Would you like to know history of Hausa, the most populous ethnic group in Nigeria? Today we will tell you about the origin of this nation. Find out interesting facts form the history of Hausa.
Hausa States in Nigeria As we’ve said Hausa is the most populous group in Nigeria. According to the last official info, their population consists of 30 million people.
Origin of Hausa
The origin of this nation has a direct relationship to the fraternization. This phenomenon occurred between two groups: local inhabitants and some groups of settlers. Like many other Nigerian people, Hausa has many stories from his ancestors that can explain the origins of the Hausa people. Of course, the most famous story is the story is Bayajidda version. This story tells that a certain prince from the east came to northern Nigeria. Some people associate the prince with the royal house of Baghdad. This myth says that he came to help the Daura people who couldn’t get water because of one snake. And the prince just killed it. thanks to his heroic deed, Queen of Daura loved him and married him. Then the fruit of their love became their common son named Bavo. Later this boy became an ancestor and leader of seven Hausa States in Nigeria.
However, this story is not completely accepted by historians and scientists who studied the history of Hausa states in Nigeria. Some experts explains that this is just a simplified legend. According to some historians, says that this prince from the East is just a prototype of Berber migrations. A certain historian said that, this story took place between the year 650 and 1100s. In fact, these immigrants brought development to Hausa land mixed with the local population, they significantly influenced the cultural, political and economic sides of the land. However, the version is very similar to the Bayajidda story in that it has no confirmation from historians. More precisely, they are not sure about the origin of these immigrants.
Some other researches
People who study the history of Hause states in Nigeria, turned for help to linguistic and archaeological facts. they found that the language of the population has a direct relationship to Nigerian Kanuri, Shuwa Arab and Fulani. And it’s also is closely connected with the Mandinka and Soninke in the Western of Africa. Historians believe that groups that speak these languages have a similar history, or rather, origin.
One more interesting fact refers to the Sahara climate change. This was very nice savannah more than 6000 years ago. The researches in this field as well as archaeological finds showed that there were very developed settlements. However, later the climate in this area began to deteriorate, or rather, it became very arid. That’s why, the local population moved to another zone – to West Africa. Majority of Nigerian and other African scientists take precisely this point of view. They believe that the people of Hausa originated exactly from these settlers. Hausa people also know how to influence the different aspects of other nations including cultural, political and economic aspects. Exactly these abilities and obstinacy helped them to become the most numerous population in Nigeria.
