Introduction / History

Bukwen is a language in the Niger-Congo class and is part of the Benue people cluster within the Sub-Saharan African affinity bloc.

Bukwen is spoken in one village in Takum LGA (Local Government Areas) in Taraba State, Nigeria. This people group is only found in Nigeria.

What Are Their Lives Like?

The major occupation of the Bukwen people is agriculture. They grow maize, rice, sorghum, millet, and cassava. Their cash crops include coffee, tea, ground nuts, cotton, and yams. They also herd cattle, sheep, and goats. Some breed rabbits and pigs. Others make a living through pottery, cloth-weaving, dyeing, mat-making, carving, embroidery and blacksmithing.

What Are Their Beliefs?

Only a small percentage of the Bukwen people have become Christians. Most follow the traditional religion of their culture and ethnicity. Animism is frequently a component of traditional religions. This religious worldview believes natural physical entities such as animals, plants, and even inanimate objects possess a spiritual essence. People tend to think becoming a Christian means turning your back on your culture and identity.

What Are Their Needs?

Bukwen is an endangered language. It is believed to be used as the first language by a decreasing number of children in the community. A survey would help assess the multilingualism of the Bukwen people and in what domains, English, Hausa, and neighboring languages are being used. Audio-visual Bible lessons can be found at globalrecordings.net under the name Koshin. These provide a Bible overview from creation to Christ, and teaching on the Christian life to be used for evangelism and church planting. Community leaders may be interested in further language development to preserve their language. Workshops are available that would expose participants to language vitality and potential short-term development projects.

Prayer Points

Pray Bukwen people will access the Bible stories available online to understand who Jesus is and come to faith in him.
Pray community leaders will consider attending a workshop to assess the vitality of their language and if they desire to pursue language development.

Scripture Prayers for the Bukwen in Nigeria.

References

Bukwen | Ethnologue Free
PeopleGroups.org - Bukwun
Taraba State - Wikipedia