The Nupe , traditionally called the Tapa by the neighbouring Yoruba , are an ethnic group located primarily in the Middle Belt and northern Nigeria, and are the dominant group in Niger State, an important minority in Kwara State and present in Kogi State as well.The Nupe call themselves Nupeci and refer to their language as Nupe. Their neighbors, such as the Hausa, Gbari, Birnin Gwari, Yoruba, and Kakanda, identify them by other names: Nufawa, Abawa, Anupeyi, Anufawhei, Tapa, and Anupecwayi.
The oral traditions of the Nupe credit the foundation of the Nupe state to Tsoede in the fifteenth century. Before his time there were a number of small semiautonomous states in the area, such as Ebe, Gbidye, Kusopa, Benu, Beni, Dibo, Kede, Ebagi, Batsoi, Kupa, Cekpa, and Gwagba. Tsoede, who first took the title of Etsu (king), was an Igala prince from Idah, south of the Niger River. The Nupe state was brought about by conquest. The Nupe have influenced and been influenced by their neighbors in cultural matters, including language, religion, arts, agricultural techniques, and trade. Bronze figures found at Tada and Jebba suggest a connection with Ife and Benin. Stone figures found among the Igbomina-Yoruba of west-central Nigeria that have Nupe and Yoruba cultural traits suggest interactions between those groups.
The history of Nupe in the early part of the nineteenth century was marked by political instability caused by disputes over succession. This conflict culminated in 1796, when two rival Etsu, Jimada and Majiya II, claimed the throne.
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 people have various traditions. Much of their culture was diluted by the Usman Dan Fodio jihad of the 19th century, but they still hold on to some of their culture. Many Nupe people often have tribal scars on their faces (similar to an old Yoruba tradition), some to identify their prestige and the family of which they belong as well as for protection, as well as jewelry 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.
The Nupe occupy a lowland of about 6,950 square miles (18,000 square kilometers) in the Niger Basin, mostly to the north of the river between the Kontagora and Guara confluents, from Kainji to below Baro. Despite its inland location, most of the area is less than 330 feet (100 meters) above sea level and never rises more than 820 feet (250 meters). Its ecology is typical of Guinea savanna, drier to the northwest and more humid to the southeast, but it also has broad areas of seasonally flooded land along the major rivers, notably along the Kaduna and the Niger.
Linguistic evidence suggests that the Nupe language belongs to a branch (Nupoid) of the Benue-Congo group of languages. Others languages in the group are Igbira (Ebira), Gbagyi (Gbari), Gade, and Kakanda. Nupe is related most closely to Gbari and Kakanda in structure and vocabulary. There are at least two markedly different dialects: Nupe central and Nupe Tako.
Precontact religion involved a variety of local deities and the honoring of ancestors. Among pre-Islamic Nupe veneration of the guardian spirit Gunu was the most widespread religious practice and represented the peak of ceremonial life. Animals are sacrificed in his honor, and their blood is poured out as a libation to him. Every eleven months the men go to his altar, where they kneel down and bow their foreheads to the ground. There is also a semireligious institution called Ndakogboiya, in which a man may complain of a wife's conduct and beg that she be exposed, together with any other guilty party. The man then mounts a stilt and appears among the people, proclaiming their evil deeds and receiving propitiatory offerings of goats and fowl. The Ndakogboiya lost most of its efficacy when Islam replaced ancient religious beliefs.
In Nupe communities religious rituals are relegated to different officials. At Doko the Dibo Saba ritual addressed to an ancestor chief is performed by the chief, while the sako ritual, which involves a small group of hereditary hunters, is performed by the head of that group. The hereditary gunnu priest is known as Gunnuko (Great gunnu) or, more specifically, Ndazo, "the rare man." In Jebba the Ejuko is the guardian of the lineage of Tsoede. The importance of these rituals has not shielded them from the impact of cultural change.
After Islamization these activities were curtailed, and they now are regarded as Satanic worship.
Nupe are farmers, and the staple crops are millet, guinea -corn, yams, rice, and groundnuts. Cassava, maize, and sweet potatoes (grown inland) are of secondary importance. The large proportion of seasonally flooded (fadama) land has allowed a greater emphasis on growing rice, sugarcane, and onions. This has encouraged the establishment of commercial growing and refining of sugar at Bacita. The Nupe practice hoe agriculture, using a large, heavy hoe called a zuku and a small hoe called dugba. The Nupe system of agriculture is based on shifting cultivation combined with rotation of crops. The low population densities and less intense form of agriculture allowed more of the original savanna to survive, and woodland products are significant, particularly from the shea-butter tree and the locust-bean tree.
There are many fishermen in the villages on the banks of the Niger and Kaduna rivers and their tributaries. Cattle raising is engaged in by the Bororo Fulani, who move their herds from one pasture to another as necessity dictates.
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.
Marriage could be contracted in one of two ways: The would-be bridegroom asked for the consent of the girl (sometimes the girl suggested to her father whom she wanted to marry), or the marriage was arranged by the heads of the families. Polygynous marriages were very common both before and after the introduction of the Islamic faith. Marriage involves the payment of a bride-price by the groom, and postmarital residence is patrilocal. Marriage has no real meaning without procreation. Barrenness is regarded as a curse and a misfortune, and traditional means are utilized to secure fertility or cure barrenness. Divorce rarely occurs because men want to avoid the publicity and ridicule of divorce proceedings in Alkali court (Islamic court). Most marriages are terminated only by the death of a spouse. Widows must remain in the compound for five months before they can remarry.
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