Nomenclature: Location: Territorial Groups
The term âJerawaâ is composed of Jere, the name of a village of one element of the Jerawa peoples, and -awa the Hausa plural ending of tribal names.1 Ames, in the Gazetteer of the Plateau Province, states that âJerawa is a generic term for a variety of peoplesâ in fact those of Amo, Buji and Jere Districts of Jos Division, Plateau Province. The term âJerawa groupâ is here intended to include all these, together with a number of closely related peoples of nearby Zaria and Bauchi Provinces, and the Rukuba, located in the Birom Tribal Area (District), Jos Division. The Gazetteer adds, âThe name Jerawa should not be confused with that of Jarawaâ: the fact is, however, that the two groups to which these names are commonly applied are so intermingled that certain communitiesâfor example, Ribina, Naraguta, Dugusa, Fedare, and probably others as wellâare affiliated with both.2 However, no connection is known to exist between either the Jerawa or the Jarawa of the Plateau Area and those peoples of the Gongola region located roughly between Gombe and Biu, to whom similar names are sometimes applied: the Tera (Terawa), Dera (Derawa) or Kanakuru, Jera (Jerawa) and Jara (Jarawa).
In Amo District, the people whose name for themselves is Amap, predominate; 3 the Hausa call them Amo or Amawa (their present chief villages are Amo Ketara and Amo Kadis, or, in Hausa, Amo Bisa and Amo Kasa); the Kurama, near whom they have settled in the plains of Zaria, call them Amo (usually written Among or Amon). According to Meek, there is among the Kurama âa small exogamous groupâ called Among, members of which are to be found at Garu (Garun Kurama), Kuri and Kurmin Dodo: in fact, the Administration reports Kurmin Dodo to be âpureâ Amap, and it would seem not unlikely that the Among of Garu and Kuri are merely immigrant Amap. Apart from Kurmin Dodo, the chief Amap villages in Zaria (Lere District) are Amon Bisa, Amon Kasa and Amawa. A few Amap are reported to have settled in Bauchi Province, especially in the Bambaro hamlet of Zuku, in Lame District.
Also in Amo District and associated closely with the Amap in Zaria are a people termed Janji or Jenji in the literatureâsaid to be called Anafejazi (Anafejanzi) by Amap. The Janji village in Amo District is identified by the name Inchasi (cf. Nfachas, at Chara, referred to below) or more often simply Janji; that in Zaria, simply Janji, or, rarely, Janjin Kasa and Janjin Sama.
In Buji District, the peoples of the dominant group term themselves Ano (people of) Buze, Bujawa in Hausa (Buji or Buje being the Hausa corruption of Buze, the name of their chief village). The character of the present relationship to Buji of Bujiyel in Bauchi is uncertain, but by tradition Bujiyel is clearly affiliated with the Jerawa Group. The folk of Gurrum village, in Buji District, call themselves Anorubuna (Ribinawa in Hausa), claiming to have originated from the village of Ribina (Rebina), Lame District, Bauchi: Narabuna, a name applied by Temple âcollectivelyâ to the folk of Gurrum, Gussum and Jengre (and Jere) villages, and to Anobuze, is doubtless another Hausa corruption. The third considerable community of Buji District is contained by the village of Chara (also written Chera, Tera, Terea, Teria, and Terria), the inhabitants of which call themselves Nfa (people of; compare the Janji prefix, Anafe-) Chara: the names for this group which appear in the literature are Fachara, Fakara and Pakara; also Terea, Teria and Terria.
The dominant folk of Jere District are sometimes referred to as âthe Jerawa properâ: these term themselves Anazele. Jere was formerly the most populous settlement of Anazele, a hill-top site now deserted save for the compounds of the Ogomo (chief) and certain important elders, but the main festivals are still celebrated there.1 Jengre, rather than a compact village, is an area of diffused settlement, comprising scattered compounds, farms, fallow and bush, inhabited by families who have left the rocky fastnesses of Jere. Temple implies that Jengre and Jere are interchangeable as the âtribalâ name, but this is apparently a misrepresentation of the facts.
Of the several communities in the District subordinate to the Anazele the most important is Gussum (Gusum), apparently the Hausa name, Ibau being the indigenous name; its inhabitants are specifically Anibau, but, on the one hand, apparently, they share the Hausa generic Gusawa with a number of villages in Bauchi Province, and, on the other, own with Limoro village, also in Jere District, and Sanga and apparently Bujiyel (Bujiyal), in Bauchi, the collective title Anosangobari, (Sangawa in Hausa). Rimi is the Hausa name of another village subordinate to Gussum (Ibau): the indigenous name, Wuru; the people, Anowuru.
The people of Chokobo village, in Jere District, call themselves Azura, but are more commonly known as Chokobawa or simply Chokobo. There are also in the District several Kurama villages or hamlets. In general, the Kurama will be treated as a separate entity among the pagans of the Plateau borderlands, but the Kurama of Jere District seem to be assimilating to the Jerawa, and may well be considered as part of that group.
In Bauchi Province there seem to be two major groups related to the Jerawa peoples of the Plateau. One includes the Gusawa and the Sangawa of Lame (formerly styled Lemme) District, and the Ribinawa of Ribina Village Area (including the hamlet of Loro or Laro), which in 1950 was a part of Toro District, but which the Administration planned to incorporate in Lame District. Dugusa or Duguza, in Nashana (formerly Maigemu) Village Area of the new Jarawa District, the formation of which was pending in 1950, is termed Ribinawa.2 Bujiyel or Bujiyal (the Bujel or Bugel of Temple) has apparently, like Ribina been transferred to Lame District: though designated Sangawa (with Ribinawa affiliations), until perhaps twenty years ago it was administered with Gusti, a Hill Jarawa (Afusare) village; it was afterwards transferred to Tilden Fulani; with the dissolution of Toro District, it was planned that Tilden Fulani should be transferred to Lame District.
Little is known of the Taurawa, who, it is everywhere indicated, are related to the Jerawa Group: it seems safe to say that they are located in the border regions of Lame District, probably not far distant from Sanga. In 1950 they were reported in the Native Administration Tribal Census as quite distinct from the Gusawa and Ribinawa.
The second large group in Bauchi seems to be generally identified as Gezawa (literally, people of Gejiâa village administered until 1950 in Zungur District, and transferred then to the newly constituted Jamaâa District). It appears to include a number of scattered villages or hamlets: Zaranda and Zul (Zull) are the chief of these, formerly administered as parts of Lame and Toro Districts respectively, now in Jamaâa District; Tulai, formerly Toro, now Jamaâa, District; Kaiyori or Kaiyauri, last mentioned some twenty years ago, when it was administered as part of the Gusti Village Area, Toro District (and transferred with Bujiyel to Lame District?), whose people are designated by Temple the Kaiyorawa, a âseptâ of the Hill Jarawa; Danshe,1 located in Nashana Village Area, Jarawa District; and probably others, the names and locations of which are not reported.
Zaranda presents a peculiar problem as regards nomenclature. In Temple and various early Government reports Zaranda or Zarandawa is...
