Abstract

Having evolved from more than forty-eight indigenous ethnic cultures as well as several immigrant (“settler”) ethnic cultures, the modern city of Jos is a multicultural space. Three patterns of ethnic cultural interaction are theoretically possible in such spaces and they are: domination, assimilation, and mutual accommodation. Any of these three patterns might therefore be expected to hold in Jos. We assume that the nature of ethnic cultural interaction may be investigated through popular culture texts and analyze the textual representation of multiculturalism in Jos through the mediated musical entertainment of Dan Maraya Jos. Though a “settler” ethnic Hausa, Dan Maraya Jos has produced mediated musical entertainment from his base in Jos for more than four decades, has consistently identified himself as a “native” of Jos and has received national honors from the Nigerian state for his art. His musical genre, known as kuntigi, is agriot form of social commentary. Our findings suggest that the nature of multiculturalism practiced in Jos as indicated in the work of Dan Maraya Jos may best be described as one of mutual accommodation (or “complex dialectic”) rather than assimilation (or “melting pot”).

Key Words: Ethnic Cultures, Multiculturalism, Mutual Accommodation, Popular Culture, Textual Representation

^JCMRJournal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 7, No. 1, April 2015, 91 – 103 

©Delmas Communications Ltd.

About the authors

*Dr. Victor Ayedun-Aluma, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at the Department of Mass Communication, University of Jos, Jos, Nigeria.

**Raymond M. Goshit  is a Lecturer at the Department of Mass Communication, University of Jos, Jos, Nigeria.

Full Article

Words: 5,111; Pages: 13