The Bassa Nge are an ethnic group in Nigeria that traces its history back to 1805. They originally inhabited

Gbara The Gbara (; now spelled and pronounced as ''Bara'' or ''Gara'' in those Manding languages lacking ) or Great Assembly was the deliberative body of the Mali Empire, which ruled much of West Africa during the Middle Ages. It was first formed ...

which was formerly the capital of the

Nupe Kingdom The Bida Emirate is a traditional state in Nigeria, a successor to the old Nupe Kingdom, with its headquarters in Bida, Niger State. The head of the emirate is the ''Etsu Nupe'', who is the leader of the Nupe people. History The old Nupe King ...

. The Bassa Nge migrated from their homeland in Bida due to a dynastic feud in about 1820. They are formerly the largest of

Nupe Nupe or NUPE may refer to: *Nupe people, of Nigeria *Nupe language, their language * Nupe River, in the Huánuco Region, Peru * Bida Emirate, also known as the Nupe Kingdom, their former state *A member of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity in the Uni ...

groups, with a population of about 15,000 in 1820 before they dispersed throughout

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. They speak two languages: The Nupe-Tako dialect of the

Nupe language Nupe (also known as Anufe, Nupenci, Nyinfe, and Tapa) is a Volta–Niger language of the Nupoid branch primarily spoken by the Nupe people of the North Central region of Nigeria. Its geographical distribution stretches and maintains preeminen ...

of the Volta-Niger languages and the Bassa Nge or Bassa Nupe (all of the Niger-Congo and Benue-Congo group of West African languages). In 2017, Bassa Nge Community North America (BNC) held an annual convention in

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which discussed progress of the community with more than 54 members and guests attending the convention. Their history came on when the BNC made a donations of

over the counter Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs are medicines sold directly to a consumer without a requirement for a prescription from a healthcare professional, as opposed to prescription drugs, which may be supplied only to consumers possessing a valid pres ...

(OTC) medicines in their headquarters clinic in Gboloko. In an interview with Ma’ade Yaila, a Bassa-Nge daughter stated that her language has its roots from Nupe. They belongs to the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo family, the Bassa Nge traditional ruler is called Etsu unlike the

Etsu Nupe The Bida Emirate is a traditional state in Nigeria, a successor to the old Nupe Kingdom, with its headquarters in Bida, Niger State. The head of the emirate is the ''Etsu Nupe'', who is the leader of the Nupe people. History The old Nupe Kingd ...

called in Nupe too, the language is not similar with the one Bassa Nkomo which they lived in the same geographical place. The Bassa-nge can be found in

Niger river The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mali, Nige ...

and conflict of

river Benue Benue River (), previously known as the Chadda River or Tchadda, is a major tributary of the Niger River. The size of its catchment basin is 319,000 km2 (123,000 sq mi). Almost its entire length of approximately is navigable during the summer ...

, they lived in Bassa local government and majority in

Lokoja Lokoja is a north-central city in Nigeria. It lies at the confluence of the Niger River, Niger and Benue River, Benue list of rivers of Nigeria, rivers and is the capital city of Kogi State. While the Bassa Nge, Yoruba people, Yoruba Oworo peopl ...

. The present Etsu of Bassa-nge in Bassa is Brig. Abu Ali. One among the children of the incumbent Etsu Bassa-Nge Col. Muhammad Abu Ali, was the one that lead the 221 battalion tank to fight against

Boko Haram Boko Haram, officially known as Jama'at Ahl al-Sunna li al-Da'wa wa al-Jihad (), is a self-proclaimed jihadist militant group based in northeastern Nigeria and also active in Chad, Niger, northern Cameroon, and Mali. In 2016, the group spli ...

in Borno and died in 2016 together with five soldiers, the Kogi State Governor,

Yahaya Bello Yahaya Adoza Bello (; born 18 June 1975) is a Nigerian businessman, politician. He served as the governor of Kogi State from 2016 to 2024. A member of the All Progressives Congress, Bello was the youngest governor in Nigeria throughout his term ...

condoled the family of Etsu of Bassa-Nge Kingdom Brig Gen. Abu Ali (Rtd) over the death of Col. Muhammed Abu Ali his first son. The history of BassaNge is available in

Stanford University libraries The Stanford University Libraries (SUL), formerly known as "Stanford University Libraries and Academic Information Resources" ("SULAIR"), is the library system of Stanford University in California. It encompasses more than 24 libraries in all. S ...

. The Bassa-Nge People have their traditional ruler at Gboloko and the traditional ruler title is called "Etsu Bassa-Nge". And the present Etsu of Bassa-Nge in Bassa is Rtd.Brig. Abu Alii.

Bassa-Nge Culture

The recognised important religious beliefs and social traditional practices of the Bassa-Nge people includes the following:

Egbunu

This belief cut across most ''kim'' Bassa-nge but mainly practised in Kpata, Gboloko, Ecewu, Takete and Kpata-Kpale. The two types of Egbunu are Egbunu Aniso and Egbunu Acha. While the former comes out from time to time to fore warn against danger, expose and punish evil doers, the latter come out yearly during ceremonies or festivals with worshipers adorned with embellished attires and ornaments usually appearing from the forest. Both are led by a ''nomba'' with the backing of ''nna Egbunu'' (the spiritual mother of Egbunu).

Agana

This practise is exclusive to Ecewu, Egbo, and Eroko and Egeneja with similarities in all aspect to the Eriwota of Kpata.

Paradi

Para is an expensive but prestigious social ceremony carried out with beautifully selected women dressed in gorgeous apparels such as beads, bangles, trinkets, necklaces and carrying costly and specially decorated load – carrying enamel dishes ''(agbogi)'' which are dressed up to the teeth with equally costly velvetiness wrappers.

Angale and Badankolo

These are relatively recent existence in ''kim'' Bassa-Nge and seem to have originated from Nupe land. The musical instruments are drums of various sizes beaten by one man or a set of men. The music accompanying the instrument is usually melodious and danced gracefully by young girls and boys

Masquerades

Masquerades are cultural practices common to the Igalas but adopted by Bassa-Nge when they came in contact. A few examples of Bassa-Nge masquerades are ''eleibo, alage, eka, eri, ewuna,echeja of Egeneja'' etc.

Gombere

This appears originally to be identified with Christian social music and introduced to kim BassaNge in the later part of 1920’s, it started from Kpata and Ecewu communities and later spread through the land. It is a musical instrument consisting of various sizes of drums which is sat upon, a lead artist supply the music.

Dressing

Bassa-nge is a tribe that is found in Kogi State. The traditional holder of the Bassa-nge is called the Stay Bassa-nge. He has his royal throne dominant in Gboloko.The tribe can be traced historically to the Nupe Tribe. History has it that they were formerly one with Nupe. Their cultural attire has blue, white and green colours. Here are some photos of their cultural attire. File:Ede siki.jpg File:Bassa Nge 1.webp File:Ceremonial dressing of Bassa Nge Lady.jpg

Notes

{{authority control Niger-Congo-speaking peoples Kogi State Ethnic groups in Nigeria Nupoid languages Basa languages Languages of Nigeria Nupe