SOCIAL INTERACTIONS IN NIGERIA: SSE 202
Social Interaction in Nigeria 1500 – 1800 (Grassland zone)
Nigeria the Savanna States, 1500-1800
The
sixteenth century marked a high point in the political history of northern
Nigeria. During this period, the Songhai Empire reached its greatest limits,
stretching from the Senegal and Gambia rivers in the far west and incorporating
part of Hausa land in the east. At the same time, the Sayfawa Dynasty of Borno
asserted itself, conquering Kanem and extending its control westward to Hausa
cities that were not under Songhai imperial rule. For almost a century, much of
northern Nigeria was part of one or the other of these empires, and after the
1590s Borno dominated the region for 200 years.
Songhai's
sway over western Hausa land included the subordination of Kebbi, whose kanta
(king) controlled the territory along the Sokoto River. Katsina and Gobir also
paid tribute to Songhai, while Songhai merchants dominated the trade of the
Hausa towns. It was at this time that the overland trade in kola nuts from the
Akan forests of modern Ghana was initiated. Largely because of Songhai's
influence, there was a remarkable blossoming of Islamic learning and culture.
The
influence of Songhai collapsed abruptly in 1591, when an army from Morocco crossed
the Sahara and conquered the capital city of Gao and the commercial center of
Timbuktu. Morocco was not able to control the whole empire, and the various
provinces, including the Hausa states, became independent. The co1`llapse
undermined Songhai's commercial and religious hegemony over the Hausa states
and abruptly altered the course of history in the region.
Borno
reached its apogee under mai Idris Aloma (ca. 1569-1600), during whose
reign Kanem was re conquered. As a result of his campaigns, several Hausa
cities, including Kano and Katsina, became tributaries. The destruction of
Songhai left Borno uncontested as an imperial force, and during the seventeenth
and eighteenth centuries Borno continued to dominate the political history of
northern Nigeria. Now Borno became the center of Islamic learning and trade.
Its capital at Birni Gazargamu, on the Komadugu Yobe River that flows eastward
into Lake Chad, was well situated in the midst of a prosperous agricultural
district. Textile production was a mainstay of its economy. Borno also
controlled extensive salt deposits, which supplied its most important export to
the west and south. These reserves were located at Bilma and Fachi in the
Sahara, in the districts of Mangari and Muniyo adjacent to Birni Gazargamu, and
on the northeastern shores of Lake Chad.
Despite
Borno's hegemony, the Hausa states wrestled for ascendancy among themselves for
much of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Gobir, Katsina, Zamfara,
Kano, Kebbi, and Zaria formed various alliances, but only Zamfara ceased to
exist as an autonomous state, falling to Gobir in the eighteenth century. Borno
collected tribute from Kano and Katsina, and its merchants dominated the trade
routes that passed through Hausa land. Gradually, however, Borno's position
began to weaken. Its inability to check the political rivalries of the
competing Hausa cities was one example of this decline. Another factor was the
military threat of the Tuareg, whose warriors, centered at Agades in the center
of present-day Nigeria, penetrated the northern districts of Borno. They even
diverted the salt trade of Bilma and Fachi from Birni Gazargamu. Tuareg
military superiority depended upon camels, which also were used to transport
salt and dates to the savanna.
The
major cause of Borno's decline was a severe drought and famine that struck the
whole Sahel
(see Glossary) and savanna from Senegal to Ethiopia in the middle of the
eighteenth century. There had been periodic droughts before; two serious
droughts, one of seven years' duration, hit Borno in the seventeenth century.
But the great drought of the 1740s and 1750s probably caused the most severe
famine that the Sahel has known over the past several hundred years, including
that of the 1970s. As a consequence of the mid-eighteenth century drought,
Borno lost control of much of its northern territories to the Tuareg, whose
mobility allowed them the flexibility to deal with famine conditions through
war and plunder. Borno regained some of its former might in the succeeding
decades, but another drought occurred in the 1790s, again weakening the state.
The
ecological and political instability of the eighteenth century provided the
background for the momentous events of the first decade of the nineteenth
century, when the jihad of Usman dan Fodio revolutionized the whole of northern
Nigeria. The military rivalries of the Hausa states and the political weakness
of Borno put a severe strain on the economic resources of the region, just at a
time when drought and famine undermined the prosperity of farmers and herders.
Many Fulani moved into Hausa land and Borno at this time to escape areas where
drought conditions were even worse, and their arrival increased tensions
because they had no loyalty to the political authorities, who saw them as a
source of increased taxation. By the end of the eighteenth century, some Muslim
clerics began to articulate the grievances of the common people. Political efforts
to eliminate or control these clerics only heightened the tensions.
https://workmall.com/wfb2001/nigeria/nigeria_history_the_savanna_states_1500_1800.html
Source: The Library of Congress Country Studies
The nature and structure of the indigenous economies of the
people of Nigeria between 1500 and 1800 AD
Agricultural production
relied totally on availability of suitable land and labour. One important point
to note is the land-labour ratio. The land was vast but the people were few.
One of the explanations for this was the Trans-Sahara trade and on a much
greater scale, the Trans-Atlantic slave trade in which millions of Nigerians
were forced out of the region. The result is that land became more abundant in
relation to population than it would normally gave been. The abundance of land
had an important consequence. It allowed a system of cultivation that did not
encourage restrictive use of land. The system is the shifting cultivation which meant a shift from an already cultivated
land that was becoming less productive to a virgin piece of land or land that
had been left fallow for years to regain its nutritive values. Given the
situation as it existed in the pre-colonial era, shifting cultivation was
perhaps the most effective method that was devised for the maintenance of soil
fertility and the eventual regular good.
Traditional
Factors of Production of Nigerian Economy (1500-1800)
As at that time the
factors of production were land, capital, labour, and entrepreneurship this is
within the context of indigenous economy of Nigeria between 1500 and 1800 AD
Land
was in abundance as at that time. Land was the survival of agriculture
agro-allied production and other allied. The aspect of land that is a factor of
production is concerned with land tenure system. Among some
tribes like Yoruba and the Tiv their land belongs to various lineages or small
communities. Members of each lineage did not own specific pieces of land but
rather use any piece of land as long as it was left fallow and did not contain
perennial crops. They are also free to move about within the communities in
search of land in order to take advantage of the best soil. Therefore the right
of an individual to farm was inalienable and if problems arise as a result of
land the head of the lineage settles the matter.
Labour
as
at that time land was not a constraint on development but labour. This is
because the supply of labour was inadequate that land did not constitute a
chaos. There was also labour shortage which was as a reflection of the
prevalent low life expectancy. We can state here emphatically that infant
mortality rate was high, short life span, poor health care and that most of the
strong and women were carted away in millions by the slave trade. This becomes
fashionable and desirable for keeping large families. The desire for men as at
that time was to have many children therefore promoting polygamy to use their
laobour for planting and harvesting.
Therefore, family
labour was convenient for them because it was relatively readily available, and
could be easily managed and disciplined. Furthermore, slave labour force was
employed to carter for the shortage of labour. At that time slaves were used
for labour forces in the sense that the production of palm oil, groundnut,
coffee, cocoa and minerals were handled by them. Apart from household and slave labour forces there was
other ways to carry out economic activities like the age- group or labour
societies that organize reciprocal system of getting things done. Ordinarily
this was an arrangement known by the Yoruba land as owe or aro, and for the Igbos they name their age grade to their
eldest or the leader for instance ogbo
okoye age grade or ndi ogbo okeke and so on, their aim was that job could
be done quickly or faster when two or more friends joined hands to work in a
group. They apply this to other type of work not only farming. It was also this
method they apply in erecting houses for public works, path construction or
clearing the village premises, constructions of town halls etc. This type of
communal labour is what was used as at then and each time there will be a
particular work to be done each lineage will be required to contribute a number
of workers to facilitate easy and quick job for the benefit of all.
Capital
un
like labour that are so highly demanded although in short supply, capital was
said to be scarce and not highly demanded. Some of the things that served as
capital were: the farmers seedlings which was used for future planting besides
there was no standard currency as at then, there was the existence of
substitute currency such as: iron rod, rolls, of cloth, bottles of gins, and
other forms of commodity currency which presented complex problems of
conversion and divisibility. Cowries was also employed, others were possession
of horses. Camels, houses, ornaments while the Igbos used Ackies,
manila, copper rods, and brass rods
etc., all these served as capital.
Entrepreneurship
as
at 1500-1800 the entrepreneurs were the
rulers, chiefs, potentates, war chiefs and other influential men and women who
had enough wealth and power to mobilize other factors of production. These
people have control over land, labour and capital. They also are decision
makers and employers. As at this time Nigeria was growing at their pace things
were normal and they even transact business with the white men who purchases
local product in exchange of what they have like dry gin or other foreign
things that are not in possession of the natives.
FOR
MORE INFORMATION VISIT:
The Grassland peoples
The
grassland region of Nigeria is also called Savana zone and can be divided into
two namely: the Northern and the central zone that are referred to as far North
and middle belt respectively. The major occupant groups in this zone are the
Kanuri, Hausa, and later on the Fulani. They also have other minority groups
being sandwiched in between the major groups. These minority groups are
voiceless. During the pre-colonial era,
the Kanuri people were known to be governed within a single state Kanem-Borno.
At different times of its history, the Kanem state covered the eastern and
western sections of Lake Chad basin. There was consensus among historians that
Borno Empire was established in the 9th century, and that makes the empire to
be one of the earliest kingdoms in Nigeria.
The
Kanuri king is normally addressed as “Mai’. One significant contribution of
Borno on the kingdoms cultural aspect is the fact that it was the first area of
Nigeria to record Islam religion. The west of Borno, lives the Hausa people.
They were known to have been established before 1800 and with some independent
states. The myth of their origin suggests that Hausa states were founded by the
descendants of Bayajidda and so on.
Other
grassland peoples are those in the middle Middle Belt or Central zone. This
Zone embraces some states like; Kwara, Niger, Kogi, Benue, Nassarawa, Plateau,
Kaduna, Bauchi, Adamawa and Taraba States in Nigeria. We have over 200 ethnic
groups in this zone. Other major groups that can be easily identified are
especially around Niger-Benue confluence area namely: Igala,Bassa and
Bassa-Nge. The Bassa and Bassa-Nge are found today in four different states
Kogi, Niger, Kaduna and Nassarawa. Based on their ethnographic materials, shows
that they are the same people, dispersed across the Niger-Benue confluence. For
instance, if we take the case of Bassa-nge and Nupe people and their
languages;the two languages are supposed to be different, but it was discovered
by linguists that in reality, one is a dialect of the other. Due to this
linguistic affinity, a Bassa-nge man considers the Nupe man as his kinsman,
rather than an Igala man who shares the same territory with him. Similarly, a
Bassa man believes he is a native of Niger, Kaduna and Nasarawa and related to
Gwari people. He considers people from these states his kinsmen because he
understands Gwari; Nupe and Gwari are variants of Bassa language spoken in the
states mentioned.
The
other ethnic group along Niger-Benue confluence is Idoma. It also comprises
other linguistic variants of Idoma such as Igade and Agatu. Others are: Alaga,
Tiv, Ebira, Kakande, Gwari, Nupe and Nothern Yoruba people. Furthermore the
Northeast and West of confluence are found in Jukun, Bata, Chamba,Tangale and
Waja,Berom,Ngas,Jarawa,Taroh,Mbula,Mumunye and Bachama people,to mention a few.
The number of languages estimated and cataloged in Nigeria is about 521. This
number includes 510 living languages, two second languages without native
speakers and nine extinct languages. In some areas of Nigeria, ethnic groups
speak more than one language. The official language of Nigeria is English,
which was chosen to facilitate our communications.
https://ciannamichelleblog.wordpress.com/2014/09/04/the-grassland-peoples/
1500
– 1800 (Forest Zone).
Pre-colonial Political
Administrations in Nigeria
The Hausas and their Political
System
THE
KANEM-BORNU EMPIRE
The
first well documented state in the northern region was the kingdom of Kanem
Bornu, which emerged east of Lake Chad in what is now southwestern Chad by the
9th century ad. Kanem
profited from trade ties with North Africa and the Nile Valley, from which it
also received Islam. The Saifawas, Kanem’s ruling dynasty, periodically
enlarged their holdings by conquest and marriage into the ruling families of
vassal states. The empire, however, failed to sustain a lasting peace. During
one conflict-ridden period sometime between the 12th and 14th centuries, the
Saifawas were forced to move across Lake Chad into Bornu, in what is now far
northeastern Nigeria. There, the Kanem intermarried with the native peoples,
and the new group became known as the Kanuri. The Kanuri state centered first
in Kanem and then in Bornu, known as the
Kanem-Bornu Empire, hereafter referred to as Bornu.
The Kanuri eventually
returned to Chad and conquered the empire lost by the Saifawas. Its dominance
thus assured, Bornu became a flourishing center of Islamic culture that rivaled
Mali to the far west. The kingdom also grew rich in trade, which focused on
salt from the Sahara and locally produced textiles. In the late 16th century,
the Bornu king Idris Alooma expanded the kingdom again, and although the full
extent of the expansion is not clear, Bornu exerted considerable political
influence over Hausa land to the west. In the mid- and late 18th century,
severe droughts and famines weakened the kingdom, but in the early 19th century
Bornu enjoyed a brief revival under al-Kanemi, a shrewd military leader who
resisted a Fulani revolution that swept over much of Nigeria. Al-Kanemi’s
descendants continue as traditional rulers within Borno State. By 1830 the Fulani were masters of most of
what was the Northern Region of Nigeria. Only Borno, Parts of Kebbi and Gobir,
the hill areas of the Jos Plateau and the Tiv and the Idoma did not come under
their control. The Kanem-Bornu Empire
ceased to exist in 1846 when it was absorbed into the Wadai sultanate to the
east.
Furthermore, after the great Jihad
war (1804-1810) led by Usman Dan Fodio, the former fourteen Hausa states were merged and then
divided into two caliphates. The eastern caliphate which included states like
Yola, Gombe, Kano, Zaria and Katsina had Sokoto as its capital territory while
the western caliphate, including Ilorin, Argungun and Kontagora had Gwandu as
its capital city. Usman Dan Fodio became the head (Sarkin Muslim) of the whole
Hausa land while the control of Sokoto (eastern) and Gwandu (western)
caliphates went to Bello, Usman Dan Fodio’s son and Abdullah, Usman Dan Fodio’s
brother respectively.
Moreover, the Sokoto and Gwandu
caliphates were sub divided into emirates for easy administration. Each emirate
was headed by an Emir who was appointed from two or three ruling families with
the approval of the Emir of Sokoto or Gwandu, depending on the emirate who were
in charge of the selection. These lesser Emirs were responsible to the Emirs of
Sokoto and Gwandu respectively.
However, in each emirate, the Emir
was assisted by some officials who were assigned to certain duties. These
officials included, the Waziri who was the administrative
officer or prime minister; the Galadima who was in charge of the
capitals; the Madawaki who was the commander of the army; the Dogari
who was the head of the police; Yari
is regarded as the head of prison
(chief superintendent of Prison); the Maaji the treasurer; the Sarkin
Ruwa the river fishing official; the Sarkin Fada who was
responsible for the administration of the palace; and the Sarkin Pawa the head of
all butchers. All these officials, who were appointed by the Emir, were
consulted in running the day to day affairs of the emirate. This can be said to
be a similarity to the Yoruba
political administration, but
unlike a Yoruba kingdom, power was centralized in the hands of the Emir who had
absolute control over these officials and could depose or dethrone any of them
at his will.
Each emirate was further divided
into districts which were headed by an official known as Hakimi. The Hakimi is appointed by the Emir to
oversee the affairs of each district which included maintaining peace and order
and collection of taxes like Jangali - (cattle tax), Jizyah - (land tax) and Zakat
- which is the tax on moveable object meant for helping the poor, other
commonest taxes were: Lizya - the tax collected from the
slaves, strangers and alien., Kharaj is a general tax levied on
farm yield or production. The Hakimi
was however assisted in carrying out these functions by the village heads whom
he appoints by himself. The Hakimi and
the village heads were not paid salary but were entitled to retain some fixed
proportions of the taxes and tributes while they forward the rest or remaining
to the Emir.
The judicial administration of Hausa
land was based on Sharia law which covered a wide range of issues like marriage,
divorce, theft, murder, debt and so on. These laws were interpreted by the Alkali judges in the Alkali courts. Each
emirate could have more than one Alkali court depending on its size. However,
issues not covered by the Sharia law
were transferred to the Emir court where the Emir could preside over such
issues. The Emir must be careful in making his laws or judgments as they must
not go against the will of Islam religion which was the main practice of the
people in Hausa land, for example, the Emir could not legalize the drinking of
alcohol in the emirate. Therefore, the legislative powers of the land can be
said to be solely wielded by the Emir in accordance to the religion of Islam.
The Hausa pre-colonial political system was a highly centralized while, the
Emir posses almost all the powers. This was one of the main reasons why
the Indirect
Rule System was
very successful in the Northern part of Nigeria (Hausa/Fulani Empire).
The
features/characteristics of the Hausa-Fulani Pre-colonial Political system
1. Hierarchical: their political authority was properly arranged having the Emir as the highest in authority. The Emir is the most powerful traditional rulers in Nigeria.
2. Autocratic: the Emir controls all the decisions and takes very little inputs from other group members, make choices or decisions based on his own beliefs and do not involve others for their suggestion or advice provided it is in line with the Sharia law.
3. Centralization:
powers were centralized while the Emir remains the overall person in charge
of the helm of affairs of the community.
4.
Theocracy: the Emir runs a form of
government in which a religious institution is the source from which all
authority derives. Also religion is fused with politics and the law based on
principles of the sharia.
5.
The tax system: the way they
collect tax was systematically organized in such manner that the collection of
revenue for the administration of the Emirate is not cumbersome.
6.
Monarchical:
the
Emir stands as king and the chief commander of his territory meaning that his
decision is final as he holds the supreme power of authority.
7.
Feudalistic: they run a system in which the
feudal lords own land and people receive land and protection from a lord when
they worked and fought for him.
Functions of the Emir
1.
The Emir who is
the head of the Emirates manages disputes or presides over it among his
subjects.
2.
Gives advice to
local government chairman the importance of community development.
3.
Educates and
encourages his subjects the importance of tax payment
4.
Enlightens his
people on the importance of carrying out their civil responsibilities
5.
It is the duty
of the Emir to supervise the chieftaincy matters.
6.
He ensures that
his people adhere to their cultural heritage.
7.
The Emir ensures
that law and order are maintained in his territory.
8.
He presides over
Council of Elders meeting in his community.
9.
He appoints
official in his emirate.
10. The Emir performs legislative
role and makes law where the sharia law does not cover.
Pre-Colonial Political System in Igbo land
The Igbo pre-colonial political
system was described as an ‘a
cephalous political system’ which can be translated as ‘a leaderless or
chief less political system’. This term is suitable for describing the Igbo
pre-colonial political system why because it was decentralized and based on
village and direct democracy where everyone in the village has the authority to
contribute in decision making. Each Igbo village was seen as a political unit
inhabited by related families who were bounded by common beliefs and origin.
Each family head in the village held the ‘Ofo‘title
and altogether formed the Council
of Elders. The council of elders presided over important issues on the
village’s welfare, safety, development and so on. Among the Council of Elders,
one was recognized as the most senior to others. He was the ‘Okpara‘. He could call for and
adjourn a meeting, and could also give judgments as well.
The Council of Elders was
believed to be earthly representatives of the Igbo ancestors. They maintained
the age long customs, traditions and laws of the land. These included laws
against misbehavior or immoral acts in which suitable punishment would be meted
out to its perpetrators. There was an important institution in the Igbo
political system called the age-grade. The age-grade consisted
of youngsters that belong to the same age-group. The senior age-group maintained
peace and order in the village and also provided security to ward off external
attacks, while the junior age-group concentrated on the sanitation of the
community and other necessary duties, like going to fine some defaulters that
refused to comply pertaining their rules and regulations.
The age-grade were also involved in
the administration of the village, and as well acted as a check to the council
of elders and other administrative bodies. Another level in the Igbo political
administration were the ‘Ozo‘title
holders. This expensive title was only conferred on wealthy and
influential men in the community who after getting the title become recognized
and could then preside over meetings with the village elders. Also, the
chief priests were not left out in the administration of the village,
great importance were attached to them for they were believed to be the mouthpiece
of the gods e.g. Aro’s long
juju. Even the council of elders consulted the chief priests on matters that
were beyond their powers i.e. matters that needed spiritual intervention.
Therefore, different institutions were doggedly involved in administering the Igbo
community, and powers were equally shared among them.
The political organization of the
Igbos was segmented because there was no central government headed by the king.
They are chief less society that was segmentary
and egalitarian in nature.
Therefore their administrative system was highly
decentralized with diffused power.
The Igbos has no monarch or Kingship except in Onitsha where they have Obi of
Onitsha equivalent to Oba or Emir and Red Cap Chiefs this was as result of the
contact between Onitsha and Benin (Edo state). History has it that under Oba
Esigie, migrants from Benin founded Onitsha town across the river Niger,
thereby brought their traditional life to the people of Onitsha thus explained
why they have central organized political system like the Benin (Crowder,
1978) We can conclude that the
Igbo pre-colonial
political system can be safely said to be
similar to the modern Republican system
of government in which the people are governed by their consent. The political
system is also gerontocratic in the
sense that the Council of Elders takes the final decision for any difficult
case. It is also known as the government for the elders of which still reign in
Igbo land even till date. There unit of political and judiciary administration
the village consisting the kindred, whereas the family or kindred was the basic
unit of administration.
Pre-colonial
Political /Administrative System of the Igbos
I. The Executive: administrative structures of the Igbo political system were performed by the village assembly, the council of Elders/Ndichie, the Age Grade and the Masquerade Cult stands as the Executive functions
II.
The
Legislature: the Igbo traditional political system lacks formal or
specialized bodies for enacting
legislation. Laws are made by the village assembly and the rest of other law
makers. Various law makers has a specific role to play; for instance the Age
Grade legislates on matter concerning their mates, the priests of deities enact
laws concerning spiritual matters that concerns land, and where they did not
reach agreement the Council of Elders t
III. The Judiciary: The village assembly, the Council of Elders, the Age Grade, and the priest of deities in their various capacities takes the judicial decisions
Characteristics of Igbo Pre-colonial Political System as mentioned above were that their political system are
noted for being acephalous,
gerontocracy, republican, democratic, highly decentralized, absent of tax
system and egalitarian etc.
Functions of the Age-Grade
The age grade in Igbo land has
various functions to perform.
Ø They serve as security by maintaining internal and external attack from others;
Ø They sweep the community by keeping the place neat.
Ø They also help in development by constructing roads and mending roads that is bad.
Ø The age grade also fines their members who fail to meet up their demand.
Ø They discipline any offender who is heady or have failed to abide by their rules and regulations.
Ø The age grades engage themselves in social-cultural activities like dancing for entertaining the community for a festive period.
Ø They maintain law and order
The Political Administrative
Structure of the Oyo Empire (Yoruba land)
The vast Oyo Empire was known to be
the largest and the most powerful of all Yoruba empires.
THE ALAAFIN: The Alaafin is the political head of the empire. He
was chosen by the Oyomesi. It was claimed that he could only appear three times
a year in public and that was only during some historical festivals or event.
THE AREMO: is the eldest son of the ruling Alaafin but cannot succeed
his father at his demise. He can only help his father in the administrative
system of the Empire.
THE OYOMESI: These are the seven hereditary kingmakers in the Oyo
Empire. Their leader is Bashroun. Their duty is the installation of the new
Alaafin when the time arises.
BAALE OR OBA: Each province was administered by Ajele or Oba. They
guaranteed the payment of tribute and homage to the Alaafin. There was the
claim that these rulers had the power to threaten any hardened Alaafin or chief
by invoking the god of thunder and lightning through the cult of Sango, to a
deified Alaafin.
THE ARMY (ESO): Are- ono kankanfo is the head of the army. Oyo had for
long maintained a strong army that had been used in winning different wars. It
was claimed that if the army should suffer any defeat, the Are- ona- kankanfo
was to commit suicide or go on exile.
THE OGBONI SOCIETY: This society posse judicial powers and was involved
also in policy making. The maintenance and preservation of the cultural values
of the people were also delegated to them. They influence a lot of issues in
the society.
THE THREE ENUCHES: are also involved in the administration of the Empire.
Namely:
1. The Osi Efa: He
was in charge of political affairs, which dies with the Alaafin and can also be
called ‘Abobaku’.
2. The Ona Efa: meant for judicial purpose
3. The Otun Efa: functions for the religious duties of the
Alaafin .
Based on what was known as the
Yoruba history we can safely conclude that the Yoruba political system had a
resemblance to the modern federal system of government. Pre-colonial
systems in Nigeria witnessed a lot of alterations
at the advent from the British colonial masters. Several traditional rulers
tried to protect and preserve their political organization of their kingdoms or
empires but were overpowered by the British government and later gave up after
much pressure and threat from the colonial masters. Colonialism had a great
impact on every pre- colonial system in Nigeria, which has come to stay even
till today.
THE GROWTH OF TRADE AMONG THE IGBO
BEFORE 1800 BY DAVID NORTHRUP
Their success
depended upon the supplies of slaves and palm oil which reached them from the
inland markets, especially those among the Igbo. At the beginning of the
nineteenth century two networks of trade dominated much of the commerce of this
hinterland. The first of these was composed of the several trading states which
co-operated in the management of the trade on the Niger River and the major
rive rain markets.
The second
network, directed by the Aro traders of Arochuku and its colonies, managed the
most important trade of the eastern half of the Igbo territory. Although both
of these networks were heavily influenced by the European demand at the coast,
neither of them could have existed without a long history of internal development
during the millennium prior to 18oo. It was acknowledged that the knowledge of
this area before the nineteenth century is extremely limited. However, it is
not until the second quarter of the nineteenth century that the first
eye-witness accounts of trade on the Niger, and detailed descriptions of the
economic life of the hinterland come only with the colonial era. The earliest
information about the economic life of south-eastern Nigeria derives from the
excavations of an elaborate burial and two related sites in the village of
Igbo-Ukwu, about twenty-five miles south-east of Onitsha.
The Igbo-Ukwu
finds showed evidence of metal working, weaving, and pottery making of unusual
skill. The metal work included major and
minor copper and bronze objects of very high quality and a very
distinctive design. Shaw is of the opinion that they were probably cast east of
the Niger and south of the Benue, since they have no clear affinities with any
other West African bronze making area. Iron objects, including drawn wire, were
also found, as well as pieces of slag, which would indicate a near-by smelting
and smiting industry. Textiles of two types were found at Igbo-Ukwu: one of
grass or leaf fibers in a previously unknown weave pattern, the other a kind of
cloth remarkably similar to cotton. Both were of high quality and are
considered of local origin. In addition over 20,000 pieces of pottery were
recovered from the Igbo-Ukwu sites, some of a plain utilitarian design, others
highly ornate.
According to Shaw: The characteristic of
Igbo-Ukwu ware has a marvellous wealth of form and decoration, executed with
great verve and boldness that gives the impression of the same delight in
exploiting to the full the possibilities of the ceramic medium as is shown by
the bronze-casters in using the refined possibilities of the cire perdue
process. Craft work at Igbo-Ukwu was closely tied up with long distance trade.
Ethnic groups
from Benue, ABIRIBA and sub-groups Onitsha - towns Aro trade routes
"Iccory" Market Idah Adamugut
\ Nike - , Beniin City, Asaba, Uburu
NKWERRE Aboh Ogut a Bend, Arochuku, Bonny kingdom as at before 1800
trade was going on among the present easterners, north central and and some
parts in the south - South area. The Southeastern Nigeria in the first half of
the nineteenth century do a selective trade, perhaps small in quantity, over
considerable distances through numerous intermediaries. The craft objects and
the long distance trade were but the summit of an economy about who based in
the Igbo-Ukwu finds and provide regrettably little information. Despite this
lack of direct evidence, the crafts and trade presuppose an agricultural
surplus capable of supporting these specialties. The most likely staple crops
would have been yams and palm oil. Several varieties of yams are indigenous to
West Africa, dating from pre-iron age times, and have been a staple crop in the
zone for many centuries. The oil palm is thought to be West African in origin,
and is found in the greatest profusion in south-eastern Nigeria. The spread of
oil palms follows the clearing of the primeval forest and they are thus closely
associated with agricultural activity.
Hunting is
another activity certain to have been practiced in the area for food as well as
for other animal products. Shaw suggests that, because of the prominence of
elephant motifs in the bronzes and the presence of tusks in the Igbo-Ukwu
burial, elephant hunting must have been an important occupation and that ivory
is the most likely item of exchange for the expensive metal and bead imports.
Long distance trade in luxury goods could have
existed without any local markets, There is, however, good reason to suspect
that local and regional marketing networks existed in Igbo-Ukwu times. The most
likely item of regional trade would have been salt. Historically salt has been
the most universally handled article of trade. In West Africa salt was the
principal item of trade in the mature iron age (c. A.D. I300-I600) both from
the Sahara to the Sudan and from the coast to the forest; it was one of the few
items which people could not provide for themselves. Thus it is not surprising
that a Portuguese geographer at the beginning of the sixteenth century noted a
vigorous trade in salt between the eastern Niger Delta and the hinterland. The
nature of the trade reflects a geo- graphical necessity: large portions of the
Delta are too swampy and saline to support much agriculture or livestock; the
hinterland lacks natural salt deposits, so that salt, along with dried fish,
must be exchanged for agricultural and animal surpluses. According to G. I.
Jones, 'Andoni and Bonny legends suggest a salt boiling industry in the Bonny
area before the arrival of the European traders.
Another item of regional trade would have been
beads, since many of those found at Igbo-Ukwu were most likely of local origin.
One type of bead, which has never been adequately identified, but which was
traded over very long distances in the Gulf of Guinea, was called akori. Fage
has argued that 'in the 1470S and 1480S there was already an established trade
between the Benin region and the Gold Coast' in which akori beads featured
prominently.
It may be
concluded, therefore, that the people associated with Igbo- Ukwu possessed a
developed agricultural economy supplemented by hunting and fishing which would
produce a surplus sufficient to allow expenditure of time on handicraft and
artistic pursuits. Although it is impossible to state with certainty which
craft items were made in or near Igbo-Ukwu, their presence is clearly indicative
of a commercial and manufacturing complex with inter-continental and regional
trade. The long distance trade reaching Igbo-Ukwu probably completed the final
stages of its journey on the Niger River. The volume of the trade in the ninth
century may have been small, but by the time of the first European visitors to
the coast, trade on the Niger appears to have been of some importance.
There is too
little known to reconstruct these early trading patterns on the basis of
contemporary evidence; however, it may be possible to reconstruct them by
extrapolating back from the patterns of trade described by European explorers
in the second quarter of the nineteenth century. In the first half of the
nineteenth century trade below the Niger-Benue confluence was in the hands of
three major groups: the states of the Delta, the Igbo kingdom at Aboh at the
head of the Delta, and the Igala kingdom's capital city, Idah. From the Delta,
goods went up the Niger in large canoes, passing through a succession of
middlemen. The cities of Aboh and Idah were the hubs of the inland trade
routes, storage depots, and the home ports of the major traders, but a major
amount of the river rain trade took place at special markets at the fringes of
these kingdoms.
The patterns for the merchants of Aboh, who
were called 'the most enterprising and industrious traders on the Niger is
evident from this I84I description: They go to the Eggarah market [at Igala
Bank near Asaba] directly after the new moon; the journey there and back takes
about five days; after a resting day, they go to the station below. At the
upper one they receive the produce of the interior, brought there by the
Eggarah [Igala] people; the produce they exchange at the lower market with the
traders from Brass and Bonny.
This is the
general method of intercourse with the merchants who never traverse a foreign
state to visit a distant market. The situation just described may have been the
ideal rather than the reality in the middle of the nineteenth century, since a
considerable amount of the trade with the city-state of Brass appears to have
taken place at Aboh town and not at the lower frontier market. The chief Brass
trader, King Boy Amain, was able to send his canoes directly to Aboh town
because he had married a daughter of the King of Aboh and perhaps because he
paid a special fee as well. The market at the northern limits of Aboh's power
was held on a sand- bar, or in canoes when the water was high. This Igala Bank
market was urea the town of Asaba (opposite Onitsha), and was the centre of a
complex If river rain and overland trade routes. To Asaba came traders from as
far west as Benin; the Igbo on the east bank sent their products through Aboh,
Onitsha, and other towns. From the south, Delta products and European goods
came upstream in the hands of Aboh traders, and the ogala traders of Idah and
Adamugu brought downstream the produce and horses of the Igala hinterland. All
met at the Igala Bank market, where the Asaba people also sold a planned
agricultural surplus.
The volume of the trade at Igala Bank is
difficult to estimate with any accuracy, and no doubt it fluctuated with the
seasons and with the years. Yet, it appears to have been considerable. In the
early I830s, some 300 canoes were seen going up to the market and in I84I sixty
canoes, holding from two to seventy men were observed returning from it. Another major market was held 30 miles north
of Idah, also on a sandbar. It met every ten days for up to three days at a time,
drawing traders from as far south as Aboh (and even a few from Bonny) and as
far north as the kingdom of Nupe on the Niger and the Igbira metropolis of
Punda, a weaving and smiting centre of 30,000 inhabitants north of the Benue.
The volume of the trade here appears to have exceeded that of Igala Bank,
drawing as it did upon the commerce of the two great rivers as well as overland
routes.
In I832 the
Muslim traders were observed selling Nupe mats, straw hats, ivory, long robes,
Indian corn, rice, flour, small horses, slaves, locally made blue beads and
cloth, 'country beer', coconuts, sheep, goats, and dogs. All market exchanges
were computed in cowries, which impressed early European visitors, as did the
size of the market. One witness estimated the market crowd at 6,ooo, and
another computed the number of slaves sold annually at 11,000; a third
commented that appeared to be twice as
much traffic going forward here as in the upper parts of the Rhine'. The antiquity of the Niger trade is, of
course, a matter of considerable importance if one is to comprehend the
economic development of this region. There is evidence that the pattern of
trade just described for the middle of the nineteenth century existed, at least
in the broad outlines, in the seventeenth century, since both Dapper and Barbot
indicate that the Niger trade passed through a series of middlemen as it moved
up the river.
There is other evidence which indicates that
this pattern may be still older. It was argued earlier that there was a trade
in beads between Benin and Aboh in the early seventeenth century, which may
have been going on from the fifteenth century.
Another possible link between Benin and the Niger is reported from about
I 500: 'A hundred leagues (400 miles) up the main branch of the Rio Formoso
(the Benin River) one encounters a land of Negroes called Opuu, where there is
much pepper, ivory, and some slaves. Mauny has suggested, perhaps because of
the distance, that Opuu may mean Nupe. However, one can hardly trust Pacheco's
round number, for in the words of Shakespeare's Henry V, 'Who hath measured the
ground?' Samuel Crowther on the I854 Niger Expedition also heard of a people
whom the Igala called Opiu. Since Crowther was very careful in his spelling of
African words, the accent on the last syllable can be taken as functionally
equivalent to Pacheco's double vowel. After questioning knowledgeable
informants, Crowther learned that the Opiu were the same as the Igbo. It is
curious, however, that Pacheco uses what-in the nineteenth century at least-is
an Igala term for the Igbo, since he must have picked up his information in or
near Benin. Part of the explanation would appear to lie in the diversity of
Igbo culture.
The Igbo-speaking peoples were not united
politically, and the word 'Igbo' does not seem to have been in general use as a
common name until quite recent times. Some sections of the Western Igbo
(Benin's neighbours) still reject the name 'Igbo', a word which they apparently
have used as a term of contempt (perhaps with slave connotations) for other
Igbo-speakers. Thus in I500 Opuu that market, called Bocqua and Iccory by the
explorers, was described by Laird and Oldfield, Narrative,. Political turmoil
in Igala brought the market to an end in mid-century according to Samuel
Crowder, Journal of an Expedition up the Niger and Tshadda Rivers .., in I854
(London, 1855)
From Arochuku
the Aro are said to have expanded in several directions, evidently at first
offering protection against attacks by the war-like Abam people, who were also
frequently allies of the Aro. A sacred 'covenant' would be agreed to: the Aro
were to be given land for settlement; in return the Aro offered protection
'from the inter-tribal incursions that were prevalent in those days' and safe
escort to the Arochuku Oracle. The Aro colonists did not try to assume
political control over their hosts, but they did exert a powerful influence in
local affairs because of their military and spiritual resources, as well as
because of their developing economic importance. The Aro built up their numbers
by marrying local women, but to preserve their separateness, they refused to
allow Aro girls to marry non-Aro. They stressed the superiority of their
customs, dress, conduct, manners, and speech, which served to keep them as an
elite community with strong links to the town of Arochuku. Gradually there
emerged a series of settlements throughout the central part of the Igbo
territory.
At first the Aro traded in luxury
items-slaves, horses and cattle for ritual purposes, and beads-and they
conducted this trade from their settlements rather than in the local markets.
Later, slaves became the dominant item of trade, though all manner of African
and European goods flowed through the specially created Aro fairs and the local
markets which fed them. The ways in which the Aro domination of the hinterland
trade expanded were varied. War or the threat of war was used against
recalcitrant peoples, but in general the Aro were themselves sought after for
the protection that they could offer against attack, for their religious power,
and for the wealth of old and new products which they could supply. Though one
should be careful not to minimize the ingenuity and energy with which the Aro
forged new economic relationships, their expansion can also be seen as a
welding together of older networks of trade and communication.
It was not known how famous the Ibibio shrine
had been before the Aro captured it, but the Oracle of Arochuku was developed
into the supreme arbitrator of disputes, not only among the Igbo, but also
among their southern neighbours. For a fee the Aro escorted disputants to
Arochuku. They definitely exploited the Oracle for all it was worth, but its
role as a supplier of slaves for overseas export should not be exaggerated. The
Oracle was most effectively manipulated to assure the Aro free passage
throughout the region by promoting the idea that the Aro were special
representatives of the Igbo Supreme Being, Chukwu, a form of whose name is to
be seen in 'Arochuku'. An idea of the spiritual aura which came to surround all
Aro can be gathered from the way in which an Aro trader addressed the head of
the first British expedition into the Aro trading area: He announced that he
was an 'Aro man' . and would not take his hat off to any white man, saying in
broken English, and with an air of giving satisfaction, as he looked at the
person,( "Me be 'God boy'-me be 'God
boy.' You be white man; me be 'God boy.')
The Aro used
their religious influence to build up a vast network of settlements, markets
and fairs. Theirs was not an exclusive organization, for one of the ways they
put together their system was through a series of alliances with locally
prominent traders. In the extreme north, the inhab- itants of Nike became their
main agents astride an overland route that ran from Idah to the Delta. Nike,
adjacent to a land-starved, over-populated group, was ideally placed for
securing supplies of slaves, especially as its abundant local land provided the
wealth to acquire them in commerce and also to seize them by force with the aid
of Ada mercenaries hired by the Aro, who were the ultimate recipients of many
of them.
Further south the Aro established a monthly
fair at Uburu, which had long been a centre for the salt trade. There, as at
the main fair at Bende (north-west of Arochuku), the fair was 'owned' by the
Aro, who could and did move it to a neighbouring town if offered better terms.
The Aro also made trading agreements with the ozo title-holders of Awka,
perhaps even agreeing to divide the Igbo territory into spheres of influence.
Although slaves dominated the Aro trading network, a great volume of trade was
done in traditional goods, as well as in European imports. The Aro, via the
Uburu fair, supplied the horses and cows needed for title- taking ceremonies.
Indeed non-Aro were said to have entered the slave trade in the hopes of
amassing enough wealth to buy these titles.
Locally made iron products were such an important
Aro trade item that one of the main things that Baikie associated with them in
I854 was they they were 'skilled artisans and manufacture swords, spears, and
metallic ornaments, specimens of all of which I have seen and can therefore
testify to their being very neatly finished'. Baikie is mistaken in attributing
smiting to the Aro, but they did have close ties with the Abiriba smiths, and
trading agreements with the Nkwerre and Awka smiths, Aro became major traders
in textiles from all corners of the region, which they sold at a large profit.
Finally, their trade to the Delta involved
them in the hinterland food trade, and the Bende fair became the chief source
of yams at Bonny and other Delta ports.
Although information on the manner in which the eighteenth century slave
trade was handled in south-eastern Nigeria is extremely limited, there does
appear to be a sharp contrast between its impacts in the two areas under
examination. Along the lower Niger, the slave trade appears to have been
handled by the same institutions and in a manner similar to the earlier trading
patterns.
In the Igbo hinterland, however, the slave
trade gave rise to the new Aro-dominated trading grid. Yet this, too, was built
upon earlier regional networks of trade which were incorporated into the Aro
system. In both areas the slave trade co-existed with trade in traditional
products and it is not unlikely that the trade in these items increased along
with the volume of slaves.
The peoples of
south-eastern Nigeria have been involved in trade for as long as there are any
records. The archaeological sites at Igbo-Ukwu and other evidence reveal long
distance trade in metal and beads, as well as regional trade in salt, cloth,
and beads at an early date. It was argued that while the growth of the slave
trade appears to have been handled without major changes in the overall
patterns of trade along the lower Niger, in the Igbo hinterland a new marketing
'grid', dominated by the Arochuku traders, was created using the pre-existent
regional trading networks and religious values as a base.
https://about.jstor.org/terms
/https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/180852.pdf
Are we to write or only to read
ReplyDelete