Studies in the History of Kano

Studies in the History of Kano is a noble endeavor. Bringing together a variety of specialists on the history of Kano from the precolonial era to the present, the various essays cover a plethora of important topics. Modern urban laborers and the transition to semi-industrial capitalism in colonial and postcolonial Kano, for instance, receives a chapter. Much of the book, of course, focuses on precolonial Kano with some suggestive theories and interpretations of the Kano Chronicle and the pre-jihad polity. We are not yet sure what to make of some of their theories, but it undoubtedly revealed the problem of relying too heavily on the Chronicle as the main source for reconstituting early Kano or Hausa history. 

Despite the problems of authorship, chronology, and omissions in the Chronicle, it remains indispensable and one of the most important sources for Kano and Hausa history today. Smith and Last offer their own differing analyses of the Chronicle and Last's overview of Kano from ca.1450-1800 is a useful attempt at reconstructing the successive "dynasties" that ruled the city and the political factions which shaped the polity. However, perhaps some of their notions of "Berber" or Arab origins for certain rulers of Kano and Katsina are remnants of outdated thinking. 

Other essays focus on markets, trade, production, and how exactly Kano became the "emporium" of the Sudan in the 19th century. Shea's contribution particularly stands out as it raises more questions about the nature of production, crafts, and innovation. One cannot help but feel that archaeologists and historians have a lot more work to do to in this region. Like the case of Barkindo's essay on Kano's gates or Zahradeen's chapter on mosques, much remains unknown and will require new textual sources and archaeological excavation to gain new insights or data. It might also have been useful to include a chapter on Kano's relationship with Borno, outlining the relationship more clearly with analysis of the role of migration, military ventures, Islamic scholarship, and trade that brought Kanawa Hausa into close contact with the Kanuri to the east.