Hausa
The Hausa, the largest ethnic group in West Africa, are concentrated in northern Nigeria and adjacent Niger. The Hausa have evolved from many years of incorporation of different peoples. They share a common religion, Islam, and a common language. The Hausa are organized into centralized kingdoms, known as emirates and they live in hamlets, towns, and cities. Agriculture is the main economic activity. Grain is the staple diet, including Guinea corn, millet, maize, and rice.
Select the Culture Summary link above for a longer description of the culture.
Africa --Western Africa
Niger
Nigeria
MS12
22
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4329
Documents referred to in this section are included in this eHRAF collection and are referenced by author, date of publication, and eHRAF document number.
The Hausa file consists of nineteen English language documents, with a time coverage ranging from approximately 1800 to the early 1980s. Several of the documents focus on the Hausa of Zaria Province, which was the primary field locale of M.G. Smith, a social anthropologist and an outstanding authority on the Hausa. Four of the documents in the file are by M.G. Smith (Smith 1955, 1957, 1960, 1978, nos. 1, 9, 15, 22) and one by his wife, Mary F. Smith, which is a valuable and insightful autobiography of a Hausa woman who lived in both Kano and Zaria Provinces (see Baba of Karo 1954, no. 3). The works of M.G. Smith provide a very comprehensive overview of Hausa ethnography. Ethnographic topics in Smith's works range from discussions of Hausa economy and social organization to political history and development, and cooperative organizations. The documents written by other authors in this file also provide an abundance of cultural data on Hausa ethnography. These data relate generally to land use, child development, childhood activities, history, religion, kinship, economy, politics, literature, and language. In 1995-1996 six new works were added to this file, Salamone 1974, no. 19; Besmer 1983, no. 21; Smith 1978, no. 22; Works 1976, no. 23; Cohen 1969, no. 24; and Beik 1984, no. 25. Salamone's study, covering the period of 1800 to 1972, is an analysis of the mechanisms through which ethnic groups in Nigeria maintain or modify their ethnic identities. He concentrates on the Dukawa and the Gungawa of the Yauri Emirate, North-Western State, Nigeria, and on their relations with the Hausa. Besmer's study deals with the Hausa BORI cult of spirit-possession, or possession-trance. The focus here is on the cult's adepts, or trancers, and the musicians who also play an important role in trance events. Works monograph, which covers the period from 1800 to 1970, describes the culture of the Hausa in Chad. Emphasis is placed on the effects of pilgrimage (to Mecca) and trade in the formation of a distinctive Hausa culture. The document by Cohen focuses on the Hausa in the Sabo section of Ibadan, Nigeria, and their relations with the Yoruba, who are the numerically predominant group in Ibadan. The time coverage for this work ranges from 1900 to 1963. Beik presents a detailed analysis, partly historical and partly literary, of Hausa theater in Niger.
For more detailed information on the content of the individual works in this file, see the abstracts in the citations preceding each document.
This culture summary originally appeared as the article, "Hausa," by Deborah Pellow in the Encyclopedia of World Cultures, Vol. 9. 1995. John Middleton and Amal Rassam, eds. Boston, Mass.: G. K. Hall & Co. The synopsis and indexing notes were prepared by John Beierle, August 1996.
John Beierle
AL MAJRAI -- beggars -- category 735
ALKALI -- Islamic judge -- category 698
ASALI -- descent -- category 611
ATTAJIRAI -- merchants -- category 443
BARAKA -- magical power -- category 789
BARANCI -- clientship -- category 466
BARANTAKA -- political clientage -- categories 466, 662
BAZAWARA -- formerly married woman -- categories 548, 580
BOKA -- medicine man -- category 793
BORI cult -- spirit possession cult --category 794
courtesans -- prostitutes -- category 548
DAKUNA -- subdivisions of a Hausa lineage -- category 614
DAM BORI --son of the BORI; male cult adept -- 791
DARAJA -- social rank -- category 554
DHIMMI -- tributary state -- category 636
DODO -- evil spirit -- category 776
DOKI -- stallion, horse; term used for a male trance medium -- category 791
emir -- the head of the emirate -- categories 624, 643
emirate -- state; geographical, political unit - - categories 621, 630, 640
FATAKE - - long distance traders -- category 439
GANDU -- ancestral land inherited through males -- category 592
GARAJIYA -- individuals who have inherited occupations -- categories 554, 463
GARWAYE -- a complex overlap of official jurisdictions -- category 631
GIDAN KARUWAI -- house of prostitutes -- category 548
GIRKA -- healing or initiation rite -- category 788
GIRMA -- charismatic prestige -- category 554
GODIYA -- mare; term used for a female trance medium -- category 791
ISKOKI -- spirits -- category 776
IYALI -- immediate family -- category 594
IZNIN HARI -- raids -- category 721
JANGALI -- cattle tax -- category 651
JEKANDANCI -- administrative agency -- category 647
JINNS -- evil spirits -- category 776
KACIYA -- orgiastic (circumcision) dance -- categories 535, 788
KANWAR RANA -- clientage involving women as clients -- categories 466, 562
KARDA -- inherited, ascribed occupations - - categories 554, 643
KARUWA -- single person, before re-marriage -- categories 548, 580
KARUWANCI -- prostitution -- category 548
KATSIRO -- individuals who take on achieved occupations -- categories 554, 463
KUDIN SARAUTA -- money for office -- category 651
LIMAN -- chief religious teacher or leader -- categories 793, 797
MAI MIGONA --owner of the speech -- category 537
MAIGIDA -- household or compound head; business landlords -- categories 592, 485, 463
MALANCI -- Koranic scholarship -- category 797
MALLAMAI -- Islamic priests or officials -- category 793
MAROKI -- male praise singer or praise shouter -- categories 533, 537
MASAUKI -- hostel, accommodations -- category 485
MASU-MAGANI -- non- Islamic ritualists and magicians -- category 756
MASUGARI -- owners of the town; ward heads -- category 622
MASUKIWO -- groom; term used for the attendants who control and assist trancers -- category 791
MUKADDAM -- Tijaniyya ritual master -- category 793
MUNDAYE -- bracelets kept as liquid reserves for conversion to cash -- category 436
MUTUMCI -- semi-independent forms of clientage -- category 466
PURDAH -- Islamic seclusion of women -- category 562
ROKO -- begging musician -- category 533
RUMADA -- slave settlement -- categories 592, 567
SADAKA -- alms -- category 735
SARAKUNA -- chiefs or officials -- categories 622, 624
SARAUTU -- offices of the state -- category 647
SARKI -- a Muslim who rules an emirate consisting mainly of non-Muslims -- categories 622, 624
SARKIN BORI -- chief of the BORI; main cult leadership position -- categories 793, 756
SARKIN NOMA -- chief of farming -- category 624
SARKIN ZANGO -- chief of the cattle -- category 624
SHARI'A -- Muslim law -- category 671
SHIGEGE -- taking on new or achieved occupations -- categories 554, 463
TAJANIYYA order -- a Muslim sect -- category 794
TALAKUWA -- commoners -- category 554
TARAYYA -- a form of clientage -- category 466
TSARANCE -- sex play short of full intercourse -- category 836
UWAR RANA -- clientage involving women as patrons -- categories 466, 562
WASAM BORI -- BORI rituals not involving trance -- category 788
YAM BORI -- children of the BORI; cult adepts -- category 791
YAN DAUDU -- male homosexuals; transsexuals -- category 838
YAR BORI -- daughter of the BORI; female cult adept -- category 791
ZAKKA -- grain tithe -- category 651
John Beierle