mmmmrmmmtmumumi

B^Difi I7fi

GB00^

CAPTAI IJON

LONDON: IHiNRY

MaaannanaawaMnm .1.imjimtumnmagtnry^

GIFT

HORACE W«CARFENTIER

io^

67-

Hausa Reading Book

containing

ACollection ofTexts reproduced infacsimile

from Native Manuscripts, arranged forthe

useofBeginners andAdvanced Students;

with Transliterations intoRoman characters;

Translations, Notes, &c.

By

Captain Charlton, D.S.O., F.R.G.S.

Lancashire Fusiliers

(Late oftheWest African Frontier Force)

Henry Frowde

Oxford University Press

London, NewYork andToronto

1908

OXFORD :HORACE HART

PRINTER TOTHEUNIVERSITY

Cguxlh'-'-

H3"7^

PREFACE

The object ofthiswork istwofold. Firstly, itis

intended tobeuseful tothebeginner bymeans of

aclose study ofthetransliterations inconjunction

with thesimple grammatical notes, andsecondly, itis

hoped thatthestudent willbeableby itsmeans to

acquaint himself with thenative w^riting, and read

with profit themore advanced grammatical notes.

Hausa manuscripts arenoteasy tocome by. Until

quite recently Arabic wasthesolelanguage forcom-

position known inWest Africa, just as,previous to

Dante's time, Latin wastheonly vehicle ofthought in

Europe, thevernacular languages being considered

beneath thecontempt ofmen oflearning. Even

to-day allHausa literature ispermeated withKoranic

quotations and references. Itistobehoped that

withdueencouragement theHausa Mailam wdll learn

touseforliterary purposes hisowntongue exclusively.

Thelanguage possesses many beauties both ofcon-

struction andofexpression, and itabounds inproverbs

andproverbial sayings. Ithas insome sortalready

become the'lingua franca' ofWest Africa, andeach

day itsuseextends. more andmore. Also asalan-

A2

4937 3i

4 PREFACE

guage ofcommerce itiseminently suitable owing to

itsmany idioms oftradeandbarter andtoitsexcellent

system ofnotation.

Asregards thearrangement ofthisbook, thepieces

havebeengraded according totheir difficulties;many

ofthefootnotes arenon-grammatical incharacter and

maybesaid topossess ageneral interest;thepieces

aretabulated onthecontents page withEnglish titles

forfacility ofreference, butthenative name ofthe

piece hasbeenadded where itoccurs intheMS.The

punctuation oftheMS. hasbeen preserved inthe

transliterations forthesake ofuniformity.

Concerning thesimple notes ongrammar, Idesire to

acknowledge theassistance afforded bytheLecture

notes ofMessrs. Lewis H.NottandW.H.Brooks.

ToMr.Brooks especially, whohastaken much kind

interest inthebook, Imust express mygreat indebted-

ness forhisrevision andsuggestions. Itisowing to

hisknowledge ofArabic andhispeculiar acquaintance

with theKoran that thenotes dealing with these

subjects have been enriched andmade ofinterest.

Ihave also toadd that ifthebook commends

itself tothestudent ofHausa, and itisdeemed neces-

sary, afulltranslation ofthepieces willbeforth-

coming.

L.Charlton.

Army andNavy Club, S.W.

CONTENTS

PAGE

Preface3

Fifteen Proverbs7

Common Maxims (Maganna nabiu) . i . .8

TheDeadly Sins(Maganna zunubi).... 9

Hours ofPrayer 10

Riddles (Gatana gatana) 12

Letter from aMallam 14

OurAncestor Adam(Maganna kakanmu adamu) .16

TheStory ofJoseph (Maganna natokkos) ..17

Moses and hisMission .21

**TheHawk, theDove, andtheProphet . . .23

TheBoyandtheLionCub 25

*The Wrangling Wives 30

*The Leper andtheBlindMas(wonga almara) .34

TheWedded Pair 38

Questions andAnswers (labari wali allahi

SUNANSA AEUMUHAMADU) 42

Reflections onDeath 47

Circular Letter 52

Attributes oftheProphet 61

mutane zina 62

Waka 66

Translations ofafewofthestories . . .78

FACSIMILES u'/^;/./

> J>

9 »»

DJ>i3

HAUSA READINGS

FIFTEEN PROVERBS

Lafia jikki arziki ne^

Abokin sariki sariki ne-.

Mainama shikannema wuta".

Rasshin tuokanchiwakeakwana*.

Jinibashiwanka dauda.

Ango mijin amaria ^

Yunwa shikanmaida yaro tsofo koshi shikanmaida

tsofo yaro^.

Proverbs playanimportant part intheHausa language.

Conversation among thenatives issometimes almost imin-

telligible, even toonewho iswellacquainted with thelanguage,

from thefactthattheir talkabounds inthese'sawsandsayings'.

Thereader isreferred toCaptain Merrick's splendid collection,

should hewish tostudy thisimportant phase ofthelanguage.

'Kerrin maganna'isthephrase used foraproverb.

^'Health spells prosperity.'

^Implies that forfavours orrequests, theKing's favourite is

aspow-erful astheKing.

^ 'The successful hunter must build afire,' i.e.there isalways

something lacking.

* 'Lacking'*tuo"onemust eatbeans andgettobed.''Tuo'

isthedish oftheaffluent, butnooneeatsbeans except through

stress ofpoverty.

^Implies that thebridegroom, andhealone, hastodowith

thebride.

° 'Hunger makes ayoung man old;afullstomach makes

anoldman young.'

8 HAUSA READINGS

Taftia sannu kwana nesa^.

Allah shenemaisanni babawa ba.

Laifibabarowa laifiyarokiuwa^.

Gidda binmagani gobarra^.

Maiiddo gudda bashigode allah saiyaganiii

makafo lokachinan yachenawa dadama.

Maichiwo bashigode allah saiyaganni gawa

anadaukansa zuawurin bizne^^.

Marena kadan barao ne^^

Kaddan kaganni gemi danuwanka nachinwuta

shafa naka rua^^.

'''More haste lessspeed,''festina lente.'

^ 'The fault ofage ismeanness, ofyouth, laziness.'

^ 'Thebestprotection against fire istobuild twohouses.'

^*^Implies thatonerarely realizes when one iswell off.

" 'Who belittles iscapable oftheft.'

'- 'Ifyouseeyour brother's beard burning, rushandthrow

water onyour own,' i.e.takewarning from others' misfortunes.

'Chi wuta,' 'take fire';'jiwuta,' 'feel the fire, tobeheated,

warnied ';'sawuta,' with'ga,ma,''setfire to.'

COMMON MAXIMS

MAGANNA NABIU^

Raiwonda babu kurdi yazamma raibanza.

Maganna babu ikomaganna banza.

Kaddan kana dakurdikowa shina sonka.

^These areafewmaxims ineveryday use,thelastofwhich

may certainly bedistinguished for itssound common sense.

Theheading issimply expressive oftheorder ofthepieces in

aparticular collection.

COMMON MAXIMS9

Kaddan bakadakurdi babuwonda shina^ sonka.

Kaddan kazamma maitsoroii allah allah shina

sonka.

Kaddan bakatsoron allah bashisonka.

Kaddan bakasanhallinmutum bakadda kazamna

dashi.

^ 'Babu wonda shina sonka 'should be, inanegative

proposition,'babuwonda shisonka',asinline 4.

THEDEADLY SINS

MAGANNA ZUNUBP

Kasshin kai. Tsalumchi. Sata. Zina -.Muna-

fiichi. Zumde^ Anamimanchi^*.Zagin IMiisiilmi.

Chidacheto. Karia. Mugunbaki. Rabba aure.

Chinharamu. Fasikanchi. Rowa. Kinzumunchi.

^This isalistofoffences, twenty- one inall,against the

precepts ofIslam, evidently putdown athaphazard. Idolatry,

theunforgivable sin,finds noplace inthecategory. Inorder

they areasfollows:—Murder. Deceit. Thieving. Adultery.

Hypocrisy. Deriding. Calumny. Abuse ofMussulmans.

Bribery. Lying. An eviltongue. Coming between husband

and wife. Unlawful gain. Licentiousness. Meanness. Re-

pudiation ofsocial duties. Torevile parents. Jealousy. False

witness. Promise-breaking. Secret tale-bearing.

^*Zina ':well illustrated bythe'mutanen zina '.

^*Zumde':often found as'zunde '.Itreallymeans'topout

thelipsout '.Cf.Koran xxxi. 17 :'Distort notthyfaceagainst

men, norwalk intheearth with insolence, forAllah loves not

thearrogant.'

* 'Anamimanchi ':alsofound as'ananmanchi '.

lo HAUSA READINGS

Zage. Uwaye. Hasada. Shaida Karia. Babu

alkaueli. Kormotto. Duka ashirin dadaia.

HOURS OFPRAYER

Yakamata idanmusulmi yayisalladaassuba^

kuma dalaasar shiyiwurdi^ tojani-^koalkadiria*.

^'Salla daassuba.' This, theearly morning prayer, is

according totheKoran themost important oftheday, for it

isborne witness tobytheangels. Themeaning ofthis is

assumed bysome ofthelearned commentators tobethat

atthattime theguardian angels relieve each other.

-'Wurdi ':from theArabic root :>j^,'warada,' originally

meaning'toapproach totake water '.Insome ofitsforms

ithasthemeaning'hand down, expound, teach'. Weconnect

with this thePersian'wirdi ','disciple.' Translate here :

'Follow thedoctrine, playthedisciple.'

^'Tojani,' or,asitismore generally written, 'tijani,' wasthe

name ofagreat sheikh and sectarian. Apparently Moham-

medanism, asreceived bytheHausas, isdivided intotwo

principal sects, thefollowers ofthe'Tijani'school, andthose

ofthesectreferred toinnote\

* 'Alkadiria.' Onthesenames compare thefollowing passage

from ahistorical composition inFulah given attheend of

Reichardt's Grammar oftheFiiJde Laiigicage :'Allah took

care ofhim(Hajji Omaru) untilhegrewandlearned theKoran

and different books. Allah gave him talents and learning.

After thatheconsidered about going toMecca, andhereached

hisSheikh, theSheikh Tijani. And hesetoutandpassed

through Futa Jallo. Hetook uphisresidence there with

hispupils. When hestarted forMecca hispupils went with

him,andthey reached Hausa country. Hepassed through

theBornu countr)' andhemettheHausa kingandtheBornu

HOURS OFPRAYER ii

Amma salla duka lokachi biar neassuba da

azuhur dalaasar damagariba dalishaamma babu

wLirdi chikkin sailokachi bin^.

Woni hainya^kana bilojani koalkadiria.

king. They wereengaged infighting. Hepassed andwent

on;andonhiswayhecomposed oncertain verses ofthe

Koran until hereached Mecca. Hefound that theSheikh

Tijani wasdead. HemettheSheikh Muhammed Legali, with

whom theSheikh Tijani had lefthishalifa (i.e. his office, as

well ashis gif'tsandpower). Helived withhimseven years

andtookupon himself allthecares ofhishouse andgave

himself tohim.Hefollowed himandnever changed hisword.

Hegavehimmoney anddidhisword cheerfully during the

seven years. Helived withhim atMadina andheconferred

uponhim hishalifa luirdit (i.e.theKhalifate oroffice) ofthe

head ofthesectofSheikh Tijani. And theSheikh Muhammed

Legali gave honour tohim (viz. toOmaru) and called him

hisSheikh afterhefound thatSheikh Tijani wasdead. . ..

Muhammed Bello adopted thetarika (the principles ofthe

sect) ofSheikh Tijani from Sheikh Omaru. Muhammed

Bello toldSheikh Omaru towrite abook concerning theKadiri

people (i.e.thesect ofAbd-el-Kadiri) exhorting thatthere be

nohostile rivalry between them (i.e.thetwo sects), thatthose

who arenotable toadopt thetarika ofSheikh Tijani may

notinjure themselves.'*The Kadiria were anascetic order

ofFakirs instituted A.H.561byAbdu-'l-Kadir alJilani, whose

shrine isatBagdad. The order wasverypopular among the

Sunnis ofAsia. (Hughes's Dictiotiary ofIsianu)

^Themeaning ofthis isthat only atthemorning and

evening prayer is itnecessary todistinguish between the

sects ofTijani andAlkadiria.

^'Woni hainya' should ofcourse be'wache hainya'

according togrammar.

*For thisphrase cf.Koran ii.51.

12 HAUSA READINGS

RIDDLES

GATANA GATANA

Tazotafishe^.

Yanmata cicldanmu kullum wonka. Moda^.

Rami kankanni kifaye sunchikka. Hakori^.

Gulbina bashichinmutum tsakka saig^^G.Wuka*.

Dakin samari babu kofa. Kwoi^.

Gari shina dadaki yara sunakwana dayungwa.

Toka6.

Gabba tarnbaya tarn, Ganga*^.

Shanu giddanmu dubugoma duka igiansu daia.

Sinsia^.

^This phrase istheinvariable preamble toariddle. Itmay

betranslated :

'Mystory,mystory,

Itcomes, itputsyou offthetrack.'

Itiscomparable with'Riddle-me-Riddle-me-wree.'

-*Moda 'isthesmall dipper, which floats inside thebig

calabash, and isused for filling thesame. Inthesense of

being always inthewater itis'constantly washing '.

"The'kifaye'inthesmallpond aretheteeth inthemouth.

*Aknife cuts attheedge, while atorrent,'gulbi,' drowns its

victims inthecentre.

^'Samari 'represent thechicks intheunhatched egg.

^Meant toexpress theappearance ofacooking fireafter

itisdead ;theashes arelikened to'boys inbedsupperless'.

''Tarn,' 'taut.' 'What isthatwhich istautboth before

andbehind:'Answer :'Adrum.'

^'Sinsia': thesmall besom, made ofmany twigs bound

together, withwhich theHausa housewife sweeps thecom-

pound.

RIDDLES 13

Yanmata giddanmu dafarin baki. Tabcria^.

Inadahainya biunabiwonga nataffinakomo

banbache ba.Wando^^.

Tammat.

These havebeen selected asrepresentative specimens. The

Hausas arevery fond ofriddles, especially thechildren, who

possess quite astore ofthem. There isnoattempt atpunning,

theriddle being more ofthenature ofanenigma. Iftheanswer

isgiven up,thewould-be solver says'Nabaka gari',whereupon

thesolution isgiven andapplause invariably provoked. They

arequick toseeand appreciate thehidden meaning. The

oldEnglish riddle asgiven below isofthenature ofaHausa

riddle.

'As Iwasgoing overLondon Bridge,

Imetacart ofhay,

Itouched itwithmywalking stick,

Itallflew away.'

Answer :'Aflock ofpigeons.'

° 'Taberia,''Fufu stick,' which being inconstant use

pounding corn, &c.,hasalways itsends whitened.

'° 'Ihave tworoads;whichever Itake Ireturn andnever

losemyway.' Answer :'Trousers,' theHausa variety ofwhich

maybeputoneither leg first.

14 HAUSA READINGS

LETTER FROM AMALLAM

Wonga wochika tafittadagga hanu^mallam ali

bagobiri-zashi aikawurin abokinsa sunansa Captain

Charlton shina chikkin woni garianache dashikin-

tampo^Inayimaka gaisua maiyawa :dagga bayan

wonan :nakomo dagga ankra* yanzu nazamna

chikkin kiimase kaddan takarda na :taiskeka da

This piece hasbeen inserted asagood example ofthestyle

ofcorrespondence which obtains among thebetter educated

Hausas. Itisinteresting toobserve how the difficulty of

rendering English proper names hasbeensurmounted, especially

inthecase of'Volunteer adjutant '.

As isusual, the lines ofdirection, &c., arewTitten inthe

third person, suddenly giving place tothepersonal form of

address.

Seebelow, note ^,forafurther description oftheHausa

letter.

^ 'Ta fittadagga hanu.''Ta fittahanu 'would alsobe

correct, andeven better Hausa. Concerning thisseenote ^\

'TheBoyandtheLion Cub.'

2'Alibagobiri "istheregimental priest oftheGold Coast

regiment, andanintelligent andwell-educated man.

These gentilic names areformed byprefixing'Ba 'and

suffixing*i'tothename ofthenation orcountry, e.g.'ba-

beriber-i','ba-zabarim-i,' &c.;inthecase ofba-hausa-i,'a-i'

coalesce into thediphthongal vowel'-e',before which's'is

palatalized to'sh ',giving'ba-haushe'.Plurals inuseare

*gobirawa','hausawa,''zabarimawa,' &c.

^'Kintampo'isalargemarket town, north ofAshanti, onthe

eighth parallel oflatitude.

*'Ankra'isthenative rendering ofAccra, thecapital ofthe

Gold Coast Colony.

LETTER FROMAMALLAM 15

lafianagode allah shibaka lafia :allah shibakayawa

rai^:allah shikaramaka arziki :kaddan katambaya

lafiana nagode allah na jilabarinka wurin Shelley^

yafadda minikunganni zuna dagga ture'^

:amma

yanzu mister Shelley yazamna chikkin ankra :shina

yin :aikivolunteer adjutant :shikuma shina lafia:

^Inthephrase 'Allah shibaka yawafn) rai','May God

multiply your days,' wehave theHausa translation ofa

common formula inArabic letters :'Tawwala lana allah

'omraka.' Thesame alsoapplies totheHausa phrase sooften

met with inconversation and literature: 'Allah shideddi

ranka.' Itmay herebestated that thenormal construction

ofaHausa letter isbased ontheArabic. Itisusual with all

writers, butwithMoslems aninvariable rule, tobegin withsome

form ofthe'Bismillah'; seenote \'Mutane zina.' Then

follow thenames, designations, addresses, &c., ofthewriter

andhiscorrespondent. After thiscome copious salutations to

thereceiver ofthe letter, hisfamily, relations, &c. Next, in

imitation oftheArabic phrase'amma ba'du ','butafterwards,'

therealpurport ofthe letter isintroduced bymeans ofthe

Hausa equivalent'Bayan wonan ','after this,' orsome such

phrase. The letter then terminates withrenewed well-wishing

andsalutations.

°Shelley isthename ofanofficer oftheGold Coast regiment.

'^'Ture 'isthecountry ofthewhite man, England, asfaras

ournatives areconcerned.

'Ba-ture,' seeabove, note ^,isused exclusively ofaEuropean,

though originally used todesignate theArab strangers who

were continually arriving intheWest Coast Hinterland from

theEast. Theword isofArabic derivation. InNo. 7o

Messrs. Brooks andNott's'Batu naabubuan hausa ','Turi

Sinai 'stands forthename ofawell-known rock.

'Kun ganni zuna dagga ture,''Yousaweach other in

England.'

i6 HAUSA READINGS

nabershi dalafia :dagga bayan wonan :babu woni

labari chikkin kiimase sailafia :allah shisakke taramu

dalafia^tammat iiineabokinka mallam ali.

^'Allah shisakke taramu dalafia,''Godgrantwemaymeet

(again) inallprosperity/

Theword 'sakke' iscurious, anddeserves notice. Itsprimi-

tivemeaning seems tobe'toletgo ','letloose,' andthen

'start ',e.g.'yasakke tashi'constantly recurring inSpecimens

ofHausa Lite7-ature^ G.From these themeanings'permit,

grant 'areeasily derived.

OURANCESTOR ADAM

MAGANNA KAKANMU ADAMU

Lokachinda ankahalichi adamu yacheshiyagode

allahdonbaihalicheshi zaki^ba.

Zaki shikuma yache shiyagode allah donbai

halicheshi karre ba.

Karre shikuma yecheshiyagode allah donbai

halicheshi gurusunu "ba.

Gurusunu shikuma yacheshiyagode allah don

baihalicheshi barao ba.

Barao shikuma yacheshiyagode allahdon bai

halicheshi mairowa ba.

Mairowa yacheshiyagode allahdonbaihalicheshi

kafiri ba.

1'Zaki.' Itisprobable that'jaki', 'donkey,' isheremeant,

from thesimilarity ofsound andcarelessness ofthescribe.

2'Gurusunu,* 'hog orhogs.' Thesame form oftheword

seems tobeused forboth singular and plural.

OURANCESTOR ADAM 17

Kafiri yacheshiyagode allah don baihalicheshi

maikaria ba.

Maikaria shikuma yarassawonda shizaikirra"'.

Tammat.

^The liarbeing themost contemptible ofall,hasnoone

beneath him.

THESTORY OFJOSEPH

MAGANNA NATOKKOS

Labari annabi yusufu^dashidashaitani- yazo

wurin annabi yusufu yafadda masa yacheubangiji

allah shina sonka dayawa yabaka dukia dabissashe"

This fable bears astriking resemblance totheStory ofJob.

Apart from thegeneral likeness, ineach itisSatanwhocauses

theLord to'touch allthathehath',and ineach thereward for

resignation isthesame, namely, increase offlocks andherds,

andmany children. Moreover, tomake theresemblance still

more striking, inthis,asintheBiblical Story, itisonthesecond

appearance ofSatan before God thattheholyman isvisited by

sickness.

^'Yusufu 'is'Joseph".According totheKoran, aninspired

prophet.

^*Shaitani' is'Satan',and isinmorecommon use inthe

Koran than'Iblis',denoting thesame personality.

^'Bissashe' istheplural form of'Bissa', 'animal, beast';

many Hausa nouns form their plural byreduplication inthis

manner : Kassa, Kassashe, land, earth.

Gari, Garurua, town.

Haki, Hakukua, hole.

Wuri, Wurare, place.

Abu, Abubua, thing.

&c., Sec.

The sibilant sbecomes palatalized into s/ibefore /ore.

B

i8 IIAUSA READINGS

dahaifiia dayawa"* yakoma^ wurin ubangiji allahya

fadda masa yachcannabi yusufu bashisonka don

kabashi diikia dadowaki domin hakkanau shina yin

salladayawa kamman kabashi wohalla dahasara da

chiwo kaganni yabersaUaduka :ubangiji allah ya

chemasa ashe^

:yasaannabi yusufu aloba''chikkin

giddansa yaransa duka sukamutu dashanusa^ da

ragunansa^ duka sukamutu damatansa saura shi

daiaduda^^hakkanan baibersallabashina yinsalla

*'Haifua dayawa/ 'many children'; lit.'many births'.

There arevarious forms oftheverb, as'haife ','haifa,''haifu.'

Itisboth transitive and intransitive.

^'Koma,''toreturn/ possesses adifference ofmeaning when

theterminal aisaltered to o.Inthe latter case, motion

towards thespeaker, oronhisbehalf, isinferred,

i.e.'Yakoma,''hereturned (tohistown).'

'Yakomo,''hereturned (tome).'

^'Ashe' isanejaculation usedupon thereceipt ofintelli-

gence alittle outoftheordinary. TheEnglish'You don't say

so 'isanequivalent.

^'Aloba 'isfrom theArabic Uj",'toinfest with aplague,'

^empester.^ From this isderived theArabic substantive "^b^,

'waba.' Inmodern Arabic theclassical conjunction ^,'wa,'

becomes'u'or'o';soweget'oba ',andwith the article,

'aloba.'

^'Shanusa'istheplural form of'sa ','bull,' feminine'sania'.

Aswritten here itisincorrect,'shanunsa'being theproper

form. This iscarelessness, andnotignorance, onthepart

ofthewriter.

^ 'Ragunansa,' theplural of'rago ','aram, tup.'

^° 'Duda ';themeaning is'notwithstanding'.Itisperhaps

acorruption of'duka da', butdoes notseem tobeinuse

colloquially. Seeline20, 'Waka.'

THESTORY OFJOSEPH 19

wokachi^^duka yusufu shina faddi babukomi allah

shIneyabani shikuma yakarba^^abinsa^^

:bayan

wanan shaitani yakoma wurin ubangiji alLah yache

masa kasaannabi yusufu chikkin chiwo kaganni ya

bersalla ubangiji yasamasa chiwo shina kunche^*

shekaransa sebain chikkin chiuta dudahakkanan shina

yinsalla baifassa^-^sallabakoranagudda :shaitani

^^'Wokachi.' Theword chiefly inuseamongst theHausas

is'lokachi',*time, season.' Itisderived from theArabic

oJjJl. Probably theword used here istheintermediate form

bywhich 'lokachi' was derived. TheHausa'lottu ','time,'

isderived from thesame Arabic expression. This isacase of

dualism, i.e.thataderived word often appears inanother

language intwoforms. Aninstance istheLatin natalis^ which

appears inFrench intheforms noeland 7iatal.

^^'Allah shineyabani shikuma yakarba.' This isalmost

word forword with theBiblical sentence, 'TheLord gaveand

theLord hathtaken away.'

*^'Abinsa.' When not suffixed thisword takes theform

'abu ',plural'abubua '.Hausa possesses acurious tendency to

change'u'into'i':

'Yunwa,' 'hunger,' becomes'yinwa'.

'Surdi,''saddle,' becomes'sirdi',

andthere areother examples. Note^^, 'Waka,' q.v.

^* 'Kunche 'means'tountie, loosen,' asused inthestory of

'TheBoyandtheLion Cub,' note*.

Thesame meaning here isobviously inadmissible, and itis

probable thatwhat isintended istheword'kumche ','tomake

narrow, straighten, tighten, confine,' ofwhich aform'kumtata'

istobefound inSpecimens ofHausa Literature^ A.67.

'^'Fassa' hasother forms, e.g. 'fasshe','passhe';the

Hausa labial articulation isvery defective ',f,p,barefrequently

interchangeable; cf.Hausa- Dictionary^ Preface, page xviii.

132

20 HAUSA READINGS

ya jikumla^*" vvurin ubangiji allah :allah }'asoma

bashi rongomi haryasamu sauki :yasamii lafiaya

samu mata suna haifua yakuma samu dukiansa^"^ da

shanu dadawaki :ubangiji yabashi yakomo kam-

manda shikeda^^: domin hakkanan kowa shinemi

tsari^^dashaitani.

Tammat-^.

'' 'Kumia,''shame,' isalso written andpronounced 'kunia'.

'Ka jikumia,' 'shame toyou/ isacommon expression •of

reproach.

^^'Dukiansa,' which should be, correctly,'dukiarsa,'

'dukialsa,' or'dukiatasa,' istypical ofthecarelessness ofthe

Hausas when dealing with thefeminine possessive. Afew

nouns with thefeminine termination'a'aremasculine. Among

them are'gidda ',*rua,''guga,''kaya,' &c.

^^'Ubangiji yabashi yakomokammanda shikeda.' This

isgood Hausa, andanexample ofthemanner inwhich the

clauses ofasentence areco-ordinated andnotsubordinated.

'Da'ispronounced with alongaandmeans'ofyore'.

'^'Tsari/'toguard against,' &c.,hasalsoaform'tsaro'with

acognate meaning, e.g.'Wurin tsaro ','awatch tower.'

2*^ 'Tammat 'isanArabic word signifying'itisfinished '.

TheHausa mallam dearly loves tointersperse alittle Arabic, as

aproof ofhislearning.

The Latin /inis occupies exactly thesame place inEnglish

literature.

21

MOSES ANDHISMISSION

Woni yai'o allah yahalitashi chikkin kogo dushi^

yayishekara arbain chikkiii kogo shiiia roko allah

kulliim dene darana^shina salla ubangiji^allahya

aikoannabi miisa"*taffikaduba chikkiii kogo dushi

akoiwoni yaro minene shina yiannabi yazo}'a

isheshi yayimasa salama baiamsa baharyagammii

sallatukun ^yaamsa masa yakirra sunansa annabi

musa yatambayeshi yachewanene yasanasheka^

sunana yachemasa ubangizi allahwonda yasana-

sheka akoimutum chikkin kogo dushi shine yasana-

This piece impresses theimportance of 'Taking aWife'asa

duty tobecarried out.TheKoran explicitly enjoins thisduty

inmore thanoneplace. Incountries where theinroads ofwar

andpestilence tend todiminish thepopulation, thebegetting of

children isnaturally ofprimary importance, and thiscondition

ispeculiarly applicable toWest Africa.

^'Kogo dushi,' acave.*Kogo'isused ofthelairofbeasts

ofprey.

^ 'Derre darana,''nightandday.' TheHausa order ofthe

word differs from theEnglish, 'dayand night.'

^ 'Ubangiji,' literally'house-father'. Thefeminine is'uwo-

rigijia ','mistress.' Asanepithet itischiefly applied toAllah.

^ 'Annabi musa,''theprophet jNIoses,' whose law,according

toMahomet, wascorrupted bytheJews.

^'Tukun'or'tukunna',and initssecondary form 'tukunche',

ismuch used idiomatically.'Notasyet,since, before'are its

chief meanings, i.e.'Banganneshi batukun ','Ihave notseen

himasyet.'

^*Sanasheka.' Other casual forms oftheverb'sanni','to

know,' are, inareligious sense,'sanasda,''sanda,''sanaswa.'

22 HAUSA READINGS

sheni sunanka :yachemasa mliicne kana yiwiirlnga"^

yacheshekarana arbaiii inachikkin kogo dushi ina

roko allali :taffikafadda allah inachikkin mutane

aljanna^koinachikkin mutane wiita annabi yataffi

wurin ubangizi allah yafaddi masa yachekafadda

masa shina chikkin mutane wuta annabi musa ya

komo baya shinakuka haryazowurin yaro :yaroya

chemasa yaka^ berikukakowane labari kajizoka

gaya mini :yachemasa ubangizi allah yachekana

chikkin wuta yaro yachemasa taffikafaddima

ubangizi allah tunda nike^*^banyisatadadai banyi

kwasshe dadaikuma hario^^banyizinadadai^^

:ban

^'Wuringa.''Nga,' feminine 'rga, Iga', isused asuffix to

nouns inademonstrative sense.

^'Aljanna' istheparadise ofMahomet. Theword isderived

from theArabic ajl».,'garden.' According toorthodox Moham-

medans paradise issituated above theseven heavens andnext

under thethrone ofGod. Itcontains thewonderful treeofhappi-

ness called'Tuba

';theriverKauchara mentioned inSpeciuiens of

Haiisa Literature^ A.49;andtheHouris made notofclaybutof

puremusk, besides many other wonderful anddelightful objects.

^*'Yaka.' Itisseldom inHausa that thepronoun isfound

after theverb, although there arecases, i.e.'jeka ',note**,

'Waka.' Also in'ZaniKano',&c. :'Iamgoing toKano.'

Also inthepassive voice ofallverbs. Itisprobable that

'yaka 'isadefective verb.

^^ 'Tunda nike,''since Ihadmybeing.''Tun'or'tunda'

before anegative means'before ';i.e.'Tun baimutu ba',

'Before hedied.'

^^ 'Hario,''again, still.' Itisprobably compounded oftwo

words 'har', 'until,' and'yau', 'to-day.'; i.e.'Hario bakayishi',

'evennow,youhave notdone it,'or'still,youhave notdone it'.

^' 'Dadai 'with thenegative means'never'.

MOSES AND HISMISSION 23

yimunafuchi badadaidomin hakkanan^

'kadda shisa

woni chikkin wuta saini^^: annabi ya taffiwurin

allah yafadda masa allahyachedonmibaiyiaure

ba :domin shinamutum kirki^^

:domin hakkanan :

kana chikkin aljanna tammat.

^^ 'Domin hakkanan,''forthis.'

1* 'Kadda shisawoni chikkin wiita sai ni,'This isnoteasy

totranslate, although themeaning isclear. Thesense is'don't

lethim treatanyoneelsesounjustly '.

^^ 'Kirki,''excellent, proper,' isgenerally applicable toor

used ofahuman being. Nobetter compliment canbepaid

than tobedescribed as'kirki '.

THEHAWK, THEDOVE, ANDTHEPROPHET

Woni annabi sunansa yiisufii ubanglji allahyaaunashi

kowotakila shina tsoro allah yaaikomalika jibirailu^

yamaisheshi^shirua^yadauka malika michailu*ya

^'Jibirailu' istheArchangel Gabriel, themessenger ofGod

andtheangel ofrevelation;buttotheJews, theirenemy and

messenger ofwrath andpunishment. Among thechief acts

attributed tohimwere theteaching ofhusbandry toAdam after

his fallandtherevealing oftheKoran toMohammed. He

assisted attheburial ofMoses.

^'Maisheshi,' 'transformed him.' Theword'maida','turn,'

*change,' and itsderivative forms'maishe',

'mayes,''mayerda,'

'mayesda,' isofwide application, and incombination withother

words possesses great usage idiomatically;e.g.

'Yamaida kansa,''heprofesses.'

'Yamaida kamna gareta,''heliked him,'

'Yamayerda maganna,''heanswered.'

*Kamayes,''bring back.'

'Inamayesda wani,''Ibecome likesoand so.'

24 HAUSA READINGS

maisheshi kurlchia suduka suna binjunansu shirua

shina sonshikama kurichia suduka sunaguddu^har

sunzowurin annabi shirua shina faddimaannabi dau

allahdauannabi^muhamadu abinchinashi nekurichia"'

kadda kabcrshi taffiyaukwana ukku banchikomi

ba^kurichia tafaddimaannabi yusufu kaddan kaber

^ 'Shirua,''hawk,' pkiral'shiruoyi '. Itishere treated as

masculine inopposition totherule ofgender. This, forthe

purposes ofthis fable only,maybeexplained inthesense of

contrast between thedove, thegentle feminine type, and the

hawk, thestrong masculine birdofprey.

*'Michailu' istheArchangel Michael, thefriend ofthe

Jews, andtheirmessenger ofpeace andplenty asweknow from

Scripture (Dan. xii. i).InMussulman tradition hewas fre-

quently employed byAllah onerrands tothePatriarchs and

Prophets. Healsowaspresent attheburial ofMoses.

^'Guddu' istheusual expression for'tofly'.The strictly

precise word is'Kadda '.

'''Dau allah dau annabi.*'Dau'isacontracted form of

theverb 'dauka', 'take up,take hold of,' &;c. :theword is

capable ofmany idiomatic usages, and inthissensemaybestbe

translated as'taking asawitness, swearing by '.

^ 'Abinchina shinekurichia,''thedove ismylawful prey.'

^'Yaukwana ukkuban chikomi ba,''itisnow three days

since Ihave eaten anything ';lit.'to-day (for) three days I

have, &.C.''Komi

';theindefinite pronouns areformed from

theparticle'ko'(which fillstheplace oftheEnglish 'ever' in

'whoever ',&c.)prefixed totheinterrogative pronouns;e.g.

Alsomi

THEHAWK, DOVE,ANDPROPHET 25

shirua yakassheni nidakalmuyisheria rana gobe''

shiriia shikuma yafaddi hakkanan annabi yusufu ya

rassa abinda shina chikki^^saiyadauka wuka ya

yenka chiniyansa yabashirua yachibaryakoshi ya

sakke^^kurichia tataffishirua kuma yataffiubangiji

allahyachegaskia yusufu shina tsorona kwarai aliah

yaworike chiniyansa take^^tammat.

® 'Rana gobe,''Day ofJudgement.''Maigobe'isanepithet

applied toAllah.

'" 'Yarassa abinda shina chikki,' 'the;cupboard wasbare';

lit.'helacked thething heusually hadwithin'.

'Sai,''sowhat doeshedobut(take aknife).'

^^ 'Yasakke,' 'he released.' See note*', 'Letter from a

Mallam.'

^•^'Ke'isaway ofpronouncing'kai ',as'se 'isfound for

'sai'. Thediphthong sinks toadiphthongal vowel. 'Kai'

originally meant 'bring', then reflexively 'bring oneself, then

'reach', then 'tobeenough, well, todo'; e.g.'Bashikai

ba ','itwillnot do.' Translate'Allah healed hislegsatis-

factorily'.

THEBOYANDTHELIONCUB

Wonimutum maihalbi neshina damache mai-

chikki^kulluni mijinta ya taffi halbi bashikasshe

Theabove isafavourite story withtheHausa boys,and inall

stoiy-telling competitions itappears sooner orlater. There are

numerous minor errors ofgrammar inthemanuscript, andthese

havebeenmentioned inthefootnotes.

' 'Maichikki' isused ofawoman who isencemte^ and isan

example ofthenoun-agent, fonned byprefixing'mai',plural

*masu ',toverbs andsubstantives.

26 HAUSA READLXGS

komi kaddan yazogidda matasa tana zagensa-:

kuUiim hakkanaii ranagudda yakasshe begua" ya

karie gainye dayawa yadaure begua yadauka ya

kawo gidda, matasa tanamurna tawanke tukunia

mijinta yachemata tashi kikunche* gainye akoi

nama chikki tatashi tanakunche gainye hartaganni

begua zatakama saiyatashi shina guddu mijinta ya

chemata bishikoenna yataffi kikawo miniabinatana

binsa harchikkin dajibegua yabache mata^: tana

kuka tazamna gusun rimi^chikkinta shina murda"^

-'Tana zagensa,''wasahvays chiding him/ The verb

'zage'hasthemeaning'toabuse 'inavery strong sense.

^'Begua,' meaning'porcupine ',istreated inthispiece as

mascuhne, inopposition totherule ofgrammar which lays

down, with certain exceptions, thatnouns with thetermination

'a'arefeminine. Seenote^^, 'Story ofJoseph.'

**Kunche.' IntheIMSS. thisword, which means 'to

unbind ','toloosen,' iswritten also inthe'Story ofJoseph'

[note^%butwith atotally different meaning. The waiter has

confused theverb'kunche','toloosen,' with theverb'kumche ',

'totighten,' &c.,thesounds ofwhich approximate.

^'Yabache mata.' This isnottobetranslated'helostthe

w^oman ',butinanintransitive sense, namely,'hewas lost to

her.''Bache,' likemany otherHausa verbs,maybeused both

transitively andintransitively.

^'Rimi 'isthesilk-cotton tree,ahvays numerous onthesite

oflarge towns, whose importance, infact,maybejudged from

adistance, according tothenumber and sizeofthem. Inthe

orchard-like country, north oftheforest belt,theymaybedis-

cerned fromagreat distance, andthesight putsanewheart into

tired carriers. IntheGold Coast Hinterland thesiteofthose

towns razed bySamory isindicated solely bythe'rimi 'which

stillstands there. Asacurious fact, itmaybementioned that in

THEBOYANDTHELIONCUB 2;

tahaifu batasanni baakoi zaki^tahaifu woje daia

mache tahaifuwoje daiaharyaroyayiwayo :danzaki

yayivvayo^ ;danzakiyaganni danmutum yachemasa

wanene yakawoka nan :yachemasauwata tahaifeni

nan :yachedanmutum faddamauwaka kadda tataffi

chikkin dajidanesauwata tanakasshe mutane yaroya

chemasa toyayikeau^^danzakiyadauka danmutum

aboki^^sudukasunawasa^^lokachinda uwansu^^sun

taffikiwo chikkin dajikuHum hakkanan ranagudda sun

gammu chikkin dajiuwan zaki takasshe uwanmutum

thestories ofthe'Hitopadesha' ofSanscrit legend, the silk-

cotton treeoccupies thesame place asinHausa folk-tales. The

Sanscrit word is'zhalmali-taru'—

'taru'meaning 'tree'.

"^'Chikkinta shina murda,''shebegan tofeelthepains of

labour.''Murda' properly means'tostrangle, throttle, gripe/

hence itssignificance inthepresent instance. Itisalso

commonly used ofmedicine which gives griping pains.

^'Zaki.' 'Zakainya' would beexpected here. This ispart

andparcel ofthecarelessness oftheHausas intheirtreatment

ofthefeminine, notonly inwriting butalso inconversation.

^ 'Wayo,' which properly means'cunning, skill ',isused

ofchildren whohavereached years ofdiscretion. Themeanings

arecognate.

^° 'Yayikeau.' This isacommon expression ofassent

orapproval, especially inreceiving orders orinstructions from

asuperior. TheEnglish equivalent is'verygood'.

" 'Yadauka danmutum aboki,''hetook thehuman child

forhisfriend.' Anidiomatic useof'dauka ',ofwhich there are

many such.

^^ 'Suna wasa,''theyused toplay together.'

^^'Uwansu' should be'uwayensu'. Itisonlywhen a

following numeral particularizes thenumber thattheplural form

isdispensed with.'Uwasu biu 'would becorrect andgoodHausa.

38 HAUSA READINGS

takawo gidda danmutum baiganni uwasa bashina

kuka bargaiiyawaye^"^danzakiyazowurinda dan

mutum shina kuka yatambayeshi miyafarukana

kuka tun jiabanganni uwata^' ba :dan zakiya

kirrashi zomu taffimuganni uwata takawo woni

mutum^^

:yaroyabishiyaganni uwasa yafadi bissa

uwasa shina kukadanzakiyafadda masa yikurum

berikuka: nikuma na^' kasshe uwana mudukamu

zamma daia :kuma danzakiyataffiyakasshe uwasa

yakawo gidda yakirradanmutum yagodda masa ya

chemudukamuzamma marayu haryaroyayigirima:

** 'Gariyawaye' isthedawn ofday, literally 'thetown is

brightening' inthesense ofobjects becoming distinct. Inthis

sense'gari 'isheld tomean thesky,thedemesne ofGod, but

itisprobable that this isapoetical extension oftheoriginal idea.

*Waye 'isused ifanexplanation iswanted, i.e.'Kawaye

mini ','explain tome.'

'Tointerpret 'isusually rendered'juyemaganna'.

^^Throughout this piece 'uwana' and'uwata' areused

somewhat indiscriminately.'Uwata 'isofcourse theonly

correct form.

'Dan uwana,' which seems tooffend the rule, is,however,

right, owing tothepredominance ofthemasculine element.

Itishard togeneralize onthis, foragain 'abokin taffiata' is

correct, andnot'abokin taffiana'.

^^ 'Mutum' means inthisplace 'ahuman being', theplural

form ofwhich is'mutane '.'Maza 'istheplural of'miji',

'man,' asopposed to'woman'.

^^'Na' ishere theform ofthepersonal pronoun used in

expressing thefuture. Itispronounced with thevoice some-

what raised, andwith distinct emphasis. Itisnoteasy to

decide whether orno itisacontraction of'nia', thefuture

prefix formed bysuffixing'a 'tothepersonal pronoun.

THEBOYANDTHELIONCUB 29

}^atambayeshi garinku kaddan yaro yayigirima

minene aiiayi masa yacheanayi masa kachia :dan

zakiya taffi bissa hainya yakwanta haryagaiini

wanzami^^shina wuche yakamashi yakawo wurin

yaro yache yimasa kachia wanzami yayimasa

kachia yaworike :yatambaye yarokaddan garinku

yaroyayigirima minene anayi masa yacheanayi

masa aureyataffiyakama budurua dian sariki bissa

hainya kowa yahalbe zakibashisamimsa^^hargari

dukayatashi sunyisunyi-^^basusamu zaki sarikin

gariyachewonda yakarba diata hanu^^zaki na

bashi shiyiaure :danmutum yazoyakarba yarinia

'^'Wanzami' isa'barber'. He isgenerally theperson

employed forthecircumcision ofboys. Curiously, circumcision

isnotonce alluded tointheKoran.

^^ 'Samunsa 'isanuncommon form, and'sameshi 'would

have been expected;ofthis thefollowing explanation is

tendered. Itiswellknown that thecontinuative forms of

thepronoun,'ke,che,' &:c.,take thenominal form oftheverb;

butwhen negatived, asinthisplace, thecontinuative gives place

tothesimple pronoun, thenominal form oftheverb remain-

ing,however, unchanged. Thissame nominal form oftheverb

negatived, maybenoticed inNo. 3ofCaptain Merrick's admir-

able collection ofHausa proverbs.

^° 'Sun yisun yi.'The repetition hereconveys anidea of

distribution ordifference, as'biubiu ',&c.Theideabeing that

'some didonething, some another '.

^^ 'Yakarba diata hanu zaki.' Notice theabsence ofthe

preposition'dagga 'before'hanu'.This isverygood Hausa.

Curiously, when prepositions areused they areused inabun-

dance, as,forinstance,'Yafittadagga chikkin gidda.* But,as

Mr.Miller observes, thebestHausa istouseprepositions as

little aspossible.

30 HAUSA READINGS

hanu zaki :sarkiyayimashi auredaitakulliim rana

aljimua daderre kullum zakishina zuagiddansa rana

gudda matasa taiskesu chikkin dakin mijinta mache

tayikuwa mutane sunzosunyimazakimakami^"

yataffichikkin dajiyamutu gariyawayedanmutum

yadauka askayabishi chikkin dajiharyagawurinda

yakwanta shikuma yakasshe kansa suduka sun

mutu dagga bayakuma danzakiyatashi yaganni

danmutum shina kwanche kassa yayimasamagani

yatashi suduka biusunchikka alkauelinsu'^dababu

alkaueli chikkin dunia danzakidadanmutum sune

sukakawo-"*alkaueli chikkin dunia :tammat.

-^'Makami' means 'arms, orinstruments ofdeadly harm'.

Itisanoun oftheinstrument, derived from theverb'kama',

'tocatch, seize', which hasawide application.

-^'Alkaueli,' a'promise oragreement'. The fable explains

that'TheBoyandtheLionCub 'themselves introduced into

theworld thehabit ofregarding apromise assacred.

^* 'Sunesuka kawo,''itwastheywhobrought, these two

brought,' &:c. Thus, inanswer tothequestion,'Who killed

Cock Robin,' theanswer inHausa would be'Ninenakassheshi',

'Ikilled Cock Robin.'

THEWRANGLING WIVES

Sarki damatansa^biuuworgidda-batahaifu ba

^'Matansa.' The ?iisredundant and incorrect, and the

word should read'matatasa,''matatai,' andmorecommonly

'matasa '.

'-^'Uworgidda' isthehead-wife, themistress ofthehouse.

Themasculine form is'ubangiji',anepithet usually appHed

toAllah. 'Maigidda' istheform used inahuman sense.

Other forms are'uwalgidda ',andwith resolution'uworigidda '.

THEWRANGLING WIVES 31

saiamaria ^itatahaifuyaya bintafitta tataffiwurin

wonka *uvvorgidda tashigga chikkiii dakiwurin yara

takwashesu tazubabayam bi'rni takasshe kadangari'

biutakawo taziibasu bissa shimfidda'^tataffiwurin

sarki tafadda masa matanka'^ tahaifu kadangari biu

sarkiyayifushiyazoyadubayaganni kadangari ya

kirra dogaraisa^ yachemasu kukamata kukasshe

sukakamata suka boyeta woni gidda :wota tsofua

kuma tanayawobayam birni ^taganni yara biusuna

^'Amaria,' 'the bride'and latest acquisition tothehouse-

hold. TheHausas repeat aproverb,'Ango mijin amaria.'

Seenote ^,'Fifteen Proverbs.'

*'Wurin wonka.' Bythis ismeant theceremonial ablution

enjoined onallwomen after child-birth.

^'Kadangari,' 'lizard' ;lit.'thecrocodile ofthetown'.

•^'Shimfidda,' 'spread out, unroll,' isproperly used with

'taberma ',inthesense of'spreading thesleeping mat '.Here,

probably from theassociation ofideas, itcomes tomean'the

sleeping mat' itself, i.e.'aspread'. Inthehousehold of

important men, there isanofifice, theholder ofwhich isknown

as'Maishimfidda taberma ',and isgenerally afoster-brother of

hispatron. Among theAshantis this office holder istermed

'Okra 'or'Soul oftheKing'.Ifanindignity beputonhim it

istantamount tolesemajeste andpunished accordingly. In

former days, onthedeath ofhismaster, hewould voluntarily

accompany him tothenext world there tofulfil thesame

office. Incouncil heisseated attheKing's feet.

' 'Matanka'should be'mata-ka'

;seenote^above.

^'Dogaraisa.''Dogari 'isasoldier ofthebody-guard,

from theverb'dogare ','leanupon, relyon,trust in.''Mado-

gara 'means'stay, prop,' and isspecially applied tothecross-

barofwood which secures thedoor.

^'Birni 'isproperly applied only togated cities;'gari'

32 HAUSA READINGS

kunche^^chikkin haki takwashesu takawo gidda ta

bidda masu magani^^sunashaharsuka yiwayo^-har

suka yigirma tsofua tasayemasu dowaki sunahau^^:

sunawaka :sunachemuyayan sarkiyayan masugari^^

anzubamu bayam birnidomin kishi^^

:saisunayawo^^

chikkin gari :kullum^'hakkanan sunayawo suna yin

waka wata ranawoniyakawomasarki labari yache

masa akoiwoddansu yara nayitamaha kamman

dianka nesarki yacheennakammanusu^^: yache

isused ofsmaller, unwalled towns;'kauye 'isthevillage or

hamlet; andlastly 'buka-buka'signifies thecollection ofgrass

huts, temporary erections raised onfarms which areacon-

siderable distance from thetown.

^® *Kunche.' This isdifficult. From theMS. either

*kunchi ','crouched tig'it, sitting tight,' equivalent to'guga'

(see note^^^,'Waka '),maybeintended, or'kwanche ','sleeping,

lyingdown';ofthetwomeanings, theformer ispreferable,

having regard tothecontext.

" 'Magani

';seenote ^^'Waka.'

12 (Yiwayo,''arrived atyears ofdiscretion.'

^^ 'Suna hau,' wemight here expect'suna hawa',the

nominal form oftheverb. Seenote^,'Questions andAnswers.'

^* *Masugari,''people ofimportance.''Mainya-mainya'

hasthesame sense.

^^ *Kishi,' lit.'longing ',e.g.'kishinrua, kishirua ','thirst.'

Then 'jealousy', e.g. 'kishia','either oftwowives.'

^^ 'Saisuna yawo,''allthat they did,was toparade the

town.'

"'Kullum' isoccasionally written'kullun '.Themotto of

theGold Coast Regiment islSj^ jj^-^-

'^ 'Enna kammanusu,''karnmanu,' istheplural of'kamma',

'likeness, image.' Thephrase may bestbetranslated,'wherein

does thelikeness He?'

THEWRANGLING WIVES^3

sarkikaberrigobedasafenakalka^^wurlnda suna bi

sunayawo sarki yachedakeau gariyawaye suka

taffiendasuna fittasukazamna harsuka fittasuka yi

vvaka :suka chemuyayan sarkimuyayan masugari

anzubamu bayam birni domin tsanani kishi"''

:da

sarkiyajihakkanan yazogidda yatarafadawansa^^

yatambayesu kakamu yimusanni uwan yara"^

fadawansa suka chemasa kayigangami^^duka

chikkin garikowache mache duka tayituotakawo

kofan sarkikamman yaraensunzo :kowane abinchi

wonda sunchiuwansu kenan :gariyawaye abinchi

yagammu kofan sarki yara sunzoamma basuchi

abinchi kowa badonbabu nauwansu chikki-*basu

chiabinchi kowa ba:wonimutum yafaddamasarki

yacheakoiwatamache giddanmu akakirrata takawo

tuosuka chisarki yakama uworgiddansa yayenkata.

" 'Nakaika/'Iwillconvey you.' Seenote *^, 'TheBoyand

theLion Cub.'

^^ 'Tsanani kishi,''thetorment, sting ofjealousy.'

-^ 'Fadawa'means'courtiers'inageneral sense, though

each has his special title; 'sarakin dawaki,' 'galladima,'

'sarikin bayi,' &c.

^^ 'Uwan yara'should read'uwalyara '.

23 <Yigangami 'or'buga kiddi 'arecognate expressions. In

Hausaland thedrummer isthe'town-crier'.Towards evening

when allarewithin theircompounds heparades thetown,

beating hisdrum andcrying hismessage.

^* 'Donbabu nauwansu chikki,''because that oftheir

mother wasnotincluded.' InHausa before'na ',ashere used,

thedem.onstrative pronoun 'that, those'—intheEnglish phrase

'thatof'—is omitted.

C

34 HAUSA READINGS

THELEPER ANDTHEBLIND MAN

WONGA ALMARA^

Labarin kuturii dashidamakafo sukazamna wurin

mahalbe kullum yakasshe nama^shinakawomasu

suna chisaikuturu shina godemahalbe makafo shina

zagen kuturu^dong mikana godemasa donhalbe

babuwuya konidakaina kaddan nasamu koreda

baka naiyahalbe :kullum shina faddi hakka rana

gudda kuturu yabidda* masa koredabaka^ suka

Leprosy andblindness aretoowellknown inHausaland;for

anaccount ofthesame andoftheir organization under chosen

heads seeHausaland, or1,500 miles throtfgh theCentral

Soudafi, byC.H.Robinson.

''Wonga almara,''this isafairy tale.'

^ 'Nama'isone ofthemasculines in'a':e.g.'naman

shanu,' 'beef.'

^One ofthedifficulties ofthelanguage ishere illustrated by

'shina gode mahalbe', 'shina zagen kuturu,' namely, thatthe

nominal forms oftheverbs tobeused with thepronoun endings

'ke,che, na,'such as

taffi taffia go

kare karewa end

fitto fittowa come out, (S:c.,

arenotfound with allverbs.Weshould here expect 'shina

godewa '.Acomplete list isadesideratum. Seenote ",'The

BoyandtheLionCub ';alsonote ^,'Questions andAnswers.'

^'Bidda,' from'bida'. There seem tobethree stages of

development ofverbs with'da '.

{a)The'da 'retains itsseparate force andgives theverban

THELEPER ANDTHEBLIND MAN 35

tashi suna taffiamakafo yadauka kuturu shina ganni

amma bashidakafifa^suna taffia harsunkaichikkin

dajisunganninama daji"^kuturu yafaddamamakafo :

makafo shiyahalbe baisameshi bakuturu yakarba

kibia hanunsa^yahalbanama yakasshe makafo shina

murna danama :suka fedenama dada sunabiddan

wuta^

active transitive meaning, andthesense varies according

as itispresent orabsent ;e.g.

zo come

zoda (come with) bring,

taffi go

tafifida (gowith) takeaway.

{b)Asin'kulla da','heed/'yesda,''throw away,' where

the'da 'isalways employed andthesense never varie§.

{c)The'da 'becomes thoroughly incorporated with theroot

and soforms areally new verb, asin'bidda ',with a

different accentuation, andadmitting oneofthenominal

forms referred toabove, note^.

^*Baka,' amasculine in'a',asshown by itscompound

'bakan gizzo ',*arainbow.'

*'Shina ganniamma bashidakaffa.' Apoint ofgrammar

ishere involved, viz. :that thecontinuous orpresent form of

thepronoun 'shina', &;c.,when negative assumes itssimplest

form;e.g.not'bashina dakaffa ',but'bashidakaffa '.The

phrase'inadakaffa 'hasanidiomatic usage. If,forinstance,

acarrier was told togetalong quickly, hemight say'Inada

kaffa ',meaning thathehadasore foot.

^'Nama daji.' This isincorrect and should be'naman

daji '.

^ 'Yakarba kibia hanunsa.' Foranoteonthisuseofhanu*

without apreceding preposition seenote -\*TheBoyandthe

Lion Cub.'

^ 'Suka fedenama dada sunabiddan wuta,''oreverthey

C2

'>^6 HAUSA READINGS

sugassa^^nama basusamu wutabakuturu yaganni

hakorin dodo^^yafaddamamakafo nagaiini wuta

makafo yachemasa taffikakawo wuta yataffiya

ganni dodo yatambayeshi mikana bidda nanya

chemasa nasamunama shikenan^^inabidda wuta

dodo yache taffikakawonama akoiwuta nan :

sukakwashe nama suka kaiwurin dodo yakarba

nama hanunsu^^yachi :makafo yayifushi shina

fadda dakuturu :shikuadodo shina soshichisu

kuma shikara^* danama: makafo yaguddu shina

skinned thegame, theysearched forfirewood.' For'dada' cf.

Specimeiis ofHaiisa Liter atiwe, C.7.Cf.Dan. vi.24forthe

English idiom wehave used intranslating'dada '.

Concerning'biddan wuta 'andthereason ofthefinal*n'

seeabove, notes ^*.

^•^'Sugassa,''inorder toroast.' This simple combination

ofpronoun andverb istheproper one tobeemployed inthis

sense ofpurpose. Insuchand similar cases thepronouns

are:—

Singtilar. Plural.

1.en,ni mu

2.ka,ki ku

3.shi,ta su

^^ *Dodo 'isthebogieman oftheHausas. He isanevil

spirit who, atnightfall, waylays thepasser-by byspringing on

tohisshoulders from behind, outoftheforks oftrees. This

isonlyonephase ofhischaracter.

^^ 'Shikenan,'*that isit,ourcase.''Inabidda wuta 'should

be'inabiddan wuta '.

^2 'Hanunsu.' Notice theabsence ofany preposition, and

refer tonote ^,'TheBoyandtheLion Cub.'

^* 'Kara,''toadd to,toincrease.' Translate,*thathemight

addtohislarder.' Seenote^'^, 'TheWedded Pair.'

THELEPER ANDTHEBLIND MAN 37

kewaya haryakomo chikkin giddan dodo :sunka

sakke tashi^^shidakuturu sunguddu suna chikkin

taffia^^ makafo yabache hainya^'yafada chikkin

rami sai^^idanunsa yabudcyafittashinamurna :ya

yitaffia haryakai^^giddansu yataramakafi^^duka

yakarba kurdi hanunsu^^yakaisu wurin rami suduka

sunfadachikkin rami idonkowa yabude :shikuma

yachezanikuma fadachikkin rami :idanuna shikuma

^^ 'Sakke tashi,''they started.' Seenote^'Letter from

aMallam.'

^° *Suna chikkin taffia 'implies that theywere actually in

themidst oftheir journey. Theexpression ismuch used in

narrative.

^^*Yabache hainya.' This verb'bache 'isalsoused in-

transitively;e.g.*Na jikunbache/'Iheard youwere lost.'

Athird usage alsooccurs inthestory of'TheBoyandthe

LionCub ',note^

^^'Sai' inthis sense, 'except,' isseen also intheEnglish

phrase,'What happened but that (hiseyes were opened).'

Asimilar brachylogy isfound intheEnglish assertive:

'ifhiseyes didn't open!'

*

^^ 'Kai'hashere aneuter orreflexive sense,'brought

himself, came to,reached.' Inthenext line itisseen used

transitively.

"° 'Makafi,' plural of'makafo ','blind man.'

Other instances ofplural in'i'are :—

tsofo

38 HAUSA READINGS

bude dayafadachikkin rami idoyakuma rufewa^-

:

tarnmat.

^- 'Rufewa 'isthenominal form oftheverb'rufe, rufi ','to

shut,' &:c.The blind man's tragedy strikingly reminds usof

thefinalcatastrophe of'She '.

THEWEDDED PAIR

Wonimutum dashidamatansa^suka tashi zasu^

garin uwaii matansa"zashi gaida*sarakuwansa'':

suna chikkin taffia harsuka yilokko^ sunzamna

Inthispiece errors ofgrammar, especially with reference to

thefeminine possessive, arerather frequent andhave been in-

dicated inthefootnotes. Hausa writing isnotyetextensively

used, itsplace being supplied byArabic, which occupies, in

fact, thesame position asdidtheChurch Latin ofthe

mediaeval days. The useofwritten Hausa is,however, in-

creasing rapidly.

^ 'Matansa.' Incorrect andshould be'mata-sa'.

^'Zasu.' Foranote onthisword, used ashere inits

original sense, seenote^'Waka.'

^ 'Uwan matansa' isincorrect for'uwal mata-sa', vide

Lecture Notes (W.H.Brooks andL.H.Nott), p.7.

^'Gaida,' 'greet, salute,' has other forms, i.e.'gaishe,'

'cause tobesaluted.' Thenominal form is'gaisua '.

^'Sarakuwansa':read'sarakuwa-sa'.

"'Suka yilokko,''theycame toahalt.''Lokko 'is

more especially used ofatemporary halting-place forcarriers.

"''Dama' or'dame', 'mix, stir.' Itisthesame word as

'dame ','perplex, annoy, humbug.' This latter sense iseasily

derivable from theoriginal meaning.

THEWEDDED PAIR39

matansa tadama'masa fura^yashayaregge saura^

chikkin kworia :mijinta yajimotsi chikkin dajiyayi

kirrababuwonda yaamsa saiyaganni kaibabumutum

saikailokachinda kaiyaisso^^wurinsa yachemasa

ganiyachemasa taffokashafurayadauka furaya

sha mijiiimata yatashi shina taffia kaishiiia binsu ya

chemasakoma baya kaiyachebabu na^^bikuhar

vvurinda zaku matansa^- tachemasa bershi shina

binsu harsun yitaffiakwana ukku tukun sunkai^"

wurin gulbi kaiyachemasa baniiyashigga chikkin

rua :daukeni kasachikkin wondonka yachebabu

matansa tachemasa daukeshi kasachikkin wandonka

kaddan mun fitta chikkin ruakaajeshi kassa^*ya

daukeshi yasachikkin wondonsa harsunketara gulbi

yachekai fitta chikkin wando kaiyachebabu ya

bershi harsunkaigarin sarakuwalsa ambasu masabki^^

daabinchi sunka chihario kaiyacheshibaikoshi ba

mijinta yachemasa kadda kayimini abinkumia

giddan sarakuwata yachemasa faddi bakakoshi

^'Fura/ asemi-liquid messmade ofvarious grains ;ingreat

useasafood.

^'Yaregge saura/.'hediminished thecontents byahalf.'

1° 'Isso/'meet, arrive at/&c., isfrom'issa ',ofwhich another

form is'ishe'.Seenote ','Waka.'

^1 'Na.' This perhaps isacontraction of'nia ',theform of

thepersonal pronoun used inexpressing thefuture.

^- 'Matansa':read'mata-sa'.

^^ 'Sunkai/'theyreached, came to.'

'* *Kaajeshi kassa/'puthimdown.'

'* 'Masabki/'inn, lodging, caravanserai/ from'sabka',

'unload,' asdonkeys, &.C., attheendofajourney.

40 HAUSA READINGS

bakaddaii bakafaddi banachije gwoiwanka^^

naniiji yafaddi kaddan kaddan^^yachemasa

faddi dakarifi :matansa tataffi chikkin kasua ta

sayo^^masa abinchi tabashi yachibaryakoshi ya

yikwana namiji yatubewandonsa gammi^^da

shiduka yatashi shidamatansa sukaguddu suna

taffia chikkin derre hargariyawaye kaiyafalka bai

gansu bayayikirra namiji baiamsa bafulansa ya

amsa matansa tachedebbe fula^^kayer^^yadebbe

yayer:yakuma^^yakirrashi baiamsa barigansa^"

yaamsa yatubeyayer :yakirrasu wando yaamsa

yatubeyayeryakirrasu takobi yaamsayadauka ya

^^ 'Gwoiwa,'*scrotum.'

^''Ya faddi kaddan kaddan,' 'hespoke softly.' 'Small-

small'incoast English.

^^'Sayo.' The terminal'o 'here infers that hereturned

after buying. Seenote ^,'Waka.'

'^ 'Gammi,''together with,' from'gamma ','join.'

-°'Fula' isused intheGold Coast andHinterland forany

head-covering other than the'garumfa 'or'malafa '.

-^ 'Yer,''throw away.' Other forms are'yes'andeven

'yesda,' e.g.'Sun yesda dunia.' SeeSpecimens ofHausa

Literature, B.89.

-^ 'Kuma.' This verb, aform of'koma ','return,' isoneof

those which modify other verbs, as*kara ','tara,''rikka,'

'rigaya.' These must betranslated byadverbs. Thisverb at

lastdiesdown toamere particle in'kuma','again,' inwhich

form itismetwithafewlinesbelow inthispiece.

^^ 'Riga 'istheloose surplice-like garment, without sleeves,

andusually embroidered attheneck. Itisthebadge ofIslam

ontheWest Coast. To'sariga'isthegreat ambition ofthe

negro convert, even though hisknowledge does notextend

beyond'Allah akbar'.

THEWEDDED PAIR 4^

yer :namiji yakoma tsirara-^

:yakirramatansa kuma

bataamsa bakayanta taamsa tasabka taajeya

kirrata kuma zannenta yaamsa tatube tayerya

kirrata mukurunta^^taamsa tatube itakuma^^ta

zamma tsirara :suduka suzamma bissa hainya harya

isshesu yabasu kayansu: suna taffia haryakaisu

garinsu yadauka yabasarikin garinsu shinamurna

yaaikesu suyiitache sukawo shidaffasu dashida

suka taffichikkin dajisunganni darni gizzo sunayin

itache gizzo yagansu yachemasuwanene yaaikeku

suka chemasa sarikin kaishineyaaikomu muyi

itachemukawo shidaffamu dashigizzo yachemasu

kumutane dunia kaddan mutum yayimaku ranaku

kan yimasa derre-'^suka chemasa bamuyimaka

derre bayachemasu dakeau :yadaura dokinsa

sirdiyahaudakulkinsa yataffidasuchikkin garin

kaiyaisshesu suntarusunawasa damurna donsun

"*'Yakoma tsirara,' 'hereturned naked.' Hisgarments had

betrayed him byspeaking. This isnotanew idea, the

'speech ofthegarments', forinMussulman tradition, when

Adam yielded toEve's temptation inthegarden, hisheavenly

raiment fellfrom himand 'hisgarments reproached him'.

Also, regarding the'head ';intheTargum oftheJews,

Laban's image worshipped byhimwasthehead ofaman,

which'spake tohimandtoldhimoracles '.

-''Mukuru,' 'veil.'

^^ 'Itakuma.' This istheparticle form towhich theverb

dwindles asmentioned attheendofnote^^above.

-^'Kaddan mutum yayimaku ranakukan yimasa derre.'

Acommon proverbial expression, implying,*Donotrepay good

with evil/ or*Onegood turndeserves another'.

42 HAUSA READINGS

same mutaiie zasu chi :gizzo yasamesu dakulklnsa

yakakasshesu~^duka :tammat.

'^^'Kakasshesu/'exterminated them.' The redupHcation

intensifies theoriginal meaninjr.

QUESTIONS ANDANSWERS

LABARI WALr ALLAH ISUNANSAABU

MUHAMADU

Woni wall*ya jilabarlnsa dayawa :yatashiyahau

dokinsa zaki :bulalansa machiji yayitaffia :kamman

kwana ukku yatambaya mutane dasunagammuwa^

dashiyacheenna woje giddansa akache dashi

giddansa soro^ neya fidukababuwoni soron gidda

kammansa randa yashigga chikkin gariabumuha-

madu :yaganni gidda :haryashigga chikki yayi

salama baiiskeshi gidda ba :yatambaya ennayataffi

^'Wali 'isfrom theArabic ^^JT, 'friend,' inareligious

sense, i.e.'wali allah ','walimohammed.'

''Suna gammuwa.' Here again (seenote ",'TheBoyand

theLionCub ')wemeet thecontinuative form ofthepronoun

with thenominal form oftheverb, which iscorrect andgood

Hausa. Properly translated thiswould read,'Heasked the

peoplewhom hewascontinually meeting,' &c.

^'Soro' properly means 'two-storied' asapplied toa

dwelling-house. Such areuncommon among theHausas, and

probably themeaning here isawell-built, finehouse, with

agood entrance andstriking appearance.

*'Fada 'means theCouncil-house ofthechief, where cases

are tried and affairs ofstate discussed. It issometimes

QUESTIONS ANDANSWERS43

ankache masa shina fada*giddan sariki :zuchlansa^

yayibiu :kuma yaganni giddansa shina wolkia^

kammaii giddan sariki :waliahmidu :kuma yaganni

anashigga giddan muhamadu dabammc'^kiiUum

hakkanan :ahmidu shinatamaha kamman abumuha-

madu shina shabamme :yayimamaki :yayikwana

bokkoi baitambayeshi wonimaganna ba :yasalama^*^

abumuhamadu yachezankomo gidda :yataffiwurin

dokinsa :zashikama dokiyakikuma zashikama

bulala :shikuma yaki :abumuhamadu yaganneshi

yachemasa :ahmidu yakayazo^:kana sokatam-

surmounted byanostrich-egg,'kwoin jimina, 'asindicating

theabode ofa'big-man *,and toward ofiftheevileye.

'Bafada, '*courtier,' hasplural'fadawa'.

^*Zuchiansa'should bewritten'zuchialsa 'or'zuchiarsa '.

Themeaning oftheexpression'yayibiu'isthat*doubt was in

hisheart '.

^ 'Wolkia 'means'lightning ',butwould here apply tothe

outside ofthehouse, polished andshining.

''Bamme 'or'bam'ispalm-wine obtained byincising the

stem ofacertain palm-tree, called bytheHausas'Tukurua '.

When new itisarefreshing andpleasing drink. Itshould be

carefully strained before usebyEuropeans. The Ashanti

children askeach other ariddle, thetranslation ofwhich is,

'Who arebeating their drum allnight?'Theanswer is

*Thepalm-tree ',and refers tothedrip-drip ofthejuice as it

falls intothecalabash placed inposition over-night, andwhich

sounds amid thesilence oftheforest likethetap-tap ofadrum.

^'Yasalama, '*hegreeted,' refers totheArabic salutation

'Salaam alaikum ','Peace beupon you, 'towhich theanswer is

*Alaikum salaam',*andonyoubepeace.'

^'Ahmidu yaka ya zo,''Ahmidu come here,' 'Ahmidu

came.' Seenote*^,'Waka.'

44 HAUSA READINGS

bayeni :vvonimaganna tauhidi^^

:kayiwaswasi^^

zuchianka :yadiegaskia allah shigaferta mallam^^:

akoimaganna :donmigiddanka yayisoroya fi

gidda duka :yachemasadonwonibawa allahkamman

yashigga garikadda shiyiwohalla don garinga

shina dagirma :yachegaskia :kuma yachemasa

donmikanazamna chikkin fadagiddan sariki :don

sariki shinamugun sheria^^inahannashi :kuma ya

tambayeshi donmianashigga dabamme chikkin

giddanka :yachezomu taffikaganni bayan giddana

yagodamasa woni rami wurinda anazuba bamme:

don inavvaatsu kullum basuji^*domin hakkanan

^°'Tauhidi' signifies theprofession ofdieunity ofGod, the

fundamental point of'Islam',whose founder absolutely rejected

anyideaoftheTrinity. Cf.Koran, iv.169,'Verily themessiah Isa,

thesonofMary, wasthemessenger ofGod,andHiswordcame

untoMary. Sothen, believe yeinGodand inHismessenger,

andsaynotthatthere arethree ;sowill itbebetter foryou.' Also

cf.Koran, v. ']'] :'The infidels sayGod isthird ofthree, but

there isnoGodbutGod;He istheone(wahid).' Thequestion,

therefore,*Kana sokatambayeni wonimaganna tauhidi 'isequi-

valent tosaying'Doyouwant todiscuss anyreligious matter?'.

^^ 'Waswasi.' Thisword isnotyetintheDictionary, and

means (i)doubt, (2)evilsuggestions. Theformer sense ishere

meant, i.e.'youhavedoubt inyour heart.'

^'*Allah shigaferta mallam,''MayGodpardon his priest.'

Ahmidu begs forforgiveness forthedoubt which isinhisheart.

" *Shina mugun sheria.' Theform ofthepronoun implies

acontinuative sense, i.e.*he isalways giving badjudgements.'

Aproper understanding ofthisandkindred matters ismost

important inHausa.

^* 'Inawaatsu kullum basuji,''Iamcontinually holding

forthonthematter, buttheytakenoheed':seeabove.

QUESTIONS ANDANSWERS 45

inasayebamme inazuba chikkin rami :kuma ya

tambayeshi donmikana sarigamaikeau :kammaii

sariki donnaganni wonibawa allahbashidarigaina

tube inabashi :yachegaskia :yachemasa inasonen

tambayeka woni litafi sunansa risala^^donnaganni

alfarmanka^^yayiyawa donhakkanan :nayiwas-

wasidakeau^^

:abumuhamadu yachemasa taffi

gidda inaaikomaka dashichikkin gulbi abumuha-

madu yarubuta :yadaure^^yaaikamasa chikkin rua

litafi yayitaffia haryakaigarinahmidu kowache

mache tataffi rafisaitaganni abudunkule^^chikkin

rua :harlabari yakaiwurin ahmidu :yatashiyataffi

^^ 'Risala.' The precise significance ofthisword is'a

theological tractate'or'compendium '.Some ofthese produc-

tions aremore revered than theKoran. TheArabic word is

iJll,,and inmodern Arabic means 'letter, message inwriting'.

Theword 'rasulu' (seenote ^,'Waka'), 'apostle, messenger/

isderived from thesame root.

^®'Alfarma' isofPersian origin, andmeans 'command',

'pride, '*swagger. 'Theanglicized'firman'isclosely related.

^^'Dakeau 'ashereused ishard totranslate, and has, in

fact, thesense of'probe' inLatin, i.e. 'finely, thoroughly,'

'Perdocta estprobe.'

Theabove fewlines are difficult, and toenable thestudent to

appreciate theexact sense, arehere translated freely.

'Hesaid tohim;"Iwish toaskyouforacertain religious

book." Thereason Ihaddoubt inmyheart wasbecause of

your splendid mode oflife;thatwasthereason.'

^^ 'Yadaure':seenote-^, 'Waka.'

'^ 'Dunkule 'expresses theappearance some loose leaves of

writing would present iftheyhadbeen inthewater. Cf.

Dictionary.

46 HAUSA READINGS

bakin rafiyaganni yadauka yazogidda :tammat.

Labari tachikka daikoallah.-^

'°Thestrong resemblance between thisstoryandanincident

inIMasudi's Historical Miscellany hasprompted theinsertion

wholesale oftheincident referred to.Masudi wasawell-

known Moorish historian.

(From Coldcji Meadows ofMasudi, A.H.345.)

One ofHis(Omar's) administrators wasSa'id ben'Amirin,

and thepeople ofEmesa laidcomplaint against himand

demanded hisdeposition. Omar said,'OAllah !Putnot

myconfidence inhim toconfusion thisday!'adding,*What do

youcomplain ofinhim?

'They replied,'Hedoes notcome

forth tousuntil theday isadvanced, hegives ananswer tono

oneatnight, andhasoneday inthemonth onwhich hedoes

notshow himself tousatall.'ThenOmar said,'Bring him

before me.'When hecame, hesummoned both parties tohis

presence, saying,'What doyoureproach himwith?'They

replied,'Hedoes notcome forth tousuntil theday isfar

advanced.' Hesaid,'OCommander oftheFaithful !mywife

hasnoservant, andsoIkneadmydough, then sitdown until it

rises, andbakemybread, then Iperform myablutions and

goforth tothem.' Hesaid, 'W^hat further doyoureproach

himwith ?'They said,'Hegives noanswer atnight.' Sa'id

replied,'Iwould rather nothave mentioned this. Idevote

thewhole ofthenight totheLord, anddevote theday to

them.' Heasked, 'With whatmore doyoureproach him?'

They said,'Ononedayofthemonth hedoes notcome forth

tousatall.'Heanswered, 'True, Ihave noservant, Iwash

myclothes andmend them, and soIam late.' ThenOmar

said, 'Allah bepraised, Who hasnotconfounded myconfi-

dence inthee.'

47

REFLECTIONS ONDEATH^

Bismi allahi errahmani errahimi salla allahu ala

man lanabiyu ba'dahu wonga haddichi^nawahabu

danwardi shineyafaddikumutane danadam :babu

wonda shinamutuwa basaiyaganni malaiku chikkin

giddan dunia :kaddan kayinagari kana ganninsu

hakkanan kuma kaddan kayimugu kana ganninsu

babu fashi^

:dagga bayan wonan kuma koenna ka

1This piece isareligious homily, thesubject being thenext

wodd, and the fleeting nature ofthis life. Itcommences

with theusual Arabic opening, theBismillah, andmaybe

translated,'Inthename ofAllah, compassionate andmerciful,

mayAllah bless him, afterwhom there isnoprophet I'Itmust

beremembered thatMohammed taught, and hisfollowers

believed, thathewasthe'sealoftheprophets ',andthat after

himthere would benoother. ForanoteontheBismillah see

note ^,*Mutane zina.'

^*Haddichi 'isareligious discourse.

'InMussulman tradition there aretwoangels deputed to

takeaccount ofourbehaviour inthisworld, oneontheright

handandoneonthe left.Theangel ontheright records our

good actions, while theangel onthe leftrecords theevilwhich

wedo.

'Babu fashi,'*without delay.' Thisword'fashi 'isalso

written*passa, passhi, pesshi,' according tothetendency

exhibited inHausa toconfuse thelabials/^^,b;cf.Hausa

Dictionary^ p.xviii. The original meaning wasprobably'to

break, destroy'; e.g.'passhe hainya,' 'tobreak (interrupt)

theroad'

;'maipesshin hainya,'*arobber';'muna taffia

bafashi,'.'wearetravelling without abreak.' Hence themore

abstract meanings,*delay, interruption.'

48 HAUSA READINGS

zamma taredasukomi kana faddi suna jikaddan ka

faddimugu maganna suna jikaddan kafaddi nagari

suna ji :hakkanan kuma kaddan mutum zashi

mutuvva* suna yimaka maganna^ ashirin suna yimaka

maganna ukku lokachin^anafitta daraika'^maganna

ukkukuma lokachinda anarufe maka zanne^maganna

ukku kuma lokachinda anadaukanka bissa kai^:

maganna ukkukuma lokachinda anataffia dakai

wurin rami^^

:maganna biukuma lokachinda anasaka

chikkin rami :maganna ukku kuma lokachinda

anazuba maka kassa bissa kai^^

:maganna ukku

kuma lokachin mutane sunakomo gidda.

Kaganimaganna ukku lokachin raika shina fitta :

anafadda maka yakaidanadam karudekanka :

*'Zashi mutuwa.' This, asopposed totheform'zashi mutu',

iscorrect andidiomatic. Thefuture prefix*za 'takes properly

thenominal form oftheverb, e.g. 'zani mutuwa,''zata taffia,'

&c. This rule is,however, frequently broken bytheHausas

themselves.

^'Maganna' may best betranslated here as'asolemn

remark, orreflection '.

^'Lokachin ':concerning thisword and itsderivation see

note ",'TheStory ofJoseph.'

''Anafitta daraika.' This, theseparation ofthesoulfrom

thebody, istheoffice ofAsrael, theangel ofdeath, andofhis

assistants.

** *Zanne'is'theshroud '.

^'Anadaukanka bissa kai ':thebearing aloft ofthebody.

^^'Anataffia dakaiwurin rami': thefuneral procession is'

here signified.

^^ 'Anazuba maka kassa bissa kai ':this isthe filling inof

thegrave.

REFLECTIONS OXDEATH 49

enna jikkinka maikarfi yaubabu karfikuma cnna,

halshinka maidadin maganna :enna yanuwanka da

makubchinka^^

:maganna ukku lokachin anasamaka

zanne kaidanadamii karudikanka enna aikinka

maikeau wonda akayi zamanka nadunia :tunda ka

zamna chikkin dunia giddan karia :karabbo da

giddan karia kashigga giddan gaskia :maganna

ukkukuma lokachin anadaukanka bissa kai :kaidan

^^'Makubchi'or 'makofchi' means 'aneighbour'. Ithas

plural 'makopta '.Concerning theplural ofsubstantives formed

bytheuseofthenoun-agent prefixes'mai','ma,'acurious con-

trastmaybeobserved. Inthecase of'mai 'asanoun-agent

prefix, theplural ofthenoun isformed bychanging'mai 'into

'masu', andthenoun itselfremains unaltered, e.g.

maigona

maipasshi

maiguddu

maigirima

maidoki

maitaimako

&c., &.C.plural masugona

masupesshi

masuguddu

masugirima

masudokitheowner ofafarm

arobber

afugitive

onewho isgreat

ahorseman

masutaimako adefender.

Inthecase of'ma' asanoun-agent, the plural ofthe

substantive isformed bytheirregular change ofthestem-word,

andtheprefix'ma'remains unaltered, e.g.

madafa

makofchi

mafada

makafo

madumki

makiyi

marubuchi

&:c., Sec.plural madafai

makopta

mafada wa

makafi

madunikai

makiya

marubutacannon

neighbour

councillor

blindman

tailor

enemy

scribe,

D

50 HAUSA READINGS

adam karudekanka ka taffikenanharabada^":

zaka yitaffiawanda bakatabba yinirinsa daidai^'* :

zakahadu chikkin kassa tunda kakebakatabba

hadi irinsa daidai^^

:kana jintsoro tunda kakebaka

tabba jintsoro irinsa badaidai^^

:maganna ukku

kuma lokachinda ana taffia dakaiwurin rami kaidan

adamu karudekanka :kanasamu aikinka kaddan

alheri kasamu^^kaddan mugu kasamu mugu :

maganna biukuma lokachinda anasaka chikkin rami

kaidanadamu karudekanka kassa tachemaka

kana bissana kana farinchikki gashiyaukanasamu

bakinchikki^^

:maganna ukku kuma lokachinda

anazuba maka kassa kanka kaidanadamu karude

kanka yaukarabbo dagiddan mutane kashigga

giddan susa^^ dahakikarabbo dagiddan karia ka

shigga giddan gaskia karabbo dachidasha sai

^' 'Kataffikenanharabada.''Kenan/ 'so itis.'Trans-

late'youaredeparting, infact, forever '.

^* 'Daidai'with thenegative means'never ',asinthepiece

'Moses and hisMission', note^'^

^^ 'Zaka hadu,' &c. ;'you willbeswallowed upintheearth,

inafashion thatyouyourself never swallowed inyour life.'

Notice thetwoforms'hadu ','hadi,' passive and active.

^^ 'Kana jintsoro,' &c. :translate,'You will feel fearsuch

asnever before haveyou feltthelike.*

^'^*Kasamu.' 'Alheri' ishere understood, i.e. 'ifyour

actions havebeen good, goodyou willreceive.'

^^ 'Kassa tachemaka/ &c. :translate,'The earth says,

while youabode onmeyouwere happy, nowindeed sadness is

your portion.'

1^ 'Susa 'means here*worms ','maggots.' Itisprobably

thesame as'tsutsa','chocha/ inMr.Robinson's Dictionary q.v.

REFLECTIONS ONDEATH 51

kassa dasusa :lokachinda mutane sunberika kaidan

adamu mutane sunsaka chikkin kassa :sunrabbo da

kaikamman basusanka ba^^

:kaddan sunzogidda

sunakwashe dukianka damatanka-^yakumutane ku

tubakubiubangijinku tunbakumutu ba^^: ku

nemi aikimaikeau: wanda yayimugu donkansa

ubangizi Allah bashitsalumchi bawansa.

Kumutane kusandunia gidda bagidda ba^^ku

mutane kusandunia batazama tutut-^:kaddan

kunwuche dunia :babu mutuwa enna uwayenku

maza damata dakakaninku^^

:duka sunmutu

hakkanan kukuma zakumutuwa :koda kashekara

dubugoma kanamutuwa :haddichi tachikka daiko

allah.

^° 'Sunrabbo dakai/ <S:c.,'they partfromyouasiftheydid

notknow ofyour existence.'

^^ 'Dukianka damatanka 'isofcourse incorrect^ andshould

read*dukialka damataka ',or'dukiarka damataka';seenote

^^, *TheStory ofJoseph.'

^^ *Tunbakumutu ba.' This isanimportant idiom and

theregular way ofexpressing 'before', i.e.*tun 'with the

negative'ba '.

*^ *Gidda bagidda ba ':seenote ^^, *Waka.'

^* *Tutut,''forever, foralltime, continually.' Other forms

are'tutur, tutuk, tutu.'

^^'Kakaninku,' 'your ancestors,' from'kaka '.Many Hausa

nouns form theplural inthismanner :

Uba father plural ubani

Bauna buffalo „ bakani

Manzo messenger „ manzani

&c., &.C.

Da

52 IIAUSA READINGS

CIRCULAR LETTER

Bismi allahi errahmani eirahimi salla allahu alasidi-

namuhamadu^.

In1905 there occurred inWest Africa, and especially in

Ashanti and theGold Coast Hinterland, whatmay bestbe

described asareligious revival. Emissaries, giving themselves

outasfrom theholy cities, appeared with their disciples in

many places atabout thesame timeandcommenced anactive

propaganda, while letters from important Mohammedans in

Mecca were circulated fromhand tohand. Foratime the

tendency ofthismovement seemed tobeone ofsimple con-

version oftheheathen, andgreat success attended the efforts

ofitsmissionaries. Before long, however, whatwasnothing

lessthan ananti-European agitation showed itself. Great

local excitement prevailed, andthematter wasbrought actively

before theeyes oftheauthorities. Insome cases, notably in

theEastern districts, theAshantis overturned their idols,and—

obeying thebehests ofonegroup ofemissaries, given nodoubt

with theobject ofplaying ontheir superstitions— destroyed all

their'black'objects suchascattle, fowls, cloths, «&;c.,andwould per-

hapshavebeggared themselves hadnottheauthorities interfered.

Atthat time, inanticipation ofavisitfrom theGovernor,

thebarracks inKumase were being re-whitened, and itwas

fully believed bythe soldiers that their officers, while not

countenancing these acts,were themselves taking precautions

against thebanof'black '.Eventually these missionaries were

expelled, and insome cases imprisoned bytheGerman and

French commissioners; but allthrough 1905, and partly in

1906, movements ofthis sortwent onsporadically.

This letter isatranslation from theArabic, byaHausa

mallam, ofone ofthemissives fromMecca circulated with

theobject ofstirring upreligious enthusiasm among theWest

African Mohammedans, and isinsome sortanencyclical.

*Foratranslation ofthis,and allother'Bismillah'occurring

inthisbook, seenote\of'Mutane zina'.

CIRCULAR LETTER,53

Wong"a wotchika namutanen yamma^sabbada

woddansu mutane masukeau achikkin mccca waliyc

allah^sunemasu tsofi abdulkadiri aljailane*sune

sherifi ^damuhamadu danabdullahi daabdu errah-

manl sun faddi yanzu chikkin mecca sunganni

chikkin berichi^ubangiji allah yayinuffe 'zashi

hallaka^ dunia duka daabinda shina chikki musulmi

duka suna yinberna^ mutane duka wonda suna

chikkin yamma suna chin dukia marayu^^domin

tsalumchi :domin hakkanan shina bata dunia :suna

yinkariadayawa lokachinda ankasanada malaiku^^

^'Alutanen yamma,' 'menofthewest,' refers generally tothe

inhabitants ofWest Africa.

^'Waliye allah,' 'those near toGod, saints.' Seenote \

'Questions andAnswers.'

*'Aljailane,' Arabic 'jailaniy', agentillic adjective from

'jaulan', astony region lying east oftheLake ofTiberias.

The'Jailani 'are'theGaulonites'.Seenote *,'Hours of

Prayer.'

^ 'Sherifi,' Ar.'high-born, noble'. Intheeyes ofthe

Hausas a'Sherif 'isnotonlyamoslem ofeminence inIslam,

but isbelieved topossess miraculous powers.

^ 'Berichi,' or'berchi', 'sleep,' here implies 'inavision'.

^'Yinuffe.''Nuffe'or'niffe 'is'todesire, purpose'.

^'Hallaka,' apureArabic word, i*lAa,meaning 'destroy '.

^ 'Yinberna,''lose, waste,' and initsreligious sense'tobe

luke-warm\

^° 'Chin dukia marayu,''seize theproperty oftheorphan.'

InMahommedan eyes this isamortal offence, constantly

denounced intheKoran. Kor. ii.218 seq., iv. 5seq.,

xciii. 9.

" 'Sanada malaiku,' 'expound, concerning theangels': see

note^*Moses andhisjNIission.'

54 HAUSA READINGS

suka yirokosukacheya^^ubangijimu yakaimahal-

lachinmu yashugabbamu^^kainekana ganni abinda

shinaboyedawonda shina fill^^mumasuaiki mugunta :

domin mutane ashirin dadaiadominsu amber dunia su

neshikkashikkin^^dimia sunesun rikka salla^*^

lokachi blarachikkin elmedina dalitafimuhamadu

salla allahu alaihiwasalama^^mutane kirki biusuna

chikkin duchi karafatun^^mutum ukku suna chikkin

^^ 'Ya,'Arabic :*O'used inexpression, as'yasidi ',*ya

rasulu'

:seenote ^,Waka.'

^^ 'Shugabbamu/'ourguide.' The leader ofacaravan is

styled'shugabba 'or'jagabba'.

^* 'Kana ganni abinda shina boye dawonda shina fiH.'A

commonplace oftheKoran; e.g. Kor. ii.31,'And Iknow

thatwhich yediscover andthatwhich yeconceal.'

^^'Shikkashikkin/ 'supports/ and esp. 'poles ofatent'.

Translate,'They uphold theworld/

^•^ 'Rikka salla,''cleave toprayer, constantly praying.'

'Rikka, rikke, rikki '(seenote"^,'TheWedded Pair') has

great use inidiom ;e.g.'sunrikka taffi ','theywent at

once.'

" 'Litafimuhamadu salla allahu alaihi wasalama/ When

thename ofMohammed ismentioned aloud apious exclamation

follows with orthodox Moslems, equivalent inasense tothe

Roman CathoHc bowing ofthehead atthename of'Jesus'.

Translate,'MayAllah begracious tohimandgivehimpros-

perity.' 'Medina' has inasense lost itsname. The firstand

proper name was'Yathreb '.Then itwas called theMedina

(city) oftheProphet, and finally simply'Medina '.The

manner inwhich theword'town 'isused forLondon is

analogous.

^^ 'Karafatun.' Thisweregard asacopyist's error, he

having taken acarelessly written'kaf 'for'ain'.Arafat (u^l-VJ^)

CIRCULAR LETTER^d

bagadazi^^blukuma suna chikkin beit-al mukad-

assi-'^ukkukuma suna chikkin mazar-^biukuma

suna chikkin arafa^^sunemasugaskia :dasuda

malaiku sunka yiroko ubangiji allah kayihankuri

harmuaikawurin jama'al musulmi^^

:annabi muha-

isamountain nearMecca, alkided toinKoran ii.194,'and

when (onthepilgrimage) yegoinprocession from Arafat,

remember God near the holymount

';seeTheHausa

Language^ note 8,p.164(C.H.Robinson).

^^ 'Bagadazi,'*Bagdad,' thehead quarters oftheShiah sectof

Islam andsacred totheAlkadiria.

-° 'Beit-al-mukadassi.' This phrase isused notonly ofthe

Kaaba, &c.atMecca, butalso oftheTemple atJerusalem, and

ofJerusalem itself.

-^ 'Mazar,''theland ofEgypt.' The scriptural word isthe

dual 'Mizraim', denoting Upper andLower Egypt.'Misr,'

'reddish mud,' istothisdayusedbytheArabs todenote

Egypt, and isalsofound onancient Assyrian inscriptions.

ItisinfactaSemitic equivalent for'Chem'(Ham), i.e.'the

land ofHam'.TheHebrew singular*Mazor 'issometimes

found inthisconnexion.'Mizraim'wasasonofHam, but

nottheeldest.

2^'Arafa' (see note ^^siipj-a) isnear toMecca. When,

according toMussulman tradition, Adam wasbanished to

Ceylon, heuttered such acryofanguish thatAllah hadpity;

hewasdirected tofollow acloud, which would conduct him to

aspotunderneath thethrone ofGod,andthere hewastobuild

atemple. Onhisarrival, attheend ofthejourney, which

owing tohisgigantic stature hewasable toaccomplish inone

step,hefound andrecognized Eve tohisgreat joy.Hence the

name'Arafa ',which means'recognize, know again'.

2=^ 'Jama'al musulmi 'isthecongregation ofthefaithful. The

Arabic A»a-and i^U:^.mean'band, company '.

r^e HAUSA READINGS

madu kaaika wurlii alumanka^"^

:badon-^annabi

muhamadu badamasugaskia miitum ashirin dadaia

badaanhallaka diinia daabinda shina chikkin dunia

daaljannu damutane-^

:gafaddi-' ubangiji allahba

donmutane kirkibadayabude kofaazaba :domin

mun berhainya allah :yana sabka masu dachiwo :

maikarifi :dayunwa :dakishinrua maikarifi mutane

wonda suna bissa kassa''^

:daabubekr^^shineya

tambaya othmanu dan fodio^^

:daikonsu :damuha-

madu dan abdulkadiri damuhamadu buni"^abdu

allahi yusufu dannahra sunemutane beit-al-mukad-

assi^^dakasimu dasahanunu damuhamadu dan

**Aluma,' 'relations': seenote^'The Attributes ofthe

Prophet.'

"^'Badon.' This idiomatic phrase mayalways betranslated

by'had itnotbeen for', illustrated bytheclassical phrase known

toallMallams,'Badonkirranka ubanka, mizaikaimu Hausa.'

-^'Aljannu damutane/ 'men anddemons.' AllMoham-

medans believe ingenii orevil spirits asinvisible beings

intermediate between angels andmen.

-^'Gafaddi,''attheword of.'

^^ *Bissa kassa,''upon theearth.'

*^ 'Abu bekr.' The firstKhalifah andsuccessor ofAlahommed.

Hereigned twoyears, dying A.D.634. SeeReichardt, Gra/umar

oftheFulde Language, No.XX. p.289.

^° 'Othmanu danfodio 'wastheSheikh who ledtheFulani

totheconquest andconversion oftheHausa States, circa 1809.

Thissentence evidently refers toanimaginary interview between

these two inParadise.

^^'Buni,' Arabic 'sonof—aharmless piece ofpedantry oiT

thepart ofthe translator. 'Abdul Kadiri 'wasOthman's

principal adherent, while'Abdu Illahi 'was hisson.

^^Seenote ^^,sup-a.

CIRCULAR LETTER 57

abdu allahi sunechikkin dushi^^damuhamadu dan

fodio :damuhamadu danhurairatun sunebayin^*

allah bissa kassa: kumutane yamma kubiubangiji

allah :kutubakubiallah shInemaigirma :kujama'-

almusulmi kuduka raiku bawoniabubawurina'^'^:

kutuba :tunbanaiko^*^makumutuwa :dachiwo :da

kishinrua :kunemi aikimaikeau :kuduka :kuyi

saddaka dayawa daadua dayawa: domin ina

saukaka^^maku chiuta :dakishinrua :kumutane

yamma :kuber :rada^^

:daannamimanchi kaddan

bahakka ba :inabaku chiwo :damugu dayawa :ku

berhasada gajunanku :damugu baki"^: daberna

maiyawa :kowane aikimugu duka: kunemi sanni

wurin mallamai kutaru :kuyisalla chikkin masal-

lachi :kuyisaddaka kttbamallamai :kuyiroko:

enbasu sauki^°

:wonda yabersaddaka dakaria:

"^ 'Dushi 'refers tothe hillof'Arafat ':seenote '^,supra.

"^^'Bayi/ plural of'bawa', 'slave.' This plural isthat in

'i'where thetermination haspalatalized theiv\.qy\'baw-i',

becoming 'bay-i'. Such palatalization accounts for'kaza',

'fowl,' plural'kaji '.

'^'Raiku bawoni abubawurina.' Thesense is,'What is

your lifetome;nothing !'

"^ 'Tunban aiko,''before Isend'

:seenote --, 'Reflections

onDeath.'

^^'Sauka' or'soka' isaform oftheverb'sabka','sabki,'

'sapka,''letdown, laydown,' &c.

^^ 'Rada,''whisper, speak secretly,' inabadsense.

^^'Annamimanchi,'*tale-bearing';'hasada,' 'jealousy';

'mugun baki,''eviltongue,' allfind their place inthe listof

sins inthepiece or'TheDeadly Sins', q.v.

^^ 'Enbasu sauki,''thattheymaybegranted health.'

58 HAUSA READINGS

donkadda kusamu chiuta: kaddan bahakka ba I'na

biidemaku :kofan azaba'^^ maiyawa :kuna tsalumchi

kaiku kujama' almusulmi: kuyiyenka shanu da

tumaki daawaki :datufafi kunabanama shanu kuna

bamallamai^^

:datalakawa"^"

:datsofi :wonda ya

yisaddaka shiyatsiradaazaba**

:dachiuto maiyawa

dakarifi :kumutane yamma kuyikokari^^

:dasalla

achikkin lokachinsa'^^

:kutubakubihainya :allah

donkadda kusamu wohalla :damutuwa :da

yunwa :dakishinrua :sariki daalkali^''basuyin

sheria dagaskia :suduka suna chikkin wuta :jama'-

almusulmi kunemi albarka^^: wurin malamaiku:

dauwayenku maza damata :suduka sunberdunia :

kadda kudauka dunia bissa kaiku^*^:ubangiji na

*^ 'Kofan azaba,''thegates oftorment.'

*'-Bythis ismeant thesubsistence ofthepriests, adutywhich

isspecially mentioned intheKoran andenjoined onthefaithful.

*^'Talakawa,' plural ofMalaka', 'apoor man,' somewhat

after themanner inwhich theplural ofpatronymics isformed.

Seenote ^,'Letter fromaMallam.'

**'Tsira daazaba,''saved from punishment.''Tsira,' which

properly means'spring outoftheground,' asseeds, &c.,hasthe

secondary meaning 'tobesaved', asinSpecimens, E5,Bi8.

*^ 'Yikokari,''endeavour, tryhard.' This expression isin

great usecolloquially,

*®This refers tothefivetimes forprayer, asmentioned inthe

piece'Hours ofPrayer'.

"''^'Alkali,' 'judge';plural 'alkalai'.Cf.Speci?nens, E10.

'^'Albarka,' 'blessing.' Derived from theArabic. Ithasan

idiomatic usage incommerce, meaning'Thank youfornothing;

no,thank you '.TheuseoftheFrench, Merci, isanalogous.

*^ 'Kadda kudauka dunia bissa kaiku,''Donotbear the

CIRCULAR LETTER59

rokcka domin alfarma^^annabi muhamadu :dawali-

yanka :katsiradani^^

:bayan wonan wonda yayi

karatu wonga wotchika :shiaikadashiwoni gari:

wurin jama'al musulmi :saura kadan :anarufe kofan

tubakutuba dasauri donkusamu gafara :rana

tashin kiyama yayikussa :kumutane yamma

kuyiazumi kwana ukku ukkukuma dasaddaka

achikkin ranal laraba daaduawonda yayikaratu

wotchika danuwansa ya jishina samu lada :daya-

wa :anasashi aljanna^'^

:idankiyama allah tayi:

babu woni sheria wurinsa^^

:bashidaazaba ko

gudda^*

:wonda baiaikawotchika wurin danuwansa

ba :shinasamu wutajahannama^'^babushakka babu

weight oftheworld onyour head,' or,freely translated,'Mind

yourown business.'

•''"'Alfarma,''splendour ':see, onthis word, note'*',

'Questions andAnswers.'

^^ 'Katsiradani,''save me.' This expression isstereotyped

asaprayer toAllah :see*"*,supra.

^^'Aljanna,' 'Paradise';seenote ^,'Moses andhisMission.'

^^ *Babu woni sheria wurinsa,''There willbenojudgement,

asfarasheisconcerned.'

^* 'Bashidaazaba kogudda,''Hewillnotbepunished, not

even slightly.'

^^'Jahannama,' oneoftheseven hells, reserved forwicked

Mohammedans. Itmay notbeoutofplace tohere insert

ageneral noteonthisinteresting subject. There areseven

divisions ofHell, given bytheMuslim commentators as

follows:—

(i)'Jahannamu'(geHinnom, Joshua xv.8). Cf.Kor. xv.43,

etseq. :'And verily hell isdenounced untothem all. It

hasseven gates;andtoeach gate adistinct section ofthem

isassigned.' This isthepurgatorial hellforallMohammedans.

6o HAUSA READINGS

kokonto^^

:vvonda yabersalla daazumi :dazaka :

babu shinasamu aljanna kowa shinemi giizuri'''^:

tunda gadunia daaikimaikeau :woiida yayinagari

yasamu nagari :wonda yayimugu donkansa:

ubangiji bashitsalumchi bawansa tammat

wotchika yachikka

alhajidawudu shine

yakawoshi dagga

mecca^^.

(ii)'Ladha' (taking fire,emission offlame), Kor. Ixx. 15.

Ablazing fireforChristians.

(iii)'Hotama' (breaking inpieces). Cf.Kor. xiv. 4,'He

shall surely bethrown intoHotama, andwhat shall teach thee

whatHotama is.''Itisthekindled fireofAllah,' &:c.An

intense firefortheJews.

(iv)'Sair' (burning fire,seenote ",'Waka'), Kor. xlii. 5.

Aflaming firefortheSabians.

(v)'Saqar' (fierce heat), Kor. liv.48,'On thatdaythey

shallbedragged intothe fireontheir faces :taste yethetouch

ofSaqar.' Ascorching firefortheMagi.

(vi)'Jahini' (blazing fire), Kor. ii.113,'Thou shalt notbe

questioned astothefollowers ofal-Jahini.' Ahuge hot fire

foridolaters.

(vii)'Hawiya '(pit, gulf, abyss), Arabic {Jj^,'to fall.'

Kor. ci.8,'Asforhimwhose balance islight hisdwelling

shall beHawiya.' Abottomless pitforthehypocrites.

"°'Kokonto,' 'reasoning, disputing, doubt.*

^"^'Nemi guzuri,' 'seek provision forajourney.' Inthissense

goodworks aremeant, stored upwhile onearth, asprovisions

forthenextworld.

^^ 'Alhaji 'means 'onewhohasperformed thepilgrimage*","

distinguished byagreen turban.

'Dawudu 'or(Eng.)'David ''he itwaswhobrought this

letter from Mecca.'

6i

ATTRIBUTES OFTHEPROPHET

Bismi allahi errahmani errahimi salla allahu 'ala

man lamabiyu ba'dahu.

Yarabbiyarabbana agfir li^zunubikum-alumma^

yarasulu allahi deddi faddi shikewada'* sukakadda

maulana^ deddi don faalkalamina duka yadamme

^'Agfir li.'Anexample oftheinterlarding ofHausa with

Arabic. 'Agfir' istheimper. conj.IVof'gafara', 'forgive.'

'Li 'istheArabic preposition'to'.

^'Zunubikum,' 'your sins.' 'Zunubi' or'zunufi' isderived

fromArabic »_jAi-i., 'evil, sin,',

^'Alumma.' TheArabic'umma,' ll\means 'assembly,

crowd, multitude ',and so'race, people'. Itisoften applied

tothose forming onereligious orpolitical body, and isfrequently

used inagood sense {inmeliorem paj-tem). Cf.Kor. v.70,

'Ifthepeople ofthescriptures believe and fear Us,We will

certainly expiate their sinsand leadthem intogardens of

pleasure, and iftheyobserve thelawandthegospel andwhat

other scriptures havebeen sentdown tothem from theirLord

they shall surely eatofthatwhich isabove them andbeneath

their feet.Among them arepeople (umma) who actrighteously

while astomany ofthem what theywork isevil.' Translate,

*0Lord, ourGod, forgive unto thefollowers oftheprophet,

their sins.'

*'Wada ':evidently thisshould be'woddanda ',when the

linewould best translate, 'ofoldAllah condemned thosewho

hadcontemned themaster'.

^ 'Maulana.' This istheArabic 'maulan', plural'mawalin^

'master, Lord.' Theverb, ^^J^'wala,''reach, benear,' hasin

conjunction (2)themeaning 'become master, obtain rule'.

Itisused ofAllah inKoran iii.143. From thesame root

62 HAUSA READINGS

yaudaannabi annabi^ya firanabale fari'nwata annabi

ya fitamraru dakaisama zakka dabaiwa"^kowa ya

keyishiazumi dasalla^kowa yakeyishi ranalhira^

kukasamu annabi^^'tammat.

comes theHausa'waliyi, woli ','saint,' i.e.'one near to

God.'

^'Annabi,' 'prophet,' inthis,andsucceeding lines, refers only

toMohammed.

^'Zakka dabaiwa,''almsand gifts.'

^ 'Azumi dasalla,' 'fasting andprayer.'

^This isfor'rana lahira.'

^^ 'Samu annabi.' IntheMS. adotover thepmay be

noticed. Thiscanonlybeamistake, theproper reading being

ashere inserted. 'Samu'means the'attaining' inareligious

sense, asin'Waka', note ^.Thesense ofthese lines, after

theenumeration oftheprophet's excellences, isthatwhoever

practises hisprecepts willonthelastdaybegathered tohim.

MUTANE ZINA

Bismi allahi errahmani errahimi

MUTANE ZINA.

Thispoem, directed against adulterers, iswellknown bythe

Mallams. Itwillbenoticed thatevery other lineends with

'zina ',andthatthescansion isgood throughout. TheKoran

inveighs strongly against this sin ;atfirst,anadulteress was

condemned tolife-long imprisonment, butafterwards bythe

'Sonna' thiswasaltered tostoning todeath. Fornication was

punishable withahundred stripes ;seeKor. iv.19.

As isusual, itcommences with the Bismillah, and tYie

occasion istaken ofhere inserting ageneral note onthis

subject. There aretwochief forms oftheBismillah, namely,

'Bismi allahi errahmani errahimi,' i.e.'Inthename ofGod,

MUTANE ZINA 63

Muroke ta'ala^shibishemii^hainya^

Shifishemu ^aikimutane zina

Compassionate and Merciful'; and secondly,*Bismi allalii

allah akbar/ i.e.'Inthename ofGod,God themost great '.

Theformer isused before meals, putting onnew clothes, and at

thecommencement ofbooks. Every'surat 'oftheKoran com-

mences with thisBismillah except theninth.

The latter form isused attheslaughtering ofanimals and

before going into battle, theattribute ofmercy being omitted on

these occasions. TheArabic words added totheBismillah

vary atwill,andaregiven below asregards thisbook inthe

order oftheir occurrence, with atranslation.

(a)'Circular Letter.''Bismi allahi errahmani errahimi

salla allahu alasaidi-na muhammadu,''Inthename ofAllah,

theCompassionate and Merciful, mayAllah begracious toour

lordMohammed.'

(d)'Attributes oftheProphet.''Bismi allahi errahmani

errahimi salla allahu alaman lanabia ba'dahu','Inthename

ofGodCompassionate andMerciful, mayAllah begracious to

him, afterwhom there isnoprophet.'

(c)'Mutane Zina'requires noexplanation.

(c/)'Waka.' 'Bismi allahi errahmani errahimi salla allahu

alaman lanabiu ba'dahu alKarimu,''Inthename ofGod

Compassionate andMerciful, mayAllah begracious tohimafter

whom there isnoprophet, thenoble.'

^'Ta'ala' isderived from theArabic Jlc,'tobehigh,' and

means*theexalted one '.Itisanepithet applied only to

Allah.

^'Bishe ':thecausative form of'bi ','follow.'

^'Hainya,''road ';here,'theway oftheLord,' itsusual

sense inreligious compositions.'Webeseech theexalted one,

todirect ourfootsteps inhispath.'

**Fishe,' thecausative form of 'fitta ','goout,'&c.

64 HAUSA READINGS

Zamma^ kafirawa^kanyerda dasabo"^

Suna bataamre^suna yizina

Azaba allahii alanal kiama^

Ta'ala dayayiwota^^donmaizina

Azaba allahii suna tatakita^^

Suzamna hasara mutane zina

Kusanmaizina shika gabba daallahii^^

Dayakimuhamadu yayizina^^

Ta'ala shitoyeshi fasiki na^'^

^ 'Zamma,''because.' Cf.Specimens ofHausa Literature^

F.14,15,68.

^'Kafirawa,' plural of'Kafiri','heathen, infidel.' Itisthe

same asourmodern word,'Kafir.'

'''Sabo' or'swabo 'means 'evil, filth inareligious sense',

and isequivalent to'sukabanna',as-sometimes written in

copies ofthispoem.

^ 'Amre,' alsowritten'amri ','aure,' is'marriage, themar-

riage tie '.

^*Ranal kiama,''dayofresurrection.'

^° 'Dayayiwota,' 'whomade it(azaba).''Yiwo'isaseldom

usedform of'yi',tomake, corresponding to'zuwa 'from'za',

'komawa'from'koma ',&c.

^^ 'Tatakita,' from*taki ',^tread, beatdown.' Thedoubling

ofthe first syllable tends toemphasis :'Thepunishment of

Godtheytrample on it.'

'2 'Shika gabba daallahu,''heisanenemy toGod';lit.

'he isbefore God.' Cf.'Abokin gaba,''anenemy.' The

English'tobeagainst 'conveys thesame idea.

^'"'Dayakimuhamadu,' &c.,'who rejects Mohammed,

commits adultery.''Zina 'isperhaps used here inareligious

sense, i.e.thatofembracing afalse creed.

^*'Fasiki,' plural 'fasikai', 'profligate': 'theAlmighty will

consume theprofligate man.''Na 'isevidently written for'ne'.

MUTANE ZINA 65

Zamma babu tsarki^^gamaizina

Dayenka kamna^^tsakkani daallah

Enna fa^"^makoma^^gamaizina

Kovva fayasoshi yasanhallinsa

Fasuzamma dadai damaizina^^

Kashe^^aizikinsu wutal kiama

Endaisumanche^^ku^^mutane zina

Fasunberta'ala ta'ala shibersu

Enna sunka koma^^ mutane zina

Basugamuhamadu ra'1kiama^*

^^ *Tsarki,'*purity, holiness':'for there isnopurity tothe

adulterer.'

^^ 'Yenka kamna/ lit.'cutthelove, ordesire/ hence'reject,

despise, cancel.' Cf.Specimens, C.10.

^"^'Fa,' 'therefore, thus, then.' Itismuch used colloquially

and isanArabic word.

^^ 'Makoma,''place ofreturn.' Cf.theKoranic common-

place,'and toAllah they shall return.' Here themeaning

isthatthe'mutum zina 'islost inthisworld andthenext.

"'Fasuzamma dadai damaizina,' 'they (i.e.Kowa, every-

body, all)become liketotheadulterer.'

^^ 'Kashe'='kache.' Sometimes'kusan'isread here.

^^ 'Endaisumanche.' This iscareless copying onthepart

ofthescribe. Theproper reading is'idansunmache','when

they aredead.'

22 'Ku'='ko ',even.

" 'Enna sunka koma/'Where shall they return to?

',is

equivalent to'basudawurin zamne ','theyhave noplace

torest.'

"*'Basugamuhamadu ra'Ikiama.' Mohammed taught his

followers thatonthedayofjudgement hewould actastheir

intercessor withGod. Hence, nottoseetheprophet onthat

day willbeasentence ofcondemnation.

E

66 HAUSA READINGS

Bususame sheto^''mutane zina

Miji-nal-mata^^ shikama kiama

Dashi fadamata sunkai^"^zina

Tammat bihamdi 'llahi

Waka tachikka

Kabia28.

*Ibrahima.'^^

^ 'Sheto'=*cheto,''salvation.' The substitution ofsh'for

'ch'isaSokoto custom.

"^^Thephrase'miji-nal-mata ',lit.'theman ofawoman,'

means'thewoman's man';here,'thewoman with aman'

is'thepair ofadulterers '.Translate,*The resurrection day

will seize theguilty pair, bothhimandthewoman, whohave

committed fornication.'

^^ 'Sunkai,' poetic for'sunka yi '.

^® 'Kabia.' This isareminder from AliBagobiri, whowrote

thepoem out,that hisreward wasnowdue.

^' 'Ibrahima'isthename ofthecomposer ofthepoem.

WAKA

Bismi allahi errahmani errahimi salla allahu 'ala—

Man lanabiyu ba'dahu alkerimu!

Bisnni allahi rabbana alkarimu—

Yarahmanu -rabbana yata'ala^.

This isreally avery finespecimen ofaHausa song. Itdoes

notabound inArabic orreligious expression, andthelanguage

isgood throughout. Copious notes have been written with

aview toathorough understanding ofthepiece, the style

ofexpression ofwhich might otherwise mystify thebeginner.

^The first four lines areArabic, and aretobetranslated

thus :—

'Inthename ofthecompassionate andmerciful God,may

WAKA (,^

Bismi allahi zanienfarawaka^—

Enyabba yarasulu^ensamu lada

Aiki babu salama babu aiki—

Kuy\muna salama gaaiki fiyaye'*

thepeace ofGodbeupon him, afterwhom there isnoprophet

(i.e.Mahomet). Inthename ofGod, ourLord theGenerous

One—OCompassionate One, ourLord,OExalted.

*'Zani enfarawaka.' Here theoriginal force of 'za ','to

go,'thefuture prefix, isclearly seen—

'Iamgoing, that Imay

beginmysong'. 'Zo,''tocome,' istheopposite of'za',and

varies from itinthesamewayasdo:—

isso

68 HAUSA READINGS

Nan farayabbo enrokogaallah—

Dom shikanrabba shikanbakowa

Allah kadiru karimu gasshaii^—

Annabi kadiru karimu fiyaye

Translate :—

'Grant usyour blessing tothework oftheexalted one'

(Mohammed).

^ 'Gasshaii.* Thisword isvery curious, andpresented some

difficulty until itwasreferred totheArabic triliteral ^J^. This

root isfound inseveral places intheKoran, notably inKor. ii.6,

where weread, 'Allah hassealed their hearts andtheir hearing,

adimness (sjli^) covers their sight, andthey shall suffer a

grievous punishment.' Compare theBiblical passage,'With

thefroward man thou wiltshow thyself frovvard.* Inthiscase

itisconnected with theso-called'Doctrine ofReprobation'.

There aremany Arabic words derived from theroot, but all

maybedescribed asapplicable to'Allah'reprobating sinners

orwarning theguilty. Theword intheform asused here, like

'mallach ','sailor,''najjar,''carpenter,' does notoccur inthe

Koran, or,indeed, inArabic atall,and isevidently coined

bythewriter ofthepoem. From this itfollows that itsuse

here isquite arbitrary, andthemeaning inallprobability de-

pends ontheexact passage oftheKoran inwhich theroot^^i^

occurred, andwhich thepoethad inhismindwhen hecomposed

the line. Hadhehad inhisthoughts Kor. Ixxxviii, itwould

mean'theGodoftheOverwhelming day ',i.e.ofthejudgement

day;cf.theHausa'mai-gobe',and thephrase inKor. i,

*maliki yaum ad-dini,''King ofthejudgement-day.' Solittle

arethese parts ofcompositions understood bytheHausas them-

selves thatMallam Isa,alearned Hausa, andtheauthor ofa

History oftheHausa States, inwhich ashort commentary

onthispoem occurs, explains theword assignifying'Kadirin

'alamanyashau ',that is,'God ispowerful overwhomHewills/

arendering which issimply outofthequestion.

WAKA 69

Samun^ danamina*^ shinewaddamu^—

Shinekanwaddanmu badukia ba

Samun dukia waddaku talauchi^—

Dankaruna^^yayita bai^^magani^^ba

''Samun'is'thegetting of,'theattaining to,'inareligious

sense.

^'Dan amina' istheprophet Mahommed, whose mother's

name wasAmina. Inclassical Arabic itiswritten*Amina-tu ';

shewasthedaughter ofWahbi, anddied before hersonclaimed

theposition ofprophet.

*'Wadda' isderived fromanArabic word which signifies

'that which we like, orwish'. Itishere contrasted with

'Dukia','wealth,' andthelinesmaybetranslated thus:—

*Our inheritance, istheprophet son ofAmina;inthis,

andnot inthepossession ofworldly wealth, consists our

treasure.'

^ 'Talauchi,''poverty,' isanexample ofphonetic corruption;

itisanabstract formed from*talaka ',*poor,' bytheaddition

of'chi', after themanner inwhich 'sarauta', 'kingdom,' is

formed from'sariki ','king.'

Thesense oftheline is,thatworldly riches arebuttransient;

andmore literally:—

'Intheattaining after worldly wealth

Poverty willbereally your portion.'

^^ 'Dan karuna.'*Karu,' which means a*prostitute ',has

feminine'karua'andplural 'karuna '.Theexpression isoneof

reproach forthe irreligious, andmay berendered*themis-

begotten'.The linesmaythenbetranslated :—

'The profligate gains worldly wealth,

Butderives nobenefit thereby.'

" 'Bai 'isacontraction of'bayayi 'withapoet's licence.

^"^'Magani.' There isaconnexion between'magani','medi-

cine,' and'maganna *,'word, matter.' The latter isafeminine

noun oftheinstrument derived from theverb'ganni','tosee,'

70 HAUSA READINGS

Dankaruna yaylfahri^^gaallah

Yarassa dukia yakoma saira^^

Dasudaitatua mutane safina—•

Duda duatsuwa mutane saira^^

i.e.themeans ofknowing athing, itsdesignation, word. The

former isanoun oftheinstrument derived from thesame verb,

inthesense of*aword used asmedicine', i.e.thewritten

medicine oftheHausas, consisting ofanappropriate verse

from theKoran, theinkofwhich iswashed offanddrunk.

Such aword-medicine issometimes called a'Sunan allah ',

from thefactthat itoften begins withthe*Bismillah'.

'^ 'Fahri 'isanArabic word meaning*pride, arrogance*.

Translate:—

'Themisbegotten one isarrogant before God.'

" *Saira,''burning hell.' Forthesense ofthisandofthe

twopreceding lines cf.Koran iii.ii,'Verily thosewhohave

proved infidels, their wealth shall profit neither them northeir

children withGod ;they shall befuel ofhell fire (nar.).'

Mallam Isa,referred toinnotes^and^^astheauthor ofashort

commentary onthispoem, remarks onthis line :'Kaito !saira

najikogiwuta chemukadda allahu yakaimu kogi saira.' It

istobehoped thatMallam Isa's work, which isintheposses-

sionofMr.W.H.Brooks, will intimebepublished. Forthe

word'saira 'itself, thestudent may consult Kor. xlii.5,*One

partofthem shall beinParadise andanother part inhell-fire

(sair).' Bythecommentators,'sair'isunderstood asaspecial

place oftorment appointed fortheSabeans, but isnotsodesig-

nated intheKoran.

^' 'Dasudaitatua mutane safina—

dudaduwatsuwa mutane saira.'

As itstands thispassage isinexplicable. That the text is

corrupt maybeseenfrom thefactofthetwolines ending with

thesame word'saira,' inopposition tothegeneral system of

thepoem. Itmay, therefore, beconcluded that aline is

WAKA 71

Sarari-d-dunia^*^gidda bagidda ba^^—

missing, which, were itpresent, would enable ustodecide

between various ways oftaking thepassage. The*mutane

safina 'are,ofcourse, the'ashabu-s-safinati 'oftheKoran,'the

people oftheark' (cf.Koran ii.76,xxiv. 14). Ofthese

Eutychius, thepatriarch ofAlexandria, says,'Before entering

theArk,Noah and hissons visited thecave ofElkanuz, where

laythebodies ofAdam andother ofhisancestors. Hekissed

hisancestors andbore ofifthebody ofAdam. They thenbade

farewell toParadise with tears, andthey kissed thestones

(duatsuwa) andembraced thetrees (itatua) oftheHoly mount.'

Theoccurrence ofthis lastsentence inconnexion withNoah

and hissons, thepeople oftheark, isatleast suggestive in

explication ofthepassage. Suggestive, also, isthepassage in

theKoran concerning Canaan, the infidel grandson ofNoah.

Noah, seeing thatCanaan wasnotonboard, badehimembark.

Canaan replied,'Iwillascend themountains (duatsuwa) and

willbesafe there.' The reader must select forhimself the

legend towhich thepassage refers. The literal translation

is:—

'Both theyand the trees, even themen oftheark, not-

withstanding therocks (mountains) became men ofhell fire.'

^^ *Sarari-d-dunia.''Sarari 'isthe plural of'sarrai',

'aplain.' Thisword iscurious inthat theplural formseems

only tobeused inaphysical, andthesingular form only in

amental orlogical sense :'Naduba sarrai sarrai,'*1see

plainly.'

^^ 'Gidda bagidda ba.' This expression frequently occurs in

Hausa poetry. Forthegeneral sense ofthenothingness ofthis

world cf.Koran xxix. 24,'And this lifeofthepresent world is

nothing butatoy,aplaything, butthefuture abode (Ar.'dar',

Hausa 'gidda') islifeindeed, didthey butknow.' Cf.also

Koran Ivii. 19.Foraparallel form ofexpression cf.Greek

7r()Xif airoKis (Sophocles), also Td(f)os aTa(f>os, and theLatin

'Funera neefunera '(Catullus, Ixiv. 83).

72 HAUSA READINGS

Dakin dunia gidda konakaria

Daki-d-dunia garibagariba—

Daki-d-dunia gidda komaiyaiita^^

Sarari-d-dunia dababa dayaro—

Kowa hallinsa negerkowa ne^^

Sarari-d-dunia kacheka fiwane

Rana-1-lahira kukan tashi daidai^^

Enambibia shikuma shifika—

Kumia tarufeka amberka baya^^

Kaza tafittodayayanta goma—

Shafu yachainye bakakaigudda ba

Enbankaigudda banagode allah—

Guga^^nandanayinasamu lada

The sense intended is,'This world isanabode ofsmall

account compared with thenext.'

^® 'Maiyauta/*multitude, manifoldness.' Translate,'The

house oftheworld isanabode ofmanifold change.' Theroot

isthatof'yawa ','much,' 'dayawa,' 'much, many' ;cf.'yawan

maganna,''much speech, talk.' Thederived verbal forms are

'yawanta, yawanche';e.g.*don kadda enyawanta maka

zanche,''tomake along story short.'

'^'Sarari-d-dunia dababadayaro,' &c.,'The plains ofthe

world areforgreat andsmall, andtoeach, hisowncharacter is

ashield.'

''°'Sarari-d-dunia kacheka fiwane,' &c.,'Inthisworld you

areapttosay,"Iambetter than such aone"

:onthelast

day,you willriseupequal.'

^' 'Enambibia shikuma shifika,' &c., 'Before thejudgement

seathewillbefound your better ;shame willconfuse you,you

willbeleftbehind.''Bibia'means'toexamine carefully, to

regard discerningly'.

^"^'Guga 'signifies theactofthehenwhen sitting onher

jiestwithherbreast-feathers ruffled soastocover allhereggs.

WAKA 73

Akwia tafitto garin natakiwo—

Kura yachainye bakakaigudda ba

Enbankaigudda banagode allah—

Biki^^ nandanayinasamu lada

Barewa tafitto garin natakiwo—

Terko yarikke kaffa tundasafe

Annabi yafitto garin taffia kilisa^*

Dataganneshi tadaura kuka^^

Yachebarewa mine gareki—

Domin ganninka nadaura kuka

Kuka danayidomin ganninka—

Donkasakkeni enguddu enda dana

Endainasakkeki aisaki tsire^^—

Mallam Isa(seenote'^)writes,*Kunchi daidanayi,'butthe

word'kunche' would inameasure convey thesamemeaning as

'guga'explained asabove, i.e.*huddling posture'.

^ 'Biki,'*amarriage feast orcelebration,' isalso written

*buki ',andregarding thisseenote ^^'TheStory ofJoseph.'

'* 'Kilisa'signifies'gentle exercise onhorseback'.

"* 'Tadaura kuka.' *Daura, daure, dora 'isfor'damre ',

aword ofgreat useidiomatically, meaning'totie,bind,' &c.

Inthesameway—

amre becomes aure towed

zamma „ zona tostop, sit

takalma „takoma sandal.

Concerning theword'daura'—

daura kuka means toraise acry

daura ido„tofrown

daura guddu „totakeuprunning

dauramaganna „ tokeep one's word.

^^ *Endainasakkeki aisaki tsire.' Translate,'Ifindeed

Irelease you, ifindeed Isetyou free.' For*ai 'cf.Specime?ts

ofHausa Literature^ B79,F136.

74 HAUSA READINGS

Zaki shigga hakko^'^ kua zakiboya

Endainasakkeki nadaujawafi-®

Nadaualhaki makami^^barevva

Idan kasakkeni nabada nono—

Nadaualkauel nakomo gasauna

Annabi yasakketa taruga^^gadaji—

Tadaura guddu"^zuaendadandai

Dandayaganneta yadaura murna—

Yachemarhaba^^ennawonga irikiwo

Dana bakiwo baganimayata'^^—

Terko yarikke kaffa tundasafe

Taso kakama katsutsa^*—

Yaushina gareka daibabu saura^"^

'^'^*Hakko,' also'fakko',probably ofArabic origin, is

'anoose, snare, trap'.

"^^'Jawafi* means 'answer', and isthesame as'jawabi', for

which cf.Dictionary.

"^^*Makami ':seenote '^^ 'TheStory oftheBoyandthe

Lion Cub.'

Thetwolinesmaythusbetranslated:—

'IfIletyougo, Iassume aresponsibility,

Itakeupaclaim enforceable byarms.'

^° 'Ruga'means'tofleequickly'.

^^ 'Tadaura guddu'

:seenote^•\

^' 'Marhaba.' This isthewell-known Arabic salutation, the

fullphrase ofwhich is'Marhaba bika','beamplitude with

thee.*

^^ 'Mayata 'is'apassing away',andhence'anexhausted

condition'. Cf.Specimens ofHausa Literature., D85,F37.

Translate :—

'Mychild, Ihave nothing foryou, Iamallbutspent.'

•*'*'Tsutsa'is'tosuck (oftheyoung ofanimals) '.

^° 'Yaushina gareka daibabu saura,'*thisdryness ofmine is

WAKA 75

yazaburru^®shikama shitsutsa—

Tausaye yabugeshi yadaura kuka

Yache taffi taffi inanayerda nono—

Don soyarasulu^"^domin sonfiyaye

Barewa tataffoenda terko annabi—

Yataffo shikama shidamre asneyaisso

makami barewa

Sakki sakkiwaallahi^^ nayerda nama—

Domin yarasuki domin fiyaye

Annabi yakirrashi kaiwonga arne^^—

Kawo korinka kawo bakanka entawadda

ma*«

yours indeed (todrain) tillnone be left.' 'Yaushi,' derived

from theArabic, means'towither, shrivel up',andhere refers

tothemothers' udders, dryalready through want ofpasture.

^®'Zaburru,' 'to start, start up,' isoften used ofhorses.

'Shikama'='don shikama','inorder to,with thepurpose

totake.'

^'^'Yarasulu':seenote^.

^^'Wa allahi' isanArabic expression, 'By Allah'. Itis

sometimes heard, asintheHausa'Nabugeshi vvollah','Ibeat

him, Idid.'

2^ 'Arna 'means'heathen'.The original form is'asna '.

There areseveral examples oftheinterchange ofrand sin

Hausa, e.g.

birne, bisne tobury

hasbia, harbia apigeon.

Compare theLatin mures=muses, mice.

*®'Tawadda ma'would beincolloquial Hausa'tawadda

maka', andmaybetranslated :—

'Bring yourbowandarrow ifsuch areyour favourite

possessions.'

76 HAUSA READINGS

Ballanta^^masauka halba nama shitsire^^

Kowanda kaganni bashitsira

Turn baajimjima bayakadda bauna*^

Turn baajimjima bayakadda giwa

Yachejeka jeka**kaiwonga arne—

Kad' allah kassheka baadali ba^^

Yachejekajeka kaiwonga arne—

Kad' allah kassheka basaidi ba''^

Yachejeka jeka kaiwonga arne—

Kad' allah kassheka bamumuni ba*^

Allah shisauwanka cheton rasulu—

Allah shisaubanka cheton fiyaye

Akoi woni gulbi giddan yarasulu bagulbi—

Ruabagulbiwuta kad'allah shikaimusulmi

chikkinta

*^ *Ballanta,*'much more, preferably,' hasalso theforms

*balle, ballatana'.

*^The sense oftheline is,that itismuch better tousethe

spear, as,inshooting, thegamemayescape.

*^ *Bauna,''abuffalo,' hasplural 'Bakani '.

** 'Jeka, jeka'means'hence !away!'opprobriously, like

theFrench va-t-en. With this verb, inthesecond person

singular, thepronoun issuffixed, which ispeculiar toit,and to

theverb'yaka ','tocome.' Otherwise itisnormal, e.g.'Mun

jetashimun jesalaga,' thecommencing word ofawell-known

song intheHinterland oftheGold Coast.

^^ 'Kad' allahkassheka baadaliba/'LestGod slaythee for

thyunrighteousness.'

*^ 'Kad' allah kassheka basaidi ba,'*LestGod slaythee

forthyunblessedncss.'

*^ *Kad' allah kassheka bamumuni ba,''LestGod slaythee

forthyunbelief.'

WAKA77

Akoi woni gulbi gidda yarasulu bagulbi—

Wuta bagulbi rua }'aallah shikaimusulmi

chikki nan

Maibashi uvvabaniusodashiba—

Maibashi ubabamusodashiba

Akoi vvata kosfa*^gidda yarasulu—

Kowa kechikki ya jidadi

Gadadinzama jikibabu chiwo—

Babamutuwa chikki giddan babu tsofa

Kaimaidogua dakorrc damashi—

Sukan saakasshe avvaki dashanu

Babaki gareni bakoenchinama—

Bamuria garin hadewa jiniba

Kuzokugadogua dakoredamashi—

Sukan saakasshe awaki dashanu

Muka gannimutum mutum bashigannemu—'

Kowa kanyagannemu bashikwana

Wonga waka tachikki daikoallah—

Rubutun hanumuallamu aliyu

bagobiri

tammat,

*^ 'Kasfa' or'Kosfa' istheArabic i^ls,'Kasbah'meaning

*acitadel ',and also'aquarter ofatown'.Thus inCasa

Blanca theArab quarter iscalled theKasbah.

TRANSLATIONS

THEHAWK, THEDOVE, ANDTHEPROPHET

There wasacertain prophet named Joseph. Allah

wished totesthimastowhether helived inHis fear.

Hesent fortheangel Gabriel andtransformed him

intoahawk;Hetook theangel Michael andchanged

him intoadove. Theonechased theother, thehawk

wishing toseize thedove. They both flew until they

came totheprophet's abode. Thehawk said tothe

prophet :'AsAllah ismywitness, asMohammed is

mywitness, thedove ismylawful prey;donotsuffer

him toescape. To-day forthree days Ihave eaten

nothing.' Thedove said toJoseph:'Ifyouallow the

hawk todevour me,youand Iwill,onthe lastday,

bring ourcase before theJudgement Seat.' The

hawk toospoke tothesame effect. The prophet

lacked thewherewithal togive, sowhat didhedobut

take aknifeandcutapiece from histhigh, which he

gave tothehawk,whoateuntil satiated. Hereleased

thedove, which flewaway. Thehawk alsodeparted.

Allah said: 'Truly Joseph lives inmy fear.' Allah

healed histhigh satisfactorily.

79

THESTORY OFJOSEPH

This isthestory oftheprophet Joseph andSatan.

Satan went totheprophet andsaid tohim :*Allah

likesyouverymuch, hehasgiven youproperty and

livestock andmany children.' Hethen returned to

Allah andsaid tohim :'Joseph does notloveyou;

because youhave given him possessions andherds of

horses, onthataccount heprays agreat deal;ifyou

visithimwith worry, loss,and sickness, you willsee

thathewillcease topray.' Allah said tohim :'Is

that indeed so?'Hecaused apestilence tofallon

theprophet's house;hissons alldied;likewise his

cattle andsheep;even hiswives;only hehimself

remained, but,notwithstanding, hedidnotcease to

pray ;heprayed atalltheappointed times, saying :

'This isnothing;thatwhich Allah hassent,hehimself

willtakeaway again.'

After thisSatan went again toAllah and said to

him :'Cause asickness tofallonJoseph, andseehim

leave offprayer.' Allah caused asickness tovisit

him;Allah, forseventy years, suffered thesickness to

remain, butinspite ofallheprayed;hedidnot failto

pray even forasingle day. Satan feltashamed before

Allah. Allah allowed hiscondition toimprove until

heregained hishealth. Hereceived hishealth ;he

married again andhad aplentiful progeny ;his

property, hiscattle, and hishorses were restored to

him. Allah bestowed onhim totheeffect that his

8o TRANSLATIONS

condition wasnow asprosperous asformerly. On

thisaccount leteach ofusbeware ofSatan.

THEWRANGLING WIVES

Acertain kinghadtwowives. Thehead wifehad

nochildren, buttheyoung wifegave birth totwo

boys. Shewent outtothewashing place. Thehead

wifeentered intotheroom where theboyswere;she

tookthem up,and castthemdown behind thetown;

then she killed two lizards and brought and laid

them onthesleeping-mat. Next shecame tothe

kingand said tohim :*Your wife hasgiven birth

totwo lizards.' The king wasenraged ;hecame

andlooked andsaw the lizards. Hecalled his

bodyguard andordered them tocatch and killthe

mother. They seized herandhidher inacertain

house. Anoldwoman whowaswalking behind the

(wall of)thetown sawthetwoboys crouching in

ahole,andshetookthem andbrought them toher

house, andsought medicine forthem, which they

drank. When theywere oftheageofreason and

wellgrown, shebrought them horses which they rode,

singing astheyrodeasong ofwhich thewords were:

'Weareking's sons,born ofnoble parents ;wewere

castaway behind thetownthrough jealousy.' Inthis

waytheywould proceed through thestreets. Always

theywould goalong singing. Onedayaman told^

theking ofthis,saying :'There aretwoboyswho

Ithink areyour sons.' Theking said,'Wherein does

THEWRANGLING WIVES 8i

thelikeness lie?'Hereplied :'Oking, wait until

to-morrow morning, and Iwilltakeyou totheplace

where they ride.' Theking said :'Itisgood.' On

themorrow they proceeded totheplace where the

youths were wont tocome andwaited until they

arrived andcommenced their song, saying :'Weare

king's sons, born ofnoble parents;wewere cast

away behind thetown because ofthesting ofjealousy.'

When theking heard thishewenthome andsum-

moned hiscourtiers. Hequestioned them, saying:

*What shallwedoinorder todiscover themother of

these boys?' The courtiers made reply :'Command

bythemouth ofthedrummer thateverywoman

make abroth andbring ittothepalace gate;when

theboys come, theirmother isshewhose broth they

partake of.'Thedawn broke, and thefoodwas

collected atthegate ofthepalace. Theboyscame,

buttheypartook ofnoparticular foodbecause that of

theirmother wasnotincluded ;they touched none of

it.Some onesaid totheKing :'There isacertain

woman inmyhouse.' Shewascalled;shebrought

abowl, ofwhich theboys ate.Theking seized his

head wifeandexecuted her.

THELEPER ANDTHEBLIND MAN

AFAIRY TALE

This isthetale oftheleper and theblind man.

They lived inthehouse ofahunter whoalways killed

game andbrought ittothem toeat ;butonly theleper

F

82 TRANSLATIONS

thanked thehunter. The blindman rated theleper,

saying :'Why areyougrateful ?toshoot isnot diffi-

cult;even Imyself, ifIhad abowand arrows,

could shoot/ Hewasconstantly talking inthisstrain.

Onedaytheleper procured forhimabowandarrows.

They arose andbegan walking. The blindman

carried theleper,whocould see,buthadnottheuse

ofhisfeet ;theywalked untiltheycame tothebush;

theysawgame, andtheleper toldtheblind man.The

blindman shot anarrow, butwith noresult ;the

leper seized thebowfrom him,shotand killed the

game. The blindman rejoiced attheprospect of

meat. They searched forfirewood orevertheyskinned

thegame, soastocook themeat, butcould notfind

any.The leper perceived oneoftheteeth ofDodo

and said totheblindman :'Iseefirewood.' The

blind man replied :'Goand bring it'Hewent

andsawDodo himself, whoasked himwhat hewas

seeking inthat spot.Hesaid :'Ihave killed game,

that ismycase,and Iamnowsearching forfirewood.'

Dodo said :'Goandbring thegame, there isfirewood

tobehad here.' They tookupthemeatandbrought

ittowhereDodo was,who seized itfrom theirhands

anddevoured it.The blindmanwasincensed and

began toquarrel with theleper. AsforDodo, his

planwastodevour them andsoincrease thehaul.

The blindman fled, but inacircle, until heagain

arrived attheabode ofDodo. They setoutagain,

heandtheleper;they fled,and inthemidst oftheir

fleeing theblindman losttheroad.He fellintoa

THELEPER ANDTHEBLIND MAN 83

hole, andwhat happened !butthat hiseyes were

opened. Heemerged rejoicing. Hejourneyed on

until hereached home, andcollected alltheblindmen.

Hereceived asumofmoney from each,and ledthem

tothehole. They allfellinside, andtheeyes ofeach

were opened. Buthesaid :'Iwill fallintothehole

again ;myeyes willremain open.' Butwhen he

tumbled intothehole hiseyeswere again closed.

F2

WAKA

1^\^i^\^jd&\^^*JiU^f^i>{^)\j^J^

^..-f.-» ^•s'

-->14 -*-.*—•«*

[45]

WAKA

[44]

WAKA

[43]

WAKA

i'.i^

[42]

WAKA

U']

MUTANE ZINA

A.jn^=^_jii^ M^j4l;

«*-•

o'-^

V••

••

V

=•'^-^trh5>^^^ '^

o_

(^n^^r^

[40]

[39]MUTANE ZINA

I

;_Jj (4jJI^j;?m:^^ si^

«— «

^liViss<r^ ti^f*^

V-cA-?*-»-.-J

»•

ATTRIBUTES OFTHEPROPHET

^I- NliO

or oNili

-1-?r^^ 4®l

1

%^s^

«11

ij^/ofi-j ^1

H

Ca4^i^j^CaLif

[38]

CIRCULAR LETTER

'g/xJi^iiM

^-^'k-^,^3^^

[37]

CIRCULAR LETTER

r>«*•'qII•;^•«*< I(

.'.^-^\M>oi\^g^4^->ji9 0.,r>i,^(^^«^;;r^ ^jv?

)L-i*i^c=oi! ^=::fr^ 1L^:^-JjI£^^,•.Lk^I

_^—^yLf-£uwoUj^T-fB^f>li^^ "Jji,L;^ .;L^

/H 1>•1^

[36]

CIRCULAR LETTER

S^ *I—f^l4^ cril^,

*i;^.^

_ j;^^-^ __ _

^J*'^^ jt\-^'*^^ <=ri.^*•C^f"^^

«4^

[35]

CIRCULAR LETTER

Cr-

14-^U^^i-i-«^» )—»c^l^^lj-C ^-2^A^JjLLe ;a

[34l

CIRCULAR LETTER

-l-fej>b.J_4U;-a» Li_i^^^S>-e »-^-» »-»5» .i=»:=»(^ '—^^o=i_i_Ji' LLitf InT.i5_» \'

iw^»—'9^i^ r*^ii^

^j/\yVL^\cXci-i^^>-^=^'cj^'L-Litf^^ ^jLi

[33]

REFLECTIONS ONDEATH

G [32]

REFLECTIONS ONDEATH

^^-^ ):>.<nu <?r^^ i^^ii:i^;^^

[31]

REFLECTIONS ONDEATH

G2 [30]

REFLECTIONS ONDEATH

[29]

QUESTIONS ANDANSWERS

•=3

[2S]

^*»-oac<> ojl /QUESTIONS ANDANSWERS

.;/ •-,-

«-^.-.»\./7••;^yiLi-^ .\rt3_Li -^L-J^. 13-^Lr

VfzioilLui

»UC

V—ou^ ..^_^»V »LLEd L-Lc V4,>-»iV^,^-^-V.

.'.rJ\e-V »

:x£

UU>^ AS2L^ I'--..ir.-.

|V»—o;=J^-iC

^J•^-\>-»-^/?^ vj4-LS ix^jU^-=

[27]

QUESTIONS ANDANSWERS

W:id^^.^•i>^^c>-4^M ^-cH?^^'

^ \^^li£^c?yLa^••.i^l:3(J^

;^La «%t-J-^Ljj /Qt^

•>-'z.-

[26]

THEWEDDED PAIR

•\j-^>»*»^^(_^l-^ _9^U»— i-i"J^)JJJ>aVjmJ^

=3^-il»

[25]

THEWEDDED PAIR

'"r - - •-

1-»')-^>-o \-i-i« J>.S2. fc_^JL^ V—j L-j»_£>_^:

Lj».-

-Ur^-^ O'-^^-'^O^^^~"^^(Lri

Lj-c/^^i_^(..

Jil^»^-o13iau>^ erf *=-A

-c^-^^

LJ '•._^-—>ia»ta,l_o^^jLj Lj«j^4),

Lj

^-XIJ/ jTjJftW:^JU^Ll,=3>-A^«-L^^ ^^^ =^

/.-.

1jJtoy V-ILjLiu 3-lUyiiLc J»^_M|

[24l

THEWEDDED PAIR

« > _ • - -t.

:h-iMJU

;a-J?(^u— ia-4-f. iiiSla-^ .svS-J-^ JiyJ^^yjJ:

>—»^ &tti>i.Ui>=i<=^-^"U^ ^*^'«=:M-5'o^

i=D«^c=^a.--o-i=v^"*-* ^*-i^oi>^-*•/=P*^~^^^^

^^^^^r^ULj^.cr^^'^vj

o .. •»

>3X5^-a

[23]

THEWEDDED PAIR

Ui^ ..U^(J^^J^ Qffy U.ViUU4(>^

-?-^^-^' Wcj^-^V-ii(j:^ ^rf^*^^^^*

vr-i;m J^*_^.

i-!»' lua-juJo o_t>\-Ea

^*—'

\~_~\\" ;,

^

^^r-'^=^ ^^Jj^ijLjaJ-^ j-ii^ .^>_;.^_J^ex^

(A-

[22]

THELEPER ANDTHEBLINDMAN

j;Uli^

L»*i\sa

/.'.

\i i^^>^^---^V-j"v.,^\ fe .^ •*•-\«u^

yl^_^ »-«-^^— fr^^^^r-^ ^*.^*:. ^>^-«r»» -J^^-^-^ a-i^

THEWRANGLING WIVES

^ScJ^^cy^^.-^-

:5/>^L^ U.^J.^

'•e^

[20]

THEWRANGLING WIVES

f12 ..jC"y^-JJQ]^ jLi-li>— >"> •'•.it*—

*r^Ij^-^^ cri5>^]/-^^ -^\^^ Liii[^ij Li-m lii.

-^^^ i.oi^U:;t3

J^?-

.•.J--4J.r^

^l^-i^5^^j^

u\

[19]

THEWRANGLING WIVES

L18]

THEBOYANDTHELIONCUB

<-n r-"*,c•-==»5»

[17]

THEBOYANDTHELIONCUB

V--* IoS »J•'.,. ,f"3^ .~a•—f^>.fn .»

-^ *'^ "ii-v*,..^

/a

L>»^J>^C^hi*^*;

lJ- -«- y^-^

>L^L-T Juso^:^—to .«--^

/,%p's»—*5,

> —

V-•i—JW,Mi I1 »-=3S3«>—«i>-==*

IS

H[i6]

THEBOYANDTHELIONCUB

-"^ *""S-Jc I1»<^\ \^»-»>A .*.rw^^r-*jQ »Sa>. 5=»-^^--*5^

-/aIJ^QV^V-»»

V-J-^l J5S »_ «•>

-> .»

«•—

^ij.^ >^;V<^^V-i>\pVJiiJ^^j^ -^>-^*

t i'u>

^M'^-^^H

[i5l

THEBOYANDTHELIONCUB

.—•«(«^—^S=» 'J''^*j^?«»^— • -*

— **i A

L-i <«5=^^f=3 IJj^au-^ ^^—^^^_«^ ^^—iUL.

/ .>\-V-^/ /•^V-I- «

I• «*

1— •—»

-l^-^.^o^r^

^^w—:i>—^\;a-^^^—^L—I-£=S^»

VV :^r*^ ^^^^^'ij^4^^-^L-3

«-Ir*-^

1-3LJL-i ^T . ,p.:^%)^^ <3. v|—:

;;^Up^^j&U-^

H2 [14]

THEHAWK, THEDOVE, ANDTHEPROPHET

J^;=»^!^^,_,ax lo^t^^J^ w*-i-Q-^^4JJii

^J_0 ^L_^ i3—

X.—J^-. *\tt—£x—J^O^-^ ^—i lf>-».*->,^ •^"'JP^^.

CUu

[13]

MOSES ANDHISMISSION

v>J^\4i^/f U-4 "^-i'L-^cJ"—^^"^

:^-Q;L_M^^tJ Pi"^-u^

/<i •-•'"

U3)r^^*'•c>^^

^'T^

'^j^ ^jLi Lii*(^ye.-^•'•wCrj9^

[12]

MOSES ANDHISMISSION

Uaii^zLfi l^Li#u^-^c^^^

11^ >

OU

[II]

THESTORY OFJOSEPH

_^^A -»-^

S^\y>Ui^,n^^f^ ptl^\i»if,t£i

_

•«r•-~- «* fl»®

c^rO^^^e»*•• 1—

^^^m

«•«•

-*n5^

[10]

THESTORY OFJOSEPH

aliu

W^J-^ \]^^^^>^/> ^^;J^>{^

•o

[9]

OURANCESTOR ADAM

^/a•_•*

>•-

[8]

LETTER fROMAMALLAM

ioJ-T iSJ: ;3.\Lid c?S3/>uLJ"L*aLj.d~o LiJi* L.o^-»M*

/%'

C7]

RIDDLES

'-^---f.

-AV—1»

4«.W*^ ,iU-I-S-^*'^^1« •\ »

O^'

[6]

HOURS OFPRAYER

^if^^cf.hJtii^^ai^'y^

)

<%«-

^t%

c?_*—

•«

[5]

THEDEADLY SINS

.%JL53 *%IL^u^b^jH^uj^J^

-<*^ .1*»^"^' ^**'.^A *^'S^»*t^ «4|oJUiLdO

—o•

%o.-io

t-

Mis•«

^B^4,*ft<^ C=^.^^^'•--^^

[4]

COMMON MAXIMS

;.|'^^J^yl^>\s^>^VW^i^p

3y

-*'^.-'

^|.iiaJ jiu/ijU!j^^f^j^U^)-^^

[3]

FIFTEEN PROVERBS

lL-5" '..5^

^•.-•-'I- .' _-v-

[^1

FACSIMILES

14DAYUSE

RETURN TODESKFROMWHICH BORROWED

LOAN DEPT.

1.1 • 1 _ .1 1 1

RITUKNED TO

MTHKO LIB,

APR171973

110\3^^r.f-fi^9(XW59

t\A\3CIA

ftB28^974

iaBHsarast^'jui.^:' f'ssw^ffli

U.C.BERKELEY LIBRARIES

CDSE11EES5

%'

UNIVERSITY OFCALIFORNIA LIBRARY

••>««