Chapters
Tiv
Tiv lineages · Benue valley savanna
Play TivEra I · Before the Flag
The five ages
- 1
Swem
Early 1600s · town-centre level 1Tiv tradition remembers Swem, hills on today’s border with Cameroon, as the people’s first home. At the start of the 1600s families farm the hills and the valleys below. Clear the bush and raise the first compound.
- 2
Into the Benue valley
1650–1750 · town-centre level 4The lineages move down from the hills into the Benue valley, each kindred farming its own land, its tar. There are no chiefs: the eldest man of each kindred, the orya, speaks for it, and the elders settle quarrels together.
- 3
The yam country
1750–1850 · town-centre level 7Tiv farms spread across the plains, and the Tiv become famous as yam growers. They weave the black-and-white striped a’nger cloth, and brass rods, cloth and cattle are the wealth that buys prestige.
- 4
The river trade
1850–1900 · town-centre level 10Steamers come up the Benue, and markets like Abinsi draw Tiv, Jukun, Hausa and Nupe traders. Slave raiders from the north try the Tiv stockades and bowmen.
- 5
The British
1900–1910 · town-centre level 13In January 1906 the market town of Abinsi is sacked, and British columns march into the Tiv country. Here your defences decide.
People of Tiv
The figures who appear as the city grows, ruled by the Orya.
The families of Swem
Early 1600sTiv tradition remembers the hills of Swem as the people’s first home.
Portrait: fictional depiction
Tiv
The ancestorTiv tradition traces every lineage to one ancestor, Tiv, through his sons Ipusu and Ichongo.
Portrait: fictional depiction
The elders of the tar
Keepers of the landThe eldest man of each kindred spoke for it, and the elders settled quarrels together.
Portrait: fictional depiction
The yam farmers
The Benue plainsTheir heaps of yams made the Tiv country one of the great food lands of the region.
Portrait: fictional depiction
The a’nger weavers
The striped clothThey weave the black-and-white cloth the Tiv call their own.
Portrait: fictional depiction
The bowmen
The kindred’s defendersTheir arrows had barbed iron heads, often poisoned.
Portrait: fictional depiction
The traders of Abinsi
The 1890sTiv, Jukun, Hausa and Nupe traders met at Abinsi on the Benue.
Portrait: fictional depictionYour hero in battle
The war leader
Leader of the bowmenWhen a kindred went to war, a man of proven courage led its bowmen. Ability: Arrow storm. The bowmen loose together: +35% damage for 12 seconds.
Portrait: fictional depictionThe council
| Seat | Who they are | Speaks for |
|---|---|---|
| The elders | The eldest men of each kindred | people, trade and the treasury |
| The war leader | Leads the bowmen | the army and Peace |
| The keepers of the akombo | Elders who perform the rites | Faith |
| The diviners | They find the causes of misfortune | Progress and research |
| The traders | Yams, cloth and brass rods | Wealth and Unity |
| The herbalist | Remedies | Health |
| The jir | The moot where kin argue their cases | quarrels and order |
| The elders of the tar | The kindred’s land and its people | whether you still speak for the kindred |
Sign or stand
1906. After the sack of Abinsi, two British columns of about 650 soldiers with machine guns march into the Tiv country. Their officers demand the men they hold responsible, and the goods taken from the Company’s store.
| Sign | Hand over the men they name and the goods, as many towns did. The columns pass on, but the kindreds say the elders gave up their own, and Unity falls hard for a month. |
| Stand | Refuse, and send the bowmen to the stockades. History records little fighting; here your defences decide. |
What really happened (the game tells you at the end)
In February 1906 the columns burned the towns they held responsible for the attack on Abinsi. British rule spread through the Tiv country in the years after; it worked badly with a people who had never had chiefs, and in 1934 the British organised the Tiv into clans with appointed leaders. The office of Tor Tiv was created in 1946. Your city rebuilds: the columns will come again while you stay in the Scramble.
Raiders and bosses
Who comes for the city in each age. Bosses come once you are into their age. How raids work.
| Age | Raiders | Boss |
|---|---|---|
| First Swem | Raiders from the hills | None |
| Second Into the Benue valley | Jukun war bands | The war with Wukari The Jukun kingdom to the east |
| Third The yam country | Chamba raiders | None |
| Fourth The river trade | Slave raiders from the north | The great raid Horsemen from the north |
| Fifth The British | Company patrols | The British columns 1906 then sign or stand |
Soldiers
| Soldier | From level | |
|---|---|---|
| Spearman | Young men of the kindred with spear and shield. | 2 |
| Bowman | Tiv bowmen shot arrows with barbed iron heads, often poisoned. | 3 |
| Shield-bearer | Heavy shields and clubs for close fighting. | 7 |
| Musketeer | Guns from the river traders. One heavy shot, a long reload. | 10 |
Buildings
Every building Tiv can raise, shown as it looks in the middle of the story. What each type does.
People
Family compound
Unlocks at town-centre level 1A ring of round houses with conical thatch round an open yard, each wife’s house behind her husband’s reception hut. Houses your people.
Herbalist’s hut
Unlocks at town-centre level 4Leaves, roots and bark for fever and wounds. Raises Health. Raiders never touch it.
Jir ground
Unlocks at town-centre level 5The jir, where kin argue their cases before the elders. Raises Trust and some Peace.
Economy
Yam farm
Unlocks at town-centre level 1Great yam heaps across the plain, with beans and millet between them. Tap the farm when it fills to bring the harvest in.
Woodcutters’ camp
Unlocks at town-centre level 1Timber and forked posts from the woodland. Materials.
Clay pit
Unlocks at town-centre level 2Clay for walls and floors. Materials.
Grain store
Unlocks at town-centre level 1Raised stores of grain and yams beside the houses. Raises your Food storage; raiders can take only part of it.
Storehouse
Unlocks at town-centre level 1Posts, grass and tools under a long thatch. Raises your Materials storage.
Brass rod store
Unlocks at town-centre level 3Brass rods and fine cloth, the wealth that buys cattle and prestige. Raises your Wealth storage.
Market
Unlocks at town-centre level 3Yams, cloth, salt and iron. Wealth, plus a little Unity.
River landing
Unlocks at town-centre level 10Canoes on the Benue carry yams, cloth and salt. A large Wealth producer. Must touch the water.
Culture
Akombo shrine
Unlocks at town-centre level 1Emblems of the akombo, the forces the elders keep in balance with rites. Raises Faith. Raiders never touch it.
Diviners’ hut
Unlocks at town-centre level 4The diviners find the causes of misfortune and keep the old knowledge. Makes Knowledge and runs research. Raiders never touch it.
Dance ground
Unlocks at town-centre level 4Swept earth for drums and dances. Raises Unity.
War leader’s ate
Unlocks at town-centre level 7Home of the man who leads the bowmen. Brings him to your army.
Swem
Unlocks at town-centre level 8The hills on the border that Tiv tradition remembers as the people’s first home. Heritage for the ladder.
Defence
Watch post
Unlocks at town-centre level 3Young men guard the paths at night. Raises Peace.
Archers’ platform
Unlocks at town-centre level 2Bowmen with poisoned arrows on a raised platform.
Stockade
Unlocks at town-centre level 4Before the British came, many Tiv lived in stockaded villages. Build it section by section.
Stockade gate
Unlocks at town-centre level 4A guarded gate where an avenue passes the stockade.
Musket post
Unlocks at town-centre level 10Guns bought from the river traders. Hits hard, reloads slowly.
War council
Unlocks at town-centre level 13The elders of every kindred plan the defence together. Needed to stand in 1906.
Army
Bowmen’s camp
Unlocks at town-centre level 2The young men train with bow and spear. Each level holds more fighters.
Blacksmith’s hut
Unlocks at town-centre level 5Hoes, arrowheads and spearheads. Raises Progress.
Landmarks
The a’nger weavers
Unlocks at town-centre level 4Looms for the black-and-white striped cloth the Tiv call their own; tradition says the stripes echo zebra skins. Unity and Heritage.
Abinsi market
Unlocks at town-centre level 9A market town on the Benue where Tiv, Jukun, Hausa and Nupe traders met; the Niger Company kept a store there. Wealth and visitors. Must touch the water.
Research
| Technology | Branch | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Yam heaps | Farming | Great heaps of loose earth: +10% Food. |
| Raised stores | Farming | Grain and yams kept off the ground: +15% Food storage. |
| Beans and millet | Farming | Crops between the heaps: +15% Food. |
| Beniseed | Farming | Sesame for food and for trade: +20% Food. |
| Forked posts | Building | Y-topped posts carry a roof in a day: builds 8% faster. |
| Thick thatch | Building | Grass roofs that last the rains: buildings +10% sturdier. |
| Kindred labour | Building | The whole kindred builds together: builds cost 8% less. |
| Woven roofs | Building | Roof cones woven on the ground and lifted on: builds 10% faster. |
| Iron arrowheads | Defence | Barbed heads from the smiths: +8% damage. |
| Poisoned arrows | Defence | Barbed arrowheads dipped in poison: towers +12% damage. |
| Hide shields | Defence | Shields for the young men: +12% unit health. |
| Guns from the river | Defence | Muskets from the river traders: +12% damage. |
| Brass rods | Trade | Wealth that buys cattle and prestige: +10% Wealth. |
| The river markets | Trade | Yams sold to traders on the Benue: +12% Wealth. |
| A’nger cloth | Trade | Striped cloth that every market wants: +20% Wealth. |
| The diviners’ lore | Learning | The diviners teach the young: +15% Knowledge. |
| Genealogies | Learning | Every child learns the kindred’s lines back to Tiv: research 15% faster. |
| Mission schools | Learning | Reading and writing from the river missions: +20% Knowledge. |
| Festival calendar | Heritage | The harvest and the dances: Faith and Unity rise. |
| Storytelling | Heritage | Night stories and songs round the ate: Heritage. |
| The a’nger | Heritage | The striped cloth of the Tiv: Heritage. |
| The jir signature | Heritage | Signature tech. Kin settle their quarrels before the elders: Trust and Progress in every ward. |
| Stockaded villages signature | Defence | Signature tech. Every village behind its stakes: walls 25% stronger. |
Did you know?
- Tiv tradition remembers Swem, on today’s border with Cameroon, as the first home; families settled there at the start of the 1600s.
- From the 1600s to the 1700s the Tiv spread down into the Benue valley.
- The Tiv had no chiefs: each kindred was led by its eldest man, the orya.
- A tar is the land of a kindred, where its families live close together.
- Yams are the Tiv staple, with cocoyam, cassava, beans and maize.
- The black-and-white striped a’nger cloth is the Tiv’s own; tradition says the stripes echo zebra skins.
- Before the British came, many Tiv lived in stockaded villages of 500 to 600 people.
- A Tiv compound is a ring of houses round an open yard, with the reception huts facing inward.
- The open-sided reception huts, under a cone of thatch on forked posts, can be 9 metres across.
- In January 1906 the market town of Abinsi on the Benue was sacked.
- In February 1906 two British columns of about 650 soldiers marched into the Tiv country.
- In 1934 the British organised the Tiv into clans with appointed leaders; the office of Tor Tiv was created in 1946.
- Beniseed, sesame, became a major Tiv cash crop under the British.
- There are more than 8 million Tiv today, most of them in Nigeria.