Introduction / History

The Turkwam people live in two main villages, Turkwan Mission and Kanja, in the Wamba region of Nasarawa State in Nigeria. Their villages lie near Farin Ruwa Falls, one of the highest waterfalls in Africa. They call themselves and their language Atoro, but the dominant Hausa people refer to them as Turkwan or Turkpa. They value their language as a mark of their identity.

What Are Their Lives Like?

Most Turkwam are farmers, growing corn and millet, groundnut, yam, rice, beans, cassava, sweet potatoes, and palm oil. Other employment opportunities include mining, trade, and tourism.
The two Turkwam villages have primary and secondary schools. Available literature is written in either English or Hausa, which includes Bibles, hymnals, novels, magazines, and textbooks used by students. Muslims have copies of the Qur’an in Arabic. An Atoro dictionary can be found at Turkwan Mission, and some people can text in Atoro. However, no Scripture is available in the Atoro language.

What Are Their Beliefs?

The Atoro are predominantly Christian. Church denominations found among the Turkwam include the Baptist Church, the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), Evangelical Reformed Church of Christ (ERCC), and the Roman Catholic Church. A small percentage of the Turkwam people are Muslims. Some hold onto a traditional religious system that believes that natural physical entities such as animals, plants, and even inanimate objects possess a spiritual essence.

What Are Their Needs?

The Turkwam need Scripture in the language that is most familiar to them. Teachers and pastors say they prefer to use their local language for teaching and preaching because their audience would understand the information better. Even a high proficiency in Hausa or English is insufficient for comprehensive communication of spiritual truth.

Prayer Points

Pray for translation to begin in the Turkwam language so people can gain a deeper understanding of the tenants of the Christian faith and learn to apply Scripture in their daily lives.
Pray for the Holy Spirit to prepare Turkwam hearts to receive the word.
Pray for financial and prayer provisions for Bible translation efforts.
Pray for the Lord to call people from the community to serve as Bible translators.

Scripture Prayers for the Turkwam in Nigeria.

References

A Sociolinguistic Profile of the Arum (Alumu-Tesu) [aab] and Atoro [tdv] Languages of Nasarawa State, Nigeria (JLSR2021_048.pdf)
peoplegroups.org (PeopleGroups.org - Turkwam)