CONTENTS
[ 7 ]
Foreword
[ 9 ]
Allo and Mallam
[ 11 ]
In the Trails of Three Story Tellers
[ 13 ]
The Hausa, Islam and Qur’anic Boards
[ 15 ]
Allo Design, Scripts, Production and Preservation
[ 19 ]
Hausa Allo Iconography — Five Distinctions
[ 27 ]
Decoding the Graphics of Allo Kafi Gida
[ 34 ]
Beyond Scripts and Graphics — Taming the Challenges of Life
[ 36 ]
Catalogue of Works
[ 219 ]
References Cited
[ 221 ]
End Notes
CONTENTS
[ 7 ]
Foreword
[ 9 ]
Allo and Mallam
[ 11 ]
In the Trails of Three Story Tellers
[ 13 ]
The Hausa, Islam and Qur’anic Boards
[ 15 ]
Allo Design, Scripts, Production and Preservation
[ 19 ]
Hausa Allo Iconography — Five Distinctions
[ 27 ]
Decoding the Graphics of Allo Kafi Gida
[ 34 ]
Beyond Scripts and Graphics — Taming the Challenges of Life
[ 36 ]
Catalogue of Works
[ 219 ]
References Cited
[ 221 ]
End Notes
FOREWORD
Secrecy permeates our feelings and views, consciously or unconsciously. Shared secrets forge bonds, with friends and foes. The whisperer speaks the truth.1
Secrecy enshrouds every single ornamented Qur’anic writing board (allo, pl. alluna) presented in this book.2 Over the past millennium, the Hausa in Northern Nigeria have pro duced, used and preserved such boards in secrecy, and they call them allo kafi gida (home protection allo).3 Allo kafi gida is the most secret of the Hausa alluna, held absent from dictionaries and concealed from outsiders including the British colonial administration for a century. Part of the rationale behind the secrecy, I learned, is fear of exposure in revealing to outsiders the secret formulas and benefits of the ornamented allo. The other part of the rationale is rooted in fear for repercussions accruing from the use of an ornamented allo; as Islam preaches iconoclasm, i.e., images of animals and humans are banned in worship. Still today, the possession of an allo kafi gida is punishable by harsh treatment at the hands of Islamic zealots, and executions are not excluded among possible penalties. Hence, each of the boards featured in this book would have been destroyed (burned) by adherents of Islamic fundamentalism had they not been salvaged over the years. By many counts, the production and use of an allo kafi gida has created a social and religious minefield. Being in that minefield for several years was precarious, even for a researcher. My experience, however, was a breeze compared to those who had to negotiate their way through that minefield throughout their entire adult lives. My greatest gratitude goes therefore to the anonymous Hausa mallamai (Muslim clerics) who took the risk of conceiving and producing allo kafi gida in secrecy, and to their clients, who preserved them at great personal risks. Without them, this book would not have seen the light of day, and later generations would never be given the opportunity to learn of the artistic ingenuity of the artists who produced them. More than illustrators, those mallamai artists were also storytellers; painting tales depicting the cosmological encounters of their society on wooden canvases. More than clients, the proprietors have in fact acted by default as the “curators” of the secret alluna, thus keeping records of the Hausa cosmology while exploring and adopting Islam. By now, the reader has realized that the secrecy surrounding allo kafi gida was the impetus that enticed me to explore the Hausa alluna. About twenty-five years ago, when I set out to explore what I could learn of the secret ornamented Qur’anic writing board, I was guided by little but rumours and a passage in a study by Salah. M. Hassan’s (1992-165-166) in which he discussed the existence of secret Qur’anic boards. Despite his efforts, however, Hassan never found one during his fieldwork among the Hausa in Northern Nigeria. Thus, at the start of my journey, many questions took possession of my mind. Did the secret allo truly exist? What beliefs formed the basis for its secrecy? Were those beliefs Islamic, or were they derived from indigenous systems of meaning? Were such beliefs evidence-based, or merely superstition? As I pursued the answers to these questions, secrecy also permeated my interactions on the journey. Contacts, meetings, locations, negotiations and acquisitions of the artworks were all concealed. Unlike many other secret religious African artworks, which can be collectively owned 7
FOREWORD
Secrecy permeates our feelings and views, consciously or unconsciously. Shared secrets forge bonds, with friends and foes. The whisperer speaks the truth.1
Secrecy enshrouds every single ornamented Qur’anic writing board (allo, pl. alluna) presented in this book.2 Over the past millennium, the Hausa in Northern Nigeria have pro duced, used and preserved such boards in secrecy, and they call them allo kafi gida (home protection allo).3 Allo kafi gida is the most secret of the Hausa alluna, held absent from dictionaries and concealed from outsiders including the British colonial administration for a century. Part of the rationale behind the secrecy, I learned, is fear of exposure in revealing to outsiders the secret formulas and benefits of the ornamented allo. The other part of the rationale is rooted in fear for repercussions accruing from the use of an ornamented allo; as Islam preaches iconoclasm, i.e., images of animals and humans are banned in worship. Still today, the possession of an allo kafi gida is punishable by harsh treatment at the hands of Islamic zealots, and executions are not excluded among possible penalties. Hence, each of the boards featured in this book would have been destroyed (burned) by adherents of Islamic fundamentalism had they not been salvaged over the years. By many counts, the production and use of an allo kafi gida has created a social and religious minefield. Being in that minefield for several years was precarious, even for a researcher. My experience, however, was a breeze compared to those who had to negotiate their way through that minefield throughout their entire adult lives. My greatest gratitude goes therefore to the anonymous Hausa mallamai (Muslim clerics) who took the risk of conceiving and producing allo kafi gida in secrecy, and to their clients, who preserved them at great personal risks. Without them, this book would not have seen the light of day, and later generations would never be given the opportunity to learn of the artistic ingenuity of the artists who produced them. More than illustrators, those mallamai artists were also storytellers; painting tales depicting the cosmological encounters of their society on wooden canvases. More than clients, the proprietors have in fact acted by default as the “curators” of the secret alluna, thus keeping records of the Hausa cosmology while exploring and adopting Islam. By now, the reader has realized that the secrecy surrounding allo kafi gida was the impetus that enticed me to explore the Hausa alluna. About twenty-five years ago, when I set out to explore what I could learn of the secret ornamented Qur’anic writing board, I was guided by little but rumours and a passage in a study by Salah. M. Hassan’s (1992-165-166) in which he discussed the existence of secret Qur’anic boards. Despite his efforts, however, Hassan never found one during his fieldwork among the Hausa in Northern Nigeria. Thus, at the start of my journey, many questions took possession of my mind. Did the secret allo truly exist? What beliefs formed the basis for its secrecy? Were those beliefs Islamic, or were they derived from indigenous systems of meaning? Were such beliefs evidence-based, or merely superstition? As I pursued the answers to these questions, secrecy also permeated my interactions on the journey. Contacts, meetings, locations, negotiations and acquisitions of the artworks were all concealed. Unlike many other secret religious African artworks, which can be collectively owned 7
ALLO AND MALLAM
and preserved in community facilities such as fetish houses or sacred forests, all ornamented Qur’anic boards are personal artefacts kept in homes. To acquire a single allo kafi gida, you must negotiate with each individual owner. Nonetheless, despite the intimacy induced by the secret interactions and trust that we developed, only two of the some 400 alluna owners would volunteer to be photographed with their alluna, in fear of exposure and repercussions. Yet empirically, allo kafi gida is not merely an accessory of worship than the multifaceted Muslim evil eye. Mezuzah from Judaism transpires as the closest religious artefact from the desert religions, to be compared with allo kafi gida. Besides secrecy, my second challenge was my illiteracy in Hausa and the Hausa culture, amid a social and religious minefield. I would not have been able to undertake the allo exploration without qualified help. To serve as my travel guide/informant on the journey, I turned to Ahamadou Baba, known as “Baba Steve”—a fifty-year-old African art specialist residing in Lomé, Togo who
Words are the building blocks of the universe.
became my eyes, my ears and my mouth, along the journey. Not only was Baba an African art spe-
We see and experience reality through our words.
cialist, he was also a Hausa and a Muslim, and well versed in the Hausa culture. Nonetheless, at
Allo and mallam are the building blocks of Islam among the Hausa.
the start of our journey, Baba had never heard about allo kafi gida. During the first two years, the
Without the allo, without the mallam, no Islam.5
trails of oral tradition were silent, and the words gave no token; eventually, however, our patience paid off. My sincere gratitude goes to Baba for his wit, his endurance and his friendship. The exploration of allo kafi gida has been part of a longer journey with African art, which
Wooden writing boards, originally known as al-lahw, have been utilized for centuries as a
started in my late teenage years. By training, I am a sociologist with a PhD from Lund University,
basic means of learning the Qur’an in many Muslim societies.6 What is less known, however, is
Sweden. Swedish is my mother tongue; however, I am of African descent with roots in Southern
that the Hausa of Northern Nigeria distinguish themselves among adherents to this tradi-
Africa and the Kongo Kingdom, but I was “made” in Zaïre. I have travelled to all of the human-in-
tion.7 First, they call the Qur’anic writing board allo (pl. alluna). Second, they have produced a
habited continents except Australia. This life experience has given me four sets of eyes and ears,
unique allo design, distinct from all other Qur’anic writing boards. Third, they distinguish
and multiple palates. With these multi-faceted sensors, I have lived life and explored African art
between five distinctive alluna, among which is the secret, ornamented allo called allo kafi
for the past thirty years, while simultaneously working as a social scientist at Lund University and
gida (“home protection allo”), which challenges the idea of Islam as a religion that uniformly
later at the World Bank in Washington, DC.
preaches iconoclasm.8 The narrative of this book has two ambitions. First, to present the
Following the path of my work and passion for art, I have visited thirty-nine African coun-
Hausa allo iconography as defined by the Hausa as makers and users. Second, to lift a corner
tries and familiarized myself with their art traditions. I met, discussed and learned from women,
of a thousand-year veil enshrouding allo kafi gida. Allo and mallam (pl. mallamai) are the key
men, elders and féticheurs/shamans as well as from local art dealers. “Learn, photograph, collect
words of the narrative.
and write” became the maxim of my art journeys. A Fanti fertility doll from Ghana, was my first acquisition that evolved into a collection of fertility dolls. As my passion grew and my tastes
ALLO
developed, so did my collections, expanding to include: Ewe and Fon twin figures; Baule and
The word allo is derived from the Arabic word al-lawh, meaning a “wooden tablet of heavenly
Senufo artworks, and Ethiopian artworks, among others. The exploration of allo kafi gida began
design.”9 Presented in this publication are the five al-lawhs comprising the Hausa allo iconog-
somewhere in the middle of my journey with Ethiopian artworks.
raphy, some of which are ordinary, and others remain secret, such as allo kafi gida. Every single
To complete the current collection of allo kafi gida, took about twenty-one years. With
allo kafi gida presented was conceived, produced and preserved in secrecy: over the years,
time, I realized that allo kafi gida whispered history, and what it truly represents is a series of cos-
they would have been destroyed by the fundamentalist forces of Northern Nigeria had their
mological time capsules recorded on wooden canvases. Those canvases capture the efforts of the
existence not been carefully concealed and then salvaged over the past twenty-one years. As
Hausa people to incorporate foreign cosmological ideas into their own belief systems using art as
intimated in the foreword, possession of an allo kafi gida is punishable with harsh treatment at
a means. Nevertheless, Jihad might be declared, heresy might be proclaimed, and bans might be
the hands of Islamic zealots, among which execution is not excluded. Such is the reaction gen-
decreed against the secret ornamented allo; however, it is my hope that ultimately reason will
erated by the perceived powers attributed to the images on the wooden board.
4
prevail. For things that represent neither greed nor evil, nor lust for power, nor speculation, but
History has yet to establish when the first Qur’anic board was introduced to the Hausa or
rather merely express feelings of earnestness and wonder ever springing from the soul, have a life
when the Hausa first modified the boards’ design and use. However, it is reasonable to suggest
of their own. That was and remains the life’s lesson I learned, from my journey with the Hausa
that the first allo was likely introduced in the first or second decade of 900 AD, as archetypes of
alluna. Therefore, although I am unfortunately not versed in Arabic, for those who are, I trust that
the Hausa allo design are found in several editions of the book Kitab Musa, which was published
the findings in this book will be received as historical, cultural and cosmological treasure troves.
in Kano, Nigeria in 926 AD.10 Therefore, this book can be considered as conferring the theological legitimacy to allo kafi gida. Early prototypes of alluna kafi gida might have been produced about the same time. In support of the above argument, five benchmarks make a case in point: 500 – 700 AD / Emergence of the Hausa city-states. 128 – 81 AH 622 AD / 1 AH Formal creation of Islam; first year of the Muslim calendar.11 926 AD / 314 AH Publication of Kitab Musa/Oum Musa (Miracles / Benefits of Mother Moses) in Kano.12 8
9
ALLO AND MALLAM
and preserved in community facilities such as fetish houses or sacred forests, all ornamented Qur’anic boards are personal artefacts kept in homes. To acquire a single allo kafi gida, you must negotiate with each individual owner. Nonetheless, despite the intimacy induced by the secret interactions and trust that we developed, only two of the some 400 alluna owners would volunteer to be photographed with their alluna, in fear of exposure and repercussions. Yet empirically, allo kafi gida is not merely an accessory of worship than the multifaceted Muslim evil eye. Mezuzah from Judaism transpires as the closest religious artefact from the desert religions, to be compared with allo kafi gida. Besides secrecy, my second challenge was my illiteracy in Hausa and the Hausa culture, amid a social and religious minefield. I would not have been able to undertake the allo exploration without qualified help. To serve as my travel guide/informant on the journey, I turned to Ahamadou Baba, known as “Baba Steve”—a fifty-year-old African art specialist residing in Lomé, Togo who
Words are the building blocks of the universe.
became my eyes, my ears and my mouth, along the journey. Not only was Baba an African art spe-
We see and experience reality through our words.
cialist, he was also a Hausa and a Muslim, and well versed in the Hausa culture. Nonetheless, at
Allo and mallam are the building blocks of Islam among the Hausa.
the start of our journey, Baba had never heard about allo kafi gida. During the first two years, the
Without the allo, without the mallam, no Islam.5
trails of oral tradition were silent, and the words gave no token; eventually, however, our patience paid off. My sincere gratitude goes to Baba for his wit, his endurance and his friendship. The exploration of allo kafi gida has been part of a longer journey with African art, which
Wooden writing boards, originally known as al-lahw, have been utilized for centuries as a
started in my late teenage years. By training, I am a sociologist with a PhD from Lund University,
basic means of learning the Qur’an in many Muslim societies.6 What is less known, however, is
Sweden. Swedish is my mother tongue; however, I am of African descent with roots in Southern
that the Hausa of Northern Nigeria distinguish themselves among adherents to this tradi-
Africa and the Kongo Kingdom, but I was “made” in Zaïre. I have travelled to all of the human-in-
tion.7 First, they call the Qur’anic writing board allo (pl. alluna). Second, they have produced a
habited continents except Australia. This life experience has given me four sets of eyes and ears,
unique allo design, distinct from all other Qur’anic writing boards. Third, they distinguish
and multiple palates. With these multi-faceted sensors, I have lived life and explored African art
between five distinctive alluna, among which is the secret, ornamented allo called allo kafi
for the past thirty years, while simultaneously working as a social scientist at Lund University and
gida (“home protection allo”), which challenges the idea of Islam as a religion that uniformly
later at the World Bank in Washington, DC.
preaches iconoclasm.8 The narrative of this book has two ambitions. First, to present the
Following the path of my work and passion for art, I have visited thirty-nine African coun-
Hausa allo iconography as defined by the Hausa as makers and users. Second, to lift a corner
tries and familiarized myself with their art traditions. I met, discussed and learned from women,
of a thousand-year veil enshrouding allo kafi gida. Allo and mallam (pl. mallamai) are the key
men, elders and féticheurs/shamans as well as from local art dealers. “Learn, photograph, collect
words of the narrative.
and write” became the maxim of my art journeys. A Fanti fertility doll from Ghana, was my first acquisition that evolved into a collection of fertility dolls. As my passion grew and my tastes
ALLO
developed, so did my collections, expanding to include: Ewe and Fon twin figures; Baule and
The word allo is derived from the Arabic word al-lawh, meaning a “wooden tablet of heavenly
Senufo artworks, and Ethiopian artworks, among others. The exploration of allo kafi gida began
design.”9 Presented in this publication are the five al-lawhs comprising the Hausa allo iconog-
somewhere in the middle of my journey with Ethiopian artworks.
raphy, some of which are ordinary, and others remain secret, such as allo kafi gida. Every single
To complete the current collection of allo kafi gida, took about twenty-one years. With
allo kafi gida presented was conceived, produced and preserved in secrecy: over the years,
time, I realized that allo kafi gida whispered history, and what it truly represents is a series of cos-
they would have been destroyed by the fundamentalist forces of Northern Nigeria had their
mological time capsules recorded on wooden canvases. Those canvases capture the efforts of the
existence not been carefully concealed and then salvaged over the past twenty-one years. As
Hausa people to incorporate foreign cosmological ideas into their own belief systems using art as
intimated in the foreword, possession of an allo kafi gida is punishable with harsh treatment at
a means. Nevertheless, Jihad might be declared, heresy might be proclaimed, and bans might be
the hands of Islamic zealots, among which execution is not excluded. Such is the reaction gen-
decreed against the secret ornamented allo; however, it is my hope that ultimately reason will
erated by the perceived powers attributed to the images on the wooden board.
4
prevail. For things that represent neither greed nor evil, nor lust for power, nor speculation, but
History has yet to establish when the first Qur’anic board was introduced to the Hausa or
rather merely express feelings of earnestness and wonder ever springing from the soul, have a life
when the Hausa first modified the boards’ design and use. However, it is reasonable to suggest
of their own. That was and remains the life’s lesson I learned, from my journey with the Hausa
that the first allo was likely introduced in the first or second decade of 900 AD, as archetypes of
alluna. Therefore, although I am unfortunately not versed in Arabic, for those who are, I trust that
the Hausa allo design are found in several editions of the book Kitab Musa, which was published
the findings in this book will be received as historical, cultural and cosmological treasure troves.
in Kano, Nigeria in 926 AD.10 Therefore, this book can be considered as conferring the theological legitimacy to allo kafi gida. Early prototypes of alluna kafi gida might have been produced about the same time. In support of the above argument, five benchmarks make a case in point: 500 – 700 AD / Emergence of the Hausa city-states. 128 – 81 AH 622 AD / 1 AH Formal creation of Islam; first year of the Muslim calendar.11 926 AD / 314 AH Publication of Kitab Musa/Oum Musa (Miracles / Benefits of Mother Moses) in Kano.12 8
9
IN THE TRAILS OF THREE STORY TELLERS
1000 AD / 390 AH Founding of the city of Timbuktu, Mali, which hosts Muslim traders and Islamic scholars. 1100 AD / 493 AH Hausa aristocracy adopts Islam. It took Islam roughly 500 years to travel from Mecca to Northern Nigeria and entrench itself in the Hausa heartland, and the above timeline indicates that the alluna might have helped to pave the way. The establishment of Qur’anic schools was likely among the first activities that facilitated the introduction of the allo and the modification of its design. In 1352, around 250 years after the Hausa aristocracy first converted to Islam, the explorer Ibn Batuta noted the establishment of Qur’anic schools and scholars in the city of Timbuktu during his travels into the Mali Empire. The publication of Kitab Musa preceded Timbuktu’s foundation by sixty-four years, and it is therefore not unreasonable to consider that Qur’anic schools using alluna were already present in Northern
Somewhere towards the end, we get enlightened somehow.
Nigeria in the first century of the second millennium AD.
The vantage point, from which we view the world, determines crucially
13
what we see. We carry our look at Greek sculpture when looking MALLAM
at a Fang sculpture. These encounters may confuse or enlighten our minds.
Mallam is the Hausa word for an Islamic cleric (Wall 1988: 323). In the Hausa Islamic tradition,
Somewhere towards the end, however, we get enlightened somehow.
14
mallamai are always males, they have a range of functions, such as astrologers, craftsmen, counsellors, diviners, fortune-tellers, spiritual advisers, calligraphers, pharmacists and physicians, among others.15 Mallamai are the producers of the scripts and graphics that infuse the secret
This narrative draws from three main sources: 1) scholarly works, particularly the research of Africana
ornamented allo with heavenly agency and transform them into living religious relics. In discuss-
art historian Salah. M. Hassan (1992)19; 2) ethnographic fieldwork collecting oral traditions, largely
ing with mallamai the origin of the ordinary Hausa allo and their role in its production, Salah M.
courtesy of African art specialist Ahamadou Baba (Hausa and Muslim),20 as well as recurrent conver-
Hassan (1992: 149) noted:
sations with targeted individual spiritual specialists among Muslim Hausa and the Hausa Maguzawa21; and 3) material culture evidence. Salah M. Hassan’s research provides the narrative with a robust
The Qur’anic board’s original Arabic name was al-lawh, and consequently its Hausa derivative
scholarly framework of reference, whereas Baba offers the perspective of oral traditions through his
allo, literally meaning board or slate. Yet, many malams have explained the origin of this name
cultural experience, insights and knowledge of the Hausa culture, coupled with a professional wit. The
and the object itself at the same time as being derived from what is known in Islam as al-lahw
conversations with targeted individual spiritual specialists among Muslim Hausa and the Hausa
al-mahfūz the “Preserved Tablet” or the “Guarded Tablet” as it is sometimes translated. The
Maguzawa broaden the oral tradition perspective. The material culture evidence illuminates the vari-
Qur’an is believed to have existed in heaven from eternity in a form which is called um al-kitāb
ous assertions of the narrative. My work in that field of tension between scholarly knowledge, oral
(the mother of the book), or al-lahw al-mahfūz. The Guarded Tablet is also believed to contain
tradition and material culture evidence provided a solid platform for an intriguing and fruitful explora-
all details of the destiny of our world including individual human lives, predetermined and
tion of the Hausa alluna.22 For purposes of simplicity, hence forward, I will refer to Salah. M. Hassan as
recorded. The idea is that the Qur’an was originally written in this heavenly masterpiece before
“Hassan” and to Ahamadou Baba as “Baba”.
a copy was made and revealed to Prophet Muhammad. This was committed to the Archangel
Hassan (1992) assembled most of what the world beyond the horizon of Northern Nigeria
Gabriel (Arabic. Jibril), who revealed it piece-meal to the Prophet, but allowed him to see the
currently knows about Hausa practices pertaining to “ordinary” Qur’anic writing boards. His
complete book once a year. Hence, the allo, as a medium for writing and transmitting the
extensive work on the roles of ordinary alluna in the traditional Hausa Islamic education system
Qur’an, acquires the same sacred status originally associated with al-lahw al-mahfūz.
has made him a pioneer in Hausa alluna research. Hassan explored how ordinary Hausa Qur’anic boards were produced, the materials used, the criteria for quality and how the boards as Qur’anic
From the above discussion, Hassan concluded that the mallamai explanation regarding the sacred
school learning tools contributed to enhancing literacy among the Hausa in Northern Nigeria.
status of the wooden Hausa allo was a theoretical means of justifying various activities of the
However, although he identified their presumed existence, Hassan was unable to extend the
mallam, educational or otherwise (Hassan 1992: 149–150). However, the real value of the allo lies
boundaries of his study beyond the ordinary allo and penetrate the walls of secrecy enshrouding
in its practical dimensions, which Hassan (1992) defined as the absence of paper and the preva-
the non-educational alluna. As Hassan noted (1992: 165–166):
16
lence of poverty in the Hausa society. If we consider only the school allo, that might be so from a Cartesian perspective; however, this interpretation is unlikely to apply to allo kafi gida. Although
Other types of allo: Allo is also used in other activities of the malam, besides the educational
the school allo is the basic allo/canvas used in a principle of palimpsest to produce the other
one; namely magical and healing activities. The magical and healing activities are guarded with
alluna,17 this function is easily superseded in the production of the secret allo. Cartesian ratio-
secrecy and revered as private and dangerous to speak about. Part of this activity is the manu-
nales fall short when trying to explain the multiple layers of aesthetic religious phenomenon such
facturing of the holy water, known to the Hausa as rubutun sha, made through washing certain
as the production of faith-based material artefacts, as the history of the alluna and similar arte-
written Qur’anic verses or hatimai off the surface of allo. The process of making rubutun sha
facts suggests that modernism or wealth do not necessarily preclude the retention of established
and its different users are discussed in chapter eight . . . In conclusion, allo provides an inter-
spiritual tenets.
esting case in studying the ethnography of literacy and writing among the Hausa . . . It is also a
18
medium of an artistic expression through calligraphy and decoration as exemplified by allo zayyana. Its magical aspects and healing potential are reflected through its being a medium of manufacturing the rubutun sha and practicing divination. In short, the allo stands at a point of convergence between three different domains, the artistic, the literacy and the magical. 10
11
IN THE TRAILS OF THREE STORY TELLERS
1000 AD / 390 AH Founding of the city of Timbuktu, Mali, which hosts Muslim traders and Islamic scholars. 1100 AD / 493 AH Hausa aristocracy adopts Islam. It took Islam roughly 500 years to travel from Mecca to Northern Nigeria and entrench itself in the Hausa heartland, and the above timeline indicates that the alluna might have helped to pave the way. The establishment of Qur’anic schools was likely among the first activities that facilitated the introduction of the allo and the modification of its design. In 1352, around 250 years after the Hausa aristocracy first converted to Islam, the explorer Ibn Batuta noted the establishment of Qur’anic schools and scholars in the city of Timbuktu during his travels into the Mali Empire. The publication of Kitab Musa preceded Timbuktu’s foundation by sixty-four years, and it is therefore not unreasonable to consider that Qur’anic schools using alluna were already present in Northern
Somewhere towards the end, we get enlightened somehow.
Nigeria in the first century of the second millennium AD.
The vantage point, from which we view the world, determines crucially
13
what we see. We carry our look at Greek sculpture when looking MALLAM
at a Fang sculpture. These encounters may confuse or enlighten our minds.
Mallam is the Hausa word for an Islamic cleric (Wall 1988: 323). In the Hausa Islamic tradition,
Somewhere towards the end, however, we get enlightened somehow.
14
mallamai are always males, they have a range of functions, such as astrologers, craftsmen, counsellors, diviners, fortune-tellers, spiritual advisers, calligraphers, pharmacists and physicians, among others.15 Mallamai are the producers of the scripts and graphics that infuse the secret
This narrative draws from three main sources: 1) scholarly works, particularly the research of Africana
ornamented allo with heavenly agency and transform them into living religious relics. In discuss-
art historian Salah. M. Hassan (1992)19; 2) ethnographic fieldwork collecting oral traditions, largely
ing with mallamai the origin of the ordinary Hausa allo and their role in its production, Salah M.
courtesy of African art specialist Ahamadou Baba (Hausa and Muslim),20 as well as recurrent conver-
Hassan (1992: 149) noted:
sations with targeted individual spiritual specialists among Muslim Hausa and the Hausa Maguzawa21; and 3) material culture evidence. Salah M. Hassan’s research provides the narrative with a robust
The Qur’anic board’s original Arabic name was al-lawh, and consequently its Hausa derivative
scholarly framework of reference, whereas Baba offers the perspective of oral traditions through his
allo, literally meaning board or slate. Yet, many malams have explained the origin of this name
cultural experience, insights and knowledge of the Hausa culture, coupled with a professional wit. The
and the object itself at the same time as being derived from what is known in Islam as al-lahw
conversations with targeted individual spiritual specialists among Muslim Hausa and the Hausa
al-mahfūz the “Preserved Tablet” or the “Guarded Tablet” as it is sometimes translated. The
Maguzawa broaden the oral tradition perspective. The material culture evidence illuminates the vari-
Qur’an is believed to have existed in heaven from eternity in a form which is called um al-kitāb
ous assertions of the narrative. My work in that field of tension between scholarly knowledge, oral
(the mother of the book), or al-lahw al-mahfūz. The Guarded Tablet is also believed to contain
tradition and material culture evidence provided a solid platform for an intriguing and fruitful explora-
all details of the destiny of our world including individual human lives, predetermined and
tion of the Hausa alluna.22 For purposes of simplicity, hence forward, I will refer to Salah. M. Hassan as
recorded. The idea is that the Qur’an was originally written in this heavenly masterpiece before
“Hassan” and to Ahamadou Baba as “Baba”.
a copy was made and revealed to Prophet Muhammad. This was committed to the Archangel
Hassan (1992) assembled most of what the world beyond the horizon of Northern Nigeria
Gabriel (Arabic. Jibril), who revealed it piece-meal to the Prophet, but allowed him to see the
currently knows about Hausa practices pertaining to “ordinary” Qur’anic writing boards. His
complete book once a year. Hence, the allo, as a medium for writing and transmitting the
extensive work on the roles of ordinary alluna in the traditional Hausa Islamic education system
Qur’an, acquires the same sacred status originally associated with al-lahw al-mahfūz.
has made him a pioneer in Hausa alluna research. Hassan explored how ordinary Hausa Qur’anic boards were produced, the materials used, the criteria for quality and how the boards as Qur’anic
From the above discussion, Hassan concluded that the mallamai explanation regarding the sacred
school learning tools contributed to enhancing literacy among the Hausa in Northern Nigeria.
status of the wooden Hausa allo was a theoretical means of justifying various activities of the
However, although he identified their presumed existence, Hassan was unable to extend the
mallam, educational or otherwise (Hassan 1992: 149–150). However, the real value of the allo lies
boundaries of his study beyond the ordinary allo and penetrate the walls of secrecy enshrouding
in its practical dimensions, which Hassan (1992) defined as the absence of paper and the preva-
the non-educational alluna. As Hassan noted (1992: 165–166):
16
lence of poverty in the Hausa society. If we consider only the school allo, that might be so from a Cartesian perspective; however, this interpretation is unlikely to apply to allo kafi gida. Although
Other types of allo: Allo is also used in other activities of the malam, besides the educational
the school allo is the basic allo/canvas used in a principle of palimpsest to produce the other
one; namely magical and healing activities. The magical and healing activities are guarded with
alluna,17 this function is easily superseded in the production of the secret allo. Cartesian ratio-
secrecy and revered as private and dangerous to speak about. Part of this activity is the manu-
nales fall short when trying to explain the multiple layers of aesthetic religious phenomenon such
facturing of the holy water, known to the Hausa as rubutun sha, made through washing certain
as the production of faith-based material artefacts, as the history of the alluna and similar arte-
written Qur’anic verses or hatimai off the surface of allo. The process of making rubutun sha
facts suggests that modernism or wealth do not necessarily preclude the retention of established
and its different users are discussed in chapter eight . . . In conclusion, allo provides an inter-
spiritual tenets.
esting case in studying the ethnography of literacy and writing among the Hausa . . . It is also a
18
medium of an artistic expression through calligraphy and decoration as exemplified by allo zayyana. Its magical aspects and healing potential are reflected through its being a medium of manufacturing the rubutun sha and practicing divination. In short, the allo stands at a point of convergence between three different domains, the artistic, the literacy and the magical. 10
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5 CONTINENTS EDITIONS Editorial Coordination Laura Maggioni Art Direction Annarita De Sanctis Editing Emily Ligniti Colour Separation Maurizio Brivio, Milan, Italy
All rights reserved – Antoine Lema For the present edition © 2019 – 5 Continents Editions, Milan Photo credits for all the works: © Vincent Girier-Dufournier
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ISBN 978-88-7439-874-4
Distributed by ACC Art Books throughout the world, excluding Italy. Distributed in Italy and Switzerland by Messaggerie Libri S.p.A. Printed and bound in Italy in July 2019 by Tecnostampa – Pigini Group Printing Division, Loreto – Trevi for 5 Continents Editions, Milan