HAUSA Tale of FRIENDSHIP

DARK Beauty. Ethereal. Veronika Castrillo by Eva Corbella Photography

Compelling. Kate Barry, the red list!

Story of a great friendship and how it was put to the test



This story is about some young men who were friends.

Some boys made a covenant of friendship; they lived together, (and) were inseparable. They had their maidens in an outlying village. Always they used to go together (and) bring them. On one occasion, one of his friends did not go, so only one went to bring the maidens. When he went, he brought back the maids.

(As) they were going along, they met a lion; and it knocked down and lay on one of the girls, but he, he drew his sword and cut at the lion's head. The lion died, and he found the maiden was not dead. And he told her to lie down beneath the lion along with him, and one of them was to go and tell his friend.

So she consented, (and) ran off (and) found he has begun to sleep. She roused him, (and) he said, 'Where are So-and-so and So-and-so?' And she said, 'They are out there, a lion has killed them.' And he rose up, he did not take anything with him, he went along and came and reached (where) the lion was; it was above them.

He did not hesitate, but sprang and climbed on the lion. He thought it was alive. Truly it was dead. Then his friend rose up and said, 'Rise, So-and-so, you have proved yourself (a free-born) man.' So they lifted up the maiden (and) went home.
Now among them who was better than another?
If you do not know, there it is.

Off with the rat's head.



Hausa Folk-Lore
Maalam Shaihua, translated by R. Sutherland Rattray

photos by Kővágó Nagy Imre

HAUSA Society

The Hausa consist of the Hausa-speaking, Muslim population of Northern Nigeria and the adjacent areas of Niger, which have traditionally been organized into large, centralized states. Originally, the name "Hausa" referred only to the language of the Habe people of this area, who were organized into 7 independent but closely related states called Biram, Daura, Kano, Katsina, Gobir, Rano, and Zazzau or Zaria. Early in the nineteenth century, the Habe states were conquered by the Fulbe (Fulani, Peul), waging a jihad or Muslim "holy war" under the leadership of Uthman dan Fodio. The Fulbe established the Sokoto Caliphate or Empire, which ultimately incorporated some 15 states called emirates, each headed by a ruling dynasty of Fulbe origin. The deposed Habe dynasties of Zaria and Katsina set up new states at Abuja and Maradi and a third Habe state was established at Argunga. In these states, Habe customs survived largely unchanged by Fulbe influence.


The Fulbe rulers of the Hausa states progressively adopted the sedentary life, language, and other customs of the subject Habe population, partly through intermarriage. They are called the "Settled" or "Town" Fulbe to distinguish them from the "Bush" or nomadic Fulbe. Thus the term "Hausa" is now normally used to refer to both the original Habe population and the settled, acculturated Fulbe ruling aristocracy. It also extends to people of different ethnic origins, such as Tuareg or Kanuri, where they have adopted the Hausa language and culture.

Scattered throughout the center of the Hausa area are Hausa-speaking groups who have never converted to Islam. These "pagan" Hausa-speakers are generally called Maguzawa.

The modern Hausa of Nigeria are mainly concentrated in the provinces of Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, and Zaria. Their population probably numbers between 6 and 8 million in Nigeria alone, and the Hausa language, which belongs to the Chad branch of the Afro-asiatic language family, is an important lingua franca in West Africa.

Most Muslim Hausa are part-time farmers and part-time occupational specialists, while the pagan Hausa are for the most part full-time subsistence agriculturalists. Agriculture is scheduled around the May-October rainy season. Grain crops of millet, maize, Guinea corn, and rice supply the bulk of the diet. A wide range of additional crops, such as peanuts, cowpeas, sweet potatoes, cotton, sugarcane, bamboo, tobacco, cassava, and other root crops are grown both for household consumption and as cash crops. Uncultivated plants are exploited as sources of fuel, thatch, food, and fiber. Livestock raising is another important feature of economic activities, and the Hausa inventory of domestic animals includes horses, donkeys, goats, sheep, and poultry. A few cattle are raised, but for the most part the Hausa get cattle and cattle products through trade with the pastoral Fulbe. Except at the elite levels or where there is sufficient market demand, occupational specialties are pursued on a part-time basis in conjunction with subsistence agriculture.

Exchange of goods and services takes place within a cash economy. A system of markets and traders links together constituent units of the state and the state to outside groups. Small rural villages have periodic markets, while larger settlements have daily markets. At the top of the hierarchy is a central market, located in the administrative center of the state. A series of market officials oversee the activities and settle disputes within the marketplace.

Muslim Hausa social organization is characterized by a complex system of stratification, based on occupation, wealth, birth, and patron-client ties. Occupational specialties are ranked and tend to be hereditary, to the extent that the first son is expected to follow his father's occupation. Wealth gives its possessor a certain amount of prestige and power, especially in forming ties of patronage. One's status is also determined by the status of one's family. Finally, all Hausa men are caught up in a network of patron-client ties that permeates the society. Patron-client ties are used as means of access to favors and power.

The pagan Hausa are organized into small villages of exogamous patrilineal kin. The local organization of the Muslim Hausa is more complex. Here the smallest social unit within a community is the compound. Minimally a compound is occupied by a man, his wife or wives, and their children. Frequently, it includes more than one such family, and, in such cases, usually comprises a patrilocal extended family or a joint fraternal family. Compound activities are under the direction of a male head, and compound members cooperate in agriculture and share in its products. Occupational specialties are pursued on a more individual basis.

By law, a Muslim man may have up to four wives and any number of concubines. Nevertheless, divorces are common. The extent to which polygyny is practiced depends on the ability of a man to support larger families. Wives are ranked according to the order in which they were married. Marriage between close kin, especially cousins, is the preferred pattern. Family relations are marked by respect and avoidance behavior. Households vary in the extent to which women are secluded among the elite, full seclusion is the general rule. Partial seclusion or no seclusion also occurs. In the household division of labor, men are responsible for agriculture, collecting activities, marketing, sewing, laundry, building repairs, and transport. Women cook, clean house, take care of children, pursue their craft specialties, and sometimes engage in trade.

Residential clusters of wards or hamlets, each with a ward or community head, are organized into villages under the direction of the village head. In the past, groups of villages were held in fief by titled officials living in the capital. Fiefs were attached to particular tribes and were granted by the emir, or head of the state. Administration on the local level was carried out by officials appointed by the fief holder. The main local administrative official was the village chief, whose duties included collection of tribute, recruiting men for military service, organizing corvee labor, and acting in minor juridical matters. The fief holder was the intermediate link between the village chief and the state level.

British intervention led to changes in this system. At present, the duties of village chiefs are limited to the disposition of unoccupied village lands. The British imposed a system of districts in place of fiefs, as an intermediate level in the political organization. The districts encompass a larger number of subject villages (about 10-30 per district) than did the fiefs.

At the top of the political hierarchy the Hausa are organized into states, or emirates, ruled by the emir. Emirs are selected from the ruling lineages by a council of clerics (Mallamai). After British intervention, the selection of an emir had to be approved by the British government. Emirs have the ultimate power in administrative and judicial functions of the state, and delegate lesser officials to carry out these functions. Emirs had somewhat more power in the past than they do today, however, when they appointed fief heads and more officials. The British, by interposing a series of departments to handle state affairs, spread out some of the powers that had formerly been reserved to the emir. At present, many of the important decisions are made by the emir in conjunction with senior department heads whom he chooses. The emir, the top state bureaucrats, the two state priests, and the central market are all located in a capital city.

The Islamic religion was introduced among the Hausa as early as the 1500s, but its predominance was not fully established until the Fulbe-led jihad (holy war) of the early nineteenth century. Pilgrimages, daily prayer, attendance at mosque ceremonies, adherence to Islamic law, and the stress on Quaranic [Koranic--HRAF Note] learning are major elements of the Islamic faith. Mallamai (men of Quaranic learning) teach the faith and have relatively high status in Hausa society. The Mallamai are ranked by degree of learning and status, with those at the top of the hierarchy serving in state-level offices that combine both religious and secular powers. Individual participation in Islam is variable, the degree of adherence to Islamic practices being greater among those of wealth and power than among the poorer, lower-status groups. Further, the traditional Hausa religion continues to be followed by the pagan Hausa. This religion is oriented around a variety of spirits, both good and bad. Pagan ritual elements include sacrificial offerings to the spirits and spirit possession. Most ritual is carried out at the family level, but the pagan Hausa also have specialists who divine and prescribe cures for illnesses. Among the Muslim Hausa, participation in spirit possession cults, limited to women and members of the lower strata, is indicative of the persistence of some of the more traditional Hausa religious beliefs.

For a basic orientation to the culture, see Smith (1955) and Greenburg (1947). Culture summary by Eleanor C. Swanson and Robert O. Lagace Greenberg, Joseph H. Islam and clan organization among the Hausa. Southwestern Journal of Anthropology, 3 (1947): 193-211. Smith, Michael Garfield. The economy of Hausa communities of Zaria. London, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1955. 8, 273 p.

A Giant and the cause of Thunder

This story is about a forest giant, about him and a man called, A-Man-among-Men. A story, a story. Let it go, let it come.

There was a certain man by name, A-Man-among-Men, always when he came from the bush he used to lift up a tree (and) come, (and) throw (it down), and say, 'I am A-Man-among-Men.' His wife said, 'Come now, leave off saying you are a-man-among-men; if you saw a-man-among-men you would run.' But he said, 'It is a lie.'

Now it was always so, if he has brought in wood, then he would throw it down with force, (and) say, 'I am A-Man-among-Men.' The wife said, 'Come now, leave off saying so; if you have seen a man-among-men, you would run.' But he said, I It is a lie.'

Now one day his wife went to the stream. She came to a certain well; the well bucket, ten men were (necessary to) draw it up. She came, (but) had to do without the water, so she turned back. She was going home, when she met another woman (who) said, 'Where are you going with a calabash, with no water?' She said, 'I have come and seen a bucket there. I could not draw it; that is what caused me to turn back home.' And this (second) woman, who had this (a) son, said, 'Let us return that you may find (water).' She said, 'All right.'

So they returned together to the well. This woman, who had the son, told the boy to lift the bucket and draw water. Now the boy was small, not past the age when he was carried on his mother's back. Then he lifted the bucket then and there, and put it in the well, (and) drew up the water. They filled their large water-pots, they bathed, they washed their clothes, they lifted up the water to go home. This one was astonished.

Then she saw that one who had the boy has turned off the path and was entering the bush. Then the wife of (him called) A-Man-among-Men said, 'Where are you going?' She said to her, 'I am going home, where else?' She said, 'Is that the way to your home?' She said, 'Yes.' She said, 'Whose home is it?' She said, 'The home of A-Man-among-Men.'

Then she was silent; she did not say anything till she got home. She told her husband. He said that to-morrow she must take him (there). Next morning he was the first to get up from sleep. He took the weapons of the chase and slung them over his shoulder. He put his axe on his shoulder and wakened her (his wife) from sleep. He said, 'Get up, let us go. Take me that I may see, that I may see the (one called) A-Man-among-Men.'

She got up, lifted her large water-pot, and passed on in front. He was following her until they got to the edge of the well. Now they found what they sought indeed. (As) they were coming, the wife of A-Man-among-Men came up, both she and her son. They greeted her, and the wife of this one showed him the bucket (and) said, 'Lift it and draw water for me.'

So he went and lifted the bucket in a rage and let it down the well; but the bucket pulled him, (and) he would have fallen into the well, when the little boy seized him, both him and the bucket, and drew (out) and threw them on one side. Then the boy lifted up the bucket, put it in the well, drew water, and filled their water-pots.

His wife said, 'You have said you are going to see him called A-Man-among-Men. You have seen this is his wife and son. If you still want to go you can go together. As for me, I am not going.' The boy's mother said, 'Oh, what is the matter? You had better not come.' (But) he said he would come; and she said, 'Let us be off.' They set out.

When they arrived (at the house) then she showed him a place for storing meat, (and) he got inside. Now he, the master of the house, was not at home; he has gone to the bush. She (his wife) said, 'You have seen he has gone to the bush; but you must not stir if he has come.' He sat inside till evening came.

The master of the house came. He keeps saying, 'I smell the smell of a man.' His wife said, 'Is there another person here? It is not is not I.' Thus, if he said he smelled the smell of a man, then she would say, 'Is there another person here. Is it not I? If you want to eat me up, well and good, for there is no one else but I.'

Now he was a huge man, his words like a tornado; ten elephants he would eat. When dawn came, he made his morning meal of one; then he went to the bush, and if he should see a person there he would kill him.

Now he (A Man-among-Men) was in the store-house, hidden. The man's wife told him, saying, 'You must not move till he is asleep. If you have seen the place dark, he is not asleep; if you have seen the place light, that is a sign he is asleep; come out and fly.' Shortly after he saw the place has become light like day, so he came out.

He was running, he was running, until dawn, he was running, till the sun rose he was running, he did not stand. Then that man woke up from sleep and he said, 'I smell the smell of a man, I smell the smell of a man.' He rose up, he followed where the man had gone. He was running. He also, the other one, was running till he met some people who were clearing the ground for a farm, (and) they asked what had happened. And he said, 'Some one chased (is chasing) me.' They said, 'Stand here till he comes.'

A short time passed, and the wind caused by him came; it lifted them (and) cast them down. And he said, 'Yes, that is it, the wind he makes (running); he himself has not yet come. If you are able (to withstand him) tell me. If you are not able, say so.' And they said, 'Pass on.'

So he ran off, and came and met some people hoeing. They said, 'What chased (is chasing) you?' He replied, 'Some one pursued (is pursuing) me.' They said, 'What kind of a man chased (is chasing) (one) such as you.' He said, 'Some one who says he is A-Man-among-Men. They said, 'Not a man-among-men, a man-among-women. Stand till he comes.'

He stood. Here he was when the wind of him came, it was pushing about the men who were hoeing. So he said, 'You have seen, that is the wind he makes; he has not yet come himself If you are a match for him tell me; if not say so.' And they said, 'Pass on'; and off he ran. He was running. He came across some people sowing; they said, 'What are you running for?' He said, 'Some one chased (is chasing) me.' And they said, 'What kind of a man is it who chased (is chasing) the like of you?' He said, 'His name is A-Man-among-Men.' They said, 'Sit here till he comes.' He sat down.

In a short time the wind he made came (and) it lifted them and cast them down. And they said, 'What kind of wind is that?' He, the man who was being pursued, said, 'It is his wind.' And they said, 'Pass on.' They threw away the sowing implements, (and) went into the bush (and) hid, but that one was running on.

He came (and) met a certain huge man; he was sitting alone at the foot of a baobab tree. He had killed elephants and was roasting them, as for him, twenty elephants he could eat; in the morning he broke his fast with five. His name was 'The Giant of the Forest.'

Then he questioned him and said, 'Where are you going in all this haste?' And he said, 'A-Man-among-Men chased (is chasing) me.' And the Giant of the Forest said, 'Come here, sit down till he comes.' He sat down. They waited a little while. Then a wind made by A-Man-among-Men came, and lifted him, (and) was about to carry him off, when the Giant of the Forest shouted to him to come back. And he said, 'It is not I myself who am going off, the wind caused by the man is taking me away.' At that the Giant of the Forest got in a rage, he got up and caught his hand, and placed it under his thigh.

He was sitting until A-Man-among-Men came up and said, 'You sitting there, are you of the living, or of the dead?' And the Giant of the Forest said, 'You are interfering.' And A-Man-among-Men said, 'If you want to find health give up to me what you are keeping there.' And the Giant of the Forest said, 'Come and take (him).' And at that he flew into a rage and sprang and seized him. They were struggling together.

When they had twisted their legs round one another they leaped up into the heavens. Till this day they are wrestling there; when they are tired out they sit down and rest; and if they rise up to struggle that is the thunder you are wont to hear in the sky; it is they struggling.

He also, that other one, found himself (escaped), and went home, and told the tale. And his wife said, 'That is why I was always telling you whatever you do, make little of it. Whether it be you excel in strength, or in power, or riches, or poverty, and are puffed up with pride, it is all the same; some one is better than you. You said, it was a lie. Behold, your own eyes have seen.'

Off with the rat's head.

Hausa Folk-Lore Maalam Shaihua, translated by R. Sutherland Rattray Reposted with Permission from Dream's Archives
 

a story about a test of skills

This story is about a (test of) skill.


A story, a story.

A certain chief begat children, three males. One day his councilors assembled. He said he himself wished to see the most skilled among them. There was a huge baobab tree (near) the entrance to the chief's house. He said he wanted them to mount (their) horses, (and) come (and) show their skill, where this baobab tree was.

So they mounted their chargers, (and) went far away. The eldest galloped (and) came, (and) thrust that baobab with (his) spear. The spear went right through and he followed, passing through the hole made by the spear, with his horse. And he passed on.

The next to follow the eldest came on. When he was near to the baobab tree he lifted his horse (on the bit) and jumped the baobab.

When the youngest galloped, he came, (and) pulled up the whole baobab, roots and all, and came on waving it aloft at his father, and the place rang with applause.

Now I ask you who excelled among them. If you do not know, that is all.

Off with the rat's head.

Hausa Folk-Lore
Maalam Shaihua, translated by R. Sutherland Rattray

FRIENDS

Story of a great friendship and how it was put to the test


This story is about some young men who were friends.

Some boys made a covenant of friendship; they lived together, (and) were inseparable. They had their maidens in an outlying village. Always they used to go together (and) bring them. On one occasion, one of his friends did not go, so only one went to bring the maidens. When he went, he brought back the maids.

(As) they were going along, they met a lion; and it knocked down and lay on one of the girls, but he, he drew his sword and cut at the lion's head. The lion died, and he found the maiden was not dead. And he told her to lie down beneath the lion along with him, and one of them was to go and tell his friend.

So she consented, (and) ran off (and) found he has begun to sleep. She roused him, (and) he said, 'Where are So-and-so and So-and-so?' And she said, 'They are out there, a lion has killed them.' And he rose up, he did not take anything with him, he went along and came and reached (where) the lion was; it was above them.

He did not hesitate, but sprang and climbed on the lion. He thought it was alive. Truly it was dead. Then his friend rose up and said, 'Rise, So-and-so, you have proved yourself (a free-born) man.' So they lifted up the maiden (and) went home.

Now among them who was better than another?

If you do not know, there it is.

Off with the rat's head.

Hausa Folk-Lore
Maalam Shaihua, translated by R. Sutherland Rattray