Kirdi
Kirdi is a word of Kanuri origin, denoting non-Muslims, referring to the ethnic group of the Northern Mandaras in Cameroon and north-eastern Nigeria.
Derogatory in its origin, the term has been accepted as a self-designation and may be used by montagnards to refer to their ethnic pride.
In a generalized context, Kirdi can be interpreted as denoting resistance against Islamization and the holding on to a traditional local paganism. The first mentioning of Kirdi is by Denham in 1826 (1985:145) who translates the word Kerdies as "Negroes who have never embraced the Mohammedan faith".