Nupe State and Community

Abstract

Opening ParagraphIn central Nigeria, between 8° 30' and 10° 30' N. lat., lies Nupe-land. Two rivers form its boundaries, the Niger to the south and west, the Kontagora river to the north. Another river marks its central axis: the Kaduna. The boundary to the east is formed by the gradually rising land, which eventually reaches the hills of Gwari country. It is a low, open, fertile country, covering roughly 7,000 sq. m., inhabited by a population who were known from the ancient days, and all over Nigeria, as an industrious and able people. The census of 1931 gives their number as 326,000, but for various reasons one may safely take it to be considerably higher, probably up to half a million.