* Many people have me in the research that has gone into this study, some of them without realizing it, especially several of my former students and members of the junior staff of the School of Basic Studies in Zaria. One of my former students I must single out for special mention. Malam Bashir Bello Akko gave me the greatest possible assistance in translating and annotating the texts of Wakar Talauci da Wadata and Wakar Madugu Ydhaya.

I am also deeply grateful to Graham Furniss of SOAS, who has read through the greater part of this study on several occasions and made many valuable suggestions for improving the translations and the presentation of the Hausa text. Brian and Susannah Crow have been the kindest and most understanding of friends throughout the greater part of the period in which I have worked on these poems. In addition, Brian's readings of the English translation and commentary and his criticisms and suggestions have been of great value. Others who have helped through their interest, and in several cases their critical encouragement, include Louise Lennihan, Ken Brown, Lynn Garrett, Sue Benson, David Tambo, Paul Lovejoy, Renee Pittin, John Haynes, and Margaret Duval. I am grateful for the help received from the librarians and staff at the British Library; the Library of SOAS; Exeter University Library; and the Kashim Ibrahim Library, Ahmadu Bellow University, as well as the Chief Archivist and staff at the Nigerian National Archives, Kaduna.

I would also like to thank Dr. Dalhatu Muhammad, Head of the Department of Nigerian and African languages, Ahmadu Bello University, for his interest and valuable help during my last months in Nigeria. Finally my heartfelt thanks for so many things go to my sister Rosemary Stansbury, her husband Donald and their sons, Martin and Peter. Without their welcome to me and their generous support this study could not have been completed.

See note on botanical sources on p. 87.

1. Smith, M.G., “Foreword” to Skinner, Neil, Hausa Tales and Traditions (London, 1969), 1: xx–xxi.Google Scholar

2. The principal German collections of Hausa texts are those of Krause, Mischlich and Prietze. The greater part of Krause's collection was reproduced in facsimile in Heepe, H., “G.A. Krause's Haussa-Handschriften in der Preussischen Staatsbibliothek, Berlin,” Mitteilungun des Seminar für Orientalischen Sprachen, 31 (1928), 105–07, xxviii-lxxx.Google Scholar For the published items from the Mischlich collection see notes 3 and 7. Three more items from that collection were published by H. Sölken between 1937 and 1963. The published Prietze collection is substantial, scattered in several journals and books. Well over half, which includes some Kanuri as well as Hausa texts, was published in a series of articles in Mitteilungen des Seminar für Orientalische Sprachen between 1914 and 1930.

3. Mischlich, , “Religiöse und Weltliche Gesänge der Mohammedaner aus dem Sudan,” Studien zur Auslandskunde: Afrika, 2/3 (1943), 129–98.Google Scholar

4. IASAR/109, 21-31, IASAR/171 and IASAR/371, Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana.

5. Pilaszewicz, , “The Song of Poverty and of Wealth: A Hausa Poem on Social Problems by Al-Haji 'Umaru,” Africana Bulletin [Warsaw], no. 21 (1974), 67–115.Google Scholar Pilaszewicz used IASAR/371 as a master copy for presenting and transcribing the poem. See Appendix B for differences between this version and the Mischlich text. Using the Hausa version of Pilaszewicz, Abubakar Sokoto Mohammed has written a commentary on the poem entitled “Hikimomin Waḱar Alhaji Umaru Salaga Mai Suna ‘Waḱar Talauci da Wadata’,” presented at a seminar on aspects of Hausa culture at Argungu, 17 - 21 August 1981.

6. Goody, Jack, Cooking, Cuisine and Class (Cambridge, 1982), 193–204.CrossRefGoogle Scholar Tahir used a copy of IASAR/371.

7. Much has been written about al-Hajj ʿUmar and his work. For biographical details see Sölken, , “Die Geschichte von Kabi nach Imam Umaru,” Mitteilungen des Institut für Orientforschung, 7/1 (1959), 123–25Google Scholar; idem., “Zur Biographie des Imam 'Umaru von Kete-Kratyi,” Africana Marburgensia, 3/2 (1970), 24-29. For a summary biography see Pilaszewicz, , “Song of Poverty,” 68–71.Google Scholar See also Ferguson, D.E., “Nineteenth Century Hausaland” (Ph.D., UCLA, 1973)Google Scholar, which contains English translations of, and commentary on, two of al-Hajj ʿUmar's prose compositions, those contained in Mischlich, Adam, “Uber Sitten und Gebrauche in Hausa,” Mitteilungen des Seminar für orientalische Sprache, 10/3 (1907), 155–81Google Scholar; 11/3 (1903), 1-81; 12/3 (1909), 215-74, and idem, Uber die Kulturen im Mittel-Sudan (Berlin, 1942).

On al-Hajj ʿUmar's literary corpus see Rattray, R.S., “Hausa Poetry” in Evans-Pritchard, E.E., ed., Essays Presented to C.G. Seligman (London, 1934), 255–65Google Scholar; Wilks, I., “The Growth of Islamic Learning in Ghana,” Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria, 2 (1963), 416Google Scholar; Hodgkin, Thomas, “The Islamic Literary Tradition in Ghana” in Lewis, I.M., ed., Islam in Tropical Africa (London, 1966), 442–59Google Scholar; Martin, B.G., “Two Poems by Al-Hajj ʿUmar of Kete Krachi” in Braimah, J.A. and Goody, J.R., Salaga: The Struggle for Power (London, 1967), 189–209Google Scholar; Goody, J.R. and Wilks, I., “Writing in Gonja” in Goody, , ed., Literacy in Traditional Societies (Cambridge, 1968), 241–58.Google Scholar

8. It would appear that the poem has been attributed to al-Hajj ʿUmar by the copyists who produced the MSS referred to in note 4. Isa Madaha, the copyist who produced IASAR/371 was apparently a son of al-Hajj ʿUmar. Pilaszewicz, , “Song of Poverty,” 72.Google Scholar Those who have worked with these MSS from Ghana appear to accept that the poem was the work of al-Hajj ʿUmar, with only D.E. Ferguson expressing any doubts (see note 9 and appendix A).

9. Ferguson, D.E., “Nineteenth Century Hausaland,” (Ph.D., UCLA, 1973), 34–35, 40n45.Google Scholar Ferguson presents a translation of a short extract from the beginning of another MS, IASAR/77, not one of the MSS used by Pilaszewicz. Ferguson also notes the existence of a short poem on the theme of poverty in the collection made by Schön, J., Magana Hausa (London, 1885), 250–51Google Scholar, leading him to doubt al-Hajj ʿUmar's authorship of the poem. See Appendix A. The theme of poverty and wealth has certainly attracted the attention of Hausa poets writing in Hausa or Arabic. A brief search of the catalogs of the Nigerian National Archives, Kaduna, brought to light the Hausa poem by Abdillahi, Sheikh Ma'azu b., Abubuwa masu sa tsiya da masu sa arziki (n.d.), Benprof. J/AR 11:1Google Scholar, and the anonymous Arabic poem, Kitab haya-tun bila-mu-lin, ca. 1344/1925, Zarprof. D/AR 12:12. Neither poem is offered here for comparison with Waḱar Talauci da Wadata, but after a preliminary examination, it can be said that both touch on several of the themes found in Waḱar Talauci da Wadata and make use of the same or similar metaphors. I am grateful to Dr. Sambo Junaidu for his help in transcribing the Hausa “ajami” text of the first poem and for his translation into English of the Arabic text of the second.

10. A. Mischlich, “Sitten;” idem., Kulturen; Bargery, G.P., A Hausa Dictionary and English-Hausa Vocabulary (London, 1934)Google Scholar; Abraham, R.C., Dictionary of the Hausa Language (London, 1962).Google Scholar

11. Admonitory or homiletiic poems are referred to as waḱar wa'azi (sing.) and wakokin wa'azi (p1.). See Hiskett, M., A History of Hausa Islamic Verse (London, 1975), 21–42Google Scholar for a classification of the types of Hausa Islamic verse and a discussion of the wa'azi tradition in Hausa poems.

12. Ferguson, , “Nineteenth Century Hausaland,” 34–35.Google Scholar

13. Hiskett, , History, 192–93.Google Scholar

14. For a discussion of the dissemination of Islamic verse and the audience for it in Hausaland, see ibid., 191–96.

15. The maroḱi (sing.)/maroḱa (p1.) are the performing beggars in Hausa society. There are many different kinds of maroḱa but a common characteristic of all criers, singers, musicians, comedians, and mendicants is that they are professional artists, who perform in various ways in public to obtain a reward. See Gidley, C.G.B., “Roko: A Hausa Praise Crier's Account of his Craft,” African Language Studies, 16 (1975), 93–115.Google Scholar The maḱerim baki (lit. “smith of the mouth”) is a panegyrist who performs in Hausa with musical accompaniment. A ma'abba or dam ma'abba also panegyrizes in Hausa but with no musical accompaniment.

16. Finnegan, Ruth, Oral Poetry (Cambridge, 1977), esp. 262–71.Google Scholar

17. Finnegan, , “Attitudes to the Study of Oral Literature in British Social Anthropology,” Man, n.s. 4 (1969), 59–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar There has been very little attention paid by British or American historians who have recently worked in Northern Nigeria or many Nigerians who worked alongside them or followed them, to the collections of oral literature assembled in the past and still being collected by scholars in other disciplines, especially the linguists and ethnomusicologists. Moreover, few who have done historical research in Hausaland in recent years (myself included) have taken the trouble to collect oral poetry, prose narrative, and other oral art forms. A notable exception is Michael Watts, who has collected and published several poems and praise epithets (kirarai) on the subject of twentieth-century famines. Watts, , Silent Violence: Food, Famine and Peasantry in Northern Nigeria (Berkeley, 1983), 515–20.Google Scholar

18. Vansina, Jan, “Is Elegance Proof? Structuralism and African History,” HA, 10 (1983), 307–48.Google Scholar

19. Compare with the Hausa proverb - Yunwa shi kan mai da yaro tsofo - (“Hunger will render a boy like an old man”). Merrick, G., Hausa Proverbs (London, 1905), 58.Google Scholar (Yunwa can also mean famine. See Talauci, 1.44/Wadata, 1.43.

20. Ḱoḱiya. Strychnos spinosa, (Dalziel, J.M., The Useful Plants of West Topical Africa [London, 1937], 363–46Google Scholar). A common tree in Hausaland. The hard-shelled yellow fruit is edible, acid, and agreeable. The shell is sometimes used as a small storage container (ḱoḱwan ḱoḱiya) much like a small calabash. Abraham includes S. alnifolia and S. triclisioides within the Hausa term kokiya. The name namijin (male) ḱoḱiya is given to S. triclisioides by Dalziel but there is no reference in this source to S. alnifolia. S. triclisioides is a synonyn for S. innocua innoaua var. pubescens and S. alnifolia is a synonym for S. innoaua innocua var. innocua. Hutchinson, J. and Dalziel, J.M., Flora of West Tropical Africa (5 vols.: London, 1954–1972).Google Scholar

21. An alternative reading to this line would be: “People pour scorn on his words, they muddle him up completely. They consider him foolish, a thing of amusement”.

22. Mujiya. A feminine and generic name applied to all owls but to two in particular. The word has the masculine counterpart duji (Bargery, Dictionary, 798). The special application is to the barn owl, Tyto alba affinis, and to the spotted eagle owl, Bubo africanus cinerascens, Mackworth-Praed, G.W. and Grant, C.H.B., Birds of West Central and Western Africa (2 vols.: London, 1970–1973), 1: 479–80, 495–96.Google Scholar Owls are regarded as birds of ill omen, harbingers of imminent death or catastrophe.

23. Cakoikoiniya. Mischlich described it as a small black bird and rendered the name as Tschakoikoiniya. This seems rather close to cakwaikwaiwa (Abraham, , Dictionary, 131Google Scholar), meaning starling or chatterbox. It would not be correct to describe the varieties of starling found in the area as small and none of them can adequately be described as black. Perhaps what is meant is an indigo bird or indigo finch-- small, mainly blue-black, and given to chattering in much the same way as starlings. Prietze collected a proverb that features what is probably the same bird, “Cokoikoiwa da ta yi yawa magana me ta sumu?” (Cokoikoiwa, you that have so much to say, what have you got?) Prietze, R., Hausa Sprichwӧrter und Hausa Lieder (Kirchain, 1904), 18.Google Scholar

24. Kankiya. A feminine, or possibly poetic, form of kanki, the western hartebeest, Alcelaphus buselaphus major; kanki is also an epithet for a simpleton or country bumpkin (Abraham, , Dictionary, 471Google Scholar).

25. Karkiya. A forked stick, referring to shackling prisoners of war or travelling slaves by placing a forked stick or pole on their necks (ibid., 489).

26. Maikiya. A feminine form of maiki or miki, the Ruppell's griffon vulture, Gyps ruppelli (Bargery, , Dictionary, 791Google Scholar); Mackworth-Praed, /Grant, , Birds, 2, 101–02.Google Scholar This is the largest of the species of vulture indigenous to Hausaland. In this passage a personified ‘Poverty’ is killed and thrownout as carrion for the vultures.

27. Tsamiya. Tamarind, Tamarindus indica, Dalziel, , Plants, 200–02.Google Scholar This tree has a great variety of food, medicinal, industrial, and other uses, including using the pressed and dried fruit as a seasoning. The fruit is also used in preparing a number of drinks. The flowers are made into a sort of salad with daudawa, butter, salt, chillis, etc. The leaves may also be used as a pot herb.

28. Yakuwa. Red or Guinea Sorrel, Hibiscus sabdariffa. The leaves and calyx are commonly used as an ingredient of miya, the sauce or gravy served with the basic staple of Hausaland, tuwo. There are many kinds of miya but there is usually one main vegetable ingredient, such as yakuwa, that forms the basis of the sauce. Seasonings and flavorings are added and meat or fish if available. If yakuwa is the main ingredient, the sauce would be called miyan yakuwa.

29. Madi. A sweet drink made from the cane of the saccarine sorghums and flavored with the fruit of various trees (Abraham, , Dictionary, 630Google Scholar), including:

i. Dinya/Dunya/Dumya, Black Plum, Vitex cienkowski, (Dalziel, , “Useful Plants,” 456–57Google Scholar); Vitex donania, (Hutchinson, /Dalziel, , Flora, 446.Google Scholar

ii. Kanya, West African Ebony/Monkey Guava, Diospyros mespiliformis, (Dalziel, , “Useful Plants,” 347–40Google Scholar).

iii. Dorawa, African Locust Bean, Parkia filicoidea, (Dalziel, , “Useful Plants,” 218–19Google Scholar); Parkia clappertonia, (Hutchinson, /Dalziel, , Flora, 487Google Scholar).

30. Tumfafiya. Swallow-wort or Auricula Tree and sometimes (incorrectly) as the Apple of Sodom, Calotropis procera, (Dalziel, , “Useful Plants,” 384–66Google Scholar). An untidy looking bush with strangely shaped leaves. In context “daughters of the tumfafiya” probably means the fruits of the tree.

31. Kirci. Eczema on domestic animals or on the buttocks of humans. It is thought that the condition in humans is a result of a neglect of personal hygiene.

32. Rajiya = Jan wutsiya = Garin kundundu. The fish Alestes nurse, (Reed, W., et al., Fish and Fisheries of Northern Nigeria [Zaria, 1967], 40–41, 204Google Scholar). The flesh of this fish has a particularly foul smell.

33. (i) Ganye Foliage or a general name for any kind of shrub. Here it refers to the leaves of rama but note that the leaves of several of the plants in the list that follows in the text have regular food uses. Gathering and eating the foliage of any more or less edible plant, shrub, or tree continues. Mortimer, M., “Famine in Hausaland.” Savanna, 2/2 (1973), 103–07.Google Scholar All the items in the list, with the exception of kinciya, appear to have had regular, if in some cases only occasional uses, as foods in normal times. In time of scarcity they were either used more intensively and in different ways or, as was the case with kinciya, were brought into use as foods. There is some doubt about the extent to which magoraza and rogon biri were used outside times of scarcity. See notes 36 and 47. (ii) Rama. Hemp-leaved Hibiscus, Hibiscus cannabinus. The leaves are used in miya and are also added to a mixture called kwado made from locust bean pulp and various condiments. Al-Hajj ʿUmar (Mischlich, , “Sitten,” 49–50Google Scholar) noted their use in danbu/dambu and rumatshe/rumace.

34. Dorawa. This tree has a great variety of food uses including (i) the yellow pulp from pods, known as garin dorawa, is eaten with rice and other cereals, or with meat, or in miya, or is made into cakes; (ii) the seeds are prepared into the condiment and concentrate daddawa/daudawa used in making miya. An important article in local commerce and formerly in long distance trade. (P. Hill, 1972, 221-22, 282); (iii), the leaves are mixed With cereal flour to make the food balambantani; (iv) various drinks, including madi, are made with the pulp from the seed pods. See note 29.

35. Gasaya. Gynandropsis gynandra, (Hutchinson, /Dalziel, , Flora, 88Google Scholar). A common weed sometimes used as a pot herb and sometimes cultivated for that purpose.

36. Rogo. Cassava, Manihot utilissima/esoulenta. The Hausa recognize two main types: ganjigaga (the toxic) and maigari (non-toxic). There are many varieties; Dalziel lists over twenty different Hausa names for varieties of rogo, some being regional synonyms. There are a number of food uses for rogo: young leaves of the non-toxic variety are used as a vegetable; the tuber is suitably prepared according to whether it is toxic or non-toxic, then boiled or grilled and eaten; after suitable preparation the tuber is ground or pounded into flour (gari) which is then made into a form of tuwo. In his discussion of the agriculture of Hausaland, Al-Hajj ʿUmar outlined the methods of cultivation, preparation, and use of rogo and observed that it was a food for times of scarcity and famine (Mischlich, , Uber die Kulturen, 136Google Scholar). Although it is almost certain that cassava is meant in this passage, it is worth noting that there are several other plants with compound names in Hausa that incorporate the word rogo and have occasional or emergency food uses: (i) Rogon biri (= rogwan biri), monkey cassava or bitter yam, Dioscorea dumetorum (Dalziel, , Useful Plants, 491Google Scholar). Requiring prolonged steeping in water it is seldom used except in time of scarcity or famine. (ii) gon yara, boys' cassava, Trianthema portulaoastrum (Dalziel, , Useful Plants, 31Google Scholar). Used as a pot herb in time of scarcity, (iii) Rogon/rogwan daji (or rogon/rogwan dawa or rogon/rogwan jeji), bush cassava. Rogon daji = rogon biri and is also the name of two plants of the Ampelocissus species having edible fruit.

37. Taura. Detarium senegalense (Dalziel, , Useful Plants, 188–89Google Scholar). The fruit is used in the preparation of the drink madi (see note 29), and is eaten raw.

38. Gaude. Gardenia erubescens (Dalziel, , Useful Plants, 398Google Scholar). A yellow, somewhat fleshy, fruit that is eaten fresh or used as an ingredient in miya. See also Lely, H.V., The Useful Trees of Northern Nigeria (London, 1925), 108.Google Scholar

39. Tsada. Wild olive, wild lime, etc. Ximenia americana (Dalziel, , Useful Plants, 295–96Google Scholar). A yellow plum-like fruit about the size of an olive, used to make a sort of preserve. See also Lely, , Useful Trees, 117.Google Scholar

40. Dumya/Dunya. For botanical references see note 29. The tree is often retained or planted for its fruit and the young leafy shoots which can be used as a pot herb and are also eaten mixed with groundnuts, salt, pepper, and other condiments. Also used in the making of madi.

41. Tufasa/Tafasa. Cassia tora (Dalziel, , Useful Plants, 183Google Scholar). The young leaves are used as a vegetable and occasionally as an ingredient of miya. The seeds may be used as food in time of scarcity. Al-Hajj ʿUmar noted that tafasa leaves were used in making both kwado and rumatshe. (Mischlich, , “Uber Sitten,” 50.Google Scholar)

42. Rojiya or Rujiya/Lujiya. Raphionaceme brownii (Dalziel, , Useful Plants, 389–90Google Scholar). The large turnip-like tuber contains an edible milky juice and may be eaten raw or roasted. Al-Hajj ʿUmar noted that in time of scarcity the tuber was dried and pounded into flour for gruel (kunu) (Mischlich, , Uber die Kulturen, 139Google Scholar).

43. Faru or Farun mutane. Probably Lannea acida (Dalziel, , Useful Plants, 338–39Google Scholar) but several other species of Lannea are found in Hausaland and in adjacent areas. Some of these are also known to the Hausa as Faru, although L. barteri is distinguished as Farun biri/Farun doya. The red to purple-black fruits of L. acida, resinous and acid to the taste, are eaten and the young leaves may be used as a vegetable or pot herb, as may the fruits and leaves of some of the other species mentioned. In Mischlich's notes to the German text of the poem he noted that the grape-like fruits of faru were used to make an intoxicating drink (ruwan faru).

44. Gudai. Crataeva adansonii (Dalziel, , Useful Plants, 21Google Scholar); Crataeva religiosa (Hutchinson, /Dalziel, , Flora, 1:90Google Scholar). The leaves are used in miya or eaten with cereals. They may also be boiled and added to the mixture kwado (see note 33) . The fruit is sometimes eaten, usually roasted.

45. Kadanya. Shea-butter Tree, Butyrospermum parkii (Dalziel, , Useful Plants, 350–54Google Scholar); Butyrospermum paradoxum s.s. parkii (Hutchinson, /Dalziel, , Flora, 3: 21Google Scholar). The sugary pulp of the fruit is eaten raw but the main use of the fruit is for the nut from which man kadanya/man kade (shea-butter) is extracted. Shea-butter was and is used as a cooking fat, illuminant, medicine, hairdressing, and in soapmaking. At the turn of the century it was an important article in the trade with the Europeans on the Niger and Benue rivers. Al-Hajj ʿUmar, who described the traditional method of extraction of man kadanya, also observed that the Hausa do not use it much in cooking because it is believed to cause a sickness in which the body develops swellings (Mischlich, , Kulturen, 139Google Scholar). Elsewhere though he recorded its use with danbun/dambun rama (see note 33).

46. Tamaka. Probably an error in transcription for Tumuku. Hausa or Sudan Potato. Coleus dysentericus (Dalziel, , Useful Plants, 459–60Google Scholar); Solenostemon rotundifolius (Hutchinson, /Dalziel, , Flora, 3:463Google Scholar). Tumuku is a cultivated tuber prepared for consumption by boiling and eaten with a broth (romo) or a sauce (miya). Al-Hajj ʿUmar described tumuku as “a food for women and children” but added that a lot of it was eaten in Hausaland. In addition to tumuku there is tumukun biri, Solenostemon ocymoides (Dalziel, , Useful Plants, 463–64Google Scholar); or Solenostemon monostachyus s.s. monostaohyus (Hutchinson, /Dalziel, , Flora, 3:464Google Scholar). The Hausa name suggests that this was an uncultivated plant that may or may not have been used in times of famine.

47. Magoraza/Maguraza White yam or bush yam, Diosoorea praehensilis (Dalziel, , Useful Plants, 492Google Scholar). Probably the parent stock of D. rotundata, the white Guinea yam, the main variety in those parts of Hausaland, Zaria especially, where the yam (doya) is grown. However, magoraza is probably not eaten except in time of famine per Al-Hajj ʿUmar (Mischlich, , Uber die Kulturen, 139Google Scholar).

48. Ciwo. Rubber vine, Landolphia florida and/or Landolphia owariensis (Dalziel, , Useful Plants, 373–75Google Scholar). L. florida = Saba florida (Hutchinson, /Dalziel, , Flora, 61Google Scholar). The fruits are eaten and the pulp of L. owariensis is used as a seasoning.

49. Kinciya. This is not, strictly speaking, a plant, but rather the name given to the root of two plants, gwandai and gwazar giwa (elephant's coco-yam). Gwandai is Stylochiton warnecki (Dalziel, , Useful Plants, 483Google Scholar); Stylochiton lancifolius (Hutchinson, /Dalziel, , Flora, 4: 114Google Scholar). The young leaves are used as pot herbs but their acrid properties have to be removed by long boiling. The rhizome is eaten in time of famine, being cooked after repeated washings in lye of ashes. Gwazar giwa is Amorphophallus dracontioides (Dalziel, , Useful Plants, 480Google Scholar). The plant has a large tuber or corm containing an acrid juice. In time of famine it has to be cut up, repeatedly washed, and boiled for a day or two before it can be eaten. Al-Hajj ʿUmar noted the use of kinciya in time of famine and observed that its use killed people! (Mischlich, , Uber die Kulturen, 139Google Scholar).

50. “A ce mata ḱazama, tana barka zana.” This is an interesting passage and two points should be made about it here. (i) Ḱazama. A slattern. This is a constantly recurring theme in Hausa poetry and will be discussed later. (ii) Tana barka zana. It would be easy to assume that there is an error in transcription here and to suppose that zana, a type of mat, was written in error for zane, a woman's body cloth. If so, the phrase would translate as “she is ripping open/tearing her body cloth.” This is unacceptable, however: zane (v v) does not fit the metre, while zana(- -) does. The phrase “tana barka zona” is loaded with meaning; it translates as “she is ripping open/forcing her way through the mat.” It suggests that this young woman has forced an exit from the compound by making a hole in the surrounding mat screen and that she wanders about the town unaccompanied, something that the respectable daughter of a respected malam, if of marriageable age, would not have been allowed to do in the towns and cities of nineteenth-century Hausaland. The verb barka can be used in another relevant context, referring to the penetration of a virgin, and it would probably have been the general assumption in this society and at this time that any young woman who regularly went about the town unaccompanied had already lost, or would very quickly lose, her virginity. The phrase “tana barka zana” would seem to be a rather coarse euphemism for fornication, carrying with it the clear implication that the young woman is no longer a virgin. What is more, the young woman is represented in this phrase as the active subject, hence morally responsible and morally blameworthy in this patriarchial society.

51. Lines 49-52 have to be taken together to be fully understood. In the past Hausa who were illiterate or semi-literate in Arabic were apt to disparage the scholar (and as this poem indicates, the poor scholar in particular) on the grounds that too much reading and study were thought to drive one crazy. In lines 49-50 this is very clearly stated. Lines 51-52 reinforce the point that no one takes any notice of the poor scholar, indeed they mock him, making fun of his recitation. (The ability to recite and/or write out from memory the whole of the Qu'ran is considered an indication of learning and scholarship. Memorization and recitation form a major part of traditional Islamic education in Hausaland.)

52. Makaya. The Senegal crested porcupine. Hystrix cristata senegalica.

53. Fatalwa. A goblin or ghost. (Abraham, , Dictionary, 260Google Scholar). Abraham equates the word to dodo and aljan (evil spirit).

54. What follows this admonition is a catalog of destinations that a long-distance trader whose base lay in the basin of the Volta River might visit. The majority of them can be identified with a fair degree of confidence. On the assumption that the identification is correct then, it would appear that three journeys are being described, each one starting from and ending at a base (Kete Krachi?) in the Volta basin. The first journey is to the west--Sofara, Fatoya, Bobo Dioulasso, Daboya to home base. The second is to the north--Mossi and Liptako, returning to home base via Salaga and Kumase. The third is to the east through Borgu to Nupe and Hausaland, then on to Wadai, returning via Hausaland, Gurma, and Dagomba to home base. The routes followed on the journey to and from the Volta basin to Hausaland are the well-known routes followed by the Kola traders; see Lovejoy, P.E., Caravans of Kola (Zarla, 1980), 29–49Google Scholar and the map at the end of this paper.

55. Safara. Not certainly identified, but possibly Sofara on the Bani river some 35 miles south of Mppti in Mali. Pilaszewicz, S., “The Song of Poverty and of Wealth: A Hausa Poem on Social Problems by Al-Hajj 'Umaru,” Afrioana Bulletin, no. 21 (1974), 86–87Google Scholar, has treated the word safara not as a placename but as an Arabic loan word in Hausa with the meaning traveling between places far apart for the purpose of trade. (Bargery, G. P., A Hausa Dictionary and English-Hausa Vocabulary [London, 1934], 880Google Scholar). Mischlich, however, has treated the word as a placename.

56. Fatoma. Not certainly identified but possibly Fatoya near Siguiri in Guinea-Conakry, a gold-producing area. For reasons not explained, Pilaszewicz, , “Song of Poverty,” 86–87Google Scholar, equates Fatoma with Bantama in Ghana. Fatoma, a Kanuri loan word in Hausa, means one who lodges travelers, especially Beriberi traders (Bargery, , Hausa Dictionary, 314Google Scholar; Abraham, , Dictionary, 261Google Scholar).

57. Bobo. A short form of Bobo Dioulasso.

58. Daboya. A salt-producing and weaving center on the White Volta River west of Tamale.

59. Jije. Not certainly identified. Pilaszewicz, , “Song of Poverty,” 86–87Google Scholar, has taken Jije to be a mistranscription of jeji, the bush. This is certainly possible but if the assumption of a trading journey to the north is valid, then it has to be supposed that it refers to a particular area of bush and in this case an area from which a return journey through Dori and Kaya would be possible. This, suggests an area to the south of the Niger including northern Burkina Fasso and parts of southeast Mali and southwestern Niger. In a personal communication (5 August 1978) Paul Lovejoy has suggested that Jije may be a mistranscription of Yeji, a crossing point on the Volta between Kumase and Salaga. Hausa often refer to the Volta as the Yeji.

60. Dori. In Burkina Fasso. In the nineteenth century Dori was a market of importance in Liptako emirate within the Sokoto Caliphate and subordinate to Gwandu. See Irwin, Paul, Liptako Speaks (Princeton, 1976).Google Scholar

61. Moshi. The Mossi country or its chief town Ouagadougou.

62. Kaya. In Burkina Fasso.

63. Salaga. In Ghana and the main market center for the kola trade during much of the nineteenth century. Lovejoy, Caravans of Kola, 18-23, 29-34, 37-41.

64. Kumashi. Kumase.

65. Guwa. Not certainly identified but it could refer to part of the region between Gonja and Nupe including such areas as Djougou and Borgu.

66. Nupe. Either a general reference to the Nupe kingdom or a reference to its capital, which at the time this poem was most probably written was Bida.

67. Agaya. Not certainly identified but possibly Agaie, the principal town of a satellite Nupe chiefdom (N.9°01': E.6°18').

68. Wadai. The nineteenth-century sultanata of Wadai, now part of Chad. For information on Hausa trade links with Wadai see Works, J.A., Pilgrims in a Strange Land (New York, 1976).Google Scholar

69. Kura. A small town some twenty miles SSW of Kano on the main road to Zaria, noted for its dyeing industry in the nineteenth century. Baḱi is a locally-woven white cloth that has been dyed with indigo.

70. Jega. In western Hausaland (N. 12°16': E. 4°21') and a very important market center in the nineteenth century. See Bovill, E.W., “Jega Market,” Journal of the African Society, 22 (1922/1923), 50–60.Google Scholar

71. Gaya. A crossing point on the Niger (N. 11°52': E. 3°23').

72. Sayi=Say, another crossing point on the Niger (N. 13°08': E. 2°20').

73. Mangu=Sansanné Mangu. An important town on the old kola trade route between Gonja and Hausaland (N. 10°20': E. 1°32').

74. Dagomba. A kingdom covering a large part of northern Ghana and northern Togo.

75. Kohiya. Identified as Kpabia, an old Muslim town between Salaga and Yendi by Goody, Jack, “Restricted Literacy in Northern Ghana” in Literacy in Traditional Societies, ed. Goody, Jack (Cambridge, 1968), 243.Google ScholarPilaszewicz, , “Song of Poverty,” 86–87Google Scholar, transcribing from two different MSS, gives the names as Kubya and Kabaya, which he identifies with the town of Kambuie in Ghana.

76. Bari da. May mean either manumission of a slave or the postponement by a creditor of the repayment of a debt. In his translation Mischlich takes the word to mean manumission and in the context this is the more likely meaning.

77. The word wayo has a gloss on the meaning given in this translation. It would be used to refer to someone who was clever in the sense of being smart, alert, astute. In the second hemistich an alternative reading is possible: “As if he were superior to everyone else in the world.”

78. Bambadawa. Professional panegyrists (maroḱan baki) who traditionally praise in the Fulani language, while other marokan baki perform in Hausa. See Ames, D.W. and King, A., Glossary of Hausa Music and its Social Contexts (Evanston, Ill., 1971), 94.Google Scholar

79. Siliya=Silliya. There are three meanings to this word: (i) One of two varieties of a type of cord (kince) worn as a neck ornament: by women or as a decoration for the cap known as habar kada. This type of cord is made of plaited silk and there are two varieties--siliya (red) and haddaji (multi-colored); (ii) a fair-skinned African woman; (iii) a type of bangle similar to a slave bangle.

80. Godiya. A mare. To give a mare as a present was the most prestigious form of gift-giving that a wealthy man could engage in in Hausa society. The prestige derived not only from the intrinsic value of the mare as a potential producer of foals but also from a certain awe with which the horse is regarded in this society, as in others. A man who receives a mare as a gift is placed under a degree of obligation to the giver that lasts for the rest of his life and may indeed be passed on to the nextgeneration.

81. Utiya. This name may be applied to a beautiful woman or to a handsome man, especially if he or she has fine ways of speech and manner. It is applied particularly to those who do not appear to have inherited their beauty directly from their parents. The origin of this word as a proper name is not at all clear. Pilaszewicz, , “Song of Poverty,” 90–91Google Scholar, translated utiya as coquette, and asserted that for utiya the word wuḱinya should probably be read. The meaning of wuḱinya is silly affectedness, vanity, self-conceit, over-weening opinion of oneself (Bargery, , Hausa Dictionary, 1092Google Scholar). Abraham, (Dictionary, 934Google Scholar) equates the word wukinya with feleke with the meanings (i) affectation (ii) ogling, coquetry, simpering. However, since Utiya has some meaning for Hausa speakers as a metaphor it should, I think, be preferred even if the origins of the name and with it the nature of the metaphor are in doubt.

82. Maraya. Adenota kob. Buffon's kob--a type of antelope with a short golden-brown coat.

83. Marga=Gama fada. There are two trees to which these names are applied; both produce long cylindrical fruits that are somewhat finger-like. (i) Cassia sieberiana (Dalziel, , Useful Plants, 182–83Google Scholar) has medicinal uses and the seeds are used as a fish poison. (ii) Swartzia madagascariensis (Dalziel, , Useful Plants, 1937Google Scholar). The fruit, seeds, and sometimes the roots are used to make a fish poison. The second Hausa name, which strictly speaking is only applied to the seed pods, means “to cause a quarrel” or “to lead to feud.” In Hausa botanical lore the introduction of these pods into a home is supposed to cause friction. These pods and similar ones are also known to the Hausa as sandan mayu--stick/rod of the sorcerers. See Bargery, , Hausa Dictionary, 772Google Scholar, and for additional details, Lely, , Useful Trees, 33, 107.Google Scholar

84. These articles of clothing and jewelry require some comment: (i) Mukuru (Fatari). A woman's loin cloth. (ii) Barage. A locally-made cloth with a red warp in the center and white at the edges, the woof being of black cotton. (Bargery, , Hausa Dictionary, 81Google Scholar). In his description of weaving in Hausaland, Al-Hajj ʿUmar described barage as a white silk cloth. (Mischlich, , Kulturen, 154Google Scholar). (iii) Hatsaya=atsaya and several variations. A silk or velvet cloth that was once imported from Egypt and India (Bargery, , Hausa Dictionary, 42Google Scholar). Mischlich translated hatsaya as green velvet, (iv) Kwandage. Large, thick rings worn on the fingers or suspended around the neck (Bargery, , Hausa Dictionary, 680Google Scholar). Abraham, , Dictionary, 585Google Scholar noted that they were usually made of silver (azurfa) or white metal (farin karfe). (v) Munduwa. A bracelet consisting of a four-sided piece of metal that has been twisted and has large ends (Bargery, , Hausa Dictionary, 801Google Scholar). Al-Hajj ʿUmar obserbed that mundaye (p1. of munduwa) are the torque anklets of brass or copper worn by women on their legs. Mischlich, , Kulturen, 171.Google Scholar (vi) Sokiya. Not in the modern dictionaries. According to Hausa informants in Zaria sokiya=tsakiya, orange-red cornelian or agate. Mischlich translated sokiya as necklace of corals. However, in his own dictionary he gave sokiya the meaning “a type of red bead.” Such a description is not altogether incompatible with coral but the usual Hausa word for coral is murjani/murzani, from the Arabic mardjan.

85. Hazbiya. The speckled pigeon. Columba guinea, Praed, Mackworth/Grant, , Birds, 1, 334–35.Google Scholar The word also refers to a form of make-up in which different colored rings are painted around the eyes (the speckled pigeon has a conspicuous red eye ring). Bargery, , Hausa Dictionary, 462Google Scholar, noted that this form of make-up is used by “loose women,” while Abraham, , Dictionary, 386Google Scholar, gives “prostitutes.”

86. Cin duniya. The literal English translation is retained here since it underscores the idea that the rich man's daughter is accustomed to conspicuous consumption. The phrase is usually translated as “enjoying life,” “having a good time.”

87. Godiya is an expression of gratitude, frequently employed in greetings, in responding to the greeting of a social superior.

88. What is described here is a demonstration of exaggerated forms of respect that go far beyond what a wife would normally give to her husband, even in this patriarchal society. There is one phrase in the line that requires further explanation: suna ba shi turba. Literally, “they give to him loose sandy soil;” what is being referred to is kneeling before the one to whom it is intended to show reverence and respect and then further abasing oneself by scattering earth or dust on one's own head and shoulders. Turba, loose sandy soil, is regarded by the Hausa as the material out of which Allah formed man.

89. Shaihu=Shehu. A deeply knowledgable Islamic scholar.

90. (i) Hadisi. From hadith, traditions about Muhammad and his companions. (ii) Usuli. From usul--roots, principles. There are three recognized branches of usul, each related to another important branch of Islamic scholarship (usul al-hadith: principles for the terminology and method of the science of tradition; usul al-fikh: the methodology of Muslim jurisprudence; usul al-din=kalam: principles of theology).

91. Mai-tsagiya. The literal meaning is “the one with animal hair strings” and refers to any musical instrument that employs animal hair, especially the tail hair of horses (izga) as strings. Two bowed lutes (goge and kukuma) use these, while one plucked lute (kuntigi) uses twisted camel hair. Ames/King, Glossary, 42, 49.

92. Anberuwa. Not in either Bargery's or Abraham's dictionaries. However, Dalziel, , Useful Plants, 268Google Scholar, equated anberuwa with wasawasa, a type of polenta made from bean flour that is often mixed with the leaves and fruit of the baobab, Adansonia digitata, boiled and dried to keep until required.

93. Taliya. Macaroni or vermicelli. Abraham, , Dictionary, 846Google Scholar).

94. Kaki. As given this translates as “empty honeycomb,” which is unlikely. It should probably be read as a short form of alkaki, a type of wheaten food. Al-Hajj ʿUmar described alkaki as a kind of tuwo (Mischlich, , Kulturen, 132–33Google Scholar). In my experience alkaki as prepared today is a small wheaten cake that has been deep fried and then dipped in honey and is not a polenta-like tuwo.

95. Gurasa. A type of wheaten food (Abraham, , Dictionary, 344Google Scholar) or a baked wheaten bun with seasoning (Dalziel, , Useful Plants, 550Google Scholar). Al-Hajj ʿUmar noted the preparation of gurasa using tsamiya (Tamarindus indica), kanwa (natron), and barkono (pepper) and eaten with romo (broth), zuma (honey), or plain. Mischlich, , Kulturen, 132–33.Google Scholar

96. (i) Waina. Fried cake made from rice, millet, or guinea corn flour, Abraham, , Dictionary, 916.Google Scholar (ii) Taushe. A type of miya, sauce/soup. In the German text waina da taushe is translated as “pancakes with onion soup.” Bargery and Abraham noted taushe, but did not describe it. As prepared in Zaria at the present, it would probably contain albasa (onions), yakuwa (red or guinea sorrel), and alayyafo (spinach).

97. Tuwo mai-fari. White tuwo, that is, tuwon shinkafa (cooked and pounded rice). The preparations of various kinds of tuwo, the polenta-like staple food of the Huasa, and of several varieties of miya are briefly discussed by al-Hajj ʿUmar, who noted that tuwon shinkafa was a food of the aristocracy and the rich, except in riverain areas like Kebbi, where it was the staple. Mischlich, , “Sitten,” 49Google Scholar, and Harris, P.G., “Agricultural and Pastoral Implements of the Peoples of Argungu Emirate,” Man, 31 (1931), 43–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

98. Kuskus. Couscous, the north African dish of Berber origin.

99. Shashaka. Described by al-Hajj ʿUmar as a variety of waina (see note 96) with holes in it and eaten with honey, see Mischlich, , “Sitten,” 51.Google ScholarBargery, , Hausa Dictionary, 932Google Scholar, gave the word shasshaka the meaning of “a food made with rice or rice flour” and equated it with sharaf da mai, a dish of rice.

100. Shinashir=Sinasir=Sinasar. A small cake of guinea corn, maize, bulrush millet or rice flour, or pounded meat, covered with a (spicy?) paste, fried and eaten with honey. Bargery, , Hausa Dictionary, 948.Google Scholar In the German text Mischlich translated shinashir as “sour/leavened pancake.” Al-Hajj ʿUmar described sinasir as prepared from the flour of any cereal and eaten with honey or broth, Mischlich, “Sitten,” 49.

101. Jan miya. This is most likely to have been a reddish sauce prepared with red peppers and tomatoes but it could mean a sauce prepared with man ja, palm oil. As al-Hajj ʿUmar noted, palm oil was not popular in Hausaland, though a good deal was imported from Nupe and the riverain areas. Mischlich, , “Kulturen,” 139–40.Google Scholar

102. Fura da nono. Fura are balls of cereal flour, that of bulrush millet (gero) being generally preferred, to which various spices including red and black pepper, ginger, and cloves are added. The prepared balls are boiled and when cooked are usually eaten with soured milk (nono). The balls are stirred into the soured milk to produce a liquid and slightly lumpy paste. This is eaten cold and is a typical mid-day meal today, though the text suggested that it was then only a food for the wealthy. An infusion of the seeds of the baobab, Adansonia digitata, is sometimes added to the nono to make it slightly thicker and more sour. There is considerable regional variation in the preparation of fura da nono. See Mischlich, , “Sitten,” 51–54Google Scholar, and Okoh, P.N. and Eka, O.U., “Effect of Traditional Methods of Preparation on the Nutrient Status of fura-nono,” Savanna, 7/1 (1978), 67–70.Google Scholar

103. Rakiya. Rakaiya b. Muhammed, the daughter of Muhammed and his first wife Khadija.

104. Bagurmi. Probably means “a man of Gurma,” although the usual ending for masculine nouns referring to the place of a person's origin is -e. Gurma bestrode one of the major trade routes between Gonja and Hausaland. Though most of the caravan leaders in the Hausa-Gonja trade no doubt originated from Hausaland and spoke Hausa as a first language, others did not. The opening lines of the poem suggest that the caravan leader Yahaya had a less than perfect command of the language (but see note 106), though it is possible that Yahaya was raised in a Hausa migrant community in Gurma and this may have given his speech a distinctive character. Adamu, Mahdi, The Hausa Factor in West African History (Zaria, 1978), 59–89Google Scholar, noted the presence of long-established Hausa communities in several of the states of the upper Volta basin and there is no reason to suppose that Gurma was an exception. If Yahaya did indeed come from such a community, then line 2 might refer less to his ways of speech and more to his lack of competence as a caravan leader.

105. Borgu. A rather sparsely populated district that lay on the route of the caravans travelling between Gonja and Hausaland and Nupe and notorious for bandits, who frequently attacked and pillaged caravans passing through the area. The destruction of one caravan and the death of its leader Madugu Minjinyawa Mai Akokari is particularly well-documented in two published accounts, for the first of which al-Hajj ʿUmar was the source. See Heepe, “Haussa-Handschriften,” facs. xxxix-xiv. There is a Hausa Roman script version, with Russian translation, of this and other MSS from Krause's collection in D.A. Ol'derogge, Sapandy Sudan (Moscow, 1960), 194–99.Google Scholar The second account in Hausa Roman script is in Edgar, F., Litafi na tatsuniyoyi na Hausa (Belfast, 1911), 1: 239–41Google Scholar, with an English translation in Skinner, , Hausa Tales, 3: 245–47.Google Scholar The death in Borgu, at the hands of bandits, of nine named madugai, including Minjinyawa Mai Akokari, was noted elsewhere by al-Hajj ʿUmar: Mischlich, “Kulturen,” 184.

106. The first line of the poem may perhaps refer to the relief that the members of the caravan will feel when they reach Hausaland again after a long, dangerous, and exhausting journey through foreign parts, where the people do not speak Hausa properly, if at all. In the second line the point is made that the caravan leader does not speak ‘properly’ (for which see note 104), while noting that in the next few lines unfavorable comments are made on the orders that Yahaya gives to the caravan. It seems clear from lines 3 to 6 that Sani, the composer of the song, regards Yahaya as an incompetent who does not speak ‘properly’ and whose orders are ill-conceived and inappropriate to the situation in Borgu. The incompetence of Yahaya is reinforced by Sani in lines 7 to 9, where he tells his audience that Yahaya has not learned how to travel properly and refers to his alleged inability to time the duration of a day's march, the suggestion being that he forces the pace, does not call halts at the right time during the day, and continues the march until very late in the day.

107. Given the context it is highly probable that the imperatives Shiga! Debi! are commands given by the caravan leader. In this context Shiga! is possibly a command for the caravan to enter a town, a somewhat unusual procedure, particularly in a notoriously dangerous area. Normal practice was for the caravan to set up camp on the outskirts of a town or in the bush. In this context the command Debi! is very probably an order for the caravan to unpack and inspect the loads of kola nuts that most, if not all, members of the caravan would be carrying. As Mischlich observed, “kola is very sensitive and must often be examined. Diseased nuts are then rejected.” On kola and its diseases, the organization of caravans, and the routines of the march see Mischlich, , “Kulturen,” 181–89Google Scholar, as well as Lovejoy, , Caravans of Kola, 29–38, 58–62, 113–16 et passim.Google Scholar

At the same time it should be noted that Shiga! and Debi! could have alternative meanings. Shiga! might mean something rather like “Come on! Get on with it!” and Debi! could mean “Pick it up!” This suggests little more than that Madugu Yahaya was forcing the pace of the march and shortening rest halts, actions that are also referred to in an indirect way in lines 8-9 and 12-14. On the face of it a rapid march would seem to be the appropriate tactic for a caravan travelling through bandit-infested country and it is difficult to understand why Sani would complain about such orders unless the criticism of Yahaya that is contained in the poem was meant to be understood as ironic, which is most unlikely. In the introduction we are told that the poem is intended to be abusive and it is legitimate to draw from the text the most offensive construction it will bear. These alternative meanings moderate the criticism of Yahaya and suggest that he does know what he is doing; this was not the poet's intention.

The events referred to in lines 4-6 may never have taken place. If it is recognized that Sani was attempting to expose Yahaya to ridicule, then lines 4-6 become easier to follow. In the poem Sani picks out and satirizes certain features of Yahaya's behavior and in lines 4-6 he seizes on Yahaya's practice of calling frequent halts for the purpose of inspecting kola nuts and exploits it by suggesting that Yahaya is so stupid that he would even order an inspection halt in the home town of a notorious bandit. Sani ridicules the order Shiga! Debi! in the context of a journey through Borgu, regarding it as tantamount to extending an invitation to the bandit Waru to seize the kola that the caravan is carrying.

If the events mentioned in lines 4-6 did occur, Sani's remarks may be understood as a veiled accusation rather than satire. Sani is addressing his fellow travelers as they make their way painfully to Hausaland after being raided by Waru in Borgu and the burden of his remarks in these lines is that the disaster of the raid and the loss of the kola is to be blamed on Yahaya.

108. Waru. Probably a reference to a notorious bandit, one Warukati, who is mentioned in passing in the Krause MS (see note 105). Paul Lovejoy informs me that the bandit Woru (Waru?) was mentioned by several of his informants, when he was engaged in research in northern Nigeria in 1969/70.

109. Washagari. Bargery (Hausa Dictionary, 1087) noted that washegari means “on the next day/on the morrow.” An alternative and probably a preferable reading of lines 5 and 6 might therefore be:

“Now here is Waru residing and here on the morrow There is an open pack pannier and one that had said, “Enter! Take out.”

There is scope for further play on the word washagari since the word washar can mean “the sound of money, nuts, etc. being poured out” and the verb washe means “to confiscate property;” ibid.

110. Azuhur=azahur/azahar. The time between 1:30 p.m. and about 3:00 p.m.

111. Hantsi. From about 7:00 or 7:30 a.m. to about 10:00 a.m. but there is sub-division and extention of the period. Karamin hantsi is from about 7:30 to 8:00 or 8:30 a.m. while babban hantsi is from about 9:30 to 10:30 or 11:00 a.m.

112. La'asar. From about 4:00 p.m. to sunset.

113. Garatse. In neither of the two modern Hausa-English dictionaries. However, it is rather close in shape to the word garattsa that Bargery equated to gartsa-gartsa with the meaning “saw-like” (Bargery, Hausa Dictionary, 364, 369). Gartsa is an alternative name for the fish gwando referred to in line 10; see note 114. It is possible that the comparison of Madugu Yahaya to the fish gwando/gartsa with its saw-like teeth, is a reference to his appearance, since Hausa people frequently file their front teeth into sharp points, a practice they called fike.

114. Gwando. A name applied to fish of the family Polypteridae of which there are four fairly common representatives in the swamps and rivers of Hausaland and adjacent areas: Polypterus senegalus senegalus, P. bichir lapradei, P. endlicheri endlicheri, and P. ansorgei. There are several alternative Hausa names: gartsa, barakadi, and robai. P. endlicheri endlicheri may be distinguished from the others by being called gwandon dutse/duwatsu--the gwando of the rock/s or stone/s. All four are carnivorous predators and they make good eating. See Reed, , Fish and Fisheries, 9–12, 208, 214.Google Scholar

115. Yauni. Gymnarchus niloticus. A somewhat eel-like carnivorous fish with strong teeth and electric organs, also called dan sarki or zawo/zawa/zawai. The first of these indicates the esteem this fish has as a food in Hausaland (as elsewhere in Africa). See Reed, , Fish and Fisheries, 31–32, 206, and 211.Google Scholar On the function of the electric organs see Grundfest, H., “Electric Fishes,” Scientific American, 203/4 (1960), 115–54CrossRefGoogle Scholar, and Lissman, H.W., “Electric Location by Fishes,” Scientific American, 208/3 (1963), 50–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar In the context of this poem two points should be noted. The word yauni does have another meaning, at least in northern Hausa dialect, in which it is equated to nauyi--heaviness, weightiness--(Bargery, Hausa Dictionary, 1113), important in interpreting lines 18 and 19. The breeding behavior of this fish is similar to that of another fish mentioned in the poem, the gargaza (see note 121). Gymnarahus niloticus constructs a large next of grasses, usually in a swamp. When the young have hatched the parent fish guard them for about eighteen days. See Reed, , Fish and Fisheries, 31–32.Google Scholar

116. Ana yankan ḱamna. A rather strong phrase that in context could also mean “have they lost respect [for the caravan leader]?” The line might also mean:

“Will [the members of the caravan] set off [when he gives the order] or have they lost all respect [for him and want nothing more to do with him]?”

117. Alafa. The equine disease thrush. Al-Hajj ʿUmar noted in his brief discussion of equine diseases that alafa afflicts both donkeys and horses. Mischlich, , Kulturen, 148.Google Scholar

118. Guragu. Swelling of the feet through excessive traveling. (Bargery, , Hausa Dictionary, 411Google Scholar).

119. Ruwan gora. The translation given is literal but the words do have an additional stylized usage: the daily subsistence money given to dependents by long-distance traders; Abraham, , Dictionary, 748Google Scholar).

120. Salon mussar wofi. In translating this phrase I have assumed that salon mussa(r) is a variant of salan mussa(r), a Gobir dialect expression meaning “to turn a somersault.” It is worth looking more closely at the phrase to show the poet's intentions. Salo means “fashion, style, innovation,” and is often linked with saban (from sabo, new), as in saban salo, a new style/fashion. Mussa--a wild or domestic cat. Wofi, (i) useless, (ii) conception. Literal translations of the whole phrase might therefore be (i) the style of a useless cat or (ii) the fashion of a cat's conception. The line may now be reinterpreted. Sani considers that the way the prayers are performed in Sayi is just so much playing about and he makes the comparison with the turning of somersaults as a cat does at play. There is an alternative and much more insulting meaning that derives from the second meaning of Wofi, namely, that the way the prayers are performed or delivered by the ladan/muezzin is after the fashion of cats in copulation. In both cases it seems clear that Sani is mocking the town and people of Sayi, asserting that the ritual of the prayers is improperly performed, or that is is useless innovation, amounting to the same thing. Though the reference to Sayi in this line is taken to be a reference to the town of Sayi (or Say) in modern Niger it should be noted that as an ordinary noun sayi means “a place fenced in or partitioned off,” hence the phrase yin salla sayi would mean “doing the prayers in a fenced enclosure.” It would be normal practice in a Hausa town or village for communal prayers to be performed in an area that was fenced in or partitioned off in some way and even on a journey a special place for prayers would be selected. If sayi is understood this way it may be supposed that Sani is ridiculing someone (Yahaya?) because he does not perform them in the proper place and/or manner.

121. Malam Jyal yana gyran sage. In interpreting this passage I assumed that Malam Jyal was the caravan scribe, who kept the accounts, on the one hand records of contributions due and received from members of the caravan; on the other, records of tribute payments to local rulers and any other collective payments. Al-Hajj ʿUmar provided a short description of the procedures involved in the assessment of contributions from members of the caravan and other aspects of caravan accounting; see Mischlich, , Kulturen, 185–86.Google Scholar The word sage requires close examination if this passage is to be understood. There are other words that are close to sage in shape and there are multiple meanings attaching to both sage and the very similar word sagi:

Sage (verb), (a) to become stiff/rigid: (b) to be caught in the branches of a tree: (c) to retain money owed.

Sagi (noun). (a) a sod of earth: (b) the balance of money due to someone: (c) hole in town wall for the exist of water; a culvert: (d) a temporary fence to block a road: (e) hunter's platform in a tree: (f) a cheat, a dishonest person: (g) stomach.

In the passage sage is used as a noun, so it seems probable that this is a case of mistranscription. In context, the most appropriate meaning of sagi is (b). It should be noted that the word saji, rather close in shape to sage/sagi, has as one meaning “whiskers on cheeks” and the phrase gyran saji would be well understood as meaning “to shave the cheeks” or “to trim the side whiskers.” The pun is rather obvious; Malam Jyal is said to be engaged in “shaving” or “trimming” in the sense of repairing or improving, the account of a balance of money due to someone, it is not clear whom. However, it is clear that Sani was hinting at some fraudulent behavior by Malam Jyal, the ‘improvement’ of the balance due, no doubt to his own advantage.

122. Kirarra. This word is in neither Bargery or Abraham but it is certainly understood by native Hausa speakers I questioned. It has the form of a feminine participle and derives from the verb kira--to call or summon. It has the meaning “someone/something characterized by being called or summoned.” Discussion with Hausa informants in Zaria suggests four ways in which the word might be used: (a) to refer to someone female summoned by Allah, that is, a deceased person; (b) to refer to someone female summoned by Allah to make the pilgrimage; (c) to refer to someone female who is called or summoned by some other person for any reason but especially in the context of the performance of some personal service; (d) to refer to a female bori spirit summoned by a devotee of the cult. Kirarra is rather close in shape to the words ḱirarra and ḱerarra, also feminine participles deriving from the verbs ḱira, ḱire and ḱera and having the following meanings: (a) ḱerarra deriving from ḱera--something characterized by being forged in metal or by being fabricated (including fabrication in the pejorative sense of falsehood and deception); (b) Kirarra deriving from ḱire--something characterized by being severed at a blow; (c) Kirarra deriving from ḱira--something characterized by falsehood or something characterized by being severed. The ideas generated by these multiple meanings are of some complexity and a full discussion of several points is left for the commentary. It must again be emphasized that the poem is abusive and it is highly probable that Sani was hinting at improper, immoral, or dishonest conduct by Malam Jyal as well as Madugu Yahaya. The first interpretation is that Malam Jyal has seen a called or summoned woman. It is by no means clear what kind of woman it is who has been called. However, if Malam Jyal is being abused, then the possibility that Sani is suggesting an improper association between him and the woman should be considered. Kirarra could be a euphemism for a prostitute. If the forms ḱerarra or ḱirarra are understood, then the reference could be to (i) something forged or fabricated in the accounts, or (ii) someone female with something severed. An obvious allusion is to a female thief, who has been punished by the severing of a hand.

123. Gargaza. The word has two meanings: (i) as an intensive form of the verb gaza, meaning to fail in doing a thing, to be unequal to a task; to fall short of something; or to lack something. (ii) An inclusive name applied to fish of the genus Tilapia in the family Cichlidae, at least eight species of which are known to occur in the region. The Chichlids are noted for their ability to change color, their breeding habits, and especially the care the parent fish extend to their young for a considerable period after hatching. Tilapia are good eating and form an important part of the commercial fish catch in northern Nigeria. See Reed, , Fish and Fisheries, 123–43.Google Scholar There are numerous alternative names in Hausa, some of them probably corresponding to individual species within the genus. Reed, , Fish and Fisheries, 209Google Scholar, lists seven names: karfasa, falga, bugu, holinga, bulkuba, jinka, and bakaba. Only the first two in this list (and gargaza) are noted by Bargery and Abraham as fish species. However, Bargery, , Hausa Dictionary, 579Google Scholar recorded an Argungu epithet for this fish--kashe ni ba ni barin gidana (Kill me! I shall not leave my compound).

In the context of the poem two points may be made. The first is that gargaza and yauni are set up in opposition to one another in the poem. Since Madugu Yahaya has already been likened to the yauni (line 11) it may be reasonable to suppose that the gargaza is a zoomorphic representation of another person, which can only be the kirarra of line 17. Before any firm conclusions can be drawn alternative meanings of gargaza and yauni must be considered. These stand in contrast to one another: gargaza (to fall short) on the one hand and yauni (heaviness) on the other. The second point concerns the similarity in the behavior of the gargaza and yauni. Though very different in other respects, they both take care of their young for a considerable period. It is not clear what significance, if any, this has in the context of the poem, but it seems to underline the similarity of whomever or whatever is represented by gargaza and yauni. This seems to receive further confirmation in line 19, where Malam Jyal takes the same action towards both gargaza and yauni.

124. Ciza. This verb has several meanings; the following are the most likely to be relevant here: 1) to bite with the front teeth; ii) to cause hurt to someone through something said; iii) to be expensive; iv) to obtain a profit. There seem to be two possible interpretations of the line. The first is that Malam Jyal is causing injury to whomever is represented by gargaza and yauni (Yahaya). The second is that he is making or can make a profit by fraudently manipulating the accounts to produce a deficit (gargaza = short-fall) in contributions paid and an inflation (yauni = heaviness) of the amount actually paid out in tributes, etc. These interpretations are not incompatible with one another. Certainly if Malam Jyal was fiddling the accounts it could have been damaging to Madugu Yahaya's reputation and probably also to his pocket.

125. These words of Malam Jyal suggest a reference to a proverb in which crime or wrongdoing is likened to a hill (Laifi tudu ne, sai ka taka naka ka hangi na wani. Wrongdoing is a hill, you walk on your own and observe that of another.) A.H.M. Kirk-Greene, Hausa ba dabo ba ne (Ibadan, 1966), 15, 44.

126. a) Gwani. Any expert, for example a master builder, but especially applied to one who has memorized the Qu'ran. b) Jega. An important market center in Western Hausaland in the nineteenth century located on one of the caravan routes to Gonja, Liptako, etc.

127. 'Yan ruwa. There are three meanings: a) a small quantity of water; b) the bori spirits that are said to live in water; c) aquatic larvae and pupae of mosquitos, etc., so called because stagnant water is supposed to breed them of itself. Since line 5 is in the subjunctive, the only likely interpretation is a) above.

128. Yamutse. Again there are three meanings: a) to stir around with the hand; b) to become muddled; c) to become crumpled up. With the -e ending the verb has the sense of completed or thorough action. An alternative reading of line 7 could be: “When you make for me a mix of fura, then it has been thoroughly stirred with [your] hand.” In line 8 the poet says that he cannot eat Abinda's fura even if he feels hungry. Is this perhaps because he knows that the fura has been thoroughly wet mixed and stirred with her filthy hand?