Sevier 1

Diana Sevier

Dr. Kizza

UHON 3590

19 April 2018

The Hausa-Fulani Ethnic Group: History and Culture

The Hausa-Fulani are an African ethnic group located mostly in Nigeria, where they

make up 29% of the population, but Niger and Benin are also home to substantial populations

(Harvard Divinity School). They are one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa and speak the

Hausa language. Islam is the principal religion, with 97% of Hausa following Sunni Islam. The

Hausa are agriculturally focused and therefore often chose to remain in rural areas rather than

urban ones.

The Hausa people have multiple epics or legends to explain the beginning of their group.

Presently, “the legend of Daura now enjoys popular acceptance as the Hausa nation” (Bivins 2).

Most of the legends included a Hausa queen, Daura. There is a city, in what is now northern

Nigeria, that has the same name. It is said to be the site of the beginning of the Hausa kingdoms.

The narrative says that “the founders of the Hausa kingdoms were either the children or the

grandchildren of Daura herself and a foreign hero, coming from the east, who rescued the people

of Daura from the tyranny of a snake which lived in the town's well” (Bivins 1). The hero’s name

was Bayajidda and he had sons from three women: “a Boru princess, a concubine and Daura

herself” (Bivins 1). The polygamy of the legend is meant to represent the seven Hausa states that

were legitimate (Daura) and the ones that weren't (the concubine). This is the basis for the Hausa

creation narrative. The origin of the people and kingdoms is dated to be the around the 7th-11th
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century. Now, the narrative is used for political means to promote different caustionary

perspectives on the correct role for Muslim women in Hausa society.

Once the Hausa peoples were established, their kingdom began to flourish. Hausaland

became home to extensive trading. ​The primary exports were leather, gold, cloth, salt, slaves,

animal hides, henna, and especially kola nuts. “Several professional Hausa trading groups had

come to dominate the kola trade in the nineteenth century” (​Hogendorn 116). There was a

distinct relationship between the Asante and Hausa in this trade. There was almost no European

participation in the market or trade, allowing the economy to be focused on the interactions

between indigenous African groups. Very often the prices would be marked up to “50 times or

more” due to its valuable nature, creating wealth and smart economic practices for the Hausa

(Hogendorn 116). Today, the kola nut is still a valuable trading good because of its caffeine

content.

Sunni Islam is predominant and historically established religion of the Hausa people.

Islamic influence and following has been present in Hausaland since the 11th century when it

was brought in by traders and Islamic priests from Northern Africa and the Middle East. The

Hausa and Fulani lived closely in what is now Northern Nigeria, both practicing slightly

different forms of Islam. The Fulani are known for taking great pride in their strong faith and

have “cultural prestige,” which is the reason they decided to invade the Hausa states to improve

the Hausa’s adherence to Islamic law. The tensions rose up around 1802, and “ultimately, the

scholar and holy man Usmanu dan Fodio called for a jihad against the Gobir ruler” (Barkow 60).

So, the Fulani declared war on the Hausa states in the Fulani War of 1809. The new empire

created after the Fulani success was called the Soko Caliphate and it was one of the most
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significant in Africa in the 19th century. The leader of the state was Sultan of Sokoto, the

traditional religious leader (​Sarkin Musulmi​) of Sunni Hausa-Fulani in Nigeria and beyond. The

Sultan was an establishment of an independent Islamic caliphate in West Africa. There was no

separation of religion and government, making it a theocracy, with the leader of the religion also

being the leader of the state. Unfortunately when British colonialism in Nigeria began, they

abolished the political authority of the Sultan, but that role is still very important and an

influential religious leadership position to the Hausa-Fulani to this day. Having the Sokoto

Caliphate state helped to strengthen Islamic religion in rural areas. It created a unification and

organization of both Hausa states, rural areas, and the Fulani. After that point, the two ethnic

groups combined because they had the same religion and other similar cultural aspects. “​Islam

has been—and continues to be—the primary centrifugal force that brings together the

Hausa-Fulani identity” (​Harvard Divinity School). They began to intermarry and many Fulani

learned the Hausa language and spoke it instead.

There is also the traditional religion that was extensively practiced by Hausa called

Maguzawa, before Islam arrived in the 11th century. Maguzawa is also the name given to

“non-Muslim Hausa” (Barkow 59). These people reside “chiefly Kano and Katsina” (Barkow

60). Alos, in the remote areas of Hausaland, Maguzawa is more practiced. Where in contrast, in

urban areas, it is rare for the traditional religion to be practiced. In communities that are still

Maguzawa and practice their religion, “each compound head functions as his own priest”

(Barkow 69). The religion centers around the spirits or gods (iskoki) of the clan. There are some

unique and interesting practices of Maguzawa, which includes the sacrifice of animals (usually a

chicken or a goat) for personal ends. But if those personal ends result in the harm of others, it is
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not legitimate Maguzawa magic. Bori is another part of the religion and is practiced by the

Maguzawa and Muslims alike. Bori is “a spirit possession curative cult” (Barkow 70). The

process involves curing an illness through a ritual that allows the spirit that has possessed the

person to communicate and then exit the body through a sneeze, riding the person of the illness.

Most Bori practitioners and members are women. The Maguzawa is an integral part of traditional

Hausa religion and intermingles with some aspects of Islamic practice.

Besides religion, the Hausa have other important values that guide their life and age

transitions. One specific example is ​kirki​ and it distinguishes the Hausa people from all other

groups. Kirki is important in “fostering moral and identity development” (​Salamone 360). The

development of kirki comes in four stages and differs based on age and sex. Kiriki is also

intertwined with marriage since that is an important age transition and carries different kirki

expectations.

The first stage of kirki is examined in children by their parents. A little boy is supposed to

have “karamin yaro,” which entails being quiet, respecting elders, not touching things, and not

crying. The same standards apply to young girls (jariri) except they are supposed to be even

quieter. Both girls and boys who do not follow kirki are said to be “banza”. To not follow kirki,

is to be non-Hausan based on their cultural values. Kirki is very significant because it also

defines parent to child relations. The parent judges the child’s attitudes and tries to get rid of

“banza” and increase “kirki”. Also, “since one meaning of kirki is ‘gentleness’ or, perhaps better,

‘consideration’, it is logical that the Hausa do not approve of violence in child raising”

(Salamone 363). So, for the Hausa there is a loving relationship between child and parent,

excluding abuse, but still trying to guide behavior towards Hausa standards.
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The next stage is teenage years, which consists of the imitation theory of learning (“in

which a child learns through watching and imitating a skill”), common among many other

African ethnic groups (Salmone 365). For young men (saurayis kirki), they follow their father

and learn his trade for ten to fifteen years, while saving money for marriage. For young girls

(budurawa), they follow their mothers and learn how to do domestic chores, and once they reach

menstruation (at ten or twelve years old), they are expected to marry.

Marriage is the next age transition and dowries are an important part, and because of this

most marriages have a large age gap with a young wife and older man. Divorce is very common

and accepted in Hausa society most likely because men and women occupy separate sectors in

everyday life leading to a lack of relationship. Adult life after marriage is termed “ango for men

and amarya for women” (Salmone 367). Adult life simply consists of during regular duties

attributed to men and women.

The final stage is old age; men in this stage are tsoho and women are tsohuwa. “Their

kirki is to deal with children” (Salmone 368). So grandparents and grandchildren have a loving

and good-humored relationship that gently curbs any misbehavior. Tsoho and Tsohuwa are

looked to for advice and guidance when understanding how to enforce kirki in children.

Kirki is very unique to the Hausa people because it is not taught through the Muslim

religion, just through proverbs told by parents and grandparents to children, so it is an integral

and individual part of Hausa culture, while also playing a significant role is marking age

transitions and varying responsibilities at those stages in their society.

There are many similarities between the Hausa people and other cultures. For example,

both the Hausa and Mande of Mali have epic stories that tell about their revered leaders and
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unifications of empires. Also, both the Sokoto Caliphate and the Mali Empire were important

centers for trade and created wealthy states during the same time period. Concerning religion,

Islam is one of the universal religions and is practiced by many throughout the world, so the

Hausa are similar in that way. Through the combination of traditional Maguzawa and a universal

religion, the Hausa are similar to other African ethnic groups because many chose to integrate

some aspects of their traditional religion into Christianity. Hausa culture in similar to American

culture because both have similar age transitions and both have certain expectations for behavior

at those stages. For example, children are supposed to respect the guidance and advice of their

grandparents in both Hausa and American culture. While, Hausa culture is unique in its own

way, many similarities can be drawn between it and other African cultures, American culture,

and several others around the world.

Works Cited

Barkow, Jerome H. “Muslims and Maguzawa in North Central State, Nigeria: An Ethnographic

Comparison.” ​Canadian Journal of African Studies / Revue Canadienne Des Études

Africaines​, vol. 7, no. 1, 1973, pp. 59–76. ​JSTOR​, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/483750.

Bivins, Mary Wren. “Daura and Gender in the Creation of a Hausa National Epic.” ​African

Languages and Cultures​, vol. 10, no. 1, 1997, pp. 1–28. ​JSTOR​, JSTOR,

www.jstor.org/stable/1771812.

Harvard Divinity School. “Hausa-Fulani.” ​Religious Literacy Project​, THE RELIGIOUS

LITERACY PROJECT, Harvard Divinity School, 2018,

rlp.hds.harvard.edu/faq/hausa-fulani.

Hogendorn, Jan. “The Kola Trade.” ​The Journal of African History​, vol. 24, no. 1, 1983, pp.

116–117. ​JSTOR​, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/181868.

Salamone, Frank A., and Virginia A. Salamone. “KIRKI: A CORE VALUE OF HAUSA

CULTURE.” ​Africa: Rivista Trimestrale Di Studi e Documentazione Dell’Istituto

Italiano per l’Africa e l’Oriente​, vol. 48, no. 3, 1993, pp. 359–381. ​JSTOR​, JSTOR,

www.jstor.org/stable/40760805.