Jju people

The Jju people, or Ba̠jju (exonyms: Kajje; A̱jhyuo, 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. 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.