Afizere

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Afizere

Tribal Map of Africa including the Afizere.
Total population
Over 500,000 (2012) [1]
Regions with significant populations
Nigeria
Languages
Izere, Nigerian English
Religion
African religions, Christianity, Islam
Related ethnic groups
Irigwe, Atyap, Bajju, Berom, Jukun, and other Platoid peoples of the Middle Belt of Nigeria, Yoruba, Igbo
Afizere people of Plteu, Nigeria Afizere asharuwa dancers.jpg
Afizere people of Plteu, Nigeria

The Afizere people (Other: Afizarek, exonym: Jarawa) are an ethnic group in Nigeria that occupy Jos East, Jos North, parts of Jos South and Mangu Local Government Areas of Plateau State and parts of Toro and Tafawa Balewa Local Government Areas of Bauchi State, Nigeria. They are one of the three ethnic groups - the other two being the Berom and the Anaguta - to whom are credited the ownership of Jos city. The Afizere are speakers of Izere language. [2] The neighbors of the Afizere to the north are the Hausa and Jarawan Dass. To the east and southeast are the Zari, Zaar and Pyem. To the south and southwest are the Berom while the Irigwe and Bache (or Rukuba) lie to the west. Northwest of the Afizere are many ethnic groups, the closest of which are the Anaguta, Bujel, Ribina, Kayauri and Duguza; more distant ones include Buji, Gusu, Sanga, Jere, Amoa, and Lemoro. [3]

Contents

Settlement

The Afizere previously settled in the Chawai region of southern Kaduna State. Over time, some Afizere groups moved southwards. [4] The first group from Southern Kaduna settled at the foot of the hills called Gwash close to the current location of the Jos Museum [ citation needed ] and others settled at the foot of Shere Hills in the Jos Plateau. [4] Afizere clans settled southwards of Chawai lands. More than 500,000 Afizere people, [5] distributed over 16 major traditional districts, inhabit territories within Jos North, Jos East, Mangu, in Plateau State and Tafawa-Balewa and Toro Local Government Areas in Bauchi State. During the pre-colonial period, the people lived in hilly terrains surrounding the Jos Plateau as a defense mechanism against jihadist attacks during and after the Fulani Jihad. Afizere towns and villages include Dong, Tudun Wada (Gyese), Kabong, Jos Jarawa, Rikkos, Fudawa, Kwanga, Fobur, Angware, Maijuju, Fusa, and Gwafan (Lamingo), Shere, Zandi, etc.

Culture

Izere towns have a traditional and gerontocratic [6] chieftaincy system that is headed by an Agwom [7] and supported by five districts heads representing the five royal families of the Afizere: Fobur, Forsum, Maigemu, Shere, and Federe. In Afizere land, a district could be a combination of 6 to 12 villages. Historically, the Agwom was also the chief priest of the people.

Asharuwa, a traditional dance, is part of the cultural heritage the Afizere have maintained over the years. Asharuwa dance groups have performed in many countries, including the US, UK, Canada, Germany, South Africa, Ukraine, and Kenya.

Language

The language of the people, Izere, is considered part of the Benue-Congo language group that is prominent in Central Nigeria. Izere is spoken in five different dialects. The dialects are:

Dresses

Kings wear kukpra and have their hair barbed, with the hair like a row in the middle of their heads and step by step horizontal cuts all throughout, signifying the crown. They have a ceremonial staff called an akbong with one strand. Priests wear the same clothes as the king, but what differentiates them is the king's haircut and his staff, as the priest's akbong has two strands.

Men wear itak round their waists. Women wear akpi made from atufa or agindo, covering their chest and going around their waists.

Kurus are used to keep babies tight on the back of their mothers and it is water resistant.

For brides and grooms, the same clothing they would normally wear is used, but it is freshly made.

Izere colors and their order
  1. Green [naya] signifies agriculture
  2. White [cha’an] signifies peace
  3. Yellow [izizere] signifies the language
  4. Black [aga’ab] signifies strength
  5. Cowries [icribi] signifies wealth

Religion

Christianity and Islam are the two major religions among the Afizere, but some Afizere still choose to adhere to their traditional beliefs. In traditional Afizere religion, there is a supreme deity Adakunom (father of the sun" or ""father, the sun" or "mighty sun") [5] who is considered the creator and source of life and health. A few minor gods exist to act as mediators to Adakunom. Then there are the spirits or witches who are the source of both good and evil.

Christianity came to Afizere land by the way of Sudan Interior Mission preachers [5] who converted some Afizere individuals who later acted as agents of dispersion of the religion. Islam came to the region after the Fulani jihad when part of Afizere territory came under the authority of the Emir of Bauchi.

Names

The Izere people like many other tribes or ethnic groups have unique names given to children at birth. A child could be named in accordance to a situation or circumstance leading to his/her birth.

Dances

Many forms of dance are part of this people's culture.

Additionally, beating of drums and singing on the farm is customary, with the asum - mata leading.

Food

The Afizere people have different foods and mode of preparation that distinguishes them from other ethnic groups. A few are:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jos</span> Capital city of Plateau State, Nigeria

Jos is a city in the North-Central region of Nigeria. The city has a population of about 900,000 residents based on the 2006 census. Popularly called "J-Town", it is the administrative capital and largest city of Plateau State. The city is situated on the Jos plateau which is lies within the Guinea Savannah of North-Central Nigeria. It connects most of the North-Eastern capitals to the Federal Capital Territory Abuja, by road. Driving in and out of Jos, traffic encounters very steep and windy bends and mountainous sceneries typical of the plateau, from which the state derives its name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plateau State</span> State of Nigeria

Plateau is a north central Nigerian state. It is located near the centre of Nigeria and includes a range of hills surrounding the Jos Plateau. Plateau State is described as "The Home of Peace and Tourism". The state has a population of around 4.7 million people. Its capital city is Jos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bauchi (city)</span> City in Nigeria

Bauchi is a city in northeast Nigeria, the Administrative center of Bauchi State, of the Bauchi Local Government Area within that State, and of the traditional Bauchi Emirate. It is located on the northern edge of the Jos Plateau, at an elevation of 616 m. The Local Government Area covers an area of 3,687 km2 and had a population of 493,810 in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bauchi State</span> State of Nigeria

Bauchi is a state in the North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria. It is bordered by Jigawa to the north, Yobe to the northeast, Gombe to the east, Taraba and Plateau to the south, Kaduna to the west and Kano to the northwest. It takes its name from the historic city of Bauchi, which also serves as its capital. The state was formed in 1976 when the former North-Eastern State was broken up. It originally included the area that is now Gombe State, which became a distinct state in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jos Plateau</span> Plateau in Nigeria

The Jos Plateau is a plateau located near the centre of Nigeria. The plateau has given its name to the Plateau State in which it is found and is named for the state's capital, Jos. The plateau is home to people of diverse cultures and languages. The plateau's montane grasslands, savannas, and forests are home to communities of plants and animals distinct from those of the surrounding lowlands and constitute the Jos Plateau forest-savanna mosaic ecoregion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plateau languages</span> Group of Benue–Congo languages of central Nigeria

The forty or so Plateau languages are a tentative group of Benue–Congo languages spoken by 15 million people on the Jos Plateau, Southern Kaduna, Nasarawa State and in adjacent areas in central Nigeria.

The Berom are one of the largest autochthonous ethnic groups in Plateau State, central Nigeria, covering about four local government areas, namely Riyom, Jos North, Jos South and Barkin Ladi (Gwol). Berom people are also found in some southern Kaduna State local government areas like Fadan Karshe with Berom settlers tracing their origins to Za'ang a Berom district on the Jos Plateau. They emigrated during the British Colonial Government of Nigeria. A large number of this tribe, if not all, are Christians. Statistics also have it that a large number of the population of Plateau State is made up of Berom people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middle Belt</span> Geographical region in central Nigeria

Middle Belt or Central Nigeria is a term used in human geography to designate a belt region stretching across central Nigeria longitudinally and forming a transition zone between Northern and Southern Nigeria. It is composed of the southern half of the defunct Northern Region of Nigeria, now comprising mostly the North Central and parts of the North East and North West geopolitical zones, and is characterised by its lack of a clear majority ethnic group. It is also the location of Nigeria's Federal Capital Territory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angas languages</span>

The Angas, Angas–Sura, or Central West Chadic languages are a branch of West Chadic languages spoken in Plateau State, north-central Nigeria.

Dass is a Local Government Area of Bauchi State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Dass.

Jos East is a Local Government Area in Plateau State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Angware. its predominant tribe is The Afizere' also known as Jarawa, Jos East is a dividend of Jos where Jos North, and Jos south are the rest dividends, Jos east is a local government in plateau state, the Asharwa international dance group is major dance group of the Afizere people they represented Nigeria in countries like UK, US, South Africa, Kenya, Ukraine etc. It's also a very well known tribe in Nigeria.

Jos North is a local government area in Plateau State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the city center of Jos. The postal code of the area is 930.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jarawan languages</span> Bantu language group of Central Africa

Jarawan is a group of languages spoken mostly in Bauchi State, Nigeria, with some also scattered in Plateau State, Taraba State, and Adamawa State in the same country. Two related languages formerly spoken in Cameroon are now extinct but are believed to have belonged to the group. This connection between Nigerian and Cameroonian Jarawan is attributed to Thomas (1925). Whether Jarawan languages are best classified alongside other Bantu languages or among non-Bantu Bantoid languages is a matter of ongoing debate. A number of descriptions and classifications in the early 20th century suggest that they may be historically related to Bantu languages but not necessarily Bantu themselves. Other perspectives based on lexicostatistic modeling and other phylogenetic techniques for language comparison argue instead that Jarawan languages are properly classified alongside Zone A Bantu languages (A31-A40-A60). For classifications based on these more recent studies, see for example Blench (2006), Piron (1997), and Grollemund (2012).

Mohammed Mana was military Administrator of Plateau State between December 1993 and August 1996 during the military regime of General Sani Abacha. He was elected Senator for Adamawa North in 2007 on the People's Democratic Party (PDP) platform.

Joshua Mamman Madaki was Governor of Bauchi State, Nigeria from December 1987 to August 1990 and then of Plateau State from August 1990 to January 1992 during the military regime of Major General Ibrahim Babangida.

Berom or Birom is the most widely spoken Plateau language in Nigeria. The language is locally numerically important and is consistently spoken by Berom of all ages in rural areas. However, the Berom are shifting to Hausa in cities. The small Cen and Nincut dialects may be separate languages. Approximately 1 million (2010) people speak in this language.

The Jju people, or Ba̠jju (exonyms: Hausa: Kajje; Tyap: A̱jhyuo, are an ethnic group found in the Middle Belt area of Nigeria. The word Ba̠jju is a short for "Ba̠nyet Jju" which simply means "Jju People" and is used to refer to the speakers of the Jju language found in the Ka̠jju, the homeland of the Jju people. They are found in the Southern part of Kaduna State, chiefly in Kachia, Zangon Kataf, Jama'a and in Kaduna South Local Government Areas. Ba̠jju people are also commonly known as "Kaje" which is a pejorative name used to refer to both the Jju people and Jju language by the larger Hausa people who could not pronounce the name Ka̠jju well. The Ba̠jju people are predominantly farmers, hunters, blacksmiths and petty traders.

Saya is a Chadic dialect cluster of Nigeria.

The Jos Forum Inter-communal Dialogue Process refers to a peace process undertaken by communities living in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria.

CONAECDA is an organization that serves as a coalition of indigenous ethnic communities in central and northern Nigeria. CONAECDA works in diverse areas such as language development, community development, and indigenous land rights. It represents a few hundred indigenous groups that are spread across 15 Nigerian states.

References

  1. ↑ Appiah, Kwame Anthony; Gates, Henry Louis Jr. (2005). Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience. Vol. V (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 236. ISBN   0195170555.
  2. ↑ "Dialects and Clans - Afizere People". afizereworld.org. Archived from the original on 2016-06-25. Retrieved 2016-05-18.
  3. ↑ Ajiji, D. N. (2011). Colonialism and Intergroup Relations in the Central Nigeria Highlands: The Afizere Story. Ibadan, Makurdi, Nigeria: Aboki Publishers. p. 66.
  4. 1 2 "Origin - Afizere People". afizereworld.org. Archived from the original on 2016-06-25. Retrieved 2016-05-18.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Blench, Roger; Kaze, Bitrus (2006). "A Dictionary of the Izere Language of Fubor" (PDF). rogerblench.info.
  6. ↑ "Socio-Polity - Afizere People". afizereworld.org. Archived from the original on 2016-06-25. Retrieved 2016-05-18.
  7. ↑ "Glimpses of Plateau's Izere chiefdom". dailytrust.com.ng. Archived from the original on 2016-09-16. Retrieved 2016-05-18.

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