Thursday 24 May 2012



       IGBO UKWU BRONZE AND  ART Igbo-Ukwu community is located in Aguata Local   Government Area of Anambra State. The town is of great historical and cultural significance in Igbo land. The ancient site of Igbo Ukwu is situated in the modern day homelands of Igbo peoples of southern Nigeria. Archaeological finds were first discovered at the site in 1939 when an Igbo farmer named Isaiah Anozie chanced upon several bronze objects as he was digging a cistern to hold water in the dry season. It was not until 1959 that the archaeologist Thurstan Shaw excavated the site and discovered that it must have been part of a storehouse for ritual objects. The site dated 9th or 10th century A.D and it represents one of the earliest examples of bronze casting in sub-Saharan Africa. The site has several parts, including a main burial, associated caches and shrines. Igbo Ukwu was a burial place for elite personages, and the burials identified there were interred with a large quantity of costly grave goods. The principal burial is of a person buried sitting on a stool, in fine clothing and rich grave effects such as over 150,000 glass beads, and accompanied by the remains of at least five attendants. Elaborate cast bronze vases, bowls and ornaments were discovered at Igbo Ukwu, made with the lost wax technique. The detailed and delicate surface decoration of objects, featuring tiny figures of insects and small animals, and the addition of fine wires arranged to emphasize the shape of the piece. The vase illustrated is enveloped in a stylized woven net, possibly inspired by the type of net that would have been used for carrying containers. The site portray a lot of tourist attractions which gives any tourist that visit the area an insight of what the Igbo Ukwu people and Igbo in general where known for. One significant thing about Igbo-Ukwu bronze culture undoubtedly is that it is found in all the migration routes of the Igbos in all parts of Nigeria. This is coupled with the fact that Igbo-Ukwu has the largest deposits of bronze so far discovered in Africa.
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AGULU LAKE


      

 The Lake is located along Awka road in Agulu, Aniocha Local Government Area of the state. A potential tourist site, it is home to an estimated three hundred crocodiles and water turtles. Fishing is not allowed on the lake and the crocodiles, being sacred animals to the people, cannot be killed. Legend says that these crocodiles were instrumental in delivering the town from enemy soldiers during the Nigerian civil war. It is believed that these sacred crocodiles and turtles transformed themselves into beautiful ladies and lured the soldiers unawares into the lake where they disappeared without trace. At noon the crocodiles and the turtles appear at the banks of the lake to take in sunlight. Anambra state which is one of the states that has traditional attractions such as scared streams, lake, with potentials for investment and tourism development of which Agulu Lake is one. Agulu Lake is not a common lake; it traditionally inclined, and it has cultural landmarks and is believed to be possessed by evil spirits. The lake is used for different spiritual rites performance for traditional worshippers and the water serves as a major source of medicine for different ailments. Interestingly, the traditional lake is also the source of Idemili River which serves different communities of Anambra. The Lake is characterized by sacred and cultural landmarks of attraction which is gradually being devastated by natural and human factors of flooding, soil and gully erosion as well as landslides effects due to poorly consolidated geological formations, weathering and pollution.
           
Agulu-Eliya.jpg                                        
                                                                           
Finally, Agulu Lake offers tourist on excursion, boat rides and entertainment. The traditional native doctors utilize the water for different medicaments; it is being sold in bottles during the market day where people purchase it for various purposes. The lake also promotes the community economy through the fund generated from tourist and different treatment medications. Also the lake is believe to cure the
 “Ogbanjes” which are people been possessed by evil spirits.
                     Agulu-Eliya

Hausa History

Hausa History

Hausa History

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Pre Colonial History
The Hausa cultures, which as early as the 7th century A.D were smelting iron ore, arose in what is today northwestern and north central Nigeria, to Bornu’s west. Hausa represents a place (Hausaland), a people (the Hausas), a language and a culture that spans multiple West African Nations, with a heavier concentration in Northern, Nigeria. The origin of these cultures, however, is a mystery.
Hausas exist in  Benin Numbers unknown, in Burkina Faso 500, Cameroon 23,500, Ghana unknown, Niger 5,000,000, Nigeria 28,525,000, Sudan418,000 and Togo 9600.

BAYAJIDDA – The Beginning
Legend has it that Bayajidda (Hausa: Bàyā̀jiddà) the founder of Hausaland came from Baghdad, travelling across the Sahara, and arrived in the Kanem-Bornu Empire, where he married a local princess.
Popular legend has it that, Bayajidda was prince of Baghdad (the capital of Iraq) and son of King Abdullahi, but he was exiled from his home town after Queen Zidam, also known as Zigawa, conquered the city. Once he left Baghdad, he traveled across Africa with numerous warriors and arrived in Borno. In Borno he assisted the ‘Mai’(ruler of Borno) to defeat the surrounding pagans. In appreciation, the  Mai gave Bayajidda his daughter called ‘Maghira’in marriage.
Bayajidda later left Borno and eventually settled with his wife, Maghira, at a settlement called Garun gabas or Biram in Hadejia, since she could not continue with the harzadous journey as a result of pregnancy. She later gave birth to a son who became the chief of the town.
            Meanwhile, Bayajidda continued his journey westwards and arrived at Dala hill in Kano which was then occupied by pagan blacksmiths known as Ábagiyawa’. He stayed briefly before moving northwards and finally arriving at the city of Daura in the night. He lodged in the house of an old woman called ‘Ayana’. When he asked the old woman for water to give his horse. She told him that water was not available except on Fridays because of the menace of a snake in the well. Undaunted, Bayajidda borrowed a calabash and asked for the way to the well. When he put the calabash inside the well the snake seized it. He however, pulled the snake out and cut its head with a knife, drew the water he needed and returned to his lodge.
(Note: Kusugu well is located in the ancient city of Daura. According to historical accounts, the well is associated with the establishment of Daura town in the 7th century and the formation of Sarauta system in hausaland. In the ancient times, the well was the only source of water for the people of Daura, but it harboured a dangerous snake which only allowed people to fetch water from the well on Fridays. The snake was called ‘Sarki’ or simply ‘Ki’ which means ‘refuse’ or ‘reject’.)
            The following morning, the people of the town became amazed when they found the body of the snake beside the well. News of the event reached Daurama, the ruler of the town. She sent two of her senior officials, Kaura and Galadima to investigate the situation and report back their findings. At the well, the Galadima apparently afraid, could not go near, but the more courageous Kaura went up to the beheaded  snake, touched it and confirmed that it was really dead. He reported this to the Queen who promptly appointed him the Commander-in-chief of her Armed Forces.
            After the appointment of Kaura, the Queen ordered to see the man who killed the snake so that she could redeem her pledge to give half of the town to anyone who rid the town of the menace. The order attracted false claims by many ambitious men, who were quickly exposed when asked to show the head of the snake. Eventually, the old woman who hosted Bayajidda remembered her visitor’s request for water. She narrated the event to the Queen and remarked that Bayajidda had watered his horse the previous night. The Queen promptly summoned Bayajidda who convinced her that he killed the snake by presenting its head in a wrapped cloth. When the Queen became satisfied, she offered Bayajidda half of the town in appreciation. But he replied that he would rather marry her. The Queen accepted this and the they were married. Bayajidda moved to the palace and soon afterwards, the people began to call the Queen’s house ‘Gidan Makashin Sarki’ (The house of the man who killed the Snake). According to some sources, this is the origin of ‘Sarki’ the Hausa word for Chief. (Note: “Kusugu” well now reserved for history and the sword are still intact and can be seen by tourists in present day Daura Local Government Area of Kastina State.)
            The royal couple lived together for many years without a child because it was against the custom of the people of Daura for their queens to marry. Daurama made a compromise with Bayajidda and said she would only have sexual intercourse with him later; because of this, she gave him a concubine named Bagwariya. (according to the oral palace version of the legend, Daurama gave him Bagwariya because she wanted to break her "queenly vow to remain a virgin," but had to undergo rituals to do so.)
Bagwariya had a son fathered by Bayajidda and she named him Karap da Gari, or Karbagari which means "he snatched the town" in Hausa. This worried Daurama, and when she had a son of her own (also fathered by Bayajidda), she named him Bawo which means "give it back".
            Bawo gave birth to six children. The first was Kazaure who succeeded him as the Sarki (Chief) of Daura. The second was Kumayo who became the first Sarki of Katsina. The third was Gunguma who became the first Sark of Zazzau (in Kaduna). The fourth was Duma who became the first Sarki of Gobir. The fifth was Bagauda who became the first Sarki of Kano. The sixth was Zamnakogi who became the first Sarki of Rano. Bayajidda’a son by Maghira, hid wife from Borno became the first Sarki of Biram. These Kingdoms founded by the legitimate descendents of Bayajidda are known as the seven Hausa states (Hausa Bakwai).
            According to some versions of the story, Bawo’s brother Karbo gari is also credited with seven sons, who established the Chiefdoms of Zamfara, Nupe, Gwari, Yauri, Katanga, Kebbi and Jukun (in Taraba). These seven states are referred to as ‘Banza Bakwai’ (the false seven) because they were founded by the illegitimate decedents of Bayajidda through his concubine.
The rise of the Hausa states occurred between 500 and 700 A.D., but it was not until 1200 that they really began to control the region. The history of the area is intricately tied to Islam and the Fulani who wrested political power from the Hausa in the early 1800s through a series of holy wars.
Leadership in the early Hausa states was based on ancestry. Those who could trace their relations back to Bayajidda were considered royal. With the introduction of Islam, many Hausa rulers adopted this new religion while at the same time honoring traditional ways. This position allowed the elite to benefit from the advantages of both systems.

 

Map of Nigeria's main linguistic groups, as of 1979Map of Nigeria
Left: Map of Nigeria's main linguistic groups, as of 1979 (Hausa and Fulani are in yellow).
Right: Map of present day Nigeria.
Since the beginning of Hausa history, the seven states of Hausaland divided up production and labor activities in accordance with their location and natural resources. Kano and Rano were known as the "Chiefs of Indigo." Cotton grew readily in the great plains of these states, and they became the primary producers of cloth, weaving and dying it before sending it off in caravans to the other states within Hausaland and to extensive regions beyond. Biram was the original seat of government, while Zaria supplied labor and was known as the "Chief of Slaves." Katsina and Daura were the "Chiefs of the Market," as their geographical location accorded them direct acccess to the caravans coming across the desert from the north. Gobir, located in the west, was the "Chief of War" and was mainly responsible for protecting the empire from the invasive Kingdoms of Ghana and Songhai.
There was an Islamic presence in Hausaland as early as the 11th century. According to tradition, Islam was brought to Hausa territory by Muhommad Al-Maghili, an Islamic cleric, teacher, and missionary, who came from Bornu toward the end of the 15th century. Early Islamization proceeded peacefully, mainly at the hands of prophets, pilgrims, and merchants. In the early days the number of individuals who accepted Islam was small, and among those who did, it was usually practiced along with traditional Hausa religious beliefs. In many cases, the ruling elite were the first to convert to Islam. It was not until the early 1800s that the Fulani began to put pressure on the Hausa to undergo large scale conversion. Through a series of holy wars (jihads) the northern part of what is today Nigeria was unified in the name of Islam under the auspices of the Fulani empire

Shaihu Usman Dan Fodio – Fulani Takeover
The seven city-states developed as strong trading centers, typically surrounded by a wall and with an economy based on intensive farming, cattle raring, craft making, and later slave trading. In each Hausa state, a monarch, probably elected, ruled over a network of feudal lords, most of whom had embraced Islam by the 14th century. The states maintained persistent rivalries, which at times made them easy prey to the expansion of Bornu and other kingdoms.
Fulani Map
-Current map of the Fulani coverage of West Africa-
A perhaps greater, if more subtle, threat to the Hausa kingdoms was the immigration of Fulani pastoralists, who came from the west to make a home in the Nigerian savanna and who permeated large areas of Hausa land over several centuries. In 1804 a Fulani scholar, Usuman dan Fodio, declared a jihad (holy war) against the Hausa states, whose rulers he condemned for allowing Islamic practices to deteriorate. Local Fulani leaders, motivated by both spiritual and local political concerns, received Usuman’s blessing to overthrow the Hausa rulers. With their superior cavalry and cohesion, the Fulani overthrew the Hausa rulers and also conquered areas beyond Hausa land, including Adamawa to the east and Nupe and Ilorin to the south.
After the war, a loose federation of 30 emirates emerged, each recognizing the supremacy of the sultan of Sokoto, located in what is now far northwestern Nigeria. The first sultan of Sokoto was Usuman. After Usuman died in 1817, he was succeeded by his son, Muhammad Bello. Militarily and commercially powerful, the Sokoto caliphate dominated the region throughout the 19th century.

Illustration of Usman Dan FodioShaihu Usman dan Fodio (Arabic: عثمان بن فودي ، عثمان دان فوديو‎), born Usuman ɓii Foduye, (also referred to as Shaikh Usman Ibn Fodio, Shehu Uthman Dan Fuduye, or Shehu Usman dan Fodio, 1754–1817) was the founder of the Sokoto Caliphate in 1809. A religious teacher, writer and Islamic promoter, Dan Fodio was one of a class of urbanized ethnic Fulani living in the Hausa States in what is today northern Nigeria. A teacher of the Maliki school of law and the Qadiriyyah order of Sufism, he lived in the city-state of Gobir (present day Nasarawa) until 1802 when, motivated by his reformist ideas and under increased repression by local authorities, he led his followers into exile. This exile began a political and social revolution which spread from Gobir throughout modern Nigeria and Cameroon, and was echoed in an ethnicly Fula-led Jihad movement across West Africa. Dan Fodio declined much of the pomp of rulership, and while developing contacts with religious reformists and Jihad leaders across Africa, he soon passed actual leadership of the Sokoto state to his son, Muhammed Bello.

Dan Fodio wrote more than a hundred books concerning religion, government,culture and society. He developed a critique of existing African Muslim elites for what he saw as their greed, paganism, or violation of the standards of Sharia law, and heavy taxation. He encouraged literacy and scholarship, including for women, and several of his daughters emerged as scholars and writers. His writings and sayings continue to be much quoted today, and is often affectionately referred to as Shehu in Nigeria. Some followers consider dan Fodio to have been a Mujaddid, a divinely inspired "reformer of Islam".[2]
Dan Fodio's uprising is a major episode of a movement described as the Fulani (Peul) hegemonies in the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It followed the jihads successfully waged in Fuuta-Ɓundu, Fuuta-Jalon andFuuta-Tooro between 1650 and 1750, which led to the creation of those three islamic states. In his turn, Shehu inspired a number of later West African jihads, including those of Masina Empire founderSeku Amadu, Toucouleur Empire founder El Hadj Umar Tall (who married one of dan Fodio's granddaughters), and Adamawa Emirate founder Modibo Adama.

Training

Dan Fodio' was well-educated in classical Islamic science, philosophy and theology and became a revered religious thinker. His teacher, Jibril ibn 'Umar, argued that it was the duty and within the power of religious movements to establish the ideal society free from oppression and vice. His teacher was a North African Muslim alim who gave his apprentice a broader perspective of the Muslim reformist ideas in other parts of the Muslim world. Dan Fodio used his influence to secure approval to create a religious community in his hometown of Degel that would, dan Fodio hoped, be a model town. He stayed there for 20 years, writing, teaching and preaching.
In 1802, the ruler of Gobir and one of dan Fodio's students, Yunfa turned against him, revoking Degel's autonomy and attempting to assassinate dan Fodio. Dan Fodio and his followers fled into the western grasslands of Gudu (present day Niger State) where they turned for help to the local Fulani nomads. In his book Tanbih al-ikhwan ’ala ahwal al-Sudan (“Concerning the Government of Our Country and Neighboring Countries in the Sudan”) Usman wrote: “The government of a country is the government of its king without question. If the king is a Muslim, his land is Muslim; if he is an Unbeliever, his land is a land of Unbelievers. In these circumstances it is obligatory for anyone to leave it for another country”.[3] Usman did exactly this when he left Gobir in 1802. After that, Yunfa turned for aid to the other leaders of the Hausa states, warning them that dan Fodio could trigger a widespread jihad.[4]

The Fulani War

Usman dan Fodio was proclaimed Amir al-Muminin or Commander of the Faithful in Gudu. This made him political as well as religious leader, giving him the authority to declare and pursue a jihad, raise an army and become its commander. A widespread uprising began in Hausaland. This uprising was largely composed of the Fulani, who held a powerful military advantage with their cavalry. It was also widely supported by the Hausa peasantry who felt over-taxed and oppressed by their rulers. Usuman started the jihad against Gobir in 1804.
The Fulani communication during the war was carried along trade routes and rivers draining to the Niger-Benue valley, as well as the delta and the lagoons. The call for jihad did not only reach other Hausa states such as Kano, Katsina and Zaria but also Borno, Gombe, Adamawa, Nupe and Ilorin. These were all places with major or minor groups of Fulani alims.
Fulani Women and Face Painted Girl
After only a few short years of the Fulani War, dan Fodio found himself in command of the largest state in Africa, the Fulani Empire. His son Muhammed Bello and his brother Abdullahi carried out the jihad and took care of the administration. Dan Fodio worked to establish an efficient government grounded in Islamic law. After 1811, Usman retired and continued writing about the righteous conduct of the Muslim belief. After his death in 1817, his son, Muhammed Bello, succeeded his as amir al-mu’mininand became the ruler of the Sokoto Caliphate, which was the biggest state south of the Sahara at that time. Usman’s brother Abdullahi was given the title emir of Gwandu, and he was placed in charge of the Western Emirates, Nupe and Ilorin. Thus, all Hausa states, parts of Nupe, Ilorin and Fulani outposts in Bauchi and Adamawa were all ruled by a single politico-religious system. From the time of Usman dan Fodio there were twelve caliphs, until the British conquest at the beginning of the twentieth century.
Fulani Cattle Herder
 (Sources: Countriesquest, Hospitalitynigeria, Wikipedia, Uiowa, Dauralga)




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IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION IN TOURISM PROMOTION

IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION IN TOURISM PROMOTION

IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION IN TOURISM PROMOTION

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 Image:    Igbo Ukwu brozen pot



        A child whether conceived in Africa, America, Asia or Europe is born without knowledge or “Culture”. From the beginning of time, most pre-literate societies had little or no form of learning system, or what one would ordinarily call school or teachers. As societies grew more complex however, the quality of knowledge to be passed on from one generation to the next became more than any person can know, and hence there must evolve more selective and efficient means of cultural transmission. Education is therefore designed to guide the society in learning a culture, molding the behavioral pattern of the society and putting a society on the right direction. With time, society became ever more importance to education and it also began to formulate the overall objective, content, organization and strategies of education. In this manner, education as a district disciple came into being and it is constantly been defined and redefined in various countries to meet the national goals and aspirations. Nigeria as a country has gone along way in providing good education system to us citizens. Government have for years put more efforts in the development of education both financially and otherwise. These notwithstanding, the Federal Ministry of Education have contributed their own quota for the betterment of our education policy which has yet meet its desirable goals.
         However, for a sustainable tourism development in Nigeria, proper education programmed should not be neglected. Education is a very vital option in the development of our tourism industry. Nigeria which is blessed with both natural and cultural attractions has a lot to showcase to the entire world. The most important thing is that about 70% of our tourism potentials are mainly located in our rural areas thereby facing negligence which causes to the destruction and fading of these attractions. Our cultural attractions are one of the best in the world. But it is now facing a big problem of uncontinueity due to poor education of our people. Some of our natural attractions faces the problem of undeveloped, thereby attract low or no tourist to these destinations. We cannot over emphasize on this issue, proper education programme should be put in place in educating the Nigerian public about the importance of tourism both in economic and human resource development of these country.
     Without missing words, Nigeria is looking forward in becoming one of the ten richest economic countries of the world by 20, 2020, tourism being one of the fastest growing economic institutions in the world should not be neglected in this aspect. Educating the Nigerian public is very vital on the protection, preservation and maintenance of these wonderful gifts which God has endowened us with. The impediment Nigeria as a country faces in tourism development is un-professionalized staff in the industry. The human resource structure of our tourism industry is not encouraging. Some of the personnel working under this industry both in the federal, state and local government levels know nothing about tourism. This is the major impediment which the tourism industry in Nigeria is suffering today. The cause of this impediment is low education programmes by our federal ministry of culture and tourism, the federal ministry of education, other stake holders and Tourism experts. Education is very important in every aspect of human life. It uplift’s a society and make them a vital tool in the development of any country or state. For our tourism industry to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s), our government should consider education as one of the tools for promoting tourism.
For Nigeria to have a sustainable tourism development these facts need to be considered;
·  Tourism courses should be introduced in the curriculum of various education levels be it primary, secondary and tertiary education programme in Nigeria. This I believe will help to have more graduates capable of putting in place sustainable tourism plan in the country, not only graduates, but also adequate manpower and human resources management in our tourism industry.
· The media has relevant role to play in the education of the Nigeria public on the relevance of our tourism potentials. These tourist attractions can be documented and viewed in our various television stations throughout the country. They can be published in our various newspapers, magazines, journals, text books e.t.c. for the education of our people. Educating our people through this medium will make them to become the custodian of these tourist attractions that are found within their community.
·  Tourism agencies and industries in Nigeria should at least organize a training programme like; seminars, workshops, conferences e.t.c. for their staff, school children, people in the local communities e.t.c. This will help in educating the public on how to maintain and manage various tourism potentials within their domain.
     Federal Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Nigerian Tourism Development Cooperation (NTDC) and other relevant agencies in the tourism industry in Nigeria should be organizing a workshop especially in our local communities, educating them on the relevance of those attractions located within their community. Making them to understand that these attractions contributes to the economic development of their community and the country at large. The workshop can also be used in telling the local community that these tourist attractions both cultural and natural attractions puts their name in the world heritage list if properly harnessed. For instance, the state that has put their cultural heritage into the world heritage list are Osun State – Osun  Osogbo festival,  The Sukur Kingdom in Adamawa State e.t.c. This will make the communities to look after these materials of great importance.
            Finally, development cannot be completed without education. Education is a vital tool in the sustainable development of any country. For our tourism industry to compete favourably with its counterparts across the world, good education policy should be endorsed for the promotion of our tourism industry. We cannot continue loosing what we have because of illiteracy among our people, but let us all join hands together to make our beloved country Nigeria tourist heaven.








THE SUKUR KINGDOM IN ADAMAWA STATE


THE SUKUR KINGDOM IN ADAMAWA STATE
BY 
EZEANI JOHNPAUL 
Johnpaul_ezeani@yahoo.com
08063502100

              Sukur kingdom the cultural landscape with its palace, terraced fields, ritual features and villages whose unchanged settings have survived for many centuries, it is located on the highest plains on Mandara Mountains in Madagali Local Government Area of Adamawa State in northeastern Nigeria. The site is among the over 1, 300 sites, including historic buildings, archaeological sites as well as works of “monumental sculpture or painting. These are the features that hyped and made the United Nations’ Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to notice and granted World Heritage Status (WHS) to the site in 1999. UNESCO calls it an exceptional landscape illustrating a form of land-use that marks a critical stage in human settlement and its relationship with its environment. The cultural landscape of Sukur is also eloquent testimony to a strong and continuing spiritual and cultural tradition that has endured for many centuries. The term 'Mandara montagnards' is commonly applied to the indigenous peoples of the Mandara highlands, it is recognized that they are closely related to their neighbors on the plains, for example the Wandala, whose chief resides in Mora, the Gisiga who live south of Maroua, and the Pabir and Bura who live some distance west of the Margi Dzirngu (literally Margi of the mountain). They all speak languages of the Central branch of the Chadic family of languages. This is not true of the Choa (or Shuwa) Arabs who speak Arabic, a language of the Semitic family which is distantly related to Chadic. The Kanuri speak a Saharan language of a different phylum, and the Fulbe a West Atlantic language of a third language phylum (Niger-Congo or Congo-Kordofanian). In fact the only indigenous phylum not represented in this area is Khoi-San, which includes the languages of the San (Bushmen) of southern Africa.                         
FOOT OF THE KINGDOM.jpgENTERANCE.jpg

                  At the foot of the kingdom it has two gates, of varying size the small one and big one the big gate is for everybody’s use while the small gate is for the king only. The Sukur people have a belief that the king is not supposed to share the same passage with ordinary people; therefore the king has his own passage in most of the gates. Sacrifice is also being offered at the gate by slaughtering a goat. The bones of the goat get buried in the middle of the road and the skin of the goat is tied from end to end by a special method. Gradually, the extended goat-hide disappears and this is taken to be a sign of appreciation from the gods. Another thing is that it signifies an assurance from the gods concerning protection from all evil and an additional blessing in all that they do. The second gate has a guard who takes care of the gate and the king’s grave yard. The puzzling thing about this is that the person in charge of the gate is not at liberty to see the king face-to-face as if that happens, “something terrible” would befall the king or the people. And once it is late, nobody is allowed to pass beyond the gate–no matter whom. The atmosphere at the kingdom is calm and breezy. Inside the kings compound there is small hut meant for the king to sit and watch all activities taking place in his domain. Few steps away from the king’s hut there is a shrine and seats for the king’s men. The shrine is known as Medala. It houses a very deep hole into which their local wine is poured every year as a form of sacrifices done to ascertain the possibility of a good harvest of crops. If the hole is still filled up when it is opened after a year, it indicates having a good harvest but if the hole is empty, the omen is that of a bad harvest.
                  
/KINGDOM IT SELF.jpg/KING HOUSE.jpg

               In Sukur kingdom is it made-up of 27 clans but only one clan has been ruling them for years now. At the kings places it is been decorated with title holder seat and waiting place for visitors all these are build with stones of various sizes. Also within the same confines there is some sort of a chalet for young, immature children, and mature men are not allowed to stay in the king’s palace. According to Sukur tradition, only the first wife of the king prepares his food. The rest of his wives serve their duty as ordinary wives to the king. Furthermore, before contact with the West, the Sukur people were civilized in their own special way. They had their own locally made coin that they used within their community for the purpose of buying food and valuable items. The coin is made-up of a substance found on the mountain which they melted and shaped in form of a circle. They also have a multipurpose hall where decisions and other issues are being discussed. It also serves as a court yard where punishment is meted out to offenders. The guilty is tied up by the legs and left in a hole for days until he/she accepts his/her fault. Another form of punishment is that the guilty gets thrown into a hole which serves as a prison cell until the king and the king’s men have decided to let them out. It is only in the multipurpose hall that anybody in the community has the right to bare their mind, even to the king.
                  Finally, after touring the site, you don’t leave by the same gate you gained entrance to the palace–there is an exit. At the exit gate there is a forbidden stone. The stone is placed so that it separates the passage for ordinary people and that of the king. If anybody touches the stone, small rashes like chickenpox are believed to appear on the person’s body and are without cure unless a sacrifice is offered to the gods. More astoundingly, they don’t have a specific deity that they call god but they believe that there is someone up in the sky that is special. The community is made up of mostly farmers, hunters and blacksmiths. They grow crops like millet, maize, rice and many others. But the mountain dwellers seem to be living a prehistoric life. They go about half-naked and very far from civilization. SUKUR THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE OF NIGERIA!!!!



TOURISM A KEY FACTOR TO OUR CULTURAL HERITAGE.


TOURISM A KEY FACTOR TO OUR CULTURAL HERITAGE.
BY
EZEANI JOHNPAUL
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           Nigerian’s cultural heritage is our greatest asset for tourism. Hence the concept “ cultural heritage which connotes a cherished and preserved tradition has emerged and broadened the idea or culture so much that in practice it now includes almost everything that is a record of people’s upheld behavioral pattern” whether indigenously developed or extremely instigated. Our cultural heritage consist of both the material and non-material art forms which are testimonies form the past, including cultural landscape and historic objects. Since the social, economic and geographical environment in which the cultural materials survived are parts of the heritage. Tourism as a factor, had helped in a very big way in the promotion of these cultural heritage which the country posses. Consequently, the recently staged Abuja carnival, Argungu fishing festival, Osun-Osogbo festival, Masquerade festival of the south-east of the country etc is most welcome. These festivals have contributed in the upliftment of our tourism industry. These festivals have attracted both domestic and international tourist respectively. Positioning our tourism industry towards the sustainable development of our cultural heritage is a very welcome development. Tourism promotion in Nigeria will help in marketing our rich cultural heritage. Nigeria is one of the richest countries in terms of culture. Almost all the 36 states that make up the Nigerian country have one or more cultural heritage to show the entire world. It is quite unfortunate that these our cultural materials are facing destructions because of lack of knowledge. Christianity in this country has lead to the destruction of our cultural heritage. Christians sees these cultural material and activities as fetish, thereby preach against them. We cannot continue this way because these cultural materials and activities have something to showcase. Let’s take Abuja carnival as an example; this is a carnival that have attracted tourist in and outside the country. This is also a carnival that has showcased the rich cultural heritage of this country, thereby bringing the entire ethnic group in the country together.
               With this carnival and other cultural carnival in the country, we can boost for our cultural ingenuity among our people. It suffixes to say that Tourism being the movement of people from the place they reside to another destination for the purpose of Leisure, Business, Sport, site seeing, Meeting etc can help in the promotion of our cultural heritage. A tourist visiting a particular destination to experience the culture of the people will spend what he/she has in order to enjoy him/herself. This situation will boost the economy of the destination visited. Tourism being a factor of development will help to develop a destination where people visit for cultural activities and their natural attraction. Provision of access road, good drinking water, electricity and security will be in its earnest for the satisfaction of the tourist, thereby attract more and more tourist to a particular destination because the type of attraction in a giving destination will determine the type of tourist that will visit the destination. Making tourism a priority to our cultural heritage will help in continuity of our various cultural heritages. The Nigerian community should have it in their mind that these cultural practices are the only thing that makes us the most popular black African country in the world. We should protect what the almighty have given us and work towards harnessing them. Christians should stop the destruction of our cultural materials and activities because it is wickedness to what our fore- fathers have left for us to look after. 
                 Conclusively, Making Nigeria tourism friendly will help in the preservation and protection of our cultural heritage. Tourism industry in Nigeria should provide a conducive environment for our cultural materials and activities so as to attract more tourists. Many countries has benefited in this context, Nigeria should bear in mind that our cultural heritage is being cherished by people all over the world. Tourism knows no doubt is the key factor in harnessing of our cultural heritage. Therefore, Nigeria government and other tourism experts should map out a strategy in promoting our cultural heritage.
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