ABSTRACT
The tendency to assume non-existent and exaggerate insignificant cultural differences between one's own village and other communities represents, on the ideological plane, the assertion of the cultural identity of the community. Doko, a much smaller village but situated in a more densely populated area, owns nine large tunga settlements and a number of smaller, secondary, dependencies. Nupe Emirate counts three villages with a population of over or near a thousand: Doko with 800 inhabitants; Mokwa with 2,000; and Kutigi with 3,000. But there exist also smaller 'towns', villages the population of which had been reduced by emigration and which may be, in size, hardly bigger than a large tunga. The wall opens upon the path or open space in front of the house in the katamba, a hut more spacious than the rest, with big doors which make the katamba a gateway or entrance-hall of the compound.
