The emergence of Hausa identity: religion and history

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Today the Hausa number 24 million people living in Niger and Nigeria, with a further 15 million throughout West Africa speaking Hausa as a second language. Despite the historical and cultural prominence of the group, there is little agreement on the development of Hausa social and political organisation. The proposed workshops are based on two premises:1.Religion is key to understanding the evolution of Hausa ethnicity in West Africa.2.Due to the scarcity of written records on the early history of the Hausa, new work must rely on an interdisciplinary approach. Our workshops will advance current knowledge of Hausa history and explore changes in the notion of Hausa ethnic identity by bringing together the contributions of scholars from different disciplines. Together we shall consider historical texts, archaeological remains, social customs, and language change, focusing on the central themes of religion and identity. Historically, the Hausa heartland of northern Nigeria and southern Niger was divided into separate 'city-states,' which exhibited distinct social and cultural traits. Outside this area, the Hausa became known and influential in the entire sub-region due to their traditional association with manufacture and trade. The recent history of the Hausa has been characterised by a great degree of change, especially in terms of religious identity. It is known that the first Hausa people were pagan, but Islam played an increasing role in society over time. A local historical text, the Kano Chronicle, suggests that traders and missionaries from the West brought Islam to some of the Hausa cities in the fourteenth century, but influences from the east, where some elites had converted to Islam in the eleventh century, must have also been important. The number of individuals who accepted Islam was probably small at first, and traditional religious beliefs and practices continued to exist. But by the fifteenth century Hausa cities were linked to the Islamic world system, and in the nineteenth century Hausaland became integrated, through conquest in the course of a holy war (jihad), within an Islamic government known as the Sokoto Caliphate. Written records shed some light on the last 200 years, documenting changes brought on by movements of Islamic reform and conversion, and certainly in the past century being Hausa has been seen as synonymous with being Muslim. However, many Hausa groups still engage in Animist rituals and beliefs, and some minorities have recently embraced Christianity. Syncretism, the merging of religions, has in fact probably been a characteristic feature of Hausa society for centuries. It has recurrently been challenged by waves of reformism, and the recent radicalisation of certain interpretations of Islam is threatening the capacity of Hausa people to retain different religious practices in a climate of tolerance and respect for religious diversity.The workshops will advance knowledge of an important West African society by assessing how people's sense of identity ('being Hausa') has changed over time, and what the impact of Islam has been. We will publish our findings in a volume which will not only contribute to Hausa studies, but will also put forward hypotheses applicable to other parts of West Africa and the world. Today, religion plays a major role in defining, and often dividing, communities. Our workshops will challenge increasing religious intolerance by focusing on the historical roots of religious pluralism, syncretism, and the peaceful integration of creeds in West African society. We aim in this way to advance existing understandings of African history and society, and thereby benefit both specialists and the wider public.