The Nupe (traditionally called the Nufawa by the Hausa people and Tapa by the neighbouring Yoruba people) are an ethnic group native to North Central Nigeria. They are the dominant ethnic group in Niger State and an important minority in Kwara State. The Nupe are also present in Kogi State and The Federal Capital Territory.
History
The Nupe Kingdom emerged in the 14th-15th century, nestled between the Niger and Kaduna rivers. The Nupe Kingdom was brought about by conquest, with
Igala people leader
Tsoede taking on the title of
Etsu (king) and uniting neighboring tribes by conquest. The Etsu Jibiri adopted Islam around 1770, due to the
Fula people conquest coming from the north. The late 18th century and early 19th century was a period marked by instability, with two Etsus, Jimanda and Majiya II, competing for the throne in the 1790s, and the continued Fulani conquest in the 1820s. By the end of the 19th century, the area was under British colonial control by way of the Royal Niger Company, and became apart of modern Nigeria with Nigerian independence in 1960.
Today, the Nupe people speak over 5 dialects: Central Nupe, Nupe Tako/Bassa-Nge, Kupa, Kakanda, and Dibo/Abawa/Gana-Gana. Nupe is the largest ethnic group in the North Central, they are at the heart of Nigerian art and culture. The proximity of Nupe to the Yoruba Igbomina people in the south and to the Yoruba Oyo Empire people in the southwest led to cross-fertilization of cultural influences through trade and conflicts over the centuries.[Du Bois, W.E.B., The Negro, pp.28 and 49 (Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, 2001) (retrieved Jan. 20, 2024).]
Population and demography
There are probably about 4.5 million Nupes,
principally in
Niger State. The
Nupe language is also spoken in
Kwara,
Kogi State and Federal Capital Territory. They are primarily
, with some Christians and followers of African Traditional Religion. The Nupe people have several local traditional rulers. The Etsu Nupe (
Bida) is not pure Nupe, his great-grandfather from his father's side is
Fula people, while the family of his mother was completely Nupe. His great-grandfather from his father's side came to Rabba then later
Bida in 1806 during the Sokoto jihad.
Traditions, art and culture
The Nupe people maintain a cultural heritage rooted in oral traditions. These spoken narratives have preserved practices such as
Dzana, a "multifaceted cultural gesture involving the giving of gifts, blessings, or symbolic items primarily in the context of travel, transitions, and relational expressions of care".
[Rumala, B. E. B. M., Sode-Shinni Rumala, A. B., Rumala, S. Y., Rumala, F. L. Y., Saba, S. A., Saba, J. J., Saba, A., Saba, M. H., Audu, L. A., Adams, R. A., Mamman, E. B., Adams, J. N., Kolo, P. I., Mamman, C., Saba, S. W., Saba, S. A., Saba, S. L., Sode-Shinni Rumala, K. S., Jiya, G. G., … Nupe Heritage Cekpa Project Team. (2025). Dzana Practice in Nupe Culture as a Legacy of Love, Blessing, and Intergenerational Bonding
]
/ref>
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, some to identify their prestige and the family of which they belong as well as for protection, and adornment as jewellery. However, these traditions are dying out in certain areas.
Their art is often abstract. They are well known for their stools with patterns carved onto the surface.
The Nupe were described in detail by the ethnographer Siegfried Nadel, whose book, Black Byzantium, remains an anthropological classic.
Examples of Nupe art
Museum of Ethnology Vienna 007.JPG| 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, probably by Sakiwa, Nupe peoples, Nigeria, c. 1920-1940, wood, iron staples - Hood Museum of Art - DSC09183.JPG|Carved door; c. 1920 – 1940; wood with iron staples; Hood Museum of Art.
Oval Stool with Incised Carving LACMA AC1993.218.11.jpg|Wooden oval stool with incised carving; Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Music and entertainment industry
Nupe traditional music is sung by the Ningba, or musician(s), while the Enyanicizhi beats the drum. Legendary Nupe singers of memory include Fatima Lolo
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,
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Ahmed Lemu (1929–2020), Islamic scholar
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Hon. Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi (OFR, GCON) (1939–2018), Nigerian lawyer and chief justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria
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Mohammed Umar Bago (born 1974), politician, Governor of Niger State since 29 May, 2023
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Muhammad Bima Enagi (born 1959), politician
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Muhammad Umaru Ndagi, academic professor (born 1964)
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Shehu Ahmadu Musa (1935–2008), politician
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Dangana Ndayako, politician and Senator in the Third Nigerian Republic
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Shaaba Lafiaji, politician
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Suleiman Takuma, journalist and political leader (1934–2001)
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Sam Nda-Isaiah (1962–2020), political columnist
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Jerry Gana, scholar and politician. See cabinet of Olusegun Obasanjo
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Isa Mohammed Bagudu (born 1948), third republic politician
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Zainab Kure (born 1959), politician
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Abdulkadir Kure (1956–2017), politician and former Governor of Niger State in the Fourth Nigerian Republic
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Aliyu Makama (1905–1980), Northern acting premiere
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Yahaya Abubakar (born 1952), Etsu-Nupe; traditional ruler
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Mamman Jiya Vatsa (1940–1986) , intellectual, military officer and former FCT minister
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Fatima Lolo (1891–1997), musician
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Mohammed Baba Saba (1984 - 2024), Plant breeder
Sources
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Blench, R. M. (1984), "Islam among the Nupe." Muslim peoples. (edn 2), Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press.
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Forde, D. (1955), "The Nupe". pp. 17–52 in Peoples of the Niger-Benue Confluence. London: IAI.
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Ibrahim, Saidu (1992), The Nupe and their neighbours from the 14th century. Ibadan: Heinemann Educational Books.
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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.
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Perani, J. M. (1977), Nupe crafts; the dynamics of change in nineteenth and twentieth century weaving and brassworking. Ph.D. Fine Arts, Indiana University.
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Stevens, P. (1966), Nupe woodcarving. Nigeria, 88:21–35.
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Yahaya, Mohammed Kuta, The Nupe People of Nigeria. Nigeria, 95:1–2
