The Pyem people (Pyam; Hausa: , ) are found mainly in Mangu Local Government Area of

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 ...

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

Pyem language Pyem (Pyam, Gye; Hausa: Fyam, Fyem) is a Plateau language of Nigeria. It is spoken by the people of Pyem Chiefdom with headquarters in Gindiri. Pyem is one of the indigenous languages spoken in Mangu LGA, Plateau State, Nigeria. Revitalization e ...

, a

Plateau language The forty or so Plateau languages are a tentative group of Benue–Congo languages spoken by 15 million people on the Jos Plateau, Southern Kaduna, Nasarawa State and in adjacent areas in central Nigeria. Berom and Eggon have the most speakers. ...

. Their headquarters are in the town of

Gindiri Gindiri is a town in Mangu Local Government Area, Plateau State, Middle Belt, 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 Guine ...

, about 51 km due southwest 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 ...

History

The Pyem people were said to have migrated from the Gobir Kingdom when Bawa Jangwarzo (1777-1795) reigned as king. The people left in two groups. One group established a settlement in Tulai, located southeast of Gindiri, and the second group in an area located in

Bokkos Bokkos is a Local Government Area in Plateau State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Bokkos at . History The Plateau State University, located in Bokkos, was suspended in 2007 and later reopened in 2012. Recent Violence and Conflic ...

. In one of Ames' contexts, a part of the migrants migrated to Pengiji, founding the Pyem people. A part of the people then moved to Fier from Pengiji and intermarried with an offshoot of the Ngas people. Furthermore, a large portion of them subsequently left for Lankan, in Mupunland, and again journeyed through . From there, through Mwaghavulland and then settled finally in the Bokkos area where they became the Ron people.

Demographics

Distribution

The Pyem people today are mainly found in the Pyem Chiefdom in

Mangu Mangu may refer to: Places * Mangu, Burma, a village * Mangu, Estonia, a village * Mangu, Nigeria, a Local Government Area * Mangu Farm, a settlement in Kenya * Mangu station, a railway station in Seoul * Mangu-dong, a dong (neighborhood) of ...

Local Government Area,

, Nigeria. Some of their towns include

, Chanso, Kaduna, Pyem, Dyere (also Pengiji) and Badni.

Religion

According to ''

Joshua Project The Joshua Project is an Evangelicalism, evangelical Christian organization based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs, United States, which seeks to coordinate the work of Christian_mission#Contemporary_concepts_of_mission, missionary ...

'', the Pyem people are 50%

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

, 40%

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, with 10% practicing

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 ...

Language

The Pyem people speak a Plateau language related to Horom. In 2018, the Ba-Pyam Azonci Association with support from some

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

partners, commissioned the publication of books in Pyem to save it from going extinct. Examples of such books are ''Shalai na Waari na DePyam'', "Reading and Writing in Pyem"; ''Beer, Kwor, Na Cikam Arye'', "Relationship, Counting, Proverbs, Names, and Directions"; etc.

Politics

History

The Pyem people were initially led by a priest-king, the ''Hwali-bwangha''. The leadership Council had six members.

Present-day

Today, most Pyem people are located in the Pyem Chiefdom, with headquarters in the town of

. The Chiefdom is led by the ''Sum Pyem'', who as of 2021 was Sum Charles Mato Dakat, a second class chief.

Notable people

* Ibrahim Mantu (1947 – 2021), Nigerian deputy Senate President (2001 – 2007). * Eliezer Paul-Gindiri,

amateur golfer * Ilijah Paul (b. 2002),

soccer player

References

{{Reflist Ethnic groups in Nigeria Nenzit