Unity in Diversity: Palace Art in Nigeria by Moses Ochonu
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7 The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA Unity in Diversity: Palace Art in Nigeria By Moses Ochonu Fig. 2 palace is a space where power and grandeur are dependent, first-class Islamic emirate. This effort of po- and seal of authority gives the symbol additional impor- displayed, where art and symbolism are integral litical reclamation through art was so successful that the tance. Its deployment in settings of aristocratic power like A aspects of communicating power and royal splen- Nigerian government recently included the Dutse palace the Dutse palace performs both a political act of invok- dor. This symbolic role of art as conveyer of royal power in its carefully compiled list of national landmarks, which ing and recalling Ahmadu Bello’s clout and affirming the struck me more than anything else during my recent re- is part of its “Heart of Africa” campaign aimed at show- authenticity of the palace’s uniquely Northern Nigerian search trip to Dutse in Northwestern Nigeria. There, I en- casing Nigeria’s attractions and reviving tourism in the prestige. countered firsthand the aesthetic, spiritual, and political country. The Emir does not openly link this artistic re- Some of the wall paintings and etchings are Quranic significance of palace art. As a guest of the Emir (spiritual vival to the emirate’s freedom from Kano control, which verses with an artistic, calligraphic slant. A recurring and traditional ruler) of Dutse, Alhaji Nuhu Sanusi, I was is understandable given Kano’s historical role as a men- verse engraved in the walls of several of the palace’s given uncommon access to the palace, and an opportu- tor to Dutse and the cordial relations that now exist be- chambers is the excerpt of a letter written by the second nity to behold and understand its history, evolution, and tween the two ruling houses. He however speaks proudly Sultan of the Sokoto Caliphate, Muhammad Bello, quot- more importantly, its critical artistic significance. of his effort to “restore and attract prestige and attention ing a Quranic verse that translates as: “Moral leaders are The function of art is often bound up with conceptions to Dutse,” a veiled acknowledgment that Dutse’s identity those who lead their subjects by example in doing good, of leadership, authority, and the exercise of power. The had been subsumed under Kano’s ubiquitous shadow, praying to God, giving alms, paying their tithes, and dis- aesthetic elements of visual artistic objects reinforce and and that the Emirate needs to remake itself on its own couraging evil deeds.” The artistic emphasis here is as are reinforced by the function of art as a communicator terms. much on the form as of political value. My Dutse palace tour substantiated this it is on the content interpretation, as the art of the Dutse palace is as storied Dutse Palace Art of the Quranic wall as the palace itself; the palace and the paintings, draw- Dutse palace art engraving. The ings, etchings, and inscriptions that adorn its walls have defies categori- artful verses are evolved together over several centuries. So conscientious zation, at least in The Northern Knot, supposed to capture has been this evolution that the old palace at Garu and terms of the tra- the imagination and the new palace and Emir’s residence at Sumore (Yadi ditional academic [symbol of unity in to elicit aesthetic Kasarau) now look aesthetically identical, visually blur- categories that diversity], was ad- appreciation, but ring the temporal and architectural distance between govern the visual this is not an end in them. In this sense, art is a vital connection between the arts. At once aes- opted in the 1950s itself. The initial past of the palace and its present, between the spiritual– thetic and expres- when Nigerian elites aesthetic attraction aesthetic preoccupations of the past and the romanticized sively realistic, the of the calligraphical- nostalgia of the present. artistic renderings were preparing for ly rendered Quranic on the walls of the verses is supposed The Islamic Emirate of Dutse palace are some- political indepen- to draw the observ- The history of the palace and its art is intertwined with times abstract and dence from Britain. er into the spiritual that of Dutse as a city and as a center of an important sometimes expres- message of the in- Islamic emirate in Northern Nigeria. As the power and sive of spiritual scriptions, leaving influence of Dutse grew, so did the need to project them messages from them absorbed in through the high art of the emirate’s most potent symbol: the Quran, Islam’s both the substantive the palace. Its visual impact is intended to complement holy book. Yet an- Fig. 3 and artistic effects the visual political effect of the Emir’s occasional appear- other dimension of the inscriptions. ance in full kingly regalia on decorated royal horses dur- of this art is the use of secular realist symbols that are The formal qualities of the inscriptions and their spiritual ing Islamic celebrations (see fig. 1). The palace’s artistic widely understood in political terms. For instance, one messages are thus mutually reinforcing, complementary, renaissance corresponds to the recent restoration of its recurring motif in the paintings on the walls of both the and coextensive. old and new palaces is the Northern Knot (Dagin Arewa) (figs. 2 & 3). This motif, a familiar fixture in many North- Art and Heritage ern Nigerian artistic works, is a weave of intricately in- In trying to reclaim a political and religious heritage tersecting knots that signify the bonds of political unity that Dutse once embodied, Dutse’s rulers have actively envisioned for Northern Nigeria. employed the artistic medium. This reclamation of aris- The Northern Knot is such an emotive symbol of North- tocratic and royal prestige was accelerated by the resto- ern Nigerian power and political identity that it was ad- ration of Dutse to the status of an independent emirate opted by politicians led by Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, the first and a state capital in 1991. The Dutse emir’s palace is premier of Northern Nigeria and the holder of the pres- the epicenter of this effort to modernize by remaking tra- tigious Sokoto Caliphate traditional title of “Sarduana.” dition. Through carefully nurtured investments in court The symbol was adopted in the 1950s when Nigerian ornaments, engravings, wall designs, and other artistic elites were preparing for political independence from forms that bespeak both nostalgic and current political Britain. This unity in diversity is encapsulated in the “One preoccupations, Dutse’s rulers, led by Emir Alhaji Nuhu North” philosophy that was used to fight for representa- Sanusi, project the Dutse court as a potent connective tion and privileges for Northern Nigeria, and to counter symbol of the emirate’s past and present. Fig. 1 what was perceived as Southern Nigerian persecution and political domination. medieval autonomy by the Nigerian government. In 1991, To the people of Dutse and other informed visitors Moses Ochonu is Assistant Professor of African History at Vanderbilt Univer- the Nigerian government created Jigawa State and with it to the palace, the symbol represents perhaps the most sity. He completed his PhD at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 2004, an independent emirate of Dutse, permanently removing eloquent testament to Dutse’s belonging to the politico- and is currently a Fellow of the American Council of Learned Societies. He is Dutse from the control of the powerful ancient kingdom religious tradition of the Sokoto Islamic Caliphate, a completing a book titled “Colonial Meltdown: Northern Nigeria in the Great of Kano to its west. multi-ethnic Islamic empire created by the 19th-century Depression.” His research interests are in the economic, social, and political history of modern Africa. His articles have appeared in the Journal of Colo- This development prompted a serious effort on the part Islamic reform movement of Othman bin Fodio. Since the nialism and Colonial History, African Economic History, and Gefame. of Dutse’s rulers to recreate the artistic symbols and vi- Sarduana’s death in a military coup in 1966, the North- sual political appeal reminiscent of the kingdom’s past ern knot has become a stand-in for Ahmadu Bello and glories and political heritage. They consciously set out to his politics of Northern unity. Ahmadu Bello’s approval give the Dutse palace an artistic identity befitting an in- of the knot for use as a Northern Nigerian coat of arms .