Isa Bala Muhammad, Abubakar Danladi Isah, Mohammed Bala Banki and Ahmed Salawu
Pertanika Journal of Tropical Agricultural Science, Volume 28, Issue 3, September 2020
Keywords: Culture, heritage, history, place-name, rural, sense of place, toponym
Published on: 25 September 2020
The understanding of how places are named by indigenous people has practical applications in the diverse field of studies that deal with human behaviour. However, few studies exist on how cultural landscapes toponym are conceptualized, especially in non-Western landscapes such as Africa. An empirical study, which includes in-depth interviews with the local Nupe respondents in central Nigeria shows that toponym is tied to transactions that evoke identity, power, heritage, and sense of place. The study contributes to our understanding of indigenous people’s interactions with the physical environment. This by extension evolves the cultural heritage and values of an African community. Most importantly is that the research demonstrated that toponym can be used to evoke the community’s tangible and intangible cultural heritage.
ISSN 1511-3701
e-ISSN 2231-8542