Hausa Kingdoms

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.

Hausa tradition describes the division of roles between the states, where Kano and Rano were centres of the textile industry (and thus called sarakuman babba; "kings of indigo"), Katsina and Daura were trade centres (called sarakuman kasuwa; "kings of the market"), Zazzau supplied slave labour to the other states (called sarkin bayi; "king of the slaves"), and Gobir, as the northernmost city, was tasked with the defence of Hausaland from foreign invaders (called sarkin yaki; "king of war"). Throughout its history there was lots of immigration from the Sahel and Sudan into Hausaland, including herdsmen, fishermen, agriculturalists, merchants and traders, and mallam, as well as some aristocrats. Migrations from Bornu are thought to have been more long-standing, and Tuareg (who displaced the Gobirawa from Asben) and Fulani migrated to the region from the 14th and 15th centuries respectively. As nomadic pastoralists they sometimes made incursions into Hausaland looking for grazing land. Another group was the Wangara, who migrated in the 14th/15th centuries and were key to the spread of Islam through Hausaland. Though Islam likely spread to Hausaland from the north through Gobir or the east from Bornu, the first ruler to convert to Islam is thought to have been Yaji I of Kano (r. 1349–85) due to invitation from Wangara. The Wangara, like Songhai immigrants, gradually integrated and became Hausa.

During the reign of Kano's Yaji I (1349–85) he conquered and occupied Rano for two years, after which Rano continued to exist but never regained its sovereignty. In the 15th century, a deposed mai of Bornu fled to Kano, leading to Bornu expanding westwards and vassalizing the Hausa states. It is unclear whether this included all of the states, or just Kano and Biram as M. G. Smith thought; regardless, tribute was sent through Daura. While it is unknown for how long Hausa states paid this tribute, Bornu continued to hold influence in the region.

16th century onwards

By the 15th century, the Hausa kingdoms were trading centers which competed with Kanem-Bornu and the Mali Empire. 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. Islamization facilitated the expansion of trade and was the basis of an enlarged marketing network. The Ulama provided legal support, guarantees, safe conducts, introductions and many other services. By the end of the 15th century, Muhammad al-Korau, a cleric, took control of Katsina declaring himself king. Ulama were later brought in from North Africa and Egypt to reside in Katsina. An Ulama class emerged under royal patronage. The Hausa rulers fasted Ramadan, built mosques, kept up the five obligatory prayers, and gave alms (zakat) to the poor. Ibrahim Maje (1549–66) was an Islamic reformer and instituted Islamic marriage law in Katsina. Generally Hausaland remained divided between the Muslim cosmopolitan urban elite and the local animistic rural communities. During this time period, Leo Africanus briefly mentions in his book Descrittione dell’Africa descriptions of the political and economic state of Hausaland during that time although it is unknown if he actually visited it; Hausaland seems to have been mostly of a tributary status by Songhai as in his description of Zamfara he comments that "their king was slaughtered by the Askiya and themselves made tributary" and the same is said for the rest of the region.

Fall

Despite relatively constant growth from the 15th century to the 18th century, the states were vulnerable to constant war internally and externally. By the 18th century, they were economically and politically exhausted. Famines became very common during this period and the Sultans engaged in heavy taxation to fund their wars. Though the vast majority of its inhabitants were Muslim, by the 19th century, they were conquered by a mix of Fulani warriors and Hausa peasantry, citing syncretism and social injustices. By 1808 the Hausa states were finally conquered by Usuman dan Fodio and incorporated into the Hausa-Fulani Sokoto Caliphate.

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.