History Articles

Traditional Tiv Clothing

October 4, 2026

Read Time: 5 minutes

From Tree Bark to Woven Cotton

Historical reconstruction of Tiv bark cloth and cotton weaving, showing nyagba bark, cotton, a majir spindle, spun thread and woven ibôr cloth

In the earliest times described in this historical account, the Tiv did not have woven cloth. Instead, men and married women wore clothing made from the bark of certain trees.

One of these trees was called po. It grew in marshy forest areas and had bark that could be softened and made flexible.

To make the clothing, people peeled the bark from the tree and beat it until the rough outer part came away. The remaining bark became soft and flexible enough to wear. This bark cloth was known as nyagba or avuraikon.

Men and married women wore this type of clothing. According to the account, unmarried girls and children often went without clothing.

Learning to Make Cotton Cloth

Later, the Tiv learned about cotton from the Uke, whom the account identifies as the Ugenyi.

The Tiv first taught themselves how to spin cotton into thread. They did not succeed immediately, but they continued trying until they learned how to do it well.

They then learned how to make woven cloth. The historical account says that an outsider eventually taught them the skill of weaving. It also records that the Tiv first learned cloth weaving from the Abakwa people.

At first, Tiv weavers made cloth in narrow strips called ibôr. Cloth made for women was called ibôrkuma, although men also used it.

At this time, children who had not been circumcised were still described as going naked.

The Tiv did not grow their own cotton at first. They bought it from elsewhere. Later, they learned to grow cotton themselves.

Cotton was planted on the sides of old yam heaps, rather than on top of them. When the cotton was ready, the cotton wool was picked, dried in the sun and stored for spinning.

Preparing Kpagh

In the traditional process, a man cut the camwood bark into small pieces and gave it to a female relative, such as his wife, mother or sister. She pounded the bark in a mortar and then ground it on a stone until it became a smooth paste. She shaped the paste into balls and left them to dry.

When they were ready, she returned the balls to the man. He gave her one ball and kept the rest.

To use the kpagh, a small amount of the dried paste was mixed with water in a small calabash. It was worked until it became smooth. The person first rubbed oil over the skin and then applied the camwood all over the body.

The colour of kpagh was red, ranging from bright red to a darker or duller shade.According to the historical account, the Tiv believed that using camwood helped the skin feel comfortable and smooth and kept it free from scabies. This was a historical belief, rather than a medical fact established by modern medicine.

Spinning the Thread

The Tiv made two main kinds of thread.

Dzer was thin and strong.
Aba was thicker and softer.

Both were useful for weaving. Dzer helped make cloth strong, while aba helped make it smoother and softer.

The Tiv also used a spindle called majir. According to the historical account, the spindle was adapted from a Hausa model called mazari. When the original spindle was difficult to make, the Tiv used substitutes, including a hard yam head or the fruit of the tur tree.

The names dzer, aba and majir also show the influence of Hausa vocabulary and technology on this part of Tiv cloth-making.

The Rise of Woven Tiv Cloth

As weaving developed, the Tiv produced many different types of cloth.

One important cloth was tugudu. It was made by joining narrow strips of woven cloth together. Another type was puweikondo, a name connected with “twenty strips”.

There were also other forms of cloth, including akpem, bente, ange'r, dzaan, abeba and gere. Some were plain white cloths. Others had stripes, spots or black threads woven into them.

This meant that Tiv clothing was no longer simply about covering the body. Different cloths could also show a person's wealth, age, position or the occasion they were attending.

Some cloths had considerable value. The historical account records examples of tugudu being exchanged for valuable goods, including metal. It also records that a bull could be exchanged for five yards of tugudu, while a female cow could be exchanged for ten yards.

Colour and Imported Cloth

The Tiv also developed ways of giving cloth different colours and patterns.

Indigo was used to produce deep blue colours. The dyeing process followed methods associated with the Hausa and involved deep pits and ashes from certain trees. Tiv people also travelled to other places and brought back cloths made by other communities. The Wukari area, also called Waka in the account, was one of the places from which they brought back cloth. Examples included alishi, also called amua, swaki and murfu.

These imported cloths were highly valued. In the period described, nobles mainly wore them, especially on important occasions.

Clothing could therefore become a way of showing wealth and social position. A person wearing a particularly fine or unusual cloth could attract a great deal of attention.

Gowns and Chiefs

The riga, or gown, became especially associated with chiefs.

The historical account says that the practice of wearing gowns was adopted from the Hausa. Some Tiv people had lived among the Hausa and, when they became chiefs, were dressed in gowns.

Over time, the gown became a recognised form of dress for Tiv chiefs. Wealthy people who were not chiefs could also wear gowns on important occasions.

From tradition to today

Tiv clothing did not remain unchanged. New materials, designs and influences were added over time, while older forms continued to be used in different ways.

The historical account shows that clothing was once closely connected with work, age, wealth, special occasions and social position.

The journey from nyagba, made from tree bark, to woven cotton cloth shows how Tiv people learned new skills, adapted ideas from neighbouring peoples and developed their own forms of clothing.

It is also a reminder that culture does not always remain fixed. Tiv clothing changed as people travelled, traded, learned new skills and encountered other communities. Yet through these changes, Tiv people continued to give their own meanings and uses to the clothes they made and wore.

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