THE NOK CULTURE IN NIGERIA

1. FAITH JOSEPH
LIFE GATE ACADEMY
CLASS: JSS 2
ASSIGNMENT
ON
NIGERIA CULTURE AND
HISTORY

2. NOK ART AND CULTURE
The Nok culture appeared in Northern Nigeria around 1000 BC and vanished
under unknown circumstances around 300 AD in the region of West Africa. It is
thought to have been the product of an ancestral nation that branched to create
the Hausa, Gwari, Birom, Kanuri, Nupe and Jukun peoples. The Kwatarkwashi
Culture or Sokoto Culture located to the North West of Nok is thought to be the
same as or an earlier ancestor of the Nok.
Nok's social system is thought to have been highly advanced. The Nok culture
was considered to be one of the earliest African producers of life-
sizedTerracotta.
The refinement of this culture is attested to by the image of a Nok dignitary at
the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. The dignitary is portrayed wearing a "crooked
baton". The dignitary is also portrayed sitting with flared nostrils, and an open
mouth suggesting performance. Other images show figures on horseback,
indicating that the Nok culture possessed the horse.
Iron use, in smelting and forging for tools, appears in Nok culture in Africa at
least by 550 BC and possibly earlier. Christopher Ehret has suggested that iron
smelting was independently discovered in the region prior to 1000 BC.

3. IFE ART AND CULTURE
According to Yoruba mythology, Olodumare, the Supreme God,
ordered Obatala to create the earth but on his way he found palm wine which he
drank and became intoxicated. Therefore, the younger brother of the
latter, Oduduwa, took the three items of creation from him, climbed down from
the heavens on a chain and threw a handful of earth on the primordial ocean,
then put a cockerel on it so that it would scatter the earth, thus creating the land
on which Ile Ife would be built.Oduduwa planted a palm nut in a hole in the
newly formed land and from there sprang a great tree with sixteen branches, a
symbolic representation of the clans of the early Ife city-state. The usurpation of
creation by Oduduwa gave rise to the everlasting conflict between him and his
elder brother Obatala, which is still re-enacted in the modern era by the cult
groups of the two clans during the Itapa New Year festival. On account of his
creation of the world Oduduwa became the ancestor of the first divine king of
the Yoruba, while Obatala is believed to have created the first Yoruba people
out of clay. The meaning of the word "ife" in Yoruba is "expansion"; "Ile-Ife" is
therefore in reference to the myth of origin "The Land
of Expansion".
Ile- Ife, the cradle of the Yoruba race is located in the present day Osun State.
The uniqueness of Ile-Ife or simply Ife in Africa history manifested itself at
many important levels in the cosmology of the universe, the centre at which the
first man was created or molded in clay and given the breath of life

4. BENIN ART AND CULTURE
Benin art is the art from the Kingdom of Benin or Edo Empire (1440–1897), a
pre-colonial African state located in what is now known as the South-South
region of Nigeria. Primarily made of cast bronze and carved ivory, Benin art
was produced mainly for the court of the Oba of Benin - a divine ruler for
whom the craftsmen produced a range of ceremonially significant objects. The
royal arts of the Benin Kingdom of south-central Nigeria affirm the centrality of
the oba, or divine king, portraying his divine nature. While recording the
kingdom’s significant historical events and the oba's involvement with them,
they also initiate the oba’s interactions with the supernatural and honor his
deified ancestors, forging a continuity that is vital to the kingdom’s well-being.
The materials used in Benin’s royal arts—primarily brass, ivory, and coral—are
endowed with sacred power. The innate value of these materials within Benin
and the time and skill that is invested in working them reflect the earthly and
otherworldly influence of the oba and the great wealth of his kingdom. Benin’s
royal arts belong to a tradition that favors convention even as it promotes
creativity and innovation, especially as a reflection of royal prerogative.
Through time, rulers have used the arts to interpret the history of the kingdom
and to orient themselves with the past in an effort to support their own
initiatives and define their images for posterity.

5. IGBO ART AND CULTURE
Igbo culture (Igbo: Ọmenala ndị Igbo) are the customs, practices
and traditions of the Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria. It comprises archaic
practices as well as new concepts added into the Igbo culture either by cultural
evolution or by outside influence. These customs and traditions include the Igbo
people's visual art, music and dance forms, as well as their attire, cuisine and
language dialects. Because of their various subgroups, the variety of their
culture is heightened further.
The Igbo people have a melodic and symphonic musical style, which they
designed from forged iron. Other instruments include opi, a wind instrument
similar to the flute, igba, and ichaka.[1]
Another popular musical form among Igbo people is highlife, which is a fusion
of jazz and traditional music and widely popular in West Africa. The
modern Igbo highlife is seen in the works of Prince Nico Mbarga Dr Sir
Warrior, Oliver De Coque, Bright Chimezie, and Chief Osita Osadebe, who are
some of the greatest Igbo highlife musicians of the twentieth century. There are
also other notable Igbo highlife artists, like the Mike Ejeagha, Paulson Kalu, Ali
Chukwuma, Ozoemena Nwa Nsugbe.

6. ESIE ART AND CULTURE
Esiẹ is a town in Kwara State in Nigeria.
The town was founded by prince Baragbon c. 1770. The dialect of Yoruba
spoke in Esie is predominantlyIgbonna. The town has a king who is Oba
Yakubu Babalola Egunjobi 2.
It is home to the Esiẹ Museum which was the first museum to be established in
Nigeria.

7. EKOI PEOPLE ART AND CULTURE
Ekoi people, also known as Ejagham, are an ethnic group in the extreme
southeast of Nigeria and extending eastward into Northern Cameroon.
Ekoid Bantu languages are spoken by many groups, including the Atam, Boki,
Mbembe, Ufia, and Yako. The Ekoi are related to
the Efik, Annang, Ibibio and Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria and have lived
closely with them and also claim to have migrated from the Cameroons to their
area. The inhabitants of Kwa, located near Calabar, claim to be the first Ekoi
people to have migrated from the Cameroons. The Ekoi are best known for
their Ekpe headdresses.
The Ekoi in Nigeria are found in Cross River State. The Ekoid languages are
spoken around this area, although English (the national language) is also
spoken.

8. (NUPE PEOPLE)
The Nupe trace their origin to Tsoede who fled the court of Idah and established
a loose confederation of towns along the Niger in the 15th century. The
proximity of Nupe to the Yoruba Igbomina people in the south and to the
Yoruba Oyo people in the southwest led to cross-fertilization of cultural
influences through trade and conflicts over the centuries. It is said that the
famous Yoruba oba or king, Shango (also known as Jakuta) who was once an
Alaafin of Oyo before being deified following his death, was the son of a Nupe
(Tapa) woman.
Many Nupe were converted to Islam at the end of the eighteenth century by
Mallam Dendo, a wandering preacher, and were incorporated into the Fulani
Empireestablished by the Jihad led by Usman dan Fodio after 1806.
There are probably about 3.5 million Nupes, principally in Niger State, although
a small but growing diaspora of Nupe can be found in Knowle in the West
Midlands of England. The Nupe language is also spoken in Kwara and Kogi
States. They are primarily Muslims, with a few Christians and followers
of African Traditional Religion. The Nupe people have several local, traditional
rulers. The Etsu Nupe (Bida) is not Nupe and is actually part of the Fula tribe
but they came to rule the Bida in the 1806. They have no present capital,
although they were originally based at Rabah and only moved to Bida in the
nineteenth century.