Prof. Akombo I. Elijah
Department of History and Diplomatic Studies
Faculty of Arts
Taraba State University, Jalingo, Nigeria
E-mail: akomboelijah@gmail.com
&
Lawan Jafaru Tahir, PhD
Department of History and International Studies
Yobe State University, Nigeria
E-mail: lawanjafar@gmail.com
&
Danga Liatu
Department of History and Diplomatic Studies
Faculty of Arts
Taraba State University, Jalingo, Nigeria
Abstract
This paper centers on giving a historical account of the origin, migration and the transformation of the Tigun society in Kurmi Local government area. Ethnic groups all have an origin where their roots can be traced to. These ethnic groups follow some channels of movements before settling in their present locations. The Tigun people are not alienated from this known fact. They are amongst the three major ethnic groups found in Kurmi Local Government Area of Taraba state. These three major ethnic groups include the Tigun, Ndola and the Ichen. This paper hopes to trace the origin of the Tigun people and how they moved in stages and in batches to settle in the area they are found today. The paper will also talk about the different dialects that form what is called the Tigun Federation.
This paper also attempts to exhaustively discuss the formation of Kurmi Local Government Area as it is today. The work will discuss how things were from the scramble for and partition of Africa at the Berlin conference of 1884/1885, down to the world wars, the independence of Nigeria and the events that came into play afterwards. This paper generally hopes to add to the existing knowledge about the Tigun people and about Kurmi Local Government Area as a whole. The major sources used in obtaining information is the primary and the secondary sources. Oral interviews were conducted and written sources such as projects, books and other relevant documents were also used.
Key words: Tigun, Kurmi Local Government Area, Migration.
Introduction
History of Origin of the Tigun
The Tigun people have been independent even before the emergence of the modern state system following the Westphalian treaty of 1648. They are generally referred to as a federation. This is due largely to the fact that the ethnic group is a conglomerate of clans that come together to form one broad ethnic group.10 While the Tigun Nzare form the bulk of the Tigun people, other components are the Jukun-Tigun (Ashuku) which is also a part of the Nzare-speaking people, the Abong (Mbwami), the Njuwande and the Batu which include Batu Kamino, Batu Affih and Batu Amanda. These different clans of the Tigun speak different dialects. According to C W Cole, Tigun is not a single language; it is a collection of Jukunoid, Bantoid and even the Ndola.1
There are two main traditions about the origin of the Tigun people. These are the Bantoid and the Jukunoid traditions2. The components that are believed to have originated through the Bantoid tradition include the Njuwande, the Abong and the Batu, while those that are believed to have originated through the Jukunoid tradition include the Ashuku, Eneme (Nama-Baba), Adobe, Ambwe, Ekwachu (Nama-Gangare), Mbisa and Chon.3 Those regarded as the Jukunoid are believed to have broken out of the great Kwararafa kingdom and moved through the Republic of Cameroon to settle where they are found today.
Those of the Bantoid origin believe that they may have emanated from the Bantoid languages which are generally referred to as a body of some 150-200 or more languages positioned geographically between Nigeria and Cameroon. These languages are said to be more related to the Bantu than with other branches of the Benue-Congo, thereby the name “Bantoid”.4 The Tigun group that claim to be one of the Bantoid languages are said to have originated from Cameroon. They moved from Cameroon, through present day Sardauna Local Government Area, down to the area they are found today5.
History of Migration to their present Location
According to Baba Joshua Garba, the Tigun people migrated to their present location in distinct waves without any form of wars of conquest. The first to settle in the area were the Chon people. And followed in the sequence were the Ambo people, the Adobe people and then the Abong people.6
The Chon people are believed to have migrated from the Kwararafa Kingdom and passed through Cameroon to settle around present day Abong. There is a widely accepted tradition that Chon had a brother, Ebhere with whom they left Kwararafa and first settled together in the Republic of Cameroon. Chon and Ebhere are the sons of an unknown man.7