Eda — Adara (Kadara) Scripture Portions (Nigeria)
Overview
Eda ("The People [of Adara]") is 4-book scripture portions in the Adara language of Kaduna and Niger States, Nigeria, published by The Seed Company and available via YouVersion/Bible.com (ID 4465). Known by speakers as Eda (the people call themselves Eda; outsiders use Kadara or Adara), the language belongs to the North Plateau branch of the Benue-Congo family. With approximately 300,000 speakers, Adara is by far the largest language community in this dataset — a fact that makes the "portions only" status (4 books) all the more notable as a reflection of the scale of scripture translation work still needed in the southern Kaduna minority language zone.
Language and People
Adara (ISO 639-3: kad; autonym: Eda; exonyms: Kadara, Adara) is a Niger-Congo language: Niger-Congo → Atlantic-Congo → Benue-Congo → Plateau → North Plateau (Central Plateau). A North Plateau language, Adara is closely related to the Iku-Gora-Ankwa (ISO ikv, autonym Ekhwa) of neighboring Kachia LGA — the two are related enough that SIL sociolinguistic survey (2014) examined whether to use a unified written standard, ultimately recommending separate literature development for distinct dialect clusters. Major dialects: Adara (core), Ada, Eneje, with Ajiya (idc) and Ekhwa (ikv) having their own ISO codes.
The Adara community inhabits:
- Kajuru and Kachia Local Government Areas, Kaduna State, north-central Nigeria — the heartland of Kadara Land (~8,090 km²) south of Kaduna city
- Paikoro and Munya LGAs, Niger State — eastern Niger State around Minna
- Also found in Chikun and Kagarko LGAs (Kaduna) and communities near northern Abuja
Estimated speakers: approximately 300,000 L1 speakers (2011 estimate); total ethnic Adara/Kadara population estimated at 440,000–500,000.
Cultural Context
The Adara (Kadara) are one of the largest ethnic groups in Southern Kaduna — the predominantly Christian minority region south of Kaduna city that has experienced severe inter-ethnic violence, particularly herder-farmer conflicts. The community traces oral tradition of migration from the Plateau Hills area west of Plateau State. The community suffered devastating slave raids, notably the 1894 raid by Emir Yero of Zaria that displaced many Kadara communities. Approximately 55% are Christian, with traditional religion and Islam also practiced. The Akpazuwa Festival is a central cultural celebration. The Adara paramount ruler (Agom Adara) was kidnapped and killed in 2018, illustrating ongoing security challenges in the region. Resources include the JESUS Film in Adara and seven Global Recordings Network audio programs.
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.