A couple of months ago, I went on a road trip to Minna, Niger State, in the North Central of Nigeria. In between breaks during my two week programme held on the premises of the New Horizon School, I made my way to Bida- home to the Nupe tribe, the second largest city in Niger State with enormous brass (copper+zinc) deposit. My friend and travel mate was gracious enough to accompany me on this bumpy trip- and I mean that literally. If all you know and have experienced about Nigeria is Lagos, I encourage you to plan at least one road trip from Lagos to the middle belt and beyond. The landscape is breath taking, from the lush expansive greenery to the scenic hills and mountain tops, and oh! the road side farm produce and street food has to be one of my favorite things to look forward to. I digress-back to Bida, in search of indigenous craftsmen, after a few inquiries, one inaccurate lead to the sought location, and an extended but rather refreshing and breezy bike ride, we made it to Gbongbofu. Below are images of some of the brass, aluminum, and brass-copper mix of works produced on site. We are excited to engage selected craftsmen met on the trip to produce a range of works for our brand- yay to the locals!
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| Welcome to Minna! |
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| It's common place to see young ladies selling masa by the road side. Masa is eaten as a snack or proper meal. |
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| This area of the massive compound of the New Horizon school faces the entrance to the girls dormitory. The sign is an everyday reminder for them to be authentic- so apt. |
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| Entrance to Bida motor park |
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| A worker carefully designing the ladle |
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| This kettle is simply stunning, they are used for ceremonial purposes but hey your space can accommodate it too. |
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| More products... |
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| Love this decorative tea set. Can you spot the kajal/eyeliner holder by the left? My grandma used to have one of those back in the days |
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| These are hair liners but I have more use for them than just parting hair. You can have a collection of these in a vase, they really stand out. |
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| These will come in handy as a storage solution and will add an element of tribal glam to your space |
Beautiful pieces... Those hair liners look pretty, but dangerous at the same time. they should be kept out of sight; they look like murder weapons!
ReplyDeleteLol @ murder weapons- they are quite sharp I must say. Thanks always IJ :)
ReplyDeleteMy grandma had those eyeliner containers. We called it "tiro" it had a blue black hue.
ReplyDeleteYou are right Khadijah,I think all grandmas had one of those. I thought tiro was a Yoruba word though- ha!
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