Rock art: Inside Jigawa’s network of Kings & commoners

Good newsIn May this year several rock paintings were discovered in Gwaram local government area of Jigawa State by inhabitants of the communities. There are three fresh rock painting sites in the local government. The people of these villages had always known of these rock paintings. Some  have known about same for 20 or even […]

Good news
In May this year several rock paintings were discovered in Gwaram local government area of Jigawa State by inhabitants of the communities. There are three fresh rock painting sites in the local government. The people of these villages had always known of these rock paintings. Some  have known about same for 20 or even 30 years back. But they kept quiet about the sites, and would always go to the rock to gaze upon the great cattle depicted there by  the ancient artist.  However, this year events inspired them to make a formal report of the rock paintings  existing in their villages.
The first rock painting was found on Nasarawa hill  which sits by the village bearing the same name. The next was unearthed at Galambi, while the third was found in a cave in the village of Yawaso.These findings were brought to the knowledge of the National Museum also called the Rock Art Interpretation Centre, Birnin Kudu in the month of May this year  by residents of the communities. Interestingly, information about two other rock painting sites has emerged. The information is yet to be confirmed by the Museum, Dikko Idris, its young agile  Curator tells Daily Trust. Speaking on rock art, he  says, “rock art is as old as  human existence, because rock art is one of the early symbols that shows human existence. Most of the objects that show human existence are organic and used to decay, but rock paintings and engravings don’t usually decay.So anywhere you see rock paintings or rock engravings, it  shows that it was an early settlement of human beings.”
He adds that the first rock painting in Africa was discovered in Tanzania and it has been dated  to a period  27,000 years ago. His words “That is the oldest rock painting in Africa, but some historians are of the opinion that it’s older than that. They feel it should be  at least 50,000 years old.”
Old sites
The story begins exactly  50 years ago  when rock paintings were discovered in Birnin Kudu, a  local government in Jigawa State, by a colonial touring group. But no names are mentioned in the records Dikko says. Today, these are the exciting rock paintings, which  can be seen at Dutsen Mesa, Dutsen Habode and Dutsen Murufu sites all within Birnin Kudu. It is also easy to understand why the ancients chose to paint around these rocks. The rocks are truly impressive forms, and  tower just a bit above the surrounding countryside. Dutsen Mesa fascinates.It has a rock gong which the ancients used to communicate  when the need arose. Then there is a rock shelter,and the visitor  has the thrill of walking right inside the rock for a few metres, and to experience the Bats who seem to protest  when humans violate their dark and cold abode. Of course, there  is the painting of cattle on the rock, and  then a series of steps which have been made  to assist the visitor to the site. The site has been fenced by the National Commission for Museum and Monuments (NCMM) ,and seats have been provided for the visitor to sit and enjoy the quiet environment, that inspired the ancients to draw, and still has capacity to inspire the moderns. Dutsen Murufu is quite magnetic. It takes the form of a tripod. Here are is one large horizontal stone which sits upon two others which seem to hold it. One cannot really blame the ancients for being moved to mix paints and to draw cattle and a few other forms, beneath  this great awesome stone. All three  of the initial sites  in Birnin Kudu are fenced, and have seats provided for the visitor.
Dikko’s  dream
Dikko Idris ,a graduate of  History from the Ahmadu Bello Unversity, Zaria is the Curator in charge of all these sites.  When he  began work in Birnin Kudu in 2010 he had a strong feeling that there ought to be other rock paintings to be unearthed in the state, apart from the three already found in Birnin Kudu.
His  words “When I first came here in 2010, I realized that we have three sites in Birnin Kudu. It occurred to me that there should be other sites for rock art in the state. I felt deep within me that there should be other rock art sites in  Jigawa State, because  rock art is  a culture that cuts across Africa. I decided to go round to look for more sites.”

Thus began a number of interventions which had far reaching effects in the communities across Birnin Kudu and the neighbouring Gwaram local government. He had a fairly lengthy discussion with the District Head of Birnin Kudu, “who passed the information to his Ward Heads  that whenever  they find such rock paintings in their domain, they  should quickly report to him, and he would report such to the Museum.”
King, commoner, Museum
There  were several levels of intervention in the communities of the state. He speaks of the distribution of newsletters to parts of the state. According to him “We used to distribute news bulletins to different parts of Jigawa state,to organize governmental and nongovernmental  organizations, as  well as individuals, telling them about our work. Some of them used to come here, and ask us about our functions, and we were glad to explain our work to them. This is how information about the Museum in Birnin  Kudu cut across all the nooks and crannies of Jigawa State. We told them that our major concern was a focus on rock art.So, whenever they found such rock  art, they should come forward and make a report of such finds. We then used to tell them the benefits of the paintings, that when you report it to us, we will come and protect it, and together with the community, we will manage the place. One day the government will come and do something for you, in order to thank you for protecting the site. So, people have been coming to make reports.” Thus a powerful  cultural network has formed  linking King, commoner  and the Museum, and it will be replicated all over the state. This is Dikko’s hope. Abdullahi Dass, HOD Education at the Museum speaks of a school outreach which will take information about the Museum to school children.
According to him “We are planning   a school outreach that would explain the significance of rock art to children. But we are planning to reach the teachers first. Sadly, most teachers don’t know the value of paintings. We are working on a timetable for visiting schools around us. We shall start with Birnin Kudu and Gwaram local governments areas first. These local governments will  serve as a pilot programme, and the teachers will be encouraged to use rock art as teaching aids in class, especially for the teaching of fine art, geography and social studies.”
Three reports
The first report about new rock paintings was made in early May. Dikko  Idris recalls ‘The first report was made by Yunusa  Hamza Farin Dutse, who works with an NGO  here in Birnin Kudu. The site is located in his village which is within Farin Dutse.When he saw our motor cycle in town, he now called the person on the motorcycle, and asked him if he works at the Museum. He now told him that in his community there are rock paintings which he has seen. He gave our staff his number. I now called the number, linked up with him, and we went to the site. We met the District Head and the Ward Head. We told them our mission, and they attached us to a local guide, who took us to the  nearby village where the rock painting is located. We went and climbed the rock, and saw the  rock painting. It  is  an image of cattle, with a rope attached to one  and it is located in Nasarawa village. After this we reported the issue to our headquarters in Abuja, and Dr Musa Hambolu, the Director  Research, Planning and Publications, also came here to view the site.” He adds that later Yunusa  Hamza Farin Dutse  came with a report of another painting in another village named Galambi. Again a visit was made to the site and the rock painting was seen. The third site is found within a cave at  Yawazo, also in Gwaram  local government. His words “We heard  of a village that has a rock painting in a cave. Yawazo is the name of the village. We went there and climbed the rock, and saw the paintings. We saw many animals painted there. There were  also images and designs that one cannot easily understand at first glance.”
Also in the month of May two additional reports have been made of rock paintings seen in Birnin Kudu local government. But these have not yet been confirmed by Dikko and his team who are  yet to visit the  new  sites.
Nasarawa site
The first of the sites  to be discovered is the Nasarawa site. To get to the Nasarawa site which is a large, looming rock, you have to first arrive at Farin Dutse, which is the Ward within which Nasarawa community falls.Alhaji Mustapha Hassan   is the Ward Head of Farin Dutse. He says that people in his community have been aware of rock paintings for countless s decades. His words “Out great grandparents were aware of these rock paintings. But  people did not know the value of the paintings and did not report their discoveries to anyone.” He thinks that the rock paintings will bring blessings to his community, and says that the arrival of the reporter in the community, is also part of the blessings he is referring to.
His words “Yes, the rock paintings will bring blessings to our community. Even the arrival of the Curator, and today, this journalist, is part of the blessing.” He admits that children used to play around the paintings in the past, and adds that certain safety nets have been put in place.
His words “Children used to play around the rock paintings. But we recently announced that nobody should go  and play around the paintings. We will  take action against any child playing there.” The District  Head adds that he has been sending information among the six village Heads under him, who will send a similar message to all their communities, drawing attention to the significance of rock paintings, and the need for people to come forward with information about any fresh find. His words “I have been sending information to all my village heads, that if they or their people see any rock paintings they should make a report. There are six village heads under me. Each one has a number of villages which he supervises. “Mohammed Kani is the Ward Head of Nasarawa village. He tells Daily Trust that he is happy with the discovery in the rocks, and hopes that some benefits will flow from the find. Like many other villagers, he said he grew up knowing about the rock paintings, and always wondered who painted them. He says that he has spoken to his fellow villagers, asking them to be careful, and not to tamper with the paintings.
DG NCMM speaks
Yusuf Abdallah Usman,the Director General, National Commission for Museums and monuments (NCMM), tells Daily Trust that now that the sites have been discovered they will have to be properly identified and documented. His words “We will have to identify the sites and a documentation will have to be made. This involves making a description of the site, taking note of the physical features, the state of conservation, and the history of the site. Then a documentation of the site will have to be carried out.” He adds that a detailed plan of how to manage the site will have to be done. This will also bear in mind the features of the area, and  whether the site is in a pristine state. Explaining that documenting “such sites is a very detailed procedure,” he added that “effort will be made to see if there is any relationship between these discovered sites, and others in the geo-cultural region such as those in Jigawa  as well as in Kano, as well as rock art in Cross River.

Also, is there anything we can learn about the ancient people’s who did these things?  “He adds that  the sites will have to be dated, so as to compare these with the ages of other similar sites across the country.” The dating procedure can only be done abroad, he emphasises. he adds that the recent surge of information on rock paintings in Jigawa state is a s a result of the activities of the commission which has set up a centre of rock art interpretation in Birnin Kudu, which people in the community naturally gravitate towards.
His words “In the past people were not bothered about rock art because they did not know where to go. Now, we have given them a museum, and they can easily go in there and talk about their findings. “He  says that the NCMM is currently carrying out an inventory of Heritage sites in the country, a process which is bound to yield more historical and cultural sites within the country. This is an exciting  season for the Commission, he implies.
Museum as magnet
Dikko Idris now opens up on his plans for the Museum. There are plans to grow the Museum at Birnin Kudu which will establish a powerful link between the Museum and the numerous  communities in the state. His words “I have a plan on ground  to connect the Museum with the local communities around us. There is the intangible cultural heritage that takes place sometimes annually, or at regular intervals, such as the famous annual Fulani get together, as well as the Dodo or masquerade performances in Birnin Kudu, and the traditional wrestling event. Such kind of cultures if marketed to the world, will attract a lot of tourists to Jigawa State. I am liasing with the  leaders of  such communities to make sure that when they are going to have such events ,they will inform us so  that we will go and observe it ,and make some adjustments and observations. This is done so the event will attract more tourists. I saw this sort of idea in practice at the British Museum. So, if the Brazilians   are having a celebration, the British Museum would allow them to organize such within its premises, and this will attract visitors. I decided to copy such and reproduce it here.” He adds that the NCMM  will soon give out a contract for the construction of an auditorium as well as a gallery within the premises of the Museum at Birnin Kudu. His  words “My next plan is to try and get a projector. Then such intangible cultural heritage,such as local wrestling, can be captured in a 7 minute video. After taking visitors through the gallery,  we will now take them to the auditorium, and show them the video of the intangible cultural heritage of Jigawa  State.” He explains “Then whoever has the interest to see it live, can come again to watch it when it is taking place.”