Kwagh Hir Performance

Kwagh-Hir storytelling is a kind of composite art that is both visually stimulating and culturally edifying. Meaning ‘simply 'thing of magic', pronounced 'kwaa-hee') it is a multifaceted culturally edifying technique of the Tiv people of central Nigeria, which developed in the 1960s.

In addition to having giant puppets (ubermeronmettes), the Kwagh-hir theatre also features masquerade displays of both animal and human representations. The masks, therefore, are an important feature of the Kwagh-hir theatre, and they sculpt a very dynamic super-activity/element to the Kwagh-hir theatre. Additionally, research indicates a growing globalization influence on certain aspects of the Kwagh-hir theatre.

Kwagh-Hir has its roots in the practice of storytelling by the family, called kwagh-alom. Kwagh-hir is a higher form of kwagh-alom, an ancient Tiv practice where family members were treated to a storytelling session by a creative storyteller after they had worked the fields for the day, in the early hours of the evening after a day of farming, the family would listen to the stories.

Creative storytellers eventually became involved in performing these stories, culminating in the current stage and status of the practice of Kwagh-hir. This practice is a social performance that incorporates puppetry, masquerading, poetry, music, dance, and animated narratives into an expression of the Tiv people's reality.

As a form of total theatre, Kwagh-hir incorporates these elements in a way that entertains and teaches moral lessons. It is all portrayed creatively through the dramatization of daily struggles, aspirations, successes, and failures.

This theatrical performance cannot be traced to a single individual as its originator. Rather, it arose as a community sharing experiences. The most familiar version of the kwagh-hir, according to Jonathan Fogel, maybe Punch and Judy, where familiar characters lampoon current political figures and events while also referencing cultural norms.

As a result of the brutality of the combination of the missionaries and the British colonial government in suppressing the Nyambuan cult dramatists, the Kwagh-hir style emerged, which emphasizes monologue rather than dialogue. Khwagh-hir theatre is owned by the community, and knowledge is passed down through apprenticeship.

People who are interested in the troupe’s activities are trained and mentored until they reach a certain level of proficiency; after that, they are accepted into the troupe. Until today the art is kept alive by holding regular performances so that the younger generation can identify with it.