Amina Sarauniyar Zazzau

  

Unfortunately, the 1954 pamphlet, Amina Sarauniyar Zazzau, turned out to be just a pamphlet containing a compilation of stories on Amina of Zazzau (Zaria). The Hausa text is very short and the anonymous author did not name most of his sources. Besides Muhammad Bello and what may be an oblique reference to the Kano Chronicle, the author appears to have largely borrowed from the Zaria king lists and a mix of oral traditions and legends about Amina. Without ever justifying it, the writer prefers to date Amina of Zaria's reign to 1576, a chronology that, to our understanding, is hard to reconcile with the rest of this part of West Africa in the final 3 decades of the 1500s. Nonetheless, there are some interesting materials in this heterogeneous mixture of unlikely legend and historical interests. 

For example, the text not only repeatedly refers to Bakwa as a woman, it also mentions a favorite wife of Amina's grandfather. This woman, Marka, was supposedly very involved in the upbringing of Amina. Like Abubakar's articles on Amina, which cite this source among others, there's also an emphasis on the experiences of young Amina observing the royal court of her grandfather, Nohir. Whether or not one accepts the dates assigned to these figures here is grave concern, but already tradition suggests something about Amina's upbringing. In addition, when describing Amina's refusals to marry after becoming the magajiya at age 16 during the reign of Bakwa, there's a reference to a Kano king, Kama-Masu, rejected as a suitor. This Kano figure cannot be easily identified with any of the known kings, but the name may allude to masu, or spears. After refusing his excessive marriage proposal, Kano is quite marginal to the narrative. Nonetheless, the episode may reflect a moment when Zaria's expansion raised concerns among other Hausa kingdoms. It could also be a traditional story retelling the past where Zaria and Kano allegedly went to war around the time of Amina (according to the Kano Chronicle). If so, perhaps the desire by Kano's king to marry Amina was actually an attempt to make peace?

But what is more interesting about this compilation is the story of Amina meeting Bornoan troops at Gadas. Ostensibly sent by the ruler of "Kukawa" (an anachronism) to ask her to marry the mai, she again refuses. But according to tradition, Amina heard about the Bornoan troops whilst inspecting the Benue. Upon her return from Gadaz, she even returned to Kwararafa, suggesting this area was part of her domains or was about to be attacked. If one accepts an earlier date placing Amina of Zaria in the 1400s, perhaps the Bornoan ruler's interest in a marriage alliance was actually about weakening Kwararafa through an alliance. Again, we are assuming here that the story of powerful rulers courting her was perhaps popular stories transforming some of the details. Either way, in the case of Borno, no military conflict ensured from the Gadas encounter. Instead, one can glimpse Kwararafa playing a role in her military endeavors before her death. Yet her death in Attagara, perhaps Idah on the Niger, would suggest she had moved west by the end of her reign either on some campaign or to inspect the region.

Ultimately, Amina Sarauniyar Zazzau will not convince us to change our thinking about Zaria chronology. However, it does bring up some interesting details about her background, mode of governing (not trusting envoys or courtiers, so constantly on the move to directly investigate affairs) and how tradition remembered her relations with Borno and Kano. That the Kano Chronicle did not report the outcome of their conflict with Zaria around the time the text places Amina, may be interpreted as proof of a Zaria success. With Borno, on the other hand, the ruler of Borno's desire to marry Amina may be legendary to inflate her power and status within the Central Sudan. On the other hand, its context around the time the Benue and Kwararafa were areas of concern to Amina of Zaria may have been the real reason for Borno's interest in Zaria. Indeed, if one accepts the tradition of Ali b. Dunama of Borno defeating the Kwararafa sometime in the second half of the 1400s, perhaps Zaria was seen as a potential ally in holding back Kwararafa.