A Poem on the British (Waƙar Nasara)
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| Title | A Poem on the British (Waƙar Nasara) |
| Author or Owner | Sarkin Musulmi Attahiru aka Sultan Attahiru I (author), Umar Falke (owner) |
| Subject | Politics, British Colonialism, Exile, Migration |
| Content | Nasara refers to white Europeans and more specifically to the British. In this poem, Waƙar Nasara refers to the British colonial rulers in Nigeria. It is a critique of the British colonialists, written and chanted as a warning to the Muslims to beware of their tricks and conquest of the Sokoto Caliphate. It was composed by Sultan Attahiru I, who reigned from October 1, 1902 to March 15, 1903. He was the 12th Sultan of Sokoto and the last independent Sultan before the British took over the caliphate. He wrote this poem in 1903, urging his followers to join him in fleeing (he had thousands of followers joining him in flight), describing as hypocrites those who choose to stay and cooperate with the British. He urges the faithful not to listen to those who reject migration, but to migrate along with the Sultan and leave Sokoto town to the British colonialists to rule. The poem ends with thanks to Allah Who Created all, including the British. Sultan Attahiru I had several confrontations with the British, and was killed by them at Burmi in 1903. |
| Genre | Poetry |
| Language | Hausa |
| Script | Hausa Ajami |
| Manuscript condition | 2 leaves. 16.5 x 23 cm. // 4 pp. of text. Condition: Paper damp-stained, worn at edges. |
| Type | Handwritten |
| Publisher | Unpublished |
| Provenance | Kano, Nigeria |
| Source Reference | Sarkin Musulmi Attahiru, “Waƙar Nasara” (1903). Courtesy Northwestern University Libraries. Click here for the source link. |
| Access condition and copyright | These materials are subject to copyright and are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 License, which permits non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. For use, distribution or reproduction beyond these terms, contact Professor Fallou Ngom (fngom@bu.edu). |
| Contributors | Jennifer J Yanco, Mustapha Hashim Kurfi, Garba Zakari, Lori De Lucia, Babacar Dieng, Rebecca Shereikis, Daivi Rodima-Taylor, Alison Parker, Mark Lewis, Shawn Provencal, Eric Schmidt. |
| Required citation information | Fallou Ngom (PI), Jennifer Yanco, Mustapha Hashim Kurfi, Garba Zakari, Babacar Dieng, Daivi Rodima-Taylor, and Rebecca Shereikis. 2022. “A Poem on the British.” http://sites.bu.edu/nehajami/the-four-languages/hausa/hausa-manuscripts/falke-1569-wakar-nasara/ |
Manuscript
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Transcription and Translations
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