Unit: Iron Age

Theme: Dokwasa / The Last Iron Master

Introduction

Learning Objectives

Understand why the Bantu migration was so important
Explain the role of dance withing the iron smelting process
Gain an awareness of the function of a smelting master within a large ritual context
Experience the creation of a three act dance/performance in which you re-enact the three stages of the smelting process

III

Main Lesson

Nok Culture / Iron Age

The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age and the Bronze Age. The concept has been mostly applied to Iron Age Europe and the Ancient Near East, but also, by analogy, to other parts of the Old World. Although, the Sahel (Sudan region) and Sub-Saharan Africa are outside of the three-age system, there was no Bronze Age in Sub-Saharan Africa, the term "Iron Age" is sometimes used in reference to early cultures practicing iron-working, such as the Nok culture of Nigeria from 1500 BC to 500 AD. North Africa experienced the Copper and Bronze Ages, but Sub-Saharan Africa is believed to have skipped both these ages. Evidence suggests that Sub-Saharan Africa was introduced to iron metallurgy by the migration of Bantu-speaking peoples into east and southern Africa. The Bantu group was the larges group brought to the Caribbean, specifically Cuba.

The Nok culture is a population whose material remains are named after the Ham village of Nok in Kaduna State of Nigeria, where their terracotta sculptures were first discovered in 1928. Based on evidence from the sites of Nok archaeological culture, such as considerable quantities of charcoal layered among Nok sculptures, goods (e.g., technically crafted ceramics, numerous stone-beaded necklaces) found in burial pits that support the view of them serving as grave sites, difference in soil coloring of burial pits and their immediate geographic area, and burial pits containing materials from organic substances, this supports the conclusion that Nok sculptures were part of a complex funerary culture.

Latter artistic traditions of West Africa – Bura of Niger (3rd century CE – 10th century CE), Koma of Ghana (7th century CE – 15th century CE), Igbo-Ukwu of Nigeria (9th century CE – 10th century CE), Jenne-Jeno of Mali (11th century CE – 12th century CE), and Ile Ife of Nigeria (11th century CE – 15th century CE) – may have been shaped by the earlier West African clay terracotta tradition of the Nok culture.

2 Reading

Bantu Migration

LINK

https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Historical_Encyclopedia_of_World_Sla/ATq5_6h2AT0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The%20meaning%20of%20the%20christian%20cross%20for%20Bantu%20people&pg=RA1-PA69&printsec=frontcover

The Historical Encyclopedia of World Slavery (1997). Volume 1. Junius P. Rodriguez (Editor). ABC-CLIO, (page 69).

Question 1

Why was the Bantu migration important for the rest of Africa?

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IV

Case Study

Dokwasa / Last of the African Iron Master

Borrowed from Nicholas David

Dokwaza: Last of the African Iron Masters (1988; 49 mins)

This is the first of three films on the relationship of African material culture to its larger socio-cultural context made between 1986 and 2010 as a part of the Mandara (Ethno)archaeological Project directed by Nic David and mainly supported by the SSHRC. Filmed at the beginning of a period of rapid technological advances in videography, the quality of the images is now an embarrassment, but the content remains of anthropological value. Iron metallurgy began to transform the societies of sub-Saharan Africa over 2,500 years ago, but locally smelted bloomery iron has now been everywhere replaced by industrially produced stock.

Traditional smelting is a complex process combining science and ritual that was disappearing just as it became feasible to capture it on visual media. This video therefore provides a rare record of a technology whose time has passed, and the reenactment of a smelt by iron workers of the Mafa ethnic group shows a furnace type and a process that are unique to a part of the northern Cameroon and Nigerian border area.

Presented in three sequences (see the outline bellow), Dokwaza is first introduced as we follow the building of the furnace and bellows. Then charcoal and bellows skins are prepared. and the iron master demonstrates how ore is gathered and cleaned. The second sequence follows the long day of the smelt, as the furnace is charged with ore and charcoal, sacrifice made, and, after frenzied working of the bellows accompanied by music and song, a bloom mass is removed from the shaft. The third sequence takes place in the forge and shows the fining of the metal produced and its forging into a traditional hoe.

CONTENT

1. Construction of the furnace

a) Choosing a site for the furnace

b) Initial prayer and offering

c) Digging the base of the furnace shaft

d) Burying a charm beneath the shaft

e) Building the facade

e) Calling of God and the ancestors

f) Bellows are set on the platform

g) sheep skin to create the bags for the bellows

h) Building the Shield

i) Magic decorations

j) Seven day - Ensemble the bellows

k) Adding protective herbs, selection of charcoal

l) collecting magnetite and iron oxide

m) Fire is lit within the shaft

Question 2

Name the instances in which worship and sacred practices are used in this part of the ritual. What would you say is their function?

2. The Smelt

a) Pouring a libation to the Gods

b) Installing upstick with sacred tuber

c) Bellows are readied

d) Consecration of the smelt

e) War dance (min. 25:00)

f) Prayer with ore and magic herbs down the shaft

g) Music is played for the first time using the bellows.

h) Offering

i) Blood offering to the ancestors (min. 28:00)

j) Removing the fused

k) Insertion of medicine plant

l) Monitoring of flame by iron master

m) Bellows stop and cutting through the sides of the shaft

n) Revealing the bloom

o) Bloom is carried to the compound

Question 3

How important is the war dance in this second part of the smelting process compared to other sacred elements of the ritual? Explain.

3. The Forge

a) Prayer

b) Picking out the metal droplets and lumps

c) Iron is crushed and broken

d) Creation of crucibles

e) Playing the bellows

f) The crucibles are filled with bits iron

g) Placing crucible in the fire

h) Compacting the iron in the crucible

i) Pulling semi-molten mass from the fire

j) Drawing the iron into a small mass

k) Pieces are welded together

l) Hammering to flatten

m) The blade is spread

n) Quench to give blade the right angle

o) Final touches

(The highlighted items are relate to ritual practice).

Question 4

The last part of the process seems to include the sacred element only at the beginning. Speculate why this part of the ritual is different from the rest in that sense?

What does dance have to do with Master Dokwasa's iron smelting ritual?

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A Note to Remember

The African nations that became part of the cultural makeup of our continent as a result of the slave trade brought with them their culture, their gods and their dances.

Discussion Questions

5. Which part of the process impressed you the most? Why?

6. What is the role of dance and ritual in the smelting process?

7. What is the difference between Dokwaza, the iron master, and a shaman?

VII

Activity 1

Take notes and write a 5 paragraph essay as the story of Dokwasa

develops. Use the discussion questions above as an outline. Add an intro and a conclusion.

Activity 2

So far, you have recreated ritual dances in the subjunctive mood.

This is the first time you see a ritual actually performed within the context of and actual prehistoric activity, the smelting of iron.

Create a three act dance/performance in which you re-enact the three stages of the smelting process: Construction of the Furnace, The Smelt and The Forge.

Use 8 moves for each one of the stages by creating a phase for each. Turn the three phrases into a dance/performance.

Students making up, record and post your phrase on Discussion Board.

VIII

Journaling

Glossary

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). Often colloquially pronounced 'shirk,' the SSHRC is a federal research-funding agency that promotes and supports post-secondary research and training in the humanities and social sciences.

Mafa people: an ethnic group that lives in huts in various villages, unique to a part of the northern Cameroon and Nigerian border area. The Mafa, also called Mafahay, are scattered in other countries like Mali, Chad, Sudan, Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone.

Sources

Students' Work

Passing Down Tradition and Reliance on Ancestors

Lauren Tierney

The Iron Age marks the transitional period from prehistory to protohistory. This period is characterized by the use of iron by humans. The use of iron allowed for the creation of more robust tools which could be used for the domestication of plants and animals occurring in sedentary communities. While this iron could be collected from broken-down vehicles or other pre-made sources, some communities have mastered the ability to smelt and weld their own metal sources from the surrounding nature. One such master, Dokwaza, will be discussed in this essay.

First a distinction must be made in regard to the physical creation of the furnace and the iron welds, themselves. On the first day, the base of the furnace is created. Underneath, a shaft is dug to allow for airflow. The base is structured with dry stone walling and dobb, a combination of clay and tough straw. As the walls are built, Dokwaza alternates between stone and dobb for stability. On the second day, the shaft height is measured and is continuously built upon until it reaches appropriate height. A stone lintel base is added for the later shield and charged hole. On the third day, the furnace shaft receives a coating of dobb as it reaches its final height. On the fourth day, the pottery for the bellows and sheepskin bags are prepared. During this time, Dokwaza builds the shield and decorates with a dog belt. The bellows are plastered and their nozzles are sealed. A 2-day waiting period follows to allow for drying. Then, pottery tubes with heat-resistant dobb are placed to direct air. The walls are plastered again for security then another 2-day waiting period ensues. In preparation, iron ore is pulled from the streambeds, and sand is washed away. On the tenth day, final preparations are made, and the smelt begins and iron and charcoal are added to the furnace. Finally, after an entire day of tending to the furnace, the iron is retrieved from the sealed furnace. Then, the iron product is prepared in a clay crucible and covered in clay to prevent oxidation during firing and welding.

Despite the intense need for science within the combustion and creation of purified iron, there is a major focus on religion within the ceremony. Creation of the furnace is initiated with a prayer and burial of a charm beneath the shaft. The community gathers to drink beer and to call upon their ancestors for guidance. Upon the aforementioned addition of the shield, spikes are added to represent strength, potency, and achievement. Dokwaza then adds a bust of his father upon the shield as a testament to ancestry and decorates the bust with a crown of grass stems and eyes of hard quartz. Before the smelt is begun, the furnace is rubbed down with a mixture of magical plants, and the community prays to their god. Dokwaza further prays over the pottery bowl that will collect the iron. As the smelt begins, a warrior dance ensues, using the bellows as a musical instrument, marking the first time that music is allowed near the smelt. Finally, a cock is sacrificed to the ancestors and god for their guidance and aid with the smelt.

Alongside the strong ties to religion, the smelt process also requires the assistance of an entire community. While Dokwaza is the iron master and make act, in a sense, as a shaman, directing this smelt process, he also calls upon family and neighbors. During creation of the shaft and furnace, the children are sent to collect and prepare the dobb mixture used for fortification. Potters in the town prepare the crucibles and bellows for later incorporation into the smelt process. A neighbor creates the sheepskin cone. Dokwaza’s sons assist him as he builds up the shaft in height. Other children and neighbors venture into nature to, first, find iron ore from the streambeds and paths, and to, second, collect charcoal from the trees. Throughout the entire period, the community remains in close proximity. The children are able to learn by watching and assisting when able. The neighbors and family are able to participate in the prayers, dances, and rituals associated with calling upon the ancestors and god.

In conclusion, the process of iron welding, mastered by Dokwaza, is an intricate blend of science, religion, and community. As a STEM major, I have a great appreciation for the delicate and futile nature of performing chemical reactions. I found it interesting that, despite not understanding the complexities of the reactions taking place, Dokwaza was able to perform the iron welding to a high degree of specificity and perfection. This highlights the importance of passing down tradition and reliance on ancestors as a means of continued survival. Furthermore, this indicates the ability of the people to remain self-sufficient and to establish methods of retrieving or creating necessary resources.

Iron Age: Dokwasa: The Last Iron Master

2

Reading