NIGERIA: DANCE, FOLKLORE, COUSINE, MUSIC

Nigeria has about 250 ethnic groups. With so many different people, the country has a large cultural diversity.

In Nigerian traditional societies, dance is the focus of religious ritual and ceremony: a priest is the leading dancer. Using dance and symbolic gestures to lead initiates in dances designed to appease the supernatural powers, solicit divine protection, or give thanks to the guardian spirits of the community.

Nigeria’s folklore is much connected to antique traditions (myths, dances, and rites) characters of the popular fictional. An example: The Eringa’s story, a woman so strong that    exceeded all the strong man in her community.

The Nigerian cuisine consists of various dishes and food for hundreds of their ethnic groups living in west African. A variety of spices and herbs are used in conjunction with palm oil or peanut oil, giving a deep flavor soups and sauces which are preferably made very hot and spicy foods . The colorful festivals reflect on the aromatic culinary market, and the roadside snacks cooked on barbecues or fried in oil are plentiful and varied in their region.

Music is almost always used in rituals, such as weddings or funerals.  The drum is the most used native instrument. Nigeria has several music styles, like apala, fuji, jùjú, highlife and yo-pop.

After the Second World War, Nigerian music started to incorporate new instruments and techniques from the USA and Europe. Presently Nigeria has some of the most advanced recording studio technology in Africa.












References:
nairaland.com - nigerian folklore
foodbycountry.com
personal.psu.edu
en.wikipedia.org - Music of Nigeria
yorubatribe.blogspot