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Hausa literature

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Hausa literature is any work written in the Hausa language. It includes poetry, prose, song, music, and drama within the culture of the Hausa. Hausa literature includes folk literature (much of which has been transcribed), and provides a means of recording, preserving, and transmitting knowledge—often in an entertaining fashion—especially in regard to social, psychological, spiritual, or political roles.

Hausa works are classified based on poetry, prose or drama. Such works are then categorized according to historical periods, or their adherence to certain aesthetic features or genre.

History

Works of Hausa literature have reportedly been in existence since the 14th century, when the Hausa people began to write their scriptures.[1] Originally, the Hausa language was written in an Arabic script called "Ajami". At the time the Hausa had no means of preserving their works in archives for the future.[2]

Early literature

Early poets included Ibn Al-Sabbagah and Muhammad Al-Barnawi. Other early Hausa writers using the Arabic script were Abdullahi Sikka and Sheikh Jibril Ibn Umar.[3][4]

Rekindled interest

Works of the early Hausa literature were re-discovered by a jihad issued by Shehu Usman dan Fodio in the late 19th century. Elites of that period (royalists and Emires) became enamored with the literature, and many immersed themselves in it. It was in this period of time that the Hausa people closely studied Islamic and Arabic literature. Royalists such as Usman dan Fodio, Muhammed Bello, and Nana Asmaʼu possessed many Islamic writings and works, all written in Ajami, Fula, or Arabic. During this revival, Islamic books were often written in Ajami, but by then scholars had a means of archiving their works for future generations.[5]

From about 1800 to 1930, all Hausa books and writings were written in Ajami script as a result of deeply rooted Islamic influences. Following the coming of British colonials in 1904, when the Hausa people were forced into Western-style education systems by their colonial masters, most Hausa became accustomed to reading and writing using Latin script. There are many religious writings by Usman dan Fodio, and his younger brother Abdullahi dan Fodio, remaining from the nineteenth century. Nana Asma'u, daughter of Abdullahi Fodio, is considered one of the greatest women writers in northern Nigeria history.

Hausa novels were first introduced to the Hausa people during the Colonial rule in Nigeria, when the Northern and Southern Nigerian Protectorates were amalgamated. During the post independence period,[when?] the first novels of the early 20th century written in Hausa were the result of a competition established by Rupert East in late 1933. Under the auspices of the Translation Bureau of Northern Nigeria, many educators, writers, and academics engaged in a Hausa competition. The competition was won by Abubakar Imam with his debut novel, Ruwan Bagaja (meaning "The Curing Water"). Later that same year, the bureau published another book, this one by Muhammadu Bello Kagara, titled Ganɗoki, which helped encourage future writers and readers of Hausa.[3][6] Years later, the bureau published another Hausa book, Magana Jari Ce, by Abubakar Imam.

Modern Hausa women publish a genre of Hausa literature known as 'love books' (littattafan soyayya), that are often narrated by them over the radio[7]

Modern usage

The drama form of Hausa literature is intended to show a performance of an actor during a gathering. The process in Hausa cultural literature involves a combination of music and dance that takes place in a "Dandali" (or 'opera'). Unlike the English and Greek opera houses, the Dandali is an open place without assigned seating. The play is performed verbally by a playwright, and mainly comprises a dialogue between characters and the playwright. The modern-day style of Hausa literature was established in 1999 by Hausa-language cinema, from that time the cultural drama was abandoned by most Hausa natives in villages and towns due to the advancement of communication technology the population experienced.

Noted Hausa writers

Islamic writers are categorised according to the year they have lived.[by whom?]

Early period (14th – 17th centuries)

  • Muhammad al-Maghili wrote On The Obligations of Princes in Kano for Muhammad Rumfa in the 15th century[citation needed]. Al-Maghili was a berber from North Africa who was born in an area that is now Algeria.
  • Muhammad ibn al-Sabbagh was a 17th-century scholar and author from Katsina, Northern Nigeria. He was celebrated during and well after his time. A writer of praise poetry for the Sultan of Borno's conquest against the Jukun people. He also wrote a poem praising the Sultan of Katsina, Muhammad Uban Yari.
  • Muhammad ibn Masani was the student of Muhammad ibn al Sabbagh and also a celebrated scholar from Katsina. He produced works in the Hausa language during the 17th century, and wrote many works, one of which was a documentary on the Yoruba people. This work was mentioned by Muhammad Bello who lived some 200 years later in his Infaq'l-Maysuur. Azhar al-ruba fi akhbar Yuruba was one of the earliest written accounts on the transatlantic slave trade by an indigenous African, which he also noted that free Muslim people were taken from all parts of Hausaland and sold to European Christians. He wrote to a jurist in Yorubaland explaining how to determine the time for the sunset prayer. His work in Hausa was a poem he had heard from a woman in Katsina, called Wakar Yakin Badara. So far it is known that he has authored ten books.
  • Abdullahi Suka was a 17th-century Kano scholar of Fulbe ancestry who is said to have written the oldest extant literature in Hausa with his work Riwayar Annabi Musa. He also authored Al-Atiya li'l muti(The gift of the donor) and many others.
  • Salih ibn Isaq wrote an account of Birnin Garzargamu in 1658, describing the capital city of Borno during the reign of Mai Ali ibn Al Hajj Umar.
  • Sheikh Jibril ibn Umar was an 18th-century scholar and author, in his work Shifa al-Ghalil he attacked Muslims who mixed indigenous beliefs with Islam. Admixture of Animists practices and Islam was one of the main reasons given for the Jihad of Uthman dan Fodio during the 19th Century.

Renewal period (19th – 21 centuries)

Muslim Hausa scholars were discovered in the 19th century when their literary style once again became famous among Hausa muslims.[8]

  • Abdullahi dan Fodio is among the greatest writers of 19th century, he wrote many books Islam in the Hausa language.[9]
  • Nana Asmaʼu is a writer and a poet, Her contributions had a huge impact in the development of social and religious women affairs within the regime of the Sokoto Caliphate. She wrote many books explaining the virtues of women in Islam.[10][11]
  • Abubakar Imam was one of the early novelist in northern Nigeria.
  • Muhammadu Bello Kagara was an educator, a writer and a royalist; he is the author of Gandoki.
  • Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the first Prime Minister of Nigeria.

See also

References

  1. ^ Furniss, Graham (1996). Poetry, prose and popular culture in Hausa. International African Institute. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press for the International African Institute. ISBN 978-1-4744-6829-9
  2. ^ "Saudi Aramco World : From Africa, in Ajami". web.archive.org. 2014-11-30. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
  3. ^ a b "African literature - Hausa". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2021-08-12.[better source needed]
  4. ^ Yahaya, Ibrahim Yaro (1988). Hausa a rubuce : tarihin rubuce rubuce cikin Hausa. Zaria: Kamfanin Buga Littattafai Na Nigeria Ta Arewa. ISBN 978-169-248-0. OCLC 21239687.
  5. ^ "African literature - Somali". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2021-08-12.[better source needed]
  6. ^ Mora, Abdurrahman, (1989), The Abubakar Imam Memoirs; NNPC; ISBN 978 169 308 8
  7. ^ "The Subversive Women Who Self-Publish Novels Amid Jihadist War". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
  8. ^ Robinson, David (2004-01-12). Muslim Societies in African History. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-82627-3.
  9. ^ "Fodiyo Books". www.fodiyobooks.ng. Retrieved 2021-08-14.
  10. ^ Boyd and Mack (1997). pp. P 7. {{cite book}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. ^ "Nana Asma'u bint Usman bin Fodio and her 'Yan Taru' socio-cultural group". Tehran Times. 2020-02-29. Retrieved 2021-08-14.

Bibliography

  • Bobboyi, H., Yakubu, Mahmud.(2006). The Sokoto Caliphate: history and legacies, 1804-2004, 1st Ed. Kaduna, Nigeria:Arewa House. ISBN 978-135-166-7
  • Hamman, Mahmoud, 1950- (2007). The Middle Benue region and the Sokoto Jihad, 1812-1869 : the impact of the establishment of the Emirate of Muri. Kaduna: Arewa House, Ahmadu Bello University. ISBN 978-125-085-2. OCLC 238787986.
  • Usman Muhammad Bugaje. The Tradition of Tajdeed in West Africa: An Overview International Seminar on Intellectual Tradition in the Sokoto Caliphate & Borno. Center for Islamic Studies, University of Sokoto (June 1987)
  • Hugh A.S. Johnston . Fulani Empire of Sokoto. Oxford: 1967. ISBN 0-19-215428-1.
  • S. J. Hogben and A. H. M. Kirk-Greene, The Emirates of Northern Nigeria, Oxford: 1966.
  • Muhammad Bello Kagara. Sarkin Katsina. ISBN978169209
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