The Hausa ( autonyms for singular: Bahaushe ( m), Bahaushiya ( f); plural: Hausawa and general: Hausa;

exonym An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...

s: Ausa;

Ajami ''Ajam'' ( ar, عجم, ʿajam) is an Arabic word meaning mute, which today refers to someone whose mother tongue is not Arabic. During the Arab conquest of Persia, the term became a racial pejorative. In many languages, including Persian, Tu ...

: ) are the largest native ethnic group in Africa. They speak the

Hausa language Hausa (; /; Ajami: ) is a Chadic language spoken by the Hausa people in the northern half of Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Benin and Togo, and the southern half of Niger, Chad and Sudan, with significant minorities in Ivory Coast. Hausa is a member ...

, which is the second most spoken language after

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

in the

Afro-Asiatic language The Afroasiatic languages (or Afro-Asiatic), also known as Hamito-Semitic, or Semito-Hamitic, and sometimes also as Afrasian, Erythraean or Lisramic, are a language family of about 300 languages that are spoken predominantly in the geographic su ...

family. The Hausa are a diverse but culturally homogeneous people based primarily in the

Sahel The Sahel (; ar, ساحل ' , "coast, shore") is a region in North Africa. It is defined as the ecoclimatic and biogeographic realm of transition between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian savanna to the south. Having a hot semi-arid c ...

ian and the sparse

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

areas of southern

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesNigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

respectively, numbering around 83 million people with significant indigenized populations in

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

and the

Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

. Predominantly Hausa-speaking communities are scattered throughout

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

and on the traditional

Hajj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...

route north and east traversing the

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

, with an especially large population in and around the town of

Agadez Agadez ( Air Tamajeq: ⴰⴶⴰⴷⴰⵣ, ''Agadaz''), formerly spelled Agadès, is the fifth largest city in Niger, with a population of 110,497 based on the 2012 census. The capital of Agadez Region, it lies in the Sahara desert, and is also ...

. Other Hausa have also moved to large coastal cities in the region such as

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

, Port Harcourt,

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N’ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of overall population of the country, ...

Banjul Banjul (,"Banjul"
(US) and ), officially the City of Ba ...

and

Cotonou Cotonou (; fon, Kútɔ̀nú) is a city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area. The urban area continues to expand, notably toward the west. The ci ...

as well as to parts of North Africa such as

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

over the course of the last 500 years. The Hausa traditionally live in small villages as well as in precolonial towns and cities where they grow crops, raise livestock including

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

as well as engage in trade, both local and long distance across Africa. They speak the

, an

of the Chadic group. The Hausa aristocracy had historically developed an

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: * Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes i ...

based culture. Still a status symbol of the traditional nobility in Hausa society, the horse still features in the Eid day celebrations, known as '' Ranar Sallah'' (in English: the Day of the Prayer).

Daura Daura is a town and Local Government Area in Katsina State, northern Nigeria. It is the spiritual home of the Hausa people. The emirate is referred to as one of the "seven true Hausa states" (Hausa Bakwai) because it was, (along with Biram, Kan ...

city is the cultural center of the Hausa people. The town predates all the other major Hausa towns in tradition and culture.

Population distribution

The Hausa have, in the last 500 years, criss-crossed the vast landscape of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

in all its four corners for varieties of reasons ranging from

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

servic

https://books.google.com.ng/books?id=GXgsYEzUSXQC&pg=PA24&lpg=PA24&dq=Hausa+mercenaries+Google+books&source=bl&ots=YtRq6rFgpo&sig=ACfU3U0WZmLaUYRowU67jSpFpUH8ASpJpA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj9yMen8OfzAhXh5eAKHRQxAfwQ6AF6BAgaEAM#v=onepage&q=Hausa%20mercenaries%20Google%20books&f=false] long-distance trade, hunting, performance of hajj, fleeing from oppressive Hausa feudal kings as well as spreading Isla

The table below shows Hausa ethnic population distribution by country of

indigenization Indigenization is the act of making something more native; transformation of some service, idea, etc. to suit a local culture, especially through the use of more indigenous people in public administration, employment and other fields. The term is ...

, outside of

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

and Niger:

History

Photo1906 courtyard of Sultans palace Zinder

Gate to the Gidan Rumfa (2009) in Kano, Nigeria

, in northern

, is the oldest city of

Hausaland The Hausa ( autonyms for singular: Bahaushe ( m), Bahaushiya ( f); plural: Hausawa and general: Hausa; exonyms: Ausa; Ajami: ) are the largest native ethnic group in Africa. They speak the Hausa language, which is the second most spoken languag ...

. The Hausa of

Gobir Gobir (Demonym: ''Gobirawa'') was a city-state in what is now Nigeria. Founded by the Hausa in the 11th century, Gobir was one of the seven original kingdoms of Hausaland, and continued under Hausa rule for nearly 700 years. Its capital was the ci ...

, also in northern Nigeria, speak the oldest surviving classical vernacular of the

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...

. Historically, Katsina was the centre of Hausa

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

ic scholarship but was later replaced by Sokoto stemming from the 17th century Usman Dan Fodio Islamic reform. The Hausa are culturally and historically closest to other

Sahelian The Sahel (; ar, ساحل ' , "coast, shore") is a region in North Africa. It is defined as the ecoclimatic and biogeographic realm of transition between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian savanna to the south. Having a hot semi-arid cli ...

ethnic groups, primarily the

Fula Fula may refer to: *Fula people (or Fulani, Fulɓe) *Fula language (or Pulaar, Fulfulde, Fulani) **The Fula variety known as the Pulaar language **The Fula variety known as the Pular language **The Fula variety known as Maasina Fulfulde *Al-Fula ...

; the Zarma and Songhai (in Tillabery,

Tahoua Tahoua is a city in Niger and the administrative centre of the Department of Tahoua and the larger Tahoua Region.Tah ...

and Dosso in

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesKanuri and Shuwa Arabs (in

and northeastern Nigeria); the

Tuareg The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym: ''Imuhaɣ/Imušaɣ/Imašeɣăn/Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group that principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern A ...

(in

, Maradi and

Zinder Zinder (locally, ''Damagaram''), formerly also spelled Sinder, is the third largest city in Niger, with a population of 170,574 (2001 census);

); the Gur and Gonja (in northeastern

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

, northern

and upper

);

Gwari Gbagyi or Gbari (plural - Agbagyi/Agbari) is the name and the language of Gbagyi/Gbari ethnic group who are predominantly found in Central Nigeria, with a population of about 1 million people. Members of the ethnic group speak two dialects. While ...

(in central Nigeria); and the Mandinka, Bambara, Dioula and Soninke (in

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

and

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

). All of these various ethnic groups among and around the Hausa live in the vast and open lands of the

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

n and Sudanian regions, and as a result of the geography and the criss crossing network of traditional African trade routes, have had their cultures heavily influenced by their Hausa neighbours, as noted by T.L. Hodgkin “The great advantage of

Kano Kano may refer to: Places *Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria * Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State **Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries **Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between ...

is that commerce and manufactures go hand in hand, and that almost every family has a share in it. There is something grand about this industry, which spreads to the north as far as

Murzuk Murzuk, Murzuq, Murzug or Merzug ( ar, مرزق) is an oasis town and the capital of the Murzuq District in the Fezzan region of southwest Libya.Robinson, Harry (1960) "Murzuq" ''The Mediterranean Lands'' University Tutorial Press, London, p. 414 ...

Ghat Ghat, a term used in the Indian subcontinent, depending on the context could refer either to a range of stepped hills with valleys (ghati in Hindi), such as the Eastern Ghats and Western Ghats; or the series of steps leading down to a body of ...

and even

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

, to the West, not only to Timbuctu, but in some degree even as far as the shores of the Atlantic, the very inhabitants of

Arguin Arguin ( ar, أرغين, pt, Arguim) is an island off the western coast of Mauritania in the Bay of Arguin. It is approximately in size, with extensive and dangerous reefs around it. The island is now part of the Banc d'Arguin National Park. H ...

dressing in the cloth woven and dyed in

; to the east, all over Borno, ...and to the south...it invades the whole of Adamawa and is only limited by the pagans who wear no clothing.” In clear testimony to T. L Hodgkin's claim, the people of

and Saharan areas of central Niger, the Tuareg and the Hausa groups are indistinguishable from each other in their traditional clothing; both wear the

tagelmust Litham ( ar, لِثَام, lithām , sometimes pronounced lifam) is a mouth-veil which the Tuareg and other North African nomads, particularly men, have traditionally used to cover the lower part of their face. Role and significance The lith ...

and

indigo Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...

Babban Riga/Gandora. But the two groups differ in language, lifestyle and preferred beasts of burden (the Tuareg use

camel A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. C ...

s, while Hausa ride

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...

s). Other Hausa have mixed with ethnic groups southwards and in similar fashion to their

neighbors have heavily influenced the cultures of these groups. Islamic

Shari’a Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...

law is loosely the law of the land in Hausa areas, well understood by any Islamic scholar or teacher, known in Hausa as a ''m'allam'', ''mallan'' or ''malam'' (see Maulana). This pluralist attitude toward ethnic-identity and cultural affiliation has enabled the Hausa to inhabit one of the largest geographic regions of non-

Bantu Bantu may refer to: *Bantu languages, constitute the largest sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages *Bantu peoples, over 400 peoples of Africa speaking a Bantu language * Bantu knots, a type of African hairstyle *Black Association for National ...

ethnic groups in Africa. In the 7th century, the

Dalla Hill Dalla Hill (also spelled Dala) is a hill in Kano, Kano State, Nigeria. It is high and contains a stairway with 101 steps to the bottom to top. In the seventh century, the hill was the site of a community that engaged in iron-working. It was call ...

was the site of a Hausa community that migrated from Gaya and engaged in iron-working. The

Hausa Bakwai The Hausa Kingdoms, also known as Hausa Kingdom or Hausaland, was a collection of states started by the Hausa people, situated between the Niger River and Lake Chad (modern day northern Nigeria). Hausaland lay between the Western Sudanic kingdoms ...

kingdoms were established around the 7th to 11th centuries. Of these, the

Kingdom of Daura Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

was the first, according to the

Bayajidda Bayajidda (Hausa: Bàyā̀jiddà) was, according to the legends surrounding most West African states before the 19th century, the founder of the Hausa states. Most accounts say that Bayajidda came from Baghdad. Bayajidda came first to Borno where ...

Legend. Although the legend of

is a relatively new concept in the history of the Hausa people that gained traction and official recognition under the Islamic government and institutions that were newly established after the 1804 Usman dan Fodio Jihad. The Hausa Kingdoms were independent political entities in what is now Northern Nigeria. The Hausa city states emerged as southern terminals of the Trans-Saharan caravan trade. Like other cities such as

Gao Gao , or Gawgaw/Kawkaw, is a city in Mali and the capital of the Gao Region. The city is located on the River Niger, east-southeast of Timbuktu on the left bank at the junction with the Tilemsi valley. For much of its history Gao was an impor ...

and

Timbuktu Timbuktu ( ; french: Tombouctou; Koyra Chiini: ); tmh, label=Tuareg, script=Tfng, ⵜⵏⴱⴾⵜ, Tin Buqt a city in Mali, situated north of the Niger River. The town is the capital of the Tombouctou Region, one of the eight administrativ ...

in the

Mali Empire The Mali Empire ( Manding: ''Mandé''Ki-Zerbo, Joseph: ''UNESCO General History of Africa, Vol. IV, Abridged Edition: Africa from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Century'', p. 57. University of California Press, 1997. or Manden; ar, مالي, Māl ...

, these city states became centres of long-distance trade. Hausa merchants in each of these cities collected trade items from domestic areas such as leather, dyed cloth, horse gear, metal locks and Kola nuts from the rain forest region to the south through trade or slave raiding, processed (and taxed) them and then sent them north to cities along the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

. By the 12th century AD the Hausa were becoming one of Africa's major trading powers, competing with Kanem-Bornu and the

. The primary exports were

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hogs, ...

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

cloth Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...

kola nuts The term kola nut usually refers to the seeds of certain species of plant of the genus ''Cola'', placed formerly in the cocoa family Sterculiaceae and now usually subsumed in the mallow family Malvaceae (as subfamily Sterculioideae). These co ...

slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

, animal hides, and henna. Certainly trade influenced religion. By the 14th century, Islam was becoming widespread in Hausaland as Wangara scholars, scholars and traders from

and scholars and traders from the

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...

brought the religion with them. By the early 15th century the Hausa were using a modified

Arabic script The Arabic script is the writing system used for Arabic and several other languages of Asia and Africa. It is the second-most widely used writing system in the world by number of countries using it or a script directly derived from it, and the ...

known as ''

ajami ''Ajam'' ( ar, عجم, ʿajam) is an Arabic word meaning mute, which today refers to someone whose mother tongue is not Arabic. During the Arab conquest of Persia, the term became a racial pejorative. In many languages, including Persian, Tu ...

'' to record their own language; the Hausa compiled several written histories, the most popular being the ''

Kano Chronicle The ''Kano Chronicle'' (''Tarikh arbab hadha al-balad al-musamma Kano'' in Arabic) is an Arabic-language manuscript that lists the rulers of Kano. Summary The ''Kano Chronicle'' is a list of rulers of Kano stretching back to the 10th century A ...

.'' Many medieval Hausa manuscripts similar to the

Timbuktu Manuscripts Timbuktu Manuscripts (or Tombouctou Manuscripts) is a blanket term for the large number of historically significant manuscripts that have been preserved for centuries in private households in Timbuktu, a city in northern Mali. The collections in ...

written in the Ajami script, have been discovered recently some of them even describe

constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The origins of the e ...

s and

calendar A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is also a physi ...

s. The

Gobarau Minaret The Gobarau Minaret (var. Gobirau, Goborau) is a minaret located in the center of the city of Katsina, northern Nigeria. As an early example of Muslim architecture in a city known as a theological center, the tower has become a symbol of the c ...

was built in the 15th century in

Katsina Katsina, likely from "Tamashek" eaning son or bloodor mazza enwith "inna" otheris a Local Government Area and the capital city of Katsina State, in northern Nigeria.

. It is a 50-foot edifice located in the centre of the city of Katsina, the capital of

Katsina State Katsina State ''(Hausa: Jihar Katsina) (Fula: Leydi Katsina 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤳𞤢𞥁𞤭𞤲𞤢)'' is a state in the northwestern geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Katsina State was created in 1987, when it split from Kaduna State. Today, K ...

. The Gobarau minaret, a symbol of the state, is an early example of

Islamic architecture Islamic architecture comprises the architectural styles of buildings associated with Islam. It encompasses both secular and religious styles from the early history of Islam to the present day. The Islamic world encompasses a wide geographic ar ...

in a city that prides itself as an important Islamic learning centre. The minaret is believed to be one of West Africa's first multi-storey buildings and was once the tallest building in Katsina. The mosque's origin is attributed to the efforts of the influential Islamic scholar Sheikh

Muhammad al-Maghili Muhammad ibn Abd al-Karim al-Maghili (), commonly known as Muhammad al-Maghili (14401505) was a Berber 'alim from Tlemcen, the capital of the Kingdom of Tlemcen, now in modern-day Algeria. Al-Maghili was responsible for converting to Islam the ru ...

and Sultan Muhammadu Korau of Katsina. Al-Maghili was from the town of

Tlemcen Tlemcen (; ar, تلمسان, translit=Tilimsān) is the second-largest city in northwestern Algeria after Oran, and capital of the Tlemcen Province. The city has developed leather, carpet, and textile industries, which it exports through the por ...

in present-day Algeria and taught for a while in Katsina, which had become a centre of learning at this time, when he visited the town in the late 15th century during the reign of Muhammadu Korau. He and Korau discussed the idea of building a mosque to serve as a centre for spiritual and intellectual activities. The Gobarau mosque was designed and built to reflect the Timbuktu-style of architecture. It became an important centre for learning, attracting scholars and students from far and wide, and later served as a kind of university.

Muhammad Rumfa Muhammad Dan Yakubu, known as Muhammad Rumfa was the Sultan of Kano from 1463 until 1499. His reign was characterized by wealth and opulence and signaled the rise of the Sultanate's commercial dominance in the region. Under the guidance of famed ...

was the Sultan of the

Sultanate of Kano The Sultanate of Kano was a Hausa kingdom in the north of what is now Nigeria that dates back to 1349, when the contemporary king of Kano, Ali Yaji (1349–1385), dissolved the cult of Tsumbubra and proclaimed Kano a sultanate. Before 1000 AD, ...

, located in modern-day

Kano State Kano State (Hausa: ''Jihar Kano''جىِهَر كَنوُ) (Fula: Leydi Kano 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤳𞤢𞤲𞤮𞥅 ) is one of the 36 states of Nigeria, located in the northern region of the country. According to the national census done in ...

Northern Nigeria Northern Nigeria was an autonomous division within Nigeria, distinctly different from the southern part of the country, with independent customs, foreign relations and security structures. In 1962 it acquired the territory of the United Kingd ...

. He reigned from 1463 until 1499. Among Rumfa's accomplishments were extending the city walls, building a large palace, the

Gidan Rumfa The Gidan Rumfa, sometimes called the Gidan Sarki ("Emir's house"), is the palace of the Emir of Kano. Located in the city of Kano, Kano State, Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, ...

, promoting slaves to governmental positions and establishing the great

Kurmi Market The Kurmi Market is a large market in the city of Kano, Kano State, Nigeria. It was founded by Muhammad Rumfa, a King of Kano, in the 15th century. As of 2003, Sale Ayagi was chairman of the market's unions. Kurmi Market has lent its name to a fo ...

, which is still in use today. Kurmi Market is among the oldest and largest local markets in Africa. It used to serve as an international market where North African goods were exchanged for domestic goods through trans-Saharan trade.whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5171/ Muhammad Rumfa was also responsible for much of the

Islamisation Islamization, Islamicization, or Islamification ( ar, أسلمة, translit=aslamāh), refers to the process through which a society shifts towards the religion of Islam and becomes largely Muslim. Societal Islamization has historically occurre ...

of Kano, as he urged prominent residents to convert. Durba banner carrier

The legendary Queen

Amina Aminatu (also Amina; died 1610) was a Hausa Muslim historical figure in the city-state Zazzau (now city of Zaria in Kaduna State), in what is now in the north-west region of Nigeria. She might have ruled in the mid-sixteenth century. A controv ...

(or Aminatu) is believed to have ruled

Zazzau The Zazzau, also known as the Zaria Emirate, is a Nigerian traditional state, traditional state with headquarters in the city of Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. The current emir of Zazzau is Alhaji Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli who succeeded the former emir, l ...

between the 15th century and the 16th century for a period of 34 years. Amina was 16 years old when her mother, Bakwa Turunku became queen and she was given the traditional title of ''Magajiya'', an honorific borne by the daughters of monarchs. She honed her military skills and became famous for her bravery and military exploits, as she is celebrated in song as "Amina, daughter of Nikatau, a woman as capable as a man." Amina is credited as the architectural overseer who created the strong earthen walls that surround her city, which were the prototype for the fortifications used in all Hausa states. She subsequently built many of these fortifications, which became known as ganuwar Amina or Amina's walls, around various conquered cities. The objectives of her conquests were twofold: extension of her nation beyond its primary borders and reducing the conquered cities to a vassal status. Sultan

Muhammad Bello Muhammadu Bello ( ar, محمد بلو) was the second Sultan of Sokoto and reigned from 1817 until 1837. He was also an active writer of history, poetry, and Islamic studies. He was the son and primary aide to Usman dan Fodio, the founder of the ...

Sokoto Sokoto is a major city located in extreme northwestern Nigeria, near the confluence of the Sokoto River and the Rima River. As of 2006 it has a population of over 427,760. Sokoto is the modern-day capital of Sokoto State and was previously the c ...

stated that, "She made war upon these countries and overcame them entirely so that the people of Katsina paid tribute to her and the men of Kano and... also made war on cities of

Bauchi Bauchi (earlier Yakoba) is a city in northeast Nigeria, the Administrative center of Bauchi State, of the Bauchi Local Government Area within that State, and of the traditional Bauchi Emirate. It is located on the northern edge of the Jos Plateau ...

till her kingdom reached to the sea in the south and the west." Likewise, she led her armies as far as

Kwararafa Kororofa (Kwararafa in Hausa) was a multiethnic state and/or confederacy centered along the Benue River valley in what is today central Nigeria. It was southwest of the Bornu Empire and south of the Hausa States. They rose to prominence before ...

and

Nupe Nupe may refer to: *Nupe people, of Nigeria *Nupe language, their language *The Bida Emirate, also known as the Nupe Kingdom, their former state *A member of the Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African Amer ...

and, according to the Kano Chronicle, "The Sarkin Nupe sent her (i.e. the princess) 40 eunuchs and 10,000 kola nuts." From 1804 to 1808, the

Fulani The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people ( ff, Fulɓe, ; french: Peul, links=no; ha, Fulani or Hilani; pt, Fula, links=no; wo, Pël; bm, Fulaw) are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. ...

, another Islamic African ethnic group that spanned West Africa and have settled in Hausaland since the early 1500s, with support of already oppressed Hausa peasants revolted against oppressive cattle tax and religious persecution under the new king of

, whose predecessor and father had tolerated Muslim evangelists and even favoured the leading Muslim cleric of the day,

Sheikh Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...

Usman Dan Fodio Usman Ɗan Fodio ( ar, عثمان بن فودي, translit=ʿUthmān ibn Fodio; 15 December 1754 – 20 April 1817) was a Fulani scholar, Sunni Islamic religious teacher, revolutionary, and philosopher who founded the Sokoto Caliphate and ruled ...

whose life the new king had sought end.

fled

and from his sanctuary declared Jihad on its king and all Habe dynasty kings for their alleged greed, paganism, injustices against the peasant class, use of heavy taxation and violation of the standards of Sharia law. The Fulani and Hausa cultural similarities as a Sahelian people however allowed for significant integration between the two groups. Since the early 20th century, these peoples are often classified as "

Hausa–Fulani Hausa–Fulani are people of mixed Hausa and Fulani origin. They are primarily found in the Northern region of Nigeria, most of whom speak a variant of Hausa or Fula or both as their first language. While some Fulani claim Semitic origins, Hau ...

" within

rather than as individuated groups. In fact a large number of Fulani living in Hausa regions cannot speak Fulfulde at all and speak Hausa as their first language. Many Fulani in the region do not distinguish themselves from the Hausa, as they have long intermarried, they share the Islamic religion and more than half of all Nigerian Fulani have integrated into Hausa culture. British colonial administrator

Frederick Lugard Frederick John Dealtry Lugard, 1st Baron Lugard (22 January 1858 – 11 April 1945), known as Sir Frederick Lugard between 1901 and 1928, was a British soldier, mercenary, explorer of Africa and colonial administrator. He was Governor of Hong ...

exploited rivalries between many of the emirs in the south and the central Sokoto administration to counter possible defence efforts as his men marched toward the capital. As the British approached the city of Sokoto, the new Sultan Muhammadu Attahiru I organised a quick defence of the city and fought the advancing British-led forces. The British emerged triumphant, sending Attahiru I and thousands of followers on a

Mahdi The Mahdi ( ar, ٱلْمَهْدِيّ, al-Mahdī, lit=the Guided) is a Messianism, messianic figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the Eschatology, end of times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a de ...

st ''

hijra Hijra, Hijrah, Hegira, Hejira, Hijrat or Hijri may refer to: Islam * Hijrah (often written as ''Hejira'' in older texts), the migration of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE * Migration to Abyssinia or First Hegira, of Muhammad's followers ...

''.

On 13 March 1903 at the grand market square of Sokoto, the last Vizier of the Caliphate officially conceded to British rule. The British appointed Muhammadu Attahiru II as the new Caliph. Lugard abolished the Caliphate, but retained the title ''Sultan'' as a symbolic position in the newly organised

Northern Nigeria Protectorate Northern Nigeria (Hausa: ''Arewacin Najeriya'') was a British protectorate which lasted from 1900 until 1914 and covered the northern part of what is now Nigeria. The protectorate spanned and included the emirates of the Sokoto Caliphate an ...

. In June 1903, the British defeated the remaining forces of Attahiru I, who was killed in action; by 1906 resistance to British rule had ended. The area of the Sokoto Caliphate was divided among the control of the British, French, and Germans under the terms of the

Berlin Conference The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885, also known as the Congo Conference (, ) or West Africa Conference (, ), regulated European colonisation and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism period and coincided with Germany's sudden emergence ...

. The British established the

to govern the region, which included most of the Sokoto empire and its most important emirates. Under Lugard, the various emirs were provided significant local autonomy, thus retaining much of the political organisation of the Sokoto Caliphate. The Sokoto area was treated as just another emirate within the Nigerian Protectorate. Because it was never connected with the railway network, it became economically and politically marginal. But, the Sultan of Sokoto continued to be regarded as an important Muslim spiritual and religious position; the lineage connection to dan Fodio has continued to be recognised. One of the most significant Sultans was Siddiq Abubakar III, who held the position for 50 years from 1938 to 1988. He was known as a stabilising force in Nigerian politics, particularly in 1966 after the assassination of

Ahmadu Bello Ahmadu Ibrahim Bello, Sardauna of Sokoto (12 June 1910–15 January 1966), knighted as Sir Ahmadu Bello, was a conservative Nigerian statesman who masterminded Northern Nigeria through the independence of Nigeria in 1960 and served as its first a ...

, the Premier of Northern Nigeria. Following the construction of the Nigerian railway system, which extended from

in 1896 to

Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano, with a total population of 3,649,000 as of 2021, and over 6 million people within its me ...

in 1900 and

in 1911, the Hausa of northern Nigeria became major producers of groundnuts. They surprised the British authorities, who had expected the Hausa to turn to cotton production. However, the Hausa had sufficient agricultural expertise to realise cotton required more labour and the European prices offered for groundnuts were more attractive than those for cotton. "Within two years the peasant farmers of Hausaland were producing so many tonnes of groundnuts that the railway was unable to cope with the traffic. As a result, the European merchants in Kano had to stockpile sacks of groundnuts in the streets." (Shillington 338). The Boko script was implemented by the British and French colonial authorities and made the official Hausa alphabet in 1930. Boko is a

Latin alphabet The Latin alphabet or Roman alphabet is the collection of letters originally used by the ancient Romans to write the Latin language. Largely unaltered with the exception of extensions (such as diacritics), it used to write English and the o ...

used to write the

. The first boko was devised by Europeans in the early 19th century, and developed in the early 20th century by the British (mostly) and French colonial authorities. Since the 1950s boko has been the main alphabet for Hausa. Arabic script (''

'') is now only used in Islamic schools and for Islamic literature. Today millions of Hausa-speaking people, who can read and write in Ajami only, are considered illiterates by the Nigerian government. Despite this, Hausa Ajami is present on

Naira The naira (sign: ₦; code: NGN) is the currency of Nigeria. One naira is divided into 100 ''kobo''. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is the sole issuer of legal tender money throughout the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It controls the volume ...

banknotes. In 2014, in a very controversial move, Ajami was removed from the new 100 Naira banknote.247nigerianewsupdate.co/in-defense-of-muric-bring-back-our-ajami-by-abdulbaqi-aliyu-jari/ Nevertheless, the Hausa remain preeminent in

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesNorthern Nigeria Northern Nigeria was an autonomous division within Nigeria, distinctly different from the southern part of the country, with independent customs, foreign relations and security structures. In 1962 it acquired the territory of the United Kingd ...

Subgroup of Hausa People

Hausas in the narrow sense are indigenous of Kasar Hausa (Hausaland) who are found in West Africa. Within the people of the Hausa, the distinction is made between three subgroups: Habe, Hausa-Fulani (Kado), and Banza or Banza 7 * "Habe" are taken to be pure the Hausas. They include Gobirawa, Kabawa, Rumawa, Adarawa,

Maouri The Maouri people are an ethnic group in western Africa. They are one of the major ethnic groups of Niger, and are concentrated around the ''Dallol Maouri'' (Maouri Valley) of the Niger River, extending from Matankari, near Niamey, to Gaya. They ...

, and others. These group are the rulers of Hausa Kingdoms before the Danfodiyo revolution (Jihad) of 1804. * "Hausa–Fulani" or "Kado" are Hausanized Fulas, people of mixed Hausa and Fulani origin, most of whom speak a variant of Hausa as their native language. According to Hausa genealogical tradition, their identity came into being as a direct result of the migration of Fula people into Hausaland occurring from the 15th century and later at the beginning of the 19th century, during the Sheikh Usman Danfodiyo's led revolution against the Hausa Kingdoms founding a centralized Sokoto Caliphate. They include Jobawa, Dambazawa, Mudubawa, Mallawa, and Sullubawa tribes originating in

Futa Tooro Futa Toro (Wolof and ff, Fuuta Tooro ''𞤆𞤵𞥄𞤼𞤢 𞤚𞤮𞥄𞤪𞤮''; ar, فوتا تورو), often simply the Futa, is a semidesert region around the middle run of the Senegal River. This region is along the border of Senegal and M ...

. * "Banza or Banza 7" According to some modern historians are people which are of ancient tribes and extinct languages in Hausaland, whose history little is known. They include Ajawa, Gere, Bankal, and others.

Genetics

According to a

Y-DNA The Y chromosome is one of two sex chromosomes (allosomes) in therian mammals, including humans, and many other animals. The other is the X chromosome. Y is normally the sex-determining chromosome in many species, since it is the presence or abse ...

study by Hassan et al. (2008), about 47% of Hausa in

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesCameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

and

carry the

West Eurasian Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Ja ...

haplogroup A haplotype is a group of alleles in an organism that are inherited together from a single parent, and a haplogroup (haploid from the el, ἁπλοῦς, ''haploûs'', "onefold, simple" and en, group) is a group of similar haplotypes that share ...

R1b . The remainder belong to various African paternal lineages: 15.6% B, 12.5% A and 12.5%

E1b1a Haplogroup E-V38 is a human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup. It is primarily distributed in Sub Saharan Africa. E-V38 has two basal branches, E-M329 (formerly E1b1c or E1b1*) and E-M2 (formerly E3a & E1b1a). The E-M329 subclade is today almost excl ...

. A small minority of around 4% are

E1b1b E-M215, also known as E1b1b and formerly E3b, is a major human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup. It is a division of the macro-haplogroup E-M96, which is defined by the single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) mutation M215. In other words, it is one of ...

clade bearers, a haplogroup which is most common in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

and the

Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...

.Hassan, Hisham Y. et al. 200
"Y-Chromosome Variation Among Sudanese: Restricted Gene Flow, Concordance With Language, Geography, and History"
In terms of overall ancestry, an

autosomal An autosome is any chromosome that is not a sex chromosome. The members of an autosome pair in a diploid cell have the same morphology, unlike those in allosome, allosomal (sex chromosome) pairs, which may have different structures. The DNA in au ...

DNA study by Tishkoff et al. (2009) found the Hausa to be most closely related to

Nilo-Saharan The Nilo-Saharan languages are a proposed family of African languages spoken by some 50–60 million people, mainly in the upper parts of the Chari and Nile rivers, including historic Nubia, north of where the two tributaries of the Nile meet. T ...

populations from

and

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...

. This suggests that the Hausa and other modern Chadic-speaking populations originally spoke Nilo-Saharan languages, before adopting languages from the

Afroasiatic The Afroasiatic languages (or Afro-Asiatic), also known as Hamito-Semitic, or Semito-Hamitic, and sometimes also as Afrasian, Erythraean or Lisramic, are a language family of about 300 languages that are spoken predominantly in the geographic su ...

family after migration into that area thousands of years ago.

"''From K = 5-13, all Nilo-Saharan speaking populations from southern Sudan, and Chad cluster with west-central Afroasiatic Chadic-speaking populations (Fig. S15). These results are consistent with linguistic and archeological data, suggesting a possible common ancestry of Nilo-Saharan speaking populations from an eastern Sudanese homeland within the past ≈10,500 years, with subsequent bi-directional migration westward to Lake Chad and southward into modern day southern Sudan, and more recent migration eastward into Kenya and Tanzania ≈3,000 ya (giving rise to Southern Nilotic speakers) and westward into Chad ≈2,500 ya (giving rise to Central Sudanic speakers) (S62, S65, S67, S74). A proposed migration of proto-Chadic Afroasiatic speakers ≈7,000 ya from the central Sahara into the
Lake Chad Basin The Chad Basin is the largest endorheic basin in Africa, centered on Lake Chad. It has no outlet to the sea and contains large areas of semi-arid desert and savanna. The drainage basin is roughly coterminous with the sedimentary basin of the same ...
may have caused many western Nilo-Saharans to shift to Chadic languages (S99). Our data suggest that this shift was not accompanied by large amounts of Afroasiatic16 gene flow. Analyses of mtDNA provide evidence for divergence ≈8,000 ya of a distinct mtDNA lineage present at high frequency in the Chadic populations and suggest an East African origin for most mtDNA lineages in these populations (S100)''."

Culture

The Hausa cultural practices stand unique in

and have withstood the test of time due to strong traditions, cultural pride as well as an efficient precolonial native system of government. Consequently, and in spite of strong competition from western

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

as adopted by their southern Nigerian counterparts, have maintained a rich and particular mode of dressing, food, language, marriage system, education system, traditional architecture, sports, music and other forms of traditional entertainment.

Language

The

, a member of

family of languages, has more first-language speakers than any other

African language The languages of Africa are divided into several major language families: * Niger–Congo or perhaps Atlantic–Congo languages (includes Bantu and non-Bantu, and possibly Mande and others) are spoken in West, Central, Southeast and Souther ...

. It has around 50 million first-language speakers, and close to 30 million second-language speakers. The main Hausa-speaking area is northern

and

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesGhana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

, Chad, Sudanese Hausa in Sudan and the Ivory Coast as well as among

, Kanuri, Gur,

Shuwa Arab The Baggāra ( ar, البَقَّارَة "heifer herder") or Chadian Arabs are a nomadic confederation of people of mixed Arab and Arabized indigenous African ancestry, inhabiting a portion of the Sahel mainly between Lake Chad and the Nile ...

, and other

Afro-Asiatic The Afroasiatic languages (or Afro-Asiatic), also known as Hamito-Semitic, or Semito-Hamitic, and sometimes also as Afrasian, Erythraean or Lisramic, are a language family of about 300 languages that are spoken predominantly in the geographic su ...

speaking groups. There are also large Hausa communities in every major African city in neighbourhoods called ''zango''s or ''zongo''s, meaning "caravan camp" in Hausa (denoting the

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically the location of the trading post would allow people from one geographic area to tr ...

origins of these communities). Most Hausa speakers, regardless of ethnic affiliation, are

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

; Hausa often serves as a

lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...

among

in non-Hausa areas. There is a large and growing printed literature in Hausa, which includes novels, poetry, plays, instruction in

Islamic Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the mai ...

practice, books on development issues, newspapers, news magazines, and technical academic works. Radio and television broadcasting in Hausa is ubiquitous in northern Nigeria and Niger, and radio stations in Cameroon have regular Hausa broadcasts, as do international broadcasters such as the BBC, VOA, Deutsche Welle, Radio Moscow, Radio Beijing, RFI France, IRIB Iran, and others. Hausa is used as the language of instruction at the elementary level in schools in northern Nigeria, and Hausa is available as course of study in northern

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

. In addition, several advanced degrees (Masters and PhD) are offered in Hausa in various universities in the UK, US, and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Hausa is also being used in various social media networks around the world. Hausa is considered one of the world's major languages, and it has widespread use in a number of countries of

. Hausa's rich poetry, prose, and musical literature, is increasingly available in print and in audio and video recordings. The study of Hausa provides an informative entry into the culture of

ic Africa. Throughout Africa, there is a strong connection between Hausa and Islam. The influence of the Hausa language on the languages of many non-Hausa Muslim peoples in

is readily apparent. Likewise, many Hausa cultural practices, including such overt features as dress and food, are shared by other Muslim communities. Because of the dominant position which the Hausa language and culture have long held, the study of Hausa provides crucial background for other areas such as African history,

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

(particularly in Nigeria and Niger), gender studies, commerce, and the arts.

Religion

Orthodox

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

Islam of the

Maliki The ( ar, مَالِكِي) school is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by Malik ibn Anas in the 8th century. The Maliki school of jurisprudence relies on the Quran and hadiths as primary ...

madhhab, is the predominant and historically established religion of the Hausa people. Islam has been present in

as early as the 11th century — giving rise to famous native Sufi saints and scholars such as Wali Muhammad dan Masani (d.1667) and Wali Muhammad dan Marna (d. 1655) in Katsina — mostly among long-distance traders to North Africa whom in turn had spread it to common people while the ruling class had remain largely pagan or mixed their practice of Islam with pagan practices. By the 14th Century, Hausa traders were already spreading Islam across large swathe of west Africa such as Ghana, Cote d Ivoire etc..

Muslim scholars This article is an incomplete list of noted modern-era (20th to 21st century) Islamic scholars. This refers to religious authorities whose publications or statements are accepted as pronouncements on religion by their respective communities and ...

of the early 19th century disapproved of the hybrid religion practiced in royal courts. A desire for reform contributed to the formation of the

Sokoto Caliphate The Sokoto Caliphate (), also known as the Fulani Empire or the Sultanate of Sokoto, was a Sunni Muslim caliphate in West Africa. It was founded by Usman dan Fodio in 1804 during the Fulani jihads after defeating the Hausa Kingdoms in the Ful ...

. The formation of this state strengthened Islam in rural areas. The Hausa people have been an important factor for the spread of Islam in West Africa. Today, the current

Sultan of Sokoto Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...

is regarded as the traditional religious leader (''Sarkin Musulmi'') of Sunni Hausa–Fulani in Nigeria and beyond. Maguzanci, an

African Traditional Religion The traditional beliefs and practices of African people are highly diverse beliefs that include various ethnic religions.Encyclopedia of African Religion (Sage, 2009) Molefi Kete Asante Generally, these traditions are oral tradition, oral rather ...

, was practised extensively before Islam. In the more remote areas of Hausaland, the people continue to practise Maguzanci. Closer to urban areas, it is not as common, but with elements still held among the beliefs of urban dwellers. Practices include the sacrifice of animals for personal ends, but it is not legitimate to practise Maguzanci magic for harm. People of urbanized areas tend to retain a "cult of

spirit possession Spirit possession is an unusual or altered state of consciousness and associated behaviors purportedly caused by the control of a human body by spirits, ghosts, demons, or gods. The concept of spirit possession exists in many cultures and rel ...

," known as Bori. It incorporates the old religion's elements of

and

magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

. File:Nigerian Public Domain 423.jpg, Hausa people in Salat File:Nigerian Public Domain 422.jpg, Muslim performing Salat

Clothing and Accessories

The Hausa were famous throughout the Middle Ages for their cloth weaving and dyeing, cotton goods, leather sandals, metal locks, horse equipment and leather-working and export of such goods throughout the west African region as well as to north Africa (Hausa leather was erroneously known to medieval Europe as Moroccan leather). They were often characterized by their

Indigo Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...

blue dressing and emblems which earned them the nickname "bluemen". They traditionally rode on fine Saharan

camels A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. ...

and

horses The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...

Tie-dye Tie-dye is a term used to describe a number of resist dyeing techniques and the resulting dyed products of these processes. The process of tie-dye typically consists of folding, twisting, pleating, or crumpling fabric or a garment, before binding ...

techniques have been used in the Hausa region of

for centuries with renowned

dye pits located in and around

. The tie-dyed clothing is then richly

embroidered Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen on c ...

in traditional patterns. It has been suggested that these African techniques were the inspiration for the tie-dyed garments identified with

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

fashion. The traditional dress of the Hausa consists of loose flowing gowns and trousers. The gowns have wide openings on both sides for ventilation. The trousers are loose at the top and center, but rather tight around the legs. Leather sandals and turbans are also typical. The men are easily recognizable because of their elaborate dress which is a large flowing gown known as ''Babban riga'' also known by various other names due to adaptation by many ethnic groups neighboring the Hausa (see

Babban Riga/Gandora). These large flowing gowns usually feature elaborate embroidery designs around the neck and chest area. Men also wear colourful embroidered caps known as ''hula.'' Depending on their location and occupation, they may wear the turban around this to veil the face, called

Alasho Alasho is an indigenous Hausa long turban, worn across the head and neck. It is near identical in length, colour and dimensions to that of the Tuareg tagelmust, but is wrapped differently to the Tuareg method, leaving the sides of the head and some ...

. The women can be identified by wrappers called ''zani,'' made with colourful cloth known as ''atampa or Ankara'', (a descendant of early designs from the famous

techniques the Hausa have for centuries been known for, named after the Hausa name for

the capital of what is now Ghana, and where an old Hausa speaking trading community still lives) accompanied by a matching blouse, head tie (kallabi) and shawl (Gyale). Like other Muslims and specifically Sahelians within West Africa, Hausa women traditionally use Henna (lalle) designs painted onto the hand instead of nail-polish. A shared tradition with other

speakers like

Berbers , image = File:Berber_flag.svg , caption = The Berber ethnic flag , population = 36 million , region1 = Morocco , pop1 = 14 million to 18 million , region2 = Algeria , pop2 ...

Habesha am, ሐበሻ, አበሻ, translit=Häbäša, 'äbäša ti, ሓበሻ, translit=Ḥabäša , regions = , languages = Ethiopian Semitic languages , religions = Predominantly Oriental Orthodox Christianity (Orthodox Te ...

, (ancient)

Egyptians Egyptians ( arz, المَصرِيُون, translit=al-Maṣriyyūn, ; arz, المَصرِيِين, translit=al-Maṣriyyīn, ; cop, ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, remenkhēmi) are an ethnic group native to the Nile, Nile Valley in Egypt. Egyptian ...

and

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

peoples, both Hausa men and women use

kohl Kohl may refer to: *Kohl (cosmetics), an ancient eye cosmetic *Kohl (surname), including a list of people with the surname *Kohl's Kohl's (stylized in all caps) is an American department store retail chain, operated by Kohl's Corporation. ...

('kwalli') around the eyes as an eye shadow, with the area below the eye receiving a thicker line than that of the top. Also, similar to Berber,

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and A ...

, Zarma and

women, Hausa women traditionally use kohl to accentuate facial symmetry. This is usually done by drawing a vertical line from below the bottom lip down to the chin. Other designs may include a line along the bridge of the nose, or a single pair of small symmetical dots on the cheeks. Common traditional dressing in Hausa men File:Hausa royal dressing 05.jpg, A Hausa boy wearing traditional cloths (Babban riga and rawani) File:Hausa emirate dress code 01.jpg, A teenage Hausa boy wearing traditional cloths File:Hausa from Yola-1902.jpg, An adult Hausa man in Babban riga and

Common modern dressing in Hausa women File:The First Lady of Nigeria Her Excellency Aisha Buhari.jpg, Aisha Buhari wearing Hausa clothes and

hijab In modern usage, hijab ( ar, حجاب, translit=ḥijāb, ) generally refers to headcoverings worn by Muslim women. Many Muslims believe it is obligatory for every female Muslim who has reached the age of puberty to wear a head covering. While ...

, which consists of the kallabi matching the dress cloth design, and gyale draped over the shoulder or front File:Turai Yar'Adua.jpg, Turai Yar'adua wearing atampa and dan kwali, note the henna designs on the fingertips instead of nail polish File:Hafsat Ahmad Idris.jpg, Kannywood actress wearing gyale in Hausa style, along with henna applied on fingers

Architecture

The architecture of the Hausa is perhaps one of the least known but most beautiful of the medieval age. Many of their early

mosques A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, i ...

and palaces are bright and colourful, including intricate engraving or elaborate symbols designed into the facade This architectural style is known as '' Tubali'' which means ''architecture'' in the Hausa language. The ancient Kano city walls were built in order to provide security to the growing population. The foundation for the construction of the wall was laid by Sarki Gijimasu from 1095 through 1134 and was completed in the middle of the 14th century. In the 16th century, the walls were further extended to their present position. The gates are as old as the walls and were used to control movement of people in and out of the city. Hausa buildings are characterized by the use of dry mud bricks in cubic structures, multi-storied buildings for the social elite, the use of

parapets A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Wher ...

related to their military/fortress building past, and traditional white stucco and plaster for house fronts. At times the facades may be decorated with various abstract relief designs, sometimes painted in vivid colours to convey information about the occupant. File:Gate to the Gidan Rumfa (2009) in Kano, Nigeria..jpg, Gate of gidan rumfa File:Hausa architecture.jpg, A traditional Hausa home File:Gobarau Minaret.jpg, Gobarau mineret (legacy of Katsina)

Sport

The Hausa culture is rich in traditional sporting events such as boxing (

Dambe Dambe is a martial art of the Hausa people from Nigeria. Competitors in a typical match aim to subdue each other into total submission mostly within three rounds. It often results in serious bodily injury. Boxers are called by the Hausa word "da� ...

), stick fight (Takkai), wrestling (Kokawa) etc. that were originally organized to celebrate harvests but over the generations developed into sporting events for entertainment purposes.

Dambe

is a brutal form of traditional martial art associated with the Hausa people of West Africa. Its origin is shrouded in mystery. However, Edward Powe, a researcher of Nigerian martial art culture recognizes striking similarities in stance and single wrapped fist of Hausa boxers to images of ancient Egyptian boxers from the 12th and 13th dynasties. It originally started out among the lower class of Hausa Butcher caste groups and later developed into a way of practicing military skills and then into sporting events through generations of Northern Nigerians. It is fought in rounds of three or less which have no time limits. A round ends if an opponent is knocked out, a fighter's knee, body or hand touch the ground, inactivity or halted by an official. Dambe's primary weapon is the “spear”, a single dominant hand wrapped from fist to forearm in thick strips of cotton bandage that is held in place by knotted cord dipped in salt and allowed to dry for maximum body damage on opponents, while the other arm, held open, serve as the “shield" to protect fighters head from opponent's blows or used to grab an opponent. Fighters usually end up with split brows, broken jaws and noses or even sustain brain damage. Dambe fighters may receive money, cattle, farm produce or jewelry as winnings but generally it was fought for fame from representations of towns and fighting clans. Hausa_tribal_hunters_in_Durbar_procession

Hausa_tribal_hunters_in_Durbar_procession

Food

The most common food that the Hausa people prepare consists of

grains A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legumes ...

, such as

sorghum ''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many othe ...

millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets al ...

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

, or

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

, which are ground into flour for a variety of different kinds of dishes. This food is popularly known as ''tuwo'' in the Hausa language. Usually, breakfast consists of

cakes Cake is a flour confection made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients, and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elaborate, ...

and

dumplings Dumpling is a broad class of dishes that consist of pieces of dough (made from a variety of starch sources), oftentimes wrapped around a filling. The dough can be based on bread, flour, buckwheat or potatoes, and may be filled with meat, ...

made from ground beans and fried, known as '' kosai''; or made from wheat flour soaked for a day, fried and served with sugar or chili, known as '' funkaso''. Both of these cakes can be served with

porridge Porridge is a food made by heating or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, (dried) fruit or syrup to make a sweet cereal, ...

and

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

known as ''kunu'' or ''koko''. Lunch or dinner usually feature a heavy porridge with soup and stew known as ''tuwo da miya''. The soup and stew are usually prepared with ground or chopped

tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

es,

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion ...

s, and local spices. Spices and other vegetables, such as

spinach Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to central and western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common edible vegetable consumed either f ...

pumpkin A pumpkin is a vernacular term for mature winter squash of species and varieties in the genus ''Cucurbita'' that has culinary and cultural significance but no agreed upon botanical or scientific meaning. The term ''pumpkin'' is sometimes use ...

, or

okra Okra or Okro (, ), ''Abelmoschus esculentus'', known in many English-speaking countries as ladies' fingers or ochro, is a flowering plant in the mallow family. It has edible green seed pods. The geographical origin of okra is disputed, with su ...

, are added to the soup during preparation. The stew is prepared with meat, which can include goat or cow meat, but not pork, due to Islamic food restrictions.

Beans A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible Seed, seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small ...

s, and

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. Immune factors and immune ...

are also served as a complementary

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...

diet for the Hausa people. The most famous of all Hausa food is most likely Suya, a spicy

shish kebab Shish kebab is a popular meal of skewered and grilled cubes of meat. It can be found in Mediterranean cuisine and is similar to or synonymous with dishes called shashlik and khorovats, found in the Caucasus region. It is one of the many types ...

like skewered meat which is a popular food item in various parts of Nigeria and is enjoyed as a delicacy in much of

and balangu or gashi. A dried version of Suya is called

Kilishi Kilishi is a version of jerky that originated in Hausaland specifically Niger . It is a dried form of suya, made from cow, sheep or goat meat. Meat Firstly, remove the bone from the cow, sheep or goat meat, Each of the selected muscles is sl ...

Literature

Hausa Language has been written in modified Arabic script, known as Ajami,since pre-colonial times.The earliest Hausa Ajami manuscript with reliable date is the Ruwayar Annabi Musa by the Kano scholar Abdullah Suka, who lived in the sixteen hundreds. This manuscript may be seen in the collection of the Jos Museum. Other well-known scholars and saints of the Sufi order from Katsina, Danmarna and Danmasani have been composing Ajami and Arabic poetry from much earlier times also in the sixteen hundreds. Gradually, increasing number of Hausa Ajami manuscripts were written which increased in volume through the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries and continuing into the twentieth. With the Nineteenth Century witnessing even more impetus due to the

Usman dan Fodio Usman Ɗan Fodio ( ar, عثمان بن فودي, translit=ʿUthmān ibn Fodio; 15 December 1754 – 20 April 1817) was a Fulani scholar, Sunni Islamic religious teacher, revolutionary, and philosopher who founded the Sokoto Caliphate and ruled ...

Islamic reform, himself a copious writer who encouraged literacy and scholarship, for both men and women, as a result of which several of his daughters emerged as scholars and writer

Ajami book publishing today has become greatly surpassed by romanized Hausa, or Boko, publishing. A modern literary movement led by female Hausa writers has grown since the late 1980s when writer

Balaraba Ramat Yakubu Balaraba Ramat Yakubu (born 1959) is a Nigerian author who writes in Hausa. She is a leader in the genre of '' littattafan soyayya'' or "love literature", and one of the very few Hausa-language writers whose work has been translated into English. ...

came to popularity. In time, the writers spurred a unique genre known as Kano market literature — so named because the books are often self-published and sold in the markets of Nigeria. The subversive nature of these novels, which are often romantic and family dramas that are otherwise hard to find in the Hausa tradition and lifestyle, have made them popular, especially among female readers. The genre is also referred to as ''littattafan soyayya'', or "love literature."Laura Mallonee
The Subversive Women Who Self-Publish Novels Amid Jihadist War
Wired, 17 February 2016.

Hausa symbolism

A "Hausa ethnic flag" was proposed in 1966 (according to online reports dated 2001). It shows five horizontal stripes—from top to bottom in red, yellow, indigo blue, green, and khaki beige. An older and traditionally established emblem of Hausa identity, the 'Dagin Arewa' or Northern knot, in a star shape, is used in historic architecture, design and embroidery.

References

Bibliography

* Bivins, Mary Wren. ''Telling Stories, Making Histories: Women, Words, and Islam in Nineteenth-Century Hausaland and the Sokoto Caliphate'' (Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Heinemann, 2007) (Social History of Africa). * * Philips, John Edward. “Hausa in the Twentieth Century: An Overview.” in ''Sudanic Africa, ''vol. 15, 2004, pp. 55–84
online
on the language of the people *

External links

All Hausa food recipes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hausa People

People A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pr ...

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