Nigeria is blessed with diversified cultures and ethnicities. The country stands tall as one beyond and above its peers in Africa, no wonder it is called The Giant of Africa. Nigerians have gone through so much pain ranging from slave trade to civil war, yet they stand as one against any form of tyranny that may come to disturb the peace her forefathers fought and died for.
The country Nigeria is made up of three Major ethnic groups which are, The Igbos, The Yoruba’s and The Hausas. These ethnic groups are divided by a thin line of cultural norms and traditions. These differences can be seen in their different languages, religious beliefs, greeting etiquettes, fashion, food, rite of passage of the dead, wedding ceremonies and so on. The truth is, these difference those not in any way separate them as a people but unites them in diversity. It showcases the rich cultural heritage of Nigeria and gives the World but a glimpse of the splendor that accompanies a typical Nigerian.
In this article, I would like to celebrate the different traditional fashion wears of these three Major ethnicities in Nigeria, their different origins and also the importance of each and every Major component of their attire. This is a celebration of Excellence across the three Major Tribes in Nigeria.
1 THE IGBOs
The Igbos are believed to be a far descendants of the Israelites in some of their Myths and traditional folk tales. They reside mostly in the South Eastern part of Nigeria but can be found across the whole 6 geopolitical zones. They are usually described as fierce, a force to reckon with and business tycoons.
Before the coming of the Colonial Maters, the Igbos lived a very traditional lives with Kings reigning over different Empires. They Igbos at this pre-colonial period consisted of little clothing made mostly from wool, just to conceal private parts while the elders were fully clothed. They also wore ornaments and beads as a show of beauty. ULI art was also used to decorate body parts in the form of lines Forming patterns and Shapes on their body.
With the coming of the Colonial Master, The modern Igbo traditional Attire revolved around modernized cultural heritage. It mostly involves for men, the use of Isiagu (a styled pattern shirt popular with the Igbos), usually worn with a black trouser and a chieftaincy styled Hat, and for the ladies, its usually an embodied puffed sleeve along with two wrappers and a head scarf are worn Below are some beautiful pictures which represents the Igbo traditional attires.
2 THE YORUBAs
The Yoruba’s mostly reside in South Western part of Nigeria. They are mostly described as calm, easy going and self-sufficient people. Their traditional attire are best appreciated when it is handmade or woven. The Yoruba’s traditional wears command deep respect from its peers. In fact, it is believed that the inspirations for their unique style was gotten from the gods directly. In contemporary period, the Yoruba wear various types of clothing because of their interactions with other cultures through trade, education and so on.
Their traditional attire is mostly made from traditionally hand woven wool called ‘Aso Oke’. They also have other beautiful styles such as IRO (wrapper) and Buba (Top) with the most elegant being the “Dansiki” for the men. They Yorubas are known to be lovers of colours, which includes nut not limited to blue, yellow, white, red and so on. For men, other traditional attires includes Agbada, Buba, Sokoto and various types of Fila or Caps. They usually compliment this with arrays of beautiful beads, jewelries and other forms of ornaments.
3 THE HAUSAs
The Hausa are the largest ethnic group in Sub Sahara Africa. They are known to live a polygamous life which is permitted by their religion as most of them are Muslims. The Hausa are a very unique but culturally homogeneous people who are mostly located in the Northern part of Nigeria. The Hausas have always stood different from the rest of Nigerian cultural spheres in their food, clothing and even fashion style. The unique thing about their fashion is that it hardly changes with current fashion trends as is obtainable in other cultures, instead it is dictated by tradition.
Another unique quality of the Hausas fashion it is paramount for their women to wear proper, yet elegant attires that do not show a lot of skin. When in public, the Hausa women are obligated to be completely covered, and this is mainly because their religion demands such. As a result of this, they Hausas have a limited choice to fashion or dressing options.
The men traditional attires includes but not limited to “Babban Riga” that usually goes with “Jalabia” or “Juanni”. Their men also wear a beautifully styled and colorful hat called “Fula”. Their embroidery designs are also one of the best that can be obtained anywhere in the world. Huasa women wear “Abaya”, which can be recognized anytime. They usually compliment these attires with beautiful authentic jewelry, various ornaments, and body paint art. Their style of dressing even though limited by religion and strict dress code is still one of the most beautiful traditional attires one can wear anytime and any day.
I hope we all enjoyed reading and also appreciating these unique and beautiful cultural attires found across the three major Tribes in Nigeria.
