Nupe people

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the ethnic group. For fraternity members called nupes, see Kappa Alpha Psi. For the British trade union, see National Union of Public Employees.
Nupe people
Traditional African religion
Related ethnic groups
Gbagyi, Igala, Yoruba, Ebira, Kambari, Kamuku, Bariba, Dukawa

The Nupe (traditionally called the Nupawa by the

North Central Nigeria. They are the dominant ethnic group in Niger State and a minority in Kwara State. The Nupe are also present in Kogi State and The Federal Capital Territory.[4][5]

History

See also: Bida Emirate

The Nupe trace their origin to

W.E.B. Du Bois wrote that Nupe trade may have extended as far as Sofala and the Byzantine Empire, with the latter of which, according to what he termed "credible legend," there was even an exchange of embassies.[9]

Population and demography

There are probably about 4.5 million Nupes,

Sokoto jihad. They have no present capital, although they were originally based at Raba and only moved to Bida in the 19th century.[11]

Nupe part in Nigeria

Traditions, art and culture

The Nupe people have various traditions. Many practices have changed as a result of the movements started by

Sokoto jihad of the 19th century, but they still hold on to some of their culture. Many Nupe people often have tribal marks on their faces (similar to an old Igala tradition), some to identify their prestige and the family of which they belong as well as for protection, as well as jewellery
adornment. But these traditions are dying out in certain areas.

Their art is often abstract. They are well known for their wooden stools with patterns carved onto the surface.[12][13]

The Nupe were described in detail by the ethnographer

Siegfried Nadel
, whose book, Black Byzantium, remains an anthropological classic.

Examples of Nupe art

  • Burtu wooden mask, used during bird hunting; Museum of Ethnology, Vienna. The hunter would tie the mask around his head and imitate the bird's movement.
    Burtu wooden mask, used during bird hunting;
    Museum of Ethnology, Vienna
    . The hunter would tie the mask around his head and imitate the bird's movement.
  • Carved door; c. 1920 – 1940; wood with iron staples; Hood Museum of Art.
    Carved door; c. 1920 – 1940; wood with iron staples; Hood Museum of Art.
  • Wooden oval stool with incised carving; Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
    Wooden oval stool with incised carving; Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Music and entertainment industry

A Nupe cavalryman wearing lifidi (padded armour). Drawn in 1911 by Carl Arriens.

Nupe traditional music is sung by the Ningba, or musician(s), while the Enyanicizhi beats the drum. Legendary Nupe singers of memory include Hajiya Fatima Lolo[14] Alhaji Nda'asabe, Hajiya Nnadzwa, Hauwa Kulu, Baba-Mini, Ahmed Shata and Ndako Kutigi.

The prime-movers of the Nupe cinema started film-making since the late 1990s into the early 2000s. Great Nupe personalities that birthed the idea of producing, acting and directing Nupe dramas/comedies on-screen are late Sadisu Muhammad DGN,

Nupewood.[17]
Nupewood has since produced more than a thousand entertaining movies in Nupe space to the millions of Nupe audiences.

Notable Nupe people

Nupé Woman (1888) by Élisée Reclus

References

  1. ^ "Nupe" (PDF). National African Language Resource Center. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  2. ^ Umaru Ndagi, Muhammad (January 2012). "Muslims of Niger State: A Survey" (PDF). University of Oxford. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  3. ^ "Nupe", Britannica.
  4. S2CID 240243198
  5. S2CID 158674479
    .
  6. S2CID 154712112
    .
  7. OCLC 57969198.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link
    )
  8. OCLC 35809832
    .
  9. Du Bois, W.E.B., The Negro, pp.28 and 49 (Mineola, New York: Dover Publications
    , 2001) (retrieved Jan. 20, 2024).
  10. ^ "AFRICA | 101 Last Tribes - Nupe people". www.101lasttribes.com. Retrieved 2023-02-18.
  11. OCLC 5021109
    .
  12. S2CID 240282086
    .
  13. OCLC 1061313933
    .
  14. OCLC 39524822
    .
  15. ^ "Nupe Film Industry".
  16. ^ "Nupe film industry is currently heading for the rocks – Yikangi". BluePrint. 9 February 2015.
  17. doi:10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.t063036
    .
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nupe people.

Sources

  • Blench, R. M. (1984), "Islam among the Nupe." Muslim peoples. (edn 2), Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press.
  • Forde, D. (1955), "The Nupe". pp. 17–52 in Peoples of the Niger-Benue Confluence. London: IAI.
  • Ibrahim, Saidu (1992), The Nupe and their neighbours from the 14th century. Ibadan: Heinemann Educational Books.
  • Madugu, George I. (1971), "The a construction in Nupe: Perfective, Stative, Causative or Instrumental". In Kim, C-W., & Stahlke, H., Papers in African Linguistics, I, pp. 81–100. Linguistic Research Institute, Champaign.
  • Perani, J. M. (1977), Nupe crafts; the dynamics of change in nineteenth and twentieth century weaving and brassworking. Ph.D. Fine Arts, Indiana University.
  • Stevens, P. (1966), Nupe woodcarving. Nigeria, 88:21–35.
  • Yahaya, Mohammed Kuta, The Nupe People of Nigeria. Nigeria, 95:1–2
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