Wednesday 12 August 2015

Nigerian Kingdoms: Nupe Kingdom

Nupe Kingdom is a State in the sense of being a territorial sovereignty maintained over groups of different cultural and ethnic extraction. Its social and economic complexity is comparable only with the civilization of Imperial Rome, of Byzantium, of medieval Europe.

The kingdom (kin Nupe) lies in the heart of modern day Nigeria - in the low basin lying between the Niger and Kaduna rivers.

The Nupe trace their origin to Tsoede who fled the court of Idah and established a loose confederation of towns along the Niger in the 15th century. The proximity of Nupe to the Yoruba Igbomina people in the south and to the Yoruba Oyo people in the southwest led to cross-fertilization of cultural influences through trade and conflicts over the centuries. 

It is said that the famous Yoruba oba or king, Shango (also known as Jakuta) who was once an Alaafin of Oyo before being deified following his death, was the son of a Nupe (Tapa) woman.

Many Nupe were converted to Islam at the end of the eighteenth century by Mallam Dendo, a wandering preacher, and were incorporated into the Fulani Empire established by the Jihad led by Usman dan Fodio after 1806.

However, the traditions of Nupe were retained, hence the ruler of Nupe is the Etsu Nupe rather than being called Emir. The city of Bida fell to the colonialist British forces in 1897, the Etsu Abubakar was deposed and replaced by the more pliable Muhammadu (Vandeleur 1898). During the reign of Muhammadu, a Prince named Jimada moved to Patigi, northeast of Bida (not to be confused with near-identically spelt Pategi, southwest of Bida, on the southern and opposite bank of the Niger River) protesting against being ruled by a Fulani (Vandeleur 1898). Now Jimada’s descendants are fighting for the post of Etsu Nupe claiming to be the only existing pure Nupe ruling family. The present Etsu Nupe is Yahaya Abubakar.

The Nupe live in villages or towns ranging in size from a few families to several thousand people. Each village is governed by a chief, with the advice of a council of family heads. The chief controls community land resources, settles disputes, and organizes all large-scale cooperative activities. The indigenous Nupe kingdom was divided into four zones for purposes of government, with a series of ranked officials who owed allegiance to the king, the etsu Nupe. The Beni and the Kede both are organized as kingdoms within the greater Nupe kingdom. There are several titled classes above the commoners.

Most Nupe are now Muslims, but many older rituals are still performed. The indigenous religion includes belief in a sky god, ancestral spirits, and spirits associated with natural objects.

1 comment:

  1. Many Nupe people are also Christians even though majority of them are Muslims

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