Metaphorical Expressions in Hausa Court Songs: A Study of Sa’idu Faru’s Wakar Mamman Sarkin Kudu

Citation: Shede, A. (2024). Metaphorical Expressions in Hausa Court Songs: A Study of Sa’idu Faru’s Waƙar Mamman Sarkin Kudu. Four Decades of Hausa Royal Songs: Proceedings from the International Conference on the Life and Songs of Makaɗa Sa'idu Faru, 3(3), 443-447. www.doi.org/10.36349/tjllc.2024.v03i03.061.

Metaphorical Expressions in Hausa Court Songs: A Study of Sa’idu Faru’s Waƙar Mamman Sarkin Kudu 

By

Adamu Shede, Ph.D

Department of African Languages and Culture,
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria
adamushede@gmail.com
+2348062295347

Abstract

Sa’idu Faru is one of the prominent court singers in Hausa land. He composed quite several songs and one of such is the one titled Waƙar Mamman Sarkin Kudu. This song, like many other songs, is characterized by different figures of speech. These figures of speech are normally employed to showcase one’s mastery of a language on one hand and to achieve a certain literary effect on the other. One of the prominent figures of speech is metaphor. This paper aims to extract metaphorical expressions in this song and examine the role they play in the performance of the song and in aiding to convey the message contained in the song to the audience. The version of the song used is the one in the appendix of a PhD thesis by Magaji Tsoho Yakawada (2002) and the analysis is a literary stylistic study. The analysis reveals that many metaphorical expressions are contained in the song and most of them are through a direct comparison of the person being praised (the patron) or his opponents with some animals in an attempt to reveal some special attributes of either the former or the latter as the case may be.

Keywords: Court Singers, Praise Songs, Figures of Speech, Metaphorical Expressions.

1.0              Introduction

Court Songs are an important aspect of Hausa songs generally, and Hausa praise songs in particular. They are usually sung for the royal class alone. Court songs are usually meant to praise and in some cases, to vilify the rivals or enemies of the person being praised. In an attempt to do so, several strategies are usually employed by the singers to achieve their objective. One of the strategies is to compare their patron (the person being praised) with something which naturally possesses the quality of the patron they want to praise. The comparison is sometimes directly or indirectly done and in literature, this is termed figurative language or figures of speech.

Metaphor is one of the leading figures of speech which are usually examined in literature. It involves the use of direct comparison when describing the attributes of somebody or something. In a nutshell, when a literary artist calls somebody or something by the name of something else, just in an attempt to show that the two have some similar attributes; this is called a metaphor.

This paper attempts to examine the metaphorical expressions that Sa’idu Faru, with the aid of his brother Mu’azu, used in praising his patron, late Sultan Muhammadu Macciɗo Abubakar in a song titled, Waƙar Mamman Sarkin Kudu to see the role which these expressions play in bringing out the capabilities and status of the patron. The metaphor meant in this paper is not in its general sense but in its specific meaning as distinct from other figurative expressions such as Simile, personification, Hyperbole etc.

2.0              Sa’idu Faru as a Court Singer

Sa’idu Faru was born in Faru community, under the current Maradun Local Government of Zamfara State, Nigeria around 1932. He learnt how to sing from his father, Abubakar ɗan Abdu who was a singer using the kotso drum. He began following his father to perform songs when he was ten years old. After the demise of his father, he assumed full role as a court singer, praising emirs and other members of the royal families. He started composing praise songs for the late Sultan Muhammadu Macciɗo when the Sultan was Sarkin Gabar na Mafara (long before he became the Sultan). Even this ‘Waƙar Mamman Sarkin Kudu’ that is examined in this paper was composed before the late Sultan was enthroned. He had a good command of language and was a master of his songs, hence the nickname, ‘Malamin waƙa’ the Master of songs which he gave to himself (Gusau, 1996). Sa’idu Faru was a court singer who composed songs only for the royal class. Like many other court singers, he uses what Junaidu and ‘Yar’adua (2007:95) termed as processes of arriving at the praise theme in his songs. These processes are extolling the patron’s genealogy, showcasing him as one who promotes and upholds his religion, praising his generosity and describing him as someone with good leadership qualities. In many instances, these processes are arrived at with the aid of metaphorical expressions as exemplified in this paper.

3.0              The Hausa Praise Songs

Praise is the commendation of an individual by approving or admiring his actions, behaviour or physical structure. A praise song is a poetic composition aimed at praising an individual patron which is performed verbally and publicly (Tsoho, 2002:71-72).

Alhassan and Zarruk (1976:4-8) opine that Hausa praise singers especially court singers such as Ibrahim Narambaɗa, Musa Ɗanƙwairo and Sani Aliyu Ɗandawo and those of heroic professionals like Ɗan’anace and Kassu Zurmi normally use eulogy, bedecking, lauding and description to praise their heroes. In so doing, they make use of various praise epithets in their songs so that the songs can achieve the purpose for which they are meant.

In the same vein, Bichi (2013:2) states categorically that:

Oral praise songs are very important components of the folklore of many sub-Saharan African groups. They occur in various forms. These songs are praise epithets called out about an object (a person, an animal, a town and so on) in celebration of its outstanding qualities and achievements.

It is important to note that most praise songs in Hausa which include court songs, heroic songs etcetera are full of adornments with figurative expressions especially metaphor which is the focus of this paper.

4.0 Metaphor as a Figure of Speech

Figures of speech are an important component of literary stylistics. Garba (2011) relates Crystal (1991) and Olusegun and Adebayo (2008) to have said that literary style is mostly concerned with the devices used by an artist to ornament his text, especially through the use of figures of speech. Mukhtar (2004) posits that figures of speech can be divided into grammatical and lexical categories, phonological categories and tropes. He adds that tropes are those figures of speech that arise from departures from the linguistic code. Tropes can also be described as those figures of speech which use words in senses beyond their literal meanings. The major figures of speech that are agreed upon as tropes include Metaphor, Simile, Personification, Synecdoche etc (Baldick, 2004). Metaphor is “the most important and widespread figure of speech, in which one thing, idea or action is referred to by a word or expression normally denoting another thing, idea or action to suggest some common quality shared by the two” (Baldick, 2004:153). It is “the application of a distinctly different kind of thing to a word or an expression that in literal usage denotes one kind of thing without asserting a comparison” (Abrams and Harpham, 2009:119).

5.0              Metaphorical Expressions in Sa’idu Faru’s Waƙar Mamman Sarkin Kudu

The song, Waƙar Mamman Sarkin Kudu is one of the prominent songs of Sa’idu Faru. This song, expectedly, has some figurative expressions contained in it. This section of the paper discusses the metaphorical expressions in this particular song of this renowned Hausa court singer. As pointed out earlier in this paper, metaphorical expressions are those expressions in which the singer directly compares his patron with somebody or something with which he shares some attributes. An example of this is where the artist says:

Babban daji kake ɗan abu

Ko icce ko namun dawa

Ko manya ko ‘yan ƙanƙana

Da mutum da dabba da itatuwa

Kowa ƙaunar Mamman shikai ……

 

“A large forest you are, the son of Abu

Ranging from trees or wild animals

The old and the young ones

Human beings, animals and trees

They all cherish Mamman ….”

In the quotation above, the singer uses a metaphorical expression to equate the attributes of his patron to a large forest. He further expatiates that just like the large forest, his patron (Muhammadu Macciɗo), is cherished by human beings, animals and trees (plants). It is important to note that human beings cherish the forest for it serves several important purposes to them. They can go there to hunt for wild animals, fetch firewood, clear land for cultivation and so on. The domestic animals can be taken to the forest for grazing while it serves as a home to the wild animals. The trees find the forest as their comfort zone because they enjoy the company of other trees and feel more at home than in other places where they may feel lonely and may be more liable to the dangers of being harmed or even cut down. Remember, the artist used an adjective, ‘large’ to qualify the noun, ‘forest’ which itself is another way of making his patron stand out.

In the following quotation, the singer also metaphorically expressed some important attributes of his patron as follows:

Halin ga …

Da Bubakar yar riƙa

Macciɗo ɗai ka shirin gado haka

 

Ramin giwa…

Sai ɗanta,

Daudu zaman gulbi sai ɗan kada.

 

Ramin giwa…

Sai ɗanta,

Zomo anka aza yab bar gidan.

 

This habit…

That Bubakar holds onto,

Macciɗo is the only one to inherit it.

 

Elephant’s residence..

Befits only its offspring,

Daudu! Living in the river is only for the crocodile’s offspring.

 

Elephant’s residence.

Befits only its offspring

The hare lives in the place whenever put in there.

The above excerpt is a clear demonstration of how metaphorical expressions can be used to achieve a desired effect by a literary artist. It is good to be reminded that this song was composed for the late Sultan Muhammadu Macciɗo Abubakar before he became the Sultan. So Sa’idu Faru stated here that, all the habits which qualify Muhammadu Macciɗo’s father, the late Sultan Abubakar to become Sultan during his time are only possessed by Muhammadu Macciɗo and he is the only one that will fit into that slot. So the singer directly compared the two with some objects. He said, that if the late Sultan Abubakar were to be an elephant residence, then Muhammadu Macciɗo would be the elephant’s offspring that would fit into it. He further added that, if the former were to be a river, then the latter is a crocodile’s offspring that can peacefully live in the river.

The singer went further to use another metaphorical expression as cited below:

Baba na Shamaki mai han noma

Baba Ganɗon gabas, raba kaya

 

“Father (you are) of Shamaki, who disallows farming

Father, eastern mound, distributor of clothes”

The above example cited from the song also contains a metaphorical expression where the patron is compared directly with an eastern mound ‘ganɗon gabas’. The mound is normally dug to water a farm. It is a channel in which water flows to different parts of a farm, especially in dry season farming. It is important to note here that in most places, water flows from the east, down to the west. So describing Muhammadu Macciɗo with an eastern mound by the artist, coupled with the fact that, he is also said to be a ‘distributor of clothes’, signifies the highest level of generosity which the patron is said to have.

In another example, the singer used a set of metaphorical expressions to vilify someone who might be a possible competitor with Muhammadu Macciɗo in seeking the throne of the Sultanate when he says:

Na gane salon tsuntsaye

Masu kabbarta salla duk na sani

 

Na rege halin tsuntsaye

Masu kabbarta salla duk na sani

 

Ɗan gauraka ko kunkumi

Waɗannan salla kullum sukai

 

Haka nan fa!

Don ka ga ‘yammoli da shamuwa

Waɗannan salla kullum sukai

 

Haka nan fa!

Babba-da-jaka ina kaɓ ɓace

Jemage ba a zuwa Haji

Imbila an yi dauɗa tai mai yawa.

 

“I have discovered the style of birds

I know all those that pray”

 

“I have differentiated the style of birds

I know all those that pray”

 

“As for the crested crane and the white ibis

Those ones pray daily”

 

“That’s right!

As for the black-billed buzzard and the wild pigeon

Those ones pray daily”

 

“That’s right!

Just look at ‘yammoli bird and the white-billed stork

Those ones pray daily”

 

“That’s right!

Where do you belong, you the marabou stork?

The bat never goes on Pilgrimage

The imbila bird is naturally too dirty”

The illustration above contains excerpts where the artist metaphorically expresses the patron, his friends and allies and possible competitors by directly comparing them with birds of different attributes. Although someone may argue that the birds are personified by giving them the attributes of human beings (praying), the human beings (the patron, his friends and foes) are the ones given such names because they share some attributes with the birds. The first set of birds having good qualities is the crested crane, the white ibis, the black-billed buzzard, the wild pigeon, the ‘yammoli bird and the white-billed stork. These represent the patron, his friends and well-wishers, which is why they are said to be observing their daily prayers. The other set of birds comprises the marabou stork, the bat and the imbila bird and they, surely represent the other side (foes and rivals) of the patron. They are known for many bad attributes and as such are used in the form of vilification. The bat, for example, normally portrays a negative connotation in Hausa. It is seen as an odd bird because it has some attributes that are contrary to the birds’.

6.0              Conclusion

This paper examines some metaphorical expressions that feature in the song Waƙar Mamman Sarkin Kudu by Sa’idu Faru. It buttresses the fact that the artist, through metaphorical expressions, guessed right that his patron, Muhammadu Macciɗo Abubakar was, then, just waiting for time to ascend the throne of Sultan. The reasons he gave were simply the fact that the patron has all the qualities required of a leader similar to those of his father, the late Sultan Abubakar. Some of the images used in the metaphorical expressions used in describing the patron include forest and some animals such as elephantt or crocodile. Others include some birds such as the crested crane, white ibis, wild pigeon etc. Each of these has one good characteristic or the other. The patron’s foes and rivals are also metaphorically vilified by using some animals like the hare and some birds such as the bat and the imbila bird to describe them.

References

Abrams, M.H. and Harpham, G.G.(2009). A Glossary of Literary Terms.9^th ed. Canada: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Alhassan H. and Zarruk, R.M. (1976). Kirarin Duniya. Zaria: Ganuwa Publishers Limited.

Baldick, C. (2004). Concise Dictionary of Literary Terms. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Bargery, J.P. (1934). A Hausa-English Dictionary and English Hausa Vocabulary. Zaria: NNPC.

Bichi, A. Y. (2013). ‘Praise Songs, African Folklore and Globalization’. A Lead Paper Presented at the International Conference on Folklore, National Integration and Development organized in Honour of Professor Ɗandatti Abdulƙadir.

CNHN (2006). Кamusun Hausa. Kano: Jami’ar Bayero.

Ɗangambo, A. (2008). Rabe-raben Adabin Hausa (Sabon Tsari). Zaria: Amana Publisher.

Daura, H.K. (2016). ‘Adabi Mahanga Al’ada: Nazarin Kirarin Zabiyar Fada

Garba, S. (2011). “Salon Sarrafa Harshe a Waƙoƙin Aƙilu Aliyu”. Unpublished Ph.D

 Dissertation, Department of African Languages and Cultures, A.B.U Zaria.

Gusau, S. M. (1996). Makaɗa da Mawaƙan Hausa. Kaduna: Fisbas Media Services.

Junaidu, I. and ‘Yar’aduwa T.M. (2007) Harshe da Adabin Hausa a Kammale.  Spectrum Books Ltd.

Kafin Hausa, A. U. (1985). ‘Kirari a Hausa’ M.A Thesis Department of Nigerian and African Languages, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

Кanƙara, M. M. S. (1983). ‘Damben Gargajiya da Waƙoƙinsa’ Unpublished B.A Project, Department of Nigerian and African Languages, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

Mode, M. A. (2004). ‘A Stylistic Study of Hausa Towns Praise epithets’ Ph.D Dissertation, Department of Modern European Languages, Usumanu Ɗanfodiyo University, Sokoto.

Mukhtar, I. (2004). Introduction to Stylistic Theories, Practice and Criticism. Abuja: Countryside Publishers, vol. 1.

Tsoho, M.Y (2002). ‘Eulogies, the Building Blocks in Hausa Praise Song: A Thematic and Structural Examination’ An Unpublished PhD Dissertation, Department of Nigerian and African Languages, A.B.U Zaria.

Tsoho M.Y (2010). ‘Jarunta a Waƙoƙin Baka: Nazarin Waƙar Shago ta Ɗan’anace’ in Yalwa, L.D (ed.) Himma Journal of Contemporary Studies, vol. 2. Katsina: Umaru Musa ‘Yar’adua University pp. 169-183.

Umar, M.B. (1980). Adabin Baka (Don Makarantu). Zaria: Cibiyar Littafan Hausa.

Get the full PDF here: