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Ways of the Rivers: Arts and Environment of the Niger Delta
African Arts, Autumn, 2003 by Sylvester Okwunodu Ogbechie
One notes here the struggle between a biologically coded, essentialist idea of ethnicity and a relativistic idea that locates ethnic identities in active forms of cultural education. Strangely enough, there is no focus on individuals whose identities fall between the ethnic groups described by the authors--those who, for example, profess allegiance to two ethnic identities (say, Ijo and Urhobo, or Yoruba and Itsekiri), whether because of parental intermarriage or simply because of an upbringing and fluency in two cultures. Many Niger Delta people are bicultural or multicultural in that sense, and their story is yet to be enunciated. That said, the essays provide lucid and insightful analyses supported by brilliant illustrations of historical and contemporary contexts of cultural practices in the Delta. The 480 illustrations (430 of them in color) constitute a valuable compendium of images on the subject, many of which are published here for the first time. Ways of the Rivers looks set to be a benchmark publication on this area's visual culture.
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The curators noted that although the Delta's unique geographical environment plays a large role in its historical and cultural development, it is a long leap from this fact to an assertion that its peoples are defined by their environment. Similarly, the obvious transmission of ideas across cultural boundaries makes it impossible to attribute forms of artistic practice solely to individual ethnic groups--to assert, for example, that Isoko peoples are defined by their use of ivri. In fact, one interesting aspect of this exhibition is the manner in which indigenous proclamations of similarity or difference shifted constantly and refused to be bounded by strict ideas of ethnic identity. (3) It is now generally accepted that fluid ethnic identities of an earlier historical period became sharply delineated under British colonial rule from the nineteenth century onward. (4) However, the politics of ethnic diversity is a constant aspect of contemporary social organization in the Delta.
What accounts for the region's extreme cultural diversity? Archaeological evidence suggests that the area has been inhabited since the eighth century. There is also a mix of indigenous populations forced into agglomeration by external forces, like those engendered by the Edo territorial expansion from the sixteenth century until the kingdom's demise in 1897. (5) Intermarriage across the region produced common riverine models of cultural practice that are most evident in masquerade traditions dedicated to the shared veneration of water spirits. European presence on the coast from the fifteenth century onward also contributed in no small measure to contemporary ethnic identity among Delta peoples. Aside from obvious influences on costume and regalia, a main aspect of this interaction was the racial intermixing between local populations and European traders and sailors that ultimately led to a valorization of fair skin by the Urhobo and Itsekiri in the contemporary era. Different aspects of the above heritage are incorporated into the artworks, costumes, and attitudes of Niger Delta societies.
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