Amina
Amina (Amina Sukhera) (Aminatu) (c.1533-c.1610). Queen of the Hausa state of Zaria (Zauzau) during a period of rapid expansion during the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. A legendary figure, Amina extended Zaria’s empire over Nupe and the Jukun kingdom of Kwararata (Kororofa), and dominated Kano and Katsina. She is also credited with building many of the famous earthworks of the Hausa city-states. During her reign east-west trade became an important supplement to the trans-Saharan trade through Zaria.Amina Sukhera (also called Aminatu) was a Muslim princess of the royal family of Zazzau (now Zaria), in what is now northeast Nigeria. She was born c. 1533 and is estimated to have died around 1610. Amina was a preeminent gimbiya (princess) but various theories exist as to the time of her reign as queen. One explanation states that she reigned from approximately 1536 to 1573, while another posits that she became queen after her brother Karama's death, in 1576.
When Amina was seven years old her mother, Bakwa Turunku, became queen. During this point in her life, she became involved in the Zazzau military, earning much admiration for her bravery. Her military achievements brought her great wealth and power.
She is credited as the architect of the earthen walls around the city of Zaria. These walls are often referred to as Ganuwar Amina. During her reign, Amina was responsible for conquering many of the cities in the area surrounding Zazzau. In her thirty-four year reign, Amina expanded the domain of Zazzau to its largest size. Some sources state that her main focus was not on the annexation of neighboring lands, but on forcing local rulers to accept vassal status and permit Hausa traders safe passage.
The introduction of kola nuts into cultivation in the area is attributed to Amina. A statue at the National Arts Theatre in Lagos State honors her, and multiple educational institutions bear her name.
Amina Sukhera see Amina
Sukhera, Amina see Amina
Aminatu see Amina
Aminatu (also Amina; died 1610) was a Hausa Muslim and a historical figure in the city-state Zazzau (present-day city of Zaria in Kaduna State), in what is now in the north-west region of Nigreria.
Amina was born in the middle of the sixteenth century CC to King Nikatau, the 22nd ruler of Zazzau, and Queen Bakwa Turunku (r. 1536–c. 1566). She had a younger sister named Zaria for whom the modern city of Zaria (Kaduna State) was renamed by the British in the early twentieth century. According to oral legends collected by anthropologist David E. Jones, Amina grew up in her grandfather's court and was favored by him. He carried her around court and instructed her carefully in political and military matters.
At age sixteen, Amina was named Magajiya (heir apparent), and was given forty female slaves (kuyanga). From an early age, Amina had a number of suitors attempt to marry her. Attempts to gain her hand included a daily offer of ten slaves from Makama and fifty male slaves and fifty female slaves as well as fifty bags of white and blue cloth from the Sarkin Kano.
After the death of her parents in or around 1566, Amina's brother became king of Zazzau. At this point, Amina had distinguished herself as a leading warrior in her brother's cavalry and gained notoriety for her military skills. She is still celebrated today in traditional Hausa praise songs as “Amina daughter of Nikatau, a woman as capable as a man that was able to lead men to war.”
After the death of her brother Karami in 1576, Amina ascended to the position of queen. Zazzau was one of the original seven Hausa States (Hausa Bakwai), the others being Daura, Kano, Gobir, Katsina, Rano, and Garun Gabas. Before Amina assumed the throne, Zazzau was one of the largest of these states. It was also the primary source of slaves that would be sold at the slave markets of Kano and Katsina by Arab merchants.
Only three months after being crowned queen, Amina began a 34-year campaign against her neighbors, to expand Zazzau territory. Her army, consisting of 20,000 foot soldiers and 1,000 cavalry troops, was well trained and fearsome. In fact, one of her first announcements to her people was a call for them to “resharpen their weapons.” She conquered large tracts of land as far as Kwararafa and Nupe.
Legends cited by Sidney John Hogben say that she took a new lover in every town she went through, each of whom was said to meet the same unfortunate fate in the morning when her brief bridegroom was beheaded so that none should live to tell the tale. Under Amina, Zazzau controlled more territory than ever before. To mark and protect her new lands, Amina had her cities surrounded by earthen walls. These walls became commonplace across the nation until the British conquest of Zazzau in 1904, and many of them survive today, known as ganuwar Amina (Amina's walls).
No comments:
Post a Comment