Ehua — Iku-Gora-Ankwa (Ekhwa) Scripture Portions (Nigeria)
Overview
Ehua is 2-book scripture portions in the Iku-Gora-Ankwa language of Kaduna State, Nigeria, published by The Seed Company and available via YouVersion/Bible.com (ID 3937). The community's self-designation Ekhwa (or Ékhwá) differs from the compound scholarly/ISO name "Iku-Gora-Ankwa," which combines the names of three geographically distinct but linguistically unified settlement clusters: Iku, Gora, and Ankwa. All three communities speak the same language (Ekhwa) and are classified under a single ISO 639-3 code (ikv). The language belongs to the North Plateau branch of the Plateau language family — the same broad branch as the related Adara (ISO kad) of neighboring Kachia LGA.
Language and People
Iku-Gora-Ankwa (ISO 639-3: ikv; autonym: Ekhwa / Ékhwá) is a Niger-Congo language: Niger-Congo → Atlantic-Congo → Benue-Congo → Plateau → North Plateau (Central Plateau). The Plateau languages are a large and diverse branch of Benue-Congo concentrated in Kaduna, Plateau, and Nasarawa States of north-central Nigeria. Ekhwa/Iku is closely related to but distinct from Adara (kad), which is spoken in the same Kachia LGA zone — the two languages are related enough that SIL sociolinguistic survey recommended separate literature development for each.
The Iku-Gora-Ankwa community inhabits:
- Kachia Local Government Area (Kachia Division), Kaduna State, north-central Nigeria — southern Kaduna, a zone of dense minority language presence south of Kaduna city
- Three geographically distinct village clusters: Iku, Gora, and Ankwa communities within the Kachia area hilly terrain
Estimated speakers: approximately 13,000 (2006 census data); total ethnic Iku population estimated at ~23,000 in some sources.
Cultural Context
The Iku (Ekhwa) are subsistence farmers cultivating millet, maize, guinea corn, and beans in the hilly terrain of southern Kaduna. The community maintains strong traditional religious practices centered on ancestral veneration, including the dodo — masked representations of ancestral spirits. Current religious composition: approximately 61% traditional religion, 35% Islam, 4% Christianity — making the Iku-Gora-Ankwa one of the least-reached communities in this dataset. Southern Kaduna as a whole is a zone of significant ethnic and religious tension, with recurring violence between farming minority communities and herding populations. The Seed Company's 2-book scripture portion is an initial engagement with this largely unreached community.
Publishing and Organizations
Published by The Seed Company (seedcompany.com, Fort Worth, Texas), a Wycliffe Global Alliance member organization founded in 1993. Member of the illumiNations coalition.