The Kwagh-hir of the People of Tiv: a Note on Dramatised History Telling and Constructions of Nature among the Tiv of Southern Nigeria

Abstract

Four million Tiv people form the major culture of the Benue state of southern Nigeria. They are popularly known as the greatest democrats in Africa as their society is based on fraternal cooperation between age mates rather than on authoritative chieftaincy. Men of an age work together on communal farming and house building and celebrate their achievements with feasts famed for the excellence of their music and dance. Their women create amongst the greatest dances in Nigeria within their extended family compounds. Each year, during the dry season, when there is little farm work, the leaders of the dance teams compose songs to record recent experiences and new features in their lives which they express in the rhythms and gestures of their dance. This flare for continuous invention reached great heights of creativity in the Tiv story -telling drama known as the Kwagh-hir.