Aspects Of Kuturmi Phonology
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Aspects Of Kuturmi Phonology
Chapter one
INTRODUCTION
General Background.
This study investigates elements of Kuturmi phonology, a language spoken in specific areas of Kaduna State, Nigeria, by a community of approximately 14,000 speakers. (Vision accessed January 19th, 2010).
Phonology is a discipline of linguistics that studies how sounds are utilised systematically in various languages to produce words and utterances. It is the scientific study of arbitrary vocal symbols employed in human speech, as well as the ways in which these symbols combine to generate intelligent, meaningful utterances (Oyebade 2004:2).
1.2 Historical Background.
Migration has been fundamental to the Kuturmi people’s history. There are two sources for Kuturmi origin. According to one traditional source, the people of Kuturmi, traditionally known as ‘the Kutumbawa’, came from Daura region in Kastina State. Burdon (1909) said that Baganda, the grandson of Bayajidda ‘the serpent hunter of Daura,’ led the Kutumbawa people to capture the Kano Empire in A.D. 499.
According to the second story, they came from Kano City in 1809 AD due to jihad conflicts and governed the Kano Empire from the 14th to the 18th centuries.
The Kuturmi people were given the term “mortal carving” by their neighbours after their forefathers’ vocation. Kuturmi signifies motar carving (Sassakan Turmi in Hausa), but ‘Turmi’ in their language means’mortal’. Their chicks bear longitudinal marks that distinguish them from other tribes.
It was claimed that when the Kano Empire was overthrown in 1809 AD, the Kuturmi people who lived in Kano city under the leadership of Bakutumba of Kutumbawa fled to Sabo village to the west of Kano city, from which they travelled southward in quest of shelter. Thereafter, they moved through Zaria to the north and Kauru to the south, eventually settling at a community called Kallah Kauru in the Kajuru Local Government Area.
Upon arrival, the people assaulted and captured the Kajuru kingdom. The Kuturmi, still seeking refuge, migrated further south and settled at Iburu in Kufana district, from where they travelled south to their current location in Kaduna State.
After settling down, their forefathers maintained their traditional rulership constitution under the leadership of ‘Ogumo’, which means ‘king’ in Kuturmi.
The Kuturmi people’s headquarters were erected at Awon village because their speech form corresponds to the speakers’ standard language. There are various dialects of the language. Their names are Anturu, Akama, Ariko, Awon, Asane, and Akwando. All of these dialects talk differently than the standard language called Awon.
1.3 Socio-Cultural Profile.
Culture is a shared, learnt, symbolic set of values, beliefs, and attitudes that affects and influences perception and behaviour. The Kuturmi’s socio-cultural life, including their form of dress, belief in the system, marriage, and festivals, is discussed below.
Occupation
Their forefathers’ main occupation was producing mortals, but now it is largely farming. Others include fishing and basket weaving. The farming is done in stages, commencing with yam, cocoyam, hungryrice, guinea corn and local maize. Today, due of their vast fields, they cultivate food crops in commercial quantities for sale.
Marriage
Marriage in Kuturmi was traditionally the responsibility of the parents. The parents chose a wife for their boys on the day the female kid was born. Food gifts were typically given at the end of each farming season until she reached marriageable age.
In modern Kuturmi society, ladies marry between the ages of seventeen and twenty (17-20), and males marry between the ages of twenty one and twenty-five (21-25). Their dowry is usually a fowl and a pot of local wine called ‘Burukutu’.
Dressing
The Kuturmi males wore animal hides and Agwando. Animal skins were typically worn around the waist, with another covering only a portion of the torso. The Agwando clothing, made of cotton, is worn by male children and adolescents.
Women wear in ture, which is a strip of cloth about 1.5 meters long and two inches broad that is tied around the waist and covers only the women’s essential parts, whilst little girls utilise leaves. Today, males dress simply in flowing gowns, while ladies wear wrappers and blouses with head ties to church or festivals.
Religion
People believe in God, spirits, ancestors, magic, and medical treatments. Before Christianity, the speakers’ religion was essentially traditional, as was that of any other Nigerian community, but they now believe in God because they think God is the creator and controller of the universe.
The name ‘God’ in the language is known as ‘Onung’, which means the’supreme being’. They represent Onung as being too holy to approach directly. As a result, they’ve found alternative methods of approaching him.
These means function as mediators, and one of them is to consult the Supreme Being about their issues through the ‘Okwu’ shrine known as ‘Ujenekwu’, where the top priest Ete-kwu’ generally leads them in conducting the necessary ceremonies.
The spirit is referred to as ‘Ushari’, and they are thought to create their own universe and live as humans with an organised form of life and authority. Some are connected with safety, while others with destruction.
The protecting ones are innocuous, whilst the destructive ones are labeled’red or black’ depending on the degree of destruction. They cause illness and death among individuals. Speakers and visitors are not permitted to visit such sites, particularly at noon.
The term ‘Okwu’ refers to both male and female ancestors. They are thought to be concerned with the affairs of their living family members. Ancestors are venerated on a regular basis, particularly after the harvest and at the commencement of the rainy season. Individual families hold generational rites known as ‘Umuroso’ for relatives who died at an advanced age.
Agricultural Resources
The vegetation in the area is classified as guinea savannah, with tall grasses known as ‘elephant grasses’ being particularly prominent. People’s natural resources include timber, palm produce, and agricultural items such ginger, maize, millet, yam, and cassava.
1.4 Geographic Location
Kuturmi land is located at latitude 9.5 degrees north and 10 degrees south, and longitude 7.5 degrees east and 8.0 degrees west. The region located to the west of Kachia district headquarters. The territory is limited by the Gwarara River to the east and south, where hippopotamus can be found, and the Kadara tribe to the north and west.
A range of hills known as ‘Apan-okung’ can be found in the region’s north, while another range of mountains known as Kankan Hills can be found in the centre. The distance between Kachia Local Government and Awon hamlet, where the inhabitants’ standard language is spoken, is around 20 km (20 km).
1.5 Genetic classification of the Kuturmi language.
A genetic classification divides all relevant languages into genetic nodes, or groups of languages in which one language is more closely related to another than to any other language in the group.
As a result, genetic classification assumes that languages diverged from common ancestors, and the method used to classify them is based on similarities identified in linguistic elements.
According to Ruhlen (1987: 1), “the idea that groups of languages that share certain systematic resemblance have inherited those similarities from a common origin” serves as the foundation for “genetic classification.” As a result, the Kuturmi language is classed as part of Benue Congo’s Kada subgroup.
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