Motherland Nigeria: Peoples Profile

CONTENTS OF THIS PAGE rotating globe

POPULATION
RELIGION
CHRISTIANITY
ISLAM
TRADITIONAL
INFLUENCE
ETHNIC GROUPS
YORUBA
IBO (or IGBO)
HAUSA (& FULANI)
OTHERS
Also, at the bottom of this page, there are links to search the net or search for books for more information.

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POPULATION

In case you didn’t know, most Nigerians are ‘black’.
(Yes, I know that is not ‘politically correct’. Yes, I also know it is not accurate either…my hair is ‘black’, my skin is ‘brown’.)

Population figures in Nigeria have never been reliable. They are usually estimated, and even these can differ. I have seen an estimate of 101 million people from the ABC Country Book, 114 million from the World Bank, 127 million from the United Nations estimate, all for the year 1995.

It has one of the highest population densities in the world (at one time, it had the third highest population densities), and roughly 1 out of every 4 Africans is a Nigerian.

There ARE plans to conduct another population census in the year 2001. In the meantime, this page prints two articles that I found on Nigeria’s population and it’s growth, and this page gives population figures/ratios from the US Census Bureau, and this page shows some additional figures.

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RELIGION

To most Nigerians, religion and faith are important aspects of everyday life. It controls the laws, how you think and act, what you believe, what you value, and more. (Of course, in any ‘religion’, there are going to be hypocrites who claim to be what they are not.)

The religions in Nigeria are roughly 45% Christian, 45% Muslim, and about 10% ‘everything else’, including traditional religions and beliefs. Though the government supports the different religions, the past rulers have usually been Muslim.

Because it is difficult to ‘summarize’ the beliefs and history of a religion, and because this page is to give facts and not to preach, I try to give just the highlights of the religions below. For more information on the actual religion, you can find them in the books of the religion, or by searching other sites on the web for these topics.
CHRISTIANITY

Deity God
Followers Christians
Book The Bible
Place of Worship The Church
‘Main Prophet’ Jesus Christ

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ISLAM

Deity Allah
Followers Muslims
Book The Quran (spellings may differ)
Place of Worship The Mosque
Main Prophet Muhammed (spellings may differ)

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TRADITIONAL

There are a number of different traditional religions available. They usually are specific to the different ethnic groups, and the deities are usually the gods and goddesses that the ethnic group believes in, and each ethnic group had a shrine dedicated to the deities that it believed in. The deities ranged from those who created the earth, to those who offer divine protection and/or blessings to it’s worshippers, to those who had control over certain aspects of the world (like weather or war), to spirits that can be somewhat controlled by human beings. Most of these religions did not have written documentation of their beliefs and practices, but they did rely on a priest to teach them and to intervene on their behalf, and the priests were usually very highly trained for this, to the extent of being raised for this task sometimes.

Some of the deities were represented by inanimate objects, while others were represented by animate objects, some of which are now valuable antiques in museums and holy places.

Here are some other links that may provide you with more information on traditional religions:
RootsAndRooted: Information about Orisa (Orisha) practices and temples
LinkServe: Religion in Nigeria
African Traditional Religion
West African Dahomean Vodoun
TheAncestralCall.com
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INFLUENCE

Outside influence from the missionaries of the different religions has influenced different parts of the culture in Nigeria. For instance, early Christian missionaries aided with getting printed matter, including vocabulary of the different languages, and teaching English to the people. Also, missionaries aided with Nigerian buildings and architecture, and with education and healthcare.

In terms of healthcare, though western medicine was brought into the country and is practiced, there is no doubt that there are still traditional forms of healing that have been beneficial, and now a mixture of the two are used. This is not particular to only Nigeria. Even in the United States, people are starting to realize the power of natural herbs and remedies in treating ailments.

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ETHNIC GROUPS

There are many many ethnic groups in Nigeria. The three most popular ones are Yoruba, Ibo (also spelled Igbo), and Hausa-Fulani, and I intend to have a lot more information in this section, especially about my own. For now though, here are some other links I found that MIGHT help (I haven’t looked at them closely myself). Also, many of these ethnic groups have organizations worldwide, and I have an ever-growing list here.

YORUBA

The Yoruba people live mostly in the Southwestern states. Since it is the ethnic group I am from, some of this site has somewhat of a Yoruba focus, only because I am having trouble getting information on the other groups. So, things like food, language, attire, marriage and family, music for this group are on Motherland Nigeria.

However, for more details about the group, I have found the following web sites which are devoted sites:
YorubaLand: A Journey: This is a great interactive site.
Yorubaland: Another great interactive site dedicated to teaching about Yoruba
Yoruba Nation Home Page
Isokan Yoruba Home Page
Yoruba Community Association
Ijo Orunmila (the site IS written in English)
21st Century Yoruba Home Page
Yoruba Religion and Myth
The World of the Yoruba
Yoruba Descendants Home Page
Yoruba Info: Art & Life in Africa
Virtual Festival: Yoruba Naming Ceremony
Yoruba House
University of Wisconsin-Madison: Links to Yoruba Culture on the web
Virtual Festival: Links to Yoruba Culture
IFA: The Indigenous Faith of Africa
Yoruba: Nigerian Galleria
Festival of Ogun: Yoruba, African Culture & it’s Derivatives: has many links that are Yoruba-related
Yoruba Art in Wood and Metal: which also has some historical information.

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IBO (or IGBO)

The Ibo people live mostly in the Southeastern states.

The following are links to sites that are devoted to their culture.
The Virtual Igbo Homesite with a section on who they are.
The Igbo Homepage
Igbo People
Nigeria and the Igbo Culture
Igbo Culture Center
Igbo Net
Igbo Info: Art & Life in Africa
G.I.Jones Photographic Archive of Southeastern Nigerian Art and Culture: with some descriptions (from 1930s)
Marriage among the Igbo of Nigeria
Widowhood Among the Igbo of Eastern Nigeria
Igbo: Nigerian Galleria
YoungIgbos.com
Dele’s Igbo Page

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HAUSA- FULANI

The Hausa people live mostly in the Northern states.

The following are links to sites that are devoted to their culture:
UCLA Hausa Home Page
Hausa Links
Society-HAUSA
Fulani: Art & Life in Africa
Hausa: Art & Life in Africa
Fulani of Nigeria
The Hausa of Nigeria (Prayer Profile)
The Fulani of Nigeria (Prayer Profile)
Hausa: Nigerian Galleria
Hausa.com
HauseNet.com

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OTHERS

I can not get into a detailed description of every ethnic groups, or even every other major ethnic group in Nigeria, so I will just mention some of the other major ones. As usual, if I am missing one that you want me to add, or if you have information about the ones listed/unlisted, let me know. Also, because the net changes by the minute, you may be able to find links/books that weren’t there when I made the list. I would suggest that if the information here is not sufficient, you search the net or search for books.

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