Swem: The Tangible and Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Tiv of Central Nigeria

Autors/ores

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1344/THJ.2021.3.5

Paraules clau:

Cultural heritage, Tangible heritage, Intangible heritage, Swem, Tiv, Nigeria

Resum

The Tiv are a major ethnic group in the Middle Belt Region of Nigeria. Scholarly writings about the Tiv usually make mention of Swem as either the ‘ancestral home’ of the Tiv, or an ‘Oath of justice’ sworn by the Tiv people to prove innocence and cleanse the land to avert calamities. To this end, ‘Swem’ stands as a tangible and intangible heritage of the Tiv. This paper examines the nexus between the Tiv and the Swem, and its impact on the culture and traditions of the Tiv people. Data for this research was elicited from primary sources such as oral traditions, and ethnographic survey. Secondary sources such as published books, journals, and monographs were also used in this study. Today, though the Swem tradition is significant in the cultural history of the Tiv people, it is fast going into extinction. Thus, this paper becomes timely and most appropriate for the documentation of the Swem tradition, being part of the cultural heritage of the Tiv people. This documentation will enable a scholarly preservation of the tradition for posterity.

Referències

Aboh, M. M. (2005). Technological Change and its Effect on Traditional Religious Beliefs: The Tiv Experience. PhD Thesis, University of Jos.

Abraham, R.C. (1933). The Tiv People. Government Printer. Lagos.

Agber, K. S. (1989). Tiv Origins. Proceedings of the 8th Annual Conference of the Archaeological Association of Nigeria, 145-153.

Akiga, S. (1933) Akiga's Story, O.U.P., London.

Akiga, S. (1939). Akiga’s Story. Edited by East Rupest, London.

Akinsipe, F. A. (2015). Dance as a Vehicle of Communication in the Tiv Kwagh-Hir Theater. International Journal of Humanities and Cultural Studies, 1(4), 45-53.

Andah, B. W. (1983). The Bantu Homeland Project. Ethnoarchaeological Investigation in Parts of the Benue Valley Region. West African Journal of Archaeology, 13, 23-60.

Bohannan, L. (1952). A Genealogical Charter. Africa. XX11, 301-315.

Bohannan, P. (1958). Extra.Processual Events in Tiv Political Institutions. American Anthropologist, 60, 1-12.

Bohannan, P. (1968). Justice and Judgment among the Tiv. Oxford University Press.

Bohannan, P., & Bohannan, L. (1954). The Migration and Expansion of the Tiv. Africa. XX1V.

Cartwright, M. (2019). The Bantu Migration in Africa. World History Encyclopaedia. Available at: https://www.worldhistory.org/image/10445/the-bantu-migration-in-africa/.

Dzurgba, A. (2007). “On the Tiv of Central Nigeria: A Cultural Perspective”. John Archers Publishers Limited, Ibadan.

Eyo, E. (1994). Conventional Museums and the Quest for Relevance in Africa. History in Africa, 21, 325-337.

Fasuyi, T. A. (1973). Cultural Policy in Nigeria. Studies and Documents on Cultural Policy. Paris: UNESCO.

Folorunso, C. A. (1993). ‘Agriculture and Settlement among the Tiv of Nigeria: Some Ethnoarchaeological Observations’. Shaw, T. Sinclair, P. Andah, B.W. and Okpoko, A.I. (eds.) Archaeology of Africa: Food, Metals, and Towns, pp. 274-288. Routledge, London.

Gbor, J. W. T. (1974). Tiv Traditions of Origin and Migration with Special Emphasis on the Eastern Frontier. B.A. Thesis. Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

Gbor, J. W. T. (1978). Mdugh u Tiv man Mnyerve hen Benue. Gaskiya. Zaria.

Gubam, D. S., & Nomishan, T. S. (2021). Archaeology and Social Stability in Nigeria: An Appraisal. Journal of African Studies and Sustainable Development, 4(3), 103-120. https://www.acjol.org/index.php/jassd/article/view/1332.

Gundu, Z. A. (1999). Historical Archaeology of Ancient Settlements in South Eastern Tivland, Benue State, Nigeria. PhD Thesis, University of Ibadan, Ibadan.

Iorundu, A., & Jiki, A. (2019). Oral Traditions of the Tiv. Personal Communication, 13th to 14th March.

Itanyi, E. I., & Nwankwo, E. A. (2019). Heritage Studies and Challenges: Implications on Research Results from Igboland, Nigeria. Heliyon, 5, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02962.

Kyoon-Achan, G. (2013). Original Ways: An Exploration of Tiv and Inuit Indigenous Processes of Conflict Resolution and Peace-making. PhD Thesis, University of Manitoba.

Makar, T. (1975). A History of Political and Social Change among the Tiv. PhD Thesis, A.B.U Zaria.

Makar T. (1994). A History of Political Change amongst the Tiv in the 18th and 19th Centuries. Fourth Dimension Press. Enugu.

Ndera, J. D. (2009). Archaeological Investigation of the Early Settlements of the Shitire in the Benue Valley of Nigeria. Ph.D Thesis, University of Ibadan.

Ndera, J. D. (2013). Wombo Makar: Historical Reflections on Chieftaincy and Colonial Experience in Tivland. Ahmadu Bello University Press.

Nomishan, T. S. (2020). Perspectives on the Origin, Genealogical Narration, Early Migrations and Settlement Morphology of the Tiv of Central Nigeria. International Journal of Academic Pedagogical Research, 4(8), 26-32. http://ijeais.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/8/IJAPR200808.pdf.

Nomishan, T. S. (2021). African Myths and the Environment: A Look at some Myths and Totems amongst the Tiv of Central Nigeria. In Kanu, I.A. (Ed.), African Indigenous Ecological Knowledge Systems: Religion, Philosophy and the Environment, pp. 117-132. https://www.acjol.org/index.php/jassd/article/view/1905.

Nomishan, T. S., Gubam, D. S., & Tubi, P. K. (2021). A Discussion of the Challenges Confronting Archaeology and Its Practice in Nigeria. Journal of African Studies and Sustainable Development, 4(3), 140-160. https://www.acjol.org/index.php/jassd/article/view/1344.

Ogundele, S. O. (1983). Archaeological Reconnaissance and Test Pitting of Ushongo. MSc. Thesis. University of Ibadan, Ibadan.

Ogundele, S. O. (1990). Archaeological Investigations into Aspects of Tiv Settlement History, Benue Valley Area, Nigeria. PhD Thesis, University of Ibadan, Ibadan.

Ogundele, S. O. (1993). Archaeological Reconnaissance and Excavation in Parts of Tivland. West African Journal of Archaeology, 23, 67-91.

Okar, J. N. (1979). A Pre-colonial History of the Tiv of Central Nigeria C.1500-1850. PhD Thesis, Dalhousie University, Canada.

Orijemie, E. A. (2018). Late Holocene Palaeoenvironment of Tse Dura, a Later Stone Age (Lsa) Rock Shelter, North-Central Nigeria. Studia Quaternaria, 35(1), 41–53. Doi: https://doi.org/10.2478/Squa-2018-0003.

Orkar, J. N. (1979). Pre-Colonial History of the Tiv of Central Nigeria. Ph.D. Thesis. University of Dalhousie. Canada.

Torkula, A. A. (2001). A Survey of the Marriage and Burial Institutions among the Tiv of Central Nigeria. PhD Thesis, St. Clement University.

Tsaaior, J. T. (2015). Those Days and these Days: Akiga’s Narrativization of the Tiv Nation in History of the Tiv. Africa, 85(4), 599-610. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0001972015000601.

Tubosun, B. J. (1981). Geo-Archaeology: Tse-Dura Prehistoric Rock shelters (Benue State of Nigeria) as a case study. M.Sc. Dissertation, University of Ibadan.

Tubosun, B. J. (1995). Geo-Archaeological Investigations in Adikpo area of Katsina-Ala River basin, Benue State, Nigeria. PhD. Thesis, University of Ibadan.

Tubosun, B. J, Andah, B. W. (1983). Sedimentological Analysis of Tse-Dura Prehistoric Rock shelter Deposits. West African Journal of Archaeology, 13, 61–72.

Descàrregues

Publicades

2022-01-27

Com citar

Nomishan, T. S. (2022). Swem: The Tangible and Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Tiv of Central Nigeria. Tourism and Heritage Journal, 3, 56–67. https://doi.org/10.1344/THJ.2021.3.5

Número

Secció

Articles