Here’s an interesting history lesson you should know:
Bayajidda is the mythological hero in the tale of the Hausa Kingdoms’ origin. The story has multiple versions, but we chose to stick with our favourite one. As the story goes, Bayajidda was a prince from the Middle Eastern province of Baghdad (in modern-day Iraq), the son of the great King Abdullahi. He led half of a retreat army to the northern province of Bornu (Borno), where he briefly settled and married Magira, the ruler’s daughter. Together, the couple fled from Bornu after Bayajidda lost his army to the King. His wife gave birth to his first son, Biram, who became the father of most eastern Hausa state’s indigenes, an area which was called Gabas-ta-Biram (The East of Biram).
The hero continued his journey without his family and settled in the town of Daura (in modern-day Katsina) where he famously killed a snake named Sarki. It was guarding a well, and had been terrorising the community’s residents.
As a reward for his bravery, he was given Queen Magajiya’s hand in marriage. However, some versions claim Dauran queens couldn’t marry at the time, and the two only had sexual intercourse. The Queen later gave birth to a son, but this was after Bayajidda had another son with the queen’s slave. That son, Karbagari had seven more sons who became the founders of the seven illegitimate states (Banza Bakwai). These states were called:
1. Zamfara
2. Kebbi
3. Yauri
4. Gwari
5. Kwararafa
6. Nupe
7. Ilorin
Bayajidda’s grandsons with the Queen became the fathers of the six legitimate states (Hausa Bakwai), along with Biram. These states were eventually conquered during the 1805 Fulani war by Malam Ishaku, who set up an emirate. They include:
1. Daura
2. Kano
3. Katsina
4. Zaria (Zazzau)
5. Gobir
6. Rano
7. Biram
Do you have myths peculiar to your ethnic group? Please send them to editor@connectnigeria.com to be featured next week.
Sources: Wikipedia and http://dierklange.com/About the Writer: Ify Halim is a writer and media enthusiast based in Lagos. She enjoys writing self-help/inspirational articles with published work in UYD Magazine, Edufrica, Our Stories Inc. and The Keele Concourse. She currently works at ConnectNigeria.com, Nigeria’s Information Portal. Follow her on Twitter @MissHalim or visit her online space at ifyhalim.wordpress.com
