Society-KANURI

The Kanuri are the dominant ethnic group of Bornu Province in northeastern
Nigeria. They are called Beri-beri by the Hausa, but seldom use the
term themselves. Bornu Emirate, the major division of the province
and the Kanuri homeland, has a history as a distinct political entity
stretching back at least 1,100 years. It has been a Muslim emirate
since the eleventh century. Bornu Emirate is located at lat. 11 degrees-13
degrees N and long. 11 degrees-13 1/2 degrees E. It is bordered on
the north by the Republic of Niger, on the northeast by Chad, and
on the east by Cameroon.

The Kanuri language has the largest number of speakers in the Central
Saharan language family spoken from northern Nigeria to the Central
Sudan. Hausa, however, is the most common language spoken in northern
Nigeria, and most Kanuri schoolchildren can speak some Hausa.

There are approximately 2.2 million Kanuri, according to the 1967
census (Nelson et al. 1972: 116). They may be found in all of the
major cities of northern Nigeria and in neighboring sections of Chad
and Niger. In fact, the southwestern section of the Republic of Niger
is predominantly Kanuri. (A population map of Nigeria, showing the
location of the Kanuri in 1963 (and an ethnic distribution map) may
be found in Nelson et al. (1972: 84, 104).

The climate of the Kanuri region is typical sub-Saharan savannah.
Rainfall averages 22 to 27 inches per year, nearly all of it falling
from June to September (Cohen 1967: 2). The Harmattan, the wind off
of the Sahara, blows cool from mid-December to mid-March, and then
may heat up to 100 degrees. The temperature may remain there for weeks
at a time, until the rains start in June. Most of Bornu is flat, except
for the southwest, where the rugged Bauchi Plateau rises steeply.
The eastern part, on the shores of Lake Chad, is marshy. Because of
the flatness of the terrain, the summer rains create swamps, and travel
becomes impossible. The soil is sandy and covered with scrub bush,
scattered thorny trees, and occasional baobabs. There are also large
flat surfaces of hard grey clay at the bottoms of ridges, which provide
material for buildings and pottery.

The Kanuri are sedentary hoe agriculturalists, although almost all
of the men practice some other occupation as well. Millet is the staple
food crop, followed by guinea corn (sorghum). Ground nuts (peanuts)
are grown for sale. Hunting is of minor significance, but fish are
an important resource to villages along the shores of Lake Chad and
the Yoke River. Horses are a symbol of prestige. Most households use
donkeys as draft animals. Sheep and goats are commonly kept. For beef,
most rely on the pastoral Shuwa and Fulbe (Fulani, Peul) cattle herders,
with whom they exchange grain and craft work. In a few areas, the
Kanuri keep large herds of cattle.

The Kanuri diet consists of large quantities of millet, served either
as porridge or as dumplings. A vegetable soup, also containing meat,
ground nut oil, salt, and other condiments--especially red peppers--is
poured over the millet. The diet is universal, but the soup contents
vary with socioeconomic class. Cooked foods are sold in the markets,
and a wide range of canned foods are available to city dwellers. Goats
and sheep are slaughtered for religious ceremonies. Islamic food taboos
are observed.

The basic socioeconomic unit is the virilocal extended family which
occupies a single walled compound. Rosman (1962:74) states that while
this is the ideal, neolocality is actually more common. Cohen disagrees,
and this difference may reflect the different kinds of settlements
or the different areas in which they worked (Cohen 1967: 49). In the
case of aristocracy and royalty, the household includes slaves, concubines,
and numerous retainers and adopted children, as well as the nuclear
family. At this social level, the household is not basically a kin
group, although the relations are patterned on kin relations, and
kin terms are used.

Social relations in Kanuri society are generally patterned upon those
of the idealized family, the most common being the father-son/ superior-subordinate
relation. A man's prestige is based on the size of his household and
the number of his patron-client relationships. His followers provide
farm and household labor, support and defense, while he provides food,
clothing, bride-price, and possibly a bride to each of them. Since
an individual's status increases or diminishes with that of the household,
regardless of his position within it, there is a premium on loyalty
to the master.

The preferred marriage for a man is to a young virgin, 10 to 14 years
of age. But this is a very expensive form of marriage, and most men
cannot afford it as a first marriage when they are themselves usually
in their late teens to mid-twenties. The more common first marriage
is to a divorcee, for whom the bridewealth payments are much lower.
Marriage between cousins also reduces the required bride-price. In
case of divorce, children stay with the father.

While agnatic relations take precedence for legal matters and inheritance,
kin relations are recognized through both lines. Kin terms make no
distinctions for agnates above the parental generation or for cousins,
who are all classed as brothers and sisters. Agnates generally live
together in their own wards within a city, town, or village. Although
there are no corporate lineages as such, in the eyes of the law these
groups of neighboring agnates are treated as corporate units, in the
sense that they are responsible for the actions of their members.
People without agnates upon whom they can depend are social outcasts.

The Kanuri live in "306 named and variously sized settlements, ranging
from Maiduguri, the capital with its 80,000 population, down to tiny
hamlets of three to four households" (Cohen 1967: 5). About two-thirds
of the population live in 248 villages of from 1,000 to 5,000 people.
About one-quarter live in cities over 10,000. Hamlets are found about
every one to two miles, and larger villages every five to six. Settlements
are composed of walled compounds, make up of mud- or grass-mat-walled
houses, with thatched conical roofs. Farms extend in a circle from
the settlement, with scattered farms, pastures, and free land beyond.

Before European contact, Bornu was a feudal state, with royal lineages,
a land-holding aristocracy, peasants, and slaves. Today important
political leaders are in almost all cases descendants of the aristocratic
lineages, but popular elections have added commoners to their ranks.
When the English took control at the beginning of this century, they
abolished slavery and usurped the top decision-making positions, but
left most of the social system intact. In small villages, there is
little or no labor specialization, and differences in wealth are slight;
social classes do not exist. In towns and cities, however, social
stratification is pronounced, and wealth differences may be great.
New trading opportunities, Western education, and political power
through election and financial support of others, have created a situation
in which there are many commoners today who are as wealthy as the
aristocrats.

The Bornu Emirate is a political entity and is viewed as such by its
inhabitants. Its present political structure is a result of the colonial
era, but is still largely based on pre-colonial values, traditions,
and ideology. The shehu, or king, is both the political and religious
leader of the emirate. There are 21 districts, each with a District
Head--usually a member of the aristocracy--and a district capital.
The districts are composed of villages, each with its own headman
(lawan), and of towns or cities, which may have several lawan. Villages,
towns, and cities are composed of wards and surrounding hamlets. Both
are run by Bullama, usually the founders or senior males.

The Kanuri have been Muslims since the eleventh century. Unlike the
neighboring Hausa, there are no pagan Kanuri. Law, education, and
social organization are the parts of the culture that have been most
affected by Islam. The Malakite version of Islamic law is administered
by alkalis trained at the Kano Law School. Traditional education is
in the Quran. Social organization emphasizes the importance of the
nuclear family and the supreme authority of the father.

The Kanuri have had a strong influence on the surrounding peoples,
which include the Budum of Lake Chad, the Mandara and Kotoko (or Mogori)
southeast of the Kanuri, the Marghi of the Damboa district, the Babur
in the hills south of the Kanuri, the Bolewa southwest of the Kanuri,
and the Bede of Gashua, within the Kanuri territory. All of these
groups have acquired various aspects of Kanuri culture, mainly the
Kanuri language and Islam. Many, including the Hausa, were at one
time subjects of the Kanuri empire.

There are several good works providing an orientation to the Kanuri.
Cohen: (1967) is a general monograph covering history, social relations,
economics, and politics. There is special emphasis on the effect of
family relations on other social relations. Rosman (1962) is a discussion
of how acculturation differentially affects social groups and how
the social structure itself affects the acculturation process. But
as background, the author discusses economics, political organization,
religion, and kinship, emphasizing again the role of the family.

Culture summary by Martin J. Malone



Cohen, Ronald.
 The Kanuri of Bornu.
 New York, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1967.
 10, 115 p. illus., map Nelson, Harold D. Area handbook for Nigeria.
 By Harold D. Nelson et al.
 Washington, D.C., U.S.
 Government Printing Office, 1972.
 Rosman, Abraham.
 Social structure and acculturation among the Kanuri of northern Nigeria.
 Ann Arbor, University Microfilms, 1966.
 5, 379 l. illus., tables.
 (University Microfilms Publications, no.
 66-2677).
 Dissertation (Anthropology) -- Yale University, 1962.


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