There is a unique tribe of people in Adamawa state who still live in the medieval era even as the world has long moved on. They are the Sukur people, somewhere in Madagali local government area.
According to the UN, the Sukur people are part of the global heritage sites. “Sukur is located along the Nigeria/ Cameroon border. They can be found some 290 km away from Yola, the Adamawa state capital in northeastern Nigeria.
Sukur is still an ancient settlement. But they have a documented history of “iron smelting technology, flourishing trade, and strong political institutions dating back to the 16th century.” Their signature native architecture of stones and iron smelting confirms that they had contact with civilization long before most parts of Africa did. Still, one wonders why they remain encapsulated in their archaic state of sophistication.
The Sukur people are very cultural and respect their king, Hidi, who symbolizes their worship, belief, and culture.
The Palace of the Hidi is situated on a hill towering over the villages below.
The revered status of the Hidi, being the political and spiritual head of the community, “is underscored by the magnificent dry stone architectural work of his palace, in and around which is a concentration of shrines, some ceramic.”
The villages on the ow-lying ground below the Hidi Palace have their characteristic indigenous architecture. It features dry stone walls, used as social markers and defensive enclosures, sunken animal (principally bull) pens, granaries, and threshing floors. Low stone walls integrate groups of mud-walled thatched roofed houses.
When one visits Sukur, dominant features like terraced pastures, their religious emblems, and vast relics of a one-time thriving iron industry are still an incredibly intact physical manifestation of a society and its spiritual and temporal civilization.
According to UNESCO, “the landscape is characterized by terraces on the farmlands, dry stone structures, and stone paved walkways. The terraced landscape at Sukur, with its hierarchical structure and combination of intensive and extensive farming, is remarkable. In addition, it has certain exceptional features not to be found elsewhere; notably, the use of paved tracks and the spiritual content of the terraces, with their ritual features such as sacred trees.”
Though they are once known for their iron smelting, one doesn’t understand where they later jettison such an occupation. But one could still sight the remains of many disused iron-smelting furnaces. Iron production involved complex socio-economic benefits, but there was a significant ritual practice associated with it.
According to UNESCO, The Sukur Cultural Landscape is a National Monument as determined by the Joint Instrument of Federal Decree No. 77 of 1979 (now NCMM ACT, Cap 242 of 2000) and the subsequent legal authority of the Adamawa State Government as in Gazette No. 47 Vol. 7 of 20 November 1997, and the consent of the Hidi-in-Council.
“In 1998, the Madagali Local Government, the Sukur Development Association, the State Council for Arts and Culture, and Adamawa State Government have agreed to work with the National Commission for Museums and Monuments towards the development of a sustainable preservation and cultural education program.
“In February 2010, the Minister of Culture, Tourism and National Orientation inaugurated a Management Committee. They are integrating customary law and Nigeria’s decree No. 77 of 1979, the Site Management Plan for the period the Committee uses 2006-2011 as the guiding principle for site conservation, management, and protection.
“Since its inscription in 1999, all physical remains have been appropriately conserved by the National Commission for Museums and Monuments in collaboration with the Sukur community. Annual restoration work has been carried out using traditional construction materials. Along with shrines and other sacred places, the Hidi Palace Complex is Correctly maintained and edited because they are currently in use.”
Next time you visit Adamawa, go towards Madagali local government and don’t forget to visit this beautiful person who is still living in their organic state of nature.
Bay States News 