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Matan Bariki, ‘Women of the Barracks’ Muslim Hausa Women in an Urban Neighbourhood in Northern Nigeria

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2011

Katja Werthmann
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Abstract

Muslim Hausa-speaking women in the city of Kano in northern Nigeria form a heterogeneous population, differentiated by many social, economic and individual characteristics. New concepts of community and identity beyond the level of kinship, descent and marriage have developed among women in specific urban neighbourhoods, as on a modern housing estate (bariki) for civil servants in the old city of Kano. Although the term matan bariki, ‘women of the barracks’, is synonymous with ‘prostitutes’ for most Hausa-speakers, the secluded wives of policemen living on this housing estate use it as a self-designation that signifies membership of an urban middle class. The article explores the ambivalent meanings of the term bariki as a symbol of modernity and ‘Westernisation’ as well as the relation between seclusion as a religiously defined institution and its significance as a mark of socio-economic status. By redefining the term matan bariki the women of the barracks use a strategy of distinction in order to differentiate themselves from other groups and milieux of women in Kano.

Résumé

Les femmes musulmanes de langue haoussa de la ville de Kano dans le Nord du Nigeria forment une population hétérogène, différenciée par de nombreuses caractéristiques sociales, économiques et individuelles. De nouveaux concepts de communauté et d'identité autres que le niveau de parenté, de descendance et de mariage se sont développés chez les femmes de certains quartiers urbains, comme dans une cité d'habitation moderne (bariki) de fonctionnaires dans la vieille ville de Kano. Bien que le terme matan bariki, “femmes des baraques”, soit synonyme de “prostituées” pour la plupart des personnes de langue haoussa, les épouses de policiers qui vivent retirées dans cette cité l'utilisent sous la forme d'une auto-proclamation qui signifie appartenir à une classe moyenne urbaine. L'article explore les significations ambivalentes du terme bariki en tant que symbole de modernité et d'“occidentalisation”, ainsi que la relation entre l'isolement en tant qu'institution définie religieusement et son importance en tant que marque de statut socio-économique. En redéfinissant le terme matan bariki, les femmes des baraques emploient une stratégie de différenciation afin de se distinguer des autres groupes et milieux de femmes de Kano.

Type
Research Article
Information
Africa , Volume 72 , Issue 1 , February 2002 , pp. 112 - 130
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 2002

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