Building Technology of Mud Structures by the Ijaw People in the Niger Delta

International Journal of Advancements in Research & Technology, Volume 7, Issue 2, February-2018 ISSN 2278-7763 1

Building Technology of Mud Structures by the Ijaw people in the Niger Delta. Southern Ijaw Local Government Area as a case study.

S.T Orumu1, B.E Yabefa2 1.Department of Civil Engineering, Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island. 2.Department of Civil Engineering, University of Ibadan, Ibadan Nigeria.

Abstract The comfort of man here on earth is enhanced by the construction of a residential home that is well designed and efficiently constructed to exclude not only the adverse environmental factors but should provide adequate light and ventilation. The house must have adequate strength, stability and fire protection for the occupants. Nigerian traditional communities built their houses to meet their social, cultural and religious needs. Building materials comprised mainly mud, wood, stone, thatch, grass and other appropriate vegetable materials. This study was carried out in some selected communities in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area to investigate the building technology of mud structures by the Ijaw people in the Niger Delta, using a combination focus group discussions and walk-through surveys. The result showed that, the house building technology in the Ijaw land is easy and almost all the building materials are easily obtainable from the locality. The walls are made of wood and mud, and the roof sheets are either thatches or corrugated iron sheets (zinc). Keywords: mud-house,IJOART ijaw, construction, thatches., bamboo, cane rope. 1. Introduction technologies for the construction of The provision of shelter is an important comfortable shelters for man’s convenience. aspect of life no man can do without. The A house is mans private resort that protects major comfort of man here on earth is him from the stress and problems outside. enhanced by the construction of a residential Having the conception to build a house is home where man derives his convenience. one of the major indications of one’s To achieve this, buildings must be well maturity and responsibility. designed and efficiently constructed to In Nigeria, different tribes and cultures exclude not only the adverse environmental across the country have developed different factors such as weather, noise and heat but building technologies traditionally since should provide adequate light and from the days of old, for the construction of ventilation. In addition, adequate strength houses that fits them. Before the and stability must be provided together with introduction of modern European adequate fire protection for the occupants, architecture and imported building contents and fabric of the building (Foster et materials, Nigerian traditional communities al, 2006). The construction of fantastic built their houses to meet their social, structures is a major attribute of man that cultural and religious needs. Building distinguishes him from the beast. Over the materials comprised mainly mud, wood, years, man has developed advanced stone, thatch, grass and other appropriate

vegetable materials (Online Nigeria, 2015). communities are often completely The application of mud in construction of surrounded by water, hence making these shelter does not require much energy to communities inaccessible by road. Figure 1 manufacture it unlike brick cement, steel, presents a map of Bayelsa State of Nigeria, concrete, etc. (Gokila et al 2015). Mud showing Southern Ijaw Local Government house building uses only simple natural Area, which is the study area. materials. Mud house construction is durable and can be easily recycled, and it also 2.1 Physiographic Characteristics provides air conditioning system which The study area lies in the heaviest rainfall provides cool air from the massive walls, area in Nigeria with heavy rainfall almost all (Gokila et al 2015). But the advent of year round and a short dry season. The technology in building construction with area’s climate supports the cultivation of oil more durable and aesthetic materials called palm, cocoa rice, banana, yam, cocoyam, for the use of the imported building coconut, cassava, sugarcane etc. The amount materials such as cement, steel etc that is of rainfall is adequate for a year round crop conventionally known as the major production. The vegetation of Southern Ijaw construction materials. Hence, most of the is composed of ecological zones which young ones from the Ijaw origin are denied include coastal barrier Island forests, of the knowledge of the indigenous building mangrove forest, and fresh water swamp. practices of the Ijaw people, hence, left The difference with various soil units in the homeless due to the high cost of the area and they constitute part of the eco- conventional construction materials. systems. (Oluyemi et al 2016). Therefore, this work aims to investigate and create an exposition of the mud house 2.2 Socio-Economic Activities building technology by the Ijaw people in The socio-economic activities of the people the Niger Delta area of Nigeria. in Southern Ijaw may be considered under IJOARTthree main headings namely, primary 2. The Study Area occupations, secondary occupations and tertiary occupations. The major traditional The study area is Southern Ijaw Local primary occupations include fishing, Government Area of Bayelsa State, Nigeria. commerce and water transportation. Its headquarters is in the town of Oporoma. However, crude oil exportation by It is located on Latitude 4˚48'17"N and multinational companies and the local crude Longitude 6˚04"E. The area has a coastline oil refining, have since become the major of approximately 60km on the Bight of sources of socio-economic activities in the Benin. It is the largest local government in area. The area also has higher educational Nigeria. The people and their language are institutions like the Niger Delta University known as Izon. (Oluyemi et al 2016). (NDU) in Amassoma and Federal Southern Ijaw has a land area of 2682 km2 Polytechnic Ekowe, amongst others. approximated and a population of 319,413 (Oluyemi et al 2016) persons (NPC Census, 2006) (NPCC 2016). Southern Ijaw Local Government Area has a riverine and estuarine setting. A lot of her

Figure 1. Map of Bayelsa state showing southern Ijaw local government area (study area). Source: Oluyemi et al (2016)

3. METHODOLOGY wooden sticks, Indian bamboo or the raffia The research was carried out by taking a palm bamboo, cane ropes, palm oil fuel, visit to some selected communities in (POF) or saw dusts, thatches or corrugated Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of iron roofing sheets (zinc), nails, river sand, Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Some of the and mud. Almost 95 percent of the above communities visited are Ayama-Ijaw, named materials are locally obtainable in Oporoma, Korokorosei,IJOART Ikebiri, Olugbobiri, their environs. Okpotuwari, Ogboinbiri. Focused group The mud houses are constructed with mud discussions in line with (Burningham et al walls and thatch or zinc roofing sheets. 2001, and Cronin, 2001). were carried out in During construction, the walls for various the communities to find out the building room spaces are marked out with a rope on technology of mud houses by the Ijaw the ground and wooden poles or sticks are people. Also, a walk-through survey was pinned on the ground according to the also conducted in line with (Feingold et al building plan at an interval of 250 to 2007) to see the technology and how mud 300mm. The holes on the ground are houses are built in the various communities normally drilled with a locally made auger visited in the area. (digger). Care must be taken to ensure that, all the sticks that formed the vertical 4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS member of the walls are of the same height Mud houses are relatively easy and cheap to from the ground level, while the wooden build as almost all the building materials can poles for the king posts are usually longer be obtained from a nearby forest or bush than the others. Then, the roof is constructed except few that can be easily bought from on top. A skeletal structure of the house is the market. The building materials required created at this stage. The builder ensures that for the construction of a mud house in the the sticks or poles are of hard wood and traditional setting of the Ijaw land include,

pinned deep enough in the soil to prevent The builder also gets long flat sticks of collapse of the house. either split raffia palm bamboo or Indian The roof is normally constructed with either bamboo and cane ropes to construct the wall thatches or corrugated iron roofing sheets frames for holding the wet mud. With the (zinc). The thatches are cheaper to get than aid of the cane ropes, the builder ties the the zinc roofing sheets, because thatches are bamboo sticks to the vertical row of wooden locally produced from the leaflets of the poles at a right angle and spaced at an raffia palm tree. Hence, the corrugated iron interval of 150 to 200mm to form two criss- sheets (zinc) are used by people who are cross pattern, one on the inside and the other more successful in the area. In a thatch roof, on the outside of the wall frame. This the trusses were a combination of wooden process starts from the wall plate and wall plate and ridge piece with either split progresses to the ground level with raffia palm bamboo or Indian bamboo for provisions for doors and windows. A the rafters. Split raffia palm bamboo or builder may use nails in place of cane ropes Indian bamboo of appropriate sizes are used obtained from the forest. Once the wall to make the purlins which are fastened to the frames are ready, the clay soil as walling rafters by cane ropes at suitable intervals to material is prepared by digging a pit near the correspond with the effective usable area of building site which can later be covered with the thatch roofing sheet that will prevent domestic wastes, or imported soil from leakage of the roof during the somewhere else. Enough water is added to rain.(Tamaraukuro et al 2016). The thatches the soil, and the well-moistened clay is are placed on the roof, and are skillfully trodden with the bare feet or turned over fastened to the purlins with the cane rope in with a spade to properly mix it to form a soft such a way as to prevent the wind from fine textured soil. The plastic clay is now blowing off the roof. Thatches are prepared scooped and filled into framework of the by both young and old in the ijaw land after wooden posts and split Indian or raffia getting the skill IJOARTfrom the elders. The thatch bamboo. The walls are plastered internally laying process starts from the eave of the and externally with watery clay soil locally roof and progresses to the ridge at the top of called (Umbortor) which is obtainable from the roof. Thatches are also used for the the banks of the rivers, to cover the exposed construction of the ridge cap, which is framework after the clay walls are allowed normally anchored at the top with the aid of to dry and harden in few days. The watery moderately weighty materials such as clay soil is normally mixed with a suitable wooden sticks etc. to prevent the wind from quantity of palm oil fuel (POF) or saw dust blowing it off. as reinforcement material before its used to In the other way round, when corrugated plaster the walls to prevent unnecessary iron roofing sheets (zinc) is to be used, the crack lines in the body of the walls. After trusses are constructed with hard woods all the plastering, the walls are allowed to dry through but the pattern is the same thing for some few days, and then a brown clay with the thatch roof. And they are fastened soil mixed with river sand is again prepared to one another with nails before the to scrub the face of the walls to add beauty placement of the zinc roofing sheets. The to the building. The floor is filled with the corrugated iron roofing sheets (zinc) are clay soil to the required height. The ceiling fastened to the purlins with the help of zinc is constructed with the bamboo from the nails. But there is no difference in the raffia palm tree or split Indian bamboo, construction of the walls. thatches, plank, paper ceilings etc.

Figure 2: Wooden Sticks Figure 3: Indian Bamboos Source: Source: Tamaraukuro et al 2016

IJOART

Figure 4: Cane rope Figure 5: Auger (Digger) Source: Tamaraukuro et al 2015 Source: Field work

Figure 6: Thatches Figure 7:Mud house wall framework Source: Field work Source: Field work

Figure 8: Mud building with zinc roof Figure 9:Mud house with thatch roof Source: Field work Source: Field work.

IJOART Figure 10: Mud wall Figure 11:Mud house with plastered walls Source: Field work Source: Field work

Figure 12: Indian Bamboo tree Source: Tamaraukuro et al 2016

Conclusion 6. NPC Census Population Census Before the introduction of modern European Report. National Population architecture and imported building Commission, Abuja 2015 . materials, the Ijaw people built their houses to meet their social, cultural and religious 7. Oluyemi A. A, Abiodun K. E, needs with locally available materials. But, Devine O. E, Peter O. A, Opaminola many young ones who are denied of this N. D. Socio-Economic Implications building technology in the present of Recurrent Flooding On Women generation are homeless due to the high cost Development In Southern Ijaw Local of modern conventional building materials. Government Area, Bayelsa State, Hence the only way out is to create an Niger Delta Area Of Nigeria. Journal exposition of this building technology. of Geoscience and Environment Reference Protection, 4, 33-46 2016.

1. Burningham, K. and D. Thresh, 8. Online Nigeria. Nigerian traditional Exemplar: The Environment architecture. from Concerns of Disadvantaged Groups. http://www.onlinenigeria.com/financ In: Researching Social Life, Gilbert, e/?blurb=660#ixzz3vEAaAQfk N. (Ed.). 2nd Edn., Sage Publications Retrieved on 24, December 2015 Ltd., London, pp: 178-193. 2001. 9. Tamaraukuro .A, and Japo O. A. 2. Cronin, A., Focus Groups. In: Improving Durability of Rural ResearchingIJOART Social Life, Gilbert, N. Buildings in Riverine Niger Delta (Ed.). 2nd Edn., Sage Publications Region: A Case Study on Need to Ltd., London, pp: 164-177. 2001. Utilize Appropriate Technology. International Journal of African 3. Foster J. S. & Greeno, R. Structure Society, Cultures and Traditions. and fabric part 1. New York: Vol.4, No.1, pp.17-43. 2016. Routledge, Taylor& Francis 2006.

4. Feingold, E. and J. Wasser, Walk- through surveys for child labor. Am. J. Ind. Med., 26: 803-807. 2007.

5. Gokila .C, Gladish .T, Jenny .R.P.J, Merrin .P, Rigy .T, and Silpa .J. Mud House Technology. International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering. Volume 5, Issue 12, December 2015.