The Tiv are an African tribe of subsistence farmers. Over one million Tiv live on both sides of the Benue River in northern Nigeria. There are also significant Tiv populations in the surrounding area.
The southern and eastern portion of their country which the Tiv call the “top of the country”, lies among the foothills of the Cameroon highlands and the Sonkwalla Mountains. Here the hills are cut by swift flowing streams and dense forested banks. The Tiv produce and trade what they eat and wear. They build their own houses and make most of their own weapons. The plains of Tivland are fertile and are farmed with the short hoe, the machete and the digging stick. Labor is an aspect of social organization in Tiv society. The production of food is an activity in which the whole family is involved. The Tiv grow crops such as yams, okra, corn, peanuts and greens. Work on the farm is assigned on the basis of sex, age and prestige. The Tiv market is called Kasua and it does not accept money but instead goods and tools. This corresponds with the way of life for the Tiv people.
Though this page has been carefully researched, the author does not claim expertise on the Tiv.
Please send questions, comments, and corrections to emuseum@mnsu.edu and include the URL.
If you are Tiv, your feedback is much appreciated.
Bohannan, Paul and Laura Bohannan
1968 Tiv Economy. Evanston: Northwestern UP.
Bohannan, Paul
1989 Justice and Judgment Among the Tiv. Prospect Heights, Illinois: Waveland Press Inc.
World Culture Encyclopedia
2008 Tiv Orientation. Electronic document, http://www.everyculture.com/Africa-Middle-East/Tiv-Orientation.html, accessed March 2, 2009.
Written by: Steve Kosloski
Edited by: Melissa Lorentz 2009