CROCODILE IN THE KWARARAFA KINGDOM:WHAT SIGNIFICANCE TO THE JUKUNS

CROCODILE IN THE KWARARAFA KINGDOM:                    WHAT SIGNIFICANCE TO THE JUKUNS

PETER AUDU KUW/U14/MCM/2024

Crocodiles are protected in many parts of the world. In some places, Crocodile are farmed commercially. Their hides are tanned and used to make goods such as shoes and handbags. Meat from crocodile is considered a delicacy. There is divergence in this, however among the Jukun people of Taraba state. The Jukun protect the crocodile and protected by it, thereby, placing the animal on the sacred altar. According to the Jukun revolution the historical crocodile has in most sources, been assigned the date since the existence of the tribe who originated from Yemen in Arabian peninsula. Yet, the popularity of the ancestral animal appears abeyant. In Yemen and throughout the various expenditure, the crocodile was a companion of the Jukuns. The people and their brothers were, and yet, called kwararafa people migrated from Yemen in Arabia with the crocodile in the early sixth century AD.

What could be the reason for crocodiles in Wukari ponds being regarded as mysterious and always celebrated? It is not definitely due to the crocodile value in terms of meat production and the production of economic products derived from them. Crocodile in this place are celebrated each year and low-keyed activities such as worshipping, feeding and tourist homage visit to them are occasionally used to give them sense of belongings. It would be a sacrilege to dare the crocodile by an act of ungodliness and disrespect. There are two cardinal points on which crocodiles are protected by the Jukuns; they defend the people against any forms of aggression and protect them from attacks of epidemic outbreak. Interestingly, the success so far, recorded by the Jukun people in wars fought and won by the ancestors of the Jukun people may not be unconnected with this legend.