Colour Theory in African Aesthetic Systems: A Comparative Analysis of Yoruba, Igbo, and Hausa Traditions

Colour carries profoundly different symbolic, spiritual, and social meanings across Nigeria's diverse ethnic traditions, yet comparative systematic analysis of colour theory within indigenous African aesthetic systems has been underdeveloped in the scholarly literature relative to the attention given to Western colour theory. This study develops a comparative analysis of colour use and symbolism in the aesthetic systems of the Yoruba, Igbo, and Hausa ethnic traditions, drawing on material culture, ritual performance, and craft production as sites for analysis. A qualitative comparative research design is employed, combining systematic visual analysis of cultural artefacts from museum collections in Lagos, Enugu, and Kano with thematic analysis of in-depth interview data gathered from 15 cultural practitioners per tradition. The study examines the colour vocabularies in use, the symbolic associations attributed to specific colours and colour combinations, the spiritual and social contexts governing colour choices, and the aesthetic principles governing colour arrangement in decorative and ceremonial contexts. The theoretical framework draws on cross-cultural colour psychology, African aesthetic philosophy, and the material culture literature. A key analytical contribution is the identification of both shared colour principles across the three traditions and significant divergences that reflect distinct cosmological and social frameworks. Recent scholarship has argued that African indigenous aesthetics constitute coherent theoretical systems rather than intuitive practices, a position this study evaluates through empirical evidence. Findings contribute to African aesthetic theory, art education, and the design literature on culturally grounded colour use. Keywords: colour theory, African aesthetics, Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa