Berom

Berom (autonymously Cẹn Bẹrom, also Birom) is a Plateau language of the Niger-Congo family, spoken by around 1 million people in Plateau State of Nigeria, primarily in the Jos South, Barkin Ladi, Riyom, and Jos North local government areas. The Berom are the largest indigenous group of the Jos Plateau, the high-altitude tin-mining region of central Nigeria where the British colonial tin industry began in the early 20th century. Linguistically, Berom is the largest of the Plateau languages — a major branch of Benue-Congo within Niger-Congo, with the Plateau languages historically restricted to the Jos Plateau and surrounding hills. Berom has a complex tone system (high/low/falling/rising) and the elaborate noun-class agreement characteristic of Niger-Congo. The Berom people have strong cultural traditions including the Nzem Berom annual harvest festival.