Table Of Content

Emotions 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 marriage, 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 Series Editors: Toyin Falola and Roy Doron 6 The African Metropolis Struggles over Urban Space, Citizenship, and Rights to the City Edited by Toyin Falola and Bisola Falola 7 Africa’s Big Men Predatory State – Society Relations in Africa Edited by Kenneth Kalu, Olajumoke Yacob- Haliso and Toyin Falola 8 The Right to Development in the African Human Rights System Serges Djyou Kamga 9 Philosophy and National Development in Nigeria Towards a Tradition of Nigerian Philosophy Adeshina Afolyayan 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 research. 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 discussions 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