The scattered legacy of Nok culture

Unknown to him, he had discovered one of the scattered legacies of an ancient civilization that held sway in vast areas of Northern Nigeria from the fringes of the Sahara to the banks of the Niger and Benue rivers almost 5,000 years before. For those who say Nigeria has no history, the Nok figures prove […]

Unknown to him, he had discovered one of the scattered legacies of an ancient civilization that held sway in vast areas of Northern Nigeria from the fringes of the Sahara to the banks of the Niger and Benue rivers almost 5,000 years before.

For those who say Nigeria has no history, the Nok figures prove them wrong. Relics of the culture that reportedly perished mysteriously some 200 years after Christ were scattered all over the north. They were discovered mistakenly by thin miners and locals in the course of their daily activities.

Today, they are scattered all over the world from Germany to Belgium, France and even the United States were they are appreciated by connoisseurs. Some of them are in private collections, in individuals’ homes, while some are displayed in museums in Europe and the United States.

Unknown

But not much is known about the Nok culture apart from what is evident in their delicately carved figures and some  metal and stone tools. The population was approximated by some experts to be between 2,000-4,000 people and carbon dating has placed the works to be around 2,000 -3,000 years old. The terracotta figures are hollow, coil built with triangular eyes. There are round holes in the eyes, nostrils and lips which are used in burning the figures as they were being made. It is believed they employed the same technique used in pottery. They are made of baked clay (terracotta) and show a wide range of figures, humans with intricate facial expressions, accessories and intricate hairstyles. There are also animal figures as well. Some of the human figures even depict ailments such as facial paralysis.

It is not yet known what purpose these figures were meant to serve but experts have suggested they could have been used for ancestral portrayal, grave markers, charms or even finials of roofs.

There is a large collection of these figures in the Jos Musuem were they were first collected by colonial archaeologists, Bernard Fagg. He had collected some of them from mining sites in Jos as far back as 1928 and had very little idea about them until an English compatriot, the director of  a tin mine in Nok, came to visit. The director had been passing by a yam field and his attention was caught by a curios scarecrow one of his miners had installed in there. He bought the piece and brought it to his archaeologist friend in Jos. That was when Fagg realised there was more to the artifacts he had randomly collected and decided to engage in a systematic search for them.

He discovered 13 statues have been uncovered in faraway Sokoto and there were artifacts coming from Katsina. Large deposits have also been discovered down the Niger and Benue valley. The figures were discovered in scattered locations and today, they are being housed in scattered locations all over the world.

Mystery

It was estimated that after flourishing for centuries, the iron using, farming people of the Nok culture vanished for reasons no one has been able to ascertain. Not much was known about them in the first place and what became of them is an even bigger mystery – how can a seemingly evolved civilization apparently vanish, leaving behind only their equally mysterious carved figures for future generations to marvel at?

Some experts have suggested that the people of Nok culture might have evolved into the Yoruba city state of Ife based on some similarities in Nok art and that of Ife, which were made of bronze. But this is merely a theory with no definite proof.

The fact that most of this artifacts were dug up, not by experts but local artisans and a lack of proper documentation has aided in the mystery. And then there is the fact that the figures have been preserved in alluvial mud, in areas carved by erosion. This has not helped in preserving much of the figures in their original states. Most of them are in fragments and rarely are completes works found. This has made the figures highly valued in the international market.

Fate of the ancients

As of today, there are whole numbers of Nok figures being auctioned in art galleries all over the world. There are huge numbers in Belgium and Germany as well as France and the US. Individuals are purchasing them and adding them to their private art collection and Nigeria’s proud legacy — evidence of one the oldest civilizations in Africa, is being scattered all over the world. All but a few that is being held in some Nigerian museums, mostly in Jos and Lagos and other places. It is fascinating when one beholds the spectacle of art of the ancients that has continued to baffle our generation.