Pongu (Pangu), or Rin, is a
Kainji language spoken in
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
. There are about 20,000 speakers. Their main centre is in Pangu Gari town of
Niger State, about 20 kilometres southeast of
Tegina
Tegina is a town in Rafi LGA, Niger State, Nigeria. Various Kainji languages are spoken in and around Tegina.
In 2021 a mass kidnapping of children by gunmen occurred at the end of May, at least 150 students went missing.
Villages
Villages in ...
.
In
Niger state, Rafi local government Kagara
Clans
There are 8 Rin clans. They speak slightly different but mutually comprehensible dialects.
*Ca-su
*Ca-undu
*A-sebi
*Ca-gere = Ca-majere
*A-baba = U-bwɔbwɔ
*A-wusi = A-kwa
*A-zhiga
*A-waga = Awәgә
The Awәgә may have been a different ethnic group that was assimilated into the Rin group. Awәgә was a distinct language related to Rin, and used to be spoken in some villages to the east of Zungeru. However, today it is nearly extinct. Blench (2012) was able to record a semi-speaker in Dikko village, near Luwa town, Rafi LGA. Two fluent speakers were reported in Gidan Gambo, near Pongu Gari.
Bibliography
*Dettweiler, Stephen and Sonia Dettweiler (2002) 'Sociolinguistic survey of the Pongu people'
SIL Electronic Survey Reports 2002-040
References
Further reading
*
Sociolinguistic survey of the Pongu people'
Shiroro languages
Languages of Nigeria
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