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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | The evolution of the Hausa story: from Bawo to Bayajidda |
Author: | Lange, D. |
Year: | 1987 |
Periodical: | Afrika und Übersee: Sprachen, Kulturen |
Volume: | 70 |
Issue: | 2 |
Pages: | 195-209 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | West Africa |
Subjects: | Hausa oral history |
Abstract: | The early history of the Hausa States rests on two main sources: the Arabic chronicle of the kings of Kano and the oral account of the Hausa 'bakwai' or Hausa seven (kingdoms). Compared to the considerable weight given by historians to the Kano Chronicle, the story of the Hausa seven has not received much attention, despite its wide circulation among the Hausa. It is argued here that recent changes in the content of the Hausa story reveal its basic message. Towards the middle of the 19th century, some time after the rise of the Sokoto Caliphate, a modified version of the Hausa story brought about a change of perspective: Bawo and the prominence given to the Borno connection began to be overshadowed by Bayajidda and his connections with the Middle East. This modification of the story must be seen in the 19th-century political context in which the Hausa States had little to expect from their former Borno overlords and a lot to fear from their Fulani rivals. Bibliogr., notes, ref. |