MYTHS OF THE HAUSA PEOPLE

Myths can be defined as traditional stories accepted as history which serves as an explanation of a world view of a particular group of people. They are stories which are transferred from one generation to another and through these myths, people retain their cultural heritage. Hausa is a popular language all over the world especially in West African countries and it started in Daura by a man called bayajida. Bayajida was a son of the king of Baghdad who settled in Egypt but was pursued out of the city for disobeying the king because of his passion for horses. He left with a sword that had Quranic verses written on it and went straight to a town called Daura which was at that time ruled by a queen called Magira. At that time, Daura had water problem because the only well in which they get water from was controlled by a serpent and upon His arrival, Bayajida killed the serpent and was given the queen for marriage because of His bravery. After the marriage, they had children and each of those children rule a town within the Hausa territory. Some of the popular Hausa towns include Daura, Zazzau, Kano and kastina which were referred to as the Hausa Bakwai and the rest were referred to as the Banza Bakwai. The Hausa cities were also renowned trading centers and were guided by Islamic laws and principles. In the modern Hausa states, the myths still exist but in different ways. The modern political and Educational systems are good examples because in the old Hausa states, education was mostly based on Islamic education only while in the modern Hausa states, both the western and Islamic educations are thought and practiced. Also, in the modern political system, there is the existence of Governors, President and chairmen while these categories of leaders weren ’ t there in the ancient Hausa states. The only people at that time regarded as rulers were the Kings though they still exist even now but they are not as powerful as they used to be before. Such myths play a vital role in human societies because they show people where they come from that is their origin and also help people to know who their ancestors are, what was their occupation e.t.c. The myths also help us understand the different religions and also how rulers back then were respected and obeyed. It is now certain on the time, geography and place of which the Hausa people came into existence and makes it clear that the Hausa kingdom came into being in the 13 th century as a trading centre in Africa and Daura was the first Hausa State. Also, these myths conveyed to us the power of the rulers and how they were obeyed irrespective of whether they are right or wrong in performing their leadership roles. The Hausa myths have some similarities or share the same beliefs with some other myths and a good example is that of kanem Bornu which also talked about the power of the kings or queens how they were obeyed and respected. In conclusion, these myths explained how the Hausa people came into being, who their ancestors are, their religious beliefs, their social and cultural heritage, their political views as at that time and so on which makes the language one of the most popular languages in Africa.