Iron Working Traditions in Idomaland and Northern Border Communities

Ibeanu, A.M. and Inalegwu, S.A.

Introduction Technology is defined as a methodical utilization of natural resources and forces based on of the knowledge of nature in order to take care of man‟s need. (Brugger 1974 in Nwoko 1992) However, others see technology as any application of the discoveries of science or the scientific method to the problems of man and his environment in peace and war (Berry 1983 in Nwoko 1992). The identification and exploitation of mineral resources in a given environment is seen as man‟s attempt to adapt and survive. As a result, it is a constructive engagement which man must of necessity make with his environment (Ibeanu and Okonkwo forthcoming). For example, it was the need for more efficient tools for hunting, and agriculture that led to improved techniques and sourcing of quality stone raw materials and the smelting of iron ores. However, the increased exploitation of quality iron ores for iron smelting further expanded human group interaction with one another, urban societies and trade. This study is geared towards the documentation of iron working traditions of parts of Idomaland in Benue state and adjourning northern Igbo communities, such as, and . This will enable us to trace possible relationships or similarities in their iron working traditions in time perspectives. Many archaeological studies had been carried out in Nsukka area in terms of excavation and dating of iron working sites (Anozie 1979; Okafor 1993; 1995). Most iron smelting sites in Nsukka and Nwofe in Abakaliki seem quite old and thepresent inhabitants of such sites as Opi and Lejja are ignorant of the archaeological data/smelting traditions unlike the Umundu and Nrobo where knowledgeable elders and blacksmiths who either observed/participated as children in iron smelting. They still remember the processes of iron working comparable to their Idoma neighbours in such places as Otukpo, Otukpa, Igede and Utonkon where extensive iron smelting took place. In these places there is demonstrable link between the present inhabitants and archaeological data. For example, one can still observe dilapidating smelting furnaces in farmlands and some elders were able to identify smelting and smithing slags. It is a common in most farmlands in Otukpa to see pieces of slag, broken furnace walls and potsherds littered around as part of the landscape. It is important to note, that human activities due mainly to population pressure is adversely affecting these finite archaeological resource that would enhance our outstanding and interpretation of ancient iron smelting traditions. It is pertinent to point out that much work has been done in Nsukka, as against parts of Benue where no archaeological excavation or dates have been obtained from Idoma iron smelting Sites. However, on the basis of furnace types, only the shaft furnace has so far been identified. This is seen to be the most recent furnance type which gave a more efficient smelt compared with older furnace types observed in Nsukka and Abakaliki areas. It has been observed by Nwoko (1992 that no society can make any headway in technological advancement without a systematic and critical appraisal of the reality around her and assuming the society wants to borrow by way of technological transfer, members of such society must develop their required attitude as well as critical mind about life for the borrowed technology to contribute to their welfare.

Research Methods Our research method included archaeological reconnaissance of iron smelting sites in both Idomaland of Benue state and northern Igbo communities of and Ebonyi states. Our method involved the collection of ethnographic data on iron working traditions and relevant oral tradition from knowledgeable elders and blacksmiths. Apart from photographs of furnaces, sketches of smelting processes were made based on oral information from knowledgeable elders. We madeattempt to document the local names of features and products of iron smelting in both Idoma and northern Igboland communities with a view to observing possible common origin of iron smelting or contact between the two groups as different point in time.

Research Scope Parts of Benue state covered by this research are, Otukpo, Ogbadigbo, Utonkon, Igede communities where evidence of iron smelting/blacksmithing were identified. These include, slag debris, collapsed or standing furnaces. These were compared with features found in the smelting sites in border communities, such as, Nwofe and Agbaja community in and Nsukka in . (See Figure 1)

Figure 1: Iron smelting sites mentioned in the text Ethnographic Data Oral traditions collected from the people seem to suggest that, there are varied traditions of origin for the iron smelting communities of Benue state and in most cases myths and legends hold sway. These traditions however, may only suggest that the area of study was settled by waves of immigrant groups from different locations at different points in time (Erim, 1981). For example, oral tradition from Nwofe community in Abakaliki claimed they displaced a group of people on their arrival (Igbo-obia) who migrated to Utonkon. These displaced settlers according to our informants were the iron smelters of Nwofe who however, continued their iron smelting in their new abode in Utonkon. The present inhabitants of Nwofe are ignorant of iron smelting/blacksmithing. In Ukwonyo Utonkon, however, a village is named Onwuigwe meaning “Iron killer”, in . There are copious evidence of iron slag but no smelting furnace has been located. We however, observed blacksmithing being carried on in the village. Be that as it may, the inhabitants are extremely cautious in admitting the knowledge of ironworking to outsiders/researchers. In some cases, they may even deny knowing anything about ironworking, notwithstanding their name (Onwuigwe) and observed archaeological data which suggest knowledge of ironworking. Their attitude might not be unconnected with the harsh treatment meted out to iron workers in Benue state by the colonial government for engaging in „illegal‟ trade (Anebi 1986). One of our informants, Sunday Ogbu claimed he learnt blacksmithing from Amaenyi before the civil war. In Ibilla-Alukpo Igede, elders who either observed or ran errands for their fathers during smelting; still hold the smelting furnace in high esteem. For example, women are not allowed to touch the furnace even when it is out of use. The furnaces were found in living homes as a result of population growth, rather than in farmland as was in the past. In respect of tradition, our informants prefer to take the measurement of the circumference of the furnace in his compound by himself rather than allow female researcher to do so (See plate I). This he said is to ensure that the taboo is not broken (Inalegwu, 2007).

Plate I: An elder taken measurement for the researcher.

In Otukpa, an Idoma border community with Nsukka we noted evidence of iron smelting and blacksmithing. Most smelting sites are under intensive farming activities consequently, furnace walls are in bits and pieces and flow slag appear in aggregates. For example, in Olaochagbaha village of Otukpa, there are five identified smelting sites. We were informed that before the Nigeria civil war, there were many Igbo speaking blacksmiths in the area. We were able to meet with one Igbo blacksmith Mr. Benedict Maduekwe from Obeleagu Umana Enugu state who has practiced blacksmithing in the community for seventeen years. We also observed that the bellows in his smithing forge were covered with rubber tubes. This contrasts with that of an Idoma blacksmith Ejembi Ochigbo of Ogbadibo ward where bellows are covered with goat skins. This area is said to be the abode of renowned blacksmiths in Olaochagbaha clan of Idoma. The blacksmith of Ogbadibo were able to identify and name both slag and furnace. It is very likely their ancestors smelted iron in the recent past or witnessed the process of iron smelting. In Idoma land, exchange of goods and services in the past was by trade by barter. However, the iron workers were able to design twotypes of flat trifurcated iron currency namely, Okobougala and Ubeje for exchange of goods and services before the introduction of European metal currency. They also produced Emu (fire lighter) a piece of iron which when struck with quartz stone sets fire to combustible materials (Anebi 1986). In Otukpo, knowledgeable elders were able to recount the process of iron smelting. For example, Pa Agbe recalled that the industry survived till the 1930‟s when iron smelting was outlawed by the colonial government. Our informant did not smelt himself but ran errands and observed his father while smelting. The reconstruction of the processes of iron smelting in Otukpo has been adversely affected by combined effect of memory loss on the part of elders who participated in iron smelting and death. However, majority of our informants believed that smelting is indigenous and a gift from God. Iron smelting in Otukpa was such that in every village, one would observe smelting furnace in different stages of decay due both to natural and human activities. The furnaces on farm lands have been adversely affected by farming activities while those presently found in human settlements are in a very poor state of preservation (See plate III).

Plate II: Poorly preserved shaft furnace at Igede. In most sites, we observed copious presence of iron ores – haematite, the raw materials for iron smelting. For instance, in the sites of Ihayi are located close to Okete stream the source of ores, a few meters away. According to our sources, women participate in iron smelting by helping in the preparation of fuel by burning logs of hard woods to produce quality charcoals. These were transported by the women in baskets loads to the smelting sites. The charcoals were loaded in alternate layers with broken pieces of iron ores. Oral accounts and our observations showed that two types of shaft furnaces were used in iron smelting in Idoma land. They are, natural draught and induced/forced draught furnaces. The former had opening around the base through which air is drawn into the furnace during combustion while the later has a clay nozzle tuyere inserted at the base through which air is forced into the furnace with a set of bellows operated by the smelters (Anebi 1986). The two furnaces produced flow slag aggregates. We are not yet sure if the two types were contemporaries or one predating the other. Perhaps it may well be that smelters wanted to maximize the open nature of the environment and relieve themselves of the drudgery of the use of bellows. We are not yet clear of the advantage one has over the other in terms of the efficiency of smelt. If one takes Buhaya of Tanzania smelters as example, steel iron was produced by traditional iron smelters by inserting longer tuyeres into the furnance which preheats the incoming air and enables it to maintain constant high temperature during the smelting (Schmidt et al 1978). In Nsukka area, however, the situation is quite different as slag types suggest the use of more than one furnace type by iron smelters. These include the pit, dome and shaft furnaces. The controversy whether the furnance types in Nsukka are limited to three or two is not the concern of this paper. What is certain however is that there was a clear demonstration of technological change that led to the production of light aggregates of iron slag debris as opposed to the earlier giant cylindrical slags (Anozie 1979; 1985; Okafor1993). We are not fortunate as in Idomaland to observe extant furnance of any type in northern Igbo communities. Interestingly, in Opi and Lejja where oldest furnance types may have been used the inhabitants are ignorant of iron smelting. However, oral information from Umundu and Nrobo (much closer to Idomaland) suggest that shaft furnance was in use in these areas. In Nrobo for example we were able to come in contact with a retired smelter/blacksmith in 1990 who participated in both smelting andblacksmithing. Eze-Ndidigwe was aged 90 years but still had very good memory. His former smithing workshop is located in front of his compound. Only the anvil and mud wall foundation of this former workshop was left to tell the story. He directed us to the smelting site not too far from his compound. There was no trace of any furnance but extensive debris of flow slag sheets. The site is located on a low hill from where they sourced the iron ores. He described very vividly and illustrated on the ground the various stages of building a smelting furnace (See Figure II).

Stage one Stage Two

A smelter (EzeNdidigwe )demonstrating how smelting furnance is built in Nrobo.

Stage Three. Stage Four.

Figure 2: Stages of building a smelting Shaft Furnace in Nrobo, Nsukka

He ended with a popular proverb in the community thus: “Ocho ga olu ga egbue utu” meaning if a person wants to boast of his hard work, let him build a furnace. This goes to show the tedious nature, skill and dexterity involved in furnance construction and smelting. At Ama-Eguru village of Nrobo, we found heaps of slag similar to those found in Umudiesue. Our informant, a blacksmith who learnt the skill from his father said he grew up to see the heaps of slags. He maintained that the people of Ama-Eguru in Nrobo migrated from Lejja from where they inherited the art of blacksmithing. This view was collaborated by EzeNdidigwe of Umudiesue. He said that Ama-Eguru and Lejja worshiped a common deity known as Adada Lejja from the remote past to the present (Agu 1990). It is worthy of note that there is a glaring similarity in the local name for smelting furnance in both the Igbo and Idoma communities see table 1 below.

Table 1: Name for smelting furnance and products in the area of study.

Smelting Sites Furnance Slag Bloom Ore Okigwe Utu Agwa - Akuma Nsukka Utu Ehuru Aga Nneigwe Nwofe (Abakaliki) - Akpanga - - Otukpa Utulo Umeogo - - Otukpo Utulo Emi-oje Oje Eche- alaya Igede Utiyo - Ojelugbe-lugbe Utonkon Utiyo - - -

Plate III a. Front view of Furnace. Plate III b. Back view. The hole at the middle may likely be the inspection hole during smelting.

Archaeological Data The predominant archaeological data in most sites are broken pieces of furnance walls, tuyeres and potsherds. Nevertheless, some standing furnances were still found in situ but in a poor state of preservation. In Igede, for example, flow slag occurs in sheets, while the Otukpa and Otukpo ironsmelting slags were in aggregates. This may be due partly to the intensive human activities in former smelting sites. A good number of tuyere fragments were discovered in all the sites. At Ikachi smelting site in Igede, a broken a tuyere nozzle was observed and this measured 8cm in length (Inalegwu 2007) The furnace wall at Ebuta and Uwokwu smelting sites both at Igede are fast dilapidating as a result of threats from farming activities. Better preserved smelting furnaces can still be found in Otukpo and Igede villages where they are located in living compounds (See plate three a & b). In Otukpo for example, Anebi (1986) noted the remnants of furnance foundation wall in the compound of Mr. Ochagwu Echekwu at Otukpo-Onobi. The thickness of the furnance wall is 9 cm will internal diameters of 60 cm while the circumference and original height are 2.47 and 1.8 m respectively. The furnance was said to be very tall. Also at Akpachi village was found a standing furnace with a height of 2 m, the thickness of wall is 15 cm and internal diameter and circumference of 92 cm and 3.16 m. The furnace had been cut open by farmers who had cultivated the surrounding of the standing furnance. At Ibilla-Alukpo Igede the standing furnaces are over 2 meters like those of Otukpo but in a very poor state of preservation. In Nsukka, however, the smelting furnaces are no longer seen any where except at Opi and Obimo sites where there are circular marks of fired clays (ca 10 cm thick) in which are imbedded clay nozzles tuyere(s). These are common features found in homes of peoples who located their settlements oblivious to former smelting sites with evidence of activity in the area. It was only at Nrobo, Nsukka that we were able to meet a former iron smelter and later blacksmith in early 1990s who demonstrated to us the processes of iron smelting. The furnace type, as reconstructed from his oral account was a shaft furnace and attested to by the nature of the flow slag heaps in parts of Nrobo villages. Discussions and Conclusion Our limited study of iron working in both Igbo and Idoma neighbouring communities clearly suggest that more sustained archaeological interdisci plinary research endeavours need to be carried out in these areas. This collaborative research would throw more light on the origins and possible diffusion pattern of iron working in these areas. However, ethnographic sources suggest movement of Igbo iron workers into the Idoma territory but how far back in time should await archaeological excavations and radiocarbon dates in parts of Idoma iron smelting sites. In the meantime archaeological evidence has so far shown that shaft furnaces were in use, in Idomaland, be they forced draught or free standing smelting furnaces. Much earlier furnace types were reconstructed for Nsukka and Nwofe sites based on slag types and early radiocarbon dates obtained in Nsukka excavation sites (Anozie 1979; 1985, Okafor 1993). The use of shaft furnaces based on oral tradition did survive in parts of Nsukka-Nrobo and Umundu which may be contemporaneous or still earlier than Idoma sites. Be that as it may, these limited studies have further exposed the precarious state of preservation of these last generation of smelting furnaces that will soon go into extinction. This calls for a sober reflection on how archaeological heritage resource are being managed in Nigeria as well as the raison d‟être of Nigeria‟s relevant agencies charged with the management, utilization and preservation of our cultural heritage resources. Aremu (1999) had equally drawn attention to the need for the preservation of similar smelting sites of Ampara and Delimiri in Yanlari National Park for tourism purposes. But beyond that, the proper study of these extant but increasing diminishing smelting furnaces, by relevant scientists, archaeologists/anthropologists would shed more light on the urgent need to integrate our indigenous knowledge with modern technology especially on “Iron Road Map” for sustainable development. The survival and preservation of these giant shaft furnaces of Igede and Otukpo very much depend on the tradition which the Octogenarians still cherish and defend. When these elders pass on the fate and knowledge derivable from these smelting furnaces would be finally determined.

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