By Tayelolu Akinbohun
The Kambari people are found in an ancient rural community in Rijau Local Government area, about 260 kilometers from Minna, the Niger State capital.
The people are one of the few primitive tribes still practicing nudity in Nigeria. Bareness is part of their way of life as their men; women and young girls go about their day-to-day activities in the nude.
They are half-covered during market days where they sell agricultural produce and there is no sign of infrastructural development in their community as the region cannot even be located on Google map but despite this, they all live in peace.
The Kambaris are a forgotten tribe who are satisfied with their simple way of life and lack of governmental support for a sustainable community.
Way of life
This people do not speak English or Hausa, but speak their native Kambari. They stay in their small communities and only interact with others when they have to go to the farm and market. Nudity as a culture was passed down to them by their ancestors, and it is a part of them that they are not willing to let go of. However, when they people go to the market to sell their farm produce, the women cover the bottom half of their bodies with wrappers while the men do the same. Donkeys provide the only means of transport for a largely agrarian and nomadic people.
Economy
As part of the Rijua local council area, the Kambari people produce a large percentage of the crops consumed by the entire people of the area. The most popular crops produced are corn, millet, peanuts, beans and rice. Nearly all of the locals keep chickens and goats for meat while the richer ones have cattle.
Marriage
In Kambari, marriage is celebrated by slaughtering goats and cows for food while the parents of the bride cook food for the groom. Once the food is eaten, the marriage is contracted. According to the community chief, what attracts men is not the nudity of the women but how they plait their hair, good manners and the tattoos the young women have.
Major Occupation
The people are largely agrarian and nomadic. In the bush where they settle, they cultivate crops on a large scale, thereby feeding other people in their area. The most popular crops produced are corn, millet, sorghum, rice, etc. They also rear cattle and livestock such as goats, chickens and so on.
Religion
The Kambari people are not Christians or Muslims like most of Northern Nigeria but traditionalists who worship a god called Magiro. They also believe strongly in witchcraft and magic.
Language
Hausa is the most widely spoken language in the Northern parts of Nigeria, but the Kambari people are an exception. They neither speak English nor Hausa, but speak their native Kambari.
Transportation
In this era of civilization, there is no vehicle and no road network in their community. Donkeys are used as the only means of transport in this part of the world.
