The Transformation of Katsina

Although we were hoping for a fuller history of the important Hausa kingdom of Katsina, Yusufu Bala Usman's The Transformation of Katsina, 1400-1883: the Emergence and Overthrow of the Sarauta System and the Establishment of the Emirate is a worthwhile start. Perhaps due to Katsina lacking any surviving chronicle comparable to that of Kano, this study, based on the author's dissertation, is mostly an analysis of Katsina in the 18th and 19th centuries. The book begins with some of the local traditions and early history of Katsina, but most chapters actually seek to explain the establishment of the sarauta system and its replacement by the emirate of Katsina after the jihad. So, if one is searching for a detailed history of political institutions and economic, social, and demographic changes in the late 1700s and the emirate government within the Sokoto Caliphate, this book is for you. 

There is still much to be gained for the general reader with an interest in pre-jihad Katsina. Yusufu Bala Usman's critical stance with regards to the intellectually lazy interpretations of some historians was a fresh reminder for us to stop assuming categories, titles, or ethnic groups were static. Take political titles and offices, for example. The function of a title often varied or could be nominal and not necessarily carried out by the titleholder. Ethnicity was also never static, so one must be careful with terms like Habe, Fulani, Hausa, or attempts to identify the emirate of Katsina as "Fulani" without qualification. Indeed, throughout the 5 centuries of history covered by the text, numerous immigrant waves and communities existed in Katsina, often of Azbin, Mali, Borno, Fulani, or other origins. Thus, assuming static ethnic identities or lacking nuance is part of what Usman sees as a retrograde view of African history. 

For our purposes, however, the main benefit of reading this history of Katsina can be found in the description of Kasar Katsina political administration and structure in sarauta system of pre-jihad years. Hausa "traditional" religion and belief in iskoki, for instance, were explicitly linked to the origins of kingdom. According to Usman, the early kings of Katsina were connected to Inna or the Mother Earth spirit. Korau, the first king, is alleged to have killed Durbawa leader Sanau in the 1400s, while trade was increasing in the region and a new political order was necessary for the diverse residents. This tie to Inna and the iskoki explain the "pagan" influences on the rituals of accession for the sarki or kings of Katsina. But by the end of the 1400s, the ruler of Katsina, Ibrahim, was in correspondence with Egyptian scholar al-Suyuti and the rulers had adopted Islam. Over the course of the 1500s and 1600s, Islamic influences spread throughout the capital and various towns of the state. Unlike Borno, the ulama were not incorporated into this political system and maintained a certain distance from the palace. Thus, it is no surprise that Uthman dan Fodio's movement received some local support from those critical of the Katsina ruling dynasty. The complex juggling of Islam and the local religion which provided legitimacy to the dynasty is interesting and brings to mind our recent reading on the Keira sultans of Darfur and other Sudanic states.