Nana Asmaʼu

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Nana Asmaʼu (Nana Uwar daje)
Personal
Born1793
Sokoto Caliphate
Died1864 (aged 70–71)
Sokoto Caliphate
Religion Islam
NationalityNigerian
Region West Africa
Denomination Sunni
Jurisprudence Maliki
Creed Ash'ari
Main interest(s) Poetry, women's education, social protection, women's rights
Tariqa Qadiriyyah
Other namesNana Uwar daje Nana Asmaʼu bint Shehu Usman dan Fodiyo
Occupation Islamic scholar, Humanitarian Services, entrepreneur
Muslim leader
Influenced by
Influenced

Nana Asmaʾu ( pronunciation ⓘ ; full name: Asmaʾu bint Shehu Usman dan Fodiyo pronunciation ⓘ , Arabic : نانا أسماء بنت عثمان فودي; 1793–1864) was a Fula princess, poet, teacher, and a daughter of the founder of the Sokoto Caliphate, Usman dan Fodio. [1] She remains a revered figure in northern Nigeria. She is held up by some as an example of education and independence of women possible under Islam, and by others as a precursor to modern feminism in Africa.

Contents

Biography

Nana Asmaʾu was born in 1793 and named after Asmāʾ bint Abi Bakr, a Companion of Muhammad. [2] In her childhood she lived through the Fulani War (1804–08), a campaign of jihad which established the powerful Sokoto Caliphate, an Islamic empire. [3] The daughter of the Caliphate's founder Usman dan Fodio (1754–1817) and half-sister of its second Sultan, Muhammed Bello (died 1837), she outlived most of the founding generation of the Caliphate and was an important source of guidance to its later rulers. From 1805, members of the Caliph's family came to great prominence, including the Caliph's female relatives. While Nana Asmaʾu became the most prominent, her sisters Maryam and Fatima, and the Caliph's wives Aisha and Hawwaʾu, played major literary and political roles in the new state. [4]

Like her father, Nana Asmaʾu was educated in tafsir (Qur'anic studies), and placed a high value upon universal education. As exemplars of the Qadiriyya Sufis, dan Fodio and his followers stressed the sharing of knowledge, especially that of the sunnah, the example of Muhammad. [5] To learn without teaching, they thought, was sterile and empty. Thus Nana Asmaʾu was devoted, in particular, to the education of women. [1] Like most of the rest of her family, she became a prolific author.

Writer and counsellor

Manuscript of Nana Asma`u's works. mqdm@ nn 'sm bnt `thmn fwdy.png
Manuscript of Nana Asmaʾu's works.

Well educated in the classics of the Arab and Classical world, and well versed in four languages, Arabic, Fula, Hausa and Tamacheq Tuareg. [7] Nana Asmaʾu had a public reputation as a leading scholar in the most influential Muslim state in West Africa, which gave her the opportunity to correspond broadly. [8] She witnessed many of the wars of the Fulani War and wrote about her experiences in the prose narrative Wakar Gewaye, "The Song of Wandering". [9]

As the Sokoto Caliphate began as a cultural and religious revolutionary movement, the writings of its leaders held a special place by which later generations, both rulers and ruled, could measure their society. She became a counsellor to her brother when he took the Caliphate, and he also recorded writing instructions to governors, debating with the scholars of foreign princes. [10]

Poet

Among her more than 60 surviving works written over 40 years, Nana Asmaʾu left behind a large body of poetry in Arabic, the Fula language, and Hausa, all written in the Arabic script. [4] Many of these are historical narratives, but they also include elegies, laments, and admonitions. Her poems of guidance became tools for teaching the founding principles of the Caliphate. [9] Asmaʾu also collaborated closely with Muhammed Bello, the second Caliph.[ citation needed ] Her works include and expand upon the dan Fodio's strong emphasis on women leaders and women's rights within the community ideals of the Sunnah and Islamic law. [11]

Women's education

The surviving written works by Asmaʾu are related to Islamic education. For much of her adult life, she was responsible for women's religious education. Starting around 1830, she created a cadre of women teachers called jajiss, who travelled throughout the Caliphate educating women in the students' homes. [12] In turn, each of these jajis used the writings of Nana Asmaʾu and other Sufi scholars, usually through recited mnemonics and poetry, to train crops of learned women called the ƴan-taru , or "those who congregate together, the sisterhood." [13] To each jaji she bestowed a malfa, a hat and traditional ceremonial symbol of office of the Hausa animist priestesses in Gobir, tied with a red turban. The jajis thus became symbols of the new state, the new order, and of Islamic learning even outside women's communities. [14]

In part, this educational project began as a way to integrate newly conquered pagan captives into a Muslim ruling class. It expanded, however, to include the poor and rural, training teachers who travelled across the sprawling Caliphate. [15]

Contemporary legacy

Nana Asmaʾu's continued legacy rests not just on her literary work, but also on her role in defining the values of the Sokoto state. Today in Northern Nigeria, Islamic women's organisations, schools, and meeting halls are commonly named for her. She re-entered the debate on the role of women in Islam in the 20th century, as her legacy has been carried by Islamic scholars and immigrants to Europe and its academic debates. [16]

The republishing and translation of her works has brought added attention to the purely literary value of her prose and poems. She is the subject of several studies, including Jean Boyd's The Caliph's Sister: Nana Asma'u 1793–1865: Teacher, Poet and Islamic Leader (1989), described as an "important book" that "provides a good read for the nonspecialist willing to discard common stereotypes about women in Africa", [17] and One Woman's Jihad: Nana Asma'u, Scholar and Scribe by Beverly B. Mack and Jean Boyd (2000). The Collected Works of Nana Asma'u, Daughter of Usman dan Fodiyo 1793–1864, edited by Boyd and Mack, was published in 1997. [18] An extract from Nana Asma'u's "Lamentation for 'Aysha II" is included in the 2019 anthology New Daughters of Africa , edited by Margaret Busby. [19]

In 2019, Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto state directed the state ministry of lands and housing to provide suitable land for the immediate take-off of the Nana Asmaʾu University of Medical Sciences in Sokoto, to be established by the Sultan foundation. [20]

See also

Further reading

Related Research Articles

Shehu Usman dan Fodio. was a Fulani scholar, Islamic religious teacher, poet, revolutionary and a philosopher who founded the Sokoto Caliphate and ruled as its first caliph. After the successful revolution, the "Jama'a" gave him the title Amir al-Mu'minin. He rejected the throne and continued calling to Islam.

Hausa–Fulani are people of mixed Hausa and Fulani origin. They are primarily found in the Northern region of Nigeria, most of whom speak a variant of Hausa or Fula or both as their first language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sokoto</span> Capital city of Sokoto State, Nigeria

Sokoto is a major city located in extreme north-western Nigeria, near the confluence of the Sokoto River and the Rima River. As of 2006, it has a population of over 427,760. Sokoto is the modern-day capital of Sokoto State and was previously the capital of the north-western states. Modern Sokoto is known for trading sheepskins, cattle hides, leather crafts, kola nuts and goatskins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jihad of Usman dan Fodio</span> Military conflict in Nigeria and Cameroon (1804–1808)

The Jihad of Usman dan Fodio was a religio-military conflict in present-day Nigeria and Cameroon. The war began when Usman dan Fodio, a prominent Islamic scholar and teacher, was exiled from Gobir by King Yunfa, one of his former students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sokoto Caliphate</span> Islamic state in West Africa (1804–1903)

The Sokoto Caliphate, also known as the Sultanate of Sokoto, was a Sunni Muslim caliphate in West Africa. It was founded by Usman dan Fodio in 1804 during the Fulani jihads after defeating the Hausa Kingdoms in the Fulani War. The boundaries of the caliphate are part of present-day Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Nigeria. By 1837, the Sokoto state had a population of around 10-20 plus million people, becoming the most populous empire in West Africa. It was dissolved when the British, French and Germans conquered the area in 1903 and annexed it into the newly established Northern Nigeria Protectorate, Senegambia and Niger and Kamerun respectively.

Muhammadu Bello was the second Caliph of Sokoto and reigned from 1817 until 1837. He was also an active writer of history, poetry, and Islamic studies. He was the son and primary aide to Usman dan Fodio, the founder of the Sokoto Caliphate and the first caliph. During his reign, he encouraged the spread of Islam throughout the region, increasing education for both men and women, and the establishment of Islamic courts. He died on October 25, 1837, and was succeeded by his brother Abu Bakr Atiku and then his son, Aliyu Babba.

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Abdullahi ɗan Fodio, was a prominent Islamic scholar, jurist, poet and theologian, and the first Amir of Gwandu and first Grand Vizier of Sokoto. His brother, Usman dan Fodio (1754–1817) was the founder of the Sokoto Caliphate. Usman, being more of a scholar than politician, delegated the practical regency of the western part of his empire to Abdullahi and the eastern part to his son Muhammed Bello, who later became the Sultan of Sokoto after his father.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hausa people</span> Ethnic group in West Africa

The Hausa are a native ethnic group in West Africa. They speak the Hausa language, which is the second most spoken language after Arabic in the Afro-Asiatic language family. The Hausa are a culturally homogeneous people based primarily in the Sahelian and the sparse savanna areas of southern Niger and northern Nigeria respectively, numbering around 86 million people, with significant populations in Benin, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Chad, Central African Republic, Togo, Ghana, as well as smaller populations in Sudan, Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Senegal, Gambia. Predominantly Hausa-speaking communities are scattered throughout West Africa and on the traditional Hajj route north and east traversing the Sahara, with an especially large population in and around the town of Agadez. Other Hausa have also moved to large coastal cities in the region such as Lagos, Port Harcourt, Accra, Abidjan, Banjul and Cotonou as well as to parts of North Africa such as Libya over the course of the last 500 years. The Hausa traditionally live in small villages as well as in precolonial towns and cities where they grow crops, raise livestock including cattle as well as engage in trade, both local and long distance across Africa. They speak the Hausa language, an Afro-Asiatic language of the Chadic group. The Hausa aristocracy had historically developed an equestrian based culture. Still a status symbol of the traditional nobility in Hausa society, the horse still features in the Eid day celebrations, known as Ranar Sallah. Daura is the cultural center of the Hausa people. The town predates all the other major Hausa towns in tradition and culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fula jihads</span> Series of Jihads across West Africa during the 18th and 19th centuries

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Gawakuke</span>

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References

  1. 1 2 "Nana Asma'u". rlp.hds.harvard.edu. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  2. ↑ "Nana Asma'u". Naked History. 28 March 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  3. ↑ Mack, B (2023). Nana Asma'u of Nigeria 1793–1864. Women in the History of Philosophy and Sciences. Vol. 19. Springer. pp. 419–432. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-28563-9_19. ISBN   978-3-031-28563-9.
  4. 1 2 "Nana Asma'u and the 'yan taru movement". Daily Trust. 3 June 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  5. ↑ "Islam | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  6. ↑ Asma'u, Nana (1997). "Excerpt from: Collected works of Nana Asma'u, daughter of Usman 'dan Fodiyo (1793-1864)" (in Arabic).{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. ↑ "Ode to Nana Asma'u: Voice and Spirit". Muslim Heritage. 16 August 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  8. ↑ David Westerlund wrote: "She continued to be a source of inspiration to the present day." Mary Wren Bivins, Telling Stories, Making Histories: Women, Words, and Islam in Nineteenth-Century Hausaland and the Sokoto Caliphate. London: Heinemann, 2007.
  9. 1 2 Tambuwal, Aminu (23 August 2016). "Sokoto's religious moderation is rich lesson to a troubled world". TheCable . Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  10. ↑ Tambuwal, Aminu Waziri (23 August 2016). "As John Kerry visits Sokoto". Daily Trust. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  11. ↑ Boyd, Jean (1989). The Caliph's Sister: Nana Asma'u 1793–1865: Teacher, Poet and Islamic Leader. London: Frank Cass & Co. Ltd. ISBN   0-7146-4067-0.
  12. ↑ "Nana Asma'u: A woman of knowledge in Africa". Saudigazette. 15 September 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  13. ↑ "12 Muslim Women Who Are Modern Role Models That'll Amaze And Inspire You". Thought Catalog. 9 September 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  14. ↑ Excerpt from Mack, Beverly B., and Jean Boyd, One Woman's Jihad: Nana Asma'u, Scholar and Scribe. Includes two translated poems of Nana Asmaʾu.
  15. ↑ Waziri Tambuwal, Aminu (23 August 2016). "Sokoto's Religious Moderation Is Rich Lesson To A Troubled World". Premium Times | Opinion. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  16. ↑ Jean Boyd and Murray Last quote the Algerian scholar Ismaël Hamet writing for a French audience in 1898, lamenting that the "Ligues Feministes d'Europe" did not know of Nana Asmaʾu's legacy. See Boyd and Last, "The Role of Women as 'Agents Religieux' in Sokoto", p. 283.
  17. ↑ Mack, Beverly B. (September 1990). "Book Reviews". African Studies Review . 33 (2): 219–220. doi:10.2307/524481. JSTOR   524481. S2CID   210369401.
  18. ↑ Mack, Beverly B. "Nana Asma'u, Muslim Woman Scholar". Women in World History . Teaching Case Studies.
  19. ↑ Busby, Margaret, ed. (2019). "New Daughters of Africa | Introduction and Contents" (PDF). Myriad Editions.
  20. ↑ Maruf, Olakunle (15 October 2019). "Tambuwal allocates land for proposed Nana Asma'u University in Sokoto". Nigerian Tribune .
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