The Jju people, or Ba̠jju (exonyms: ; , are an ethnic group found in the Middle Belt (Central) 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 (meaning the land of the Ba̠jju people) well. The Ba̠jju people are predominantly farmers, hunters, blacksmiths and petty traders.
Origin and history
According to oral history, the origin of the Ba̠jju can be traced as far as Bauchi State where a group of people lived in hill caves and had watchers atop the hill to watch for enemies. These people were called 'mutanen duwatsu' (literal translation in English from Hausa is 'the mountain people' or 'ba̠nyet tsok in Jju). It was believed that their migration was for the search of better hunting grounds. They migrated from the Bauchi state part of the Jos-Bauchi high plateau and settled on a hill called 'Hurruang' in the Plateau state part of the area, in central Nigeria. The hill was already occupied by a tribe called the Afizere (also called 'Jarawa' by the Hausa), but the Afizere people left and lived on another hill called 'Tsok-kwon' (in Jju), probably same as Shere hills.
The Afizere also lay claims to migrating from the 'Miango' area, presently occupied by the Irigwe. The Ba̠jju, Irigwe, and Afizere tribes collectively called themselves 'Dangi' (meaning 'those of same stock', rendered in the Hausa language) because they share cultural and linguistic similarities.
Two brothers named Zampara and Wai were said to have left ‘Dangi’ settlement and migrated South of the Plateau. The Atsam (also known as 'Chawai') people of today are the descendants Wai. Wai settled at a place and named it Chawai. Considering that the forefathers of both the Ba̠jju and Chawai (Atsam) people had family ties, it made both of the nations affiliated.
Zampara migrated further and settled at Hurbuang, which is now called Ungwan Tabo. Zampara had a wife named Adama (who was a Fulani woman) and gave birth to two sons, Ba̠ranzan and A̠kad. When Zampara, their father died, A̠kad left his elder brother Ba̠ranzan and stayed near the hills. He did so and became the ancestor of the A̠takat people. That was how the A̠takat tribe got associated with the Ba̠jju. It was because of this close relationship that the Atakat and Ba̠jju people made it a tradition and a religious law never to intermarry.
Descendants of Ba̠ranzan
Ba̠ranzan had five sons namely:
A̠nkwak – was the eldest son of Ba̠ranzan. He had the following children: Ka̠murum, A̠kurdan, Kpunyai, A̠za̠wuru, Ka̠tsiik, Gatun, Byet, Duhuan, A̠tachab, Rika̠wa̠n, Chenchuuk, Rika̠yakwon, Zi̠bvong, Ka̠masa, A̠nkpang, and Byena.
Tuan – the second son had the following children: Zankirwa, A̠tutyen, Kukwan, Vongkpang, Zat, Furgyam, Sansun, Ka̠mantsok, Dinyring, A̠mankwo, Kpong, Zantun, and Dichu'a̠don.
A̠kadon – the third child had the following children: Tsoriyang, Wadon, Rebvok, A̠bvong, and Chiyua.
Kanshuwa – the fourth child had the following children: Jei, Dihwugwai, Zagwom, Ta̠bak, Baihom, Bairuap, and Zambyin.
Iduang – the fifth and last born of Ba̠ranzan had the following children: Zuturung, Zunkwa, Zansak, Dibyii, and A̠bvo.
However, some Ba̠jju and A̠takat people intermarried, and this caused the widespread death of 1970, Gaiya (2013). The Gado of Ba̠jju, along with his people, met with the Gado of A̠takat, along with his people, to discuss the crisis of frequent deaths of people of both tribes as a result of the intermarriages. They later reached a decision to abolish the law religiously and traditionally so that there would not be any consequence for the intermarriage. That was how the A̠takat and Ba̠jju people began to intermarry freely.
The previously mentioned Ba̠ranzan (son of Zampara, and brother of A̠kad) left Hurbuang and cleared a place by a riverside called 'Duccuu Chen'. He settled the Ka̠jju there (Ka̠jju was the initial name of the Ba̠jju). The name 'Ka̠jju' was derived from the name which Ba̠ranzan gave the new settlement, which was 'Ka̠zzu'.
Although it is unclear from oral history when the migration occurred, but evidence suggests that the Ba̠jju were in their current location since the early 1800s, Gaiya (2013).
