tiv - Ayatutu Ka Uno? Ka Se!

The Tiv people from the middle-belt region of Nigeria in West Africa can be found along Latitude 6 degrees 30 minutes to 8 degrees North and Longitude 8 degrees to 10 degrees East of equator.  The Tiv people are in every country of the world, but mainly in Benue, Taraba, Nassarawa and Plateau State in Nigeria, West Africa. The Tiv, who are mostly agrarian farmers numbered more than 2.2m in the 1991 census. Their language is also Tiv and, even though the states mentioned above are ruled by political state governors, their paramount ruler is the Tor Tiv.

Tiv are speakers of a “Bantu related language”. Their early history is covered by three theories  of origin.  These are the Creation, Bantu and Family theories of origin.  The outline of the Tiv Creation theory attributes the creation of the world (tar) to God (Aondo). In Tiv mythology, Aondo (God) had created the world and settled closer to it until He was hit with a pestle by a woman who was pounding food. In response, He moved into the skies (kwav Aondo) which is his present abode. Though there are different versions of the creation theory, and there does not seem to be any particular sequence in the creation process, in at least, one version,  Takuruku rather than Aondo  is argued to have been responsible  for creation. In all the versions however, Swem is identified as the “place” of “creation”.      

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