Table Of ContentEmotions in Muslim Hausa
Women’s Fiction
This book examines the emotions expressed in Hausa women’s prose fiction
in northern Nigeria, showing how Hausa Muslim women writers use fiction
in their indigenous language to demonstrate and express their anger about
the problems they face in a patriarchal society.
Umma Aliyu Musa shows how Hausa women authors use literature as
a subversive instrument to voice their anger and draw attention to their
plight, and what they perceive to be unfair traditional authority in a male-
dominated society. Their stories about women protagonists who rebel
against existing traditional structures enable women readers to understand
the anger experienced by other women who have gone through similar sit-
uations. Issues at the heart of these women’s narratives include forced mar-
riage, polygyny, family honor and the effects of love. The authors’ use of
metaphorical expressions of anger, particularly those registered through
body parts, provides insight into Hausa women’s thoughts, culture and so-
cialization within their private spheres. Thus, writing by these women in
the Hausa language creates an effective communication network that offers
insight into domestic ecology as it affects women.
Emotions in Muslim Hausa Women’s Fiction will be of interest to scholars
and students of African literature, postcolonial literature, gender studies
in African society, womanism, emotions and indigenous African fiction
studies.
Umma Aliyu Musa is Hausa lecturer at the Asien- Afrika-Institut (Institute
of Asian and African Studies), University of Hamburg, Germany.
Global Africa
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Towards a Tradition of Nigerian Philosophy
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10 Children, Education and Empire in Early Sierra Leone
Left in Our Hands
Katrina Keefer
11 Oppression and Resistance in Africa and its Diaspora
Kenneth Kalu and Toyin Falola
12 Slavery in the Global Diaspora of Africa
Paul Lovejoy
13 Emotions in Muslim Hausa Women’s Fiction
More than Just Romance
Umma Aliyu Musa
For more information about this series, please visit: https://www.routledge.com
Emotions in Muslim Hausa
Women’s Fiction
More than Just Romance
Umma Aliyu Musa
First published 2019
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa
business
© 2019 Umma Aliyu Musa
The right of Umma Aliyu Musa to be identified as author of this
work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78
of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing- in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British
Library
Library of Congress Cataloging- in-Publication Data
Names: Aliyu Musa, Umma, author.
Title: Emotions in Muslim Hausa women’s fiction : more than just
romance / Umma Aliyu Musa.
Description: New York : Routledge, 2019. | Series: Global Africa ; 13
Identifiers: LCCN 2018056866 (print) | LCCN 2018057952 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780429020797 (Ebook) | ISBN 9780429667923 (Adobe Reader) |
ISBN 9780429665202 (Epub) | ISBN 9780429662485 (Mobipocket) |
ISBN 9780367074401 (hardback)
Subjects: LCSH: Hausa fiction—Nigeria—Women authors—
History and criticism. | Women authors, Hausa—Nigeria. | Muslim
women authors—Nigeria. | Emotions in literature. | Hausa (African
people)—Social life and customs.
Classification: LCC PL8233.5 (ebook) |
LCC PL8233.5 .A44 2019 (print) | DDC 893.7230099287—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018056866
ISBN: 978- 0-367- 07440-1 (hbk)
ISBN: 978- 0-429- 02079-7 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by codeMantra
To my mother, Aishatu Abubakar
In memory of my loving father, Aliyu Musa (1949–2006)
For Bill Hansen
I remember, always!
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
1 Introduction 1
2 The context of Hausa female fiction writing in
northern Nigeria 26
3 Forced marriage 51
4 Strategies for respect 97
5 Body-related metaphors for anger in Hausa 145
6 Love, Hausa narratives and modernity 163
7 Conclusion 176
Appendix: interview questions for authors 183
Index 189
Acknowledgments
First and foremost, I give thanks to God, the Almighty and the most merci-
ful for giving me the ability to reach this milestone in my life.
With all due honor, my special thanks goes to my supervisor, Prof.
Dr. Adam Jones, for his patience and insightful guidance. He has intro-
duced me to the world of emotions by giving me the support and space to
develop my interest, which has enabled me to complete this research suc-
cessfully. I give special thanks to my co- supervisor, Prof. Katja Werth-
mann, for her invaluable comments. Likewise, I offer special gratitude to
Prof. Murray Last, whose discussion with Prof. Dr. Adam Jones provided
me with the chance to narrow the context of emotions to anger as the area
of my research.
On a special note, I thank Prof. Abdalla Uba Adamu (Vice Chancellor,
NOUN National Open University of Nigeria), who has walked with me step
by step, and Dr. Joe McIntyre immensely for their contribution to my re-
search. Thank you for reading the manuscript and for the encouragement.
Similarly, I thank Prof. Dr. Graham Furniss for his insightful reviews.
At the University of Leipzig, my connection to many people has positively
impacted on this research. Therefore, I sincerely thank Prof. Helena Flamm
and Prof. Rose Marie Beck. I have benefited immensely from our discus-
sions at the beginning of my research. I thank Dr. Ari Awagana and Malam
Yusuf Baba Gar (Humboldt University) for their contributions.
My colleagues at the University of Hamburg have been very helpful. Spe-
cial thanks go to Dr. Rita Wobcke for the numerous discussions and practical
guidance. I am grateful to be at the Asien- Afrika-Institut (AAI) at the Uni-
versity of Hamburg, teaching Hausa and working on this research. I appre-
ciate the support I got from Prof. Mechthild Reh, Prof. Roland Kießling and
Prof. Henning Schreiber. I benefited a lot from our discussions and during my
presentations at the colloquium. Thank you, Dr. Uta Reuster- Jahn, Dr. Getie
Gelaye, Ibirahim Njoya, Viktoria Kempf, Richard Bonnie Junior, Doris Fran-
zbach, Theda Schumann, Carmen Geisenheyner and Kais Sattari, for your
support and encouragement, always. I rely a lot on the library and gifts of
books I got from Dr. Heinz Jockers and on his friendship. Miyetti!
My journey to Germany is related to my contacts at the American Univer-
sity of Nigeria, Yola. Thank you, Bill Hansen, for linking me to Leipzig and
