The Mumuye are a people of Nigeria.
They speak the Mumuye language.
They constitute the largest tribal group in Taraba State of Nigeria and form the predominant tribes found in Zing, Yorro, Jalingo, Ardo-Kola, Lau, Gassol, Bali and Gashaka, all of which are local government areas of the state. Mumuyes are also widely found in many parts of the neighboring Adamawa State.
80.000 Mumuye live in the Shebshi Mountains and surrounding plains in Jalingo region, Adamawa.
Neighbouring Peoples are Chamba, Mama, Bata
Mumuye are farmers, although the soil in this area is not exceptionally fertile. During the dry season from October to March nothing can be grown on the desolate scrub-like land. Millet is the staple crop in the region and is used to make flour and beer. The uncertainty of harvests in this region have led to the development of various prayers and offerings that are made during both planting and harvesting cycles in hopes of increasing the annual yield. Hunting is widely practiced to augment the local diet, and game is generally abundant. Each village has its own hunting lands, and permission is required for an outsider to hunt on these lands.
The Mumuye were pushed into their current locale during the Fulani holy wars, which extended from the 17th century into the early 19th century. Along with their neighbors, with whom they have much in common, they fled southwards into the hills of eastern Nigeria where they divided into small communities that remained relatively isolated from one another. The Benue River Valley had very little to offer to Europeans in terms of natural resources, and so they remained relatively isolated from colonialist enterprise.
The relative isolation of individual communities remains today. For the most part, small villages are made up of one or two extended families and the spouses who have married into those families. Individual lineages identify with a totemic spirit that is metaphorically embodied in certain animals. Families that might otherwise be unrelated may develop political ties because they both belong the same spirit. The result of this sort of relationship is a somewhat decentralized power structure that permits the members of each totem group to retain a degree of power.
The Mumuye have a unique appearance. Their distinct style of dress clearly sets them apart from their neighbours. Men wear one or more leather girdles, the ends of which are decorated with beads and cowries (bright shells). Goat skins are also worn with the girdles. Both men and women wear beads, brass and iron bracelets and anklets, and pieces of wood in their ears. Women also tattoo their stomachs and wear straw and wood in their pierced nostrils. Men file their four upper front teeth to points. Most Mumuye make rows of small cuts above their eyes, at the temples, and on their cheeks.
The totemic groups are of primary importance in Mama religion, for a lineage's membership in a certain group is defined by the group to which their ancestors belonged. Offerings and sacrifices are made to the family ancestors to appease them and to thank them, especially during harvest times. The dancing of bush cow masks is known to be a part of a secret society whose main purpose is to ask the ancestors who are associated with the bush cow for abundance and agricultural fertility. The skulls of ancestors are considered the resting place of their souls. Wooden statues that are carved to represent the dead are placed near the skull of the deceased person. It is believed that the spirit is then able to enter the statue which can be transported into the house where it is involved in the daily lives of the living.
The Mumuye were pushed into their current locale during the Fulani holy wars, which extended from the 17th century into the early 19th century. Along with their neighbors, with whom they have much in common, they fled southwards into the hills of eastern Nigeria where they divided into small communities that remained relatively isolated from one another. The Benue River Valley had very little to offer to Europeans in terms of natural resources, and so they remained relatively isolated from colonialist enterprise.
The relative isolation of individual communities remains today. For the most part, small villages are made up of one or two extended families and the spouses who have married into those families. Individual lineages identify with a totemic spirit that is metaphorically embodied in certain animals. Families that might otherwise be unrelated may develop political ties because they both belong the the same spirit. The result of this sort of relationship is a somewhat decentralized power structure that permits the members of each totem group to retain a degree of power.
Mumuye people are not at all naked. In their culture they have strict rules. They have a distinct sense of shame, and they feel very ashamed when the leaves are not placed properly or when they dont ware a cord around the waist.
The Mumuye, men and women alike, put a lot of effort into their appearance, especially when an important feast is in sight. Every individual wants to look nicer than the other one. They spend days to doing each others hair. When one person is done, it is the other ones turn. Hopefully the hairstyles are finished by the beginning of the feast.
Sometimes not everyone can manage to get ready for the festivities however, so some appear with just a half-done head or no specially dressed hair at all.
Mumuye sculpture is unique, assuming a long narrow pole-like style. They also use bird and buffalo masks and big elbow carrier anthropomorphic masks.
Until the 1970s most Mumuye sculpture was misattributed to their neighbors the Chamba. Their style is distinctive, assuming a long narrow pole-like style. They also use bush cow masks like those of their neighbors.
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