The Tiv System of Election
| Date | 01 April 1958 |
| Author | J. G. Wallace |
| Published date | 01 April 1958 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1002/j.1099-162X.1958.tb01158.x |
The
Tiv
System
of
Election
by J. G.
WALLACE
Administrative
Officer,
Northern
Region,
Nigeria
To disentangle historical facts from later beliefsabout them is no easy task when
dealing with the
Tiv
tribe,'
and
many
customs which are considered to be of
some antiquity by the
Tiv
themselves prove on examination to be of compara-
tively recent origin.
So it is with the system of election now being practised in the
Tiv
division.
Most
Tiv
consider their system to have been in use, though perhaps in a less
highly developed form, for a very long time,
but
Iwonder whether it has not
ashorter history
than
some imagine
and
perhaps a lesscertain future
than
many
suppose.
None the less, as so often happens, the important point is not
what
actually
took place in the past
but
what
people consider to have taken place. Historical
accuracy therefore is less important to the present note
than
the opinions of
Contemporary Tiv.
The
Social
Structure
Of
necessity I have to preface my remarks on
Tiv
electoral methods with
abriefoutline
ofTiv
social structure,
and
it is in the consideration ofthe develop-
ment of this social structure
that
fact
and
beliefseem to be particularly often
at
variance.
The
authorities are not agreed upon all points,
and
the very sketchy
Outline which follows makes no
attempt
either to
add
anything new or to give
support to one side more
than
another. I would stress, however,
that
I do think
it represents fairly closely
what
an educated
Tiv
would probably consider to have
taken place.
The
Principle
of
Equality
The
thing to realise first of all is
that
all
Tiv,
and
not
just
aruling caste, are
considered to be descended ultimately from their
god-Aondo-and
it is one
of the descendants of Aondo, Tiv by name, who is regarded as the immediate
father of the tribe.
The
five septs into which the
Tiv
tribe is now grouped all
claim to be descended more or less directly from Tiv.
The
five septs therefore
recognise each other roughly as equals in rights
and
status. Within each sept
there are from nine to fourteen clans, none of which is recognised as having
any permanent seniority over the other clans within the sept. Within each clan
ｾｲ･
varying numbers of kindreds, none of which could be said to form anything
hke a royal family.
The
kindreds are the smallest units normally noticed by
the
British administration.
They
are formed of family groups, usually in the third
generation from the original clan family.
It
used to be thought
that
these were
the largest units of administration natural to the Tiv,2
but
it now seems likely
--------------------------------
bI. The Tiv tribe consists of roughly one million people, almost all of whom live in the middle
isasln.of the river Benue, fairly near the centre of Nigeria, and most of whom live in one admin-
o:futlVe
unit-Tiv
division. This is the largest of the five divisions in the Benue province, one
e twelve provinces of the Northern Region of Nigeria.
2Capt. Downes,
The
Tiv
Tribe,
para. 125.
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