Colonial and precolonial arts history in Nigeria

1. CULTURE AND ARTS IN
PRECOLONIAL NIGERIA
GST221 NIGERIAN PEOPLES AND
CULTURE
DR ANTHONY ONWUMAH

2. INTRODUCTION
• There are diversities of culture in Nigeria. This is
reflexive in the number of ethnic grouping and
the language blocks existent in the country.
Culture is defined as that complex whole
encompassing knowledge, beliefs, law ,art,
custom, moral, and any other capabilities and
habit acquired by man as a member of a society
(Edward Tylor) The first part of this topic was
initially treated under the rubric of culture and
Nigerian society, hence today lecture will only
delve extensively on culture related arts in pre-
colonial Nigeria

3. PHILOSOPHY OF AFRICAN ART
• Foso (1986) posits that the creation of African
art was inspired by ideas and thoughts that
were familiar and common to the Africa ways
of life.
• Art acted as a means through which the
physical aspects of the nature as well as the
abstract feelings and emotions felt by a
people and the artist were expressed and
communicated.

4. Definition of Art
• Dr Adebayo Lambo describes African art
forms as emotional and intellectual pegs upon
which the African people hang spiritual truths.
• These art works are springs of knowledge
created from traditional legends, folklores and
mythologies.

5. PHILOSOPHY OF AFRICAN ART
• The creation of an art work represented the
creation of an intellectual concept appreciated by
the society but deeply understood by members
of the artistic society from which the artist uses
to communicate not only to the African
community, past (ancestors), present and future
generations yet unborn but also to the spirits
who understand the inner depths of the culture
from which the art was created. It was a means of
beatification, and the foundation upon which the
African mind developed its science and
technology.

6. Classification of African Art Forms
• Early Western scholars in studying African art
systems classified the art works of the African
people into two major categories namely art
and craft.
• Most sculptural art forms served
religious/political functions and were
dominated both in production and
performance by the male gender.

7. Classification of African Art Forms
• Domestic crafts on the other hand served
household functions which were dominated
both in production and use of a variety of
materials and these include pottery, metal,
wood and plant materials like raffia and
bamboo.

8. Nigerian Pre-Colonial Sculptural Art
Forms
• Pottery
• Metal work
• Textile
• Non weaving textile forms
• Non spurn fibres
• Spurn fibres
• Leather works
• Bead work

9. Pottery
• Pottery making is a tradition which is embraced by a
diverse number of people in Nigeria due to its economic,
social and cultural functions it plays. Pottery has been
found to be one of the earliest cooking and storage utensils
used by the early inhabitants of the Nigerian geographical
areas just as in several other parts of the African continent.
The raw material used in its production namely clay is a
common mineral found on the earth’s crust. The availability
of this raw material which was also in large quantities may
be the reason why the pottery producing culture is so
widespread all over Nigeria and indeed African as a whole.
In many Nigeria societies, pottery production is dominated
by the female gender except in some parts of sokoto, Kano
and Jos where men are known to also be pottery makers.

10. Metal Work
• Nigeria is richly blessed with mineral resources
such as iron ores, gold, silver and copper. It is
believed that the ancient inhabitants of various
geographical areas where these metals forms can
be found were conscious of their existence as a
result of their natural colours even before their
utility and ornamental values were made popular
by Western cultures. There are reports of ancient
copper, Zinc and lead mines in Hausland, Bornu
and Adamawa in Northern Nigeria; Abakaliki,
Ishiagu, Afikpo and Calabar areas in
Southwestern Nigeria; in the Benue trough and
the north central plateau of Nigeria.

11. Metal Work
• Ancient art works as produced in Nigeria using
metal include Igbo Ukwu bronze with varying
amounts of tin and lead. No brass was present
among the Igbo Ukwu materials. The Ife
objects dated to around 12th centuries A.D
and were made of copper alloyed with zinc
and a relatively high quantity of lead. A few of
the objects were made of copper in Benin.

12. Textile
• Some Archaeological evidences suggested that
textiles have been produced and worn by various
peoples in several areas in Nigeria. One of the
earliest associations with textiles was found with
Igbo ukwu art forms which have been dated to
the 9th century. In Benin, spun cotton fibers were
also found dating to 13th century. These evidence
suggest that cloth making and use dates back to
between the 9th and 13th century. In Nigeria as
with a variety of areas in Africa, cloth production
as with a Variety of areas in Africa, cloth
production can be classified into the following
categories;

13. Non-Woven Textile Forms
• These cloth are produced mainly by beating the inner
barks of certain plants among which include the aji
and bast fabrics. The aji strips of fabric were prepared
from the leaves and barks of the aji tree. When
collected, they are beaten, trashed and squeezed
until they are soft and fibrous. They are then
prepared into narrow strips of fabrics. This cloth form
was popular among the northern Igbo community. In
the case of the bast fabric which was also popular
among the Igbo people. The bast fabric was
made from a combination of fibres from the barks of
stalks of plants which were also beaten to be made
into the required bast materials.

14. Non-Spurn Fibres
• This category consists of non spun fibres
which were woven to produce fabrics. Among
such items include raffia which is derived from
the raffia palm which are woven together to
produce yarns. This cloth form was very
popular amongst the riverine areas of
southern Nigeria. Today, raffia cloth is not a
common cloth form, nevertheless accessories
like bags, hats, fan and other decorative items
are produced from the material.

15. Non-Spun Fibres
• Another common non spun fibre jute fibre
which is not very strong neither do they have
an elastic nature and deteriorate very rapidly
when exposed to light and moisture. Today,
they are used for the manufacturing of sacks
used for packing and agricultural items for
storage. Another major non spun fibre is coir
which is derived from the husk of coconuts.
They are dark brown in colour and used for
the production of foot or door mats.

16. Spun Fibres
• This category consists of spun fibres which can be
obtained from either plant or animal sources. The
spinning process involves twisting the fibre into a
tight long thread which can be used in an
interlocking process to form a flat and flexible
material which can be worn around the body.
Prominent among the fibres obtained from the
plant source in cotton. Its cultivation and use for
cloth production has been dated to at least 5,000
years ago. In the animal category, spun fibres have
been obtained from sheep and cows especially in
the northern parts of the country.

17. Leather Work
• Leather works can mainly be found in the
Northern parts of Nigeria and involved unique
methods of tanning and drying to form leather
pieces which were used in making shoes, fans,
slippers and leather puffs. The raw materials
used for this production was obtained from
the cattle herded in the area.

18. Bead work
• In many parts of Africa, beads were and still
are associated with royalty and body
decoration or adornment. The origin of the,
and source of beads are too clear. It is known
that in the past, beads were traded into Africa.
Beads are also made in some parts of Nigeria
including ancient Ife. Archaeological evidence
puts beads making in Ife to between 1,000-
1,500 A.D.

19. Nigerian Pre-colonial sculptural Art Forms
• Rock Art: The oldest and earliest forms of art
in Africa were paintings and engravings on the
surface of rocks. Some of these rock art were
found in Bauchi, Igbti and amongst the Marghi
of Northeastern Nigeria.
• The first rock painting to be found in Nigeria
was in 1954 at Birnin Kadu, a village between
kano and Bauchi.

20. Ancient Sculptures in Terracotta and Metals
• Nok: Nok is the name for the oldest of the
sculpture traditions in Nigeria. The name was
derived from the present day Ham village in
Plateau State where the sculptures were first
found. Many of the sculptures were accidentally
discovered during tin mining operations. The
sculptures are mainly in terracotta or baked clay
and are molded in the form of human and animal
representations. The Archaeological dates of
these sculptural forms have been put at between
500B. C and A.C 200.

21. Ancient Sculptures in Terracotta and Metals
• Igbo Ukwu: This ancient sculpture tradition was
found in an Igbo village called Igbo Ukwu. This
tradition consists of sculptural works in both
terracotta and metal and has been dated to the 9th
Century A.D. Some of the metal sculptures were
made from copper which were smithed but most of
the objects were produced with a technique known
as the lost wax method or cire perdue method. This
involves molding a desired figure in wax which were
later covered with clay and this serves as the mould.
The clay mould when dry is heated thus thawing out
the wax which is allowed to run out leaving the clay
mould.

22. Ancient Sculptures in Terracotta and
Metals
• When the metal is hardened, the outer clay is
chipped off leaving a metal figure in the place
of the wax. Most of the figures produced
through this method were in leading bronze.
This method is very common in other
sculpture producing traditions outside Nigeria
including Ghana and present day Ivory Coast.

23. Ancient Sculptures in Terracotta and Metals
• Ife Art: Ife is believed to have been the first urban
centre of the Yoruba people with the traditional
forms of government and religious systems
originating from there. The ancient art works
discovered there have been dated to the11th century
A.D. The figures are in both metal and terracotta
forms. The works of art are very naturalistic in nature
depicting royal figures as well as common people.
Most of the royal figures were made with metal while
the common man figures were more in terracotta.
Animal figures are also depicted but they are mainly
in terracotta. Such animals include the elephant,
hippopotamus, antelope and ram. Only the heads of
these animals were depicted.

24. Ancient Sculptures in Terracotta and Metals
• Tsoede Bronzes: Nine cast metal sculptures were
found in the Nupe villages of jabba and Tada. These
sculptural forms are traced to a legendary leader
known as Tsoede who was believed to have been the
founder of the Nupe kingdom. Tsoede according to
Nupe tradition was an Idah prince. Idah can be found
on the east bank of the Niger/Benue confluence.
Tsoede was said to have left the town with the nine
bronze and deposited them in some Nupe villages as
a symbol of his authority. The Tsoede art works
consist of six male figures in various attires and
postures and have been dated to between A.D. 1325
and A.D. 1365.

25. Ancient Sculptures in Terracotta and Metals
Benin Art: In terms of number, themes and materials,
account of Benin as the richest of the ancient traditional
art forms in Nigeria. This art culture came to an abrupt
end when the British attacked the city and banished the
king to Calabar. The objects removed from the town
during this attack were well over a thousand and can still
be found in many museums in England, Germany and
the USA. The materials used for the art works range from
metal, terracotta, ivory and wood. As with Ife art is very
naturalistic in form and came in various forms including
sculptural forms and plaques depicting life in the place,
animals, hunting expeditions as well as every day life
scene.