Indigenous Technology: Crafts and Industries – SS1 Nigerian History Lesson Note (Third Term)

Indigenous technology is the set of crafts and industries that Nigerians practised in the past, alongside farming, to make goods from local materials.

• Products: tools, weapons, utensils, ornaments and clothing.
• Currency: some products, such as iron and salt, were also used as money.

Behavioural objectives

1. Name the main types of indigenous industries in pre-colonial Nigeria.
2. State the uses of pottery, iron, bronze and salt.
3. Describe the processes involved in making cloth.
4. Identify the part of Nigeria associated with leather work and its major city.
5. List other indigenous industries.

What are crafts and industries?

A craft is the skilled making of goods by hand, and an industry is the organised production of goods, often for sale.

• Craft: a skill such as pot making, carving or weaving, often learnt from a parent or master.
• Industry: a craft practised by many people in a community, with goods traded in markets.
• Raw material: the natural material a craftsman starts with, such as clay, iron ore or cotton.

What economic activities existed besides farming?

Besides farming, Nigerians in the past were engaged in trading, hunting, fishing and manufacturing.

• Agriculture: the major economic activity in Nigeria in the past.
• Trading: goods were exchanged in local markets and over long distances.
• Hunting: provided meat, skins and ivory.
• Fishing: important in riverine and coastal areas.
• Manufacturing: crafts and industries that made tools, weapons, utensils, ornaments and clothing.

What were the main types of indigenous industries?

The main indigenous industries were pottery, iron work, bronze and brass work, salt production, cloth making and leather work.

What is pottery?

Pottery is the making of items from clay.

• Workers: usually women.
• Main product: the pot.

What are the uses of pottery?

• Fetching water: water pots carried from streams and wells.
• Storage and cooking: pots kept water and grains, and were used on the fire.
• Plates and bowls: used for serving food.
• Ritual purposes: used in shrines and ceremonies.

What are the steps in making a pot?

1. Dig the clay and remove stones and roots.
2. Mix the clay with water until it is soft.
3. Shape the pot by hand or in a mould.
4. Dry the pot in the sun or shade.
5. Fire the pot to make it hard.

What is iron technology?

Iron technology is the mining of iron ore, smelting it and smithing the iron into useful objects.

• Importance: it was a landmark in pre-colonial history.
• Worker: the blacksmith, who made tools and weapons.
• Early centres: the Nok culture is linked with early iron smelting in Nigeria, and Awka is known for its blacksmiths.

What are the processes in iron technology?

1. Mining: iron ore is dug from the ground.
2. Smelting: the ore is heated in a furnace to separate the iron.
3. Smithing: the blacksmith heats and hammers the iron into tools and weapons.

What tools were made from iron?

• Hoes: used for farming.
• Knives: used at home and for hunting.
• Spears and swords: used in hunting and war.

What were the uses of iron?

• Farming: iron tools made agriculture easier.
• War: iron weapons were used in battles.
• Religion and belief: iron was important in legends and beliefs. Ogun, the god of iron, was worshipped in Yorubaland.
• Currency: iron was used as money.

What is bronze and brass work?

Bronze and brass work is the melting of metal alloys and casting them into shapes.

• Alloy: a metal made by mixing two or more metals. Bronze is mainly copper and tin, and brass is mainly copper and zinc.
• Casting heads and figures: the main use of bronze, as in the art of Benin.
• Decorating the Oba’s palace: plaques and figures were used to decorate the palace.
• Other centres: Ife and Igbo-Ukwu are also known for fine metal casting.

How were bronze and brass objects cast?

Benin craftsmen used the lost-wax method to cast objects.

1. Make a clay model of the object.
2. Cover the model with a layer of wax and carve the details.
3. Cover the wax with more clay to form a mould.
4. Heat the mould so the wax melts and runs out.
5. Pour molten metal into the space left by the wax.
6. Let it cool, then break the mould to free the object.

What is salt production?

Salt production is the extraction of salt from salt water and salt deposits.

• Scarcity: salt was produced on a large scale but remained scarce.
• Workers: its production was women’s work, with taboos and ceremonies attached to it.

What are the uses of salt?

• Preservation: salt kept fish and meat from going bad.
• Cooking: salt gave taste to food.
• Currency: salt was used as money in trade.

What is the cloth industry?

The cloth industry is the making of cloth from fibres such as cotton and raffia.

What raw materials were used for cloth?

• Early materials: the earliest clothes were made from animal skin, bark, leaves and raffia palm leaves.
• Later material: locally grown cotton became the main raw material.

What are the processes in cloth making?

1. Spinning: cotton is twisted into thread.
2. Weaving: the thread is woven into cloth on a loom.
3. Dyeing: the cloth is coloured with dye.

Which places are known for cloth?

• Kano: known for its dye pits and dyed cloth.
• Yorubaland: known for aso-oke, a hand-woven cloth.
• Akwete: an Igbo town known for woven cloth.

What is the leather industry?

The leather industry is the making of goods from the skins and hides of animals.

• Region: the North is the major place for leather and skin work.
• Major city: Kano is the major city for the production and sale of leather goods.
• Raw material: skins and hides from animals such as goats, sheep and cattle.
• Products: items such as bags, sandals, cushions and mats.

What are the other indigenous industries?

Other indigenous industries include carving, food processing, soap making, canoe building and grass weaving.

• Carving: making objects such as stools, masks and doors from wood.
• Food processing: preparing foods such as gari and palm oil.
• Soap making: making local soap from natural materials.
• Canoe building: making boats for rivers and the coast.
• Grass weaving: making mats and baskets from grass and palm fibre.

Evaluation

1. What is pottery, and what was it used for?
2. State four uses of iron in pre-colonial Nigeria.
3. List the raw materials used for making cloth in the past.
4. Which part of Nigeria was the major centre of leather work, and which city was its major market?
5. Name the steps in the lost-wax method of casting bronze.

Assignment

1. Describe the three processes involved in iron technology, state three uses of salt and two uses of bronze, and list four other indigenous industries.