Use of Artifacts in Communication in Tiv

Abstract

The paper is an exploration of the nonverbal form of communication referred to as artifactual communication. This is an act of using artifacts for communicational purpose. Often, across cultures, people use different forms of nonverbal communication such as facial expressions, gestures, postures, and the use of these objects in peculiar ways which distinguish them from other groups. Although some of these aspects cut across many cultures, the ways in which they are used or what they stand for may differ. It is on this basis that the paper examines the role of artifacts in communication among the Tiv ethnic group. Towards this direction, the study selects some artifacts such as indyer/ilyu, korough, and ikyôôr which have so much communicational value in Tiv for its analysis. Using Peirce’s theory of sign, the paper explains how these artifacts are used in peculiar manner to communicate messages in Tiv. Also, based on the response from the oral interview held with some Tiv elders, the work interprets the rhythmic sounds from some of these artifacts, precisely indyer and korough. Explaining the effects of the use of these artifacts, the paper concludes that meaning in artifactual communication is culture-specific; it is dependent on the general world-view of a people. Thus, artifactual communication in Tiv is largely dependent on their world-view. The achievement of this paper therefore is its ability to have lucidly shown how artifacts are used in various ways to pass across messages in Tiv. It, indeed, illuminates and promotes artifactual communication in Tiv. At large, the paper contributes to the study and understanding of non-verbal communication.