Takau is a district in

Fantswam Kafanchan (''Tyap language, Fantswam'': A̠byin Fantswam; ''Ninkyob-Nindem language, Nikyob'': Manɡyanɡ) is a town located in the Southern Kaduna, southern part of Kaduna State, Nigeria, which owes much of its development to the railway devel ...

(Kafanchan) Chiefdom of Jema'a Local Government Area in

southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

Kaduna state Kaduna State ( ha, Jihar Kaduna جىِهَر كَدُنا; ff, Leydi Kaduna, script=Latn, ; kcg, Sitet Kaduna) is a state in northern Nigeria. The state capital is its namesake, the city of Kaduna which happened to be the 8th largest city in ...

in the

Middle Belt The 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 ...

region of

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 ...

. It is a suburban area of the town of

Kafanchan Kafanchan (''Fantswam'': A̠byin Fantswam; '' Nikyob'': Manɡyanɡ) is a town located in the southern part of Kaduna State, Nigeria, which owes much of its development to the railway development in the area, being situated at a particular junc ...

. The postal code of the area is 801139.

Etymology

The word ''Takau'' comes from two words in the Fantswam dialect of the

Tyap language Tyap is a regionally important dialect cluster of Plateau languages in Nigeria's Middle Belt, named after its prestige dialect. It is also known by its ''Hausa exonym'' as Katab or Kataf.McKinney, N. P. (April 1990), p. 255. It is also ...

, , meaning "leeward side of mahogany trees".

Demographics

Ethnic composition

Indigenous people

The

indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

of Takau are the Fantswam people. The district consists of villages occupied by this people.

Atyap peoples

The

Atyap The Atyap people (Tyap: ''A̱tyap'', singular: ''A̱tyotyap''; Hausa exonym: ''Kataf'', ''Katab'') are an ethnic group found majorly in Zangon-Kataf, Kaura and Jema'a Local Government Areas of southern Kaduna State, Nigeria. They speak the Ty ...

ethnolinguistic group is composed of about eight subgroups of which the Fantswam are a part. Other members of this group with significant populations in the area include: Agworok, Asholyio, Atakad, Atyap and Bajju.

Other ethnicities

Other peoples found in Takau district include those of

Southern Kaduna Southern Kaduna (formerly Southern Zaria) is an area inhabited by various non-Hausa peoples living south of Zaria Emirate of Kaduna State. It is located in the Middle Belt region of Nigeria. Southern Kaduna consist of 12 local Government out of ...

extract, most notably the Gwong,

Ham Ham is pork from a leg cut of pork, cut that has been food preservation, preserved by wet or dry Curing (food preservation), curing, with or without smoking (cooking), smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. Lo ...

, Nikyob-Nindem; the

Igbo people The Igbo people ( , ; also spelled Ibo" and formerly also ''Iboe'', ''Ebo'', ''Eboe'', * * * ''Eboans'', ''Heebo''; natively ) are an ethnic group in Nigeria. They are primarily found in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo States. A ...

, most of whom came during the early part of the 20th century after the Kafanchan railway line was completed in 1927. They make up a significant population in the area and live mostly in quarters built for the railway workers.

Religion

New church buiding, ECWA 1, Takau, Kafanchan

Old church building, ECWA 1 Takau 1, Kafanchan

New church building, ECWA 2, Takau, Kafanchan

Old church building, ECWA 2, Takau, Kafanchan

The main religion practiced in this area is

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. The

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

denomination is the larger one, especially among indigenous people and

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

especially among Igbos. There are a number of churches in Takau, including: ECWA 1, ECWA 2, ECWA Gospel, St. Timothy Catholic church, St. Thomas Catholic church, and others.

Politics

Government

Takau is led by a District Head, appointed by the Agwam Fantswam (Chief of Kafanchan), who has under him Village Heads and each village head likewise has Ward Heads under his authority.

Village units

Takau is made up of settlements such as: # Baita (also Bainta) # Kuka # Madaki # Maji # Sot Rago (H. Ungwa Rago) # Sot Shemang (H. Ungwa Shemang) # Takau Bunian (also Takau I, Ma-Kanat) # Takau Kali (also Zagyong; H. Takau Gida) # Takau Takai (also Takau II; Ma-Akau) # Yashie (Nyanshyie)

Education

The Kafanchan campus of the

Kaduna State University Kaduna State University is located in Kaduna, Kaduna State, Nigeria. It was established in 2004. It has seven faculties with over 39 departments and a library that contains over 17,000 volumes of books. It has two campuses: Kafanchan and Kaduna. ...

is located in Takau. There are also a number of primary and secondary (high) schools such as Government secondary school, Takau, amongst others.

Economy

Among the economic activities in Takau are small farm holdings (subsistence farming), ginger processing, metal welding works, block making industry, etc.

References

External links

Populated places in Kaduna State Kafanchan {{Kaduna-geo-stub