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1.0 Introduction.
Fulfulde is the language of the Ful6e (singular: Pullo) who live mostly in #WestAfrica. They are known in Hausa land as Fulani, in #Sierra Leone and the #Gambia as Fula and in #Sudan as #Fellata.They are found throughout West African sub-region roughly between 10thand 15th parallels and extending from #Senegal, Gambia, and #Guinea on the Atlantic through #Mali, #BurkinaFaso, #Nigeria, #Chad and #Cameroon eastwards. They are also found in #Benin, #Ghana and #Mauritania.They are the major #tribe among African pastoral nomads (Arnott, 1985:1 and Tomfafi, 1991:293).
A proverb is usually a true statement of the folk obtained from experience. It is enriched with wisdom, morals, traditional views and commonly held ideas and beliefs of the society. It serves as a means through which a society preserves its culture and passes it to generations. A proverb is characterized with diversity of meaning. In other words, it can be subjected to various meanings. There is a surface or denotative meaning and a deeper or connotative meaning of a proverb. Whereas the surface meaning can be understood by many, the deeper meaning is normally understood and revealed through analytic study of the proverbs which requires deep thinking and reasoning. Study of proverbs requires knowledge of the culture of the society concerned. (Baldick, 2004:208,Amin, 2004:14, Amin, 2013:2 and Bugaje, 2014 :19-20).
Pulaaku „Ful6e code of conduct‟ is an important aspect of Ful6e culture that houses the general rules that govern the way of life of the Ful6e.It is the Ful6e ethics or ethos. Apart from Semteende (shyness/bashfulness, Munyal (patience) and Hakkiilo (care, caution and forethought), pulaaku also include such components as End'am ‟compassion‟,Ngorgu ‟courage or bravery‟,Ned'd'aaku „dignity‟, Goongaaku „truthfulness ‟and Ndimaaku (being free) (Stenning 1959:55, Mukoshi 1984 and Ver Eecke,1991:187).
Pulaaku is embodied in Ful6e proverbs because it is part and parcel of the Ful6e culture and literature is among the custodians of culture of which proverbs are a genre.It is quite demanding for one to quickly add here that pulaaku which has the same root as their name and the name of their language. The root is pul-/ ful- from which words like pullo, Fulbe, pulaaku, pular and Fula are derived.
It should be noted that /p/ changes to /f/ and vice versa just like /h/ changes to /k/ when the word changes from singular to plural. For instance, Pullo (singular) and Ful~e (plural), pamaro (small, singular) famar~e (small, plural). This change is known as initial consonant mutation. Although some of the constituents of pulaaku may be symmetrical to the cherished values in some other cultures, this could be as a result of cultural universality and or generality, as stated by Kottak (2005:52) that:
Certain features of culture are universal, found in every culture. Others are merely generalities, common to several but not all human groups. Still other traits are particularities, unique to certain cultural traditions.
Many literary scholars are of the view that proverbs and other oral sources can be used to study a society. However, Amin (2002:5) emphasizes that proverbs can serve the purpose as a corpus in studying the philosophy of the Hausa than any other genre of orature because:
from a vivid look at other genres of Hausa orature, one finds out that karin magana (Hausa term for proverb) either features in or forms their basis.
Indeed, Kirk-Greene (1973),Amin (2002),Owomoyela (2004) and Oraegbunam (n.d) used, among other things, the proverb in the study of some aspects of the code of conduct in Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo respectively. Hence, it will not be illogical to attempt the use of Ful6e proverbs to study the Ful6e code of conduct.
This research examines the concept of pulaaku as contained in Ful6e proverbs.
This is done by first identifying the constituents of pulaaku as highlighted by the preceding researchers.It is then followed by the identification and discussion of the Ful6e proverbs related to each of the constituents of pulaaku.
The content of the proverbs is prioritized in the analysis of the proverbs because the research dwells basically on the way pulaaku is portrayed in the Ful6e proverbs which is basically contentual.
1 History of the Ful6e.
There are many theories regarding the origin of Ful6e. Most of the theories are based on
Ful6e oral legends (Awogbade, 1983:1). Prominent among the theories is the one postulated by Awogbade (1983:1-2) which relates the Ful6e's origin to Uqba, an Arab, who migrated to Africa and married an African, Bajjomanga. The couple were said to have begotten children who were said to be the progenitors of the Ful6e. This child was said to be dumb until on one occasion when his mother went to take her bath after giving birth to the second child, the second child began to cry and the elder began to comfort him, speaking a language completely unknown to the parents. According to the legend, this language is what is today known as Fulfulde.
The above postulation is an evidence that the Fulbe are of African progeny, but where
in Africa? According to Mohammed (1987) in Daudu (1995:4) Senegambia area is the putative home of Ful6e from which they had spread across other West African countries.
Desert encroachment and over population of cattle were said to be the two reasons responsible for their migration. Quartey-papafio (1903:73) also traced the Ful6e‟s origin to Uqba but argued that Uqba was sent to Melle (present day Mali) by the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) so that he would teach the people of that area the religion
of Islam.
The movement of Ful6e from their putative home was initially northwards. Later on, it was hindered by the hostile Sahara Desert and hence it was turned eastwards (Daudu, 1995:2). Although the precise date for the arrival of the Ful6e in Hausa land was not recorded, their presence was evident since the thirteenth century (Awogbade, 1983:3).Muhammad (1989:3-4) noted that the direction of the movement of Ful6e to the east was not only forced by Sahara Desert but was also partly favoured by the reverence which the Ful6e and other Muslims have for the east being the direction faced during prayers (qibla) and also the direction of Mecca from west Africa. He added that, because of their movement, “few linguistic communities, if any, can equal the Ful6e's diaspora both in number and, more importantly, in sheer geographical spread.”
The jihad of Usman danfodio in early 19th century resulted in the establishment of Fulbe‟s rule in most Hausa states. The jihad was said to have originated from Gobir as a result of an indiscreet decision of the ruler of Gobir, Yunfa, to contain the influence of the jihad leader, Usman danfodio, by attempting to exterminate the presence of the Ful6e in the kingdom of Gobir (Imam in Daudu, 1995:6). The aim of the jihad was a controversial issue among historical analysts. What seem to be more factual is that, the aim of the jihadwas religious because ascontained in the jihad leader‟s book titled Tanbihul Ikhwan „Admonition to the Brethren‟, he was “attempting to revive the Islamic common wealth of the era of the prophet” (Mendelssonn,1903:409).
It was not only the Hausa states that came under the Ful6e rule as a result of 1804 Islamic revolution, but also some other parts of northern Nigeria. For instance, when the Ful6e leaders "ard'o'en" selected Modibbo Adama to visit Usman [danfodio, the latter gave him the jihad flag “in the lands in the east” which led to the establishment of an emirate in Yola (Abubakar,1972:77-78).
Although the jihad brought most Hausa states under Ful6e rule, it on the other hand promoted the spread of Hausa language and culture. This was due to the fact that the Ful6e ruling class were relatively few in number and hence were “absorbed by Hausa both culturally and linguistically (Arnott in Muhammad,1989:8) The following were the jihad flag-bearers and their respective emirates as stated by Daudu, (1995:7-8):
i.Katsina -Umaru Dallaji.
ii.Kano -Suleiman
iii.Daura -Isiaka
iv.Borno -Goni Mukhtar
v.Hadejia -Sambo Digimas ( son of Ardo Abduure)
vi.Adamawa -Modibbo Adama (Ba'en clan)
vii.Gombe -Buuba Yero (Wolar6e clan)
viii.Katagum -Mallam Zaki
ix.Bauchi -Ibrahim Yakubu
x.Jama‟are -Sambo Lei
xi.Ilorin -Abdul-Alimi (Abdul-Azim)
xii.Zaria -Mallam Musa
xiii.Bagharmi - Kalfu Muhammadu (Ali Buulo)
xiv.Segu-Massina -Ahmadu Labbo
The movement of the Ful6e eastward was later changed after reaching Bagharmi in Borno Empire due to wars strives and desert encroachment. It therefore, turned southwards and south-west. The 1804 jihad also favored the south and south-west movement of the Ful6e (Daudu, 1995:8-9).
The Ful6e live in clans which are the largest social and political units of Ful6e society (Abubakar, 1972:73).There are various clans among the Ful6e which include Ba'en, Wolar6e, Kaceccere'en, woodaa6e etc. Some of the clans are made up of lineages. Kaceccere‟en, for instance are made up of several lineages which include Gayaaji, Wuntanko‟en, Bornanko‟en, Yillaa6e and Yaakanaaji (McIntosh (1984)) in Daudu (1995:16). Sa'ad (1991:229) included Keesu‟en and Wuyti‟en as part of the Ful6e clans.
The Ful6e have been classified into three based on their degree of urbanization. The first group is Mbororo'en who practice complete pastoral life and move from place to place in search for pasture.The second group is the Ful6e Na‟i who have settled down in rural areas combining herding and farming. The third group is referred to as Ful6e Saare who live in the urban centers and most of whom are elites but have long ago lost their cattle Yakubu, (1997) in Abdulmumini, (2007:60).
1.2 The Fulfulde (Language of the Ful6e).
Several works have been conducted on the language of the Ful6e. Some scholars and researchers such as Johnston (1921:213) referred to it as "Fula‟ while others
such as Daudu (1995:9) called it "Fulfulde". The Ful6e in Nigeria and Cameroun which is the area covered by this research call their language Fulfulde. The term " Fula " is used by the Mandingo people of Sierra Leone to refer to the Ful6e. This was adopted and used as a generic term for European literature (Johnston, 1921:213). To the Ful6e in Nigeria, Fula means a big single native speaker of Fulfulde. Therefore, the language of the Ful6e is Fulfulde. To some Ful6e like Kaceccere'en, Fulfulde is not only the language but also equals to pulaaku.
According to Greenberg (1963) in Mukoshi (1984:22) Fulfulde is an African language belonging to the Niger-Congo family of the Niger-Kordofanian phylum. Bendor-Samuel in (Daudu, 1995:10) said Fulfulde is one of the North -Atlantic groups of languages together with Wolof, Serer and Joola. Whereas most of the African languages are tonal, Fulfulde is an into-national language, making it an exception among the twelve Nigerian languages studied and documented by Elizebeth Dunstan (Dunstan, 1969:66).
Fulfulde is spoken by a reasonable percentage of the Nigerian population in particular and West African population in general. According to Citizen Magazineof 1993 vol. 4 no. 14, the Fulfulde speakers then constitute about 10% of the total Nigeria's population (Daudu, 1995:11) Despite the claim made by language researchers that Fulfulde is a rare choice for people in Nigeria who are in the process of exchanging their identity for that of a dominant group, there are communities, especially in areas where Fulfulde is the lingua franca, that have been identified as exchanging their own language for Fulfulde (Blench,1994:5). Among these communities are the Holma and Wurbo. Blench (1994:4)
added that:
The Holma people live north of Yola near Sorau on the Cameroun border while the Wurbo people live on the tributaries of River Benue. The Holma people traditionally spoke a Chadic language related to Njanyi.
Apart from being one of the six languages slated for international broadcast in Voice of Nigeria and one of the twelve languages for broadcasting in Radio Nigeria, Fulfulde is used for broadcasting programmes and news at state level in Adamawa,Bauchi, Borno, Kaduna, Kebbi, Niger, Sokoto and Taraba states.Apart from these, Fulfulde is also used
in some private radio stations such as Nagarta Radio,Kaduna and Freedom Radio,Kano.It is, in fact, the lingua franca in Adamawa state and some parts of Bauchi, Taraba and Yobe states (Daudu, 1995 and Daudu 1997).
Fulfulde is also available online. There are websites like web pulaaku.org which write various aspects of Fulfulde, some like mafindi.com even write in Fulfulde. Fulfulde is one of the few African languages that were first beneficiaries of the Arabic script. The early writings in Fulfulde using the Arabic script were in form of poetry. As if to support this assertion, Gerard (1993:16) noted that:
As a handful of historians and linguistic scholars have known all along, a substantial amount of poetry had been written in the Islamized areas of black Africa using the Arabic script and language, or transliterating vernacular languages in the Arabic script.
Similarly, Finnegan (1970:50) adds:
Not only was Arabic itself a vehicle of communication and literature, but many African languages in these areas came to adopt the written form using the Arabic script. Thus,in the east,we have a long tradition of literacy in #Swahili and in the west in #Hausa, #Fulani, #Mandingo, #Kanuri and #Songhai.
1.2.1 Fulfulde Dialects.
Fulfulde has many dialects, this is not strange because if we consider the submission of Diallo (1991:155):
No known natural language is homogeneous throughout the entire territory where it is spoken. Among those factors which act upon,and influence the language from one side to the other are the diversity of geographical, economic and social conditions, migrations inside and outside the territory in question and contacts with other groups.
Each of the dialects has been described by scholars and researchers such as Taylor (1932), Arnott (1970, 1974), Skinner (1978), McIntosh (1984) Miyamoto (1991), Ka (1991), Daudu (1995) and Girei (2008). The scholars are not in full agreement about the number of Fulfulde dialects.However, Arnott‟s (1970) classification of the dialects into six major groups has won so much support from subsequent researchers. The classification goes thus:
i.Fuuta-Tooro -Senegal
ii.Jaalo-Guinea
iii.Maasina Maali
iv.Sokoto and Western Niger
v.Central Northern Nigeria and Eastern Nigeria
vi.Adamawa
Commenting on the dialects of Fulfulde, Brackenbury (1903) argues that the purest form of the language is found among the wandering Bororo cattle herdsmen, who are the most exclusive branch of the Ful6e, and keep very much to themselves.
The orthography of Fulfulde was standardized via contributions of experts at conferences such as the Bamako conference of 1966 and the publication of Fulfulde bilingual dictionaries. The common features of the standard orthography are the doubling of vowel to indicate a long vowel sound and the use of semi-vowel in a diphthong (Noss, 1991:81 and De st. Croix, 1998: xviii-xix). The geographical spread of Fulfulde does not cause any difficulty in terms of phonology that could generate problem in its orthography (Abba, 1983:12). The basic syllable structure of Fulfulde are CV as in yaru „drink‟, CVC as in les „under‟ and CVV as in taalol „folktale‟. The language has many sounds which differ from one dialect to another. It has eight
diphthongs which are: /aw/, /ay/, /ew/,
/ey/, /iw/, /ow/, /oy/ and /uy/ (Ahmed:2011:3-4).
Several remarks and suppositions by scholars on pulaaku and proverbs triggered this research entitled Ful~e Code of Conduct (Pulaaku) as Portrayed in their Proverbs. Some of these suppositions like that of Reed (1932) as related by Sai‟d (1991:179) holds that:
pulaaku in its actual sense is employed to denote the characteristics which distinguish the Fulani from the surrounding races, and it is also used for the rules of conduct which should guide the Fulani in his intercourse with other people and particularly with other Fulani.
Similarly, VerEecke (1991:184) opines that:
Among the Ful~e who label themselves as bororo‟en, two cultural elements stand out as central to their identity, pulaaku (essence of being Ful~e) and na‟i (cattle). These elements of Ful~e identity are deeply embedded in the Ful~e socio-cultural system and do not reflect a mere conservatism, but rather are a dynamic means of confronting the complexities of life and changes in the physical and social environment.
In the same vein, Hammond (1978:386-8) notes that:
Understanding of a people‟s orally transmitted literary traditions can be important to the anthropologist for at least three reasons: because the content of verbal art frequently reflects important aspects of their culture; because it complements and can facilitate comprehension of the workings of their language; and because it is often useful in reconstructing their culture history…In West Africa, proverbs function both as repository, in symbolic form, of predominant cultural values and as a means of restating these values in order to induce compliance. Rather than directly rebuking a person who has behaved badly, for example, courteous West Africans cultivated in the oral literary traditions of their cite proverb that serves as an admonishment of such subtlety and wit that the critical message is transmitted without offence.
Similarly, Abu-Manga (1981:87) notes that Ful~e proverbs contained pulaaku, without stating vividly as to what the pulaaku means, what constitute it and which among the stated proverbs relate to which of its constituents. Abu Manga submits further that Ful~e proverbs are indeed a valuable cultural heritage and that more attention to their collection and study is needed from scholars that specialize in this field.”
The above quotations indicate that pulaaku is an aspect of Ful~e culture that guides their actions in their relationship among themselves and with others. Also, that the content of
African verbal arts, proverbs inclusive, reflect important aspects of the African culture. Equally, proverb had been, and can still be used as corpus to study a society as did Kirk- Greene (1973), Amin (2002) Owomoyela (2004) and so on. In addition to these, Abu- Manga (1981) challenged researchers in the field of Ful~e proverbs to advance studies in the field. Based on these, this research hopes to answer the following questions:
This research is justifiable because some researchers in African languages have conducted several works on some aspects of their code of conduct. Among them are Kirk-Greene (1973), Amin (2002), Owomoyela (2004), Opata (1998) and Oraegbunam (n.d) who carried out research on some aspects of code of conduct in Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo respectively. But no work has to the best of this research been conducted on Ful~e code of conduct from the angle of Ful~e proverbs. Therefore, undertaking the same for the Ful~e is both correct and timely needed because as stated in Abu-Manga (1981:87), the Ful~e code of conduct ie pulaaku is contained in Ful~e proverbs.
Also, the research uses Ful~e proverbs to study an aspect of their culture for the fact that scholars such as Tavernier-Almada (1999:326) are of the view that it is through proverbs that a culture expresses most of its value judgments and moral condemnations. Furthermore, many researchers are of the view that proverbs can be used to study a society and this was proved in the works of Amin (2002), Owomoyela (2004), Oraegbunam (n.d) and Bugaje (2014) among others. Although researches have been conducted on Ful~e proverbs especially in the area of collection and, to some extent, analysis of the proverbs and other researches have also been conducted on pulaaku, this work is yet to lay its hand on any work that tackles pulaaku through Ful~e proverbs.
The aim of this research is to analyze Ful~e proverbs and examine whether pulaaku is contained in them as asserted by some researchers. And the objectives are to:
This research has the following assumptions, that:
There are several dimensions along which literary works can be studied, some scholars concentrate on theme, some plot and others style. In modern research, literature is studied in relation to other disciplines such as philosophy, culture and politics, sociology among others. This research is one of such modern researches in literature. It studies the way literature exploits culture and represents it. Pulaaku, „the Ful~e code of conduct‟ is the aspect of the Ful~e culture that the research examines as it is portrayed in Ful~e proverbs.
The research, therefore, is narrowed to Ful~e oral literature only. Even that, the proverbial lore as one of the genres of Ful~e oral literature is the focal of the research, but where necessary, other forms of Ful~e orature will be cited.
The proverbs under analysis will cover two Fulfulde dialects: the central northern Nigerian dialect and the Adamawa dialect. This is because they are the dialects that the researcher is more familiar with. They are also the dialects from which the proverbs used in the research were selected. The proverbs are studied only as they relate to some aspects of Ful~e culture called pulaaku. The selected components of pulaaku to be studied in this
research are semteende (shyness), munyal (patience), goongaaku (honesty), ngorgu (courage), en]am (compassion), ne]]aaku (dignity), hakkiilo (caution), ndimu (purity) and marugo na‟i (cattle possession). This delimitation is done in order to limit the research in terms of space because no research is conclusive. There has to be a limit to every research in order to avoid cumbersomeness. This is supported by Finnegan (1970:48) who says:
clearly a full examination of any one African literature would have to include a detailed discussion of the particularities of that single literature and historical period.
This research is going to be significant to literary scholars in particular and scholars in the humanities as well as the educational system in general because:
It will help in bringing out the relationship between the Ful~e proverbs and the Ful~e culture. By this, scholars in the field of literature will find the work as an additional evidence to show that literature is related to culture.
It will facilitate in the advancement of the studies in Ful~e proverbs scholarship. The proverbs have been studied from various ways such as their form, function etc. But they have not been studied in relation to culture. Therefore, doing that will help to advance their studies.
It also will benefit those concerned with the collection of proverbs ie paremiographers. This is because the proverbs used in the research serves as a data for them. It is also beneficial to those concerned with the analysis of proverbs ie paremiologists by providing them with data and analysis of Ful~e proverbs.
Anthropologists are likely to derive another perspective along which to study culture by coming across this research. They may henceforth resolve to using orature in the study of a culture of a given society.
It also will provide a comprehensive list of the various constituents of the institution of pulaaku. The list is comprehensive not only because all the constituents of pulaaku highlighted by the preceding researchers are captured in the research but also because some of them were merged under broader terms and those ignored were provided.
It also will benefit sociologists as well as political scientists by giving them the opportunity to understand the social life of the Ful~e. This in turn makes it easy for them to understand the Ful~e better and know how to relate with them.
It also benefits researchers in languages by providing them with data for linguistic analysis. A researcher in the field of languages may decide to use the proverbs used in this research and use them as his data for linguistic analysis. It is further made easier for a person to do this because the list of proverbs used in the research is provided as an appendix.
Curriculum planners will find this research significant for understanding the Ful~e. This enables them to plan good curriculum especially for nomadic education. This helps in promoting the nomadic education in the areas where the Ful~e are found especially in the two countries covered by this research (Nigeria and Cameroun).
This chapter is the general introduction to the whole research. The problem that led to the research was stated; the research objective, scope and methodology were also stated. Also included in the chapter are the basic assumptions, the significance of the research and the definitions of the operational terms. All these serve as a way of introducing the reader to what is discussed in the research and the processes involved
The Ful~e believe that pindi fuu e layol muum „every flower has its own root‟. This proverb has been modernized into deftere heyre hinde windirtee „a new book is written from an old one‟. Based on this, there is the need for a review of the previous works conducted in the field of proverb and other related issues. Therefore, this chapter reviews the literature related to this research so as to establish a basis upon which this research will be built.
The Ful~e oral literature is a rich and vast area for scholarly research. Despite the few researches conducted by scholars and researchers, the area still remain useful for further research. It is, therefore, the interest of this section to review works on Ful~e oral literature excluding works on Ful~e proverbs which has a separate section set aside for it.
Folktales are called taali in Fulfulde (singular: taalol) and most of them are in the form of stories whose specific authors are not known. But there are others that are in the form of questions and answers. Therefore, they can be classified into two: prosaic folktales and riddles.
Scholars and researchers such as Eguchi (1973), Alkaali (1999), Jauro and Muhammad (2005), Daudu (2007), Daudu and Liman (2010), Ahmed (2010) and Daudu and Ahmed (2013) have contributed in the compilation, classification and the analyses of Ful~e folktales.
Alkaali (1999) collects and compiles nine (9) Ful~e folktales which, according to him, are some of the tales he learnt from his parents right from childhood. The tales include
„Bojel e Buudeejo‟(a hare and a fortune-teller) which, apart from teaching some lessons to the audience, is an embodiment of Ful~e culture. The mention of makaniiru „a beehive-like circular grass hut‟ and the depiction of Ful~e women as sellers of cow-milk in the tale are important reflections of Ful~e culture. Also, all the other tales compiled in the book such as Bojel e Fowru I (the hare and the hyena I), Bojel e Fowru II (the Hare and the Hyena II), Bojel e Nooda (the hare and the crocodile), Dabbaaji Wuro (the domestic animals), etc are an epitome of Ful~e cultural way of life.
Daudu (2007) also collects and compiles seventeen (17) Ful~e folktales some of which are in the form of riddles. The tales, though collected from Kano and its environs, contain almost all that is expected of folktales in Ful~e culture. Apart from teaching moral lessons to the audience and portraying some aspects of the Ful~e culture, some of the tales like Limgal Sukaa~e (counting system for children) are useful in teaching the young
Ful~e the counting system in their language and also helps in sharping their brains and thoughts towards solving not only mathematical problems, but also pragmatic ones.
Daudu and Liman (2010) collect few but significant Ful~e folktales covering many areas where Ful~e are found in northern Nigeria. Although the tales are only five, three out of them are very long covering about twenty or more pages each. Apart from being long, most of the tales are a true reflection of the Ful~e and their cultural values. It is worth noting that Taalol Gorko mo Rew~e Di]o (the tale of a man and his two wives) and Taalol Genekecel (the tale of Genekecel) reveal two important aspects of pulaaku: ngorgu „courage‟ and marugo na‟i „cattle possession‟ which are some of the aspects the present research hope to examine in Ful~e proverbs.
Eguchi (1973) studies the Ful~e riddles and classifies them into six major groups. The groups, which are also sub-divided into smaller groups, are nature, trees and plants, animals and insects, man, the house and household activities. It is evident that he uses the sources of the riddles in his classification. Hence it is right to say that he classifies Ful~e riddles based on their source materials. The riddles help in shaping the thought of children thereby enabling them to have hakkiilo „fore-thought‟ which is one of the important aspects of pulaaku.
Jauro and Muhammad (2005) attempt a classification of Ful~e folktales and divided them into two: taalol habaru „prosaic folktales‟ and anditinamji „riddles‟. But they failed to notice that there are some other folktales which are neither prosaic nor riddles. However, they almost accurately state some significance of the folktales which include the fact that they portray the Ful~e culture and this culture includes pulaaku.
Rabi‟at Ahmed (2010) notes that due to the cultural bond between the Hausa and the Ful~e, their folktales are very much alike. And that the similarities of the folktales between the two cultures are both in theme, structure and style. She states that in Hausa culture the trickster, Gizo is usually tethered whenever any given tale is to be told during the day time while in the Ful~e culture this is not done.
Daudu and Ahmed (2013) examine Ful~e riddles and the challenges of globalization. The paper excellently classified Ful~e riddles based on their structure but ignoring their theme and style. The riddles are classified into four, namely: onomatopoeic riddles, poetic riddles, interrogative riddles and prosaic riddles. The paper also discusses the sources and the multi-answers nature of the Ful~e riddles. The paper suggests that the riddles need to be collected, documented, published and posted on the internet so as to save them from extinction and to harmonize them with trends and traits of globalization. These riddles are important in portraying the Ful~e culture including pulaaku.
Jauro and Muhammad (2005) study the Ful~e oral singers and notes that it is a new phenomenon for a Pullo to sing purposely for him to earn a living. This is so because in the olden days, Ful~e were only famous in agriculture, scholarship, hunting and warfare. They went ahead to classify the Ful~e singers into the following groups:
The Ful~e attitude of semteende ‟bashfulness‟ and their ownership of cattle „marugo na‟i‟ may be the ones restricting them from engaging in singing as an occupation. And these are important aspects of pulaaku.
There are various views regarding what a proverb is. Crabb in Tadi (2005:85) relates the origin of proverb to the Latin word „proverbium.‟
The Encyclopedia Britannica (vol.9:749) defines proverb as a “succinct and pithy saying in general use, expressing commonly held ideas and beliefs.” The proverb is also defined
as, “a short popular saying of unknown authorship, expressing some general truth or superstition” (Baldick, 2004:208). It is also a “short, pithy statement of widely accepted truths about everyday life” (Abrams and Hapharm, 2009:10).
A proverb is “a saying in a more or less fixed form marked by „shortness, sense and salt‟ and distinguished by the popular acceptance of the truth tersely expressed in it (Finnegan, 1970:393)
Wamitila in Tadi (2005:87) noted that a proverb is a short saying which is or may not be current and one that carries important cultural message in a more or less stabilized form.
Whitting in Tadi (2005:92) described a proverb as, “an expression which, owing to its birth to the people, testifies to its origin in form and phrase. It expresses what is apparently a fundamental truth, that is, a truism in homely language, often adorned, however, with alliteration and rhyme.
Mieder(1994) in Amin (2013:2) formulates two definitions of proverb based on fifty five responses he gathered from various people to the question, “How would you define a proverb? “
He adds that traditionality is the central ingredient that must be part of any proverb definition in addition to currency.”
Finnegan (1970:389-391) asserts that:
Proverbs seem to occur almost everywhere in Africa, apparent contrast with other areas of the world such as the aboriginal America and Polynesia…the Fulani term mallol …means not only a proverb but also allusion in general…while tindol can mean not only a popular moral story but also a proverb or maxim.
Commenting on the influence of religion on proverbs, Finnegan (1970:404) notes that:
In most Bantu proverbs, there are few references to religion; this is in contrast with some West African societies where this topic is fairly frequent , particularly among Muslim peoples such as the Hausa and Fulani.
Proverb is the conscience of the people (Basgoz, 1990:9). There are a number of proverb/fable complexes which share a common motif (Carnes, 1991:55). In some cases proverbs include citations of reported or direct speech encapsulated in a stable proverbial structure (Sakayan 1999:303). At one extreme of the continuum, the proverb is used in the general, abstract sense within the culture (Bornstein 1991:23). It is through proverbs that a culture expresses most of its value judgments and moral condemnations (Tavernier- Almada, 1999:326).
Okumba (1994) in Tadi (2005:89) summarizes the dictionary and the scholarly definitions of proverbs under the following five headings:
Similarly, Amin (2002:15) summarizes the definitions of proverb and notes that a proverb:
Moon (n.d) notes that proverbs are time-tested stepping stones that reveal the soul of oral cultures. He adds that proverbs are a deep symbol within the culture that reveals the worldview of the people. He also cites two scholars who made some significant assertions regarding the relationship between proverbs and culture. The first is Samovar et al who state that, we learn our culture through proverbs. And the second is Hughes who states that, beliefs they (i.e the people) hold about the universe and how to live in it are often found in their folktales and their proverbs.
It can be deduced from the fore-going that, proverbs, apart from the summary given by Okumba (1994) in Tadi (2005:89) and Amin (2002:15):
Proverbs of different languages may show some elements of similarities. This is referred to, by the scholars as universality. Regarding this, it is stated in the Encyclopedia Britannica vol.9 that, comparison of proverbs found in various parts of the world show that the same kernel of wisdom may be gleaned under different cultural conditions and languages.
Similarly, Wamitila in Tadi (2005:103) asserts thus:
One striking feature of comparative paremiology is the one of universality. This part examines that echoing an assumed fact about proverbs, that is, it is possible to have proverbs from different languages that express the same idea. One notices a strong mutual resemblance between proverbs of different societies especially when they refer to identical or similar situations.
Regarding this, Upah (2006:1) opines that proverbs in any language represent the quintessence of the people‟s collective wisdom sustained and transmitted from generation to generation.
Tadi (2005:98) in his research discovered that, there are various sources of proverbs for paremiography which include conversation discourse, religious preaching, funeral and mourning, ceremonies, enlightenment campaigns and political rallies. Other sources include tales, songs/poems, riddles, archival records, journals, newspapers, magazines and books. The afore-mentioned constitute all the important sources from which one can obtain proverbs, including the present researcher.
Finnegan (1970:389) holds that proverbs seem to occur almost everywhere in Africa. Ashipu (1992:268) argues that African proverbs are supposed to be studied linguistically. He notes that proverbs as items of African Languages belong in the main to the domain of applied linguistics. He also adds that since the publication of the celebrated title Oral Literature in Africa by Ruth Finnegan in 1970, proverbs have continued to be studied as a genre of oral literature. It is on this basis that the present research regards the Ful~e proverbs as one of the genres of Ful~e oral literature. This being the case, there is the
need to review some works on proverbs in some African cultures especially those very close to Ful~e in terms of social contact.
Kraft and Kirk-Greene (1973) classifies Hausa proverbs (Karin Magana)
into seven groups as follows:
It is clear that the classification is based on the themes of the proverbs. Therefore, it is right to say that the authors made a thematic classification of Hausa proverbs.
Tudun Wada (2006) classifies Hausa proverbs into ten. His classification is based on the constituent words of the proverbs. For instance, the first group, according to him, involves those proverbs consisting of in ji „according to‟. Other groups include the proverbs consisting of kowa „everyone‟ sai „until or unless‟ etc. This classification is
neither based on the content of the proverbs nor the structure of their constituent sentences. It is based on lexical content, so it is based on context.
Junaidu and „Yar‟aduwa (2007) also classify Hausa proverbs into ten (10). Their classification is neither purely thematic nor purely structural. It is rather, a combination of the two. For instance, whereas the first group }aramar jumla „short sentence‟ is structural, the fifth group (karin maganar gaskiya „proverbs exhorting to facts of life‟ is thematic. They also include sababbing karin magana „new proverbs‟ which are dealt with by the preceding works that have been reviewed here.
In his attempt to compare Hausa and Chinese proverbs, Gouling (1993:163-166) classifies the Hausa proverbs into five. Apart from the fact that his classification seems more structural than thematic, he adds two classes of proverbs and ignores many others stated by other Hausa paremiologists. The new classes added by him are the Hausa proverbs consisting of two parts and those consisting of two or more words.
[anhausa (2012) took a different approach in his attempt to classify Hausa proverbs. He classifies the proverbs into four. The classification is more of chronological than thematic or structural. The first group is that of Hausa proverbs before the advent of Islam; the second group consist of Hausa proverbs having Islamic influence; the third group consist
of the Hausa proverbs having the influence of the colonial administration and the last group is the set of Hausa proverbs influenced by politics.
Gwammaja (2013) picks one of the classes of Hausa proverbs i.e the Hausa proverbs containing two phrases and classifies them further into three (3) using parallelism. The three sub-classes identified by him are the Hausa proverbs having synonymous parallelism, those with antithetic parallelism and those with synthetic parallelism.
Many scholars and paremiologist have analyzed African proverbs in various ways. They include Skinner (1977), Opata (19992), Ashipu (1992), Amali (1994), Bichi (1997),
Amin (2002,2004, 2007, 2013), Tadi (2005), Upah (2006), Marjah (2006), Ummulkhair
(2013), [ankwari (2013), Sar~i (2013), Garba (2013) and Shehu (2013) Bugaje (2014) etc.
Skinner (1977) argues that form and context are the two methods frequently used in the analysis of proverbs. But there exist other methods which include the one used by him which he said is between the form and the context, i.e in the area of semantics. He studied
Hausa proverbs bringing out the various figures such as absurdity, hyperbole, irony, litotes, metonymy, and antonomasia.
Bichi (1997) studies the Hausa proverbs and arrived at the conclusion that, the “proverbs are used among the Hausa for social, educational, religious and political functions.” He analyzes those proverbs used among the Hausa for promoting respect to elders and those performing social and educational functions. The proverbs that admonish people to do good deeds he said perform religious functions. While those proverbs that are usually employed in the context of electioneering campaign, he concluded, are performing political function.
Amin (2002) used the Hausa proverbs to justify the fact that, contrary to the euro-centric view that philosophy does not exist in non-literate societies like Africa, the Hausas have their own philosophy of life and existence. He added that man in Hausa thought is considered to be created free from all evils, but has the tendency of transgressing. That is why it is said in Hausa
Mutum fari ne shi ke rina kansa. (Human being is white (but) it is he who dyes himself to become black). And that the Hausa people, like many other cultures, regard man as the most important and the central figure in the world, duniya, which is itself capricious as embodied in the following proverb:
Duniya kakar faru, yaro yana marmari kike }arewa. (World the faru harvest you diminish while the boy is in desire).
Amin (2004) posits that an insight into the culture of a people is the best clue to the understanding of proverbs. He demonstrates this through some selected Hausa proverbs. For each of the proverbs used in the analysis, the subjects and the image involve are identified, the attributable relevance explained and a cultural/environmental explanation provided before arriving at the possible interpretation of the proverb.
Amin (2007) used the Hausa proverbs to arrive at the Hausa philosophical conception of the universe. The paper brought forward the Hausa conception of the two worlds: the universe and the hereafter. The paper also put forward that in Hausa thought, the sun, the moon and the stars are contained in the universe. More importantly, the paper argued in its conclusion that the Hausa proverb is the encyclopedia of Hausa. Of course, it is not only in Hausa that proverbs could be regarded as an encyclopedia, but also in Fulfulde, as argued by Abu-Manga (1981:75)
Abdullahi and Hayah (2009) use twenty selected proverbs to demonstrate the way Hausa proverbs are used as instruments for inculcating moral values. They argued that Hausa society is one of such societies guarded by the use of certain proverbs in the inculcation of good values to the teeming populace. They finally task parents to ensure the teaching
of proverbs to their offspring and the government to participate in the documentation of the proverbs for future use.
Amin (2013) studied the way in which communality and mutuality which are the basic ingredients that make up humanity are revered within the Hausa community with illustrations from Hausa proverbs. He demonstrated clearly, through the use of not less than thirty-eight (38) Hausa proverbs, the Hausa view of humanity, which, according to him, is the foundation of development. Most of the proverbs used in the paper are didactic, admonishing the target audience to do good to people for the consequence of anything one does will directly or indirectly, then or later, affect him or her.
Garba (2013) studies the influence of Islam on Hausa proverbs and noted that the influence which Islam has on Hausa proverbs cannot be over emphasized. He added that the influence is not only on the content of the proverbs but also on their form and style. He relates Mode (2004) as having said that when a text is written within an ideology, the ideology should determine the writer‟s choice of discourse pattern, grammar and lexis.
Shehu (2013) studied the Hausa proverbs that involve personification. He observes that there are many Hausa proverbs that employ the use of personification in their usage. Proverbs such as „mu gani a }asa‟ an ce da kare ana buki a gidansu („we should see on ground‟ said the dog when told that a festival is going on) and masallacin kura wane kare da limanci (a dog will never lead prayers in a hyena‟s mosque) are some of the proverbs
used in the paper to show how human attributes are given to animals and other nonhumans.
Sar~i (2013) observes that proverbs beautify the use of language, correct people‟s behavioural lapses, preserve obsolete lexicons for historical purposes and serve as tools for inculcating discipline. He used Hausa proverbs to illustrate how proverbs are used to inculcate discipline. He concluded that the proverbs are used in teaching obedience, dedication, preparation, endurance/perseverance, caution, and unity. Most of the above mentioned virtues are symmetrical to the constituents of pulaaku which is the focus of the present research.
[ankwari (2013) notes that proverbs and sayings from all parts of the world are meant to preach and guide and sometimes to caution or warn. He also adds that proverbs are in critical situations for decision making and in keeping people mindful of the steps they can take. The assertions of this researcher that proverbs are used to caution or warn impliedly mean that proverbs can help in making people to have fore-thought which is an important constituent of pulaaku that the present research focuses on.
Ummulkhairi (2013) analyzes Hausa, English, Arabic and French proverbs bringing out the moral lessons that can be derived from them. She notes that proverbs in all the four languages she selects are use to either caution, teach or advice people. She however asserts that English, Arabic and French are also enriched with proverbs just like Hausa.
The most important link element between this research and the present one is the author‟s assertion that the proverbs she studied perform moral function. And pulaaku, which is the focus of the present research, includes moral values in its constituents. But she uses English, Hausa, Arabic and French proverbs while here, it is the Ful~e proverbs that are utilized.
Hauwa Bugaje (2014) uses 225 Hausa proverbs to study the way Hausa thought about time is encapsulated in Hausa literature. She notes that proverb can be use to study the thought and culture of a society. She also opines that despite the advent of written literature in Hausa, the oral aspect of it continue to flourish. Furthermore, the author under review acknowledges the fact that proverbs are usually characterized by connotative and denotative meanings. She therefore, pointed out that the proverbs used in her research are based on either of the meanings. That is, their connotative and denotative meanings are taken into consideration. This, however, tallies with what obtains in the present research.
Fawehinmi and Fabiyi (2009) studies the meanings embedded in the use of African and foreign proverbs. They use Yoruba and French Proverbs to represent African and foreign cultures respectively. They summarized he meanings of Yoruba proverbs into three sub- categories:
Owo eni ni a fii n tun iwa ara eni se i.e Each one is a craftsman of his own fortune.
A kii bani tan ki a fe fani ni itan ya i.e One should not allow grass to grow on friendship road.
It is vital to know that morals and lessons have been crystallized in the form of proverbs. Proverbs can be used to perform different functions in the society. They can be used to teach morals, turned into excellent channels for learning, or used to advise, rebuke, encourage or warn.
Oyinloye (2009) analyzes the role of African proverbs in general and Yoruba proverbs in particular in the teaching of moral and social values from one generation to another. He demonstrates clearly the way the Yoruba people use proverbs in transmitting virtues such as contentment, truthfulness, moderation and work values to their young ones. He stressed the need for a continuous tapping of the values and virtues inherent in African proverbs, songs, names etc for the purpose of integrating behaviour in the young ones through all generations.
Akeem (2009) uses the proverbial lore to study the philosophical and communicative practices in Yoruba. He argues that the Yoruba practice of proverbial communication is
not only intended to transmit information but also to educate in a manner he described as philosophical. He states categorically that “Yoruba proverbs are indeed not only channels of communication, but also they critically distilled wisdom of a people disposed to metaphoric reasoning” Akeem (2009:424)
Yemi (2009) analyzes the dynamics and dialectics of proverbs, drawing his examples mainly from Yoruba proverbs. He argues that generally, proverbs enjoy the dynamics of dual affiliation because while some of them are poetic, a large number of others are prosaic. He further analyzes some Yoruba proverbs, which, according to him, Olowookere (2000) sees as contradicting and concluded by saying “proverbs actually complement one another to a large extent. There dynamic structural and semantic properties, rather than create confusion to the Yoruba users, have actually added a dialectic value to this vibrant art form.”
Opata (1992) noted that each nation or ethnic group can be understood via the study of its proverbs. He also adds that, “It has become an accepted paremiological practice to employ proverbs in the study and identification of dominant cultural traits and cultural attitudes. This makes good epistemological sense, given that many proverbs are true statements employed in real discourse situations.”
He thereafter uses the Igbo proverbs to establish that in Igbo thought and life, silence is not golden, instead it is oratory and wisdom that are highly appreciated. This work is one of the works that led to the selection of proverbs as the ingredients to be used in this research because the proverbs can be used to study and understand a society.
Eastman, Carol (1972) as related by Mieder (1994) studies the use of proverbs in Swahili literature and argues that proverbial wisdom plays an important role in the Swahili society. The author arrived at this by studying the proverbs used in five plays of some authors who often use the proverb in order to express the value system and world view of the Swahili people. These authors are Ebrahim N. Hussein, Graham Hyslop and Gerishon Nyugi.
Mieder (1994) also relates Parker, Carolyn Ann (19780) to have studied the Swahili proverbs and observes that they express a summary of human experience. The proverbs cited by the author are translated and explained in English and they deal with learning, teaching, experience and advice. The content of the proverbs indicate that knowledge is hard to get. So for one to be knowledgeable, he or she must be ready to pass through painful situations.
Amali (1994) studies the sources of Idoma proverbs and in the process observes and states categorically that, apart from the three major Nigerian Languages, (Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba), proverbs of other Nigerian languages are yet to be collected and analyzed. He therefore recommended that their collection and analysis is needed. The present research is a response to this call in one of the important African Languages, Fulfulde.
Ibrahim (2009) collects and compiles over a thousand Nupe proverbs and provides their English translations and explanations. The proverbs which are thematically arrange, are a reflection of the Nupe traditional beliefs and value system. Some of the values reflected by the proverbs include cooperation, friendship, patience and truth. In fact the content of the book cut across all aspects of the Nupe way of life.
Tadi (2005) evaluated the cultural values that are often intrinsically found in most Tangale proverbs. On the process, he analyzes their themes, functions and aesthetic devices. Although he used a contextual framework to arrive at his findings, his research is very significant in the field of paremiology.
Marjah (2006) studies the function of Hoba (Kilba) proverbs and posited that they are a viable tool for education. He also noted that the proverbs often provide didactic lessons to people. The researcher used fifteen (15) Hoba proverbs to demonstrate how they are used by teachers in teaching the formal education. However, his selection of fifteen proverbs was not properly justified for he only stated that a total of fifteen proverbs are used for illustration, fifteen being a culturally significant figure among the Hoba people.
Upah (2006) identifies and analyzes the illocutionary speech acts performed through the use of some Jukun proverbs. On the process, he discusses the types of pragmatic context and competence which listeners have to invoke and deploy to interpret the proverbs. He analyzes each of the proverbs under six sub-headings as follows: the linguistic, the psychological, the situational, the social, the sociological and the cosmological sub- headings.
The above review of works on proverbs of African Languages is related to this research for the fact that they are all paremiological studies. But they differ with the present research because they are research in some languages and the present research is on Fulfulde. Again, the methodology employed by the present research is not the same as the methodologies used by the authors of the reviewed works.
Like many other African Languages, Fulfulde is very rich in proverbs. Many scholars and researchers have either collected the proverbs or studied them in various ways. Whitting (1940), Abu-Manga (1981), Tukur (1982), Ahmed (1989), Aliyu and Hamajoo]a (2004), [ahirou (2004) Daudu and Ahmed (2008) Mustapha (2010) and Jallo (n.d) are the various researchers identified by this research that have, in one way or the other, contributed to the study of Ful~e proverbs.
Whitting (1940) is one of the earliest works on Ful~e proverbs. It was basically a collection of Hausa and Ful~e proverbs. While commending the work of Whitting (1940) as a good starting point in the collection of Ful~e proverbs, it is worthy of note that, some of the proverbs collected seem to have been borrowed from Hausa, perhaps due to the Hausa and the Ful~e cultural affinity.
Aliyu and Hamajo]a (2004) made a remarkable collection of five hundred and sixty- seven (567) Ful~e proverbs. The proverbs, which are almost arranged in alphabetical order, cut across different aspects of the life of the Ful~e. Although it is a voluminous collection, the proverbs are generally from Adamawa dialect. Had the authors gone beyond one dialect, their collection would naturally have been richer.
[ahirou, (2004) is another pioneer as far as the collection of Ful~e proverbs is concerned. He collected two hundred and twenty (220) Ful~e proverbs and arranged them based on their constituent themes. The book is not only a collection of the proverbs, but a discussion on them in French. Apart from the use of French to comment on the proverbs, the proverbs are also from Adamawa dialect. This is not unconnected with the fact that the author is based in Cameroun. Hence the comments given by him are of less accessible to the Anglophone scholars.
Abu-Manga (1981) is among the first to analyze the Ful~e proverbs. The aim of his paper is to throw light on the Ful~e proverbs as a reflection of the Ful~e social system as well as molders of moral conduct, and to look into the form, content and function of the Ful~e proverb. Structure wise, he classified the proverbs into five: two sentences combined by a conjunction, two sentences one explaining the other, a long sentence composed of main and subordinate clause, one simple sentence and an incomplete sentence. It would have been better to name the first and second classes as compound sentences, the third class a complex sentence and the last two classes as simple sentence because “wamde caka na‟i” ( (It is like) a donkey amidst cattle) for instance, is not an incomplete sentence. Content-wise, Abu-Manga (1981:77) asserts thus:
Fulfulde proverbs: incorporate many of the Fulani concepts and wisdom on social life….Contained in Fulfulde proverbs also are the Fulani moral values, ethics of good behaviour and all the cherished qualities embodied in the institution of pulaaku ( Fulani code of conduct).
one should have expected, when talking about the content of the proverbs, to see a breakdown of the themes contained in the proverbs and some of the proverbs under each of them. But this was not done by the author under review. On pulaaku, he only made mention that the proverbs contained it without discussing it and specifying the proverbs that relate to any of its components.
Tukur (1982) also takes a structural and functional approach in the analysis of Ful~e proverbs. He repeats the same error made by Abu-Manga (1981) that wamde caka na‟i “a donkey amidst cattle” is an incomplete sentence forgetting the fact that an understood subject bano‟ it is like‟ is attached to the proverb. Apart from that, the paper has deficit in terms of examples. Though his attempt to compare the proverbs with riddles helped in enriching the paper by making it look more informative.
Ahmed (1989) employs a different approach in his analysis of Ful~e proverbs. He provided a long list of the proverbs and their translation including their etymology where possible. His paper was a rich collection of Ful~e proverbs covering the different dialects of Fulfulde in most countries where the Ful~e live. In fact the paper, whose aim was not stated, is more of a collection than analysis of Ful~e proverbs.
Whitting (1940) also attempted a classification of Ful~e proverbs apart from collecting them. He classifies the proverbs into four: nature, man, crafts /trade and religion conduct. Although the basis of his classification was not stated, it is not far from the source materials for the proverbs.
Jollo (n.d) as reviewed by Daudu and Ahmed (2008) classifies the Malian proverbs into nine aspects: laam]o,‟chief‟ daabaaji,‟animals‟ tergal „marriage‟ and yim~e, „people‟ among others. Interestingly, the book is introduced by an opening proverb and concluded with a closing proverb. It is clear that his classification of the proverbs is based on the source materials for the proverbs.
Commenting on the function of proverbs, Aliyu and Hamajo]a (2004:6) noted that Ful~e proverbs not only transmit wisdom and principles, they also embody Ful~e attitude to the flora and fauna of their environment. They argue that Ful~e proverbs ginger verbal interactions and help make a speaker distinguishable while elevating what could have been a mundane communication.
Daudu and Ahmed (2008) analyzed the Ful~e proverbs from a linguistic view point. The paper dwelled on the internal structure of the proverbs as utterances that are unique in themselves. The authors posited that every proverb has two parts: stem and suffix. Thy went ahead to classify the Ful~e proverbs structurally into seven (7) forms: complementary, negative, onomatopoeic, comparative, interrogative, conditional, and emphatic. This classification is, so far, the most impressive formal classification of Ful~e proverbs but does not represent the one and only way base on which the proverbs can be classified.
Mustapha (2010) intended to bring out the Ful~e moral conduct as reflected in their proverbs but ended up bringing the role of the proverbs in the following: cautioning people, fostering co-operation and encouraging honorable earning which help in making the Ful~e‟s character a better one. Apart from the diversion stated above, the paper also lacks adequate examples because the author could not provide more than eighteen (18) examples in the whole article. This in normal circumstances is not sufficient for a scholarly paper on the subject matter.
According to E.B Taylor (1874), culture is “that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of a society.” Linton, (1945) defined culture as “the configuration of learned behaviour and results of behaviour whose component elements are shared and transmitted by the members of a particular society” (Honigmann, 1973:2). Similarly, Malinowski (1944:36) is of the view that, culture is “the integral whole consisting of implements and consumers‟ goods of constitutional charters for the various social groupings of human ideas and crafts, beliefs and customs.” Again, Linton, (1964:29) defined culture as “an organized group of learned responses characteristic of a particular society.”
Every human society has its culture which is studied usually by anthropologists. As Benedict (1971:1) puts it that:
Anthropology is the study of human creatures of society. It fastens attention upon those physical characteristics and industrial techniques, those conventions and values which distinguish one community from all others that belong to different tradition.
It is crucial at this juncture, therefore, to review works written on Ful~e culture.
The Ful~e have a distinct culture which is peculiar to them. It is therefore, important to review what scholars have done in this field.
Researchers such as de st. Croix (1999), Sa‟ad (1991), Sa‟id (1991) and so on have carried out various research on the Ful~e culture. The major aspects of the culture to be reviewed here include the Ful~e mode of housing system, Pastoralism, the Ful~e beliefs and their social activities.
Sa‟ad (1991) and de st. Croix (1999) have been identified to have carried out research on the nature of the Ful~e housing system. In his research, de st. Croix (1999:50) has described the shape of the traditional Ful~e houses as follows:
It is unusual to find that the cattle Fulani have made for themselves any housing more elabourate than their customary beehive-like circular grass huts, windowless and with entrance so low that one has to crouch to get in. The result is floor space of bare earth of perhaps from twelve up to fourteen feet at the centre of the domed roof, and a perfectly good water-proof room, which can vouch for as being snug enough on cold night even on the bleak hilltops in the Cameroun highlands.
Commenting on the same issue, Sa‟ad (1991) notes that the Ful~e, place a premium on structures that could be easily dismantled or abandoned depending on the building resources and level of mobility. Regarding the types of houses used among pastoral Ful~e in northern Nigeria, Sa‟ad (1991:210-214) classifies them into four as follows:
Whereas Sa‟ad (1991) deserves commendation for his classificatory effort, one should have expected him to note that the periodic regular semi-temporary dwellings if sustained for a long time eventually becomes semi-permanent dwelling. All these housing systems are used by the nomadic Ful~e because of their pastoral nature. And this pastoralism is practiced because of one element of pulaaku which is cattle possession. This is in concordance with the architectural designs constructed by Sa‟ad (1991: last page, figures 6, 7 and 8) where a calf rope is shown to be in front of the Ful~e huts in each house.
Zainab Sa‟id (1991) explores the traditional medicinal culture of the Ful~e in general and their traditional medicines in particular, with emphasis on incantation and sorcery. She posits that the medical beliefs of the Ful~e are integrated into a complex network of beliefs and values that are part of their culture. She also notes that the Ful~e are governed by distinct general rules (pulaaku) which are believed to be peculiar to them alone. She also related Reed (1932) as saying pulaaku in its actual sense is employed to denote the characteristics which distinguish the Ful~e from the surrounding races.
Pastoralism is a cultural heritage among the Ful~e in addition to being their major occupation, hence its significance to them cannot be overemphasized. This concords with the statement made by Catherine VerEecke (1991) that apart from pulaaku, the second outstanding identity of the Ful~e is cattle or rather, the possession of the cattle. Perhaps it would have been better to talk of cattle under pulaaku rather than separating the two because cattle possession is one of the constituents of pulaaku. The title of her paper has even suggested so. In fact, because of its importance as a constituent of pulaaku, the first part of the title of her paper goes thus: Na‟i Ngoni Pulaaku „Ful~e code of conduct is simply cattle possession‟.
De st. Croix (1999) notes the pastoralist‟s attachment to their cattle and stated the pastoralists can speak to their animal by its name. That is the name by which it is known from its hair coloration and or the shape of its horns. He also noticed that the pastoralists often have hoore na‟i „the mother cow‟ that is believed to be the progenitor of a herd or of a line of cattle in the herd and is hardly sold by the owner for whatever course.
The Ful~e pastoralists have five seasonal periods in which they change the location of their cattle to suit the grazing style of the period. The grazing period is used in naming the style as follows:
Grazing period Grazing Place
ndungu „summer‟ ruumirde (place where cattle spend the summer)
„yamde „end of rainy season‟ „yaurude (place where cattle spend the end of rainy season)
dabbunde „harvest time‟ dabbinirde (place where cattle spend the harvest time)
cee]u „dry season‟ see]irde (place where cattle spend the dry season)
setto/seeto „spring‟ settinirde (place where cattle spend the spring) ( de st. Croix,1999:43).
The researcher deserves commendation for such a thorough research about the pastoralist‟s attachment to their cattle. It should however be noted that this is not unconnected with the cattle possession being part of pulaaku and a means of livelihood for the Ful~e.
In the course of their social activities among themselves and with others, the Ful~e exhibit their cultural characteristics knowingly or unknowingly. In line with this, de st. Croix (1999:21) relates the way the pastoralists relate in terms of migration to an unknown place as follows:
When these pastoralists wished to penetrate into a new grazing area of unknown or mistrusted reputation herdsmen would leave their womenfolk and children behind with half the cattle under
sufficient protection in the safe area, and set out well armed with both weapons and charms against man and the harmful things of the bush. He (the clan leader) would have a leader known as Jowro, for such expeditions from the wet season settlement. He (the Jowro) was necessarily a courageous man and good diplomat.
As seen in the above quotation, ngorgu „bravery‟ and en]am „compassion‟, which are significant features of pulaaku, are visibly clear among the Ful~e in the course of their interactions among themselves and with others.
Daudu (2010) opines that, among the Kaceccere Ful~e of Southern Kaduna, when a girl or woman wants to declare whom she wants to marry, she would do so by taking his umbrella and giving it to his friend. She would not talk because of shyness. And on the day of ka~~ol teegal, tying the knots marriage, not only the bride, but also the bridegroom will naturally be absent at the occasion because of shame.
Mbiti (1991) relates that whatever method is followed in choosing the marriage Partner, the families and relatives of the two sides must be involved before the marriage can take place. In some places…it is the parents of the groom who approach those of the girl and establish an engagement relationship.
The above assertion is true of the Ful~e marriage customs because all that is stated above is done by the Ful~e as far as their tradition is concerned.
Virtually all African Cultures have the values which they cherish and aspire for. Some of these values may be generally found in all most of the cultures while others may be peculiar to certain culture. It therefore, important to review works pertaining code of conduct in some African Cultures.
Kirk-greene (1973) uses the Hausa folklore to arrive at the concept of a good man in Hausa. He identified some virtues that make up the good man in Hausa thought. They include amana „trust‟ gaskiya „truthfulness‟ (honesty), ha}uri „patience‟ adalci „justice‟, hikima „wisdom‟,hankali „ sense‟ and kunya „ shame‟. He used proverbs more than any other genre of literature in his analysis for the fact that, “In Hausa as elsewhere in Africa, proverbial lore embodies a language group‟s cultural heritage. More than this, in the absence of a vigorous written literature, proverbs may serve as a guardian and carrier of a nation‟s philosophy and genius (Kirk-Greene, 1973:3).”
The use of folklore, especially proverbs in studying the components that make up a good man in Hausa thought is, to some extent symmetrical to what is intended in the present research. This makes the two researches closely related.
Amin (2002) uses a paremiological approach to establish the way the Hausas view life and existence. He argues that the chief goal of Hausa life is peaceful living, zaman lafiya which has, among other things, honesty, patience and caution as its constituents. These are symmetrical to the constituents of pulaaku. The following were among the proverbs that Amin (2002:250-256) uses to justify his argument:
Ciki da gaskiya wu}a ba ta huda shi (The stomach that contains truth cannot be pierced (even) with a knife).
Gaskiya ta fi dokin }arfe (Truth is stronger than a steel horse).
Maha}urci mawadaci (The patient (is) the affluent).
Komai na duniya ]an ha}uri ne ( Every worldly thing is a matter of patience).
Duniya bi ta da sannu (World (affair) should be followed with caution).
Sauri kan haifi nawa ( More haste, less speed).
Tsoho (2013) uses Hausa court songs to study Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sardauna of Sokoto as a virtuous man basing his criteria on the works of Kirk-Greene (1973), Zarruk (1982) and Adamu (2000). He notes that, apart from the qualities identified by the above mentioned scholars, Ahmadu Bello possessed extra qualities such as kyauta „generosity‟, tawakkali
„trusting Allah‟, kwarjini „charisma‟, kame kai „calmness‟ etc. He demonstrates this with evidence from the songs of Hausa oral singers such as [an}wairo, Naramba]a,and [an kyana. This research is related to the present one for the fact that it uses orature to demonstrate that the late Sir Ahmadu Bello was virtuous.
Ayuba (2013) studies the concept of goodness in Hausa thought basing his analysis mainly on Hausa oral songs. He argued that the concept of goodness is made up of visible or material component and the immaterial or mental component. The material component of goodness comprises of elements such as beauty and love while the immaterial component comprises of such elements like honesty, trust, justice, dignity etc. Two of the elements of the immaterial component ie honesty and dignity are symmetrical to the constituents of pulaaku.
The research also uses other genres of orature especially proverb to complement itself where necessary. The following proverbs were used by Ayuba (2013:235) to illustrate the concept of dignity:
Mutunci ya fi ku]i. (Having dignity is better than having money).
Mutunci riga. (Dignity is (like) a cloth).
Mutunci madara. (Dignity is (like) milk).
Tsira da mutunci ya fi tsira da kaya. (To have dignity is better than to have material. That is wealth).
Zainab Isa (2006) asserts that gaskiya (Hausa word for honesty) is a word that is of purely Hausa origin. This signifies that the Hausa people have the concept of honesty since time immemorial. She added that apart from its meaning as honesty or truthfulness, the word gaskiya in some context may mean justice, returning trust or fulfilling promise. She demonstrates the Hausa conception of honesty with illustrations from proverbs. She concluded that honesty in Hausa thought is self-sufficient, protective and powerful as contained in the following proverbs:
Gaskiya ]aci gare ta. (Truth is bitter).
Gaskiya ba ta neman ado. . (Truth needs no adornment).
Gaskiya ta fi laya. . (Truth is better than an amulet).
Gaskiya mai korar }arya. . (Truth over-powers false).
Owomoyela (2004) uses the Yoruba proverbs to identify the concept of a good person in Yoruba thought. He argued that the Yoruba culture is enriched with proverbs and that the proverbs are valuable in the culture. He quotes the Yoruba proverb which translates as follows to justify his argument: „proverb is the horse of speech, when speech is lost; proverb is the means we used to hunt for it.‟ He based his argument on the testimony of a Yoruba historian and scholar J. Adebowale Atanda who related that “the basic motivating
force for the Yoruba is the desire to have good life. It is based on this that they worship Orisa …He concludes that the qualities that make up a good man in Yoruba thought include, among others, caution, honesty, patience, prudence, reliability, wisdom and thoughtfulness. Coincidentally some of the qualities listed above are similar to some of the components of pulaaku which is the focus of the present research.
Opata (1998:71-84) relates that all known human cultures place great value on truth and the telling of truth. He further demonstrates that eziokwu, truth is so much valued among the Igbo people and that, “there are two major expressions with which the Igbo describe the truth of a statement.” They are ezi okwu which means good talk, genuine talk or true talk and ihe mere eme which means what really happened. Similarly, truth is described by the Igbo as the afternoon whenthey say, ezi okwu di ka efifie, e jiro oku acho ya, which literally translates as truth is like noonday, one does not look for it with light.
Araegbunam (n.d) studies the principles and practice of justice in traditional Igbo jurisprudence and asserted that, the proverbs, idioms folktales folk songs and other linguistic sources are some of the important purveyors of this value system. He also mentioned that a just person in Igbo thought is the one whose life is straight–forward, upright, honest, predictable and impartial. This research is closely related to the present research because of the use of proverbs as part of the materials used in understanding the principles and practice of justice in one of the African languages, the Igbo.
Andrzejewski (1968) as related by Mieder (1994) opines that Somali proverbs reflects their traditional social system. The author cites many proverbs most of which relates to clan and family and provides their English translations. It is further argued by the author that proverbs are employed in Somali culture by orators because of their high content of wit and rhetorics.
Mieder (1994) relates Beattie (1977) to have studied the proverbs of the Bunyoro people in western Uganda and observes that they contain the traditional values and wisdom that is handed over from generation to generation in that society. The argues further that proverbs play a vital communicative role within the Bunyoro society.
Some researchers have carried out researches on Ful~e and consequently identified some aspects of Ful~e code of conduct (henceforth, pulaaku). These researchers includes Reed (1932), Stenning (1959), Hopen (1975), Zainab Sa‟id (1991), VerEecke (1991) and Jauro (2005)Reed (1932) as related by Zainab Sai‟d (1991) is of the view that pulaaku in its actual sense is employed to denote the characteristics which distinguish the Fulani from the surrounding races, and it is also used for the rules of conduct which should guide the Fulani in his intercourse with other people and particularly with other Fulani. This quotation has revealed two important things about pulaaku. Firstly, that pulaaku is a distinguishing feature between the Ful~e and the non-Ful~e. Secondly, that pulaaku is a rule or code of conduct that guides the Ful~e in their relationship between themselves or with others.
Stenning (1959:55) also identified some components of pulaaku and related that, Pulaaku is the „way of the Fulani‟ which has a variety of elements or components, the foremost being semteende „sense of shame‟ along with hakkiilo „care, forethought‟ and munyal „endurance‟. Although Stenning (1959) was unable to identify a large number of constituents of pulaaku, we still owe him a commendation for identifying the three important elements of pulaaku.
Mukoshy (1984) relates that pulaaku is the Ful~e national entity or ethos which comprises of values such honesty, modesty, patience, courage, generosity, humbleness, and vigilance. All the above mentioned values are encapsulated in semteende (shyness), goongaaku (honesty), munyal (patience), en]am (compassion) and ngorgu (courage and bravery). Because humbleness is part of semteende (bashfulness), generosity is part of en]am (compassion), and vigilance is part of ngorgu (courage and bravery).
Zainab Sa‟id (1991) is of the view that pulaaku is the general rules governing the Ful~e way of life and the rules are peculiar to Ful~e alone. Although Zainab Sa‟id holds this view, she did not outline the various components that constitute pulaaku. However, Catherine VerEecke (1991) noted that, apart from semteende, munyal and hakkiilo, pulaaku also includes such components as en]am ‟compassion‟, ngorgu ‟courage or bravery‟, ne]]aaku „dignity‟, goongaaku „truthfulness‟ and ndimaaku (being free). She adds that among the Ful~e who label themselves mbororo‟en, two cultural elements stand out as central to their identity: pulaaku „the essence of being Ful~e‟ and na‟i „cattle‟. Despite her enormous contribution in relation to the Ful~e code of conduct, this researcher was unable to state categorically that the cattle or rather cattle possession is part and parcel of pulaaku.
Jauro and Muhammad (2005) state that semteende (shyness), en]am (compassion), elewre
„bravery‟ cuusal „determination‟ and ngayna „pastoralism‟ are the components of
pulaaku. This is the only researcher from the review so far that includes ngayna „pastoralism‟ among the components of pulaaku, which is symmetrical to marugo na‟i„cattle possession‟ that the present research has picked as one of the components of pulaaku. But he on the other hand, failed to include other important components of pulaaku such as hakkiilo and ne]]aaku and substituted elewre for ngorgu which are synonymous on his list.
Ujorha (2014) conducts an interview on pulaaku and its decline among the Ful~e and gathered that pulaaku restricts the Ful~e from calling their parents and in-laws by their names, eating in the public and acting in a way that will cause shame to the family. If someone violates the tenets of pulaaku, such a person will be isolated: his mother and sisters will be crying and his brothers will stop talking to him until he apologised. He added that the outbreak of rinderpest in the late 80s and menace of cattle rustling happening recently have caused a decline of pulaaku because when Ful~e lost their cattle, they are forced to live in cities and eventually begin smoking Indian hemp and other intoxicants. And under the influence of drugs or any other intoxicant, the tenets of pulaaku will never be observed.
This chapter has reviewed the literature which is either closely or far related to this research. So far, it can be observed that orature, particularly proverb, is an important custodian of societal culture. More so, it has been used to study the code of conduct in some African languages like Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba. But among the works reviewed, none use the Ful~e proverb to study the Ful~e code of conduct. Therefore, to study the Ful~e code of conduct through the analysis of Ful~e proverbs is timely in literary studies.
In every research, there must be a methodology which the researcher adopts in order to obtain and analyze information in his or her study. This research entitled Ful~e Code of Conduct (Pulaaku) as Portrayed in their Proverbs is not an exception. It intends to analyze the way pulaaku is portrayed in Ful~e proverbs. It is therefore, the interest of this chapter to describe the methodology used in obtaining the relevant information used in the research as well as the tool employed in analyzing the data.
This research adopts sampling technique as a method of data collection and the procedure employed is random sampling in the collection of primary sources. This is because the oral source of information is obtained from Ful~e who are the native speakers of Fulfulde. The Ful~e consulted are Mbororo‟en, Ful~e Na‟i and Ful~e Saare found within the area covered by the research. These categories of the Ful~e are randomly picked and interviewed. The information from some of them, especially the non-literate ones, were obtained through free discussions in which the researcher is sometimes involved in the discussion while at other times he only observes and listens to the target population. But a structured method was used for interviewing the literate among the target population. The target population is the Ful~e covering the above three categories who speak the central northern Nigeria dialect and the Adamawa dialect of Fulfulde based on Arnott‟s (1970)
classification. Their ages range from twenty (20) to seventy (70). Both males and females were consulted. The information is then considered and properly interpreted by the researcher who is also a native speaker of the language in which the information was obtained.
Some of the data obtained and used in the research are from the researcher‟s personal experience and acquaintance with the Ful~e literature and culture. But a large number of the oral information was obtained from interviews, both structured and unstructured. Also, even the information from the researcher‟s experience was authenticated via interviews and consultations of the Ful~e within the target population. The information covers the Ful~e proverbs portraying some elements of pulaaku, their interpretation and information on the pulaaku itself.
The places visited within Kaduna State for data collection include Kachia, Ludduga, Nasa and Mangoro all in Kachia Local Government; Kamuru Ikulu, Fadan Kamantan and Duchen Bako all in Z/Kataf Local Government, Kaduna Metropolis, Zaria City and Tashar Yari. Other places outside Kaduna State include Funtua in Katsina State, Kano Metropolis, Yola and Jos. Research assistants from Adamawa, Borno, Bauchi, Taraba and Yobe States and someone from Cameroun Republic were used in order to obtain relevant data on the research topic.
The research contacted not less than eighty (80) people whose age range is between 20- 70 years. Out of this number, about 30% are from Mbororo‟en, 30% are from Ful~e na‟i, 30% are from the category of Ful~e Saare and the remaining 10% are non- Ful~e. The information obtained from all these categories were carefully used in the research.
The secondary sources are in the form of books, journals, pamphlets, theses/dissertations, online materials, and any other material on the subject matter. Some of the materials are written on literature and culture of Ful~e and other people of Africa especially those that are close to the Ful~e in terms of social contact. These written materials are obtained in the libraries of Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Bayero University Kano, especially in the defunct Centre for the Study of Nigerian Languages, Usman [anfodio University Sokoto, University of Maiduguri and some radio stations like FRCN Kaduna and Radio Gotel Yola. Some of the materials were used as data for this research while others were only reviewed.
In the course of this research, many people were formally interviewed and the information gathered was used for the purpose of this research. The people that were formally interviewed are learned. The uneducated ones were avoided in the structured interview so as to avoid exaggeration. Another reason for avoiding formal interview regarding the uneducated people is the fears that they may be reluctant to give the required information since it affect their personality. Though additional information was obtained using this medium, but the most important role played by those interviewed formally is the authentication, clarification and interpretation of information obtained from the unstructured interview. Some of the questions used for the structured interview include the following:
These are some of the questions used in the structured interview to elicit information used in the course of this research.
As in the structured interview, many other people were interviewed in the unstructured mode of interview. The category of people interviewed using this mode of interview is the uneducated people. This was done for two reasons. The first is the fact that the topic comprises of the personality of the people being interviewed. Therefore, some people, especially the uneducated may exaggerate some information solicited from them just to claim some extra-ordinary status. Secondly, less educated people sometimes find it difficult to reveal certain information especially if the information concerns their personality. Therefore, approaching them in a formal way may not yield the desired goal. In an informal way, the information elicited from this category of people using this type of interview can be put forward to answer the following questions:
The proverbs used in the research were obtained through the following ways:
In the course of undertaking any research, it is difficult to avoid some problems. This research is not an exception. There were problems encountered in the course of the research and they include the following:
The data collected was analyzed using three separate but related methods. These methods are as follows:
Every research is expected to be based on a specific theoretical framework. This research is not an exception, for there is a theoretical framework on which the analysis in the research is based. This theoretical framework is called content analysis. This theoretical framework is used to analyze literary material basically on its content. Kassarjian, (1977:8) cited Barrelson (1952) to have defined content analysis as a research technique for the objective, systematic and quantitative description of manifest content of communication. Similarly, Holsti (1969) as cited by Stemler (2001:1) defines content analysis as “any technique for making inferences by objectively and systematically identifying specified characteristics of messages.”
Content analysis was developed in the United States in 1940s and was popularized in 1950s and 1960s. Some of its proponents include Harold Lasswell who in 1948, formulated the core questions of the theory as: who says what, to whom, why, to what extent and with what effect? Other proponents of the theory include Barrelson (1952), Smith (1975), Abrahamson (1983) and Silverman (1993). Whereas Barrelson (1952) and Silverman (1993) are in favor of quantitative content analysis, Smith (1975) and Abrahamson (1983) suggest that the blend of quantitative and qualitative content analysis is preferably. Some other proponents like Holsti (1969) and Carney (1972) opine that communication has three components: message, sender and the audience (Depts: 241-3).
Content analysis is a theory which is used in the analysis of texts such as writings, speech, recordings, cultural artifacts etcetera. It is mostly used in the humanities and the social sciences. In the humanities, content analysis can be used for different purposes such as attributing texts to authors and the study of texts based on their meaning. Weber (1990) relates that content analysis can be a useful technique for allowing us to discover and describe the focus and attention of individual, group, institution or society (Stemler, 2001:1).
Content analysis can either be quantitative or qualitative. The quantitative content analysis involves word frequencies, space measurements, time counts and keywords frequencies. Apart from the word, other elements that can be counted include themes, characters, paragraphs, items, concepts and semantics. In short, quantitative content analysis is concerned with the quantity, duration and frequency of data. Qualitative content analysis on the other hand is concerned with the character, forms and antecedent-consequent patterns of data. It involves the kind of analysis where communication content is categorized and classified based on its characteristics. This communication content may be speech, written text, interview etc.(Kassarjian, 1977:2-3, and Depts:241).
Content analysis can be used to study both the manifest and the latent content of data. By manifest content it meant the surface meaning or the denotative meaning of the data. But latent content means what the speaker or author intends to say. In other words, it involves the connotative or deep meaning of the data. Content analysis is a suitable technique for analyzing newspaper accounts, public addresses, library and archival materials and other similar data that can be used to conduct analytic studies. The materials needed for conducting content analysis are easily and inexpensively accessible. Content analysis provides a means by which to study processes that occur over a long period of time that may reflect the trends in a society (Babbie, 1998 as cited in Depts: 258).
This theory has been used by Molly Lynn Duffell in 1957 in the study of the Plays of Christopher Marlowe. It has also been used by Tobias Doring in 1995 in the study of the process of cross-cultural translation in the context of reading post- colonial literatures with reference to Achebe‟s Things Fall Apart and No Longer At Ease.
This research chose to base its analysis on content analysis for the following reasons. First, content analysis is a theory that attributes speech to the speaker or written text to its author. In other words, the theory looks at the relationship of a speech to the speaker and written text to the author. And this research also looks at the relationship of its data ie Ful~e proverbs and their „authors‟ ie the Ful~e.
Secondly, content analysis is a theory that analyzes data from the view point of its content. This content could be manifest or latent. In other words, the meaning could be at the surface level or the deeper meaning. This tallies with the way this research analyzes its data ie proverbs. The surface meaning and the deeper meanings of the proverbs are analyzed and both the meanings considered in achieving the aim of the research.
Thirdly, content analysis is a theory for making inferences by systematically and objectively identifying features of relevant data. That is, the meaning of the text, speech, etc used as a data in content analysis is at times deduced using the context under which it is said. This is symmetrical to the way proverbs which are the data of this research are usually analyzed.
Finally, content analysis as a theoretical framework can be use to study the processes that occur over a long period of time which may reflect trends in a society. This concord with the focus of this research which examines pulaaku as one of the trends in Ful~e society that has been in existence right from time immemorial.
This chapter discusses the methodology used in conducting the research. The methods of data collection and analysis were discussed. The data was from both primary and secondary sources obtained majorly from interview, both structured and unstructured. The analysis of the data was majorly from discussion with specialists and the use of a literary theory known as content analysis.
The previous chapter dwells on the description of the methodology used in the collection of data for the research. This chapter contains the analysis of pulaaku in Ful~e proverbs which is the aim of the research. It is right, therefore, to regard this chapter as the heart of the research.
Ful~e are a people who attach value and importance to proverbs. The Fulfulde word for proverb is balndi (singular: balndol). They use the proverbs in their daily speeches to show expertise and mastery of the language and to emphasize some ideas. They consider the proverbs as factual references to their topics of discussion because to them, there is no false proverb as they often say pullo fewan amma baldata fewre ‘A pullo may tell lies but will never tell a lie as a proverb.‟ This is evidently indicating that, as human beings, Ful~e are bound to tell lies but in terms of proverbs, they don‟t compromise. This idea is in conformity with the fact that an honest person will never lie except in rare circumstances when there are compelling reasons why it must be done.
Ful~e proverbs are sources of beauty to their language. In other words, the Ful~e use proverbs to beautify and sweeten their speech as supported by the proverb that says Balndi welnata haala ‘A proverb makes the speech sweet’. One will have to adquickly, however, that the proverbs sweeten the speech only when appropriately used. But where a proverb is used inappropriately, it is likely to render the speaker ridiculous.
Ful~e proverbs are an embodiment of the Ful~e culture, thought and philosophy of life. They contain the beliefs, perceptions and value systems of the Ful~e. One of the important aspects of the Ful~e culture contained in their proverbs is pulaaku.
Pulaaku is a set of general rules that guide the actions and inactions of the Ful~e. It consist of the principles of conduct that every pullo is expected to embrace. These principles, as seen in the Ful~e ideology, are the qualities that enable them to conform with the ethics of virtue as described in the saying, pulaaku ]um dangol haa maangol kujje bo]]e fuu fe]ii –pulaaku is a calf rope on which all good things are tied. The ethics of virtue are a general idea of the humanity.
Pulaaku was evolved to keep the Ful~e society not only alive, but also in harmony. If not for pulaaku, Ful~e society would have been in chaos and confusion because it is the one that guides the Ful~e in doing what is right and good for both their own sake and for their community. It is through pulaaku that the Ful~e acquire the virtues that the society appreciates and endeavours to preserve. On the contrary, pulaaku is against all behaviours which are considered as vices by Ful~e. The ideals of pulaaku always challenge the Ful~e to aspire for them. They give a sense of inner peace to anyone who observes them in his conduct within his society because he knows that he is behaving in conformity with the accepted code of conduct.
Pulaaku is not taught to the pullo at a time. Instead, it is cultivated and nursed in the mind and conscience of a child through a long period of upbringing and his observation of what other people do and do not do. Also, since the constituents of pulaaku are embedded in the customs, traditions and beliefs of the Ful~e, they assimilate them as they grow up and become participant members of the society. In short, pulaaku prepares the Ful~e in conformity with the saying which says „do not regard people by their words of mouth, know them by their actions and bahaviour.‟
Semteende is one of the most visible components of pulaaku. This is the reason why some people often exchange it with pulaaku and vice versa. It is base on this that the research chose to begin its analysis with it. Ful~e attach much value to this virtue and most of them uphold it to the extent that some mistake it as the only constituent of pulaaku. A Hausa man would say kada ka yi mini pulaaku meaning don‟t be too shy to me. This misconception is an indication of the place of semteende as a component of pulaaku. It is because of shyness that the Ful~e are not expected to eat in public. They also avoid calling the names of their parents, uncles, aunts, first child (sometimes even the second and the third one) and above all their in-laws. The uncles and the aunts are called by their nick names which are usually arranged from the eldest to the youngest.
The nick names for the uncles include Baadikko, Baasambo, Baayeero, Bappaate and Baajebbo. Those of the aunts include Yaadikko, Yaakummbo, Yaafenndo, Yaatakko, Yaadaado and Yaaseebo. As for the first child, the Ful~e use „o‟ which is the human noun class and can be use as personal pronoun „he‟ or „she‟. Regarding shyness, the Ful~e often say:
Nde seeway sewgo amma to nde ta‟ya
It (the rope) thin thinness but it cut not
The rope of shyness may be thin but it does not break.
This suggests that a pullo can be found wanting in one way or the order but no matter what, he or she should never be found wanting regarding shamelessness. They are so shy to the extent that many Ful~e usually avoid eye contact with any elder who speaks to them.
The Ful~e, through their code of conduct, ensure that they maintain semteende among themselves in all generations because any shameless act is not only shameful to the doer alone but also to the entire community as it is often said:
Pullo mo semtataa semtinii
Pullo who shy not cause shame
A shameless Pullo causes shame to the Ful~e.
Any person who is not shy is capable of acting in such a way that the consequences of his actions can cause shame to the entire society. This is why no Pullo is expected by the code of conduct to act contrary to being shy. Another proverb goes thus:
Pullo to semteende maayata
Pullo in shyness dies
A pullo will prefer to die than to act shamefully.
That is to say, the entire life of a pullo is supposed to be characterized by shyness. In other words, the way a pullo would speak, the way he would walk, the way he would eat and so on are all suppose to show that he is shy. It is base on this that sometimes a pullo may exhibit high level of shyness even in lawful activities. In other words, a pullo, because of shyness, may not be able to do some things which are lawful in public places like the market. So therefore, a Pullo will prefer to die leaving the legacy of shyness than to do something that is capable of rendering him as a shameless person.
The Ful~e social life have shown that there exist high level of shyness between in-laws. This is why a father - in- law never goes near the compound of his daughter in-law. This is so because it is against pulaaku to do that as demonstrated by the proverb that says: Ndikka joo]odoo weelo dow „yama esum nyaamannde
Better sit down with hunger than ask one‟s in-law food Better remain hungry than asking one‟s in-law food.
Although the proverb is focusing on the inability of an in-law to ask for food to his or her in-law, it also suggests the high level of shyness which exist between in-laws in the Ful~e culture since a hungry pullo can contain the pressing need for food because of shyness especially when he finds himself amidst people he is shy of like the in-laws.
It is a common notion among people that everybody needs shyness but nobody wants to be ashamed. Therefore, while encouraging shyness among the Ful~e, pulaaku on the other hand discourages all sorts of attitudes capable of leading one to be ashame. By this, such attitudes like begging, greediness etc are considered as acts that cannot be done by a person who is shy. In other words, such attitudes are against pulaaku and are therefore, discouraged in the Ful~e culture as contain in the following proverb:
Torii he~ii maa noye sakko toroo he~aayi (semtii)
Beg and be given (intensifier) how talk less of beg not being given. Fruitful anti-pulaaku act is shameful talk less of a fruitless one.
This proverb reveals that it is not accepted by pulaaku for a Pullo to beg. This is so even if this will yield good outcome to him or her talk less of to beg and be denied. This also applies to any other act not recommended by pulaaku such as theft, falsehood and so on.
Patience is yet another virtue which is encapsulated in the institution of pulaaku. It involves the ability to stay calm and accept a delay in getting something or in accomplishing a goal. Ful~e are encouraged by pulaaku to be patient and persevere as things are not that easy in life. So with patience, all problems bedeviling one in life will come to pass and success is assured.
The Ful~e show patience practically in the following ways:
Their ability to remain calm and accept the trouble and pain of a cane flogged to them during the time of the popular soro (sharo/ sha]i). Also their ability to contain the difficulties of moving their cattle from one place to another come rain come shine.
It is expected that pullo should be patient in the pursuit of whatever he or she wants to achieve. This is because success is assured for whoever observes patience as demonstrated by the proverb that says:
Muny]o cur]e hewtay „yul~e.
whoever observes patience (with) smoke will get to charcoal.
Whoever is patient will see the end of any trouble and reap the fruits of his or her labour.
Usually, before one obtains charcoal for use, one must burn fire wood which causes smoke. This smoke is a sign of fire which eventually burn the fire wood into charcoal. This charcoal is use for so many things. Therefore, the proverb is revealing to the audience that whoever is patient, he or she will eventually get to the dividends of his action or inaction.
The Pullo is expected to be patient and all will come to pass as demonstrated by yet another proverb that says:
Ngam jemma mettii ha]ataa fajiri weetugo
For night annoyance prevent not dawn
No matter an inconvenience, with patience, it will surely pass.
The proverb is an admonition to people on the fact that no condition is permanent. So should one find oneself in a difficult situation, it is certain that a reverse of it is coming. So with patience, all problems and troubles will come and pass. The only thing expected is for a person to exercise patience as nothing bad comes out of patience. This patience is expected without any limit as no amount of it is ever too much as contained in the proverb:
Munyal wonnataa
Patience never spoils.
No negative result is obtain from patience.
This proverb suggests that a person should keep on exercising patience until the time when the success comes his or her way. This is because sometimes it takes a long time before the success is attained. Therefore, should one be face with a challenge that seems
unending, he or she is charged to continue to exercise patience up to the time when the situation is over. This is expected from all the Ful~e including the children. But patience is expected mostly from adults because of their status as suggested by the following proverb:
Koo maw]o somii, to baccel he~ta.
Even if an adult is tired, should not the child understand.
An adult should not let his weakness known to the younger ones.
This means that the adult is expected to persevere and persist in the pursuit of whatever he or she is pursuing even if he or she happen to have one weakness or the other. The weakness should be covered by patience and should not be allowed to be understood by anybody especially the younger or weaker ones.
Patience in pulaaku also entails the ability to patiently follow things gradually and not to hasten up in whatever one is doing. Although the English proverb says more haste less speed, the Ful~e proverb is rather saying more haste, more waste, as the proverb says:
Hoore nyiiwa, taa yaawii soodaa taa munyii a hoosa meere
The head of an elephant, if you hasten you buy it expensively but if you exercise patience you end up getting it very cheap.
More haste, more waste or patience pays.
The elephant is used in the proverb to show that however big or valuable something is, it can be obtained cheaply with patience. So one is urged not to hasten in any programme but should remain calm and accept any delay in order to succeed in life.
The emphasis on patience in pulaaku is further stressed by the fact that lack of it is usually frowned at in the Ful~e culture because lack of patience leads to wastages. Therefore, inappropriateness of lack of patience and by extension the necessity for one to be patient for him to conform to what is normal and accepted in the society is stressed by pulaaku. Therefore, a pullo is expected to persevere in all his endeavours especially as it relates to obedience which is considered very crucial in the child upbringing in Ful~e culture as demonstrated in the proverb saying:
Tokku-tokku taa tikku.
Follow follow don‟t be angry.
Keep on obeying and never get tired of the delay to get what you are looking for.
This proverb has categorically described the way a person should behave to his elders and superiors. That one should never get tired of the obedience that is required for one to obtain what one wants or get to the required level.
Honesty is a virtue that is generally accepted and valued across cultures. Honesty is needed because without it relations between people would go wrong. Goongaaku as a constituent of pulaaku is a broad term that includes truth, honesty, sincerity and objectivity. Truthfulness is the virtue of telling the truth. It is expected by pulaaku, that every pullo should be honest because:
saamay]o- a liar which is detrimental to his trustworthiness.
Goongaaku is what accords an individual the respect he or she deserves. In other words, without goongaaku, an individual is likely to lose respect of the members of his society. And for a person to be a man of honour who deserves respect and trust by members of a society he belongs to, he must be honest. Truthfulness must be habitual rather than casual for it to be regarded as honesty.
Honesty as a constituent of pulaaku is associated with a lot of difficulties. It is base on this understanding that the Ful~e, through balndi, prepares their wards for the challengesinvolved in the process of becoming an honest person. Some of the proverbs use for this purpose include:
Goonga ngapaleewol gi‟e .
Truthfulness is a thorny attire; and
Goonga salla gi‟eeje.
Truthfulness is a thorny trouser.
Truth is hard to maintain but it is very strong should one imbibe it.
A thorn is a small sharp pointed part of some plants found in the areas where some Ful~e live. Therefore, a thorny attire or trouser is not going to be pleasant for one to put on. Similarly, truthfulness is likely to be like thorny attire especially in a society where selfishness is the order of the day. One needs to be very firm for him to attain the virtue of honesty. The Ful~e also say:
Goonga yo ka]ka
Truth is bitter.
This is another proverb often used by the Ful~e to refer to the way truth or being truthful causes reaction from especially those who want to satisfy their selfish aggrandizement.
But still, one is admonish by yet another proverb to uphold the truth no matter the difficulty for it is the only source of success. The Ful~e say:
Mo laa~ndu nyaamay mo sukkundu.
The bright one will devour the obstructed one.
A truthful person will overcome his opponents.
This proverb is giving assurance to the truthful person (the bright) that he or she will overcome any body (the obstructed) that is contrary to his idea. This is almost similar to the saying that truth shall make you free.
Truthfulness is also believed by the Ful~e to remain the same and can neither perish nor diminish. This is contained in the proverb that says:
Duu~i duumay, goonga moo‟yataa.
Years will spend years, truth will not be eaten by termites.
No matter how long it takes, truth remains unchanging.
While the proverb describes the ability of the truthfulness to remain unchanging, it equally looks at the ability of the truthfulness to show and remain visible no matter the attempts to hide it. This is because by its nature, honesty always prevails.
The Ful~e in their effort to stress the importance of truthfulness often make reference to the nature of falsehood. By so doing, the truth becomes clearer just like when black and white are placed side by side.
Fewre te‟ay amma jogataako.
False can marry but cannot maintain the wife.
The ability of false to succeed is only temporary.
In the above proverb, we are introduced to the nature of false which may look attractive at the initial stage but the attraction never last because it is not true and not all that glitters is gold. The proverb is also supporting that falsehood does not withstand the test of time, so it is advisable for a person to keep off from it. That one should not be lured by the attractive nature of falsehood to embrace it for it will surely betray him. Impliedly, the above proverb is calling on the target audience to uphold truth rather than falsehood which has all the above mentioned enticing qualities.
The word ngorgu „courage‟ is from the same root with ngorko „male‟. It is also referred to as elewre in Fulfulde. It refers to the ability of a person to withstand difficulty or pain and remain firm and focused towards achieving a certain target. A Pullo is expected to be courageous in order to be able to overcome life challenges. The life of a Pullo which involves moving from one geographical location to another following mostly the bush of course cannot be carried out by a coward. That is why the Ful~e have the tradition of yearly flogging called soro in which youths of roughly the same age flog one another amidst a gathering. Those that distinguish themselves in such occasions are sometimes rewarded with a spouse who will willingly seek their hand in marriage. The ladies need courageous men to marry because they are naturally weak and will need a person capable of protecting them from any dangerous thing that may come their way. This is demonstrated by the proverb that says:
Taa hula ko nyamta-ma a he~ataa ko nyamtaa.
If you are afraid of what will eat you, you will not get what to eat.
A coward may hardly succeed in life.
Bearing in mind that one must eat in order to survive, the pullo is encouraged by this proverb to courageously face the challenges he may encounter in the process of earning a living. This is so even if the process of earning the living is barred by terrifying things. Still on the same idea is the content of the proverb saying:
Kulol paa~i ha]ataa weendu eereego.
The fear of frogs prevent not the lake from being crossed.
The presence of any frightening thing will not prevent one from going ahead with his task.
This proverb also admonishes that one should proceed towards accomplishing his or her task in spite of any difficulty that may be associated to it. This is because life in its entirety is full of challenges. And these challenges are not restricted to a certain period nor are they restricted to a particular part of the world.
More so, the Ful~e are not only expected by pulaaku to have courage but also not to relent in such an effort as contained in the proverb which says:
Fiya dogga naa ]um ngorgu.
To beat (somebody) and run away is not courage.
To start a programme and abandon it is not a sign of courage.
This proverb means to begin something and abandon it is not a sign of courage. Pulaaku always intends to inculcate into the minds of the Ful~e the courage to suffer before enjoying the dividends of their work. That is to say one should be ready to work first before enjoying the fruits of the work because after the storm comes calm. This is contained in the following proverb:
Gi]]o ~ikkon colli maa yaa~ii gi‟e.
Whoever wants the young birds must stamp on thorns.
He who wants to enjoy must suffer first.
Birds are known for their choice of places where trees are concentrated, including thorns, for them to lay eggs and consequently hatch them into their young ones. Therefore, for one to have the young birds, he or she must stamp on thorns. That is, one must suffer (stamping on thorns) before having the fruits of his or her labour (having the young birds to eat).
Pulaaku does not only demand a pullo to have courage in his attempt to overcome challenges involved in earning a living, it also requires that the pullo should be a person who has the courage to contain hunger should situation warrant it. Not only that, but even if the food is available, the pullo is required not to eat too much as stated in the proverb which says:
Weelo warataa pullo, pullo warataa weelo.
Hunger kills not pullo, pullo kills not hunger.
A pullo contends hunger.
Is this the reason why most Ful~e are slim? Well this is just a food for thought. But one thing that is evident so far is that every pullo is required by pulaaku to have courage.
Also the courage of one‟s parent or relatives is not enough but his own courage is what matters in pulaaku.
In situations where a pullo realizes that he supersedes another person, he shows his bravery by employing some proverbs which metaphorically compare him with a stronger animal and his opponent with a weaker one. This occurs mostly in occasions like the popular soro (sharo) cultural festival.
The word en]am is derived from enndu (breast). Its actual meaning is breast milk. The meaning is then extended to the sympathy expressed among those who suck the same breast (brothers and sisters). It also encompasses the sympathy or compassion people express among themselves because of their biological, ethnic or national relationship. Compassion as a component of pulaaku involves the sympathy and the willingness to help, expressed due to brotherhood in family relation or as members of same community or ethnic group. This sympathy and the willingness to help is very strong among the Ful~e because it is a requirement of pulaaku. The resultant effects of this is the strong unity among the Ful~e. It is a common practice among the Ful~e to unite and fight for their deprived right be that right a collective one or the one which affects only some of them. One of such practices is the unity among the Ful~e to collectively abstain from a certain market whenever their right or that of some or one of them is touched. It is usually in form of a strike and as soon as the elders are consulted and their problem is solved, they return to the market for buying and selling of goods and services as usual. This practice is known by various names in various places where the Ful~e are found. In some parts of north-eastern Nigeria, Yobe precisely, they call it daangol pulaaku literally „the calf rope of pulaaku.‟ In Taraba and Adamawa states, the practice is known as howugo luumo literally „fencing the market‟. In Benin Republic, though this is outside the scope of this research, the research discovered that they call it ma~~ugo luumo literally „closing the market‟. This research has discovered that the practice of howugo luumo was employed by the Ful~e in the market of Lafiya-Lamurde in Adamawa State between April and May 2012 which lasted for about three weeks.
Another practice that show compassion among the Ful~e is their tradition of sukkuki/sukkeeki (giving/ being given a livestock). The Ful~e do not wait to die before their children inherit the cattle. They rather have the tradition of giving their children cattle when they attain certain age, usually not more than seven years. This tradition is call sukkuki/sukkeeki (giving/ being given a livestock).
Apart from such practices that show compassion among the Ful~e, their proverbs also contain evidence of en]am as they often say:
Mo walaa sakiike sakitakee.
One who has no brother is left behind.
He who lacks brotherhood lacks behind.
This proverb stresses the importance of brotherhood as it is very common a brother does whatever possible to assist to the progress of his brother and to defend him if the need arise. This is further supported by yet another proverb that says:
Ko meemi kine fuu meemi gite.
Whatever touches the nose touches the eyes. Brothers respond to the plight of each other.
This means that a brother being close to his brother just like the way eyes are close to the nose, he is supposed to respond to the plight of his brother be that brother the one related to him by blood, that of same community, that of same clan or that of his ethnic group. This brotherhood is supposed to be a reciprocal one as portrayed in the proverb that says:
To nyaamo lootii nano, nano maa lootay nyaamo.
If the right hand washes the left hand, the left hand washes the right hand. Kindness begets kindness.
That is, each of the brothers should be willing to help one another whenever the need arises. This includes a situation where one has to travel far in order to visit his brother and assist him where necessary. This act of kindness is expected from a pullo willingly because everyone may need it sometime, somewhere and somehow.
Compassion as a component of pulaaku does not only require the willingness to help one another when the need arise but also the sympathy and accommodation that a brother should be given in a situation where he is found to be on a wrong tract. That is, even if he or she is troublesome, yet one should, out of compassion, accommodate his trouble because:
Bandiigu ]um naw]um gite.
Brotherhood is an eye sow. One cannot change his brother.
The proverb emphasized that one cannot change or get rid of his brother no matter how bad he proves to be. This is because the brotherhood is natural and cannot be changed using any artificial way just like the eyes cannot be removed because they are paining.
It is the requirement of pulaaku that all categories of people be helped and not to be allowed to miss the proper way as:
Kayru e kayru ndu hallindirtaa.
A lineage and a lineage do not harm one another.
People of the same lineage do not harm one another.
This proverb suggests that people of the same lineage are brothers. Therefore, there is no amount of action intended to harm a person is expected from his brother. It is the Ful~e culture that since the young ones are not wise enough to act accordingly, they should be sympathetically guided accordingly. This is also the same with the aged people.
The word ne]]aaku is derived from ne]]o (human being). Ne]]aaku as a component of pulaaku denote self respect and protecting one‟s image and dignity. A Pullo is required by pulaaku to ensure that he or she does nothing that will affect his or her dignity as dignity is just like oil, when it spills, it cannot be recovered as contained in the proverb that says:
Ne]]aaku ]um nebbam, to rufii ~oftataako.
Dignity is an oil when spilt cannot be recovered.
Dignity is delicate so should be handled carefully.
This proverb requires that one should protect his dignity because when lost, it would be a waste of time to begin to look for a way of regaining it back because it is no wise to cry over spilt milk. It is based on this that it is advisable for one not to do things excessively, rather:
Lut aka ruf (luttu ke~aa ko ndufaa).
Reserve (something) so that you have what to pour away.
Never act excessively.
This means that whatever one does excessively, it may in one way or the other affect his dignity. Consider the story of a man who visited his in-laws and refuse to eat because of shyness. This man knew only his father in-law but does not know his mother in-law and yet was unable to look at her face because of shyness even though that was their first encounter with her since after the marriage which was arranged by the parents alone. After spending one day, the man and his wife left for their village but went through the market of their in-laws village because it was a market day. On reaching the market, the man told the wife that he was going to ease himself but went straight to where gruel was sold because he could not contain the hunger any more. Coincidentally, he approached his in-law who was one of those selling the gruel. She attended to him and provided him of what he demanded while the other women looked with dismay. The man sat there and drank the whole gruel. He thereafter approached the in-law with the money for her gruel but she told him to leave it. Then he was notified by one the women that “how would you pay money for the gruel of your mother-in-law? “ He suddenly left the place being ashamed of himself. Therefore, too much of shyness has caused the man to be ashamed which has in turn affected his dignity.
The dignity of a person is protected if he or she avoids things that are likely to affect it. That is why pulaaku warn the Ful~e to avoid any act capable of affecting their dignity. But in a situation where one is faced with two evils, it is the requirement of pulaaku that the one with lesser evil should be chosen as supported by the proverb that says:
Ndikka toraaki e wujjuki.
It is better to beg than to steal.
Of two evils, the lesser evil is preferred.
This proverb reveals that although begging is not recommended by pulaaku as it affects one‟s dignity, but it is rather preferred to stealing because begging has lesser evil than stealing. This also applies to all situations similar to the one expressed above. For instance, to collect debt may affect the dignity of a person but not as much as it would do to the person who collect the money with no intention of paying it back to the creditor.
One of the most vital ways by which one would protect his dignity is for one to have self- respect. That is why the Ful~e often say:
Manngu ndaaageya, mawna tuccinoo.
The growing of the bush banana plant, to grow and bend down.
An adult should not behave like a child.
This is said to correct the behaviour of a person who does not respect himself in his day to day dealings. The proverb suggest to a person to consider his or her status in the society and behave accordingly for him to protect his or her dignity. But he or she should not be like a bush banana plant, ndaageya which grow tall but finally bend down after breeding fruits and be like its far much younger ones. Similarly, it is for the same protection of dignity that a person is warned to avoid anything that will diminish his trustworthiness. That is why trustworthiness is emphasized in the Ful~e culture through pulaaku. Based on this the Ful~e say:
Hoolee hoola waddata hoolo.
To be trusted and make noise causes commotion. Be a trustworthy person.
This proverb admonishes a person to avoid any act capable of diminishing his trustworthiness because whenever a person is found to lack trustworthiness, such a person‟s dignity is usually affected.
The word hakkiilo is an Arabic loaned word. In Fulfulde, hakkiilo has more than one meaning. It could mean the mind, as the Ful~e say:
Hakkiilo yi‟ata, gite ]um ndiyam mere.
It is the mind that see, eyes are mere water.
It is the mind that actually see, but eyes are mere medium.
Hakkiilo also means intelligence or foresight as the Ful~e say:
Mo hakkiilo maggataako meema jippoo fera.
The sensible (intelligent) person would not climb up (a tree), touch the fruits and climb down and begin to knock them down.
It is no use to ask for your cake after giving it out.
It equally means carefulness or caution. It is with this third meaning that hakkiilo is a component of pulaaku. By hakkiilo, the Ful~e are expected to be careful of whatever they are doing. They are expected to look before they leap. The major aspect of social life the Ful~e are warn to be careful about is the way they talk. It is rather encouraged by pulaaku for one to keep quiet than to talk unnecessarily or improperly as the Ful~e say:
[uu]a haalaajo yo~anay maama-mum nyamaande.
The talkative will pay the debt of his grandfather.
If you talk too much, you may uncover something that may affect you negatively.
It is the assumption of the Ful~e by this proverb that the talkative may get to the extent of bringing to the notice of his grandfather‟s creditor that he could be held responsible for the debt of his grandfather or any of his or her relatives. This also applies to other situations similar to the one described above. Consider the following proverb:
Hunduko hallini mboodi.
It is the mouth that makes the snake dangerous.
A good person could be dangerous when he talks dangerously.
This proverb warns a person against talking carelessly. Rather than heedlessly talking, pulaaku requires one to think deeply and talk only where necessary just to avoid causing trouble for oneself as supported by the proverb that says:
Ko hunduko ha~~i jungo fistataa.
What the mouth has tied, even the hand cannot untie it.
It will be difficult for a person to get out of a trouble caused by ones mouth.
Pulaaku requires the Ful~e to always use their intellect to think deeply before uttering a word. This is practically visible among the Ful~e who are mostly quiet. This quietness is attributed to pulaaku especially as it relate to this component of hakkiilo.
Pulaaku, through hakkiilo, demand that Ful~e should be cautious in their life so as to avoid being lured. It is based on this idea that the Ful~e say:
Manngu leelewal ]oftataa yottintaa.
The bigness of moon light escorts not, to the last. One should not be lured by any enticing thing.
This proverb cautions a person to be careful not to fall into the trap of something which is not actually what it seems to be. This is because such a thing is capable of taking an individual to a point of no return. And this will consequently be dangerous to such a person.
It is still out of caution that a pullo is required to start solving a problem before it get to the worse as contained in the proverb:
Mo yillaayi haadeeji yilluma go]]u]i.
He who refused to turn back cattle while they are near will do so when the cattle must have gone far.
If you did not address a problem early, you must do it when it gets to the worse.
The above proverb admonishes a person to ensure that a problem is tackled at earliest possible time. If possible, a precaution should be taken and where precaution could not be taken, one should not relent in ones efforts to take action towards solving the problem as early as possible.
Purity is yet another component of pulaaku that has, over a long period of time, ensured the sustenance of the identity of Ful~e. The Ful~e see purity as freedom from external influence and an individual and collective independence. The Ful~e believe that for them to maintain this freedom and independence, it is necessary for them to retain their original traits and features. This is practically seen among the Ful~e through teele (marriages). They always encourage marriage to remain within themselves and hardly allow inter-marriages between them and other ethnic groups. It is base on this that the Ful~e say:
To hitere majjay nde majja haa ]uuleeru.
If the eye will get lose, it should do that in the bald head.
A person is supposed to marry from within his lineage.
This means that if a lady should leave her parents house (for marriage), she should not get out of their clan or at least the Ful~e ethnic group. This is to ensure that mixture of the Ful~e and other ethnic groups is guarded. This is further supported by yet another proverb which says:
Anndaa ko teeraa keptaa ko dany]a.
Know whom to marry to understand what to beget.
Select whom to marry to secure your purity.
This proverb described the way in which the Ful~e attach much value on the selection of a spouse for it is their belief that the spouse has a role to play in determining the children one will obtain. So selecting a good spouse is capable of yielding a good result as far securing the purity of the Ful~e. This is further stressed by the proverb:
Asngol bonngol kosam bo]]am.
Good origin good milk.
A person from a good origin yields good product.
That is if you want to have a good output, ensure that the input you make is good. So a pure antecedence results in a pure consequence. This is always so because:
Lelwa diwataa ~iyum lada.
A gazelle does not jump while it‟s young one crawl. Like father like son.
This means that a person and any other creature always beget someone like him in character and appearance. This could be the reason why the Ful~e are known with the culture of kinship marriage in order to keep their traits of characters as Ful~e without mixing them with some „foreign‟ traits.
This discourages the Ful~e to arbitrary chose a partner for themselves. This idea makes it necessary for them to prefer somebody from within them as a partner to an „outsider‟ because they believe that such an outsider can never be like them no matter the time he or she spend with them. But someone who is a member of the ethnic group is seen as prospective partner no matter the problems that might be associated to him or her. Also, it is a common believe among the Ful~e that every creature begets its own kind and that is why they have the saying:
No ndi wayii non ndi rimirta.
The way it (the bull) looks like is the way it reproduces.
Every creature begets its own kind.
The Ful~e are, therefore, warned by this proverb to always investigate the origin of any person they may relate with especially in the relationship that will involve blood like the marriage. This will enable them to know whom to choose.
All these proverbs suggest that the origin of a thing always play an important role in what makes up such a thing. Therefore, taking cognizance of the origin always ensures good relationship and prevents possible short falls.
2.9 Marugo Na’i (Cattle Possession)
Cattle, apart from being one of the Ful~e cultural heritage, is an important component of pulaaku that has been, over the years, ignored by researchers in the Ful~e culture. The Ful~e ensure that they maintain this component among them through sukkuki/sukkeeki (giving/being given a livestock). This is a tradition that mandate parents to give a cow to their children when they attain certain age (usually less than seven years).The Ful~e are required by pulaaku to be in possession of cattle, the cattle being an important cultural heritage and a major source of economy to them. And the social life under which pulaaku falls, largely depends on the economy. Therefore, the cattle play a significant role in ensuring the entire tenets of pulaaku.
There are some proverbs that clearly show that pulaaku includes cattle possession. Among them is the saying:
Pulaaku ]um tokkugo ladde.
Pulaaku is following the bush. Pastoralism is part of pulaaku.
The Ful~e follow the bush only because they have cattle. They move from place to place in the bush looking for a greener pasture for their cattle. Therefore, the above proverb is impliedly indicating that cattle possession is a component of pulaaku. The Ful~e also say:
Pulaaku]um ngaynaaku e sawru.
Pulaaku is simply rearing of cattle with a stick.
Rearing of cattle is part of pulaaku.
This proverb further justifies the fact that cattle possession is a component of pulaaku. Since the rearing of cattle is termed to be part of what makes, the Ful~e will not rear the cattle without possessing them. The rearing of cattle also keeps the Ful~e isolated from other ethnic groups which reduces the influence of other cultures on their own culture. Another clear evidence that cattle possession is a component of pulaaku is the saying by the Ful~e that:
Ful~e ke~iri pulaaku diga na‟i.
The Ful~e got pulaaku from cattle.
The cattle is the source of pulaaku to the Ful~e.
This proverb adds further that pulaaku among the Ful~e originates from the cattle. This is true because most of the Ful~e who lost their cattle usually end up living in the urban areas where they mix with other cultures which consequently reduces their level of adherence to the tenets of pulaaku. The Ful~e also have the proverb that:
Taa soodi sawru hesru, taa wudin hindu.
If you buy a new stick, do not throw away the old one.
Even if you get another occupation, do not cut off from pastoralism.
The above proverb relates to cattle possession as a component of pulaaku in two ways. The first is the mention of stick in the proverb which implies that the Ful~e have cattle because that is what they use the stick for. Secondly, the proverb admonishes the Ful~e to remain as pastoralists for life. So even if they have another occupation, it should be maintained side by side with pastoralism.
Jahir]o yeeso maa no hisiri sakko jahir]o ~aawo.
The one who walk forward hardly escape talk less of the one who walk backward.
The pastoralist excels with difficulties talk less of a farmer.
This proverb reveals the way Ful~e detest farming as compare to pastoralism. A pastoralist walks forward when on duty but a farmer walks back ward when on duty. So the proverb reveals the superiority of pastoralism over farming. By extension, the proverb further buttresses the fact that cattle possession is a component of pulaaku.
This chapter dwells on the analysis of pulaaku in the Ful~e proverbs. The proverbs analyzed are those which contained one of the following aspects of the Ful~e culture which constitute pulaaku. They are semteende (shame, shyness), munyal (patience), goongaaku (honesty, truth), ngorgu (courage), ne]]aaku (dignity), en]am (compassion), hakkiilo (caution, forethought), ndimu (purity) and marugo na‟i (cattle possession).
The previous chapter discusses the way pulaaku is portrayed in the Ful~e proverbs. This chapter is the final chapter of the research where the work is concluded. Apart from the summary of the work, the chapter also contains the research findings. These findings are carefully extracted from the entire work conducted and arranged one after the other in paragraphs. Also included in this chapter are the recommendations which the research suggest to subsequent researchers.
This research started with general introduction in the first chapter where the problem that led to research was stated. The problem is not far from the fact that there exists a gap in the field of Ful~e paremiology especially as it relates to pulaaku. The aim and objectives were also stated including the assumptions that Ful~e proverbs portray pulaaku. The scope of the research was equally discussed in the introductory chapter. In the scope, the research boundary in terms of time and space was vividly explained. The significance of the research to various aspects of life especially the educational system was stated. The chapter also include the history of Ful~e and the origin and classification of their language.
The second chapter dwells on the review of the related literature. Works on proverbs in some African Cultures were reviewed before extending to works on the Ful~e oral literature. Works on culture particularly as they relate to Africans especially Ful~e were also reviewed. This was done particularly in order to see how the preceding researchers studied code of conduct.
Chapter three was basically on the methodology used in conducting the research. Two basic methods were employed which are the data collection method and the method of data analysis.
Chapter four contains the main work of the research. This is where the Ful~e proverbs were analyzed. Only five (5) proverbs were analyzed for each of the nine (9) components of pulaaku discussed in the chapter. Where necessary, some other genres of the Ful~e orature like stories were also employed to supplement the proverbs on the topic of discussion. Five proverbs were selected for in the analysis of each of the items discussed in order to adequately discuss them but not because they are the only proverbs identified by the research. The rest of the proverbs identified are included in the appendix. Then the fifth chapter which is the summary, discussion of findings of the research and recommendations.
Every research is expected to discover something which is either new, contrary to the existing knowledge or ascertaining what was discovered by other researchers. This research is not an exception for it has discovered the following:
The Ful~e proverbs are a custodian of the Ful~e culture. The proverbs were formulated by the Ful~e from their experiences in life as the Ful~e often say yi‟a yiita waddi gumaaku –experience brought about fortune telling. The totality of these experiences is what constitute
the Ful~e culture. Therefore, the proverbs exploit the culture and portray it in a literary form.
Pulaaku is usually taught by the parents and society through the long years of child upbringing. The admonishment given to the children by their parents coupled with the experience of what is acceptable in the society and what is not obtained by children translates into a wealth of knowledge any member of a society gets that will enable him or her conform with the teachings of pulaaku. Though in some areas, there is a person who is knowledgeable on the teachings of pulaaku and serves as a consultant on the matter. Such a person is call maw]o laawol pulaaku.
It is not necessary for every Pullo to possess all the qualities of pulaaku for him to qualify as a Pullo. But the more the qualities possessed, the higher the level the person is placed. Hence, it is right to say that the Ful~e are categorized into many groups or levels base on their actions‟ concordance with the qualities of pulaaku.
There are some negative consequences that pulaaku causes to the Ful~e and those that relate to them. For instance, shyness of the Ful~e prevents them from calling names of the husband, first child and in-laws. Therefore, in events such as census period or in a hospital where information including name of a person is needed in order to save his life, a Pullo may refuse to mention the name of the person concern which could be dangerous. Also, the same shyness makes the Ful~e to distant themselves from their in-laws and first children. This creates a wide gap between them which could be detrimental to their peaceful living as they may not understand one another.
The proverbs are usually said in order to encourage good or correct bad. Pulaaku is set up to guide the actions and the inactions of the Ful~e. It is on this similarity of purpose that the two come together. On the process of guiding their actions and inactions, the Ful~e often times use the proverbs because of their wit. This is why the content of the Ful~e proverbs is dominated by pulaaku.
Pulaaku has been influenced by Islam in two ways. The Islam on one hand promotes the pulaaku and disagrees with it on the other. In other words, Islam promotes and strengthens those components of pulaaku that concords with its teachings and is in high disagreement with some other elements of pulaaku which contradict its teachings. The element negatively affected by Islam is ndimu „purity‟ especially as it relates to kicking against intermarriage of Ful~e and the non-Ful~e. This is discouraged in Islam because it is an act of tribalism. The Qur‟an (Al-Hujurat: 13) says what translates as “O mankind! We created you from a male and a female, and made into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily the most honorable of you with Allah is that (believer) who has At- Taqwa. Verily, Allah is All-knowing, well acquainted (with all things).” This factor has reduced the strength of ndimu as a component of pulaaku because even the Ful~e now use to say ~okki rimata nyaande –the baobab tree begets irritating chaffs ie a person of good character may give birth to someone of bad character. So a pullo may beget a young one that may not adhere to pulaaku. But other components like honesty and patience have been supported and strengthened by Islam because they are in concordance with its teachings. For instance the Qur‟an (At- Taubah:119) says what translates as “O you who believe, fear Allah and be with those who are truthful (in words and deeds)“. Regarding patience, the Qur‟an (Ash Shu‟ra:43) says what translates as “and verily whoever shows patience and forgiveness, that would truly be from the things recommended by Allah”.
Globalization has also influenced pulaaku. The world has turned into a global village and cultural blending has become the order of the day. The whole world is about to adopt a similar way of life because of technological advancement. The way possession of material wealth is fast becoming a criterion of identifying a worthy person in our societies has affected ndimu „purity‟ as a constituent of pulaaku. Some Ful~e nowadays get married to their spouses because of material wealth which they possess be them Ful~e or not. This reduces the status of pulaaku especially as it relates to the component of ndimu.
The nine components of pulaaku analyzed in this research are found to be the most important which encapsulates all others that are not stated here. For instance, some researchers include humbleness, generosity and vigilance as components of pulaaku. This research agrees that these virtues are part of pulaaku. But they are encapsulated in semteende (shyness), en]am (compassion) and ngorgu (courage) which are broader. If a person has semteende, such a person is expected to be humble. If a person has en]am, such a person is also generous. And ngorgu has vigilance as part of its requirements.
Finally, the research has further proved that literature particularly proverbs can be used to study a society. This is because all the thought, ideology, philosophy and other aspects of the societal culture are contained in the literature of such a society. Hence, the literature can be used to study any aspect of the life of any given society.
It is a tradition that a research usually offers some recommendations which are expected to guide subsequent researchers following its footsteps. Based on this, this research resolve to make the following recommendations:
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{ADAMU SHEDE B.A (HONS.) (ABU, 2008) M.A /ARTS/5275/2011-2012 (A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE POST GRADUATE SCHOOL, AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY ZARIA IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF MASTER OF ARTS IN AFRICAN LITERATURE (HAUSA) DEPARTMENT OF AFRICAN LANGUAGES AND CULTURES AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY ZARIA, NIGERIA (Pulaaku from proverb)
