Nigeria Crate
In this Atlas Crate, you can play the game of derrah, make an adire eleko pouch, and explore Nigeria!
"Did you know there are more than 500 different languages spoken in Nigeria? Fortunately, everybody speaks music!"
Explore:
- The Game of Derrah
- Adire Eleko Resist Dye
- Masks
Fun Facts
photo by Keith Gentryr/shutterstock.com
- When you pluck the bars attached to this wooden board with your thumbs, it makes a surprisingly sweet sound. A long time ago, the bars would have been made of bamboo, but now most mbira have metal bars. Sometimes the mbira is played inside a hollowed-out gourd, so the shell shape can amplify the sweet sound.
Mbira
photo by Elena Dijour/shutterstock.com
- The shekere is a kind of rattle made from a gourd. To make a shekere, a gourd is picked off a vine and dried for several months. Then it’s hollowed out and scrubbed clean. Finally, a netting studded with beads or shells is added over the outside. Shake it!
Shekere
photo by Bobbi Joy/shutterstock.com
- Squeezing the cords along the sides of this drum makes its sound change. The dundun is known as “the talking drum,” because skillful players can use those changes to make the drumbeats sound like speech. People in Nigeria and other parts of West Africa got so good at playing talking drums, they could use them to send messages to people miles away!
Dundun
Your library
Why The Sky Is Far Away: A Nigerian Folktale
retold by Mary-Joan Gerson, illustrated by Carla Golembe
This book tells a traditional tale of the Bini people, one of the tribes of Nigeria. Brilliant illustrations illuminate the story of a king (the Oba), his people, and what they did to make the sky go way up out of reach.
Get the book →
Catch That Goat! A Market Day in Nigeria
written and illustrated by Polly Alakija
Ayoka, a girl of the Yoruba tribe, has been left in charge of the family goat — but within minutes it has vanished. The runaway is creating trouble among the market stalls. Will Ayoka ever catch up with her mischievous goat?
Get the book →
