GIDAN DAN HAUSA.

BIOGRAPHY OF DAN HAUSA

A citizen of Dan Hausa is an English citizen of Switzerland, his name is mr Hanfisha, he was
born in 1846 in Besile Switzerland, he has one wife named Queen...and children

He got married in 1910-1911, the same year they met and got married. He went to Nigeria for the
first time in 1901 as a Christian preacher and went to a town called before he comes to Nigeria,
he could speak Hausa.

Then his second son lived in Barno as Assistant Resident of Barno in 1905 when the first school
was opened in Nigeria and the English came to Kano.Yabiyo traveled through Niger, Egypt and
his messenger, Sa'id, was in the palace of the king of Nasarawa in 1906-1907 and was given
director of Education

He opened a school under theTall tree (tsamiya) 2 weeping tree(Kuka) 1 where he studied.
Nigerian students from Adamawa, Benue, Plateau were the children of Sarakuna and they gave
him the name Dan Hausa.

He has written two books,

1. Across the Sahara

2. Khams

In 1945, his son contracted pneumonia and went to find a cure for it, but the English killed him.

Every day, he comes out with a special person during the recreation, he comes out and his
family is angry with him and his family every day I'm relaxing outside.

RADIO

A Hausa man broadcasts a radio that he plays every day

Who listens to world news It is a kind of radio which is not the same.

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 THE RADIO OF DAN HAUSA

The House was built in 1905 for Dan Hausa popularly known as Sir Hanns Vischer, an Anglican
missionary.

The house is situated at Dan Hausa Road, Kano. It is a major tourist attraction given its historic
importance as where Western education in the North started.

This historical monument was named so after the title 'Son of Hausa' given to the Swiss tutor that
started western education in the North, Mr Hanns Vischer, because he wrote and spoke Hausa
language.

This museum houses a collection of artifacts from Stone Age to present day.

Gidan Dan Hausa played an important role in the modernization of northern Nigeria, but only a
few know the history behind this beautiful building. Michael Oche reports from Kano.

Gidan Dan Hausa is said to be more than 250 years old, and was originally owned by a local

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chief responsible for managing the Emir’s farmland.

The name Gidan Dan Hausa literally means ‘The Son of Hausa residence” in Hausa, it became
the birth place of western education in northern Nigeria.

As Kano’s first colonial residency, it was here that the English language was first taught in the
North of Nigeria by Hanns Vischer, a British Educational Officer who was its first British
resident in 1908. He taught all the young princes of the Kano Emirate how to speak and write in
English and was given the traditional title Dan Hausa, meaning ‘Son of Hausa. ’

Available records show that the school, which started with 30 pupils in 1909, had a student
population of 209 in 1913 with students drawn from the 11 Northern provinces.

According to Historians, Vischer arrived in Nigeria in 1906 after travelling by caravan from
Tripoli, Libya, and first stayed at the Emir’s Palace before moving to the house. His wife Isabella
joined him in 1912. But the house was built more than 150 years before Vischer occupied and re-
designed it and was used by the British until 1960.

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Despite its pivotal role in the history of Nigeria, many northerners know little or nothing about
the building’s illustrious past. ]

Its significance goes beyond its architectural design, which is one of its most interesting features
and an outstanding example of Hausa mud-walled architecture. The fact that it still remains
standing to this day shows how accomplished the architects of that era were.

Rebuilt in 1901, Gidan Dan Hausa has managed to maintain much of its original and unique
structure. It has since been converted into a museum adorned with pictures of Vischer, his wife
and housemaid, and is also home to the Kano state History and Culture Bureau.

Speaking to LEADERSHIP SUNDAY, the Executive Director of the Kano state History and
Culture Bureau, Mallam Ali Abubakar Bature said “Hanns Vischer was an educational officer in
the British army who was posted to Kano as an educational officer.

He was the second man sent by the British; the first was Mr. Miller, who failed to win the trust of
the people of Kano because he came with the missionary approach, in contrast to the Islamic
culture of the people. Mr. Vichser was a bit smarter because he was able to combine Islamic and
western education. ”

He went on to say that Mr. Vichser “studied the culture of the people of Kano very well, he was
even able to speak the Hausa Language. He mingled with the people and got the acceptance and
confidence of the people to the extent that he was given that traditional title – Dan Hausa. He got
married here in this house and his first and second children were born here.

“You can say that Mr. Vischer laid the foundations for modern education in the north in Kano. It
was through him – because he was able to translate Hausa into English – that Hausa was first
translated into Latin. ”

Historian Malam Abdukadir Sule, told LEADERSHIP SUNDAY that “this is historic building,
but it is my belief that Nigeria, and indeed Kano state, has not really explored the potential that

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lie therein. Monuments such as this can attract tourists from across the world if well packaged. ”

He said that the inadequate attention given to the upgrading of infrastructure of important
national heritage buildings is responsible for low returns from the tourism sector.

“Most of us believe that museums were established for the purpose of education and learning, or
research and conservation. However, as society has changed, the economic role of museums has
become more important.

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 RIJIYAR GIDAN DAN HAUSA

“There is no specific time of the day for tourists to visit the house. But there are seasonal times
that visitors normally come into Kano to see the artifacts. This happens during festivities like the
Eid festivals. Sometimes they come twice in a year during the Eid -Fitr, Eid -Kabir and during

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the Dubar festival which is one of the state’s grandest festivals. At this period people in other
states and neighboring countries come around from time to time through organized visits like
school excursions.
“Some primary schools visit the house every term to learn more about the history of Kano and
we educate them about the artifacts and how they were used and made in the olden days. We
have professional guides who usually take people round the house and explain to them
everything that are in the galleries.
“Except for the recent insurgency issue that the country is faced with, people from virtually
every part of the world come here to see this structure. Though we now have a low turn up of
tourists, we still have people from China visiting. Before the insurgency, people from Britain,
America and France used to visit the house on a regular basis. Also, we have people from
neighboring countries like Niger, Cameroon and the Republic of Benin visiting here,” he added.
Conducting Daily Trust on Sunday round the galleries, a Principal Technical Officer (Guide),
Mr. Dominic Yarima, said the many historical artifacts in the gallery exhibition are to highlight
Kano before the Jihad of the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad (PBUH) and after. “The first gallery
which we call ‘Gallery One’ is about the Hausa architecture. It demonstrates the way Hausa
people build their houses and even displays some of the building materials like the local bricks,
mud and stones that are used for the foundation and other building materials. The major
attractions in the first gallery are the heavy iron doors that were used at the various city gates and
we have two of them.

“The second gallery showcases the traditional Hausa occupation and itemizes about three or four
Hausa occupations, like the blacksmith, how irons are heated and used to construct different
materials. Hunting was also one of the early Hausa occupations. Hunting materials are also
showcased, materials like the bow and arrow, leather bags, knives and guns are in the second
gallery.
“The third major occupation is farming, which is very common among the Hausa. The Hausa are
good farmers and they use different farm tools for their farming processes. We exhibit some of
those tools, ranging from the ridge-making hoe, which they use to plough the land, the long hoe
which is for weeding, small hoe for planting and sickle for weeding of grasses and harvesting of
rice and millet. There is also an artistic impression of ancient settlement of Dala. It shows the
Dala hill and some of the activities associated with the hill which includes the worship by the

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Chief Priest called Barbushe, who was in charge of a spirit called Tsunburbura at that time. The
artistic impression also shows some of the worshippers who go round the hill, dancing and
performing their annual festival.”

“The most attracting equipment in the third gallery however is the warfare. War equipment is
being showcased. There are also symbols of kingship and the ancient currencies. The warfare
showcases the type of weapons used by the Kano warriors in those days during wars and battles.
We have iron armours which they used to protect themselves against weapons. We also have the
spear, long knife and also a war cap. The war cap is a very strong cap that was used to cover
their heads as a means of protection and then the chain ware which is made of pieces of iron that
are joined together and used as a protection for the chest area. Royalty in Kano is one of the
symbolic activities that attract people. People of Kano love their emirs and as such, they always
admire whatever kind of outfit they put on. So we showcase symbols of kingship like the royal
turban. There is also the trumpet which is normally blown to call the attention of the people and
inform them of the emir’s presence.

There is the royal slipper made out of ostrich feathers which is specially made for the king and is
not allowed for usage by anyone except the king. Then we have the local fan which is also made
from ostrich feathers. There is a display of musical instrument ranging from the flute, string
instruments, to various types of drums especially the royal drums. Whenever people come to
visit, they always ask about that particular drum because it is made specially and is only played
in the palace. It is also not permissible for it to be used outside the palace. There are other drums
as well like the talking drum, long drum, farming drum, among others. Ancient currencies are
also showcased in the third gallery where we showcase samples of different ancient currencies
used in Nigeria in the past as a medium for exchange after trade by barter. We have the coiled
manila which was used as currency particularly in the eastern parts of the country and was used
for paying bride price and also as a medium of exchange for purchasing slaves. We also have the
brass currency, the cowry shells which were used in the northern parts of the country. We have
other currencies that came into existence like the coins, the Nigerian pounds, before the use of
naira and kobo came to Nigeria in 1973. The items in the fourth gallery are pictorial in nature
and they tell stories about the British occupations in Kano and their influences and impact in
Nigeria. We showcased all the leaders who led the country right from the premier times. We

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have the picture of the premier of northern Nigeria, Sir Ahmadu Bello, the premier of eastern
Nigeria, Michael Okpara, the premier of the western region, Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola. It
also showcases the early British leaders and Governor Generals who ruled the country, starting
with Sir Fredrick Lord Lugard who amalgamated the northern and southern protectorates and
was the first British Governor General of Nigeria. It showcases the pictures of all the British
Governor Generals that we have had from the first to the last, Sir James Robertson who handed
over power to the citizens during the independence of 1960. There are pictures of all other
Nigerian leaders right from the colonial period to the time of independence. From the first
Nigerian Governor General, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, the first and last Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar
Tafawa Balewa. We also have the symbols of Nationhood where we highlight some of the
symbols starting with the National Pledge, the National Anthem, the Nigerian Coat of Arms and
Flag”.
Also speaking about the house, the Principal Ethnographer, Mallam Abdul Tela told our
correspondent about a small hut which entails learning about Islam. “We call the hut Dakin
Mallami Da Allo (the room for the teacher and the board). When we say Dakin Mallami Da Allo,
children are usually happy because of the familiar learning Centre that is till today available
within their community and environment. So we make the hut and put up a picture of a mallam
holding his rosary for counting to indicate he is leading the children in learning about Islam. His
Allo (small board) is by his side, his kettle by the other side and he is sitting on a local mat made
from animal hide. We also give the history of the coming of Islam, when Islam came through
traders especially during the Trans-Saharan Trade.