The Atyap people (Tyap: Á̠niet A̠tyap, singular: A̠tyotyap; Hausa exonym: Kataf, Katab) are an ethnic group that occupy part of the Zangon-Kataf, Kaura and Jema'a Local Government Areas of Kaduna State, Nigeria.
They speak the Tyap language, one of the West Plateau languages.
They derive their name from their language, Tyap, a descriptive name meaning people who speak Tyap. They are, however, addressed as Katab or Kataf by the Hausa due to a large amount of camwood (Katambari in Hausa and Gbandaad in Tyap) which they used as an important item of trade.
The Katab are cluster of ethnic groups who live in Niger, Nasarawa and Kaduna states, and the Abuja Federal Capital territory of Nigeria. They were identified by colonial British ethnographer C. K. Meek as a “cultural complex” based on their common language and some shared traits such as wife-abduction, wearing of lip plugs, houses with peaked roofs, and headhunting. Katab subgroups include the Ataka, Ikulu, Jaba, Kachichere, Kagoma, Kagoro, Kaje, Kamantan, Katab and Morwa. They are popularly known as the people of Southern Zaria, which was a part of the former Zaria Emirate and later Zaria province, now Kaduna state. They also refer to themselves as Netzit.
Katab is also the name of one of the ethnic groups within the cultural complex, who reside in the Zangon Kataf district of Kaduna state and refer to themselves as the Atyap. This summary focuses on the Katab subgroup, and on the neighboring Kagoro of the Kaura district in the same state. The geography of the region varies from flat fertile plains to rolling hills and high plateau. The Zangon Kataf district is described as undulating savannah grassland.
The Katab of Nigeria are numbering 278,000, according Peoplegroups.org in 2025
Katab peoples speak a number of Plateau subgroup languages of the Benue-Congo subsection of the Niger-Congo family. Among these, the Tyap language alone includes the Atakat, Kagoro, Kachichere, Morwa, and Katab dialects.
The Kataf Group to which Tyap belongs, is a member of the eastern Plateau. And going by the glotochronological time scales established for Yoruba and Edo languages and their neighbours, we suggest that thousands of years were required for the separation into distinguishable dialects and dialect clusters if this Kataf Group. Between Igala and Yoruba language, for example, at least 2,000 years were required to develop the distinction, while 6,000 years were needed for the differences observable in a comparison of Idoma and Yoruba language clusters. Noteworthy is the indication that even within dialect clusters, a period of up to 2,000 years was needed to create clearly identifiable dialect separation. It is thus a slow process of steady population growth and expansion and cultural differentiation over thousands of years.
The implication for Tyap is that it has taken thousands of years to separate, in the same general geographical location from its six or so most closely related dialects. As a sub-unit they required probably more thousands of years earlier to separate from other members of the Kataf group like Gyong, Hyam, Duya and Ashe (Koro) who are little intelligible to them. The stability of language and other culture traits in this region of Nigeria has been recognized.
It is therefore persuasive to take as granted, long antiquity of cultural interaction and emergence of specific dialects in the Kataf language region. It means that Tyap had long become a clearly identifiable language with a distinguishable material culture and social organisation personality long before the time the British took over control of the Atyap early in the 20th century. This personality was bequeathed down from one generation of ancestors to another until it reached the most recent descendants.
The Atyap occupy part of the area of the Nok culture, famous for its terra-cotta figurines. Whether they are related to the people that made these figurines cannot be determined.
Several iron smelting sites have been located in Atyap area. Most of these were found in the area of Gan and nearby settlements. The remains include slag, tuyeres and furnaces. In two sites in the Ayid-ma-pama (Tyap: A̠yit Mapama) on the banks of the Sanchinyirian stream and banks of Chen Fwuam at Atabad Atanyieang (Tyap: A̠ta̠bat A̠ta̠nyeang) the slag and tuyeres remains were particularly abundant in high heaps. This category of information is complemented by shallow caves and the rock shelter at Bakunkung Afang (9°55'N, 8°10'E) and Tswog Fwuam (9°51'N, 8°22'E) at Gan and Atabad-Atanyieang, respectively. The same study reveals several iron ore mining pits (9°58.5'N, 8°17, 85'E). More such pits have been identified in later search, suggesting that iron ore mining was intensive in the area.
The origins of the Katab lie in the Jos Plateau from whence they migrated to escape Hausa slave raiders operating out of the city-state of Zaria. Their new homeland was claimed by a Hausa chief and vassal of the king of Zaria, though control was limited and various Katab tribes managed to maintain relative independence, especially the Kagoro, who lived on top of the 2,000 foot high Kagoro Massif. In 1807 the region was conquered by the Muslim Fulani, except for the Kagoro on their rocky redoubt, and Fulani emirs carried out military operations in the region to obtain slaves and plunder. In the 1880’s the Emir of Zaria attacked the Kagoro Massif, but suffered a defeat, leaving the Kagoro unmolested until the arrival of the British in 1905. The British appointed Hausa administrators over all the Katab, but taxes among the Kagoro proved hard to collect. After several punitive military expeditions, the Kagoro finally succumbed to British rule in 1925 and were resettled on the plains. Scottish missionaries arrived in 1926 and the colonial government anthropologist, C. K. Meek in 1928. In the colonial economic order, the Katab tribes became laborers on groundnut and cotton plantations or in the mines. Heavy taxation, undeveloped infrastructure, and restrictions on use of groundnut and cotton seeds prevented the Katab from developing their own industries and farms. Politically, there was much resistance to the Hausa chieftainship imposed by the British. When the Kagoro put pressure on British administrators to appoint a local teacher from the mission school as the new chief, a political transformation occurred. The new chief reestablished tribal courts and village councils that decided on local legislation. Such wide participatory political experience and a growing economy supported the rise of a petty bourgeois political class. The Katab proved to be effective politicians and leaders in the new post-colonial government, working through their own political party and movement: the Middle Zone League.
Once characterized by compact, walled villages, settlement patterns became more dispersed by the 1950s. Settlements range in size from one to two hundred people, living in compounds with an average size of seven individuals. Homes are made of mud-plastered stone, with thatched roofs that have a distinctive, jutting peak in the front.
The Katab are overwhelmingly farmers. Historically they have grown sorghum, dauro millet (Pennisetum glaucum), acha (fonio; Digitaria exilis, beans, groundnuts, yam, cassava, cocoyam, sweet potatoes, garden eggs, pumpkins, peppers, okra, benniseed (Sesamum radiatum), and kuud (karkashi in Hausa; Artemesia spp.). They also cultivated tree crops such as guava, pawpaw, mango, banana, oil palm, and raffia palm. Livestock included goats, chickens, dogs, and later horses, sheep and ducks. Millet is the staple food crop, and corn is grown for beer. Farms are owned and worked by individual households. Meals are eaten mid-day and after sunset, with a snack in the early morning usually made up of leftovers from the night before. Porridge and soup is the evening meal. Men and women eat separately. The agricultural season begins in April when the first rains appear; vegetables are planted in the household gardens (titam) and guinea corn in the fields. Millet is sown in the beginning of June, followed by acha, potatoes, cocoyam and risga (or rizga; Plectanthrus esculentus). The rainy season lasts from June to September, when yams are cultivated and other vegetables harvested. Grain crops are harvested, dried and stored at the start of the dry season which begins at the end of November. Dry season activities include house construction, road clearing, and hunting. Game included antelope, hare, rabbit, monkey, bush pig, baboon, and leopard.
Some families specialized in different aspects of iron work, with some mining the ore, others smelting it, and still others specialized in making implements such as hoes, axes, arrows, spears, sickles, and anvils. Woodworking included the making of beds, hoe and axe handles, mortars and pestles, carriers, spoons, and musical instruments such as pipes and drums. Women wove mats, robes, waterproof capes, and baskets from raffia. Stone was used for grinding and in house foundations. Pots were made for cooking, food storage and beer making.
Simple trade and barter occurred among women in the same household and between several households that differed in production of livestock, grains, and domestic handicrafts and implements. Trade also took place in village markets, both by barter and cash purchases. External trade between people from different villages and tribes occurred in large regional markets inside and outside the tribal area. The Hausa dominated long-distance trade.
Women gather fire wood, fetch water, prepare meals, and make beer. They also help to clear land for farming, plant seeds, thresh grain, harvest groundnuts, and process oil. Men plough the fields, harvest crops, build and repair houses, hunt and fish, conduct rituals, clear roads, and make iron implements.
Land belonged to the lineage and could not be permanently alienated. Lineage heads allocated land for household use. The amount of land allocated depended on the size of the household and available labor. Households could loan or exchange land between themselves. Among some groups, land was pledged for a specified period of time, until the pledge token was returned. The clan had rights over bush land for hunting. Three types of land were cultivated: house gardens, primarily for vegetables; “bush farms” (abim ayit) for growing fonio, millet, guinea corn and potatoes; and nyan where a variety of grain and vegetable crops were grown.
The Katab are organized into patrilineal clans and lineages. Some clans have moieties, each constituting a wife-stealing unit (e.g. the Minyam clan is composed of two politically independent moieties, Fakan and Aswen). The main clans are further divided into separate sub-clans, e.g. the Agbat clan is divided into three sub-clans: Gbar Kokwak (Kwak), Kpaisa, and Nje. Sub-clans are further divided into lineages (kwai or bin) that are unilateral groupings of a number of families related through the father (e.g. the Aswen sub-clan is divided into five lineages: Amurum-Alan, Yagofo, Awai, Magamiya, and Kofo). The Amurum-Alan and Yagofo were the original moieties; the other three were immigrant groups adopted into the clan.
The Katab have a kinship terminology system similar to the Omaha system, except that only male parallel cousins are equated with siblings.
"Secondary marriage." Betrothal most often occurs between members of different lineages living in the same community, and involves a bride payment and bride service. Girls were often betrothed when only a few years old. A man may inherit the wife of his real or classificatory deceased brother, or the wife of his deceased maternal or paternal grandfather. A unique form of secondary marriage occurs when a wife deserts her husband to live with another man. In this case, the first marriage is not annulled and the wife may in fact return to her former husband at some point, or go live with yet another man. Such marriages are forbidden between members of the same lineage or community. Another form of secondary marriage practiced by the Kagoro is wife-abduction, which occurs between but not within communities or confederacies. The Kagoro distinguish between three types of marriageable groups, those that one can intermarry (niendi), those that cannot intermarry (bin), and those that cannot intermarry but for whom wife abduction is permitted (nendwang). The Katab practice clan exogamy, marrying outside the clan or tribe. Male suitors must pay a bride-price, which might include agricultural service. The marriage ceremony involves a mock bride capture. Elopement with married women is not uncommon; however, bride-price is required. The woman may return to her original husband. Junior and senior levirate are practiced.
There are three types of marriage: betrothal, widow-inheritance, and so-called
The size and composition of the household unit varies from a simple nuclear family to larger groupings that can include parents, sons and daughters, and son’s wives and their children. The unit may also include paternal cousins or nephews, and even sister’s sons, even though they are members of a different lineage.
Inheritance is patrilineal. Property is divided equally among the deceased’s sons or, if there are no sons, to paternal nephews, brothers or paternal cousins. If sons are underage the property is held in trust by a brother or paternal cousin. Titles go to the eldest surviving brother or paternal cousin. Young children are cared for by the deceased’s brother or cousin until they are of age to return to their original compound under the guardianship of the oldest son. Widows are inherited by brothers or cousins. Grown sons can inherit their father’s widows.
In a relatively simple initiation rite for boys between the ages of four and eleven (depending on the tribe), initiates are warned to be obedient to their parents. Among some tribes, the boys are blindfolded and beaten by the ancestral spirit, then released and told the true identity of the spirit, sworn never to reveal the secret under pain of death. The Kagoro have an age-set system.
The Katab are organized into localized exogamous patrilineages. Large lineages can have members residing in several villages. Several unrelated lineages can live in a single village. A group of villages formed a community, or "confederacy," that shared a set of religious activities, called ci, based on the agricultural cycle. The Katab are comprised of four patrilineal exogamous clans. Sub-clans consist of localized lineages under the authority of a chief. Each village is comprised of several compounds of polygamous families.
The basic political unit was the individual village. Authority lay with lineage elders in the village, who mediated disputes over land and between people. The highest authority lay with the chief priest and clan leader who presided over the village ancestral shrine. Confederacies of several territorially contiguous villages with shared ancestry existed under the leadership of a senior lineage for the purpose of defense and ritual functions. Tribal meetings including several confederacies could be held under the auspices of a chief priest of a major clan in response to clan disputes, wars, or natural disasters. Informal leaders had influence over their areas of expertise whether it was farming, hunting, or warfare, and were referred to as "chiefs" when leading such activities. The Hausa extracted tribute from each village in the form of slaves, horses, corn, or cash. The Hausa appointed a headman who swore fealty over a sacred sword. Prominent chiefs were given swords as emblems of their loyalty and authority.
Heads of household held some authority over household members and village chiefs over village members. Men held power over women. Elders had the power to bless, or curse a person’s actions. Sickness might follow a curse and the cure depends on an act of atonement. Under Hausa or Fulani rule, anyone caught committing a major crime such as murder or burglary was sold into slavery. Petty thieves and adulterers were only fined.
Disputes within communities over farm boundaries and loans of land were mediated by lineage elders. There were also disputes over paternity, a common problem because of the wide practice of secondary marriage. Tribes fought between themselves for rights to land, access to women, and for prestige. Lineages organized their own fighting groups and villages had war shrines. Only clubs, stones, and blunt weapons could be used in fights within confederacies, whereas spears, slings and arrows were used in fights between confederacies. Headhunting was a means to gain prestige. Severed heads were put in a bag and carried home to great rejoicing and feasting, followed by a rite of purification. Heads were buried in the mud and later uncovered and stored in a skull hut presided over by the village priest. The Hausa and Fulani raided the Katab for slaves.
At present about 84% of the Atyap people practice Christianity.
The Atyap traditional religion was known as the Abwoi . The Abwoi cult includes elaborate initiation ceremonies, and belief in the continued presence of deceased ancestors. It was, and is still, secretive in some places, with incentives for spies who reported saboteurs and death penalties for revelation of secrets. For six months of the year, women were restricted in their dress and travel. After this, there was a celebration and loosening of restrictions. The Abwoi cult was and is still common among other Nienzit (Nerzit) groups.
British administration of Atyap and other non-Muslim, non-Hausa peoples could not help but have an effect on them. Their religion was non-Islamic and a belief in sorcery was part of it.
Being under the control of the Zaria emirate (beginning from the onset of the British administration in the area in 1902), the Atyap were supposed to be outside of the range of missionary activity. Since missionaries were disapproved of by both the ruling Hausa-Fulani and the colonial authorities, their message was all the more welcome to the Atyap, to whom Christianity was unfettered by association with political structures they considered oppressive. Due to the resentment of Atyap people to Hausa and their Islamic religion, Christian Missionaries found fertile group and had opportunity to propagate the gospel. This worsen the relationship between the two. Today very few Atyap people belong to Islam.
In general, all Katab peoples shared beliefs and practices, including the belief in a creator god (Gwaza), ancestral spirits (obwai), nature spirits, and witchcraft. Common ritual practices included headhunting cults, and ci rites that organized the seasonal round of farming and hunting activities. A stark difference is that the Kagoro did not believe in ancestral spirits, or an afterlife.
Each clan has its emblem and taboos. For example, the Aku clan had the nickname "flying ants" and could not burn the wood of the male shea tree. The Agbat clan respected and swore oaths to the crocodile that, according to myth, helped fleeing Agbat ford an impassable stream. The Shokwa clan respected a lizard called tatong, that originally appeared to a lone Shokwa and promised him many offspring, which came to pass. The Aswen sub-clan of the Minyam clan respected a single tree called "the husband of Aswen," under which they held rituals.
Living or dead, the father is considered one’s protector, imbued with magical powers. When things go wrong, one consults his father for words of comfort and assurance. After a father’s death, one visits his gravesite to pray and make offerings to his spirit. He may bring his whole family as well as male relatives and the relatives of his wife to the gravesite to offer beer, benniseed and chicken, afterwards returning home for a feast. Women petitioned ancestral spirits through their male relatives.
Each lineage had a lineage priest. The lineage priest of the largest lineage in a village or community was the chief priest, and presided over the village ancestral shrine and cult. Each lineage also had a rain-maker who presided over rites involving sacred objects and prayers to the creator god Gwaza for rain.
Three religious complexes—obwai rituals, ci festivals, and headhunting cults—were not shared equally by all Katab groups. The obwai cult was a male-only cult that, according to anthropologists, was used by men primarily to frighten and control women. The cult involved the use of masks and noisemakers, such as bullroarers, whistles, gourds, drums and rattles. Boys were initiated into the cult at a young age, the timing of which varied between tribes. The obwai were also the center of the ci festivals that took place at various times of the year, with the main festival occurring at the first planting before the first rains.
In the past, Katab tribes marked their foreheads and cheeks with distinctive tattoos. The anterior area of women’s bodies was also marked. The Katab played a variety of musical instruments. Bands performed at festivals that also included dancing and singing.
Illness is attributed to soul loss, or to witchcraft. Smallpox was considered the fate of witches. The Katab use leeches for fevers and inoculate against smallpox. A decayed tooth is split apart and extracted using a red hot arrowhead.
Both men and women are honored by funeral rites. The Katab are buried in bottle-shaped graves and, depending on the tribe, the grave is sealed by a large stone, logs, or mud, and covered with the excavated soil to create a mound. Interment occurs within a day of the death. A widow will mourn by growing her hair and smearing herself with ochre for a period of two months, after which she is shaved bald and washed clean in the river. Secondary burials occur several years later. Some tribes believe in reincarnation. Witches were buried in the bush in open graves without ceremony.
Most Katab believe in life after death; the Kagoro are an exception. Souls can turn into ghosts or are re-born into a descendant. Ghosts inhabit sacred groves where they are propitiated and consulted. Souls of dead enemies or game animals must we warded off with purification rites.
One feature of the Atyap proper (a sub-group in the larger Atyap/Nienzit also spelt Nenzit/Netzit ethnolinguistic group) is the manner in which responsibilities are shared among its four clans, some of which has sub-clans and sub-responsibilities. The possession of totems, taboos and emblems which come in form of designs, structures and animals is another important aspect in the history and tradition of the Atyap people. According to oral tradition, all the four clans of the Atyap people have different emblems, totems and taboos and they vary from clan to clan and from sub-clan to sub-clan. This is considered as a common practice among the people because they most of the time used these emblems as a way of identification. Apart from the emblems and totems, some clans have certain animals or plants which they also consider as taboos and in some cases also used them for rituals. Oral tradition further has it that such animals are usually reverend in the area till date.
The exogamous belief within the clans that members of a clan had a common descent through one ancestor, prevented inter-marriages between members of the same clan. Inter-clan and inter-state marriage was encouraged.
Not much is known about this clan but it has 2 sub-clans:
Cows are considered as the Minyam's totem but the people have mystified a cow by seeing it as a hare with its ear as horns. These “horns” of the hare are locally called A̱ta̱m a̱swom and the Minyam clan members have high respect for them because they always touch the “horns” and swear by them when an offence is committed. Once the accused person swears, then nothing will be said or done again but to just wait for the outcome.
It has 3 sub-clans:
They had primacy in both cavalry and archery warfare, handled the army. The Agbaat clan, especially the Jei sub-clan, was considered the best warriors both in Cavalry and archery warfare. Agbaat clan leader therefore became the commander-in-chief of the Atyap army. The post of "A̱tyutalyen", a military public relations officer who announced the commencement and termination of each war, was held by a member of the Agbaat clan The totem for the Agbaat clan is the large crocodile called Tsang. Oral tradition has it that the Agbaat consider the Tsang as their ‘friend’ and ‘brother’ and the relationship is also said to have developed when the Atyap people were fleeing from their enemies. As they moved, they got to a very big river which they could not cross and suddenly crocodiles appeared and formed a bridge for them to cross. When the other clans tried to cross by the same means, the crocodile swam away. This, according to oral tradition, explains why today, it is said that the Agbaat people can play with a crocodile without being harmed and given the respect the Agbaat people have for the crocodile, they bury its dead body when they find it killed anywhere. Similarly, when an Agbaat man accidentally kills a crocodile (Tsang), he must hurriedly run to a forest for some special medicine and ritual. But if the killing is by design, then it is believed that the entire clan will perish.
The Aku clans were the custodians of the paraphernalia of the A̱bwoi and led in the rites for all New initiates and ceremonies. They performed initiation rites for all new initiates. To prepare adherents for initiations, their bodies were smeared with mahogany oil (A̱myia̱ a̱ko) and were forced to take exhaustive exercise before they were ushered into the shrine. They had to swear to keep all secretes related to the Abwoi. Abwoi communicated to the people using a dry shell of bamboo having two open ends. One end was covered with spider's web while t he other end was blown. It produced a mysterious sound interpreted to the people as the voice of a deceased ancestor. This human manipulation enabled the male elders of the society to control the behaviour and conscience of society. Abwoi leaves (Na̱nsham) a species of shea, were placed on farms and housetops to scare away thieves since the Abwoi were believed to be omnipresent and omniscient. Abwoi was thus, a unifying religious belief among the Atyap that wedded immense powers in a society whose secrets were kept through a web of spies and informants who reports the activities of saboteurs. Any revelation of Abwoi secrets could be meted with capital punishment. Women were also implored to keep society secrets, particularly, those related to way. To ensure that war secrets did not leak to the opponents, women were made to wear tswa a̱ywan (woven raffia ropes) for 6 months in a year. During this period, they were to refrain from gossips, “foreign” travel and late cooking. At the end of the period, it was marked by Song-A̱yet (or Swong A̱yet), celebrated in April, when women were free to wear fashionable dresses. These fashionable dresses included the A̱ta̱yep made of strips of leader and decorated with cowrie shells. The A̱yiyep, another version of this, had dyed ropes of raffia sewn together into loin cloth. Women also wore the Gyep ywan (lumber ornament) for the Song-A̱yet ceremony. It was woven from palm fibre into a thick made in the shape of a truncated cone or mushroom. It was tied round the waist using a projection from a cord. For men, the muzurwa was the major dress, which was made of tanned leather and properly oiled. The rich in society had the edges of this dress adorned with beads and cowries. The dress was tied round the waist with the aid of gindi (leather strap). By the late 18th century, a pair of short knickers called Dinari, made of cloth, became part of the men's attire. Men also had their hair plaited and at times decorated with cowrie shells. They wore raffia caps (A̱ka̱ta) decorated with dyed wool and ostrich feathers. Their bodies were painted with white chalk (A̱bwan) and red ochre (tswuo)
For the Aku clan, oral tradition has it that their emblem or totem is the ‘Male’ shea Tree (locally called Na̱nsham). The people's belief about this tree was that the tree can be felled, but its wood is not to be used for making fire for cooking. It is believed that if an Aku man eats food cooked with Na̱nsham wood his body would develop sores. Also, if a bunch of Na̱nsham leaves was placed at the door of a house, no Aku woman dared entered into such house because it was also considered a serious taboo. Nevertheless, if these inevetently happen, Dauke (2004) explained that certain rituals would be performed to cleanse the victims from such curses otherwise they would die.
The A̱shokwa clan were in-charge of rainmaking and flood control rites. It also has no sub-clans. The A̱shokwa for example, were in-charge of rites associated with rainmaking and control of floods. During dry spells in the rainy season, the A̱shokwa clan leader, the chief priest and Rainmaker had to perform rites for rainmaking. When rainfall was too high resulting in floods and destruction of houses and crops, the same officers of the clan were called up to perform rites related to control rain.
According to Achi (1981), the emblem or totem of the A̱shokwa clan was a lizard known as Tatong (ant-eater). According to them, A̱shokwa, the founder of the clan, was trying to lit his house, when suddenly the Tatong (appeared and asked) whom he was and where his relatives were. A̱shokwa told the Tatong that he had no relatives or kindred. The Tatong sympathized with A̱shokwa and assured him that ‘God’ would increase his family. This prophesy later came true, and A̱shokwa ordered all his children to rever the Tatong at all time. Henceforth, tradition also has it that the A̱shokwa clan began to regard the Tatong as a ‘relative’, and if they found its dead body anywhere they would bury it and give it all the respect it deserves, holding funeral for it as they do for their elderly persons.
Oral tradition further confirmed that, should an A̱shokwa man kill a Tatong accidentally, rain would fall, even in the middle of the dry season. This respect shown to the Tatong by the A̱shokwa is shared by most of the Atyap clans, these members of another clan who lived near the A̱shokwa and who accidentally killed a Tatong took its body to the A̱shokwa people for burial. It is claimed that the most binding oath an A̱shokwa can make is by the Tatong and they also do not name their siblings after their emblem animal.
According to Gaje and Daye (Pers. Comm. 2008), the Aku and Ashokwa clans share closer affinity in contradistinction with their relationship with the other clans and sub-clans. Aku and Ashokwa clans have no sub clans probably because they chose not to emphasize the issue of subdivisions amongst themselves. This close relationship is traceable to their early arrival to their present settlement; the Aku and the Ashokwa were said to have arrived their present abode before the other clans and sub-clans. Dauke (2004) further pointed out that the Aku and the Ashokwa were legendarily “discovered” because they were “met” there by the other Atyap people who arrived later.
Several other legendary versions of oral tradition also exist on Atyap history of migration and settlement. First, it is said that after the Agbaat clan came and settled in their new place, one of the sub-clans of the Agbaat went on a hunting expedition and accidentally “came across” the Ashokwa clan along the River Kaduna performing certain religious rites. When the Ashokwa saw the Agbaat coming their way, they fled out of fear and the Agbaat pursued them. When the Agbaat finally caught the Ashokwa, they discovered that they speak the same (Tyap) language and share the same belief and thus accepted them as their brothers. Dauke (2004) also gave another version of the tradition on the “discovery” of the Aku and Ashokwa clans. According to him, the Aku were proverbially said to have “sprung out” from the hoof marks of the Agbaat horsemen as they pursued the Ashokwa. In other words, while the Agbaat were pursuing the Ashokwa, the hooves of their horsemen opened a termite's mound from where the Aku emanated. This explains why the Aku to date bear the nickname of “Bi̠n Cíncai”, which means, “relatives of the termites”. The above traditions and stories of the “discovery” of the Aku and Ashokwa clans, portray the fact that these two clans can likely be reconsidered as those representing the earlier migrants who first came and occupied the present Atyap land. However, oral tradition also has it that all the four clans and sub-clans of the Atyap people are presently found in their large number in many villages within the Atyap Chiefdom largely due to population increase and the need to stay closer to farmlands. They also inter-mingle with one another within most of the villages in Atyap land where the Akpaisa, the Jei and the Akwak (Kakwak) sub-clans of the Agbaat clan are found, including the Minyam villages.
Before the coming of the British in the area in 1902, the Atyap cultural practices included various annual and seasonal ceremonies and indeed, headhunting was part of those practices which was later outlawed by the colonial government. Here is an account by Achi et al. (2019) on one of those ceremonies:
"Achievers in every chosen vocation were given titles and walking sticks with bells tied to the sticks. The bells jingled as their owners walked to announce the arrival of an achiever. At death, such achiever was given a befitting burial with prolonged drumming and feasting. Hence, the A̠nak festival (annual mourning for the departed souls of achievers) as a way of recognising the positive contributions of the deceased to the development of society. Because of the belief that too much mourning could make the deceased uncomfortable in his new life, the ceremony took the form of feasting, dancing and recounting the heroic deeds of the deceased. If it was a male achiever that died, the A̠nak festival had to be preceded by a hunting expedition on horses. This was a hunt for a big animal as a symbol of the immerse contributions of the deceased. For the A̠gbaat, zwuom (elephant) was usually the target. Demonstrations involving strong youths on horsebacks with weighted pestles, were held before the actual hunting expedition. These moved at top speed and attempted breaking a standing wall with the pestle. For the A̠ku and Shokwa clans, their A̠nak festival is called Song Á̠swa (Dance of the achievers) where only married men and women of the clan were involved.
During the A̠nak festival, all relatives of the deceased in the whole clan had to be invited. All females of the clan married outside the clan had to come with grains and goats accompanied by horn blowers. This contribution by all female relatives is called "kpa̠t dudung". Since the festival involved all females of the clan married outside, it therefore involved all neighbouring states who took Atyap daughters as wives. This is why all neighbouring states and groups including Hausa and Fulani living in and around Atyap land attended such festival.
If the deceased was a hunter and warrior, the skulls of human and animal victims killed by him were placed on the grave. The Atyap could behead a Bajju victim. Hausa and Fulani were also liable to such treatment in battle. The Atyap were not alone it this practice. The Agworok could behead Bajju and Atakat (Attakad) victims and not the Atyap. The skulls of such victims were displayed at the death of the achiever.
It is the practice of displaying some of the achievements of the deceased that encouraged the practice of beheading war victims as a very tangible proof of victory in battle. The circumstances in which the head was acquired was also noted. Those who during a face to face battle were able to kill and remove the heads of their opponents were awarded the title of Yakyang (victor). Those who were able to pursue, overtake and destroy the opponent received the title of Nwalyak (War genius). Specialists were appointed from specific families for treating the heads of victims. These included Hyaniet (killer of people) and Lyekhwot (drier). Hyaniet removed the contents from fresh heads of victims, noting each skull and its owner. Lyekhwot dried these through smoking. This does not mean that the Atyap and their neighbours indiscriminately waged wars in order to hunt for human heads as presented by British colonial officers. It is also not a sign of permanent hostility between the Atyap and those polities or groups against whom they went to war. Even when issues leading to war were fundamental, these did not destroy the possibility of peaceful inter-group relations as seen in the alliances of protection between the Atyap and Bajju, Agworok, Asholyio, Akoro, and Ham. Such alliances often resulted to the establishment of joking relationships as a way of dissipating hostility between the polities. Beheading war victims was therefore a way of encouraging individuals in their chosen vocations. The A̠nak festival indicates the sanctity of life as practiced by the Atyap. This respect for human life was also shown in the type of punishment meted to those who treated human beings with levity. Any act of murder led to banishment of the murderer to Zali (Malagum) where such criminals took refuge, if the convict was spared from capital punishment. If any member killed another, the offender was handed over to the offended family to deal with according to tradition. Here, compensation for an injury was expected to be commensurate with the injury. If the offender was however forgiven, he was not accepted into society until he had performed rituals for cleansing by the spirits of the ancestors. This implies vigorous diplomatic relationships that were healthy among the Atyap and their neighbours."
One interesting thing among the A̱tyap, though also a common phenomenon among other neighbouring ethnic groups is how marriage was being contracted. The A̱tyap, like other African cultural groups (see Molnos 1973; Bygrunhanga-Akiiki 1977; Robey et al. 1993), strongly believe that marriage was established by A̱gwaza (God) and the fullness of an Atyap womanhood lies, first, in a woman having a husband of her own. A Protestant clergyman of the largest denomination ECWA explained that the unmarried are considered to be, "á̱niet ba ba̱ yet á̱kukum a̱ni" (people who are only 50.0 per cent complete), who become 100.0 per cent human beings only after marriage.
There are a number of narratives as to how marriages were conducted in the pre-colonial times in Atyapland. But of note, Meek (1931) accounted that there were basically of two types: Primary and Secondary marriages.
1. Primary Marriage:
Ninyio (2008) has it that a girl, in this category may be betrothed to a male child or adult at birth, through the girl's uncle or a male paternal cousin. The engagement between the girl and her husband-to-be was officially done when the girl is seven years old.
Gunn (1956) reported that payment and or service are as follows: 'Four fowls for the girl's father (or cash in lieu of service), 2000 cowries or heir equivalent to the girl's father, who keeps relatives, that is brothers and paternal cousins. In addition, presumably at the time of the actual wedding, 20,000 cowries was given to the father (who keeps two-thirds for his use and distributes the balance among his relatives). Finally, before the final rites, a goat to the girl's mother, three fowls to the father and 100 cowries to her maternal grandfather. However, this study discovers that the number of cowries did not exceed 1000. When these are completed, a date is then set by the girl's father for the wedding, which takes the form of capture. Here, the close associates [of the boy] sets an ambush for the girl, seize and leave her in the hut of one of the man's relatives, where the bride stays for three days and nights. On the fourth day, the marriage is consummated in the hut. Primary marriages always take place during the dry season, mostly after harvest.
In a situation where a girl is pregnant at her paternal house before marriage an arrangement was made for an emergency marriage. Unwanted pregnancy was rare and unusual. Meek (1931) reported that pre-marital intercourse is said to be unusual be sure lineages (and clans) are localised."
The Primary marriage had two prominent features: Nyeang A̠lala and Khap Ndi or Khap Niat.
Nyeang A̱lala (Marriage by Necklace):
From an oral account, "At the announcement of the birth of a baby girl within the neighbourhood, parents of a young boy who is yet to be booked down a wife would come and put a necklace or a ring on the infant girl with the consent of her parents, signifying that she has been betrothed (engaged) to their son, and the dowry is paid immediately. At the turn of adolescence, the girl is then taken to her husband's house to complete the marriage process, and this is normally accompanied by a feast".
In Ninyio (2008), the account states, "When a new child is born (female) the suitor represented by an elder (either male or female) [who] interestingly admires the new born female child, states intention of marriage to his or her son and subsequently ties a string round the hand of the baby. This indicates that she ([the] baby girl) is engaged. This stands till marriage day."
However, Achi (2019) accounts thus, "A girl at birth was betrothed to a boy of four years old. To ensure that the girl remained his, he had to send a necklace. Later he had to send four chickens, tobacco and a mat."
Khap Ndi (Farming Dowry) or Khap Niat (In-lawship Farming):
In continuation, Achi et al. (2019) narrates, "When he had attained the age of ten years, he had to start providing the compulsory farm labour to his father-in-law. The compulsory farm labour lasted for at least two months each year for nine years.
But for the Agworok, Atakat (Attakad) and Fantswam, it was not more than one rainy season, though suitors were liable to providing another labour termed Khap A̠kan (Beer farming). This extra farming for grains for the beer that the in-laws needed in a year when festivals like Song A̠yet, Song A̠swa and Song A̠nak were celebrated.
The farm labour and the gifts occasionally sent by the suitor were not all that was required of him. In each dry season, he had to send twelve bundles of grass to the father-in-law. After completing all the necessary requirements, the marriage date was fixed.
Age mates of the suitor would waylay the bride either in the marketplace, farm or river and whisk her away to the groom's house.
Those who did not undertake this compulsory farm labour for their father-in-law were derided and were not allowed to marry among the Atyap [proper]. They could however marry a divorcee on whom this compulsory labour was not necessary. Such men were given the same labour in their old age even if they had marriageable daughters.
Another benefit of participating in this task was that one could become a member of council both at the village and clan levels. From this point he could then seek to obtain a title in his chosen vocation. Thus, the direct producers (suitors) depended on the elders of society to control labour and choose wives for them."
2. Secondary Marriage:
Ninyio (2008) reports, "In this type of marriage, husband was not allowed to marry a member of the same clan, a close relation of his mother (that is presumably, a member of his mother's lineage), a member of a primary wife's parental household, the wife of a member of his kindred, it the wife of a fellow villager. These regulations applied to all the clans and sub-clans if Atyap within and on diaspora. Any violation attracts severe punishment. Meek (1931) however reported that members of Minyam and Agbaat clans are enjoyed to seek their secondary wives among the wives of fellow clansmen, and take their secondary wives from the men of Minyam and Agbaat.
Bride price in this category costed about 15 pounds and a goat. With regards to inheritance of widows, Sanga̠niet Kambai (an interviewee of Ninyio's) accounts that he inherited and adopted his junior brother's wife when the latter died. This corroborated colonial report that '[should] secondary official marriage occur: a man may inherit widows of his grandfather, father and brother, but only when these are young women and do not have adult lineal [[descendant] with whom they can live. A woman may choose apparently, whether she will be inherited by her [late] husband's son or grandson.'
The first wife of the family is considered the senior among the wives. The most senior wife in the household depends on who among the male members marry first. A junior son may marry before the senior, in respect accorded to a mother. In a polygamous household, the husband spends two nights consecutively with each of his wives in his room. The woman in whom he spends the night with is responsible for cooking the food to be consumed by all family members, from a central cooking pot. After the food is cooked, men were served with theirs in their rooms. Husbands and wives, men and women whether married or not do not eat their food together, because this was separately done."
After the formation of the A̱tyap chiefdom in 1996, the A̱tyap people were ruled by a succession of three monarchs who have come to be known as A̱gwatyap, with the palace situated at A̱tak Njei in Zangon Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna state, Nigeria.
Etymology of the A̱tyap Kingship Title
The word is derived from these two Tyap words a̱gwam, meaning chief/king and 'A̱tyap,' after the Atyap people, and literally means 'the chief/king of the Atyap).
The names of these rulers who reigned from 1996 till date are as follows:
There are no written records, but there is evidence that the Atyap were early settlers in the Zangon-Kataf region, as were the Hausa. Both groups were in the area by at least the 1750s, possibly much longer, and both groups claim to have been the first settlers. Atyap nationalism grew in the 19th century as Fulani jihadists tried to extend their control in this and other parts of central Nigeria. When the British conquered the north of Nigeria in 1903, they followed a system of indirect rule. The British gave the emir of Zaria increased powers over the Atyab through the village heads that he appointed, and causing increasing resentment.
Christian missionaries found fertile ground with the Atyap, who had rejected the Moslem religion. This served to increase tensions between the Atyap and the Hausa.
However, one has to be very careful when referring to religious conflicts in Nigeria, as it is not all Atyap people that are Christians, similarly, not all Hausa people are Muslims. Oftentimes, historians make more emphasis on religious factor other than other basic factors like land for example.
The Atyap also resented loss of land, considering that they had originally owned all of the Zangon-Kataf territory and had been illegally dispossessed by Hausa intruders. After independence in 1960, General Yakubu Gowon (1966–1975) introduced reforms, letting the Atyap appoint their own village district heads, but the appointees were subject to approval by the emir, and were therefore often seen as puppets.
In 1922 the emir acquired a stretch of land in Zango town, the capital, with no compensation. In 1966 the emir gave the land, now used as a market, to the Hausa community. The Atyap complained that the Hausa traders treated them as slaves in this market. Tensions steadily increased, flaring up in February 1992 over a proposal to move the market to a new site, away from land that had been transferred to the Hausas. The proposal by the first Atyap head of the LGA was favored by the Atyap who could trade beer and pork on the neutral site and opposed by the Hausa, who feared loss of trading privileges. Over 60 people were killed in the February clashes. Further violence broke out in Zango on May 15/16, with 400 people killed and most buildings destroyed. When the news reached Kaduna, rampaging Hausa youths killed many Christians of all ethnic groups in retaliation.
In the aftermath, many Hausa fled the area, although some returned later, having no other home. A tribunal set up by the Babangida military government sentenced 17 people to death for alleged complicity in the killings, including a former military governor of Rivers State, Major-General Zamani Lekwot, an Atyap. The sentences were eventually reduced to gaol terms. It was said that Lekwot's arrest was due to his feud with Ibrahim Babangida, then Head of State. No Hausa were charged. Continued tension and outbreaks of violence were reported as late as 2006.
An Atyap chiefdom was created in 1996 following the recommendation of a committee headed by Air Vice Marshal Usman Mu'azu that investigated the cause of the uprising. The chiefdom was upgraded to first class in 2007. In 2010 the president of Atyap Community Development Association said that since the chiefdom was established there had been only a few occasions when it was necessary to intervene to resolve misunderstandings.
For some time, the Atyap had been increasingly speaking Hausa, the primary (i.e. major) language of the region. However, after the violent clashes in 1992 there has been a strong trend back to use of Tyap.
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