The Kwaghir Hir festival is a culturally edifying art form of the Tiv people of central Nigeria, which became popular in the 1960s. Puppetry, masking, poetry, music, dance, animated narratives and puppetry are all incorporated into this dramatic public performance to tell moral stories of past and present events. Among the Tiv people, it is used to reinforce traditional beliefs and relay other-worldly tales to educate, socialize, provide secular entertainment, and address societal concerns.
Among the most familiar kwagh-hir variants, Jonathan Fogel highlights the Punch and Judy show, in which recognizable characters poke fun at current events and political figures while referencing cultural customs as well.
It is said that Adikpo Songo developed Kwagh-hir from Akpagher; Mbatyav in the present-day Gboko local government area in Benue State, Nigeria. According to Adikpo Songu, in an interview with Kwagh-hir scholar Iyorwuese Hagher, several Kwagh-hir leaders and notable elders in Tivland hold this view.
As an enthusiastic United Middle Belt Congress (UMBC) supporter, Songu revealed that during the Nande-Nande (burning cycle) political crisis in Tivland in December 1960, members of the UMBC took action against the ruling Northern People's Congress (NPC) by burning government workers' and chiefs' property. For medical treatment, but also to avoid arrest, he escaped to Mkar Christian Hospital, near Gboko, for deductive reasons. A few miles from Mkar Christian Hospital, he was near the Orkoor River when he heard fascinating music. Watching from behind bamboo reeds, he drew closer and saw two groups gathered. Mbayion and Mbatyav were two clans whose positions coincided. The two groups with drums, dancing girls and puppets on a dagbera (platform) were separated by a white flag. Then he realized the performers weren't humans, but spirits.
Unlike the Tiv kwagh-alom story-telling tradition, the two groups seemed to be engaging in a competition. In this case, instead of a storyteller, a man would come to the center of the arena and announce what was about to take place at the top of his voice. After that, the performers would file into the area either as animals dancing or as adzov, acting out their characters through dancing.
In 1960, Adikpo Songu, a member of the Mbatyav clan from Gboko in Benue State, held a large audience spellbound using puppets and masquerades as he performed for the first time.
However, according to Doki and other kwagh-hir scholars, kwagh-hir cannot be traced back to a single individual like any other theatrical performance. This is rather a creation of the mass populace, coming together to share experiences. The innovative technique of kwagh-hir dates back to the 1960s, combining visual, musical, creative, kinetic arts to expand the words of a story-teller into a whole theatre.
The Kwaghir Hir performance is now taught across tertiary institutions across Africa and beyond and has made the eyes of the world turn to Benue.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwagh-Hir
https://www.nigeriagalleria.com/Nigeria/States_Nigeria/Benue/Kwagh-Hir-Festival-Benue.html