The Rich Culture and Livelihoods of the Tiv People

The Tiv people are a large ethnic group inhabiting central Nigeria and western Cameroon. They are one of the largest ethnic groups in Nigeria, constituting approximately 2.4% of the country's population. They are traditionally known for their segmentary social structure and political system, which is based on lineage groups. The Tiv people are predominantly subsistence farmers, cultivating crops such as yams, millet, and sorghum. They also raise livestock, including cattle, sheep, and goats. Tiv communities are typically made up of compounds that contain round huts, a reception hut, and granaries. The Tiv people have a rich cultural heritage, which includes a variety of traditional songs, dances, and stories. The Tiv people were a free people without a king; hence every clan or kindred was administered by the eldest man called "Orya" they were amongst the first inhabitants of the Benue Valley.
The Tiv national attire is the black-and-white-striped anger. When the Tiv people arrived at their current location several centuries earlier, they discovered that the zebra they used to hunt for meat and skin, used for ceremonial attire, was not native to the area. When they acquired the skill of the loom, they decided to honor their heritage by weaving a cloth with black-and-white stripes, reminiscent of the zebra skin; this would then be made the preferred attire. Initially, it was a simple cloth to be draped around the tors. The common Tiv food are mostly solid, cooked, pounded or prepared with hot water. They are mostly carbohydrates or byproducts of yams, cocoa-yam, cassava, beans, corn, etc. The Tiv are known to be the food basket of Nigeria. soups pocho, ager, genger, atyever, tur, vambe, igyo, agbende a ashwe, mngishim, ashwe, Atuur, vegetables, ijôv, aninge, furum[, adenger, gbungu, angahar a ikyuna, gbande. Tiv staples roasted yams, ahuma, rice and beans (chingapa sha alev) beverages burukutu, ibyer Snacks Asondo (dried sweet potatoes), igbough ahi (roasted or boiled bambara nuts), mzembe (roasted pears), huu (roasted termites), alie and nyata, kuese (beans cake), N'gyata (groundnut paste)