Hausa Kingdoms

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. According to tradition, Bayajidda and Daurama's son, Bawo, had six further sons with three wives (two per wife) who each founded a kingdom. Biram, the seventh kingdom, was founded by another son of Bayajidda, who he had had with a Kanuri princess (called Magira) • Katsina (founded by Kumayau) city now called "Hadejia") Hausa Banza/Banza Bakwai The Hausa Banza or Banza Bakwai were referred to as the "bastard" or "illegitimate" states. According to tradition, Bayajidda had a third son with his concubine called Mukarbigari. Mukarbigari's descendants are then said to have founded seven other states which bordered the Hausa Bakwai to the west and south. Hausa tradition often refers to these as inferior to the Hausa Bakwai. They are: • Nupe (state of the Nupe people) • Yoruba (Yoruba people) ==History==

Origins and rise Hausa oral traditions hold that settlements were first established where iskoki (nature spirits) were found. Hausa traders founded quarters (sabon gari) in various places, building an elaborate and efficient trading network. The Wangara, like Songhai immigrants, gradually integrated and became Hausa. The primary exports were slaves, leather, gold, cloth, salt, kola nuts, animal hides, and henna. At various moments in their history, the Hausa managed to establish central control over their states, but such unity has always proven short. During the reign of King Yaji I (1349–85) Islam was first introduced to Kano via daʿwah from Soninke Wangara, and Islamisation often syncretised with Hausa animism. Many Muslim traders and clerics used to come from Mali, from the Volta region, and later from Songhay. King Yaji appointed a Qadi and Imam as part of the state administration. Muhammad Rumfa (1463–99) built mosques and madrassahs. He also commissioned Muhammad al-Maghili to write a treatise on Muslim governance. Many other scholars were brought in from Egypt, Tunis, and Morocco. This turned Kano and Katsina into centers of Islamic scholarship. == 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. This ideal patrilineal system was often disrupted by divorce (due to polygynous marriage being common), strong matrilineal bonds, and occupational specialisation. Men had titles corresponding to their occupations outside of farming season. Unmarried adults were considered social outcasts. == See also ==