Kwagh-Hir

Kwagh-Hir theatrical performance
A 1960s kwagh-hir mask
CountryNigeria
Reference683
RegionAfrica
Inscription history
Inscription2020 (14th session)

Kwagh-hir (literally means something magical or a thing of magic and pronounced kwaa-hee)[1] is a multipart culturally edifying art form of the Tiv people of central Nigeria which became popular in the 1960s. It is a dramatic public performance telling moral stories of past and current events, and incorporates puppetry, masquerading, poetry, music, dance and animated narratives to portray its moral themes. It is used by the Tiv people to reinforce traditional beliefs and convey other worldly tales to educate, socialize, provide secular entertainment and address societal issues.[2][3]

Kwagh-hir is a higher art form of kwagh-alom, an aged practice of the Tiv people where the family was treated to a storytelling session by creative storytellers, usually in the early hours of the night after the day's farming work by moonlight.[4]

The most familiar variant of the kwagh-hir according to Jonathan Fogel may be the Punch and Judy show, in which recognizable characters lampoons current political figures and events in the news while also referencing an array of cultural mores.[5]

Kwagh-hir was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2019 by the decision of the Intergovernmental Committee: 14.COM 10.B.27.[3][6]

  1. ^ "New Book: Something Magical - The Kwagh-Hir of the Tiv". imodara.com. 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  2. ^ "Kwagh Hir". raifilm.org.uk. 2020. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Kwagh-Hir theatrical performance". UNESCO. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  4. ^ Harper, Peggy (October 1997). "The Kwagh-hir of the People of Tiv: A Note on Dramatised History Telling and Constructions of Nature among the Tiv of Southern Nigeria". Environment and History. 3 (3): 371–376. doi:10.3197/096734097779555845. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  5. ^ Bunch, Richard (2017). Something Magical: The Kwagh-Hir of the Tiv. BFP Publishing. p. i. ISBN 978-0-692-98547-2.
  6. ^ "UNESCO lists Kwagh-Hir theatre on heritage roll". thenationonlineng.net. 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2020.