Traditional weaving is an important cottage industry among Igede speaking people of Benue State. It is one of the enterprises in the area that is passed from one generation to another and many of those who are engaged in it inherited it as family business.
Over the years, master weavers have produced brilliant and popular designs that have earned the state as a notable center for such fabric in the country.
The industry has blossomed dramatically among the people especially these days when many occasions demanding traditional attires are on the increase, thus increasing its market share. Most notable among the fabrics are Ógódógódó (the stenciled stripped Blue, Black and White attire). There are many other types and each of them is designed specifically for an occasion. There is Úgbílé, which is used for burying the dead, Ányán, exclusively used by women. Patronage of the products comes mainly from private individuals and sometime government. The technique of weaving depends on a simple technology that is slow but efficient for its needs and does not take more than one person to weave, dye and package for sale. It is a highly respected industry which has created a local economy for the people. Although the clothes are now done in the cities like Makurdi, the Benue State capital for easy accessibility by lovers of the native fabric, the traditional Igede settlements remain important places where trading take place because many buyers believe the best qualities are the ones made in these communities. The prices of the fabrics vary depending on colour, pattern used and texture.
Thus, while a majority of the fabrics sell for between N5,000 for six yards, Ànyàn which is only for the use of women of class in the society goes for between N10,000 and N12,000 depending on where it is sold. Since the fabrics are used mainly for occasional events, the prices are not stable unlike everyday wears. As a result, dealing in this traditional fabric both in weaving and selling has no such competition as does other clothes. There are middlemen, but they are hardly sought after except during ceremonial events, a development which makes the industry a silent one in spite of the long period of its existent. Investigations showed that since not everyone engages in this traditional business, it has assumed the status of a family inheritance. Some of the families dealing in it are mostly found in Oju local government area of Igede land which is considered the ancestral home of Igede people.
Weaving has come to stay as the main industry of the Land and the people have assumed a wonderful mastery of the art.
But over time, the attire have been modified and improved the method of production. In the classical format, the primary stages begin from spinning harvested cotton wool into thread, which was then laid out to dry and through series of weaving stages, led to the actual knitting of the traditional dress. But in recent times, due to the drastic decline in the production of cotton by Igede people, the thread has to be bought from as far as Kano state. They still undertake limited cultivation of cotton on the land in order to produce certain special and exotic brands of the native fabric which can only be achieved through traditional spinning of cotton, all the way to the finishing stages.
For example, some of this attires can be found in many areas of Makurdi, and mostly in the North-Bank area where they display their wares along the Makurdi-Lafia highway for the travelers.
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