The Mumuyu and Inland Nigeria Peoples

The area lying to the north of the Niger and Benue Rivers includes a range of mountains covered by a savannah. Archaeological excavations have revealed traces of human activity on the Jos plateau and in the Benue River valley dating from the Stone Age - 39,000 years ago. Over time, the indigenous Benue-Kongo and Adamawa-speaking people of this area were infiltrated by Chad-speaking tribes who migrated from the east and north. This created a mosaic of people with diftrent social and religious traditions. Nevertheless, common artistic conventions can be found among the majority of the people who live in this area. For example, shoulder masks are worn by the Mumuye, the Jukun and Waja people and red seeds are often applied on the surface of headdresses and masks. Tribes such as the Mumuye, the Chamba, the Jukun, the Wurkun, the Coemai and the Montol live along the Benue River in eastern Nigeria, while the Waja, the Mama, the Hausa, the Koro and the Dakakari people settled in the northern part of the country.

Living on the left bank of the Benue River, the 400,000 Mumuye people intensively farm an area of plains. Socially, they are divided into small family groups called Dola, which are headed by a council of elders with an elected leader. The Vabong secret society, of which there are seven grades, regulates Mumuye religious life. Entry into the society is achieved through initiation ceremonies which include flagellation and an explanation of the meaning of masks and other magical objects.

Mumuye artists are famous for their wooden statues known as Iagalagana. These figures vary from 30 to 160 cm in height and display elongated features and exaggerated ear lobes. Carved by blacksmiths or weavers, they are kept in a separate hut located on a family compound, and are entrusted to the family member who has magical powers. The Iagalagana have divination, apotropaic and rainmaking functions, and serve as prestige objects.

Two principal types of mask are found among the Mumuye. The first is a face mask displaying two large hollowed eye sockets which may have been used during initiation rites. The second type is a shoulder mask, known as Sukwava, which displays an elongated neck set under a diminutive head with large ears. Traditionally, they were used during pre-war ceremonies, but nowadays they are worn during rain-making and healing practices.

The 20,000 Chamba people live south of the Benue River, near the Jukun people. They are socially divided into small kingdoms, each headed by a king assisted by a council of elders whose powers are regulated by male and female secret societies. The Chamba use a type of mask that symbolizes a bush spirit. It has a rounded head with a flattened open mouth and two large backward-sloping horns. It is worn during funerals, circumcisions and inauguration ceremonies.

Chamba figures are rare and their function uncertain. They are usually covered vith an encrusted patina. Another type of Chamba figure is thought to be a medium for communication with the spirit world. Small figures were used to protect an individual from snake bites and were attached to iron spikes and inserted into the grounds

The king of the Jukun, known as the Aka Uku, lives in the town of Wukari from where he rules his 30,000 people. He leads the cult of the ancesitors who are in turn responsible for the welfare of the tribe. Statues are found predominantly among the JukC people in the north west and represent ancestor, as well as wives and slaves. They are displayed during funerals, agricultural ceremonies and in times of danger. During these rites, the figure, serve as an intermediary between the priest the ancestor's world. In the south-western part of the Jukun territory, the role of intermediary is held by male dancers who wear shoulder masks that have a round head, a flattened face and a smooth coiffure.

The Wurkun people live on the right bank of the Benue River, between the Jukun and the Mumuye people, in an area of mountains and hills. Their artistic reputation rests on their columnar figures which tend to be covered in a thick encrusted patina and have a rounded head, often with a crested coiffure. These figures are usually pierced with an iron spike, allowing them to be inserted into the ground. Known as Wundul, these statues have apotropaic functions and are often seen in pairs, protecting field crops, or in house shrines. A group of other statues with highly stylized bodies supporting round heads have been found, although their purpose is still unknown.

The Waja people settled on the northern part of the Benue River and carve large shoulder masks with a columnar neck set under a small head. Little is known about them.

The Goemai and Montol people live on the right bank of the Benue River and are known for their small figures with splayed legs and hands. Members of the Komtin male secret society employ these ancestor representations in divination and curative ceremonies.

The Mama people, also known as the Kantana, live north of the Jos plateau and carve headdresses in the form of highly stylized animal beads. They are worn with a thick fibre costume and symbolize a bush spirit. Worn by energetic dancers, they are thought to bring prosperity to the tribe. There are a number of rare Mama sculptures carved in a rough style with a red weathered patina.

The Hausa people live in northern Nigeria in an area of savannah. Before major communal hunts, known as Bago, the hunters gather wearing a typical headdress over a black cloth. This headdress is can the shape of a bird's head and is usually constructed from a wooden core covered with antelope skin.

The Koro people settled north of the junction of the Niger and Benue Rivers. They carve abstract headdresses embellished with red seeds, which are thought to symbolize ancestor spirits and are used during agricultural rites and important social or family events. Anthropomorphic cups are used for drinking and pouring beer or palm wine during ritual sacrifices or secondary funerals.

The Dakakari people inhabit part of north-west Nigeria and produce terracotta grave markers with a standing human or animal figure set on top of a sphere (B]. Graves of important Dakakari men are surrounded by low stone walls and then filled with earth. Every year, the family of the deceased honour the dead by pouring libations onto these grave markers or into nearby vessels.