Madinawa

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Madinawa
LocationNigeria (majority)
Northern Nigeria
North Africa
Morocco
Sudan
Kano (city)
Descended from'Alawi dynasty
BranchesHouse of Maiduniya, Muallimawa, , Banu Gha (House of Malamai, The Madani,
ReligionIslam

The Madinawa are Islamic Leaders that claimed to be a clan of Sharifian descent and traced their lineage to the family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandson Hassan ibn Ali. They are related to the Alaouite dynasty of Morocco, and are said to have migrated to Kano Emirate due to conflicts and wars within the Moroccan monarchy. The claim of being descendants of Muhammad enabled them to be regarded as a kind of nobility, with them becoming privileged in the chieftaincy system of the Kano Emirate. They were additionally believed to possess baraka, or blessing power. Claiming this lineage also served to justify authority as the Idrisi dynasty (788-974), the Saadi dynasty (1510-1659), and the 'Alawi dynasty (1631–present) all claimed lineage from Ahl al-Bayt. In Kano Emirate, they are referred to as Awliya Madinawa Malamai by some people, in reference to the city of Medina where they claimed to have originated from, situated in Western Saudi Arabia. Most of their ancestors were Islamic saints.[1]

History[]

The Alawite dynasty from Tafilalt rose to power through its own claims of prophetic lineage as well as its alliances with shurafā' families in Fes, especially the Idrisid family, descendants of the founder of Fes, Idris II.Beginning during the reign of Sultan Ismail Ibn Sharif (1672-1727), the Makhzen began to officially document and verify lineages, restricting the number of families that could receive tax cuts and other benefits on the basis of their sharīfī lineage. On the death of Ismail ibn Sharif, the throne was ascended to by Abu'l Abbas Ahmad of Morocco on 22nd March, 1727. He was deposed in 1728 by Abdalmalik of Morocco, yet he was restored briefly afterwards at Oued Beht. He was deposed once more, on the day of his death on 5 March 1729 at Meknes. He was succeeded by his half-brother Abdallah of Morocco.[2] Moulay Abdalmalik was earmarked as his father's successor until he fell from favour and was replaced as heir by his two years younger full-brother Abu'l Abbas Ahmad of Morocco[3] in 1727. Abu'l Abbas Ahmad of Morocco proved quite ineffective as a ruler, he was overthrown in a coup instigated by his own wives. Moulay Abdelmalik was proclaimed Sultan, but failed to prevent his brother's escape and made the mistake of criticising the fiercely loyal bukhari (the imperial black bodyguards). The bukhari then threw their support behind the ousted Abu'l Abbas Ahmad, thus throwing Morocco into yet another civil war. A compromise was reached between the brothers after bloody fighting, splitting Morocco into two kingdoms. Abu'l Abbas Ahmad was to have Meknes for his capital while Abdelmalik was to rule from Fez. Not content with this however, Abdelmalik arranged a face-to-face meeting with his brother with the intention of assassinating him. The attempt failed and Abdelmalik was sent off under guard to a remote prison, where he was later assassinated.[4]

The Madinawa claimed that due to power tussles and inter-family wars they migrated from Morocco to Northern Nigeria where they settled at Bakin Ruwa in Kano City before been appointed as Islamic religious leaders of the town of Kadawa in Warawa, Kano State by the Kano Emirate Council. On their way to Kano it was reported that they stayed for a while in Majiya, Borno and Sudan.[5]

Pre-colonial period[]

The Madinawa concentrated in the propagation of Islam in Northern Nigeria and the religious leadership of the community. Imam Ghali Kadawa, one of their tribesmen, was appointed as the spiritual leader and Imam of Kadawa, at Warawa by the Kano Emirate Council.[6]

19th century changes[]

In the 19th century, a new merchant and bureaucratic class emerged from the Madinawa who exerted influence in Kano State and Nigeria's political landscape. Some of them inter-married with the royal houses of Kano and became traditional titleholders. They produced numerous imams, Islamic theologians, traditional title holders, bureaucrats and politicians in the Emirate of Kano,[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] members of the dynasty identify themselves as Fulani, Hausa, Hausa-Fulani Arabs or Hausa-Fulani depending on their cultural assimilation, the claim of descent from the Arab tribe and the prophet is common in scholarly lineages throughout Northern Nigeria and the Sahara.[16][17][18]

Members of the dynasty that descended from the Jobawa clan on the maternal side are entitled to be appointed as Makaman Kano, due to the precedent established during the reign of Sarkin Kano Aliyu Babba, who appointed Sarkin Takai Umaru Dan Maisaje as Makaman Kano, whose link with the Jobawa is through his father's mother Habiba, the sister of Malam Bakatsine, the traditional requisite of agnatic descent was not considered in the appointment leading to the establishment of a precedent for the descendants of the Jobawa with paternal or maternal links to aspire to be appointed as Makaman Kano.[19] An Awliya Madinawa Malamai clan member Abdullahi Aliyu Sumaila, the progenitor of the Muallimawa dynasty, has a link to the Jobawa through his paternal great-grandmother, the daughter of the Village head of Sumaila, Sarkin Sumaila Dansumaila Akilu, a bajobe and son of Makaman Kano Iliyasu.[20]

Prominent Madinawa[]

Notable Dynasties[]

References[]

  1. ^ Abdullahi, Ahmed (1999). Madinawan Kano. Danlami Printers.
  2. ^ Hamel, Chouki El (27 February 2014). Black Morocco: A History of Slavery, Race, and Islam. Cambridge University Press. p. 213. ISBN 9781139620048.
  3. ^ John Braithwaite (January 1, 1729). The History of the Revolutions in the Empire of Morocco: Upon the Death of the late Emperor Muley Ishmael. University of Michigan Library.
  4. ^ Hamel, Chouki El (2014-02-27). Black Morocco: A History of Slavery, Race, and Islam. Cambridge University Press. p. 213. ISBN 9781139620048.
  5. ^ Bashir, Musa (2010). Kano Malams and Migration. Chamber Press.
  6. ^ Sani, Nuhu (1993). Islamic Propagation at Kadawa. Kano: Mandawari Printers.
  7. ^ Bashir, Ali (2000). Kano Malams in the Ninteenth Century. River Front Press.
  8. ^ Hassan, Mohammed (2018). Islamic Religious Practices and Culture of the Al-Ghali Family. Tafida Printing Press.
  9. ^ Abubakar, Badamasi. Trans Saharan Trade: Networks and Learning in Ninetenth Century Kano. Danjuma Press.
  10. ^ Aminu, Muhammad. The History of Al-Ghali Family. Gargaliya Press.
  11. ^ Sani, Muhammadu (1990). Arab Settlers in Kano. Sauda Voyager.
  12. ^ Balogun, Ismail A.B (1969). The penetration of Islam into Nigeria. Khartoum: University of Khartoum, Sudan, Research Unit.
  13. ^ Danlami, Yusuf (2005). Al-Ghali Family and its Religious Leaders. Danlami Printers.
  14. ^ Tarikh Arab Hadha al-balad el-Musamma Kano. Journal of Royal History. 1908.
  15. ^ Balarabe, Suleman (1987). The History of Kadawa Town. Bala Printing Press.
  16. ^ Norris, H.T. (1975). The Tuaregs:Their Islamic Legacy and Its Diffusion in the Sahel. England: Aris and Phillips, Ltd.
  17. ^ Last, Murray (1967). The Sokoto Caliphate. New York: Humanities Press.
  18. ^ Bello, Ahmadu (1962). My Life. Cambridge University Press.
  19. ^ Smith, M.G. (1997). Government in Kano 1350-1950. Westview Press, A Division of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.
  20. ^ Abdullahi, Ahmed (1998). Tarihin Madinawa Jobawa. Kadawa Press.
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