Transformed Culture, Transforming Builtscape: Experiences from Nigeria

Transformed Culture, Transforming Builtscape: Experiences from Nigeria

C.O. Osasona 

Department of Architecture, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Page: 
69-100
|
DOI: 
https://doi.org/10.2495/SDP-V7-N1-69-100
Received: 
N/A
| |
Accepted: 
N/A
| | Citation

OPEN ACCESS

Abstract: 

Culture has universally been acknowledged as a conditioner of the built environment; conversely, man’s living fabric is a product of his many social, economic, political, and other engagements, i.e. a product of his cultural identity. The paper examines the transformations that have taken place within the Nigerian society, from traditional times to the present, highlighting the phenomena responsible and the direct impact on the built environment. In the panoramic survey of the nation’s ethnicities and landscapes, a north–south dichotomy – already institutionalized in the country’s socio-political structure and general psyche – is adopted. It is posited that the British colonization of Nigeria (and the consequent facilitation of Brazilian and saro influences) greatly impacted the ethnic cultures, translating into physical expressions that, to date, reverberate in contributing to the hybrid styles that characterize both the nation’s vernacular and ‘global style’ building expressions. Sustainability, as a policy to guide physical development, is seen as being only in its infancy in the country. The paper concludes by asserting that, to the extent to which the world continues to tend toward a ‘global culture’, to the same extent will the generality of Nigerian culture continue to be re-defined along similar lines – and with a resultant tangible impact on its builtscape.

Keywords: 

Aguda, boys’ quarters phenomenon, British colonization of Nigeria, cultural diffusion, Nigerian culture, Nigerian ethnic groups, north–south dichotomy, saro, traditional building, vernacular architecture

  References

[1] Saad, H.T., The role of individual creativity in traditional African art: the gwani (genius) among master-builders of Hausaland. Nigeria Magazine, 53(4), pp. 1–12, 1985.

[2] Hakim, S. & Ahmed, Z., Rules for the built environment in 19th century northern Nigeria. Journal of Architectural and Planning Research, 23(1), pp. 1–26, 2006.

[3] Dmochowski, Z.R., An Introduction to Nigerian Traditional Architecture, 2, Ethnographica Ltd: London, p. 4.57, 1990.

[4] Bohannan, L. & Bohannan, P., The Tiv of Central Nigeria, International African Institute: London, p. 15, 1953.

[5] Denyer, S., African Traditional Architecture, Heinemann Educational Books Ltd.: London, p. 144, 1978.

[6] Dmochowski, Z.R., An Introduction To Nigerian Traditional Architecture, 2, Ethnographica Ltd: London, p. 3.27, 1990.

[7] Nadel, S.F., A Black Byzantium: The Kingdom of Nupe in Nigeria, University Press: London, 1961.

[8] Umeukeje, T.A., Cultural Impact of the Igbo in History, Local Historical Essay Series, No. 1, Enugu, 1972.

[9] Cole, H.M. & Aniakor, C.C., Igbo Arts: Community and Cosmos, Museum of Cultural History, UCLA: Los Angeles, p. 64, 1984.

[10] Dmochowski, Z.R., An Introduction To Nigerian Traditional Architecture, 3, Ethnographica Ltd: London, pp. 27, 30 & 146, 1990.

[11] Cole, H.M. & Aniakor, C.C., Igbo Arts: Community and Cosmos, Museum of Cultural History, UCLA: Los Angeles, p. 68, 1984.

[12] Agbontaen, K.A., The Impluvium-courtyard (oto-eghodo) in Indigenous Benin Architecture. The Nigerian Field, 61(1 & 2), p. 60, 1996.

[13] Dmochowski, Z.R., An Introduction To Nigerian Traditional Architecture, 2, Ethnographica Ltd: London, p. 1.33, 1990.

[14] Obateru, O.I., The Yoruba City in History: 11th Century to the Present, Penthouse Publications Nigeria: Ibadan, pp. 217–218, 2006.

[15] Osasona, C.O. & Hyland, A.D.C., Colonial Architecture in Ile-Ife, Nigeria, Bookbuilders, Editions Africa: Ibadan, p. 45, 2006.

[16] Olomola, S., Ife before Oduduwa (Chapter 2). The Cradle of a Race: Ife from the Beginning to 1980, ed. I.A. Akinjogbin, Sunray Publications Ltd.: Port Harcourt, p. 54, 1992.

[17] Anquandah, K.I., Castles and Forts of Ghana, Atalante: Paris, 1999.

[18] Osasona, C.O. & Hyland, A.D.C., Colonial Architecture in Ile-Ife, Nigeria, Bookbuilders, Editions Africa: Ibadan, p. 66, 2006.

[19] Akinsemoyin, K. & Vaughan-Richards, A., Building Lagos, Pengrail Ltd.: Lagos, p. 20, 1977.

[20] Hallen, B., Afro-Brazilian Mosques in West Africa, MIMAR 29: Architecture in Development, Concept Media Ltd.: Singapore, pp. 16–17, 1988.

[21] Osasona, C.O. & Hyland, A.D.C., Colonial Architecture in Ile-Ife, Nigeria, Bookbuilders, Editions Africa: Ibadan, p. 4, 2006.

[22] Osasona, C.O., The Symbolic Value of Space and Material in Nigerian Traditional Houseforms, Journal of Environmental Technology, FUTA: Akure, pp. 125–126, 2002.

[23] Hakim, S. & Ahmed, Z., Rules for the built environment in 19th century northern Nigeria. Journal of Architectural and Planning Research, 23(1), pp. 1–18, 2006.

[24] Hakim, S. & Ahmed, Z., Rules for the built environment in 19th century northern Nigeria, Journal of Architectural and Planning Research, 23(1), pp. 1–19, 2006.

[25] Osasona, C.O., From Traditional Residential Architecture to the Vernacular: The Nigerian Experience; African Architecture Today Conference Online, p. 13. available at http:www.mudonline.org/aat/2007_documents/AAT_Osasona

[26] Godwin, J. & Hopwood, G., The Architecture of Demas Nwoko, Farafi na: Lagos, p. 17, 2007.

[27] Godwin, J. & Hopwood, G., The Architecture of Demas Nwoko, Farafi na: Lagos, p. 10, 2007.