The Tera people are an ethnic group part of the larger cluster of Kanuri peoples of Bornu State in northeastern Nigeria.
Tera people are mostly found in the east of the present day Gombe emirate (Nigeria).
The Gombe Emirate is a traditional state in Nigeria that roughly corresponds in area to the modern Gombe State.The current Emir of Gombe is Alhaji Abubakar Shehu Abubakar III, who acceded on 6 June 2014. The late Emir of Gombe, Alhaji Shehu Usman Abubakar, who precedes his father Abubakar II had been Emir since August 1984.
The Tera of Nigeria are numbering 187,000 (Peoplegroups.org, 2024)
Their economy is a complex one, revolving around commerce, home manufacturing, personal services, and agriculture. The farmers raise guinea corn, millet, groundnuts, cattle, sheep, and goats. They also fish in Lake Chad. In recent years, they have begun to produce cotton as a cash crop.
They are Sunni Muslims. Some ethnologists classify the Tera as an offshoot of the Bolewa people, although they claim themselves to have originated near the city of Mecca on the Arabian peninsula.
The Tera people left [Yemen] and moved into Borno area around the Chad basin, where they settled for years but due to political crisis. The Tera people left the Chad Basin area with Jukun into Gombe area, probably around 900-1000AD. More so, some groups of Tera speakers believed that they left Chad Basin when the Kanuri's were transferring their capital from Kanem to Ngarzargamu in ca.1484, under Mai Ali Gaji. After that, the Tera proceeded west to their present location, passing through Babur and Bura areas before coming into Gombe area
In addition, the Tera people were among the early occupants of Gombe area before the establishment of Gombe Emirate, they occupied settlements at the banks of River Gongola, such as Gwani, Hinna, Liji, Kalshingi, Zambuk, Bage, Kurba, Doho, Deba etc.
Traditionally, the Tera people are hunters and farmers.
The Tera people known for their tribal marks similar to that practised by other ethnic groups of Gombe state. Also, they have similar artistic festivities with the Bolewa People, Waja and Jukuns neighbours. They also observed the same cult, particularly, believing in Gwando the rain-making god.
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