Atyap
The Atyap are an ethnic group found majorly in Zangon-Kataf, Kaura and Jema'a Local Government Areas of southern Kaduna State and Riyom of Plateau State, Nigeria. They speak the Tyap language, one of the Central Plateau languages.
Archeoloɡical material evidence
The Atyap occupy part of the Nok cultural complex in the upper Kaduna River valley, famous for its terra-cotta figurines. Several iron smeltinɡ 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: A̱yit Mapama) on the banks of the Sancinyiriyan stream and banks of Chen Fwuam at Atabad Atanyeanɡ (Tyap: A̱ta̱bat A̱ta̱nyeang) the slaɡ and tuyeres remains were particularly abundant in hiɡh heaps. This cateɡory of information is complemented by shallow caves and the rock shelter at Bakunkunɡ Afanɡ (9°55'N, 8°10'E) and Tswoɡ 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.
Linguistic evidence
Achi (2005) states that the Atyap speak a language in the Kwa group of the Benue-Congo language family. Furthermore, according to Achi et al. (2019), the Kataf Group (an old classification) to which Tyap language belongs, is a member of the eastern Plateau. He went further to suggest that by using a glotochronological time scales established for Yoruba and Edo languages and their neighbours, the separation of the Kataf Group into distinguishable dialects and dialect clusters would require thousands of years. Also mentioned was that, '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', noting that this indicates that 'even within dialect clusters, a period of up to 2,000 years was needed to create clearly identifiable dialect separation and that it is thus a slow process of steady population growth and expansion and cultural differentiation over thousands of years'.
Other evidence
The Atyap call themselves 'Atyap' and are so known and addressed by their immediate neighbouring groups like Asholyio (or Morwa), Agworok (or Kagoro), Atyecarak (or Kachechere), Atakat (or Attaka, Attakar), Ham (or Jaba), Gwong (or Kagoma), Adara (or Kadara), Akoro (or Koro), Bajju (or Kaje), Anghan (or Kamantan), Fantswam (or Kafanchan), Afo, Afizere, Atsam (or Chawai) and Rukuba, together with the Atyap, form part of the Eastern Plateau group of languages of the Benue-Congo language family. But who are the Atyap and what is their origin? The problem of identifying the original homelands of Nigerian people has been a difficult one to solve. Apart from the existence of a variety of versions of the tradition of origin which contradict one another, there has been the tendency by many groups to claim areas outside Africa as their centres of origin. This is true of the Atyap to an extent. Movements were undertaken under clan leaders and in small parties at night to avoid detection.
The Atyap sub-groups consists of a group of seven or eight ethnic groups namely: Agworog, Asholyio, Atyap proper, Atyecharak, Atyuku, Fantswam and Takad. The Bajju are considered as a part of this group due to their cultural and linguistic similarities, although each of these groups consider itself independent of the Atyap ethnic identity. In terms of clans, each of the subgroups has its clans and subclans. The Agworog have two main clans: Ankwai and Kpashang. The Asholyio have four: Neabwaat, Nelutswe, Neswe and Nezam. The Atyap proper have four main clans: Agbaat, Aminyam, Aku and Ashokwa. The Fantswam have six: Manyii, Takau, Takum, Zakhwo, Zibyin and Zikpak.
The itinerant traders of Zangon Kataf in the 1830s began regarding themselves as subjects of the Emir of Zaria, again refusing to pay tribute to the Atyap instead, began showing signs of independence from the Atyap which by the 1840s reached its climax. It was then that the Atyap were conferred the dhimmi status as a non-Muslim group in which they were expected to pay the protection fee (jizya) to the Emir of Zaria to avoid jihadist attack, which also included an annual donation of 15 slaves, 20 raffia mats, some kegs of honey and bundles of raffia fronds to be collected from each clan by their princes (or Hausa: magajis). The jekada appointed by Zaria, then collect these items and transport them to the Emir on Zaria. The Atyap however, did not feel obliged to pay for these tributes because they felt it was only applicable to non-Muslims living in a Muslim state and being that they were in their own state, refused paying. Some of the jekadas from Zaria were usually attacked and killed by the Atyap and the Hausa traders and their cattle sometimes faced similar threats. The captives realised were sold into slavery to the Irigwe middlemen in particular and others with political status held ransom from Zaria.
Prehistoric era
It has already been established earlier that the Atyap occupy a part of the Nok culture area, whose civilization spanned c. 1500 BC to c. 500 AD, with many archeological discoveries found scattered within and around Atyap land.
Barter trade era – 18th century
Long before the introduction of currencies into the area, the Atyap people practiced barter trade up until the mid-18th century when the Hausa traders began passing across Atyap land, importing swords, bangles and necklaces and the Zangon Katab market developed (a few miles from the Atyap traditional ground or capital at A̱tyekum – the area known to the Atyap as Maba̱ta̱do also spelt Mabarado was located around Atyekum, and it used to be a meeting place where the Atyap elders gathered to make deliberations concerning their land and people; the Hausa settlement, the Zango, and its population were and are still called "Á̱nietcen" i.e. "visitors" because that is what the Hausas remain to the Atyap. In otherwords, the Zango was developed in an area known as "Mabatado" to the Atyap, hence, the Hausa word for that area, "Mabaradawa"). Before then, people took iron ore to blacksmiths to form them the tools they wanted and paid him in grains or meat. After the coming of the Hausa, local blacksmiths began copying the products brought in by them.
Resumption of trade
Another agreement was entered into by the Atyap and the Hausa traders in the early 19th century and trading again resumed and Atyapland prospered to the level that every house was said to have had livestock including horses.
Early jihad days
Following the attacks of those who varied from the ideals of the jihadist groups in Kano, Zaria and Bauchi, some migrated to Zangon Katab and were accompanied by even those who bore the jihadist flags in Hausaland who sought to acquire wealth through their new cause, same waged wars of expansion on settlements all over. The Amala, Arumaruma and others around Kauru, Lere and Ajure (Kajuru) by 1820 were subdued as vassals of Zaria and those settlements served as attack launching centres for Emirate campaigns against the Atyap and their neighbours.
Richard Lander's visit
In 1827, Richard Lander in his first expedition with his master, Captain Hugh Clapperton, who died in Sokoto earlier, on his return chose to pass through another route which led him to becoming the first European to visit and describe the important town of Zangon Katab (which he spelt "Cuttub") and its people, the Atyap.[citation needed] From Sokoto, he travelled down along with William Pascoe, a Hausa man who served as his interpreter, to Kano but again chose to travel south to Panda (spelt "Funda") on the Benue River instead, so as to get to the Bight of Benin to return to England because he had little money left. On his journey, he heard of several tales concerning a great and populous town, known for the importance of its market. As put by Philips in Achi et al. (2019): on his arrival, he met a town with almost 500 "small and nearly contiguous villages" situated in a "vast and beautiful plain," quite far from the south where plantain, palm and coconut trees grew in abundance and quite far from the north where Fulani cattle were found in abundance. Although, quite disappointed because the compact urban settlement like Kano he hoped to meet was not what he saw, however, he expressed his impression as thus: "all bore an air of peace, loveliness, simplicity and comfort, that delighted and charmed me."
A̱nak festival and headhunting
Before the coming of the British in the area in 1903, 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 A̱nak 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 A̱nak 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 A̱gbaat, zwuom (elephant) was usually the tarɡet. Demonstrations involvinɡ stronɡ youths on horsebacks with weiɡhted pestles, were held before the actual huntinɡ expedition. These moved at top speed and attempted breakinɡ a standinɡ wall with the pestle. For the A̱ku and Ashokwa clans, their A̱nak festival is called Sonɡ Á̱swa (Dance of the achievers) where only married men and women of the clan were involved.
Hunting
During the dry season after crop harvest, men go hunting for animals in the wild between December and March annually, embarking on expeditions to Surubu (Avori) and Karge hills to the north and to the Atsam and Rukuba (Bace) territories on the Jos Plateau encarpment, east of Atyap land. These hunts can last a month or more. The hunt is usually initiated by the a̱gwak a̱kat (chief hunter) who leads the group which usually included kin Bajju, Asholyio and Atsam people to the hunting ground chosen. The traditional medicine man (Tyap: a̱la̱n a̱wum; Jju: ga̱do) then applies poisons to the arrows to be used – which were of differing sizes, and traps were also used. One gets referred to as a "successful hunter" when such a one kills an elephant (zwuom) and extracts its tusks, or kills and removes the head of a giraffe (a̱lakumi a̱yit), reindeer, buffalo (zat) or antelope (a̱lywei), the head being used for societal display. Portions of the meat obtained from the hunt are usually shared to deserving elders, achievers, chief blacksmith and medicine man (a̱la̱n a̱wum).
Marriage
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.
Relationship between fertility and religion
Avong (1999:7) researched and discovered that the fertility rate among the non-Protestant church women, such as the Roman Catholics was quite higher on average, than that of the ECWA women, pointing out that it is an indication that doctrines and belief system in religious institutions like play a major role in the fertility rates of the Atyap woman.
Distribution
Skoggard (2014) gave the area of spread of the Atyap (Katab) people in Nigeria to include: Niger, Nasarawa, Kaduna states and the FCT.
Population
By way of the 1963 Nigerian population census, the Atyap within Abyin Atyap were put at 46,165 (excluding the Hausa population of 2,736 resident in Zango town), out of a total of 125,303 counted for the defunct Zangon Kataf District. Using the 1963 census figures to project the population figures for 1991, an adaptation from the Kaduna State Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning shows, with a constant rate of 2.5% per annum, an Atyap population of 250,167. Avong (2000:67) accounted that the population is unknown, however, it was estimated that about a half of the 145,000 people officially registered for Zangon Kataf Local Government Area in the 1991 census, were Atyap.
Religion
The Atyap traditional religion is 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 Nenzit (Nerzit) groups but with fewer adherence. 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. Being under the control of the Zaria emirate (beginning from the onset of the British administration in the area in 1903), 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 the Hausa and their Islamic religion, Christian missionaries found fertile ground and had opportunity to propagate the gospel. This worsen the relationship between the two. Today very few Atyap people belong to Islam.
Language
The Atyap people speak Tyap, which belongs to Plateau languages
Vegetation
The vegetation type recognizable in the area is the Guinea savanna or savanna woodland type which is dotted or characterized by short and medium size trees, shrubs and perennial mesophytic grasses derived from semi-deciduous forest (Gandu 1985, Jemkur 1991) and the soil type is predominantly sandstones with little gravels. This type of vegetation is usually considered suitable for the habitation of less harmful animals while the soil type is suitable for farming. This perhaps also explains why the dominant occupation of the people is farming. As in most parts of central Niɡeria, the fields in the Atyap area during the rainy season become ɡreen; but as the dry season sets in from October/November, the veɡetation turns yellow and then brown with increasinɡ desiccation.
Agriculture
Agriculture is the main stay of the economy. Farming, fishing and hunting are the occupations of the Atyap people. Sudan savanna vegetation is usually considered suitable for the habitation of less harmful animals while the soil type is suitable for farming. This perhaps also explains why the dominant occupation of the people is farming. They mostly practised shifting cultivation. Apart from cultivation, the farmers of the different Atyab communities engaged in the domestication of animals and birds. Those in the riverine side practiced fishing. Culturally, since time immemorial, the Atyap had been farmers, especially during the rainy season producing food crops like sorghum (swaat), millet (zuk), beans (ji̱njok), yams (cyi), fonio (tson), beniseed (cwan), okra (kusat), finger millet (gbeam), groundnut (shyui), potato (a̱ga̱mwi), etc., with the entire economy heavily dependent on the production of sorghum, used for food and beer, and beniseed, used in several rituals.
Manufacturing
The Atyap also produced farming tools such as the hoe (a̱tyem), axe (a̱khwon), cutlass (a̱da) and sickle (a̱la̱ujhyi).
After the formation of the Atyap Chiefdom in 1995, the A̱tyap people were ruled by a succession of three monarchs who have come to be known as A̱gwatyap, with the palace situated at Atak Njei in Zangon Kataf Local Government Area of southern Kaduna State, Nigeria. As of 2020,[update], the present monarch, Dominic Yahaya, known as Agwatyap III, is a First Class Chief in the state. The Atyap Community Development Association (ACDA) is a sociocultural organization which looks after the interests of the Atyap people.
