Gudu in Nigeria

People Name:	Gudu
Country:	Nigeria
10/40 Window:	Yes
Population:	10,000
World Population:	10,000
Primary Language:	Gudu
Primary Religion:	Islam
Christian Adherents:	6.00 %
Evangelicals:	3.70 %
Scripture:	Translation Started
Online Audio NT:	No
Jesus Film:	No
Audio Recordings:	Yes
People Cluster:	Chadic
Affinity Bloc:	Sub-Saharan Peoples
Progress Level:

Introduction / History

The Gudu people live in northeastern Nigeria near the Cameroon border. The Gudu people are also known as Gutu or Gudo. They are of the Chadic people cluster. They are an indigenous, agricultural people. Their language of Gudu is endangered, as most young people prefer to speak the Hausa and English languages they learn in school. Only gospel recordings are available in Gudu. Many Christian resources are available in Hausa including a whole Bible and the JESUS Film.

Where Are they Located?

They have only been found in Nigeria particularly in Song LGA of Adamawa State in the northeastern part of Nigeria.

What Are Their Lives Like?

The influence of Islam has changed the culture of the Gudu people to become more like that of the dominant Hausa-Fulani peoples of north Nigeria. The Gudu live in rural villages surrounded by the land they farm. The grow rice, beans, yams, melons, maize, and vegetables. Peanuts, palm oil and kola nuts are their cash crops. They Gudu buy things they cannot make for themselves like tools, farm equipment and cell phones. Families also raise goats and cattle for milk, meat and hides. Many of the Gudu are unable to read and write.

Most people groups in rural Nigeria like the Gudu enjoy music, story telling and dance as a form of entertainment and communication. These art forms are very meaningful in rural Nigeria. Those who want to take the gospel to the Gudu people would do well to use these art forms when presenting the gospel.

What Are Their Beliefs?

Most Gudu people claim to be Sunni Muslims. Another large section of the Gudu people is animist. The Muslim Gudu are heavily influenced by folk religion.

Muslims believe that the One, Supreme God, Allah, revealed through his prophet, Mohammed, and taught mankind how to live a righteous life through the Koran and the Hadith. To live a righteous life, you must utter the Shahada (a statement of faith), pray five times a day facing Mecca, fast from sunup to sundown during the month of Ramadan, give alms to the poor, and make a pilgrimage to Mecca if you have the means. Muslims are prohibited from drinking alcohol, eating pork, gambling, stealing, slandering, and making idols. They gather for corporate prayer on Friday afternoons at a mosque, their place of worship.

In most of the Muslim world, peoples like the Gudu depend on the spirit world for their daily needs since they regard Allah as too distant. Allah may determine their eternal salvation, but the spirits determine how well we live in our daily lives. For that reason, they must appease the spirits. The often use charms and amulets to help them deal with spiritual forces. The Gudu live in fear of evil spirits who can bring disaster upon the community.

What Are Their Needs?

The Gudu people need adequate rain for their crops and their livestock so they can live lives free of want and poverty. They need modern medical care. Their children need good schools that will help the next generation to thrive in a rapidly changing world. Solar panels can bring electricity to charge cell phones and run appliances.

The Gudu people need the blessings of the Jesus Christ, who has conquered death. Only Christ can give them the forgiveness of sins and spiritual abundant life. They need the gift of faith and repentance in Jesus Christ.

Prayer Points

Pray for the Holy Spirit to give the Gudu people teachable and understanding hearts.
Pray that a strong movement of the Holy Spirit will bring entire Gudu families into a rich experience of God's blessing.
Pray for the Gudu culture to be renewed and enhanced by a work of the Holy Spirit and shaped into a God-centered and God-honoring mold.
Pray for the Lord to thrust out workers who will be compelled to nurture a disciple making movement among the Gudu people.
Pray for Gudu families to be drawn by the Holy Spirit to seek forgiveness through Christ alone, and to understand the adequacy of Christ's work on the cross.