豪萨城邦

The Hausa Kingdoms (Masarautun Hausa), also known as Hausaland (Kasar Hausa), were a collection of states ruled by the Hausa people, before the Fulani jihads. They were situated between the Niger River and Lake Chad (modern day northern Nigeria). Hausaland lay between the Western Sudanic empires of Ancient Ghana, Mali and Songhai and the Eastern Sudanic empire of Kanem-Bornu.

Hausa oral traditions detail the Bayajidda legend, which describes the adventures of the Baghdadi hero, Bayajidda, culminating in the killing of the snake in a well at Daura and his marriage to the local queen Magajiya Daurama. According to the legend, Bayajidda's descendants founded the Hausa Bakwai (seven "true" states), as well as the Hausa Banza ("bastard" or "illegitimate" states).

Mythology

According to the Bayajidda legend, the Hausa states were founded by the sons and grandsons of Bayajidda, a prince of Baghdad who married Daurama, the last Kabara of Daura, and heralded the end of the matriarchal monarchs that had erstwhile ruled the Hausa people. According to the legend, Bayajidda travelled through Bornu, arriving at Daura, where he went to the house of an old woman called Waira and asked her to give him water but she told him the predicament of the land, how the only well in Daura, called Kusugu, was inhabited by a snake called Sarki, who allowed citizens of Daura to fetch water only on Fridays. Since sarki is the Hausa word for "king", this may have been a metaphor for a powerful figure. Bayajidda killed Sarki and because of what he had done the queen married him for his bravery. After his marriage to Daurama the people started to call him Bayajidda which means "he didn't understand (the language) before".

Hausa Bakwai

The Hausa Bakwai were the seven "true" states (birane) that all Hausa people are said to derive from.……

History

Origins and rise

Hausa oral traditions hold that settlements were first established where iskoki (nature spirits) were found. Hausaland had great agricultural potential, and early positions of authority related to control of the land, fostered by kinship relations. Hausa chiefs were either family heads (gidaje) or religious officials tasked with rituals intended to ensure agricultural prosperity (sarkin noma; "kings of farming"). The date of the foundation of the Hausa kingdoms is unknown, however urbanisation in northern Nigeria led to the formation of states, with fortified capital cities becoming centres of power and rule. The kingdoms controlled trade in the region, and were possibly first mentioned by Ya'qubi in the 9th century. Hausa traders founded quarters (sabon gari) in various places, building an elaborate and efficient trading network. Civilians would sometimes follow their armies as traders or to provide services, and settle abroad, contributing to the diaspora.

Government

Fulani pastoralists and foreign Islamic clerics were permitted to control their own administration under the supervision of the sarki (king).

Culture and society

Ideals on social order were based on kinship, and foreign civilians were incorporated into the system by intermarriage, social reclassification, or were granted special privileges. Commerce between the states facilitated a common Hausa language, without mutually unintelligible dialects. Despite the conversion of rulers to Islam, many commoners continued to practice their traditional religion, or syncretised it with Islam, which was considered acceptable up until the Fula jihads in the 19th century. Commoners (talakawa) comprised units of farms operated by two or more families (gandu) which were headed by a legal representative (maigida). The maigida administered the unit and was tasked with reconciling disputes and ritualistic roles in ceremonies. New gandu were set up by a father adding to their son's land, to eventually be recognised as a distinct unit for tax purposes.……