Culture of Nigeria

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The Culture of Nigeria is shaped by Nigerias multiple ethnical groups. The country has over 250 different languages and cultures. The three largest are the Hausa-Fulani who are predominant in the north, the Igbo who are predominant in the southeast, and the Yoruba who are predominant in the southwest. The rest of Nigeria's ethnic groups (sometimes called "micro-minorities") are found all over the country but especially in the densely populated south. The Hausa tend to be Muslim and the Igbo, Christian. Practitioners of both Christianity and Islam are found among the Yoruba. Indigenous religious practices remain important, especially in the south, and are often blended with Christian beliefs.

Nigeria is famous for its English literature and its popular music. Since the 1990s the Nigerian movie industry, sometimes called "Nollywood" has emerged as a fast-growing cultural force all over the continent.

Traditional music often include musicians on Gongon drums.

Other traditional cultural expressions are found in the various masquerades of Nigeria, such as the Eyo masquerades and the Northern Edo Masquerades. Yoruba wooden masks are used in the Gelede masquerades.

[edit] Nigerian artists and writers

Internationally-known artists and writers from Nigeria include writer Chinua Achebe, juju musician King Sunny Ade, Nigerian-born Grammy winning jazz singer Sade (Helen Folasade Adu), free-style jazz musician Fela Kuti, who uses traditional African call-and-response, writer Ben Okri, playwright Ken Saro-Wiwa, Nobel prize winning writer Wole Soyinka, and British/Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare.