THE PLACE OF WOMEN IN SELECTED

HAUSA GENDERED PROVERBS

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Abstract
Proverbs are short, condensed sayings containing “food for thought”. They add
colour and meaning to speech. They are created from peoples’ experiences and daily
lives. The aptness and brevity of proverbs give them a wisdom that is rarely
challenged by their speakers and hearers as they are most often seen as true. Yet,
like myths, they are used as tools to negate women (See Usman, 2016: 26 – 27;
Kadiri et al, 2018: 3). The supposed, albeit, fabricated truthfulness of proverbs,
especially those about gender relations, has gone a long way in further cementing
the inferior status linked with the female sex. The paper looks at a number of
proverbs that address women and their place in the Hausa society. Through a
feminist analysis of subjectivity, it critiques a patriarchal society that sees women as
appendages, domesticated and troublesome. One of its findings is that the proverb
still occupies a central place in Hausa folklore, as it has been creatively re-crafted to
remain relevant as a tool of contemporary gender conditioning.
Keywords: Hausa, women, folklore, proverbs, patriarchy

Introduction
Proverbs are short, witty sayings that can be comforting or insulting in nature,

depending on who or what the particular proverb is targeted at. Apart from giving

one an insight into human behaviour and psychology, proverbs also serve as mirrors

of the cultural values of communities (Zakariyah, 2013: 174; Abdulkarim &

Abdullahi, 2015: 27; Yankah, 1989: 326). They reflect the beliefs and perceptions of

a people as it relates to human characteristics, qualities and traits. Proverbs are

important because they promote social virtues and encourage people to emulate such

virtues. They denounce vices and show the consequences one suffers if one indulges

in them. They offer a refreshing knowledge of nature, society and human

relationship.

Proverbs, like other aspects of folklore, reflect gendered stereotypes about men and

women. Depending on the contexts – marriage, politics, trade, intra-personal

relationships, to mention a few - proverbs propagate the common belief that women

are generally envious, gossips, fickle-minded, and materialistic (For more on this, see

Usman, 2018: 112; Umar, 2017: 240; Abdulkarim & Abdullahi, 2015: 28).

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Folkloric Experience amongst the Hausa
The Hausa are one of the three major ethnic groups in Nigeria. They occupy most of

the northern parts of the country. They are found in large numbers in Kano, Katsina,

Kebbi, Borno, Niger, Bauchi, Adamawa, Taraba, Sokoto, Plateau, and Abuja. They

are also found in Central and North Africa. They are mainly engaged in

leatherworks, tanning, farming, dyeing, pot-making, trading, fishing, smithing and

weaving. Like the Yoruba and Igbo, the Hausa are hardworking and adventurous

traders. Apart from trading within various Hausa villages, towns, and provinces, the

Hausa also trade with merchants from other parts of Nigeria, Ghana, Niger, and

North Africa. Some of them have had to settle with their families outside Northern

Nigeria in the course of their business pursuits. Their main items of trade are cattle,

kolanuts, tomatoes, potatoes, onions, guinea corn, groundnuts, traditional medicines,

and leatherworks. Kano is the commercial nerve centre of the Hausa people.

Metropolitan in nature, it still clings tenaciously to various elements of traditional

life as can be seen in the prominence of Hausa language, folklore, architecture, and

dressing in the city.

Hausa communities are highly hierarchical in nature; they are stratified according to

a number of parameters, some of which are: ‘occupation, wealth, birth, patron-client

ties, and on seniority and gender.’(Ouzgane and Morell, 2005:80). There are also the

royalty and the commoners, Muslims and non-Muslims, men and women. The advent

of Islam into Hausa land and the Fulani jihad of 1804 gave the male and female

segmentation a deeper and sharper meaning (Examples of literature that discuss the

relegation of women into the private sphere, and the promotion of men into the

public sphere through Islamic education include Bergstrom, 2002: 2 -3; Vaughan &

Banu, 2014: 2 – 4. However, a number of scholars have expressed a contrary

opinion; they are of the view that the advent of Islam brought more empowerment to

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women than it was before when they practised traditional religion (Coles & Mack,

1991; Al-Hibri; 2000; Zakaria, 2001). Through its trade relations, itinerant preachers

or mallams from the Mali Empire introduced Islam to Kano in the eleventh century.

The people’s religion before Islam came to stay was Bori, which tended towards

animism. The Hausa then used to believe in animal totems as their guiding spirits

(Skinner, 1980; Imam, 1993). The coming of the British to northern Nigeria

intensified the spread of Islam and the practice of seclusion. Many more Bori

adherents and nominal Muslims became fully converted. The British administration

had upgraded the transportation system and this had brought about greater social and

economic relations. The British colonialists also gave Muslim men the exclusive

opportunity of working as clerks. These factors furthered the spread of Islam. The

typical Victorian attitude of the British women facilitated the colonial

administration’s encouragement of the seclusion of women by the Hausa.

There is no way one can analyse gender relations among the Hausa without

considering the role of Islam. This is because over half the Hausa population is

Muslim. One of the ways Islam discriminated against women is through the

continuation of the traditional practice of polygamy, which allows a man to marry as

many as four wives and to keep as many concubines as he can afford (Cragg, 1985:

152 -153; Okon, 2013: 24; Thobejane & Flora, 2014: 1061). The clause attached to

marrying four wives at the maximum is hardly considered: a man can only marry

four wives if he can treat them equitably, without having or showing a preferential

disposition to any of the wives. This is not to say that the pre-Islamic Hausa society

did not discriminate against women. It did. Negative socio-cultural beliefs, attitudes,

and practices, like seclusion and marriage, also affected women (see Chaibou, 1994:

67 – 70; Sani, 2017: 74 – 75).

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In spite of the political and cultural penetration of northern Nigeria by the British

colonialists, the Muslim Hausa have been able to retain a major proportion of their

culture and tradition even in contemporary times. Examples are their religion and

language; Islam as a unifying religion and Hausa as a common language have

contributed significantly to this (Skinner, 1980).

The Theory of Subjectivity

A critical aspect of feminist criticism of patriarchy is the subjectivity of women.

Subjectivity is closely intertwined with ideology and sexuality. Female subjectivity

encapsulates the physical, mental, spiritual, and communal lives of the female sex. It

also explains the gender relations between men and women in a patriarchal society. In

patriarchy, unequal power relations place men are on the upper rung of the social

ladder over women, and folklore is among the social tools used to maintain the status

quo (Okin, 1998: 36 -37; Kaufman, 1999: 64; Abdul & Adeleke et al, 2011: 74).

Literature and literary texts have not only been major avenues in the interplay of

difference and subjectivity; they have also produced ‘the fused language of class, race

and gender’ (Kaplan, 2013: 73), as played out in gendered Hausa folklore. Belsey

(1998: 62) argues that fiction, or the text, plays a major role in the construction of

subjectivity, especially that of women. Through the text, subjectivities of particular

sexes and their responses are transmitted subtly, and sometimes unconsciously, to the

reader (hearer/audience). To Fuss, (1989: 62), we bring our social formation and

subjectivity into a text in the way we interpret it, the way the author interprets it to us,

and the way we interpret it to others. Furthermore, women can be categorised into the

different subject positions of class, sexuality, nationality, culture, and ethnicity. These

positions further highlight the subjectivity of women.

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Freud’s theory of subjectivity/sexuality in his postulations on childhood and the

Oedipus experience (1973), and Lacan’s (1977) reinterpretation of this that elicited an

excited and long-drawn array of responses from feminists, which made them to

identify one major aspect of subjectivity: difference. Sexuality, class, race, ethnicity,

age, and nationality, among others, are used in patriarchal societies as bases of

difference and oppression against men to some extent, and against women to a large

extent (For more on this position, see Offen, 1988: 120 – 124; Volpp, 2001: 1181 –

1186); McElroy, 2013: 3 -4).

Hausa Women in Proverbial Lore

Pre-Islamic Hausa women were largely dedicated to storytelling activities. It was

their domain. Every night, within the confines of their homes, or under the dark sky,

they re-told age-old stories. In the process, they added to or deleted from these stories

in order to make them more interesting. The tatsuniyoyior tale is used as a tool to

mould the character of children. In pre-Islamic Hausa land, proverbs encapsulated

the people’s history and philosophy of life. This was more so because the people

could not read and write. Their history and beliefs were stored and coded in some

special people’s mental capacities. They are then transmitted orally within various

literary genres, proverbs inclusive, whenever the need arose.

The cultural heritage, ethics, mores, beliefs, traditions and wisdom of the Hausa are

all embedded in their proverbs. The attainment of Islam as a state religion did not in

any significant way diminish the status of proverbs in Hausa land. Islam only

changed the general animistic belief system found in proverbs by shifting the focus

to Allah. The laws governing inter-personal relationships as found in proverbs

remained the same. Islam confirmed, to a large extent, the virtues of equity and

fairness needed in one’s dealings with others, as taught in Hausa proverbs. Islam

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broadened the horizons of Hausa proverbs by making use of them as titles of books,

newspaper headings and articles, and in works of fiction (Skinner, 1980: 75). The

highly moralistic works of fiction by Muslim authors, writers and poets relied

heavily on the adoption of proverbs for easier transmission.

Hausa proverbs, like other African proverbs, are mainly used to teach, correct,

rebuke, deride, etc. They are generally believed to be a source of wisdom, especially

when it is necessary to “classify a court case, cite an antecedent, provide a precedent,

generalise a particular action, regulate attitudes, educate children, resolve difficulties,

and add pith to conversation.” (Ida Ward, cited in Kirk Green, 1966: xi).

Hausa gender proverbs, though relatively few in number reflect the hierarchical

position of women, and the attitudes and beliefs that shape their existence. The

following Hausa proverbs throw more light on some the character flaws of women:

i. Mata Dangin Shaidan.

(Women are close relatives to the devil).

ii. Ba a yi Komai Ba, Mace ta Haifi Mace.

(The birth of a baby girl brings no joy or excitement/Nothing is achieved

because of the birth of a baby girl).

iii. Ya mace yar kasha gida

(A female child is the destroyer of a home)

iv. Babbanabushi ne, mace ta riganijintabawali.

(It is a serious thing for a wife to urinate before her husband does).

v. Maso mace wawa bai san za ta ki shi ba.

(He who loves a woman is a fool, for she may desert him)

vi. Bin shawaran mata ita ke sa da na sani

(Taking women’s advice brings much regret)

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vii. Karfin mata sai yawan Magana

(The strength of women resides in their tongues i.e. they talk too much)

viii. Zaman ka kai kadai yafi zama da muguwar mace

(Living on your own is better than living with a wicked woman)

ix. Matar mutum kaba rinsa

(A man’s wife is his grave)

x. Aure yakin mata

(Marriage is a battlefield for women)

xi. Karuwaba ta kiwonkaza

(A harlot does not keep poultry)

Analysis of the Selected Proverbs

Hausa proverbs have been described as one of the oldest (Usman, 2014: 892) and

“the most important means of Hausa verbal folklore” (see Abubakar, 2015:1) and

like many other proverbs in other parts of the world, are adopted as modes of

communication (Bichi, 1995: 75). They encapsulate a people’s beliefs, expectations,

worldview, and philosophy, to mention a few (Usman, 2014: 892; Umar, 2017: 239).

They are used to transmit the tradition, beliefs and value systems of a people. They

commend virtue and lambaste vice in all its forms. They also reflect gender relations

and being a patriarchal culture, Hausa folklore, including folktales and proverbs, are

filled with many stereotypes about women that are generally negative in nature (see

Alidou, 2002: 141 – 142; Okon, 2013: 21 – 22; Usman, 2016: 23 – 24).

In many cultures including the Hausa, women as mothers are generally believed to be

caring and affectionate because of their reproductive abilities, while as wives and

spinsters they are regarded as being wicked, selfish, talkative, gossips, among other

negative stereotypes (see Usman, 2018: 114). The first and eight proverbs compare

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women to the devil because of their perceived wickedness; the seventh proverb

reflects the general view that women talk too much, and so they are gossips. The

proverb is thus thrown at them to ask them to keep quiet. Though there is a proverb

used generally for people who talk a lot – Yawan magana yakan kawo karya,

meaning, ‘there is the tendency to tell a lie when one talks too much’ – it is believed

that more often than not, women will always chatter away. The man is therefore

conditioned to be reticent, especially when in the midst of women. He is brought up

to be sober and not to get into much argument with women as this could put him in

trouble.

The ninth proverb caps it all: the fatality of man is linked to a woman. The second

and third proverbs reflect the general Nigerian belief on the importance of a son to

the continuation of a man’s lineage. Girl children are believed to carry the wealth of

the household into another household when she becomes married into another family

(for more on this, see Duze & Muhammed, 2006: 56; Uzuegbu, 2010: 203 – 204;

Duze & Yar’zever, 2013: 203; 207). Proverbs five and six propagate the stereotype

that women are fickle-minded and cannot keep secrets. The tenth proverb likens

marriage to a battlefield for women as co-wives. Polygamy brings with it much envy,

dislike, disharmony among the co-wives, who all compete to be the favourite of the

sole man in their midst, their husband (Okon, 2013: 24; Usman, 2016: 26; Umar,

2017: 247). The distrust, envy, dislike, fear, and hatred co-wives entertain toward

one another are also reflected in Hausa proverbs. There is always a basis for these

negative elements to generate the outbreak of physical violence. The presence of

contrastive characters or experiences possessed by wives in a polygamous setting –

the procreative wife versus the non-procreative wife, the wife that has all male issues

versus the one that has only female children, the wife whose children are in school or

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are educated versus the wife whose children are delinquents, etc. - often precipitate

trouble. The husband, the nucleus of the women’s attention, most times worsens the

already sensitive scenario by having a favourite among his many wives. This rivalry

which women generally manifest towards each other, especially in polygamous

settings, is also reflected in the proverb,

Mai kodaba ta son maikoda.

(A woman who is paid for grinding does not like another woman to be paid for

grinding).

What this implies is that a woman does not like a rival in the form of another woman

whose presence would diminish her person and importance in the eye of her husband

and the public.

The fourth proverb is a reflection of the social system of patriarchy in Hausaland, as

it is in many other parts of Nigeria. Patriarchal Hausa society is hinged on the belief

that the man is in control of his environment, including his wife and children. His

word his law, and a woman’s opinion is secondary (Duze & Muhammed, 2006: 54;

Duze & Yar’zever, 2013: 203; Vaughan & Banu, 2014: 4; Usman, 2016: 25 – 26;

Umar, 2017: 240).

The eleventh proverb reflects Hausa society’s revulsion toward prostitution. Poultry

is one of the highpoints of the domesticity of an average Hausa woman. Keeping and

maintaining poultry requires some measure of time and hard work. A harlot,

however, cannot afford such a commitment because she spends most of her time

outside her home. The proverb does not only condemn the prostitute for her chosen

profession and for her laziness in terms of keeping poultry, it is also used generally

for girls and women whom the Hausa society considers as lazy. Thus, it implies that

every lazy woman is a prostitute.

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However, women also have a number of proverbs that are responses to the gendered

proverbs used against them. An example is women’s response to a polygamist:

‘Muna fukimi jin mata biyu!’ (A hypocrite: husband of two wives!). This set of

proverbs is not the focus of this paper, though.

Conclusion
Nigerian folkloric genres, especially folktales, proverbs, and myths, capture the

lopsided relationship between men and women. Through feminism, the role of

patriarchy in gender is further clarified.

Boys and girls are given different social conditionings. In relation to each other, the

former is superior to the latter. They grow up believing these of themselves, and of

the other. Men relate to men in a positive way, but to women in a negative way;

women relate to men positively but to women negatively.

One of the findings of the paper is that men play a significant role in the promotion

and sustenance of folkloric practices. Generally, men and women are the custodians

of a community’s culture. Often, men are the ones in real control. For example, the

Bori dance of the Hausa has mainly women as its protégés, but it is the men, though

few in number, who are in charge of the general management of the practice. They are

the ones that tell women what to do. This is also what occurs in widowhood rites.

Another finding of the paper is that men generally are in charge of the formation,

usage, and sustainability of proverbs. This is because a proverb is viewed as wisdom

encased in witty words. Wisdom is the prerogative of men, not of women. Many

negative and demeaning beliefs about women’s biological and mental attributes

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abound in proverbs. These gendered proverbs are still in use today – in novels,

folktales, music, to mention a few.

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