Our History: Hausa Music

The Hausa are one of the largest ethnic groups in Nigeria, Niger, Ghana, Sudan, Cameroon and in many West and Central African countries. Their folk music has played an important part in the development of Nigerian music, contributing such elements as the goge, a one-stringed fiddle. There are two broad categories of traditional Hausa music: rural folk music and urban court music. They introduced the African pop culture genre that is still popular today.

Ceremonial music (rokon fada) is performed as a status symbol, and musicians are generally chosen for political reasons as opposed to musical ones. Ceremonial music can be heard at the weekly sara, a statement of authority by the emir which takes place every Thursday evening.

Courtly praise-singers like the renowned Narambad, are devoted to singing the virtues of a patron, such as a sultan or emir. Praise songs are accompanied by kettledrums and kalangu talking drums, along with the kakaki, a kind of long trumpet derived from that used by the Songhai cavalry.

Rural folk music includes styles that accompany the young girls' asauwara dance and the bòòríí or Bori religion both well known for their music. It has been brought as far north as Tripoli, Libya by trans-Saharan trade. The bòòríí cult features trance music, played by calabash, lute or fiddle. During ceremonies, women and other marginalized groups fall into trances and perform odd behaviors, such as mimicking a pig or sexual behavior. These persons are said to be possessed by a character, each with its own litany (kírààrì). There are similar trance cults (the so-called "mermaid cults") found in the Niger Delta region.

Popular Hausa music includes Muhamman Shata, who sings accompanied by drummers, Dan Maraya, who plays a one-stringed lute called a kontigi, Audo Yaron Goje, who plays the goje, and Ibrahim Na Habu, who plays a small fiddle called a kukkuma.

Popular Hausa songs on Youtube Matar Aurena https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOWsu8ePrbE a video Uploaded by Jabir Karofi Became the most viewed hausa song on youtube, a song in a Movie called Matar Aurena, a song by Muhmud Nagudu.

Do you like Hausa music? What is your favourite Hausa song?

Our History: Igbo Cuisine

Igbo cuisine is the various foods of the Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria. Their cuisine includes the dishes, recipes and types of vegetables, meats and fruits that have shaped their food culture. Igbo food as in the case of all cultures has been considerably affected by their environment and history.
One of the most important vegetables in Igbo cuisine and in the Igbo culture in general is the yam tuber. This is considered the Igbo staple crop and has been dedicated deities such as Njoku Ji, the yam god. Igbo cuisine includes other vegetables such as Pumpkin seed, used to make a soup called Egusi, Bitter leaf which is made into a soup and Okra, of which its name stems from the Igbo language.

Some Igbo soups:

·  bitterleaf soup, with bitterleaf not very distant from spinach;
·  ora and ogri soup, a vegetable-based soup, most commonly eaten in villages;
·  egusi soup, yellowish soup based on melon seeds;
·  okro soup, sticky, viscous ‘draw’ soup made out of sliced okro pods;
·  ogbono soup, another ‘draw’ soup based on ogbono pods and
·  vegetable soup, the most exclusive soup, because of its ingredients
Meat or fish is a key component of the soup, mostly originating from cow, chicken, goat, turkey, dry fish or stockfish. Stockfish is air-dried codfish that is soaked and cooked in the soup. Some restaurants advertise bush meat as well, which can be from antelopes, but more valued is the grass-cutter (also called bush or cane rat), or maybe even less familiar species. Bush rat meat is worth a try, when cooked properly, as it is very tender and well spiced.

Igbo Popular Desserts

Here are two most popular Igbo deserts, this two in particular are very special to the people of Igbo, they are African salad (Abacha) and nkwobi.

Culled from: igbozurume.org