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''Tiv'' (sometimes pronounced as ''Tivi''〔Duggan, E. de C. (1932) "Notes on the Munshi ("Tivi") Tribe of Northern Nigeria: Some Historical Outlines" ''Journal of the Royal African Society'' 31(123)〕) is an ethno-linguistic group or nation in West Africa. They number over two million individuals in Nigeria and Cameroon. The Tiv language is spoken by two or three million people in Nigeria, and only a few in Cameroon. In Nigeria, most speakers are found in Benue, Nasarawa and Taraba. In precolonial times, the Hausa referred to the Tiv as "Munchi", a term not accepted by Tiv people. They depend on agricultural produce for commerce and life. ==History== The Tiv came into contact with European culture during the colonial period. During November 1907 to spring 1908, an expedition of the Southern Nigeria Regiment led by Lieutenant-Colonel Hugh Trenchard's came into contact with the Tiv. Trenchard brought gifts for the tribal chiefs. Subsequently, roads were built and trade links established between Europeans and the Tiv. But before construction of roads began a missionary named Mary Slessor went throughout the region seeing to the people's needs. The geographical position of the Tiv, according to Laura Bohannan and Paul J. Bohannan (1969: 9) and Rubingh (1969: 58), is between 6° 30' and 8° 10' north latitude and 8° and 10° east longitude. The Tiv shares borders with the Chamba and Jukun of Taraba State in the northeast; with the Igede (Benue), Iyala, Gakem and Obudu of Cross River State in the southeast; and the Idoma of Benue State to the south. There is also an international boundary between the Tiv and the Republic of Cameroon at a southeastern angle of the ethnic group’s location. They are among the minority ethnic groups in Nigeria. Numbering about six million individuals, according to 2014 estimates, they occupy the Middle Belt States of Benue, Taraba, Nasarawa, and Plateau.1 A few TIv are also found in Cross River and Adamawa States of Nigeria and in Cameroon. There are numerous submissions about the origin of Tiv people. We are, however, in agreement with Torkula (2006: 1) that: “Although different views are held about the Tiv origin, the version that commands popularity and currency is that which traces their origin to the Bantu people who once inhabited the Central African continent, in the Shaba area of the present Democratic Republic of Congo.” The popularity and currency of this version is due to the assorted pieces of evidence supporting it. One such piece of evidence is linguistic. R. C. Abraham (1934: 6–7), for instance, compiled a list of 67 Tiv words and juxtaposed them with the words of Bantu Nyaza showing a striking similarity in both phonetics and semantics. Based on that, Abraham (1934: 5) concluded that the Tiv were “real Bantu” and subsequently that they came from the Congo. Another linguistic piece of evidence has to do with the present writer’s family name of Tsenôngu which is Tiv and which when ended with an “o” (as done by many Tivs without any semantic harm) is the name of a town of 300 000 people in the present Democratic Republic of Congo. Such pieces of linguistic evidence testify to the fact that the Tiv actually migrated from the Congo; from there they passed through several places before settling in the Benue Valley, their present location. The main occupation of the Tiv is subsistence farming. They regard yam farming as their birthright and commit themselves to its work with religious dedication. As for their social organization, traditional Tiv society was completely egalitarian. There was no central authority. They had no king so every man was ruler of his own house. They lived in compounds administered by the oldest man. Many compounds formed clans and districts that were variously divided and sub-divided. The elders of the various clans (upyaven) and districts (ityar) met and discussed issues at those levels and arrived at democratic decisions that bound their sections. If an issue involved the whole ethnic group, the elders of the various sections and districts met and took a decision. This situation obtained until 1946 when the colonialists established a Tiv central authority by creating the office of a paramount ruler. The paramount ruler (Tor Tiv) lives and administers the people in Gboko, their headquarters town, which was built in 1932. Ascendancy to the Tor Tiv throne is not hereditary. Leo Frobenius, the German traveller, for example, declared them (the Tiv people) as the “best storytellers in Africa” (Keil 1979: 20). Laura Bohannan too has, under the pseudonym of Elenore Smith Bowen, often been referred deservedly to for her admiring description of a Tiv tale-telling session in her autobiographical novel, Return to Laughter. Commenting on Bohannan’s book, Frances Harding (1992: 156) has said that: “So important does Bohannan consider storytelling in Tiv life that not only is its performance the occasion of the laughter which gives the novel its title, but it is recognized as a healing, binding force in the community.” Indeed Keil (1979: 57) was right in his submission that “qualitatively, all visitors to Tivland agree that storytelling can be a very dramatic event.” But it is not just in storytelling that members of the ethnic group have made their artistic mark; they are known for their dance craft, poetic creativity and general aesthetic profundity. To provide just one example relating to their dance repertoire, in 1973 the ethnic group alone accounted for fifty-four of the one hundred and eighty-eight dances performed at the “Festival of 200 Dances of the Benue-Plateau State” held in Jos, Nigeria. The then Benue-Plateau State comprised more than thirty ethnic nationalities. This is statistical testimony to the dancing skills in Tivland. Indeed, the ethnic group is generally artistically active. And one of the avenues where this artistic activity exhibits itself is in nuptial poetry. But before we focus on this subgenre, it is good to discuss briefly marriage in Tivland 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Tiv people」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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