By Promise Eze
Northern Nigeria is home to several indigenous tribes, each with their unique culture, customs, and traditions.
Many people who have never explored the region may wrongly assume that it is sorely dominated by the Hausa and Fulani ethnic groups.
However, there are hundreds of indigenous tribes domiciled in the North other than the Hausa and Fulani.
One of such tribes is the Ndola. Here are some interesting facts to know about the Ndola people.
1. Origin
The Ndola People are majorly found in Taraba State, northeast Nigeria. However, a handful of them are also found in Cameroon.
The Ndola people have existed in what is now called Kurmi and Ngada areas for over 1,000 years.
In Kurmi Local Government, the Ndola people own its Headquarters which is in Ba’Issa. Ba’Issa is in two words: “Ba“, a Ndola word, meaning Daddy, while “Issa” is a Hausa name meaning Jesus. The name of the first settler and owner of the land was called Issa.
This name was also adopted by the Missionaries who first visited the area in the early 1900s. This is the name of the town used till date, and it eventually became the headquarters of Kurmi Local Government.
2. Occupation
The majority of Ndola are farmers living in mountainous and low land regions of Taraba State who cultivate cash crops like coffee, tea, groundnuts and cotton. They also cultivate a lot of food crops like maize, rice, sorghum, millet, cassava, and yam in commercial quantities.
3. Religious Beliefs
Prior to establishing contacts with missionaries, Ndola people were originally traditional worshippers.
But after the arrival of the Sudan United Mission of North America and Germany, the majority of them are now Christians with fewer Muslims and traditionalists.
4. Gbala Festival
Gbala festival is a core tradition of the Ndola people. It is a masquerade traditional festival that is usually marked around July and September, to celebrate the fertility of land.
Gbala itself also serves as an emblem that tells one about the identity of the Ndola man. He believes in the utility of land as a factor of production. The fertility of land is of prime importance since good yield is the ultimate aim of all forms of farming activity.
However, the popularity of the festival is waning as most of the adherents of the masquerade tradition relinquished their roles and embraced Christianity or Islam.
