I n d iv id u a l t a l e n t i n th e Hausa P o e tic T r a d itio n :
A STUDY OF AKXLU ALIXU AND HIS ART
t»y
D a lh a tu Muhammad
T h e sis p re s e n te d f o r th e d eg ree o f Ph.D.
A p ril 1977
School o f O r ie n ta l and A frica n S tu d ie s
U n iv e rs ity o f London
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t o t h a t memorable a fte rn o o n i n 1969 when X met Afcilu f o r th e f i r s t tim e and i n v i t e d him t o my home i n Lagos, and he r e c i t e d some o f h i s Wafcofci, and I and my w ife Uwa,
and th e c h ild r e n R abi, B ature and Mimi, w ith B ib i y e t t o be b o rn ,
and my nephew Sani and f r i e n d Ahmadu, a l l jo in e d i n th e am shi,
A b s tra c t
The t h e s i s examines a r e p r e s e n ta tiv e c o l l e c t i o n o f works by th e contem porary Iiausa p o e t Afcilu A liyu i n th e c o n te x t o f Hans a v e rs e g e n e r a lly and i n p a r t i c u l a r th e l i t e r a t e t r a d i t i o n ,
C hapter I o u t lin e s th e r e l a t i o n s h i p betw een th e two t r a d i t i o n s o f Hausa v e rs e (Waka) - th e o r a l g e n re , Waka I , and th e l i t e r a t e , Waka IX;
a b io g r a p h ic a l s k e tc h o f Ak±lu; and a th e m a tic c l a s s i f i c a t i o n o f th e poems i n th e c o rp u s.
C h apter XI d e s c r ib e s th e corpus i n d e t a i l w ith re g a rd to
"se g m e n ta l", s y l l a b i c rhyme ( a t r a d i t i o n a l f e a tu r e i n th e l i t e r a t e g e n re ) and c o n s id e rs th e e x te n t t o which AkiTu conform s t o o r d e p a r ts from t h i s rhyme t r a d i t i o n .
C hapter I I I d e m o n strates t o n a l o r "su p rase g m en ta l" rhyme, a
phenomenon con sp icu ou s i n th e co rpus b u t n o t h i t h e r t o observed f o r Hausa v e rs e a lth o u g h i t seems t o be s i g n i f i c a n t i n b o th g e n re s .
C h ap ter IV, on p ro so d ic rhythm , in v e s t i g a t e s how f a r C la s s ic a l A rabia prosody on th e one hand and Hausa Waka I on th e o th e r p ro v id e th e rhythm ic i n s p i r a t i o n f o r Afcilu as compared w ith o th e r Waka I I a u th o rs .
C h ap ter V su rv ey s A k ilu ’ s s t y l e i n lan g u ag e, exam ining f i r s t v a rio u s form s o f p o e tic lic e n c e ( d i a l e c t , r e g i s t e r , lo a n s , l i n g u i s t i c d e v ia tio n , enjambment and ru n - o n ); th e n r h e t o r i c a l p a tte r n in g i n p a r a lle l is m o f v a rio u s ty p e s (p h o n o lo g ic a l, m o rp h o lo g ica l, s y n t a c t i c , th e m a tic ,
s em a n tic , l i n k i n g ) ; and l a s t l y f i g u r a t i v e language ( i n th e use o f s im ile , m etaphor, symbol and a ll e g o r y ) . T h is f i n a l c h a p te r co n clu d es w ith a b r i e f c o - o r d in a tin g c r i t i c a l commentary t o i l l u s t r a t e th e convergence o f f e a t u r e s of th e m a tic c o n te n t, form and s t y l e i n one poem, KALUBALE, c o n sid e re d as a uniq ue a r t i s t i c e n t i t y .
F in a lly , i t i s concluded t h a t w h ile t o some e x te n t he fo llo w s th e i n h e r i t e d t r a d i t i o n , A&ilu has a ls o d eveloped and e n ric h e d i t w ith h is i n d iv id u a l a r t i s t i c t a l e n t .
Appendix A l i s t s a lp h a b e tic a lly a l l th e poems i n th e corpus w ith a n o te o f some o f t h e i r f e a t u r e s , and Appendix B c o n ta in s th e t e x t and t r a n s l a t i o n o f KALUBALE,
Ac knowledgeme n t s
My f i r s t e x p re s s io n o f g r a t i t u d e goes t o th e M in is try o f E d u catio n of th e Kaduna S ta te Government f o r i t s s c h o la rs h ip award and f o r
fin a n c in g my f i r s t r e s e a r c h t o u r , t o th e Abraadu B e llo U n iv e rs ity , Z a ria , f o r i t s stu d y f e llo w s h ip , t o th e C entre f o r th e Study o f N ig e ria n
Languages, Bayero U n iv e rs ity C o lle g e , Kano, and th e School o f O r ie n ta l and A fric a n S tu d ie s , U n iv e rs ity o f London, f o r t h e i r f i n a n c i a l and o th e r a s s is ta n c e d u rin g my seeond re s e a r c h to u r t o N ig e ria .
I w ish t o s in c e r e l y th a n k P ro fe s s o r D.W. A rn o tt who s u p e rv ise d t h i s t h e s i s f o r h i s k in d a d v ice and v e ry many v a lu a b le c r i t i c i s m s .
The peo p le who a s s i s t e d me i n one way o r a n o th e r d u rin g th e co u rse o f t h i s u n d e rta k in g a re to o numerous t o be m entioned in d iv i d u a lly h e re b u t I am g r a t e f u l t o each and everyone o f them . I sh o u ld m ention i n p a r t i c u l a r my f r i e n d s and c o lle a g u e s Malam Gicfaefo B e llo and Malam Ib rah im Yaro Yahaya; Dr. A.Y. A liy u ; A lh a ji D alh atu B e llo , Malam
Abubakar Gwandu, Dr. B. I k a r a , Malam A liyu Mohmed, Dr, ¥ . Moran, D r. A.
V. King, Mr. G.L. F u r n is s , P ro fe s s o r J , Carnochan, P r o fe s s o r A.N. S k in n er and P r o fe s s o r A.H.M. K irk -G reen e; th e p o et A lh a ji AfcLlu A liy u f o r h is c o -o p e ra tio n and Miss M, Malaoos who ty p ed th e t h e s i s w e ll and s p e e d ily .
F in a lly , I am p ro fo u n d ly g r a t e f u l t o my fa m ily and r e l a t i o n s , t o Mum, t o my b r o th e r Shehu, t o my w ife Uwa and t o F atim a, Lawal, Modibbo
and S a lis u f o r t h e i r p a tie n c e , u n d e rsta n d in g and lo v e .
b
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
A b s tra c t 3
Acknowledgement s 3
CHAPTER I* INTRODUCTION
1 .1 . G en eral 9
1 .2 . The g en re and i t s background 10
1,3* The p o e ti a b io g r a p h ic a l n o te 14 1 .4 . The corpus* a th e m a tic in tr o d u c tio n 22
CHAPTER I I * SEGMENTAL RHYME
2 .0 . I n tr o d u c ti o n 3A
2 . 1 . G en eral rhyme s i t u a t i o n 3*+
2 . 2 . D e ta ile d rhyme p a tte r n s and f e a t u r e s 35 2 . 2 . 1 . CV s y l l a b l e s as rh y m e-b earers 56
2 .2 . 2 . CVjLV2/CVC rhymes 70
2 . 2 . 3 . Rhym e-syllabl© v a r i a t i o n 73
2 ,2 * 4 . Rhyme-word v a r i a t i o n 81
2 .3 . O ther a s p e c ts o f segm ental rhyme 84
2 . 3 *1 . Q asida-opening rhyme 84
2 .3 * 2 . Rhyme c l u s t e r i n g ten d en cy 92
2 .4 . Summary 95
CHAPTER I I I * TONAL RIME
3*0. I n tr o d u c tio n 97
3*1* T onal Running rhyme 98
3 * 1 .1 . R eg u lar t o n a l ru n n in g rhyme 98 3 * 1 .2 , Predom inant t o n a l ru n n in g rhyme 105 3*1.3* M a jo rity t o n a l ru n n in g rhyme 112
3*2. T onal i n t e r n a l rhyme 117
3 * 2 .1 . R eg ular t o n a l i n t e r n a l rhyme 117
I
3 .2 .2 , Predom inant to n a l i n t e r n a l rhyme ^ 9 3 . 2 . 3 . T onal i n t e r n a l rhyme i n th e m a jo r ity
3 *3 . A com parison w ith o th e r p o e ts ^22
3 .4 . Summary ^26
CHAPTER XV1 PROSODIC RHYTHM
4 .0 . I n tr o d u c tio n ^27
4 .1 . F i r s t Approach 128
A. C lose correspondence t o A ra b ic -ty p e m e tre s ^29 B. Rough app ro x im atio n t o A rabic ty p e -m e tre s ^^3 4 .2 . Second Approach
A. C o n scio u sly b ased on Waka I ^ 2.
B. P ro b ab ly b ased on Wafca I C. A n a lo g ic a lly b ased on Wafca X
4 .3 . Amshii fu n c tio n and s t r u c t u r e ^34
4 .4 . Summary
CHAPTER Vj LANGUAGE
207 207
5 .0 . I n tr o d u c ti o n ^ 3
5*1. V a r ie tie s o f p o e tic lic e n c e <^3
5*1.1* D ia le c t and r e g i s t e r usage ^ 3
5 .1 * 2 . Loans A, A rabic
B, E n g lish 215
C, F u la , K anuri and Yoruba 2*19
5*1.3* L in g u is tic d e v ia tio n 224
5*1*4. Enjambment and ru n -o n 233
5*2. R h e to r ic a l p a tte r n s 2
5 * 2 ,1 , P h o n o lo g ica l 2Aj.2
5 * 2 ,2 , M orphological and s y n ta c tic 2,_2
s
5 . 2 . 3 , Sem antic p a r a lle l is m and lin k in g i n KADAUKA 262
( i ) Semantic p a r a lle l is m 262
( i i ) L inking p a r a l le l i s m 268
5 . 3 , F ig u r a tiv e language 276
(1 ) S im ile 277
(2 ) Symbolism and a lle g o r y 283
(3 ) M etaphor 286
5 . if. Convergences KALUBALE 300
C oncluding Remarks 306
Appendix Ai A lp h a b e tic a l l i s t o f poems i n th e co rpus 309 and some o f t h e i r f e a tu r e s
Appendix B: KALbBAlE t text- and t r a n s l a t i o n 3-17
B ib lio g ra p h y 326
L i s t o f T ab les
2 ) 2 /1 : Theme-word a s R unning Rhyme-word and i t s P e r c e n ta g e A3 3 ) 2 / 2 : - b a - r u n n i n g rhyme poems and i n s t a n c e s o f N e g a tiv e ba A7 A) 2 / 3 : - n i - r u n n i n g rhyme poems and i n s t a n c e s o f P ro n o m in a l 50 5 ) 2 /A : C l a s s i f i c a t i o n o f c o rp u s by ru n n in g rhyme s y l l a b l e , e t c . 5A
6 ) 2 / 5 : CV a s i n t e r n a l r h y m e - b e a r e r s 57
7) 2 / 6 : CV rhym es w ith lo w e s t f r e q u e n c i e s 61
8 ) 2 / 7 : t o t a l d i s t r i b u t i o n an d f r e q u e n c i e s o f CV a s i n t e r n a l
rhyme 63
9 ) 2 / 8 : Q a s id a -o p e n in g rhyme 9A
10) 3 / 1 : R e g u la r T o n a l R u n n in g Rhyme ( i . e . r e g u l a r TER) 102 11) 3 / 2 : P re d o m in a n t T o n a l R u n n in g Rhyme ( i . e . b e tw e e n 90 an d 99%)109 12) 3 / 3 : M a jo r ity T o n a l R un n in g Rhyme ( i . e . b e tw ee n 5© an d 8 9 % ) 115 13) A /1 : A k ilu an d o t h e r H au sa p o e t s : A r a b i c - t y p e m e tr e s 1 3 7
1A) A /2 : The S ta n d a r d A ra b ic M e tre s i n H ausa rh y th m ic fo rm u la e 177 13) A /3: A m s h i- te x t r e l a t i o n s h i p : t h e m a t i z a t i o n an d s t r u c t u r e 1 9 5
C hapter I s INTRODUCTION 1 .1 • G en eral
I t m ight ap p ear a x io m atic t h a t a t h e s i s in th e f i e l d o f Hausa L i te r a tu r e would be concerned w ith w r itte n l i t e r a t u r e s in c e i n th e European c o n te x t a t l e a s t ’ l i t e r a t u r e ' has alw ays been u n d e rsto o d t o be w r i tt e n l i t e r a t u r e . But over th e p a s t 20 y e a rs o r so , i t has become in c r e a s in g ly re c o g n iz e d t h a t i n th e A fric a n c o n te x t, th e r e i s much more m a te r ia l t h a t i s n o t w r itte n and y e t can be measured by much th e same
s ta n d a rd s as a re a p p lie d t o th e ( w r itte n ) l i t e r a t u r e ; hence now th e wide accep tan ce o f th e s u p e r f i c i a l l y c o n tr a d ic to r y term 'o r a l l i t e r a t u r e * .
I n th e Hausa c o n te x t, th e r e i s good j u s t i f i c a t i o n f o r re c o g n iz in g -f©r verse th e e x is te n c e o f b o th th e w r i t t e n and th e o r a l l i t e r a t u r e , and^one m ight c o n s id e r u sin g th e term 'p o e try * f o r th e f i r s t and 'song* f o r th e second, w h ile u sin g th e more g e n e ra l term 'v e rse * t o cov er b o th . On th e o th e r hand, i f th e Hausas* own term in o lo g y i s used as a g u id e, th e d i s t i n c t i o n would ap p ear in v a l i d s in c e th e same term wafea i s used f o r b o th . M oreover, much 's o n g ' c l e a r l y h as p o e tic q u a l i t y and f o r 'p o e t r y ' th e t y p i c a l mode o f perform ance i s a ls o s in g in g .
N e v e rth e le s s , a d e t a i l e d s tu d y o f th e s i t u a t i o n shows t h a t two
t r a d i t i o n s do i n f a c t e x i s t s id e by s id e , t r a d i t i o n s which can c l e a r l y be d is tin g u is h e d even though th e y sometimes o v e rla p . In o rd e r n o t t o beg th e q u e s tio n , th e s e two g e n re s o r stream s o f Hausa v e rs e (Wafca) w i l l b e r e f e r r e d t o i n t h i s stu d y as Wafca I ( f o r th e o r a l) and Wafca I I ( f o r th e w r itt e n o r l i t e r a t e ) . Our s t a r t i n g p o in t, th e r e f o r e , can be shown
d ia g r a m a tic a lly w ith re fe r e n c e t o o th e r main b ran ch es o f Hausa l i t e r a t u r e th u s ;
10
Profe ( Zube)
A rt (F asah a)
L i t e r a tu r e (A dabi)
v/
Waka (V erse)
Waka X Waka I I
(O ra l) (W ritte n )
Drama (Karma)
As p erh ap s i n most c u ltu r e s which a re p a r t l y o r a l and p a r t l y l i t e r a t e ( c f . S w a h ili) some o f th e d if f e r e n c e s between Hausa Waka I and Waka IX would seem to be p r e d ic ta b le from th e v e ry f a c t t h a t th e one genre i s o r a l l y composed and n o t t r a d i t i o n a l l y w r itt e n down, w h ile th e o th e r i s n o rm ally w r itt e n down as i t i s composed. I t i s w orth n o tin g some o f th e s e d if f e r e n c e s b r i e f l y .
1 .2 . The genre and i t s background
Among th e g e n e r a l d if f e r e n c e s betw een Waka 1 and Waka I I i s f i r s t , th e f a c t t h a t co m p o sitio n and perform ance i n Waka I a re o f te n in s e p a ra b le w hereas i n Waka I I th e y a re d i s t i n c t a c t i v i t i e s . I n th e case o f Waka I ,
co m p o sitio n /p erfo rm an ce i s p a id f o r , hence p atro n ag e and p ro fe s s io n a lis m , w hereas i n Waka I I t h i s i s n o t th e c a s e . Thus a g a in , w h ile Waka 1
t y p i c a l l y r e q u ir e s a p u b lic audience o r a p u b lic o c c a s io n f o r i t s
p erform ance, Waka I I , which a ls o u ltim a te ly aims a t a wide au d ien c e , can and o fte n i s perform ed i n p r i v a t e .
I n term s o f e x t r a - l i t e r a r y c o n te x t, th e main d if f e r e n c e s a re as fo llo w s , Waka I i s sung, w ith o r w ith o u t c h o ra l re s p o n se , t y p i c a l l y accompanied on a m u sic a l in s tru m e n t; b u t though Waka I I i s n o rm ally sung, i t i s a ls o sometimes sim ply r e c i t e d i n a manner c l o s e r t o norm al speech, and i t s perform ance i s m o stly s o lo and i s n o t m u s ic a lly accompanied.
R e la te d t o t h i s i s th e f a c t t h a t Waka I i s t y p i c a l l y a s s o c ia te d w ith a r e f r a i n o r am shi, w hereas t h i s i s n o t t y p i c a l of Waka I I , Waka I a ls o has a f ix e d tu n e , which i s t h a t s e t by th e o r i g i n a l com poser/p erfo rm er, whereas Waka 11 can be and o f te n i s perform ed t o a v a r i e t y o f tu n e s , Waka I h as a g e n e r a lly g r e a te r m e tr ic a l freedom , e s p e c i a l l y i n l i n e - i n i t i a l p o s itio n , th a n Waka I I which has g e n e r a lly much g r e a te r m e tr ic a l c o n s is te n c y . The m u s ic a l a s p e c t i n Waka I i s th u s g e n e r a lly more i n th e f o r e f r o n t o f a t t e n t i o n th a n i n Waka I I .
As re g a rd s t e x t u a l d if f e r e n c e s , one n o te s , f i r s t , t h a t Waka I has much more v a r i e t y i n th e number o f l i n e s t h a t c o n s t i t u t e a *verse* as w e ll as i n th e number o f s y l l a b l e s i n a l i n e ; i n Waka I I a l l th e v e rs e s o r s ta n z a s have t y p i c a l l y th e same numbfer o f l i n e s i n each s in g le work and th e number o f s y l l a b l e s p e r l i n e i s g e n e r a lly c o n s is te n t, o r v a r i e s on ly w ith in a sm a ll rang© l im it e d by m e tr ic a l f a c t o r s . Complete
r e p e t i t i o n o f l i n e s o r p h ra se s (quit© a p a r t from r e f r a i n s ) i s a f e a tu r e o f Waka 1 , r e s u l t i n g in what m ight be term ed •fo rm u laic* e x p re s s io n s , b u t i n Waka I I r e p e t i t i o n , where found, i s more p a r t i a l and th e n m ainly f o r s t y l i s t i c , r h e t o r i c a l p u rp o se s, and com plete r e p e t i t i o n o f a whole l i n e i s u n ty p ic a l. Rhyme (se g m en ta l) i s n o t a p ro so d ic p r in c ip le o f Waka I b u t i n Waka I I g e n e r a lly i t i s . Again, i n Waka I th e opening and
c lo s in g d o x o lo g ie s as w e ll as th e u se of A rabicism s a re u n ty p ic a l, whereas i n Waka I I th e y a re v e ry common. B esides rhyme (se g m en ta l) and doxology, m etre i s a n o th e r im p o rta n t fo rm al f e a tu r e o r i g i n a tin g from A rabic t h a t i s u n ty p ic a l i n Hausa Waka I b u t i s a s s o c ia te d w ith Waka I I .
F in a lly , were one to a tte m p t t o g e n e r a liz e th e o v e r a l l d if f e r e n c e s , one m ight v e ry t e n t a t i v e l y su g g e st t h a t w h ile Wafea I i s a p p re c ia te d f i r s t f o r i t s sound o rg a n iz a tio n ( i t s tu n e and th e v o ic e q u a l i t y o f th e a r t i s t e t c . ) , seco n d ly f o r i t s lan g uag e, and f i n a l l y f o r i t s s u b je c t- m a tte r , Waka I I i s g e n e r a lly a p p re c ia te d i n i t i a l l y f o r i t s them e, th e n i t s lan g u ag e , and l a s t l y f o r i t s sound o r g a n iz a tio n . O bviously, i t i s d i f f i c u l t i n m ost r e s p e c ts t o i s o l a t e th e s e a re a s o f a p p e a l f o r any one Waka, b u t e q u a lly o b v io u sly , and as p o in te d ou t e a r l i e r , a g r e a t d e a l o f o v e rla p o b ta in s i n many Waka t e x t s . I t rem ains o n ly t o observe a g a in t h a t th e o r a l and l i t e r a t e t r a d i t i o n s o f Hausa v e rs e e x i s t s id e by s id e and a re e q u a lly w e ll known t o composers o f b o th g e n re s and so i t i s n o t s u r p r is in g i f some i n t e r a c t i o n ta k e s p la c e , e s p e c i a l l y p erh aps i n th e form o f in flu e n c e i n th e m a tte r o f rhythm and r e f r a i n from Waka I , which i s o b v io u sly a g e -lo n g , on Waka I I , which came i n t o b e in g b a r e ly two
c e n tu r ie s ago.
Such gre th e t r a d i t i o n s which l i e b eh in d th e flowering o f modern Hausa v e rs e w hich, as o th e r s have shown (G reenberg, A rn o tt, S k in n e r, H is k e tt) i s c h a r a c te r iz e d by b o th a c o n tin u a tio n o f and a developm ent from th e t r a d i t i o n s o f th e p a s t . They form th e background t o th e
co m p o sitio n s o f modern Hausa a u th o rs such as ARilu A liy u w ith whom t h i s t h e s i s i s co n cern ed .
However, b e fo re embarking on an account o f ARilu A liyu*s background and th e poems on which t h i s t h e s i s i s b ased , i t i s a p p r o p r ia te t o g iv e a summary acco u n t o f work t h a t h as a lre a d y been done i n th e f i e l d o f Hausa v e r s e •
P rev io u s work p u b lis h e d on Hausa vers© has u s u a ll y been e i t h e r v e ry g e n e ra l o r r e s t r i c t e d to s tu d ie s o f in d iv id u a l t e x t s . G re e n b e rg 's
d is c u s s io n i n th e a r t i c l e 'H ausa v e rs e p ro so d y ' (19^9) o f th e d if f e r e n c e betw een Waka 1 and Waka I I , which he term s "p o p u lar"1 and " le a rn e d "
r e s p e c t i v e l y , i s p erhaps th e most im p o rta n t g e n e ra l s tu d y , fo llo w e d by J>.Scl^arfe and A U -y ^ - 's 'The T r a d itio n o f Hausa p o e tr y ' (1967) • As co n cern s Waka I , t h i s i s l e s s th e concern o f th e p r e s e n t stu d y th a n Waka I I , b u t i t i s w orth c a l l i n g a t t e n t i o n t o what has been p u b lis h e d on t h i s g e n re , namely some t e x t s and comments in a r t i c l e s by th e German s c h o la r R. P r ie t z e (1916-1918, 1930), a Ph.D. t h e s i s and some a r t i c l e s by A.V.
King (1966, 1967)# an a r t i c l e by D. Muhammad (1971)» and a n o th e r Ph.D.
t h e s i s by D. A bdulkadir (1975)» as giv en i n th e b ib lio g r a p h y .
As re g a rd s Waka I I , H i s k e t t ' s H is to ry o f Hausa Is la m ic Verse (1975) c o n ta in s a f a i r l y f u l l d is c u s s io n o f Hausa Is la m ic v e rs e up t o 1920, and P a d e n 's R e lig io n and P o l i t i c a l C u ltu re i n Kano (1973) a ls o c o n ta in s some g e n e ra l comment on th e r o l e o f v e rs e i n Hausa s o c ie ty . Most p a s t work on modern v e rs e has been o f two k in d s . E i th e r i t h as been concerned w ith c l a s s i f i c a t i o n , as in Paden ( I 965) and L. Muhammad ( 1966) , o r i t has c o n s is te d o f e x p lo ra to ry s tu d ie s o f in d iv id u a l poems, concerned e i t h e r w ith s u b je c t- m a tte r ( H is k e tt 1975) o r form and s t y l e (King 1968, A rn o tt I 9 75) » or b o th (A rn o tt 1968, S k in n er X9^>9t 1971» D, Muhammad 1973)* ‘Xhe o n ly p u b lis h e d stu d y o f an in d iv id u a l p o et and s e v e r a l o f h i s works i s A bdulkadir (197*0 on S a 'a d u Zungur, b u t t h i s to o i s more concerned w ith th e subj© ct-m at t e r , e s p e c ia l l y i t s background, -and l e s s w ith form and s t y l e .
Many more s tu d ie s th u s need t o be u n d e rta k en o f in d iv id u a l works from many a n g le s , ( e s p e c i a l l y from th e fo rm al and s t y l i s t i c v ie w p o in ts ) as w e ll as o v e r a ll s tu d ie s o f th e works o f in d iv id u a l p o e ts as a b a s is f o r com parison w ith o th e r s . T h is t h e s i s a tte m p ts t o make some c o n tr ib u tio n tow ards f i l l i n g t h i s gap by stu d y in g a c o n s id e ra b le c o l l e c t i o n o f works by
A k ilu A liy u - a modern a u th o r o f Waka IX, as we s h a l l see exam ining them p a r t l y from th e p o in t o f view o f th e m a tic c o n te n t b u t m ainly from th e p o in t o f view o f form and s t y l e . The ch o ice o f A k ilu A liyu has been d eterm in ed by s e v e r a l f a c t o r s , th e most im p o rta n t b e in g th e h ig h re g a rd i n which he i s h e ld by th e Hausa p u b lic i n g e n e r a l, and even by o th e r Hausa p o e ts , h i s u se o f v e rs e t o v o ic e h is deep con cern f o r s o c ia l refo rm , th e im m ediate im p re ssio n o f h is p o e tic a r t i s t r y which i s g iv e n by even a p re lim in a ry a c q u a in ta n c e w ith h i s v e r s e , and th e f a c t t h a t he h as n o t been th e s u b je c t o f any m ajor academic a t t e n t i o n . As w i l l be la r g e l y a p p a re n t as th e t h e s i s p ro c e ed s, th e c o re o f th e p o e tic corpus examined i n t h i s s tu d y i s Waka I I s in c e th e poems were composed i n w r itin g and n o t f o r commercial g a in , t h a t when perform ed th e y a re n o t m u s ic a lly accom panied, and t h a t th e y have segm ental rhyme, r e g u la r
s ta n z a ic form s and c o n s i s te n t m e tr ic a l p a t t e r n s , t o m ention a few o f t h e i r main f e a t u r e s . On t h i s b a s i s , th e r e f o r e , A&ilu A liy u i s c l e a r l y
th a n
t o be re g a rd e d as a Waka I I r a th e r ^ a Waka I a r t i s t .
The rem ain d er o f t h i s I n tr o d u c to r y C hapter c o n ta in s a b r i e f n o te
b io g r a p h ic a l£on A k ilu th e man th e p o et and a th e m a tic su rv ey o f th e p o e tic co rpus on which t h i s s tu d y i s b a se d ,
1•3• The p o e t: a b io g r a p h ic a l n o te
A k ilu was born i n th e f i r s t Muslim month o f Muharram i n 1918 a t Jega i n Gwandu e m ira te o f th e th e n Sokoto p ro v in c e , now N orth-W estern s t a t e o f N ig e r ia . H is f a t h e r Malam A liy u Madaha, who o r ig in a te d from Kyarmi (a v i l l a g e some m ile s away, whence th e fa m ily had lo n g moved), was w e ll known as an e x p e r t r e c i t e r o f th e famous A rabic madahu ( p r a is e ) poem on th e P ro p h et Muhammad, th e I s h r i n i v a t (Hausa I s h i r i n i y a ) o f th e Moroccan
p o e t A l-F a z a z i (hence A liy a 's nickname Madaha). A l i y a 's f a t h e r was
0 f
Mahmudu son o f Ahmadu son^Musa Kallamu, and i t i s s a id t h a t t h i s l i n e descended from Abdussalam who was f i r s t an a l l y and l a t e r a r e b e l d u rin g th e jih a d o f Shehu Usmanu dan Fodiyo ( e f . S k in n er e t a l . 1973?
see L a s t, M. 1 9 6 7 ). A kilu*s m o ther, R a b i'a tu , was a n a tiv e o f Je g a . F u r th e r d e t a i l s on h i s im m ediate k in a re g iv en by A k ilu A liy u h im s e lf i n h is poem CIBIYA XI ( w . 9 5 -9 ? ).
Af&lu began le a r n in g th e Q u r'an from, h i s f a t h e r a t an e a r l y age and when Malam A liy u d ie d about 1931» ( s e v e r a l y e a r s a f t e r R a b i'a tu ) A kilu
c o n tin u e d le a r n in g from o th e r te a c h e r s such as Malam Muharamadu Dan Takusa, Malam B an-A llah and Malam Abdulmumini, from whom he a ls o began i l m i , o r th e stu d y o f o th e r r e l i g i o u s books (su ch a s L a h a l l a r i ,
Ishim aw i, e t c . ) i n th e t r a d i t i o n a l way.
At t h i s tim e Jeg a had lo n g been one o f th e most im p o rta n t com m ercial c e n tr e s o f th e p ro v in c e (s e e Arnett$J.1920) and tr a d e i n sheep and g o a ts , c lo th and k o la n u ts k e p t th e town in v ig o ro u s to u ch w ith a r e a s a s f a r so u th a s Ibadan', Ikko (modern Lagos) and Ghana, and a s f a r e a s t a s Kano. As he grew up , A kilu to o k p a r t in some o f th e tr a d in g e x p e d itio n s and one o f h i s e a r l i e s t ( o r a l ) c o m p o sitio n s (se e below) was on one such e x p e d itio n to th e s o u th . I t was from t h i s tim e t h a t A k ilu to o k up h i s f a t h e r 's tr a d e o f t a i l o r i n g and em broidery ( cfinkin hannu) which h a s been h i s main means o f liv e lih o o d up to th e p re s e n t d ay. In f a c t , a t th e end o f many o f h i s poems, a f t e r g iv in g h i s name a s a u th o r , A k ilu u s e s th e tr a d e name Macfinki i . e . th e T a il o r .
From th e age o f f i f t e e n , A k ilu used to go to Kano v e ry o f te n - in s e a rc h o f ilm i and b u s in e s s - u n t i l he d ecid ed to s e t t l e th e r e in about 1936 when he was 18. For th e n e x t th re e o r fo u r y e a r s , h i s ilm i
te a c h e r was Malam Mahmudu Na Malam S a ig a , and Malam S a ig a h im s e lf was th e sh a ik h o f th e T ijja n iy y a S u fi O rder o f which A k ilu i s a d is c ip le * From about 19^0, A k ilu sp e n t th e n e x t tw enty y e a rs o r so in Bornu and Adamawa p ro v in c e s (th e form er N o rth -E a st S t a t e ) , where he jo in e d N .E .P .U . ( th e N o rth ern Elem ents P ro g re s s iv e U n io n ), th e o p p o s itio n p o l i t i c a l p a r ty a g a in s t th e th e n r u l i n g N o rth ern P e o p le 's Congress (N .P .C .) in th e N o rth ern R egion. T his p e rio d en ab led him to le a r n K anuri a s w e ll a s F u la . Most o f h i s vehement p o l i t i c a l p o e try was composed d u rin g th e s e y e a r s , which were sp en t n o t on ly in a c tiv e p o l i t i c a l propaganda (pro-NEPU and a n ti- N .P .C .) b u t a ls o i n s e t t i n g up and te a c h in g Isla m iy y a c la s s e s f o r b o th young and a d u lt members o f NEPU o f e i t h e r s e x . Some such c la s s e s ( e .g . i n Yerwa and Azare) grew
in to sc h o o ls and A kilu had a busy programme te a c h in g l i t e r a c y ( in A rab ic) and th e b a s ic t e n e t s o f Islam to c h ild re n in th e m ornings, to male a d u lt members in th e a f te rn o o n s , and in th e l a t e a fte rn o o n s , to
fem ale a d u lt members (who c o n s is te d c h ie f ly o f s in g le women o r
p r o s t i t u t e s ) . D uring t h i s tim e he was a L egal a d v is e r to NEPU, and he play ed such an a c ti v e and v o c a l p o l i t i c a l r o l e t h a t i n 1939 be was im prisoned f o r s i x m onths. On h i s r e le a s e a t th e end o f t h a t y e a r , A kilu moved to Kano, where he c a r r ie d on h is o ld tr a d e o f cfinkin hannu and co n tin u e d composing r e l i g i o u s , s o c i a l , d id a c t ic a s w e ll a s p o l i t i c a l p o e try u n t i l th e 1966 (Jan u ary ) m i l i t a r y coup when p o l i t i c s were banned in th e c o u n try . T h is meant th e c e s s a tio n o f h i s pro-NEPU, anti-NPC p o l i t i c a l co m p o sitio n s, b u t o f co u rse h i s o th e r p o l i t i c a l , s o c i a l and r e l i g i o u s co m p o sitio n s have c o n tin u ed to th e p re s e n t moment. In e a r ly 197^, A kilu was engaged to te a c h Is la m ic R e lig io u s Knowledge in th e F e s t i v a l p rim ary s c h o o l, Kano, and h a s been doing t h i s s in c e .
A kilu A liy u began composing p o e try in e a r ly you th and though i t
i s u n c e r ta in what h i s f i r s t com position was, i t a p p e a rs t h a t he f i r s t began a s a Waka I a r t i s t , th e n l a t e r became a Waka I I a r t i s t . One o f h i s e a r l i e s t ( o r a l) co m p o sitio n s r e s u lte d from a q u a r r e l which th e in te m p e ra te youth had w ith an e ld e r b r o t h e r 's w ife , M ajusu, and from i t th e fo llo w in g l i n e s a re s t i l l remembered by him:
Duniya mai ju y a y i, K ail Duniya mai ju y a y i.
Ai duniya tso h o n y a y i.
Majusu t a y i zaman zaraba t a ware Wane da danginai*
Amma w uri t a s samu don
Kasko ba z a i k i k w a ta rn i b a .
V/orld, th e f i c k l e one 01 w o rld , th e f i c k l e one.
Yes, th e w orld ( i s ) an o u td a te d mode.
Majusu h a s committed m is c h ie f
She h as p a rte d so -a n d -so from h i s k in .
But i t ' s a chance she h a s found f o r
The kasko po t w i l l n o t r e j e c t th e k w a tarn i p o t.
The co m p o sitio n , th e p o et s a id in in te rv ie w , i s b ased on th e rhythm o f a n o th e r Waka I , a g i r l ' s wedding song. The second example o f A k ilu 's e a r l i e s t co m p o sitio n s i s a r e c o l l e c t i o n o f th e v/orst tr a d in g e x p e d itio n th e p o e t e v er h ad , b e fo re o r s in c e . A kilu and h i s f e l l o w - t r a v e l l e r s had s e t ou t from Mahuta ( in N iger S ta te ) f o r I l o r i n w ith t h e i r h erd o f sheep and g o a ts , b u t a s a r e s u l t o f th e heavy d a ily downpour o f r a i n th ro u g h o u t th e 23 days o f th e jo u rn e y , A kilu l o s t alm ost a l l h i s sh eep , and a y e a r l a t e r , when he pondered on th e a b o rtiv e e x p e d itio n , he composed th e p ie c e , from which he h a s r e c a l l e d th e fo llo w in g l i n e s :
Yau n a i kurum kuma n a i jangwam, n a i ts o k a c i ga bicfay yanzun.
Nai ts o k a c i ga bicfay yanzun, n i ban ga t a c ik a r i b a b a .
Yau n a i kurum, kuma n a i jangwam, yau na tuno da f a ta u c in a ,
wanda n iy y i b a ra c ik in m alka.
Wannan f a ta u c in ya ra b k a n , ya ban wuya b a r i b a b a .
Today I'm re n d e re d m ute, I'm confused and in d e s p a ir : I ponder on th e p re s e n t d a y 's se a rc h ( f o r w e a lth ) .
1 ponder on th e p re s e n t d a y 's se a rc h : I fin d i t n o t f u l l y p r o f i t a b l e .
Today I'm re n d e red m ute, I'm confused and in d e s p a ir , to d ay I r e c a l l my tr a d in g jo u rn e y ,
which I made l a s t y e a r a t th e r a i n ' s h e ig h t.
That tr a d in g jo u rn e y d id knock me h a rd , i t b ro u g h t me h a rd s h ip , n o t p r o f i t .
A part from o r a l co m p o sitio n , A k ilu has a ls o composed i n A rabic on s e v e r a l t o p i c s . He composed e le g ia c v e rs e s on th e d e a th o f h i s son Mamudu (d u rin g h i s Borno d a y s ) , a fa re w e ll n o te to h i s w ife H a jiy a Hawwa'u a t N gaundere, and p u b lish e d a s h o r t p o l i t i c a l poem Q a sid a t a l - Is tig K a th a h d a te d 23, Ramadan 13^9 A.H. in Jos-. T h is poem h as s ix q u in ta in s , th e s i x t h h av in g seven l i n e s , i t rhymes in - y a , and may be i l l u s t r a t e d w ith th e t h i r d q u in ta in :
Fa ha h iy a ya Rabbi bayna yadayka Y/a a n ta mughithun shakauna ila y k a A ghithna a g h ith n a n u rid ma lad ay k a Fa in n a jam i?an f a minka ila y k a
A jiz n a m a?al Urami N a jir iy a .
And when in 1939 A kilu was im prisoned f o r a lle g e d ly making
tre a s o n a b le u tte r a n c e s , he composed th r e e c o u p le ts in A ra b ic , which he and h i s fe llo w p o l i t i c a l p r is o n e r s ch an ted a s th e y b ro k e sto n e f o r b u ild in g . These 3 v e r s e s , o f which th e f i r s t c o u p le t was used a s a r e f r a i n , a r e :
Yal?anahu-1-Lahu man ram ani Bi g h a y ri ma q alah u l i s a n i .
Lamina d a k h a ltu -l-s ijn a in n i R a 'a y tu ma ra q a f i ?u y u n i.
R a 'a y tu gab za, q u ltu wa madha?
Q ila ta?amu a h l i s u ju n i.
But a lth o u g h A kilu h a s composed Waka I v e rs e s and ( w r itte n )
A rabic poems, i t i s h i s Hausa Waka I I c o m p o sitio n s, which a re f a r more numerous and more s i g n i f i c a n t , t h a t a re th e c e n t r a l concern o f t h i s t h e s i s ; f o r a lth o u g h h i s Waka I and A rabic co m p o sitio n s a re n o t
i n s i g n i f i c a n t , A k ilu i s f i r s t and forem ost a Hausa Waka I I a r t i s t , who composes in Ajami and i s p ro u d ly co n scio u s o f h i s s ta n d in g a s a l i t e r a t e p o e t, a s i s made ab u n d an tly c l e a r by h i s own re fe r e n c e to th e pen i n h i s poem CIBIYA I I vv . 83-86:
83 M ad alla, A lk alam i,ab o k in f i r a i
Ni ko da yaushe id a n kana hannuna,
8A Ka k a r f a f a m ini ramnana na j i k w a ri, Ka sakan n ash ad a, k a r s a s h i a j i k i n a ;
85 In t s e f e kalma ware d a l l a - d a l l a ,
Haske s h i ka tu zg o c ik in k i r j i n a ;
86 In t s e f e a in in g a sk iy a cfacfcfata:
Gangar raahauta ba t a ra z a n a Bauna.
83 Thanks to you, Pen, th e good companionI For me, whenever you r e s id e i n my hand,
8A You s tre n g th e n my weakness and I f e e l s tr e n g th , You e x c ite me and in v ig o ra te my body,
85 (T h at) I may comb words s e p a r a te , one by one, (As) l i g h t beams f o r t h i n my c h e s t,
86 (T h at) I may s i f t th e essen ce o f T ru th th e b i t t e r : The b u tc h e r s ’ drum does n o t s c a re th e w ild cow.
Vi/hat le d A k ilu to w r ite p o e try i s u n c e r ta in , b u t be h im s e lf say s t h a t he f i r s t began w r itin g p o e try by composing on r e l i g i o u s themes i n A ra b ic , and i t i s l i k e l y t h a t t h i s o ccu rred d u rin g h i s f i r s t Kano
p e rio d (1936- c . 19^0). H is f a t h e r 's e x p e r tis e w ith I s h r i n i y a and h i s studied in ilm i and in T ijja n iy y a sufism must have i n i t i a t e d and s u s ta in e d h i s i n t e r e s t on th e s e l i n e s . Nor i s h i s f i r s t Hausa Waka I I co m p o sition c e r t a i n a s to d a te , though a g a in h e re th e s u b je c t- m a tte r was r e l i g i o u s p r a i s e . I t a p p ea rs t h a t th e Hausa Is la m ic v e rs e composed by th e jih a d le a d e r s a t th e b e g in n in g o f th e l a s t c e n tu ry - r e l i g i o u s and d id a c t ic v e r s e s , some o f which A kilu l e a r n t by h e a r t a s a boy - p lay ed an im p o rta n t r o l e i n in f lu e n c in g A kilu to compose Waka I I h im s e lf. With re g a rd to d a te s , i t should be m entioned t h a t a d e t a i l e d chronology o f th e poems h a s n o t been p o s s ib le , though in some c a s e s th e d a te o f
com position i s known and i n some o th e r s d e d u c ib le . Some poems d a te from h i s e a r ly y e a rs in Kano, o th e r s from h i s Borno d a y s, o th e r s a g a in p o s t
d a te h i s r e tu r n to Kano and th e approxim ate p e rio d o f com position w i l l be i n d ic a te d , where t h i s i s known and a p p r o p r ia te , by r e f e re n c e to
K.1 1 s t Kano p e rio d (1936 - 1 9 ^ )
B. Borno » ( c f l ^ - 1939)
K.2a 2nd Kano n (a) p re - 1966 ( i . e . 1960-1966)
K.2b (b) p o s t “ 1966 t o - d a t e .
One re a so n f o r th e u n c e r ta in ty about th e d a te o f com position o f many o f th e poems must be r e l a t e d to th e f a c t th a t A k ilu i s such a p r o l i f i c a u th o r t h a t he can h a rd ly remember h i s d a te s ex cep t in th e most u n u su al o r th e more r e c e n t c a s e s . R elate d to t h i s i s a ls o th e f a c t t h a t th e number o f poems he h a s composed must rem ain u n c e r ta in , though
2 2
he h im s e lf e s tim a te s t h a t , c o u n tin g b o th fragm ents and com plete poems, in Hausa, A ra b ic , I h la and K an u ri, he h as composed o v er one thousand p ie c e s , ra n g in g from a tw o -lin e poem to one w ith 1,000 v e r s e s . The g re a t m a jo rity o f th e s e - a t l e a s t 700 - were w r itte n in H ausa. But though n e i t h e r th e t o t a l amount n o r th e chronology o f h i s co m p o sitio n s i s v e r i f i a b l e ( s in c e in 1962 he l o s t a good number o f th o s e he had
composed) one can e a s i l y observe A k ilu 's c o n s ta n t, one m ight alm ost say, o b s e s siv e r e a d in e s s to compose on v i r t u a l l y any s u b je c t o f h i s l i f e and o f s o c ie ty ( f o r some s p e c i f ic themes see n e x t s e c t i o n ) .
A k ilu i s n o t m erely a p r o l i f i c p o et o b sessed w ith w r itin g p o e try p r i v a t e l y , b u t an a c tiv e and e n e r g e tic prom oter o f p o e tic c r e a t i v i t y in o t h e r s . He h a s n o t only e n te re d f o r s e v e ra l p o e tic c o m p e titio n s , which he h a s alm ost in v a r ia b ly won, b u t h as h im s e lf a c te d on th e ju d g e s' o r com m entators' p a n e ls in some o th e r s . He h as composed p o e try f o r o r a t th e s p e c ia l r e q u e s t o f A rts F e s t i v a l s , S tu d en t s o c i e t i e s , th e ra d io and t e l e v i s i o n , and th e Hausa newspaper G askiya Ta F i ICwabo. He h as
formed and o rg a n iz ed th e Hausa F asah a. which i s a clu b o f Hausa p o e ts a l l over N ig e ria , from Sokoto to M aiduguri and from Kano to Lagos. T his clu b o f o ld e r p o e ts , o f which A kilu h as been p r e s id e n t s in c e e a r ly 1972 when i t was fo rm a lly lau n ch ed , i s i n c o n tr a s t to th e Hikima Club o f (g e n e ra lly younger) p o e ts from Kano o n ly , whose p r e s id e n t i s Mudi S ip ik in
and which was formed in 1970. But even b e fo re t h i s tim e , a s w e ll as s in c e , A kilu h a s been a c ti v e in in fo rm a l p o e try groups and i n th e prom otion o f p o e tic c r e a tio n o f h ig h s ta n d a rd g e n e r a lly .
1.A. The Corpus: a th e m a tic in tr o d u c tio n. | r r ■ ■ _ --r -- - i- | • -- - 1 ... - 1 -
In 197*1-, when th e p re s e n t re s e a rc h was embarked upon, th e r e was h a rd ly any a v a ila b le p o e tic t e x t by A kilu A liyu in a p u b lis h e d form . He h im s e lf had e a r l i e r u n d ertak en th e p r in t in g o f a few o f h i s poems by
p r i n t i n g p re s s e s in Kano and J o s , b u t th ey were i n Ajami (th e Hausa s c r i p t ad ap ted from th e A ra b ic ). D uring th e Borno days when most o f h i s NEPU p o l i t i c a l p o e try was composed, a number were a ls o p u b lish e d in boko (th e Hausa s c r i p t ad ap ted from th e Roman) and p u b lis h e d in
b ro a d s h e e ts o r in th e now d e fu n c t Kano p o l i t i c a l Hausa newspaper th e D a ily Comet. In th e e a r ly 19601s , when th e now w e ll known s o c i a l reform poems ' ' Yar G agara' and 1 Dan.gata* (on m arriage and p r o s t i t u t i o n ) were composed, th ey were produced in p a r t s in commercial q u a n t i t i e s on gramophone re c o rd s by E .M .I. and T a b a n si, b u t th e y now ap p ear to have been s o ld o u t. The m ajor Hausa newspaper Gaskiya Ta F i Kwabo ( GTFK) h as a ls o from tim e to tim e p u b lish e d an A kilu A liyu poem m o stly on a
r e l i g i o u s theme ( e . g . *Wakar Yabon Manzon A lla h 1 in i t s is s u e o f 3 1 s t December 1973? and which i s p a r t o f th e poem r e f e r r e d to a s RIJIYA in t h i s s tu d y ) . When a t th e end o f 19&7 A kilu*s poem on th e N ig e ria n C iv il War ( c a lle d f i r s t 'Wafcar Yabon S o jo ji* and l a t e r on ' J i k i Magayi* and r e f e r r e d to in t h i s t h e s i s a s SOJA) had won th e f i r s t p la c e in th e n a tio n -w id e p o e try c o m p e titio n , i t was a ls o p u b lish e d in t h i s newspaper
(F eb ru ary 1968. The t e x t o f t h i s poem h as a ls o s in c e been p u b lish e d in S k in n er e t a l . 1973* w ith an E n g lish t r a n s l a t i o n and some commentary).
F i n a l l y , th e poem *Hausa mai ban h a u s h i1 ( r e f e r r e d to i n t h i s stu d y a s HAUSA I ) was composed i n 1970 f o r th e an n u al Hausa Week o f th e s tu d e n t s o c ie ty K ungiyar Hausa a t A b d u llahi Bayero C o lle g e , Kano, and i t s t e x t , a lo n g w ith a c r i t i c a l commentary in Hausa by th e p r e s e n t w r i t e r , was p u b lish e d i n H arsunan N ig e riy a , I I I , 1973»
In s h o r t , th e r e i s n o t a s in g le a v a ila b le p u b lish e d c o l l e c t i o n o f th e p o e try o f A kilu A li^ u , and t h i s i s why one o f my f i r s t u n d e rta k in g s f o r t h i s r e s e a rc h was to t r a n s c r ib e from ta p e re c o rd in g s and t r a n s l i t e r a t e from th e p o e t 's Ajami m a n u sc rip ts a s e le c tio n o f h i s poems f o r
p u b lic a tio n . T h is h a s r e s u l t e d in th e p ro d u c tio n o f Fasaha A k ili.y a, which i s an e d ite d c o l l e c t i o n o f 1A poems by A kilu A liy u p u b lish e d by th e N o rth ern N ig e ria n P u b lis h in g Company, Z a ria , 1976, and which i s su b m itte d in su p p o rt o f t h i s t h e s i s . But in a d d itio n t o th e s e 1*f poems (o f which 1' Yar G agara1 and 'Dan Dandu1 a re t r e a t e d to g e th e r a s one poem r e f e r r e d to a s ' YAR GAGARA I in th e p re s e n t s t u d y ) , 65 o th e r poems were c o lle c te d and s tu d ie d in g r e a te r o r l e s s d e t a i l f o r th e t h e s i s . These 79 poems, o f which th r e e ( JIHA 12, KAIKAI and ' YAR GAGARA I I ) a re
frag m e n ts, com prise th e co re o f t h i s s tu d y , though o c c a s io n a lly
re fe r e n c e i s made to o th e r A kilu A liy u com positions o u ts id e th e corpus where n e c e s s a ry o r r e le v a n t.
A part from th e a n a ly s is o f th e t e x t s th e m se lv e s, much l i g h t was thrown on th e meaning and s ig n if ic a n c e a s w e ll a s on o th e r background a s p e c ts o f th e poems by a good many in te rv ie w s w ith A k ilu A liy u h im s e lf d u rin g two f i e l d to u r s to N ig e ria ( in Ju n e-O cto b er 1 9 and June-A ugust 197§). In a d d i t i o n , much supplem entary in fo rm a tio n , and exam ples o f poems by o th e r a u th o rs ( i n re c o rd e d and m an u scrip t fo rm ), were o b ta in e d in in te rv ie w s w ith Waka I I a r t i s t s , te a c h e rs and s tu d e n ts o f Hausa l i t e r a t u r e and p r iv a te in d iv id u a ls i n Kano, Z a r ia , K a ts in a , Kaduna, Sokoto, B irn in K ebbi, Gwandu, Jeg a and Argungu, a s w e ll a s from v i s i t s to th e r a d io s t a t i o n s i n Kano, Kaduna, and Sokoto, th e N a tio n a l A rchives and th e t e l e v i s i o n s t a t i o n in Kaduna, and th e l i b r a r y o f th e C entre f o r th e Study o f N ig e ria n Languages, Bayero U n iv e rs ity C o lle g e , Kano.
The g r e a t m a jo rity o f th e s e 79 poems which com prise th e corpus on which t h i s stu d y i s based a re i n one o r o th e r o f th e two t r a d i t i o n a l s ta n z a ic form s, A6 b e in g i n c o u p le ts and 32 in " q u in ta in s " (a u s e f u l term coin ed by P r o fe s s o r A rn o tt ( 1968) f o r a s ta n z a o f 3 l i n e s ) . There
i s , however, one s in g le u n u su al poem in q u a tr a in s . With one e x c e p tio n , each o f th e s e 79 poems h a s i t s own f u l l t i t l e (th e s e b e in g th em selv es s u f f i c i e n t l y in g e n io u s and s i g n i f i c a n t to m e rit s e p a r a te s tu d y ) ; b u t s h o r t t i t l e s have been co in ed and adopted h e re f o r e a se o f r e fe re n c e in th e body o f t h i s s tu d y . These s h o r t, u s u a lly one-word r e fe re n c e t i t l e s a re c i t e d u n d e rlin e d and in c a p i t a l l e t t e r s , and where r e le v a n t th e number o f t h e i r v e rs e s and th e s ta n z a ic form a re g iv en i n b r a c k e ts ; b u t o th e r t e x t s a re n o t in c a p i t a l s (e x c e p t f o r i n i t i a l l e t t e r s o r p ro p e r names) b u t a re g iv en in s in g le q u o te s and i f p u b lis h e d , a re u n d e rlin e d . The 79 poems a re l i s t e d a lp h a b e tic a lly by th e s e s h o r t r e f e re n c e t i t l e s in th e AppendixA* which a ls o g iv e s summary in d ic a tio n s o f t h e i r main f e a tu r e s a s d e s c rib e d in d e t a i l i n th e t h e s i s .
A lthough th e f u l l co rpus o f 79 poems i s b u t a mere f r a c t i o n o f Afcilu1s t o t a l p o e tic o u tp u t, i t n e v e r th e le s s co v ers a c o n s id e ra b le th e m a tic and s t y l i s t i c spectrum o f h i s p o e try . The fo rm al and s t y l i s t i c f e a tu r e s o f th e s e poems a re s tu d ie d in some d ep th i n th e main c h a p te rs o f t h i s t h e s i s b u t h e re i t i s a p p ro p ria te to i n d ic a te b r i e f l y th e main them es, though some a s p e c ts o f th e s e themes a re re tu r n e d to in th e body o f th e t h e s i s , e s p e c ia ll y where th e y a re h ig h lig h te d by form al and s t y l i s t i c d e v ic e s .
Although c l a s s i f i c a t i o n o f poems by s u b je c t- m a tte r does n o t
g e n e r a lly y ie ld much s i g n i f i c a n t in fo rm a tio n about each p a r t i c u l a r poem, ttVis
e s p e c ia ll y in i t s r e l a t i o n to o th e r s , f o r our purpose i n ^ t h e s i s th e corpus o f 79 poems i s d iv id e d in to f iv e m ajor th e m a tic c l a s s e s .
I r e l i g i o u s I I s o c ia l/m o r a l I I I p o l i t i c a l IV p r a is e V p e rs o n a l
In term s o f s i z e , th e r e l i g i o u s c la s s ( l ) and th e p o l i t i c a l ( I I I ) a re th e l a r g e s t (w ith 23 poems e a c h ), follow ed by th e s o c ia l/m o r a l (w ith 1 6 ), th en th e p r a is e (IV) and f i n a l l y th e p e rs o n a l (V ). Each m ajor c l a s s h as s u b c la s s e s a s fo llo w s (se e T able A1 f o r d e t a i ls ) *
I* The r e l i g i o u s c l a s s i s su b d iv id ed in to fo u r c l a s s e s : (a ) th e madahu ( r e l i g i o u s p r a is e ) and s i r a ( h i s t o r i c a l ) s u b c la s s which c o n ta in s 8 poems whose theme c e n tr e s on th e P ro p h et Muhammad, e . g . ISRA 'I ( in Fasaha A k iliy a ) ; (b) 3 poems on th e t e n e t s o f Is la m , e . g . HASKE; (c) a n o th e r 3 poems on w a 'a z i o r hom ily, e . g . DUNIYA ( i n Fasaha A k iliy a ) ; and (d) 9 poems which a re concerned w ith th e p o e t 's 'p r i v a t e ' r e l i g i o u s e x p e rie n c e s , such a s SAKO and HAJI (b o th in Fasaha A k iliy a ) , which d e a l r e s p e c ti v e ly w ith h i s wish and f u lf ilm e n t in c o n n e c tio n w ith th e
p ilg rim a g e to Mecca; and JAKADIYA which d e a ls w ith th e T ijja n iy y a S u fi O rd er.
I I . The s o c ia l/m o r a l c l a s s i s su b d iv id ed in to t h r e e . In (a) th e r e a re 6 poems d e a lin g w ith th e s u b je c t o f m arriag e and p r o s t i t u t i o n . F iv e o f th e s e , ' YAR GAGARA I ( i . e . ' ' Yar G agara' and ' Dan Daudu* in Fasaha A k iliy a ) , PANGATA, GORA and AURE (b u t n o t ' YAR GAGARA I I which i s a
ta h m is i o f ' YAR GAGARA I ) may be term ed, f o r want o f a b e t t e r p h ra s e , th e s o c io -d o m e stic q u a r t e t , which a re a l l in c o u p le ts , have th e same m e tr ic a l p a t t e r n , and form a c h ro n o lo g ic a lly th e m a tic u n ity by th em selv es
(and d e se rv e a f u l l - s c a l e s o c io lo g ic a l s tu d y ) , (b) c o n ta in s 3 poems a l l d e a lin g w ith e d u c a tio n , e . g . KADAURA (which won th e 1970 Kano S ta te F e s t i v a l o f th e A rts p o e try c o m p etitio n ) and ICALUBALE (b o th in Fasaha A k iliy a ) ; and (c ) c o n ta in s 6 poems which have to do w ith v a rio u s a s p e c ts
o f w ider s o c i a l m o ra lity and c u l t u r e , e .g . HAUSA I ( i n Fasaha A k iliy a ) and AL'ADU (which was s p e c i f i c a l l y commissioned by th e N ig e ria n B ro a d c a stin g C o rp o ra tio n , Kaduna, in 1973)*
I I I . The 'p r a i s e ' c l a s s com prises th r e e s u b - d iv is io n s . In (a) th e r e a re 6 poems r e f e r r i n g to c e r t a i n in d iv id u a ls , t h e i r themes b e in g
v a r io u s ly p a n e g y ric , e .g . UMMARA, a com bination o f p r a i s e and apo lo g y , e .g . AMSA in Fasaha A k iliy a , and e leg y a s in MURTALA. (b) c o n ta in s 2 poems which have to do w ith th e p r a is e o f a p la c e (LEGAS, in Fasaha A k iliy a ) and an e sta b lis h m e n t (TALBIJIN) . (c ) c o n ta in s A poems whose theme i s th e a p p r a is a l o f o th e r s u b je c ts o r e v e n ts , e . g . c a t t l e o r th e r a i n s (SANIYA and DAMINA r e s p e c tiv e ly , b o th i n Fasaha A k iliy a ) .
IV. The p o l i t i c a l poems su b d iv id e i n to two: (a ) th e N .E.P.U .
p o l i t i c a l poems o f which th e r e a re 10, e .g . TAURARO, and (b) o th e r poems w ith a p o l i t i c a l s u b je c t o th e r th a n N .E .P .U ., o f which th e r e a re 13 poems, e .g . th e fragm ent JIHA 12 on th e c r e a tio n o f th e tw elve s t a t e s i n N ig e ria in 19&7, and SOJA on th e N ig e ria n C iv il War (p u b lish e d in GTFK, F eb ru ary 1968, and in S k in n er e t a l . 1973)*
V. The l a s t th e m a tic c l a s s c o n ta in s 3 p e rs o n a l poems which a re n o t su b d iv id e d . These d e a l w ith no s in g le to p ic o th e r th a n th e p o e t 's own p r iv a te th o u g h ts o r f e e l i n g s , w hether in co n n ectio n w ith th e c a r a c c id e n t which le d to a lo n g p e rio d in h o s p i t a l w ith a broken l e g in September 1962 (CUTA, i n F asaha A k iliy a ) , h i s d is illu s io n m e n t w ith h i s Kano l i f e ( CIBIYA I and CIBIYA I I ) , o r h i s view s on l i f e and a r t in g e n e ra l in th e fragm ent ICAIKAI. In T able A1, which fo llo w s , a l l th e 79 poems a re l i s t e d by t h e i r s h o r t r e fe re n c e t i t l e s , w ith t h e i r f u l l o r i g i n a l t i t l e s shown on th e r i g h t and, in th e c e n tr e columns., th e number o f s ta n z a s and w hether th e y a re in c o u p le ts ( 2 ) , q u in ta in s ( 3 ) , o r q u a tr a in s (A).
T able A i. CORPUS
Them atic c la s s e s
1 ' RELIGIOUS
l a : The P ro ph et Muhammad (in c lu d in g madahu and s i r s
1 Bege 8 3 /2 Bege y a zuwa gun masoyi
2 I s r a * i 104/5 Haske mai g an ar da b a s i r a
3 K afiyya 254/2 ~/Mai uwa daban da maraya
A Koko 124/5 Kokon m abarata
5 M au lid i I 4 1 /5 G odiyar S a rk i A llah 6 M au lid i I I 35 /5 Daren babbar s a l l a 7 M au lid i I I I 63 /5 Hasken Asuba
8 R ijiy a 26/5 Mun to n a sabuwar r i j i y a
I b t Is la m ic law and ju ris p ru d e n c e ( f ik ih u )
1 I-Iaske 208/2 Hasken Zukata
2 G askiya 203/2 G askiya mai d a c i
3 N asiha 66/2 N asiha zuwa gun 'y an 'uw a
Ic* Homily, r e l i g i o u s refo rm (wa’a z i)
1 Duniya 136/5 Duniya raw&r ,yanm ata/H indu mata mai z a ra
2 Tuba I 7 9 /2 AHah sanya mu gane
3 Tuba I I 25/2 Tuba maganin kazamin a i k i
I d : P e rs o n a l r e l i g i o u s e x p e rie n c e (in c lu d in g th e T i.i.janiyya s e c t)
1 Sako 5 7 /2 Sako a hannun mumini
2 H a ji 113/5 A ik in H a ji ya mice wasa 3 Ado S an u si 167/2 G odlyar A lla h Kudusi
J L
A Bango 7 2 /2 Bangon Gabas
5 F a ila 8 0 /2 Kamshin b is h iy a r F a ila
6 G uzuri 4 7 /5 Is a s s h e n G uzuri
7 Ibrahim a 117/2 In y a s iy y a Ib rah im iy y a 8 Jak a d iy a 103/2 Ja k a d iy a r f i k i r i
9 Usman 29 /5 T i jja n iy y a Usmaniyya
I I - MORAL/SOCIAL
H a : S o cio -d o m estic (m a rriag e and p r o s t i t u t i o n )
i •Yar Gagara I 111/2 •Yar Gagara/Kwamacala
2 •Yar Gagara I I 8A*/5 J iy a da Yau/Sabo tu rk e n wawa
3 D angata 357/2 D angata
A Gora 101/2 G orar kanmu nake ra b k a t a
5 Aure 110/5 Aure y a z a r c i ba*a
Da s h i akan t s e r e sa*a
l i b : E d u c a tio n a l
1 ICalubale 4 8 /2 A y au n© garnannen b u k i
Na w&kokin fcalubale
2 Kadaura 87 /2 Kadaura babbar inuwa
3 Yaro 8 1 /5 Yaro ba y a zama babba
I n ba ilm i ya samu b a
* •Yan Makar a n t a 18 A/2 Mai motsarwa
Kail a i k i da b a r in y in kyuya
5 Somi 55 /2 Somin ta S in a lm a jira n m akaranta
l i e x G e n era l manners and m o rals ( a l* ad u , d a b i^ u )
1 Ci Gaba 38A/2 Ci Gaba
2 Hafcuri 263/2 Hafeuri maganin zaman t a r e
3 Hausa I 8 6/2 Hausa mai ban h a u sh i
k Hausa I I 3 7/5 H arshen Hausa y a bunfcasa
5 Al*adu 0 3 /5 Ga b a tu n a l * adunmu
Wanda munka s a n i tu n da
6 'Yan Dara 162/2 Mu a ik a t a g a s k iy a TYan lla ra
I I I - PRAISE
I l i a x I n d iv id u a ls
1 M o Bayero 72 /5 Kb&on b a ra
2 Ummara 20A/2 Yabon Shehun Barno Umar G arbai
3 Amsa ^1 /5 Amsa g a ’Wasi&a t a Sha#i r c i *
k H a*ibi 52/2 D a t t i j o w argi babu wa-
sa babu Malam Wa’i b i
5 Kaduna I 228/2 Wasifca *yar Kaduna
6 M u rtala 91/5 Madadin F asah ar Hausa ga kuma '
N a je riy a Sannunmu A l l a i sanyaya, A lla h s h i g a l a r t a wa Shugaba M u rtala,
I l l b i P la c e s , e s ta b lis h m e n ts
1 Legas
2 T a l b i j i n
9A/2 Babban b i r n i n H ije riy y a K a sa ita cc e n g a r i Legas
3 0 /2 Mun gode Hukumat T a l b i j i n
I l l c t O ther S u b je c ts
1 Damina 29/5 Damina mai a lb a rk a
2 N a ira 9 5 /2 N a ira da kwabo ts a b a b b iy a
<jo,bo
3 Noma 209/2 Ba wani ci/?yau mai girm a
ZaBaSbar s a n a 'a s a i noma
4 Saniya 5 2/2 Daddacfan da<fi Saniya
IV - POLITICAL
IV* NEPU
1 BafdL 3 4 3 /5 Bafd. uku s h a r r i 'Y a n p is i 2 F i l l o r i 55 /2 F i l l o r i 'ya,r In d iy a
3 In k w ariy a 23/5 In k w ariy a
4 Inuwa 51 /2 Inuw ar Sawaba
5 Taka llj-3/2 Taka a yanke a ra b a
6 T au raro 2 9 /5 T au raro n &amani
7 'Y ar F i l a n i 2 5 /5 'Y ar F i l a n i yawren yawre 8 Z a lu n c i 25/5 A h u ra w ata a ga na mai rab o
9 J iy a 5 6 /4 J iy a da Yau
3D J i h a r Kano 5 0 /2 J i h a r Kano munka f i so A ba mu ba Kaduna ba
IVi O thers
1 A firk a 2 6 /5 A firk a £ asa mai a lb a rk a
2 Maraba 5 3/5 Maraba maraba
3 J ih a 12 12 * /5 Marhaban da jiharm u goma
Sha b iy u n da muke ginawa
if 5 6 7 8 9
10 11
12 13
1 2 3 k
5
3 2
Jum huriya I 100/5 (none g iv e n )
Jum huriya IX 7 3 /5 Murnar juyowar sh ek ar Jum huriya t a b iy u a N ije r iy a K ic iB is A 2 2 l/2 K ic ib is mugun gamo S o ja
E d c ib is B 8A/2 Murna b a za t a t s u f a ba
Maza 36A/2 Maza lcunun barkono
Mazaje 249/2 N a je riy a m azaje
Mun c i g a s h in kanmu nan fcasar tu n j i y a
N a je riy a 7115 N a je riy a da fawa
Sansan 263/2 Muna f a t a mu san n a s a r a r fcid&ya So ja 95 /5 J i k i magayi
Tunku 275/2 Tunku da fcarau
V. PERSONAL
Cut a 67/5 Cut a ba mutuwa ba
C ib iy a I 5 0 /2 Ba boye c i b i lo k a c ln y in wank a Sani 5 0/2 Kafanga A lh a ji Shehu Malam S an i CIBIYA I I 121/2 Bankwana da Umaru Yola /
Ba boye c i b i lo k a c in y in wanka K aik ai 14*/2 K aik ai a k a r a ta
Such i s th e th e m a tic panorama covered by our p o e tic c o rp u s.
Subsequent c h a p te rs a re d ev o ted to a d e t a i l e d stu d y o f th e fo rm a l and s t y l i s t i c f e a t u r e s o f Afcilu A liyu*s a r t which th e poems d is p la y .
C h ap ters IX and I I I a re concerned w ith h is rhyme p a t t e r n s and th e e x te n t t© which th e y r e f l e c t h i s p o e tic I n d i v i d u a l i t y . C h ap ter I I examines th e t r a d i t i o n a l p a t t e r n o f rhyme c a r r i e d by th e f i n a l s y l l a b l e o r s y l l a b l e s o f th e p o e tic l i n e , w h ile C hapter I I I i s a s tu d y o f t o n a l rhyme which ap p ea rs t o be c h a r a c t e r i s t i c and p erh aps a s p e c ia l f e a t u r e o f A feilu's s t y l e . C h apter IV examines th e m e tr ic a l p a tte r n s o f th e poems and th e ex b en t t o which th e y a re t o be r e l a t e d on th e one hand t o A ra b ic -ty p e m e tre s and, on th e o th e r , t o th e rhythm ic p a tte r n s o f Hausa Wafca I®, and
a ls o i n v e s t i g a t e s th e n a tu re o f th e r e f r a i n (am shi) which i s a phenomenon n o t t y p i c a l o f Wafca I I i n g e n e ra l b u t which i s a n o tic e a b ly a s s o c ia te d w ith a s u r p r is in g p ro p o r tio n o f A k ilu 's p o e try . C h ap ter V i s concerned
e s s e n t i a l l y w ith a s p e c ts o f s t y l e i n language and d e a ls i n p a r t i c u l a r w ith v a r i e t i e s o f p o e tic l ic e n c e , w ith r h e t o r i c a l p a t t e r n s , and w ith im agery, w ith a f i n a l b r i e f c o -o rd in a tin g ex am in atio n o f one o f A feilu's s h o r t m a s te rp ie c e s .
C hapter I I : SEGMENTAL RHYME
2 , 0 o I n tr o d u c tio n
I n C hapter I b r i e f re fe re n c e was made t o th e f a c t t h a t segm ental rhyme, which i n Hausa i s t y p i c a l l y born© by th e l a s t s y l la b l e o f th e p o e tic l i n e , i s one o f th e most im p o rta n t c h a r a c t e r i s t i c f e a tu r e s of Hausa Waka I I , d is tin g u is h in g i t from th e s i t u a t i o n i n Waka I where i t i s n o t a p o e tic p r i n c i p l e . T h is c h a p te r d e s c rib e s th e n a tu re and
s ig n if ic a n c e o f segm ental rhyme i n A k ilu A liyu by exam ining, f i r s t , th e g e n e r a l rhyme s i t u a t i o n i n th e co rp u s, paying p a r t i c u l a r a t t e n t i o n to th e ru n n in g rhyme, th e n ,s e c o n d ly , th e d e t a i l e d rhyme p a tte r n s and
f e a t u r e s , a n d , f i n a l l y , some o th e r p a r t i c u l a r rhyme a s p e c ts i n our c o rp u s.
At each p o in t where r e l e v a n t, r e f e re n c e i s made t o th e p r a c tic e o f o th e r Waka I I a u th o rs w ith re g a rd to segm ental rhyme. -
2 .1 . G en eral rhyme s i t u a t i o n
Even a q u ic k su rv ey o f th e g e n e r a l rhyme s i t u a t i o n o f th e poems in o u r corpus w i l l show t h a t th e g r e a t m a jo rity o f them have rhyme,* and a lth o u g h on c lo s e r e x am in atio n , c o n s id e ra b le v a r i e t y i s r e a l i z e d , t h i s g e n e ra l o b s e rv a tio n i s s i g n i f i c a n t i n in d ic a tin g th e g r e a t im portance Akilu" A liy u as a member o f th e l i t e r a t e t r a d i t i o n o f Hausa p o e ts a tta c h e s t o t h i s c o n v e n tio n a l m a trix o f v e rs e co m p o sitio n .
2.1, . I .
A g ain st t h i s g e n e r a l background o f th e dom inant p resen ce o f rhyme, however, i s th e s t r i k i n g f a c t t h a t i n two poems (o u t o f th e t o t a l 79 i n th e c o rp u s ), segm ental rhyme i s co m p letely a b s e n t. These two poems a re th e exten d ed poem 9YAR GAGARA I (which i s 1*Yar G ag ara1 p lu s *Dan Dandu*
i n Fasaha A k iliy a ) ( l i l / 2 ) , and MARABA ( 5 0 /2 ) .
fYAR GAGARA I has no ru n n in g rhyme, and b ein g i n c o u p le ts i t i s h a rd ly s u r p r is in g t h a t i t has no i n t e r n a l rhyme e i t h e r . I n an in te rv ie w ,
