CHAPTERONE

GENERALINTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

The blacksmithing industry is one of the economicactivities that existed in Kamuru from 1920 to present. Therefore, thebackground of the study of the period 1960-2000, is to attempt doing justice tothe topic of this research by analyzing the relationship between theblacksmiths and farmers in Kamuru District of Zangon Kataf local governmentarea. The importance of studying the topic of this discuss is to help futureresearchers to understand the importance of the interrelationship between thefamers and the blacksmiths on the basis of economic dependence on each other,during this period of study, which is specify above.  

Blacksmithing is one of the earliest vocationaltechnological and economic activities on earth, and as a result most of theeconomic activities of mankind especially agriculture depended heavily on it.For this reason, the economic importance of the profession cannot be overemphasized. For instance, the butcher cannot conduct his activities withoutdepending on the blacksmiths. In the same vein, the farmers, local barbers, thewood cutters, the cloth-dyers, and the host of others depended on them fortheir working tools.

At the rise of African civilization the essentialtools to survival were found through the use of wood and stone. These toolsproved to work well enough for hunting, gathering, and farming, when man beganto grow plants for food by the used of agricultural technics. But as timechanges, mankind evolved, and it became necessary to find more efficient tools.With the discovery of iron, men began to produce more complex and sophisticateiron tools like knives, for domestic used, arrows, spares, axes, etc. forhunting, and were as well used in the battle fields for the act of war.