Today in Nigeria, traditional houses and buildings have vanished and been replaced with modern style buildings. Before the modern days, houses were built to meet social, cultural and religious needs. The building materials consisted of mud, wood, stone, palm, grass and other vegetable materials.  During the European colonization of Africa, the country was knows as the “Dark Continent” which meant a place with no culture and civilization. When the Europeans traveled to Africa, they were surprise to see the architecture of Africa especially in cities like Benin and the Asante Capital of Kumasi. The cities were very clean and had great paved roads. They were also divided into palaces, houses and apartments that were very beautiful. The architecture in Nigeria changed drastically over years and now it is much better. Here are pictures of what the houses use to look like back then compared to now.

Modern

Traditional 

Nigerian dancing is just a smaller part of African dance culture. Nigerian dance is lively and full with lots of energy. Dancing and music are combined in the culture. There are many different type of dances which include a wide variety. For instance, there is war dance, acrobatic dance, the maiden dance, masquerades, and many more. The dances are well known for the movement in their torso and limbs which is controlled by the rhythm of music. Nigerian traditional dances usually expresses situations, emotions, sentiments, and beliefs and they have a connection to human activity. Dances also represent events that have happened like birth, harvest, thanksgiving, success and many more.  The type of dancing depends on a musical instrument like the African talking drum, flute, Shekele, which is round wooden ball with beads around it, and the Picolo which is like another type of flute. As I stated earlier in the paragraph, music and dancing are paired together. These musical instruments are used to play music and these are what they dance to. Dancing is a main part of entertainment in Nigeria and it remains that way today.

 There are all kind of different sports around the world. Nigeria plays a traditional sport named Dambe Boxing. It is a form of martial arts that is only held on festivals. Back then the sport use to means practicing military skills, but now it means for one to achieve prestige, show masculinity, and bring honor to a family or village. Our most popular sport is soccer. Nigerians have made a name for their selves in global sports. They have a national team that plays around the world and compete for titles. They won the World Cup in 1985 in China and is ranked top ten team in the world. Nigerians also play in the Olympics and participate in sports such as soccer, judo, wrestling, boxing, weightlifting, tennis, table-tennis and track and field events. There are many professional Nigerian athletes today in Europe and America. For instance, Hakeem Olajuwon is known for being a great basketball player form Lagos, Nigeria who played for the Houston Rockets and the Toronto Raptors. He played in the NBA from 1984 to 2002. In Nigeria, they also they hold competitions every year that people get excited for. One of these competitions is called the Argungu Fishing Festival. The point of the competition is for someone to catch the biggest fish. There is also another one called the Abuja International Motor Fair that showcases cars and trucks. Just like any other country, Nigeria has its own sports and competitions that are a part of the culture.

Art is all around the world and sends all kind of messages. Nigerian art comes in various types that consist of sculptures, masks, textiles, pottery, carved ivory and many more. The art represents the Nigerian culture and also has a tradition that reverts to the past.

Sculptures
Sculpture in Nigeria are made out of ceramic, bronze, terra cotta and brass. They could be found to go back to 500 BC. Most sculpture are revealed to be statues and mask.

Mask
Nigerian masks are made out of wood and foreshadows Christianity. The masks are usually painted and worn at funerals and festivals to serve spirits.

Textiles
Nigerian textiles use shrubs to make dyed cloth. Women usually do the dying while men do the crafting. These weavers create vivid cloth with many different patterns and designs.

Pottery
Pottery in Nigeria is practiced a lot. The pieces are mainly big vessels and cravings. Pottery is an art known for women and that can be passed down through families.

Carved Ivory
Lastly, carved ivory is used to make jewelry and decorative items.

Here is a link to view and buy some of Nigeria's fine art.