Jiru, Zhiru in Nigeria
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| People Name: | Jiru, Zhiru |
| Country: | Nigeria |
| 10/40 Window: | Yes |
| Population: | 6,700 |
| World Population: | 6,700 |
| Primary Language: | Jiru |
| Primary Religion: | Ethnic Religions |
| Christian Adherents: | 25.00 % |
| Evangelicals: | 7.00 % |
| Scripture: | Translation Started |
| Ministry Resources: | No |
| Jesus Film: | No |
| Audio Recordings: | No |
| People Cluster: | Benue |
| Affinity Bloc: | Sub-Saharan Peoples |
| Progress Level: |
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Introduction / History
The Jiru people have no Scripture in their language, even though one in four identify as Christian. The Jiru live near the Benue River in Karim Lamido LGA (Local Government Areas) in Taraba State, Nigeria.
What Are Their Lives Like?
The major occupation of this area is agriculture. People grow various crops and raise livestock. Cash crops may include coffee, tea, ground nuts, cotton and yams. Others run small-scale businesses.
What Are Their Beliefs?
One in four Jiru speakers claim to be Christian, but only a small percentage consider themselves evangelical. The majority follow African Traditional Religion and believe that natural physical entities such as animals, plants, and even inanimate objects possess a spiritual essence.
What Are Their Needs?
Though direct evidence is lacking, Jiru is used as a first language by all in the ethnic community. We don’t know if this local language is taught in schools. Survey work would help assess the multilingualism of the Jiru people and in what domains they use Jiru, English, Hausa and neighboring languages. Community leaders may be interested in language development to preserve their language. Workshops are becoming available that expose participants to language vitality and potential short-term development and translation projects.
Prayer Points
Without Christ, we can do nothing (John 15:5). Pray the Jiru believers will depend wholly on their Lord for wisdom, strength, love and boldness.
Pray that the Jiru people would be set free from the spirit of fear, and will receive Christ’s Spirit of love, power and a sound mind. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom!
Pray for a survey to help assess the vitality of the language and assist community leaders in deciding if they wish to pursue language development.
Pray the Jiru will engage with Scripture that is available in other nearby languages and be blessed as they understand and follow God’s word.
Pray that the Jiru will be able to assess their level of understanding of scriptures in other languages to determine their need for scriptures in their own language.