THE TIME AND WORKS OF ANAKWEZE NWUDE: THE MASTER OF BLACKSMITHING IN AWKA, ANAMBRA STATE

Abstract

The core importance of Blacksmithing in the history of civilization cannot be over- emphasized. The place of blacksmithing in Nigeria, especially in the South-Eastern region, can never be completed without referring to Awka, the very home of blacksmithing itself. Awka is the current Capital city of Anambra State of Nigeria; an Igbo community arguably believed to have been the cradle of the blacksmithing tradition in the region. Owing to the fact that, they produced guns and ammunitions that aided the Nigerian civil war of 1967/70, there was a great turn out of blacksmithing experts in the region, one of them is called Anakweze Nwude is the current Master Smith resident in Awka who is in his early 80s. This paper concisely examines his personality, works and techniques and his contributions to mankind through his art. In the same vein, the paper tries to resuscitate the dying tradition of blacksmithing in Awka and Nigeria as a whole by documenting the life and works of one of its kind. Furthermore, it tries to establish the role and relevance of blacksmithing in Modern Art.