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The Nigerian
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This was our
first field trip! The area of Nok is a
beautiful spot easily reached within a couple or so hours of We continued
farther up onto the rocks which form the roof of the cave to see the
panoramic view of the area through which we had just walked, as well as the
village beyond. We had a snack there,
and Felix told us the legend of the Red Tree (literal translation from the
local language) – it is the only one of its kind in the area; it bears fruit
but the fruit does not germinate; lizards don’t climb its bark; it used to be
that it never lost its leaves; and it used to glow at certain times (there’s
more, I just forgot). Though Felix
insisted that the climb down would be easier than up, this is not true. Nonetheless, everyone made it down just
fine (with a great deal of help of the guides and boys), and we walked back
toward the village. Along the way,
Felix took us inside another cave, this one, he said, had been used as a kind
of tribunal space. It had also, quite
obviously, been used as a place where women ground grains communally – the
evidence for which is that several of the flat rocks lining the floor of the
cave have obvious grind-stone indentations in them. Felix said that, because this space had
been used as a tribunal, only virgins were allowed to grind their grist
there. Next, we
proceeded back through the village and stopped in a place with a very large
rock on one end, a kind of plaza in the middle of which stand two stellae,
and to the side of which a small trail leads, after a meter (yard) or two toward
a space between another rock and a very large, old, shade tree. Felix explained that the current village
uses this space as their current court. On the way
back to the museum and cars, Felix took us to see a couple of reproduction
full-sized Nok heads, and then they opened up the little museum and we saw
the few remaining precious 2000 – 2,500-year-old Nok sculptures. The rest are in official hands, The British
Museum, and in private hands. Felix
and his associates are there, at Nok, to supervise the building of a proper
museum which is currently being funded by the state government, with support
from the federal government. We gave each
of our guides a nice dash and drove back to For more info
on Nok, click on: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/nok/hd_nok.htm.
Replica Nok Heads
Attendees: Dorothy Nonito Alan Gayathri Susanna Kyle Roman To co-lead a
trip to Nok yourself, contact one of the above attendees or Roland. Rating: Easy until you
have to climb the rocks, then strenuous both up and down, but only for about
15 minutes. Security: As usual,
there are many police blocks along the way.
Drive in a tight convoy, when one person stops - everyone stops, and
if at all possible have the lead car be one of those often “exempt” from
being stopped, among them diplomatic tags, Berger, PHC. Also, carry the most official Nigerian ID
on you that you have. Smile, be friendly,
pretend you don’t understand their hints at collecting “a fee,” try to pull
through very slowly and get on your way. Nok village
seems very safe. We did not leave the
cars attended. If you wish, you may
pay a tiny amount (10N) to a boy or boys to “watch” your vehicle(s). This is, of course, just a token
gesture. Several loose groups of
villagers might gather here and there to watch you, but they keep their
distance unless you involve them. Gear: Loose, very
maneuverable clothing – for pants those new light-weight ones with the leggings
that unzip are ideal, though you will be sliding down some rocks. Jeans are not a good idea as you have to
lift your legs up very high to climb the stones; shorts are just fine, also. Footwear which can grip rock and in which
you can wade through a very shallow stream is helpful, too. A sun hat is mandatory as is good sun block
– you will walk through in the sun for more than an hour (all together
round-trip). Lunch, at least a large
bottle of water per person for the walk, and a camera should fill out your
pack which should be snugly attached to your body. Another large bottle of water for before
and after, and maybe a change T-shirt may be left in the car. (I wore all
the wrong things – slip on Nigerian-style sandals, jeans, and a black clingy
knit shirt, no hat and I made it just fine.) Costs: Fuel for 3
hours’ driving, dash of 1000 Contact: Be sure to plan
this trip at least one week ahead of time as there is no phone reception in
Nok, and you are likely going to have to call about a week ahead to reach
someone. Be sure to leave a text
message for anyone who does not answer the phone to ask them to call you to
schedule a trip. In your text message,
leave your name and phone number as well.
It may take several days for someone to receive your text message and
call you back – they have to go to a place where they have reception. Felix –
0802-082-8394 Enoch –
0804-545-8565 Timing: Final timing
should be coordinated with Felix or one of his associates, but he recommends
that you come early, presumably mostly to avoid the mid-day heat. In early June, when we took this trip, we
left Abuja about 10:15, arrived in Nok about 12:00, took about 3 hours all
together to walk, climb, take pictures, eat a snack, climb down, and walk
back, and another hour around the museum, leaving about 4 in the afternoon to
return to Abuja before dark, of course! Directions: - From - Turn toward Keffi. - At flyover (overpass) at entrance to Keffi,
turn left and drive north toward Gitada, Adure, Kwoi, - Stay on this road for about 75 Kilometers. - Look for a turn-off to your right toward
Kwoi. The turn-off is very easily
recognizable as you will go through “McDonald’s-like” golden arches! Can’t miss it! And, there is a reproduction Nok head under
the arches. - Go through the - Turn left onto this road and continue
slowly just into the - Look on the right for a building marked - Back up to the nearest street (dirt, of
course) to the right (just a few meters back) and enter the village. - Drive very carefully through the village to
the huge tree with the base of the trunk mostly hollowed out by fire. - At the tree,
turn left, and continue until you see another large white sign for the
National Museum of Nok leaning against the museum building on the right. There is a bit
more information on hard-copy which you can obtain from the Event Coordinator. |
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©The
Nigerian Field Society |
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