of women, ultimately leading to the establishment of the Sokoto Caliphate. This jihad not only reformed governance in the region but also unified various Hausa states under a centralized political system, significantly influencing Nigeria's historical trajectory.