The forgotten Igbo pyramids in Enugu, Nigeria

The forgotten Igbo pyramids in Enugu, Nigeria

The forgotten Igbo pyramids in Enugu, Nigeria

The Nsude pyramid shrines are said to be an archaeological site located in Nsude, a village in today’s Enugu state.

These shrines that are shaped like pyramids were constructed by the Igbo people at a time not documented. However, around the 1930s, an anthropologist and colonial administrator in the area, G.I. Jones, took photos of them.

EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS

Wikipedia wrote that in a published article, Archaeologist Kenneth Murray “discussed finding ten solid mud pyramids about 1.25 miles from Nsude but in open ground and not visible from Nsude. These were circular and estimated to be twenty-seven feet in diameter, 18-19 feet high and in two rows twenty yards apart and seventy yards long. In each row, they were about 12 feet apart.”

The report said the archeologist talked to local people about the pyramids and was told that the ‘juju’ of the village of Nsude is called Uto and is said to possess the special merit of kïllïng thïevēs.”

George Basden wrote two studies of the Igbo. In one of them he wrote about a visit to ten pyramids near Nsude. Two years before Basden’s visit Uto’s priest was told by the local Dibla, a mystic or witchdoctor, that Uto wanted 10 large Nkpura (pyramids) built in his honour as a sign of his greatness. Basden says that there were meant to be 10 of these because “there are ten quarters or extended families in the village and each was required to erect one Nkpuru. The local laterite soil was unsuitable so they were built on soft soil nearby.

MATERIALS USED

The Nsude pyramids were constructed using earth and clay, and they consist of a series of stepped terraces that form a pyramid-like shape. The purpose of these pyramids is believed to have been primarily ceremonial and religious.

CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE

The pyramids are thought to have held spiritual and cultural importance to the Igbo people. They are likely linked to religious practices of the time. Over time, the Nsude pyramids experienced erosion and degradation due to their earthen construction and exposure to the elements. Today, only remnants of the pyramids remain.