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The records of the Jukun peoples of Northern Nigeria are as vague as those of most Nigerian tribes with the exception, perhaps, of the Fulani and the Hausa. It is thought that in the mid-fifteenth century they occupied the whole of the north-eastern corner of Nigeria and according to Fulani records they had gained the whole of the north two centuries later. One hundred years of glorious rule ended when they were defeated by the Fulani. Now they are only some 25,000 strong and they have been pushed back to the little triangular area round the banks of the Benue, Katsina and Donga rivers. Anthropologists suspect that the Jukun originally came from the Sudan and the greatest authority on the tribe, C. K. Meek, has called his major work about them “A Sudanese Kingdom”. The Jukun religion is based on the divine right of kingship, their king being referred to as “Aku”, meaning “Souls of the Dead”, while Sir Wallis Budge quotes the names “Khu” or “Aaku” given to the ancient Egyptian beatified souls. Another fact in our search for proof of this ancestry is the importance that is laid on the sun. Although it cannot be said that, like the Pharaohs, the king is the only son of the sun god, it is certainly true to say that the Jukun “Aku” is indeed the son of one of the gods. The most important of the gods is still the sun god and thus . . .? However, whether proven or not, it is interesting that in spite of centuries of mingling with the semi-Bantu people of the Middle Belt the Jukun have retained many characteristics which justify anthropological suspicions.

Bordering the Benue River, geographically bulging on either side, the Tiv people have developed a musical style which reflects the individuality of their customs and thought to an interestingly marked degree. A semi-Bantu people, the Tiv have combined the true essentials of the arts of their race with a highly developed sense of mimicry, not unlike that found in the shadow play of Java. This sense of mimicry has no time barriers, however, and in its ancient god-worship form carries with it the jerky rhythm patterns and sharp dancing movements, now moulded by the twentieth century and European contact, but still leaving the angular fingers and sharp percussion crying for favours from A’Ondo, their God of the heavens and the father of Tiv and Uke.

In considering the music of Nigeria, its future and its past, it is essential that an appreciation of its cultural environment and evolution is taken into account, the present day trends and tastes being a direct reflection of traditional modes. The African population of Nigeria is divided into numerous tribes, speaking different languages, worshipping various Gods and differing completely from one another in manners and customs.