| Group: | Afizere |
| Population: | Over 500,000 (2012)[1] |
| Popplace: | Nigeria |
| Languages: | Izere, Nigerian English |
| Religions: | African religions, Christianity, Islam |
| Related: | Irigwe, Atyap, Bajju, Berom, Jukun, and other Platoid peoples of the Middle Belt of Nigeria, Yoruba, Igbo |
The Afizere people (Other: Afizarek, exonym: Jarawa) are an ethnic group that occupy Jos East, Jos North, parts of Jos South and Mangu Local Government Areas of Plateau State and parts of Toro and Tafawa Balewa Local Government Areas of Bauchi State, Nigeria. The Afizere are speakers of Izere language.[2] The neighbors of the Afizere to the north are the Hausa and Jarawan Dass. To the east and southeast are the Zari, Zaar and Pyem. To the south and southwest are the Berom while the Irigwe and Bache (or Rukuba) lie to the west. On to the northwest of the Afizere are found a number of ethnic groups the closest of which are the Anaguta, Bujel, Ribina, Kayauri and Duguza while the more distant ones include Buji, Gusu, Sanga, Jere, Amoa, and Lemoro.[3]
The Afizere previously settled in the Chawai region of southern Kaduna State and as time passed different Afizere groups moved southwards.[4] The first group from Southern Kaduna settled at the foot of the hills called Gwash close to the current location of the Jos Museum and others settled at the foot of Shere Hills in the Jos Plateau.[4] Different Afizere clans soon settled southwards of Chawai lands. Currently there are more than 500,000 Afizere people[5] distributed over 16 major traditional districts who inhabit territories within Jos North, Jos East, Mangu, in Plateau State and Tafawa-Balewa and Toro Local Government Areas in Bauchi State. During the pre-colonial period, the people lived in hilly terrains surrounding the Jos Plateau as a defense mechanism against jihadist attacks during and after the Fulani Jihad. Some Afizere towns and villages include Dong, Tudun Wada (Gyese), Kabong, Jos Jarawa, Rikkos, Fudawa, Kwanga, Fobur, Angware, Maijuju, Fusa, and Gwafan (Lamingo), Shere, Zandi, etc.
Izere towns have a traditional and gerontocratic[6] chieftaincy system that is headed by an Agwom[7] and supported by five districts heads representing the five royal families of the Afizere: Fobur, Forsum, Maigemu, Shere, and Federe. In Afizere land, a district could be a combination of 6 to 12 villages. Historically, the Agwom was also the chief priest of the people
A traditional dance called Asharuwa is one of the cultural heritage the Afizere have maintained over the years. The asharwa dance group represented Nigeria in countries like United States, UK, Canada, Germany, South Africa, Ukraine, and Kenya.
See main article: Izere language. The language of the people is called Izere and it is spoken in five different dialects. The dialects are Ibor spoken largely in the Fobur district, Isum spoken in Forsum villages, Iganang spoken in Shere, Ifudere spoken in Federe and Ikyo.[5] Izere is considered to be part of the Benue-Congo language group that is prominent in Central Nigeria.
Kings wear kukpra and have their hair barbed, with the hair like a row in the middle of their heads and step by step horizontal cuts all throughout, signifying the crown. They have a ceremonial staff called an akbong with one strand. Priests wear the same clothes as the king, but what differentiates them is the king's haircut and his staff, as the priest's akbong has two strands.
Men wear itak round their waists. Women wear akpi made from atufa or agindo, covering their chest and going around their waists.
Kurus are used to keep babies tight on the back of their mothers and it is water resistant.
For brides and grooms, the same clothing they would normally wear is used, but it is freshly made.
Christianity and Islam are the two major religions among the Afizere, but some Afizere still choose to adhere to their traditional beliefs. In traditional Afizere religion, there is a supreme deity called Adakunom, meaning father of the sun, who is considered the creator and source of life and health. A few minor gods exist to act as mediators to Adakunom. Father of the sun is the literal translation of Adakunom, but it can be translated as "father, the sun" or "mighty sun" (the almighty sun).[5] Then there are the spirits or witches who are the source of both good and evil.
Christianity came to Afizere land by the way of Sudan Interior Mission preachers[5] who converted some Afizere individuals who later acted as agents of dispersion of the religion. Islam came to the region after the Fulani jihad when part of Afizere territory came under the authority of the Emir of Bauchi
The Izere people like many other tribes or ethnic groups have unique names given to children at birth. A child could be named in accordance to a situation or circumstance leading to his/her birth. Some traditional Izere names and meaning are:
With the coming of Christianity, some persons within the Izere circle suggested names that with biblical inclination. Some of this names and their meaning include:
It is not just Asharwa dance that we have in Izere, below is a list of dances we also performed.
1. The Asharwa dance - predominantly performed by young Afizere boys and men in all occasions.
2. Amata dance - predominantly performed by Afizere women both young and old in all occasions
3. Agba dance - predominantly performed by men both young and old during royal outing, coronations or royal ceremonies.
4. Agafu dance - is predominantly performed by Afizere men in all occasions
5. Asurbe dance - this is performed by all categories of Afizere during funeral rite of an elderly person only.
6. Natoo abarshi/ikap/ isun dance - this is performed mostly during farming/ harvest by predominantly Afizere men
7. Apanga dance - is a dance performed by only the royalties, during ceremonies/ coronation.
8. Natoo rekuron - this kind of dance is predominantly performed by Afizere young and elderly women only during farming activities.
9. Beating of drums and singing on the farm, with the asum - mata leading
The Afizere people have different foods and mode of preparation that distinguishes them from other ethnic groups. A few are: