Kanufi — Anib Scripture Portions (Nigeria)
Overview
Kanufi is a single-book scripture portion in the Kanufi (Anib) language of Kaduna State, Nigeria, published by The Seed Company and available via YouVersion/Bible.com (ID 3982). The community's autonym Anib (also spelled Aninib) differs markedly from the scholarly/external designation Kanufi — the latter derived from the village name. Kanufi belongs to the Ninzic branch of the Plateau language family, one of the least-documented language clusters in north-central Nigeria, concentrated in the southern Kaduna / Nasarawa / Plateau State border zone. With approximately 2,000 speakers, Kanufi is a very small community in a linguistically dense region of minor Plateau-family languages.
Language and People
Kanufi (ISO 639-3: kni; autonym: Anib / Aninib) is a Niger-Congo language: Niger-Congo → Atlantic-Congo → Volta-Congo → Benue-Congo → Plateau → Ninzic branch. The Ninzic languages constitute a branch of the broader Plateau family comprising approximately a dozen languages in central Nigeria. Kanufi (Anib) forms its own sub-cluster within the Ninzic group, distinct from but closely related to Ninkyob and Kamanton. The Ninzic-speaking zone is among the least-documented language areas of the Plateau State margins.
The Kanufi/Anib community inhabits:
- Two contiguous villages: Ákpúrkpòd (Kanufi I) and Ákob (Kanufi II), approximately 5 km west of Gimi, near the Akwanga–Kafanchan road junction
- Jema'a Local Government Area, Kaduna State, north-central Nigeria — the southern Kaduna / Kaduna-Nasarawa border zone
- A region dense with small Plateau-family language communities
Estimated speakers: approximately 2,000 (fieldwork data, 2006, per "The Anib (=Kanufi) language" academic documentation); total ethnic Kanufi population estimated higher (~10,000) in some databases.
Cultural Context
The Ninzic-speaking zone is one of the least-documented language areas of Nigeria's Plateau region. Global Recordings Network has produced one audio resource for Kanufi ("Words of Life," program 35191). The language is reportedly Ethnologue status 6a (vigorous) — used as L1 by all in the ethnic community, though not taught in schools. No JESUS Film has been produced in Kanufi. The academic paper "The Anib (=Kanufi) language" (January 2006 fieldwork) represents one of the few scholarly documents on this language. The Seed Company's single-book scripture portion is an initial engagement with this small, under-documented 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.