Kwagh-Hir theatrical performance | Global Knowledge Systems

Overview

Kwagh-Hir theatrical performance is a composite art form encompassing a spectacle that is both visually stimulating and culturally edifying. Kwagh-hir has its roots in the story-telling tradition of the Tiv people called ‘kwagh-alom’, a practice 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. With time, creative storytellers began to dramatize these stories, culminating in the present stage and status of Kwagh-hir. The practice is a social performance with the potential to entertain and teach moral lessons through the dramatization and performance of past and current social realities. As a form of total theatre, Kwagh-hir incorporates puppetry, masquerading, poetry, music, dance and animated narratives in articulating the reality of the Tiv people. People’s daily struggles,...

This record is imported from the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage public dataset as discovery metadata. ARED has not independently verified community authority, access protocols or local naming beyond the source record.

Community and Authority

Communities: Nigeria
Languages: Not specified in UNESCO dataset
Cultural territories: Nigeria
Countries: Nigeria

How the System Works

Music, Performance and Oral Literature Language, Story and Memory Material Culture, Design and Technology Ceremony, Spirituality and Cosmology Ways of Knowing and Knowledge Transmission

Sources and Evidence

Imported from UNESCO DataHub dataset ich001. Field-level provenance is retained in the record metadata.

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage ListsDataset

Open original source record

Field-Level Provenance

title: UNESCO DataHub field title_en
preferredTitle: UNESCO DataHub field title_fr
summary: UNESCO DataHub field description_en
type: UNESCO DataHub fields type_of_element_en and type_acronym
countries: UNESCO DataHub field countries, ISO codes resolved with ISO-3166 regional metadata
categories: ARED category inference from UNESCO concepts_primary_names, concepts_secondary_names and title
relationships: UNESCO concepts_primary_names, concepts_secondary_names, type fields and World Heritage links
sourceUrl: UNESCO DataHub field http_url_en
rights: UNESCO DataHub dataset metadata license and license_url

Original Source Metadata

uuid211f54b0-dcc2-4237-8441-fe3ba6a45ae9

ich_public_ref683

inscription_year2019

title_enKwagh-Hir theatrical performance

title_frLe kwagh-hir, représentation théâtrale

type_of_element_enRepresentative List

type_acronymRL

countriesNG

http_url_enhttps://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/00683

concepts_primary_namesCostumes, Masks, Theatre

concepts_secondary_namesAIDS education, Cosmology, Dance, Drama education, Moral values, Percussion instruments, Puppets, Story telling, Wood carving, Woodwind instruments

main_image_urlhttps://ich.unesco.org/img/photo/thumb/13150-LRG.jpg

main_image_caption_enKwa - the area restricted to non-members of the Kwagh-hir troupe. It serves as place for keeping of props and changing area for performers.

main_image_copyrightKwagh-Hir Performing Association, 2018

main_image_authorEmma Odekanyin

videoshttps://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/RPQlFzjlZ4I

images[object Object], [object Object], [object Object]

Why This Record Is Credible

This public record is connected to 1 source and has been labelled Source Supported. ARED separates evidence sources from cultural authority so users can see both provenance and review limits.

Cultural Access

Use this as public discovery metadata only. It does not replace community authority or local access protocols.

Relationships

Costumes Masks Theatre AIDS education Cosmology Dance Drama education Moral values Percussion instruments Puppets Story telling UNESCO representative list

Review and Corrections

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