The Zaar people are said to have migrated from the Middle East, probably Yemen, to the present-day Chad Republic between 9th and 13th centuries. It is widely understood that they migrated with other Chadic tribes (nearly 200 languages).
Occasioned by sporadic raids, religious, ethnic, and political wars, the Zaar people along with other Chadic tribes were forced to move southwards of Borno to Ngazargamu for safety and collective survival.
They were referred to as the Chadic tribes because they lived around the Chad Basin in the present-day Borno State of Nigeria. These tribes were originally part of the Kanem Bornu Empire which ruled and controlled the area from the 9th to the 19th century.
Zaar belongs to the Afro-Asiatic Languages. The family tree includes the OMOTIC, CUSHITIC, CHADIC, EGYPTIAN, SEMITIC, and BERBER. The Blench classification of Afro-Asiatic circulation draft categorised Zaar in this way: Family (Chadic), Branch/Group (Southern Bauchi/Zaar Group), Subgroup (Saya Cluster), Language (Zaar), and Lects/Dialects (Zaar).
The Zaar people moved from Biu to Duguri or Yankari area (Alkaleri LGA, Bauchi State). From Duguri, the Zaar people settled in different places before proceeding to their present place ‘Puji’ also called Tafawa Balewa. The term ‘Puji’ is rooted in two (2) words “Pus” (meaning stone) and “Ji” (meaning black). Put together, “Pusji” was later called ‘Puji’ (in Zaar language) meaning “Black Stone”. According to Dr. Bukata R. Adamu (1991), the Zaar ethnic group is the true indigenes of Puji (Tafawa Balewa). This was supported by the submission of Mallam Aliyu Wulumba Dadi (1991) that the Zaar people were the first ethnic group that settled in ‘Puji’ (Tafawa Balewa).
The Zaar people consists of three (3) clans. They are, not in any order, the Woghami or Woghamci, the Moss, and the Morass (WMM). The Woghami or Woghamci Clan lives in various hills in the Western part of Zaar Land, the Moss Clan lives in various hills in the Eastern part of Zaar Land, and the Morass Clan lives in various hills in the Mid part of Zaar Land (Mallam Aliyu Wulumba Dadi, 1991).