the Aku Uka being considered son of a god. Of several gods, the sun god is paramount. The religion includes belief in communicating with the souls of the dead. These similarities to Egyptian beliefs have led some anthropologists to speculate that the Jukun originally came from Sudan. The Kuteb people, who speak a related language and live just to the south of the Jukun, have a tradition that they migrated from Egypt about a thousand years ago, but their religion is very different. The Wukari people adhered to their traditional religion for many years after loss of independence, and some still practice it. The first Christian missionaries arrived in 1905, and the first mission station was opened on 29 May 1906. In 1914 one of the missionaries at the station, Rev. W. Maxwell, published the St. Mark's gospel in the Jukun dialect of Wukari Wapan. Progress was slow, with a small congregation and no indigenous pastors as late as the 1950s. Although many of the Jukun are now Christian, some are animist and some are Moslem. The Aku Uka, Shekarau Angyu Masa Ibi is a Christian and worships in the Chapel established in the Palace by The Christian Reformed Church of Nigeria (CRCN). Recent times Wukari is multi-ethnic. While the Jukun consider that it is their traditional homeland, other ethnic groups including the Tiv and Hausa have been present for over 200 years. In the 1910s, the colonial authorities encouraged immigration of Tivs to the region, although they were considered an "inferior group" with no history of central state administration, and were placed under the authority of the Jukun Aku Uka. Continued Tiv expansion into Wukari was due in part to population pressure, and in part to unsustainable slash-and-burn farming methods. In the 19th century, the Tiv allied with the Jukun to fight the Hausa/Fulani. More recently, the Tiv and the Hausa have at times allied against the Jukun. However, under the First Republic (1963–1966), the Jukun and Hausa supported the Northern People's Congress, while the Tiv supported the rival United Middle Belt Congress, often leading to violent conflict. During the Second Republic (1979–1983) both the Tiv and the Jukun supported the National Party of Nigeria. There were clashes in 1990 and 1991 related to whether Wukari should become part of Tiv-dominated Benue State or Jukun-majority Taraba State. In June 1992, a Jukun member of the Taraba state assembly, the