The Atsam people ( Tyap: ; Hausa: , ) are found mainly in Kauru Local Government Area of

Kaduna State Kaduna (, جىِهَر كَدُنا; مدينة كدونا; , ; ) is a States of Nigeria, state in the northwest geopolitical zone of Nigeria. The state capital is its namesake, the city of Kaduna (city), Kaduna, which was the List of Nigerian ...

Middle Belt Middle Belt (also spelt Middle-Belt) or Central Nigeria is a term used in human geography to designate a belt region stretching across central Nigeria longitudinally and forming a transition zone between Northern and Southern Nigeria. It is ...

(central)

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. They speak the

Atsam language Atsam ( Tyap: , Hausa: , , ), is a Kainji language of Nigeria. It is spoken by the Atsam people, mainly found in Kauru LGA of Kaduna State and Bassa LGA of Plateau State, Middle Belt Middle Belt (also spelt Middle-Belt) or Central Niger ...

, an East Kainji language. Their headquarters are in the town of Damakasuwa, a few kilometres from Chawai, west of the city of

Jos Jos is a city in the North-Central region of Nigeria. The city has a population of about 900,000 residents based on the 2006 census. Popularly called "J-Town", it is the administrative capital and largest city of Plateau State. The city is situ ...

Demographics

Distribution

Atsam people are native to the Tsam (Chawai) Chiefdom,

Kauru Kauru is a Local Government Areas of Nigeria, Local Government Area in Southern Kaduna, southern Kaduna State, Nigeria. The area is 3,186 km. Its headquarters are in the town of Kauru. The postal code of the area is 811. Boundaries Kauru L ...

LGA LaGuardia Airport ( ) – colloquially known as LaGuardia or simply LGA – is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City, situated on the northwestern shore of Long Island, bordering Flushing Bay. Covering , the facility wa ...

of southern

, and adjoining areas of Bassa,

Plateau State Plateau is a northern states of Nigeria, Nigerian state. It is located in the north-central geopolitical zone of Nigeria and includes a range of hills surrounding the Jos Plateau. Plateau State is described as "The Home of Peace and Tourism". Th ...

. The Chiefdom is located in the southeastern part of Kauru LGA. As of the 2006 Nigerian population census, it was said to have over 80,000 people. It has a land area of 1,125 square kilometres and is bound by the Moroa and Ganawuri Chiefdoms to the south; the Irigwe and Rukuba Chiefdoms (in Bassa LGA of Plateau State) to the east, demarcated by a hilly border; Lere, Piriga and Kumana Chiefdoms to the north; and Atyap Chiefdom to the west.

Religion

The Atsam people practice

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, and the

ethnic religion In religious studies, an ethnic religion or ethnoreligion is a religion or belief associated with notions of heredity and a particular ethnicity. Ethnic religions are often distinguished from universal religions, such as Christianity or Islam ...

which appears to be dying out due to the dominance of the first two.

Language

The Atsam people speak an East-Kainji language bearing the same name, Atsam. Like other languages around the region, it is an endangered language due to the increased speaking of the

Hausa language Hausa (; / ; Hausa Ajami, Ajami: ) is a Chadic language spoken primarily by the Hausa people in the northern parts of Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Benin and Togo, and the southern parts of Niger, and Chad, with significant minorities in Ivory Coas ...

Politics

History

The Atsam people were said to have had a central administrative system or a kingdom before circa 1350 A.D. Between 1902 and 1905, the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

fought to subjugate the Atsam. In 1907, they were brought under the British control. The colonial government placed the Atsam under one of the vassal states they created under the

Zazzau Emirate The Kingdom of Zazzau, also known as the Zaria Emirate, is a Nigerian traditional state, traditional state with headquarters in the city of Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. The current emir of Zazzau is Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli Order of the Federal Republi ...

, the Chawai district. The Atsam were semi-independent and self-appointed their local chief and called him the Sarkin Chawai or Sarkin Kauru. The district was said to be later merged with the

Zangon Kataf Zangon Kataf (, also Katab, Cuttub), is a Local Government Areas of Nigeria, Local Government Area in Southern Kaduna, southern Kaduna State, Nigeria. Its headquarters is in the town of Zonkwa. It is also a name of a town in the Atyap Chiefdom, ch ...

district and regained its independence in 1975. Today, the Atsam people are organized in a political unit called the Tsam (or Chawai) Chiefdom. It was created in 2001 by the Kaduna State government under

Ahmed Makarfi Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi (born 8 August 1956) is a Nigerian politician who is a former chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (Nigeria), Peoples Democratic Party. He was governor of Kaduna State from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2007, and was elected S ...

. Its ruler is called the ''Res-Tsam''. The headquarters of the chiefdom are in Damakasuwa.

Ruling houses

The Tsam Chiefdom initially had two ruling houses: Kingwai and Kiragito/Kuka. The ''Zambina'' clan served as the chairman of the kingmakers, while the ''Maizanko'' and the ''Madaki'' serve as members. It is noteworthy that the Zambina clan was claimed to be the oldest and only ruling house before the British colonial regime. The 15th Res-Tsam, Res Danlami Yahaya (reigned 1975 - April 6, 2014) was from the Kingwai clan/ruling house. In all, the line of rulers of the Atsam people include: # Res Mohammed Jatau (Kingwari/Kargi clan) # Res Mohammed Babari (Kingwari/Kargi clan) # Res Yunusa Maikahon Gada (Karigato/Kuka clan) # Res Bako Yunusa (Kiragato/Kuka clan) # Res Ningardi Babari (Kingwari/Kargi clan) # Res Isa Babari (Kingwari/Kargi clan) # Res Ahmadu Umaru (Kingwari/Kargi clan) # Res Gwaza Isa (Kingwari/Kargi clan) # Res Abdulmumini Ahmadu (Kingwari/Kargi clan) # Res Mohammed Gani Bako (Kiragato/Kuka clan) # Res Mohammed Sani Ahmadu (Kingwari/Kargi) # Res Umaru Bako (Kiragato/Kuka) # Res Abdujikan Bako (Kiragato/Kuka clan) # Res Abubakar Damai Ahmadu (Kingwari/Kargi clan). # Res Danlami Yahaya (district head, 1975 - 2001; Res-Tsam 19 January 2001 – 6 April 2014, as a 3rd class chief from Kingwai clan). # Res Yahaya Mohammad (2014-date)

Districts and villages

The chiefdom consists of six districts, including: # Damakasuwa district. Its centre is at Damakasuwa. Its villages include: Kichiguya, Rafingora, Mangul, Kisari. # Zambina district. Its centre is at Kingwan Makama Chawai. Its villages include: Badurum, Kurmi-Risga, Ungwan Rana. # Fadan Chawai district. Its centre is at Fadan Chawai. Its villages include: Kibobi, Talo, Riban. # Pari district. Its centre is at Kiffin Chawai. Its villages include: Kiffin Chawai, Pari. # Kamaru district. Its centre is at Kizakoro. Its villages include: Kamaru, Kihoba, Kizakoro, Kizachi, Kuyan Bana. # Bakin Kogi district. The districts are overseen by the District Heads, and the villages in the districts are led by Village Heads.