Eggon people
| Eggon | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Nigeria |
| Region | Nasarawa, Kaduna, Benue states |
|
Native speakers
|
(140,000 cited 1990) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| Glottolog | eggo1239 |
Eggon (also Egon, Ero, Mo Egon, Hill Mada or Mada Eggon) is a Plateau language spoken in central Nigeria. It is a major language in Nasarawa State.
The exact classification of the Eggon language has been in dispute and it can be said that this issue remains unresolved. Eggon was first classified by Greenberg (1963) as a Plateau language in his group 5, together with Nungu and Yeskwa. In the revision prepared by Carl Hoffman published in Hansford et al. (1976) a Benue group was set up that combined Greenberg's Plateau 5 and 7 with Jukunoid. The new subgrouping classified Eggon together with Nungu, Ake and Jidda-Abu. This concept of a Benue grouping came from the lexicostatistical studies of Shimizu (1975) who argued against the unity of Greenberg's Plateau and proposed the Benue group. However, in 1983, Gerhardt published a convincing rebuttal of Shimizu's arguments. The latest version of classification of Plateau languages in Gerhardt (1989) adds Yashi to the Eggon subgroup but removes the links with 'Benue' i.e. Tarok and the Jukunoid languages. Blench (2008) classifies Eggon and Ake as the Eggonic group of the Southern branch of Plateau.
The main towns of the Eggon people are Nassarawa-Eggon, Kagbu, Washo and Wana. They stretch as far south as Lafia and west of Akwanga as far as the railway line. They are bordered on the north by the Mada and to the south by the Migili and the Idoma.
In much of the colonial literature, the Eggon were known as the "Hill Mada" in contrast to the "Plains Mada", the people known as Mada today. The Eggon lived in the Mada hills south of Akwanga in the pre-colonial period, but there is no connection between the groups that would justify these terms, and they have now been discarded.
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