A SEMESTER WRITE UP ON

NIGERIA PEOPLE, CULTURE AND ENVIROMENTAL DESIGN

CASE STUDY

OHAJI IN OBITTI VILLAGE

WRITTEN AND COMPILED BY

ALEXANDER HENRY TOCHUKWU

20141930614

SUBMITTED TO

DR. OKEHIELEM NELSON

OF DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I thank almighty God who has given me the life and opportunity to embark on
this research, also I want to appreciate my parents who aided me in the finance
of this project.
I want to say a big thanks to the course coordinator in person of DR. NELSON
OKEHIELEM who sent me on the field trip and also to my colleague in person of
CHIBUZO .E. SAMUEL who helped me as my village tour guide and explained the
stories in English language because I found it difficult to understand the dialect
of the villagers.
My gratitude extends to Elder NZE MICHEAL NWOHU and Ichie UGORJI JUSTIN
Who briefed us on the people culture and environmental design of the villagers.
 CONTENT
Acknowledgement. i
CHAPTER ONE
Introduction ..
CHAPTER TWO
THE PEOPLE (BACKGROUND)..
CHAPTER THREE..
CULTURE.
CHAPTER FOUR
ENVIROMENTAL DESIGN.
 CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION

this paper looks into the Nigerian people, culture and environmental design for architectural
design. It is a course or subject of study to be taught to Nigerian students belonging to the
discipline of architecture, and naturally aimed at educating and informing the students of how
the Nigerian people, culture and pattern of design originated, and also how it transcended to
we have today in this 21st century as culture and pattern of building.
The ancient Nigerian buildings were greatly influenced by the peoples culture and believe.
The different ethnic groups had diverse believes and tradition which had effect on their
building, also climatic conditions available at their homestead and dwelling environment had
a role to play in their method of design.
Nigeria as a nation is made up of approximately 250 ethnic groups, which are predominantly
categorized under the three most populous and most politically influential ethnic groups
which are the hausa-fulanis occupying the north, Yorubas occupying the west and the Igbos
occupying the south east and eastern part of the nation.
HAUSA-FULANIS (people and culture)
The Hausa Fulanis are sahelean people mainly located in the northern Nigeria. South eastern
Niger, Sudan, Cameroun, Ghana, cote divoire and chad. The Hausas have been Muslim since
the 14th century and have converted other Nigerian tribes to the Muslim faith by contact,
trade etc. music and art playing is an important role in everyday life of the group of people,
from a young age. Hausa children participate in dances, which are held in meeting places such
as market.
HAUSA-FULANIS (environmental design)
The architecture of the Hausa is perhaps one of the least known but most beautiful and of the
medieval age. Most of their mosques and palaces are bright and colourful and often include
intricate engraving or elaborate symbols designed into the faade. Mostly build with smaller
windows to prevent blindness from dusty wind from the Sahara Desert
YORUBA (people and culture)
The Yoruba, due their culture, religion and art works, it is generally believed that the migrated
from Egypt. Ile ife is now generally believed to represent the earliest stage in the development
of Yoruba culture. According to oral tradition, this stage was founded by Ora-Miyan, the son
of oduduwa who came from ife.
The head of the old Oyo empire was the alafin with his elaborate court of priests, officials and
eunuchs. In theory he was in the words of his titles (iga keshi orisa) the fountain of authority
and companion of the gods. His were limited by the oyomesi (made up of seven members)
who were the king makers. The oyomesi was the council of the state, the were the principal
counsellors of the alafin. Their offices were hereditary for life. The oyomesi were headed by
the bashorun (priest minister), who can get rid of the alafin by asking him to go to sleep
(commit suicide). In addition, was the ogboni cult in the deliberations of which the oyomesi
participated. The ogboni acted as a check on the powers of both the alafin and the oyomesi.
Next important to the oyomesi is the esos, who were eunuchs and guardians of the kingdom
and had military title of iba. The greatest amongst esos were the kankafos.
IGBOS (culture and people)
The Igbos like other social group in Nigeria do not have a clear memorial of their origin.
However, there is a faint trace of their origin from the Israelites. The Igbos operated on a
dispersed political system and had no centralized political system. Political powers were not
centralized but rather were in the hands of individuals with a settlement or village. First was
the Ndi Nze na Ozor (title nobles) who gain this title by working hard and having a good
character. Second group of power brokers was the age grade, this consisted of all males born
within the interval of about five years. A third power was in the okpala or head of lineage (the
eldest man within that lineage).
 CHAPTER TWO
THE PEOPLE
The people of Ohaji, during the first world war migrated or rather fled away for
the safety of their lives to river and settled there as the people of we currently
known as umuonwa in River state. After the first world war was over the
remnant or better to say survivors of the war migrated back to their community
in Imo state, known as Ohaji while some of them refused to return and stayed
back in rivers state and continued existing as umuonwa.
On returning to their fathers land in Ohaji from Rivers state, they lived together
for a long period of time as kindred until population and quest for independence
caused them to split into different kindred and then autonomous villages. They
had to split into several local towns in ohaji local government area, which for
the sake of my case study I will limit myself to obitti town/community.
Obitti is one of the numerous towns in Ohaji which is made up of only three (3)
villages.
Umuoke village
Etiti Ala village: - made up of four kindred which are umuogwu, umuogbie,
umuanwoje and umuabor.
Obitti Ukwu village

Each kindred have a meeting place called OBI which is normally within the
vicinity of the eldest man in the village.
 PICTURE OF THE OBI IN UMUOGWU KINDRED
WITHIN THE VICINITY OF THE ELDEST MAN (NZE MICHEAL NWOHU)

Again for the sake of my case study I will be discussing on only ETITI ALA village
i.e. their culture and environmental design in chapter three and four with the
help of visual aids such as pictures.
 CHAPTER THREE
THE CULTURE
In Etiti ala village they practise variety of culture and traditions which include
the followings: -
1. Moonlight play
The moonlight plays serve as movie scene where all villager gather to watch the
play. It usually occurs during the dry season around august when we have the
full moon. This is seen as a festive period that unites the autonomous kindred in
the village.
2. (IGBAMGBA) Wrestling
This is also a festive period which normally occurs on market days which is the
orie day (1st day).
NB: they did not count their days in weeks, month and years but they counted
in 4 days which are orie, afor, nkwo and eke. The moon and sun was the basis
for their calendar.
After the market they villagers will gather at night in the village square to watch
the three village compete for championship.
3. Masquerade festival
This normally takes place after every sixteen market days. It also can happen
when some renowned personnel die in the village and also when cleansing of
the land is required by the priest.
Also a minor children masquerade display is held during occasions and festivals
for the fun of it and there is no spiritual effect attached to it.
4. Yam festival
This festival takes place during July period on an NKWO day according to their
calendar. On an nkwo evening every kindred in each village come with their large
tubers of yam to the market square for celebration, a portion of the yam is
assigned to the priest, king, eldest and the winner of the wrestling that will take
place that evening while the rest will be eaten by the villagers (IRI JI)
NB: in this particular village there is no one like Ezeji, everyone is equal and they
dont marry many wives for the purpose of farming and cultivation. They marry
as a result of having no child from the 1st wife, bad character possessed by the
1st wife and out of free will.
5. Kingship
Kingship long before now was held by umuoke village until it was agitated
against and it was passed into bill and established as a law by imo state
government that kingship in Ohaji would now be rotated amongst villages.
6. Ownership of land
Lands where shared amongst them according to age and can only be inherited
and not to be sold out
7. Religion and believes
As of their fore fathers regime they were traditionalist who believed in gods and
some were just atheist who didnt believe in anything until some years back
when Christianity came into Ohaji, and with time Christianity was accepted and
it became a religion in the villages respectively.
8. Ichi Ozor
This is the period were one aspires to hold a chieftaincy title in a community,
during this period the aspirant is not to be found conversing until after his
confessions on the day he is to be coroneted. After the coronation he is paraded
in the market square to announce his newly acquired title in the community.

NORMS AND TABOOS OF THE VILLAGE

No entry or usage of oku (calabash) into a pit latrine especially on nkwo
No farming on nwko, it is believed to be a day for their ancestors and gods
to work
Ofor can only be held by the eldest man in the community
A goat is offered to NWA-AHUGBELE (god) after every four market days
Ichi Ozo: during this period, you must not be found conversing with
anybody until you confess all the abominable things you did on the day of
your coronation
They dont eat sheep, but they do eat ewe (female sheep). They can only
rear the sheep for sales purpose but not for consumption.
 No one is allowed to go into the evil forest aside from the chief priest
himself, failure to heed to this leads to madness or death.

image of the path to the evil forest

the forest can easily be identified with the tallest tree in the village as shown the
image above.
 CHAPTER FOUR
ENVIROMENTAL DESIGN
The people of obitti build with natural and available resources within the
environment
Construction materials includes
Clay
Bamboo sticks
Palm frond
Palm kernel shells .NB: not in their culture to use, only used in extreme
cases
Wood
Ekwere (rope) gotten from palm frond

STRUCTURAL SUPPORTS

Image showing the structural setting of the houses

The structural strengths such as the columns are made out of simple woods
with a V shaped end to support the wall plates where the roof would be
resting on.
WALLS

The priest house build with clay

The cracks on the wall is not as a result of structural issues but emanated from
construction phases because their houses are built in layers of beaten clay and
allowed to dry up before adding another layer to it till it reaches desired height
ROOF

PICTURE OF A THATCHED ROOF

The thatched roof is constructed at the floor and then placed over the building.
It is constructed out of raffia palm frond, bamboo sticks and ekwere (rope gotten
from the back of the palm frond).

DILAPIDATED ROOF BROUGHT DOWN AND REPLACED WITH A NEW ONE

TOILET/ BATHROOM

BATHROOM
Their bathrooms are built out of strands of palm fronds well tucked into the
ground to form a wall around the bathroom giving them privacy.
 PIT / LATRINE
They are edged around with palm fronds well knotted together to for a wall
around the pit for privacy.

KITCHEN

KITCHEN
The kitchen is built with just palm fronds and bamboo sticks. The reason why
they have sheltered kitchen is as a result of need for protection from intense
sunshine and rainfall, if not the prefer to cook in an open space.
PROPERTY BOUNDARY (FENCE)

IMAGE SHOWING THEIR MEANS OF FENCING

They make use of palm fronds and bamboo well knotted together and then
tucked into the ground as fence to secure and inhibit view into their personal
property
 CONCLUSION
From the case studied I would to encourage architects and designers to
introduce natural elemental concept during the design process. It reduces the
adverse effect of solar radiation on building and its inhabitants. Using vegetation
as part of integration strategy does not only help to prevent adverse radiation,
it also serves as insulator from excess heat from the sun. Also the adequate use
of natural lighting in the interiors of building helps to increase serenity and
productivity level of the occupants of the building especially when the window
face towards sceneries with pleasant views like water body and vegetation.