GST112 – Nigerian People and Culture

Course Lecturers
• Prof Adeyemi Ademowo (Course Leader)
• Dr Noah Balogun (Course Coordinator) +2348030627731,
balogunnoah@abuad.edu.ng
• Dr Marcus Adedara
• Dr Ngozi Ezenagu
• Dr Lucy Ada Odusina-Onaivi
• Ms Adetola Adesina
• Mr Femi Awokalu
• Mr Oluwapelumi Owolabi
• Mr Lukmon Oshioke
• Mr Marvelous Chinwe
Table of Contents
GST112 – Nigerian People and Culture ..................................................................... 1
Topic 1 – Introduction to Culture ............................................................................................................ 3

Topic 2 – Marriage and Family in Pre-Colonial Nigeria ............................................................................... 6

Topic 3 – Festivals in Nigeria ................................................................................................................ 12

Topic 4 – History of the Yoruba People of Southern Nigeria ...................................................................... 16

Topic 5 – The People of Northern Nigeria ............................................................................................... 22

Topic 6 – Religion and Culture.............................................................................................................. 27

Topic 1 – Introduction to Culture

Introduction
• Historically, the word culture has its roots in the Latin Colere, which means “to
cultivate.” To cultivate here means “to acquire or develop a quality, or to be civilized.
• We must understand culture is meaningless without a group of people.
• Culture is the embodiment of the way we think and do things. It is what we have
inherited as a member of a group

Definition
• Another way to explain the concept, culture, is through the general or layman’s
definition. Here, culture is regarded simply as the “way of life of a group of people”.
That is, how we live, talk, act, relate and do everything
• The first scholar to use the concept, culture, to “indicate the condition of a group of
people”, is Sir Edward Bunett Tylor, a British anthropologist.
• To him, culture is that “complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art,
morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a
member of society.”
• Another way to explain the concept, culture, is through the general or layman's
definition. Here, culture is regarded simply as the "way of life of a group of people".
That is, how we live, talk, act, relate and do everything
• The first scholar to use the concept, culture, to "indicate the condition of a group of
people", is Sir Edward Bunett Tylor, a British anthropologist.
• To him, culture is that "complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art,
morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a
member of society."

Material Culture
• According to William Ogburn (1922), there are two aspects which are vital to all
cultures, namely, material and non-material.
o Material culture refers to the physical or technological aspects of our daily
lives, including food items, houses, factories and raw materials.
• Jules David Prown (2001), in his essay "Mind in Matter: An Introduction to Material
Culture Theory and Method" defines material-culture as, …the study through
artifacts of the beliefs - values, ideas, attitudes, and assumptions - of a particular
community or society at a given time.
o Material cultures include the physical objects, resources that people use to
define their culture - homes, buildings, schools, etc.

Non-Material Culture
- Non-material culture, on the other hand, covers all other aspects of culture that
cannot be found under material culture. In other words, it refers to ways of using
material culture.
 - To put it differently, it refers to ways of using material objects and customs, beliefs,
philosophies, governments and patterns of communication.
- It includes those non-physical ideas that people have about their culture - customs,
beliefs, values, etc.

Elements of Culture
• Language
o Language is an abstract system of word meanings and symbols for all
aspects of culture. It includes speech, written characters, numerals,
symbols, gestures and expression of non-verbal communication.
• Norms
o Norms can be described as established standards of behaviour maintained
by a society. It includes such standards or rule as ‘respect your elders.’
• Sanctions
o Sanctions are penalties and rewards for conduct concerning societal norms,
that is, the reward or punishment for going against societal norms. While
positive sanctions can lead to appreciation, a medal or chieftaincy title etc, a
negative sanction can include banishment, a fine, etc.
• Values
o Values are regarded as the collective conceptions of what is considered
good, desirable and proper – or bad, undesirable and improper in a culture.
They indicate what people in a culture prefer as well as what they find
important and morally right (or wrong).

Common Qualities of Culture

• Culture is Adaptive
o This is essentially the quality that guarantees the survival of a group as it
affords them the opportunity to adjust to the needs and changes in their
environment.
o Changes that have been brought about as a result of technological
advancements have for instance been sustained because of the people’s
ability to adapt and blend such changes into both the material and non-
material aspects of their culture.
• Culture is Integrative
o This is concerned with the cultural traits which provide useful model for the
people to enable them do what is to be done or collectively perceive to be
done.
o It is a system that has several mutually interdependent parts, that work
independently to form a whole part, a combination of different elements
• Culture is Learned
o This quality emphasizes the fact that culture is socially inherited. It is not
derived from the void or from the womb but learnt during the grow-up
 process. This is usually referred to as ‘enculturation’, or cultural transmission
process or ‘cultural transmission’.
o We learn socio-cultural patterns from our environment and family members.
We are also influenced by them (accents, how we handle conflict, etc).
o No one is born with culture
• Culture is Symbolic
o Central to this quality is the understanding that a group will be enmeshed in
cultural crisis if there are no symbols which could enable them to develop
complex thoughts, and to exchange those thoughts with others.
o Why do certain people do what they do? For instances, some rites and
performances.
• Culture is Shared
o For something or a practice to be constitute culture, it has to be shared by a
number of people , and it must be believed by them.

Conclusion
• Having attempted an analysis of meaning and nature of culture, it will not be out of
place at this juncture, to conclude this chapter by attempting a definition of culture.
• Culture, to us, can be summed as ‘the way of life of a given people, their ways of
instigating nature, utilizing possibilities as well as undertaking self-development for
the benefit of today and the future’.
Topic 2 – Marriage and Family in Pre-Colonial Nigeria

MARRIAGE AND FAMILY IN PRE-COLONIAL NIGERIAN SOCIETY

Introduction
Man is a gregarious animal; in other words, man lives in social groupings. Understanding man
and society also means appreciating and understanding the very nature of man and the structural
organization of human society. The institutions of the family, marriage, kinship and decent systems
are the basic social building blocks in any society linking otherwise separate groups in a common social
unit (Kottak 2004). Kin groups, such as families and decent groups are social units whose members
can be identified and whose resident patterns and activities can be observed. Marriage The beginning
of a legitimate family is marked by a socially and culturally acceptable, (and recently) legally
consummated, union called marriage.
The marriage institution is a common phenomenon present in every society; however, there
are difficulties defining the concept, marriage. A more acceptable definition of marriage was by
Murdock (1949) as cited by Ingiabuna et al. (2003) who defined marriage as the socially approved
union of a sexual cohabiting pair called husband and wife through which the offsprings derive their
legitimacy. If we take into consideration all the types of marriage in the literature, we can attempt a
working definition for our present purpose. Marriage may then be defined as any socially
sanctioned pattern of potentially life-long association between members of the same sex who
may be singly or multiple for purposes of either formation of a family, sexual gratification or
procreation or a combination of all of these.

Types of Marriage

Monogamy
It recognizes only one valid marriage at any given point in time between a man and a woman,
with neither the man nor the woman being permitted to have another marital partner while such
marriage lasts. A Monogamist is always pitied because people feel if he had the means, he would have
had more valid partners. This type of marriage has every tendency of moving to polygyny in the future.

Polygyny
It has to do a man having more than one wife. Most traditional Nigerian societies practice this
kind of marriage. Igbo, Tiv, Ibibio, Idoma, Fulani, Yoruba.

Polyandry
It involves a woman having more than one husband. This practice was dominant in parts of
India and Tibet; Lele of central Africa. However, Atemie (1994, 1999) as cited by Jackson (2015)
reported that this practice is also common among the Irigwe in Plateau State of Nigeria. Polyandrous
marriages where several brothers share a wife is referred to as ‘Fraternal’. On the other hand, there is
another variant called ‘matriarchal polyandry’ where the woman stays at her house and her various
husbands come to live with her in turns. Goldthorpe (1985).

Group Marriage
Beals and Hoijer (1965) described group marriage as the type whereby sets of males and
females shared more or less equal conjugal rights over each other. No particular man owns a wife and
vice-versa (Okodudu 2010).
Levirate Marriage
This is a type of marriage where a widow is expected to marry her late husband’s brother. It is
widely practiced in the Northern parts of Nigeria, among the Ogoni and the Igbo of Nigeria.

Widow Inheritance
The brother, son or close relative of the deceased husband inherits the wife for the same
reasons as highlighted in levirate marriage. In this case however, the widow is often requested to name
the next-of-kin among the late husband’s kinsmen whom she would want to live with as her husband.
Nevertheless, children gotten from such a union belong to the new husband and not the dead
husband. This marriage type is also common among the Igbo of Eastern Nigeria, and Fulani of
Northern Nigeria.

Woman-to-Woman Marriage
In this kind of marriage, a wealthy barren woman acquires a wife by performing all traditional
rites and pay appropriate bride wealth. The woman becomes the husband while the lady being married
becomes the wife. The female husband determines the manner of allocation of her sexual favours by
screening and approving her sexual partners (Ingiabuna 2012). This kind of marriage is practiced
among the Igbo, the Ibibio, the Efiks and Kalabaris of the Niger Delta.

Gift or Charity Marriage

In this kind of marriage, parents give out one of their young daughters as a gift to their friends
or patrons without any consideration as a demonstration of friendship, honour and total loyalty.
Among the Hausa people, a girl might be given away to her father’s friends if she abuses her virginity.
Similarly, among the Kanuri of Nigeria, a charity marriage could be contracted between a virgin girl
and a Mallam in appreciation to a religious functionary who performed religious role to benefit the
family members in areas like; medicine, prayers, divination. This practice has also been reported by
Otite and Ogionwo (2005) to have been found among the Urhobos. It has also been found among
the Tiv of Central Nigeria.

Child-to-Child Marriage
In this kind of marriage, parents of betrothed children make perfect the marriage pact as soon
as the boy was of school age between 5-7 years. The children are formally married by their parents
and allowed to grow under the watch for eyes of the parents. Charles (2008) reported that this practice
was found to have existed among the Oron people of Akwa Ibom State.

Pawn Marriage
This is a situation where a man cannot readily pay his creditor, may give out his daughter as
payment for debt owned. Okaba (2005) reported that among the Ijaw, there was the practice of
pawning girls maturing into puberty; she is espoused to the pawnbroker or his closest kin. In this
situation there would be no payment of bride wealth and acceptance by the creditor relieves the debtor
of his debts. However, Ingiabuna (2004) stated that among the Ijaw, a father could not pawn away his
daughter without the approval of the girl’s maternal uncle, except in cases of high bridal transfer (Opu-
ekiye) marriage systems.

Wife Capture/Elopement
This is a situation when a young suitor captures or elopes with a girl he intends to marry.
Ingiabuna and Obara (2009), stated that among the Ijaw, a suitor may capture a daughter if the parents
of the girl refuse him marriage to the girl. The suitor however, comes back later to properly marry the
girl. Similarly, as observed by Ewuruigwe (1994), among the Ezamgbo (Igbo), a man may capture a
maiden on her way from or to the town market for her last marriage rites to her new home. If the
usurper succeeds, he fires a gun shot into the air as he reaches home with the captive wife. This act
makes her a legitimate wife to the usurper and no new bridal payments are made. Still, among the pre-
colonial Tiv of Benue, a form of elopement has been reported where a suitor may successfully elope
with a man’s daughter if the man refuses the suitor to marry his daughter.

Preferential/Prescribed Marriage
In some cultures, there may be preferential or prescribed marriage among cross-cousins but
marriage between parrallel cousins is not permitted. Cross and parallel cousin marriages have been
found to have existed among the Fulani and Kanuri of Nigeria. Among the Igbo, we have the Mmaji
and Njoku marriage.

Sororate and Sororal Polygyny

Sororate marriage is culturally opposite to levirate marriage. According to Gluckman (1975),
in sororate, the sister of the dead wife is culturally required to marry the late sister s husband, (serial
monogamy). While in sororate polygyny, one’s husband is free to choose many sisters in marriage, as
in the case in the Bible when Jacob married Leah and Racheal. This marriage system is also found
among the Ibibio of Southern Nigeria.

Process of Marriage
In most societies, marriage begins with courtship. If it starts with betrothal, like most
traditional African societies, courtship follows closely in its trail; most societies have rules governing
how this is to be done. For instance, among the Yoruba of Nigeria, the Igbo, the Idoma of Benue
state and even in some parts of Mushin dominated northern Nigeria communities, certain payment is
to be made to the family of the bride called bride price. The bride price may include material properties
and cash. The money so paid is not to be misconstrued to mean buying the woman, but only as an
exchange to bind new relationship.
During the ceremonies, the two families involved are in festive mood. The bride price varies
from society to another. Some use money, goats, salt, bitter-kola, honey, palm oil, cattles. The actual
value of the consideration varies with the customs of each society. Traditionally, it was a symbolic
payment from the bridegroom’s kinship group to that of the bride, indicating the earnestness of the
bridegroom to assume the role of husband. The transfer of the bride payment legitimizes the liason
in the customary sense. Among the Igbo, any child born after the bride payment has been made is the
legitimate child of the person who had made the payment even if the genitor is clearly someone else.
By the same token, unless the payment is made, any offspring belongs to the kinship group of the
mother of the child. Also, traditionally, divorce is not effected until the bride price is returned in the
form calls counter payment.

Forms of Mate Selection

In selecting a marriage partner, certain social dimensions are considered; Some of these forms
of mate selection include:

Endogamy
This marriage is allowed within a certain kin group. Among the Igbo of Eastern Nigeria, the
ritual slaves known as osu are permitted endogamy (Green 1964), among the Fulani, who may marry
their own cousin. It is aimed at maintaining the purity of the group.
Exogamy
This means one must marry outside one’s kin group. Exogamy binds two groups together
through relationship, marriage and subsequently when children are born. It is widely practiced in
Nigerian societies.

Patterns of Residence
The pattern of residence depends on the culture of the partners. The partners do not decide
on the pattern of residence.

Patrilocal or Virilocal
According to Coult and Habenstein (1965), married couples are required to live in or near the
husband’s family. Tiv, Igbo and Ibibio are patrilocal in nature.

Matrilocal or Uxorilocal Residence

This is a residence system where married couples are expected to live with or near the wife’s
relatives. There are no real cases of matrilocal in Nigerian societies.

Bilocal Residence
In this kind of residence, couples can reside either with the man’s relatives or the wife s
relatives. This residence pattern became popular with the emergence of infectious diseases brought
about by European travellers who contracted such diseases, which eventually caused mass death
thereby completely erasing some families. Therefore, people began to live with whichever parents or
relatives that is still alive.

Avunculocal Residence
This refers to a marital residence pattern in which a man and his wife settle down with the
husband’s mother’s brother after marriage. There is no real case of this in Nigerian societies.

Neolocal Residence
This is a system of residence where married couples leave home for an independent residence
after marriage. This is the contemporary practice in Nigeria.

Duolocal or Natolocal
In this marital residence pattern, couples are required to reside separately. This means that
both husband and wife stay in their families of orientation or in their different apartments and only
visit each other. Duolocal means residence in two places, while natolocal refers to residence in where
one was raised. This is the contemporary practice in Nigeria. The husband stays in Lagos and the wife
in Abuja.

THE FAMILY
The most basic institution in any society is the family and it is the social context into which
members of a society derive their primary identity. Sociologists have come up with different definitions
of the family and this is owing to the fact that the family has various manifestations, organization and
structures in various societies. Mair (1972), defined the family as a domestic group in which parents
and children live together, and in its elementary form consists of a couple and their children.
Duberman and Hartjen (1979) defined a family as a universal institution whose most important
functions are to socialise and nurture the younger generation. Similarly, Smith and Preston (1982)
defined the family as a social group whose members are related either through common ancestry or
marriage and are bound by moral and economic rights and duties.

Forms of Family
Sociologists and Anthropologists have identified various forms and kinds of families with
regards to the cultural peculiarities as obtainable in various societies over time. Families are categorized
based on the number and generations of people involved in the family groups and the leadership or
power/authority holders in the group.

Nuclear Family
The nuclear family refers to a couple along with any dependent, unmarried children who share
a residence and form a social unit. In other words, it is made up of a husband, wife and dependent
children living together in a single dwelling. The nuclear family is the smallest unit of society and it is
also called the elementary family.

Extended Family
An extended family is a constituent of several related persons by descent, marriage or adoption
such as a husband and a wife and their children and at least one of their sets of parents, aunts, uncles,
nieces and nephews all living together in a single dwelling or in close proximity.

Compound Family
This form of family organization can be seen as an overlapping set of nuclear families, each
with the same man as family head. It consists of a man (head of households); his wives and concubines
who live in different homestead with their children. In this case, the wives become head of their own
respective household while the man rules and runs all households. This kind of family is mostly
popular amongst traditional Nigerian societies.

Functions of the Family

Nurture
Every child is born into a family and every child is expected to be fed, clothed, educated and
cared for. This responsibility lies in the hands of the family; hence, the family ensures providing for
the welfare needs of the children, thereby ensuring the survival of the next generation of society.

Regulation of Sexual Relationships

One of the paramount biological needs of man in all society is sexual relationship. Such
relationship is often protected with rules and regulations in all societies and it is the family that helps
and enforces such rules. This is done to prevent incestuous relationships for example the need for one
not to have sexual relationship with close relative or kin etc. The family also screens and approves
sexual partners and spouses for members.

Procreation
The family through the regulation of sexual relationship function fulfils the biological need of
reproduction and perpetuation of both the immediate family and the society as a whole.

Social Placement
An individual acquires his identity and place in society through his family. The family ascribes
many statuses to its members such as; race, ethnic affiliation, nationality, religion, royalty etc.
Affection and Companionship
The family is expected to provide affection and companionship for its members. Children are
given warm affection within the family to develop a positive self-image, and adults in the family need
intimate companionship to cope with life. This breeds a sense of belonging.

Conclusion
The family institution has undergone tremendous changes due to colonialisation. In
contemporary Nigeria, most marriages blend aspects of one with the other, in Christian marriage, the
marriage registry is notified while the traditional notion of engagement, bethrotal, escorting and
receiving of wife are still faithfully observed. Which aspect is given prominence among the various
types is a function of the persons affected? What is incontrovertible however is that societies cannot
exist without families.
Topic 3 – Festivals in Nigeria

FESTIVALS IN NIGERIA
Introduction
Festivals are symbolic events. They are important part, very significant, of our historical
milieu as they represent many unwish away landmarks and milestones. Indeed, every history is
clothed with such memorable events, what differs from culture to culture is how we often choose
to remember the significant highlights of the histories. Hence festivals are organized at different
times and for diverse reasons. One misconception about festival is that they are mainly a cultural,
or erroneously conceived, fetish events but contemporary realities have proven otherwise. Today,
festivals need not only be cultural, they might be organized to appreciate work of arts, hence, there
are many film festivals, sport festivals, etc. Today, social festivals are organized at different times
of the year to celebrate work of arts, to discover talents in sport, music, sculpturing, etc. There are
also annual religious festivals which would have been ascribed as cultural because most of the
displays are easily identifiable with certain group of people, but are different today because they
are main Christianly and Islam related festivals (which many find more comfortable to separate
from hitherto traditional religions.
What are festivals? A festival can be defined as a day or period of time set aside to
commemorate, ritually celebrate or re-enact, or anticipate events or season – agricultural, religious,
or socio – cultural- that give meaning and cohesiveness to an individual and to the religious,
political, or socio – economic community. Etymologically, the word Festival is derived from Latin
word, Festivalis or Festivus, which means: feast, befitting feast – day, a time of festive celebration
or a music performance. It is also a periodically recurrent social occasion in which, through a
multiplicity of forms and a series of coordinated events, participated directly or indirectly and to
various degrees all members of the whole community, united by ethnic, linguistic, religious,
historical bonds and sharing a worldview. In contemporary sense, festivals do not only refer to
specific nationalities or social groups sharing the same values, languages or history. Hence to the
French anthropologist Piette (1992), contemporary views of festivals are portrayed as reinforcing
established society. The antithetic behavior of the festival [sometimes] destroys social convention
in order to reinforce it. Thus, the festival is often displaced from its proper logic, that of ritual, rule
and regulations, place and ambivalence. Piette’s review of festivals encompassed festivals
organized to challenge a ritualized order such space is challenged and often demystified. Meeting
at such festivals makes for new interaction, ignoring their social role and differences. Expanding
on this function, Davies (2015) observed that “festival are distinctive because they take people
outside their normal behaviors in time and space, and outside their normal behaviors in time and
space” thereby sometimes, creating momentary equality, provide unusual activities and evoke
feelings and emotions that are very different to the regular and material routines of the workday”.
These shifts are mostly created because, traditionally, most festivals take place in spaces that are
either normally used for other activities such as open fields, roads or empty unplanned or
abandoned spaces; but later become the exclusive sites for the period of the events – sites usually
temporarily transformed by designation, decorations and planned activities/events that add to the
sense of occasion and the separateness of the experience gained in that space.

There are two vital criteria that festivals are identified by:
• Festivals are enjoyable, special and exceptional, sometimes the only time of celebration in
towns, cities. They are full of rituals, of entertainment, spectacle and remembrance, and
 they bring people together. Most people participate far enjoyment, something different and
the pleasure of coming together in memorable to them. (Gibson 1999)
• To qualify for inclusion as festival, an event must use the word ‘Festival’ in the event name,
it must be a one – off, annual, biannual, biannual etc. it must emphasis celebration,
promotion or exploration of some aspect of local culture or being an unusual point of
convergences for people with a given cultural activity or of a speech sub – cultural
identification (Gibson & Stewart 2009).

Festivals in Nigeria
From our discussion on the nature of festivals, it is obvious that a lot of factors combine to
give meaning to festivals and practices relating to it. Hence, festivals are of diverse nature. In this
work, however, we shall be focusing on cultural festivals in Nigeria.

Cultural Festivals in Nigeria

The most popular festivals today in Nigeria are festivals that are deeply rooted in history and
evolution of a group organized by different ethnic group or a community to celebrate some or
unique aspect (s) of their historical existence and prides. In some cases, they are organized to
celebrate cultural heritages and are often marked as local or natural holiday. The focus of most
cultural festivals in Nigeria can be grouped into three:
• A special day attached to the history of the people.
• A period in meaning with link (s) to special achievement of the group on a hero in them
historical narrative.
• Religious or social events that have special influence on the identity of the people. There
are tons of festivals (socio – cultural) celebrated in pre – colonial Nigeria which have
survived to date.
Some of these festivals includes:
• Durban festivals, Kastina.
• Argungun fishing festivals, Kebbi.
• Osun/Osogbo festival, Osogbo.
• New yam Festivals. 5. Igue Festivals.
• Egungun Festival.
• Ofala Festival.
• Nwanyi festival.
• Sharo/Shach Festival.
• Obitun Dance Festival.
• Agemo Festivals.
• Eyo Festival
• Ojude Oba Festival
SOME SELECTED FESTIVALS IN NIGERIA
Sharo/Shadi Festival (Flogging Festival)
This festival originated among the Jaful Fulani. During the sharo festival, bare chested
contestants, mostly unmarried men, come to the centre ring in company of beautiful girls. The
crowd clap and cheer them after this, a challenger also bare – chested comes out brandishing a
whip, canes, trying to frighten his opponent. This leads to further cheering, clapping, drumming
and praise-singing. After the challenger and competitors have soaked the fun, the challenger raises
his whip and flogs his opponent. The opponents, mostly unmarried men, must endure without
showing sign of pain so that he won’t be branded a coward. Because this might lead to being single
for the rest of his life

New Yam Festival (Iriji)

This is a very popular festival widely celebrated by the Igbos of south-eastern parts of
Nigeria in the month of August, every year. The New Yam Festival symbolizes the conclusion of
a harvest cycle and the beginning of new farm work. Each Igbo community decides the day/date
of the festival. But what is commonly observed is that on the last night before the festival, yams
of the old year (in the barn) are gotten rid of by those who still have them. The new yams are then
offered to the gods and ancestors first before others taste them.

Egungun Festival
This is celebrated among the Yorubas to symbolize the return of Festivals in Nigeria 15 the
ancestors/ or the dead to the earth (in masquerade form). It is a religion as well as social festival.
It is religious because it is celebrated to honor the ancestors and ward-off evils. It is social in that
the songs used during the festival are often targeted at exposing ills and corrupt attitudes in the
society, for others to learn or for the perpetrator to be brought to book.

Obitun Dance Festival

This is bridal dance in Ondo town. Every maiden in the town is expected to participate
before she gets married. It is believed that any maiden that refused to participate will end up
childless. 5. Osun Oshogbo Festival This festival has been celebrated since 1370. The osun river
goddess is believed to have founded the present day Osogbo town, hence the people celebrate,
hence the people celebrate the festival annually. It can be likened to (Founder Day) in present age,
to appreciate the relationship between the river goddess osun and the first monarch of Osogbo
town Oba Gbadewolu Laroye.

Durbar Festival Kastina

The festival dates back to around two hundred year ago, most especially when the northern
monarchs use horses in warfare. During the festival each group racing across the square at full
gallop, swords glinting in the sun. They pass one after the other in front of the Emir and then stop
to salute him with the sword. It is observed during the Idiel Kabir Muslim celebration annually.

Argungu Fishing Festival

The festival was initiated in August 1934 to honor late Sultan DanMuazu when he visited
argungu in present day Kebbi State. It is celebrated between Feb & Mar, annually. During the
festival men and boys entered the water, armed with large fish net scoops. These participants/
catchens are joined by canoes filled with drummers, and men ratting seed filled gourds to drive
the fishes to shallow pants of the water.

Igue Festival
This is observed by the Edo people. It originated in the 15th Century BC (1440 – 1473 AD)
during the reign of Oba EWU are. It is also called festival of goodluck. During the festival, the
Oba’s head is anointed with chalk signifying purity. The Edos believed that as the link between
them and the gods, whatever good luck bequeathed on their king by the goods will also rub off
positively on them.

Ofala Festival
The Ofala festival holds in Anambra State of Nigeria, and it is an annual celebration that
sees the Obi of Onitsha and his traditional rulers emerge in full cultural regalia and royal staffs to
display bravery, war conquest, affluence, and power among others. It is a celebration that
showcases the rich ethnicity of the Igbo people, and an occasion that attracts local indigenes from
around the country and beyond to Anambra during the celebrations.

Ojude-Oba Festival
The Ojude-Oba festival takes place in Ijebu-Ode of Ogun State; a cultural activity where
the locals and those in the diaspora come home to pay homage to their king, the Awujale of
Ijebuland. There is a heavy display of cultural street parades, equestrian showoffs, local song
renditions, dane-gun salutes, and a host of other local displays. This festival rides on the ancient
diversity, legend, history, and conquest of the old Ijebu peoples. This local event takes place during
the annual Ileya festival or the Muslim Eid-el-Kabir celebrations.

Conclusion
Festivals, from our discussions, is vital to every society as they mark significant milestones
in history, and serve as a means to remember and also celebrate founding fathers of the land (their
ancestors, heroes/ heroines of notable wars, important gods and goddesses, among others). Cultural
festivals, unlike other contemporary festivals such as Abuja Festival of Arts (organised to celebrate
arts works), Film Festivals (organised to showcase good movies), Music Festivals, etc, are unique
and their continued celebration are important for continued remembrance and preservation of
certain aspects of our history that their celebrations represent.
Topic 4 – History of the Yoruba People of Southern Nigeria

Introduction
• The southern Nigeria is largely inhabited by the Yoruba people who constitute one of
the largest single ethnic groups in sub-Saharan Africa.
• They are spread across four West African countries, Nigeria, Benin Republic, Togo
and Sierra Leone, the largest concentration being in Nigeria.
• The Yoruba people in Nigeria are the dominant group in south-western Nigeria.
• The Yorubas fully occupy six states, namely Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Ondo.
Kwara and Kogi, which were carved out of the former Northern Region, are partly
Yoruba states.

History of Existence
• A version of the history has it that the Yoruba migrated from Saudi Arabia, led by
Oduduwa and settle down in Ile-Ife. According to this tradition, they left colonies of
themselves on their way, one of which is reputed to be Gobir in Northern Nigeria.
o The group that finally settled down in IleIfe was led by Oduduwa. This version
has it that Oduduwa later established prosperous kingdom in Ile-Ife from
where his children dispersed to found the kingdom.
o Fourteen of such kingdoms founded by sons of Oduduwa were already large
and prosperous at the end of eighteenth century.
• The second version claims that Ile-Ife is the centre of earth and creation.
o According to this tradition, the whole of earth was once filled with water and
God sent his messenger to go and create farmland out of the liquid mass.
o The group of sixteen immortals was led by Obatala. They were given five
pieces of iron, a lump of earth tied to a white piece of cloth and a cockerel.
o According to this version, Obatala became drunk on enroute with palmwine
and Oduduwa who was one of the group of sixteen seized the ritual package
and eventually led the delegation to the world landing in Ile-Ife.
o There the five pieces of iron were set down, the lump earth placed on it, and
the chicken made to spread the earth with its toes. This act made farmlands
with subsequent spread to cover the whole earth to appear.
o Without gainsaying this, the emergence of Oduduwa radically transformed
the Yorùbá society, particularly with the centralisation of political authority
and the adoption of Arè or Adé (beaded crown) as a symbol of royal authority.
o This important innovation eventually became the basis for identifying the
direct descendants of Odùduwà and also for legitimising political authority or
kingship in Yorubaland, both in the past and the present.
o Oduduwa called his children together when he was old and ordered them to
disperse and found kingdom of themselves.
o Indeed, population
o expansion and pressures on the land induced migrations out of Ile-Ife in
Yorubaland, particularly to the detriment of the masses.
 o This observation is corroborated by the portrayal of Oduduwa as an external
force with considerable might and will with which he imposed himself on the
autochthonous groups, such that the history of Ile-Ife and by extension that
of the Yoruba.
o Each of the dispersing groups built their kingdoms by displacing the heads of
pre-existing communities and instituting a political system patterned after
the IleIfe model with slight modifications.
o The hub of the Yoruba empire was metropolitan Oyo, the home of the
Yorubas who spoke the Oyo dialect and who were for practical purposes
identifiable with the people of Old Oyo.
o This area was divided into 6 large provinces, three to the west of the River
Ogun and three to the east.

Indigenous Political System

• The Yoruba system of government was extremely complex and might appear
confusing to outsiders. But the political systems of the various constituent
kingdoms were in general similar.
• The basic political unit was the town (ilu), which was made up of lineages. A typical
Yoruba kingdom was made up of many towns, villages, markets and farmsteads.
One of these served as the capital town where the king (Oba) lived.
• This leading Oba was the wearer of a beaded crown, bestowed on his ancestor,
according to legend, from Ife and his town was defined as ilu alade (crowned town)
to distinguish it from other towns.
• Subordinate towns were classified as ilu ereko (literally, “towns on the fringe of the
farmland”), which in turn ranged from ilu oloja (a market town with an oba not
entitled to wear a beaded crown) to the ileto (village), abule (hamlet) and ago or aba
(camp, settlement).
• Each settlement was organized in a hierarchical form. The component lineages were
headed by male adults called Baale (or Balefather of the house), who oversaw the
administration of the town.
• The King
• The oba was the natural head of his own people and selected according to purely
local custom.
• Thus, Yoruba towns were ruled by their own obas chosen from the local ruling
lineages and their policies had to be confirmed by local councils made up of heads
of non-ruling families and local societies.
• As the head of government, the oba was politically supreme, and as the executive
head, he exercised considerable powers: he could arrest, punish or reward any of
his subjects.
• In practice, however, the oba was not an absolute ruler. His powers were checked in
a number of ways and more importantly, he did not rule singlehandedly but in
conjunction with a council of chiefs known generally as the Iwarefa.
• The sacred aspect of Yoruba kingship did not lead to the oba becoming an autocrat
but rather the reverse.
• Not only was he bound by rules and precedents in his personal life but these also
required him to submit all business to councils of chiefs and officers, and only after
consultation and deliberation by these bodies could a policy be decided upon and
proclaimed in the oba's name.
• Every oba had at least one council of chiefs who formed a powerful, usually
hereditary, cabinet, and in most kingdoms there were lesser councils for the
regulation of the different aspects of government.
• The chieftaincies were hereditary with the 'descent group' or extended families
which made up the population of the town. Thus the chiefs were representatives of
their family groups as well as being officials of the king and the kingdom.
• The supreme king over all was the Alafin (or Alaafin) at Oyo.
• The sacred aspect of Yoruba kingship did not lead to the oba becoming an autocrat
but rather the reverse.
• Not only was he bound by rules and precedents in his personal life but these also
required him to submit all business to councils of chiefs and officers, and only after
consultation and deliberation by these bodies could a policy be decided upon and
proclaimed in the oba's name.
• Every oba had at least one council of chiefs who formed a powerful, usually
hereditary, cabinet, and in most kingdoms there were lesser councils for the
regulation of the different aspects of government.
• The chieftaincies were hereditary with the 'descent group' or extended families
which made up the population of the town. Thus the chiefs were representatives of
their family groups as well as being officials of the king and the kingdom.
• The supreme king over all was the Alafin (or Alaafin) at Oyo.
• Both tributary kings and provincial governors (of metropolitan Oyo) had the duty of
collecting tribute due to Oyo and for contributing contingents of troops under local
generalship to the imperial army in times of major war.
• All subrulers had to pay homage to the Alafin. The acknowledgment of the duty of
allegiance was renewed yearly by compulsory attendance at important religious
ceremonies.
• It was the responsibility of the Alafin to protect tributary states from external
aggression, particularly from the north (Muslim).
• It was also the duty of the Alafin to settle internal quarrels between his sub-rulers
and between individual sub-rulers and their peoples. He was thus the supreme
judge of the empire; his court was the final court of appeal.
• The Alafin was carefully selected and commanded enormous respect.
• No man could be considered for elevation to the imperial throne unless he was
directly descended from Oranyan, the founder of Old Oyo. Yet the office did not
automatically pass from father to son for there were several distinct lineages of royal
descent.
• The actual selection of a new Alafin was in the hands of the Oyomesi, a supreme
council of state, whose seven members were collectively recognized as king-
makers.
• They consulted the Ifa oracle as to which of the candidates was approved by the
gods.
• The new Alafin was then proclaimed as the appointment of the gods. He was
consecrated in his office by important religious and political ceremonies during
which he was initiated into the mysteries of kingship and control of the sacred cults.
• Once these rituals had been completed, he was no longer regarded as an ordinary
mortal: he was "Ekeji Orisa", companion of the gods, a semi-divine beyond the reach
of ordinary mortals.
• He was the head of his people in the inseparable sphere of administration, religion,
and justice.
• The Alafin's power, in theory, was unlimited by human agency. Cult priests and
government officials were alike appointed by his command; and the usual practice
was for the Alafin to appoint eunuchs loyal to himself.
• In practice, the Alafin did not have such absolute power.
• He could not afford to offend the members of the Oyo Mesi or the Ogboni (earth
cult).
• Although he could not be deposed, the Alafin could be compelled to commit
suicide.
• If both the Oyo Mesi and the Ogboni disapproved of his personal conduct or
policies, or if the Oyo peoples suffered serious reverses, they would commission the
Bashorun to present the Alafin with an empty calabash or a dish of parrot's eggs.
• On handing over these meaningful symbols, the Bashorun pronounced a fearful
formula: 'The gods reject you, the people reject you, the earth rejects you.'
• The Alafin was thus informed that his political position had been completely
undermined and his removal decided. Custom demanded he take poison and take
his life.
• The king had to submit his decisions in the first place to his council of seven
notabilities, the Oyo Mesi, whose principal officer was the chief known as the
Basorun.
• In turn, the Oyo Mesi were checked by the council of Ogboni, a society which, in its
worship of the earth, embodied both religious and political sanctions.
• An Alafin of strong and resolute character could initiate and carry through a policy,
obtaining the support and perhaps sometimes overruling the opposition of his
counsellors.
• The Bashorun, head of the Oyo Mesi, was a sort of prime minister. He was in charge
of the religious divinations held annually to determine whether or not the Alafin
retained the approval of the gods.
• This may be considered an "annual performance review" or spiritual "vote of
confidence." The Bashorun was in a position to influence important decisions of the
Oyo Mesi and the Ogboni.
• This was largely because the Alafin could be divorced from politics by strict
adherence to religious taboos that secluded him from his subjects whereas the
Bashorun was always in the centre of power.
 • The Ogboni was a very powerful secret society composed of freemen noted for their
age, wisdom and importance in religious and political affairs.
• The Ogboni was concerned with the worship of earth, and was thus responsible for
judging any cases involving the spilling of blood. The leader had unqualified right of
direct access to the Alafin on any matter. Even the most important decisions of the
Oyo Mesi, especially the rejection of an Alafin, could not be carried without Ogboni
approval.
• While the Oyo Mesi represented the great politicians of the real, the Ogboni was the
voice of popular opinion backed by the authority of religion.
• The Oyo Mesi and Ogboni thus provided important constitutional checks on the
personal authority of the Alafin. He was bound to listen to their advice and to ignore
their opinions was to invite rejection.
• The Are-Ona-Kakanfo, supreme commander of the imperial army.
• This official was customarily required to live in a frontier province of great strategic
importance in imperial defense. "Thus, he was well placed to guarantee imperial
security against attack and was too far removed from the capital to interfere directly
in central politics." In fact, to ensure this, he was debarred from entering the capital
except with permission.
• This minimized, if not precluded, the possibility of military coup d'etats.
• The Are-Ona-Kakanfo was obliged to win victories, as a defeat carried with it the
punishment of committing suicide.
• He could escape the consequence of failure by fleeing to found a separate state a
safe distance away from imperial retribution.

Conclusion
• The Oyo Empire of the Niger Delta (Nigeria) also developed an elaborate system of
checks and balances to guard against despotism as may be recalled from the
previous chapter.
• The political system centered around four powerful figures: the Alafin, the
Bashorun, the Oluwo and the Kankafo.
• Theoretically, all power came from Alafin who was considered semidivine. Next to
the Alafin was the Bashorun, the leader of the Oyo Mesi or Council of Notables,
made up of seven prominent lineage chiefs of the capital. Furthermore, the
councillors held judicial power with the Alafin in the capital. But the Alafin had no
control over the appointment of the councilors since, as chiefs, they were lineage
appointed.
• Thus the Bashorun, who dominated the Oyo Mesi, had an ultimate check upon the
Alafin. The third power in the empire was the Ogboni headed by the Oluwo.
• The Ogboni chiefs, like the Oyo Mesi, were lineage appointed. They also had judicial
functions, but their primary function was the preservation of the Ife oracle which
could accept or reject the Bashorun's decision to command the Alafin's suicide.
• But the Alafin's representative sat on the Ogboni council and his opinion carried
considerable weight. Thus, he could use this position to check ambitious
 Bashoruns. The Kakanfo was the field marshal with his seventy war chiefs, the Eso,
who were expected to be loyal to the Alafin.
•
Topic 5 – The People of Northern Nigeria

THE PEOPLE OF NORTHERN NIGERIA

The Myth of Origin
The Bayajidda legend is the most important single source of Hausa history. It deals with
the founding of Daura, traditionally the oldest city of Hausaland, and by extension also with the
establishment of other Hausa states by foreign immigrants. The legend describes the arrival of two
different groups in Hausaland, the bulk of the people are said to have come from Canaan and the
founding Prince is believed to have fled from Baghdad. A version of the legendary creation story
claims that this hero, Bayajidda, married the Canaanite queen of Daura and that his descendants
founded the different Hausa states. This is couched in terms of what may appear to be a biblical
descent scheme, claiming as it does that the seven authentic Hausa originated from the sons of
Bayajidda and his legitimate wife Magajiya (Sarah) and the seven inauthentic states originated
from the sons of Bayajidda and his wife’s slave-maid Bagwariya (Hagar). To Biram (Abraham),
the first son of Bayajidda, it attributes the role of having founded the eponymous small town of
Biram at the western margins of Hausaland. It therefore appears that the biblical descent scheme
may have been diverted from its original Israelite meaning by being given a new dimension,
reflecting major historical developments in the Near East and in the Central Sudan.

Bayajidda is the mythical ancestor of the Hausa who was said to migrate from Baghdad in
some other versions of creations story. It is said that after stopping at the kingdom of Bornu, he
fled west and helped the king of Daura slay a dangerous snake. As a reward, he was given the
Queen of Daura in marriage. Bayajidda’s son, Bawo, founded the city of Biram. He had six sons
who became the rulers of other Hausa city-states. Collectively, these are known as the Hausa
bakwai (Hausa seven). The Hausa land, before 1804, was made up of fourteen towns grouped into
two. The first group of seven was called Hausa Bakwai while the other group of seven was balled
Banza Bakwai. The Fulani took over the political leadership of the Hausa or Habe states in the
early 19th century. The Jihad that preceded this occupation was seen as religious as well as
political. Uthman Dan Fodio led the Fulani Jihad and took over the political leadership of the
Hausa/Habe and established the Sokoto caliphate with outstanding centralised political system of
government. He introduced a new system of selecting and appointing rulers described as Emirs to
rule the caliphate. Each of the Emirs owed allegiance to Dan Fodio and his two representatives at
Sokoto and Gwandu. The Fulanis settled in Hausa land and intermarried with the Hausa people
after conquering them and this was how the name Hausa-Fulani came about. The Bayajidda legend
is a tradition of origin which is chiefly kept by people attached to the royal palace in Daura. On
account of this royal setting it must be considered principally as a dynastic legend, dealing with
the origin of the town and city-state of Daura and by extension the origin of the Seven Hausa
(Hausa bakwai) and Seven Banza (Banza bakwai) states in Central Sudan. Though the main focus
of the Bayajidda legend is Daura, traditionists of the Seven Hausa states in Katsina, Gobir, Kano
and Zaria mention its details at the beginning of their own state tradition. However, compared with
the local dynastic traditions, it is only of marginal importance in these states. On account of the
transmission of the legend in the Seven Hausa states- comprising in addition to Daura, Katsina,
Gobir, Kano, Zaria also Biram and Rano- and its emphasis on these states, we may call the principal
versions Hausa versions of the legend. Of these Hausa versions the palace version is obviously the
most valid.
 By contrast, the Azna versions are transmitted by the Sarakunan Azna (pl. of Sarkin Azna
“king of the Azna”), the chiefs of the indigenous Azna people in Hausaland, and they insist on the
equally prestigious ascent of the “kings of the Azna”. In the Seven Banza states— Zamfara, Kebbi,
Nupe, Gwari, Yauri, Yoruba and Kwararrafa (Jukun)- the legend is generally unknown. The Hausa
palace version of the Bayajidda legend refers to two different migrations from the Near East. The
first was a movement enmasse from Canaan and Palestine headed in the beginning by
Najib/Nimrod, then by Abdul-Dar and finally by several successive queens. This first migration
found its way via Egypt and North Africa through the Sahara to the Central Sudan, where under
the guidance of Magajiya Daurama the newcomers established the city of Daura. The second
migration began with the retreat of half of the army from Baghdad under the leadership of
Bayajidda, the son of the king Abdullahi, and its move to Bornu. Having concluded an alliance
with the king of Bornu, sealed by marriage to the king’s daughter Magira, and having lost his army
by ceding it progressively to the king of Bornu, the prince finally had to flee from the country with
his wife. After some time, his wife gave birth to their son Biram, who became the eponymous
ancestor of the most eastern Hausa state, later called Gabas-ta-Biram, “the east of Biram”.
Leaving his wife and son behind, the hero continued his flight and finally came with his horse to
Daura where he met the old lady Ayana near the well, killed the snake, married the queen,
Magajiya, and fathered a son with Bagwariya, the slave-maid of the queen, and later another son
with the queen herself. In due course the son of the slave-maid, Karbagari or Karap-da-Gari,
became the father of seven sons, the founders of the Seven Banza or “illegitimate” states, while
the son of the queen, Bawo, became the father of six sons making up, together with Biram, the
founders of the Seven Hausa or “legitimate” states.
Two supplementary details from Hausa non-palace versions throw new light on the mythological
background of the Bayajidda legend. The first concerns the formation of seven heaps after the
killing of the snake by the side of the well at Daura. Informants in Gobir and Marafi, including the
dethroned descendants of the Hausa kings of Kano, claim that the hero cut the snake into pieces
and piled them up in two or even heaps. In Zamfara it is believed that the hero called Kalkalu
killed the snake in Daura and cut it into twelve pieces. These details remind us of the Babylonian
myth of creation which is thought to be close to the mythological matrix of the Ugaritic Baal Cycle
and the biblical account of creation. Having slain the primordial monster Tiamat, the hero split
open its body, different parts of which were used to create the various features of the world. The
Babylonian myth of creation was recited, and according to many scholars, re-enacted during the
Mesopotamian Akitu or New Year festival.

Similarly, the Bayajidda legend is told and re-enacted during the Gani or pre-Islamic New
Year festival of Daura. The seven or twelve heaps made from the body of the snake seem to
correspond firstly to seven or twelve features of the newly created world and secondly to the seven
or twelve tribes of the chosen people. The duplication of the tribes may have resulted from the two
halves of the primordial monster (i.e. the creation of heaven and earth) and their subsequent
subdivisions. The second detail concerns the name of the snake slayer. Most versions of the legend
indicate that the snake was slain by Bayajidda, alternatively called Abuyazidu. However, the
descendants of the former Hausa kings of Kano (today there are Fulani kings) claim that Bawo
was the hero who slew the snake and subsequently married Magajiya and fathered with the slave-
maid Bagwariya Karbagari, and with Magajiya the progenitors of the Seven Hausa states. One
might have thought that this was an error of transmission but similarly the early nineteenth century
Fulani scholars Muhammad Bello and ‘Abd al-Q1dir b. al-Mustaf1 consider Bawo as the ruler of
the Hausa states, who had been appointed by the sultan of Bornu, and the Kano Chronicle describes
him as the conqueror of Hausaland. Moreover, the hero of the Hausa legend is called Abawa Jidda
in Gobir and Katsina versions, a name possibly composed of Bawa/Baal and Ar. jidda(n) “much”.
These elements suggest the possibility that an alternative and very ancient Hausa version of the
Bayajidda legend may have had Bawo as the dragon slayer and as the sole progenitor of the Hausa
states without any preceding ancestor and without any duplication of states.

The Azna versions of the legend differ from the Hausa versions by attributing to
Bagwariya’s son Karbagari the function of a Sarkin Azna “king of the Azna”, ruling over the Azna
population, i.e. the autochthones of Hausaland. Though by extension sometimes also indicated by
the palace version of the legend, this detail is particularly claimed by the Sarakunan Azna
themselves. It considers Karbagari first and foremost as the ancestor of the indigenous Azna
population and ignores the existence of the Seven Banza states. Thus the Bayajidda legend not
only distinguishes between two groups of states—the Seven Hausa and the Seven Banza but also
between two layers of society, the foreign Hausa descending from the immigrated queen,
Magajiya, and the local Azna or Maguzawa descending from the indigenous slave-maid.
Bagwariya. Living mainly in the central town (birni) of the city states as subjects of a king (sarki),
the foreign Hausa constitute what has been called a dynastic society. The local Azna are by contrast
mostly farmers organised in clans and living in the countryside. Another significant detail of the
Azna versions concerns the animosity between Bawo and Karbagari, the sons of Magajiya and
Bagwariya. While in the dominant Hausa versions this detail is only indicated by the naming of
Karbagari “snatch the town” and Bawo “give (the town) back”, the Azna versions make the
antagonism more explicit. According to these versions, Magajiya waited until the two sons were
grown up but then she ordered Karbagari, to give his horse to Bawo and she provided Karbagari
with a whip so that he might protect his brother during a state ceremony by driving the Azna people
away from him. Karbagari obeyed, got up from his seat, began to beat the people with his whip,
while Bawo remained seated like a king.

Moreover, Magajiya told her son not to allow Karbagari to sit down by his side (and thus
to rule with him). When at the end of a festival the latter tried to take his seat, Bawo drew his
sword and chased him away. In order to compensate him for the loss of power, Magajiya gave him
the task of controlling the unruly Azna. Apparently this version stresses the antagonism between
the invading Hausa represented by Bawo (and his sons) and the autochthonous Karbagarawa or
Azna. It insinuates that having been subjected to foreign leadership, the Azna wanted to have an
equal share in the right to rule but that this was denied them by force. Fragmented elements of a
tradition closely relatedto the Bayajidda legend have been noted far beyond the city state of Daura.
In the Bori pantheon of western Hausaland- where the historical figures of the Bayajidda legend
are unknown-Magajiya and Bagwariya/Bagulma and their descendants, the Hausawa and the
Gwarawa, occupy similar positions to the corresponding figures in the legend. In the abbreviated
form of Gwari, lacking the article ha-/ba-, the name Ba-gwariya is used as an autonym by people
living south of Hausaland who contrast with the Hausa (of Magajiya) and speak a Benue-Congo
language instead of the Afroasiatic language of Hausa. Gulma/Bagulma, the second name of the
slave-maid, designates in Songhay-Zarma the southern bank of the River Niger, the northern bank
being called Hausa. Here again the people of the south refer to themselves as Gulmance, the
“people of Gulma/Gurma” (i.e. Bagwariya). These elements echo the dichotomy of the Bayajidda
legend concerning the Hausa states situated in the northern Sudan and the Banza states in the
southern and western Central Sudan. Apparently we are faced here with very old classificatory
concepts preserved in a rudimentary form by different West African people and suggesting an early
process of diffusion. With respect to origins, the Hausa palace version of the Bayajidda legend
clearly states that the mass of the immigrants departed from Canaan and Palestine and that only
the dragon-slaying hero himself came from Baghdad. All the local Azna and also some Hausa
versions ignore long distance connections but according to a dynastic version from Katsina a
caravan led by Namoudou/Nimrod came from Birnin Kissera near Mecca and its members settled
at Daura.

According to a Zamfara chronicle, the snake of Daura was killed by Kalkalu, the son of
Bawo, who descended from Pharao. Moreover, the people who came with Magajiya and settled in
Hausaland are considered in some Hausa versions to have been Larabawa/Arabs. The royal
drummers of Daura confirm Near Eastern provenance by the drum beat “Lamarudu Kan’an” or
“Lamarudu, son of Kan’an”, which is sounded at the king’s installation and during festival
processions behind the king. In conformity with the legend, this claim refers to Bawo’s mother
Magajiya whose ancestor was the Mesopotamian King Nimrod, locally known as Najib, and not
to Bayajidda. Designating also the dynastic ancestor of the Oyo Yoruba, Nimrod is a biblical name,
which was given to a Mesopotamian ruler of Akkad and Assyria. The name suggests Israelite
influence and refers perhaps to the composite figure of the Akkadian rulers of whom Sargon of
Akkad (2334-2279) and his nephew Naram-Sin (2254-2218) were the most important. Though the
change from a lighter to a darker skin colour was certainly the result of intermarriages, local
informants are convinced that the white invaders expelled the black native population. Distinct
geographical and genealogical evidence provided by what may be regarded as the most valid Hausa
versions of the legend points apparently to two different ancient Near Eastern origins of the Hausa
immigrants, Canaan and Mesopotamia.

Political Administration of the People

The Fulanis introduced a centralised system of government after conquering the Hausaland.
This gave rise to the Hausa-Fulani traditional or pre-colonial system being known as a centralised
government. The Caliphate was divided into emirates and each emirate was headed by an Emir.
He had the responsibility of making laws, enforcing them and maintaining peace and order in his
emirate. He was expected to administer the emirate in accordance with the provisions of the Islamic
and Sharia laws. He was believed to have the divine right to rule. However, each emir was assisted
in the administration of the emirate by a number of advisers. These were:
• Sarkin Fada: The spokesman of the Emir and organizer of palace workers.
• Waziri: The Prime Minister of the Emirate
• Galadima: The Administrator of the capital city.
• Madawaki: The commander and Head of the Emirate Army.
• Magaji: Government Treasurer in charge of the government treasury.
• Sarkin Dan Doka: Inspector General of Police Force called Dan Doka.
• Sarkin Ruwa: Minister in-charge of Water Resources.
• Sarkin Pawa: Head of Chairman of Butchers at the Abattoirs
• Yari: Chief Superintendent of Prisons in the Emirate
Judicial Administration and the Official Religion
The judicial administration of Hausa-Fulani was based on the Islamic legal system called
Sharia. Sharia courts were established throughout the Emirates and each was headed by a trained
Sharia Court Judge called Alkali. The Emir, despite this provision, remained the head who had the
final say in deciding critical judgments. The chief justice of the Sharia courts was called Grand
Khadi. Village heads settled minor disputes in their villages but more serious and criminal cases
were referred to the Emir for final and adequate settlement. Noteworthy is that most Hausa are
devout Muslims who believe in Allah and in Muhammad as his prophet. They pray five times each
day, read the Qur’an (holy scriptures), fast during the month of Ramadan, give alms to the poor,
and aspire to make the pilgrimage (hajj) to the Muslim holy land in Mecca. Islam affects nearly all
aspects of Hausa behavior, including dress, art, housing, rites of passage, and laws. In the rural
areas, there are communities of peoples who do not follow Islam. These people are called
Maguzawa. They worship nature spirits known as bori or iskoki.
The Emir is the religious leader of his people, whose duty is to ensure that commandments of Allah
are obeyed in his territory. This accounts for the great authority which was wielded by the Emirs
and which made them such suitable rulers even under the British protectorate. The official religion
was Islam and Qur’an was used as the holy book where all the teachings of religion were contained.
Mohammed was seen as the founder of the religion. Some teachings that were contained in the
Qur’an before the coming of the colonial administration include:
• A good Muslim must fight a Jihad at least once in his life time. If such a person dies
in the process, he would go to paradise.
• It is mandatory for all Muslims to perform hajj or pilgrimage to Mecca the holy land
at least once in the person’s life time.
• A good Muslim must not marry more than four wives.
• A good Muslim must abstain from drinking alcohol.
• A good Muslim must fast during Ramadan period.
Topic 6 – Religion and Culture