Amina Sarauniya Zazzua

Queen of Hausaland (r. c. 1576-c. 1610)

• Born: c. 1532
• Birthplace: Zazzua, Hausaland (now Zaria, Nigeria)
• Died: c. 1610
• Place of death: Zazzua, Hausaland (now Zaria, Nigeria)

An able military leader, Amina greatly expanded the territory of Zazzua to its largest size by conquering and seizing neighboring lands, which expanded trade and enabled Zazzua to become one of the most prosperous and well-known states in the western Sudan.

Early Life

Not much is known about the early life of Amina (ah-MEE-nah). The seven Hausa states of what is now Nigeria did not keep written records, but rather maintained their cultural history through a rich oral tradition. Many of the oral histories and king lists (a chronological but not archaeological record of reigns) are quite consistent and supported by modern scholarship, but precise dates and other details are impossible to verify.

Nevertheless, it is clear that Amina was descended from a family of rulers. Her grandfather was Sarkin Zazzua Nohir, king of Zazzua until his death around 1535. He was succeeded by a brother, who died after only a year. The next to rule was Bakwa of Turunku, Amina’s mother, who became the first Hausa sarauniya, or queen, in many centuries of remembered history. Nothing is known about Amina’s father. According to tradition, there was a great affection between Amina and her grandfather the king, and as a toddler, she sat on his lap while he conducted his official business. From a young age, then, Amina began to understand the workings of politics and the logistics of warfare.

At the age of sixteen, Bakwa gave Amina, her oldest child, the title magajiya, or heir to the throne. In this position, Amina was drawn closer into the political and military life of the state, as she was responsible for administering it and meeting in daily councils. Though Bakwa was not interested in warfare or conquest, Amina was fascinated by both, and she learned all she could. Bakwa’s reign, remembered mostly for the fervor of its ceremonial singing and dancing, ended with her death around 1566. She was succeeded by her younger brother Karama, who immediately turned to war and expansion. One of his best and most eager warriors was his niece Amina.

Life’s Work

According to the oral histories, Amina was brave and skilled in battle. Refusing all suitors, who were eager to marry the magajiya, she devoted her energies to warfare. Already wealthy because of her mother’s inheritance, she amassed a greater fortune by seizing slaves and booty as the Zazzua conquered new territory. When Karama died around 1576, Amina was chosen to be sarauniya, the new queen. Within months of her appointment, Amina led her people to war again, and it is said that her mind was on battle for the rest of her life.

Throughout the sixteenth century, the seven Hausa states had battled each other, expanding and contracting their borders through a series of wars. Shortly after Amina became queen, neighboring states Borno and Kano indicated their intentions to attack Zazzua, while at the same time, another neighbor, Songhai, showed signs of collapse. Amina seized on this complicated situation as an opportunity to undertake a massive campaign to expand Zazzua. Her successes were dazzling and became the stuff of legend. When Amina conquered part of Nupeland, the king of Nupe sent her either a one-time payment or an annual tribute of forty eunuchs and ten thousand kola nuts, making Amina the first Hausa ruler to possess these impressive signs of wealth and power. Gradually, as she conquered morestates, she received great amounts of tribute, including slaves, horses, leather, and kola nuts. Amina continued to expand her domain until Zazzua was the largest of the Hausa states and Amina the mightiest ruler.

As Amina’s territory increased, she established strategically spaced commercial centers, which operated independently but maintained a feudal relationship to the queen. These commercial cities made it possible to hold land far from the capital of Zaria and also to trade farther afield, increasing the strength and the wealth of Zazzua. As Zazzua people migrated to these distant cities, the culture’s influence expanded accordingly. Amina’s primary goal was to have more land not for its own sake but to guarantee that her people could travel safely to conduct trade with more distant civilizations. Zazzua became the center of north-south trade across the Sahara Desert, and east-west trade across the Sudan.

Amina herself was constantly on the move during her three-decade reign. Tradition says that she was never at home for more than three months at a time once she became queen. At her insistence, protective walls were built around any town or encampment she stayed at for any length of time. After she departed for the next campaign, the security offered by the walls encouraged more migrants to settle within them, and small encampments became cities. Fragments of many of these walls are still standing, known through the Hausa region as ganuwar Amina, or Amina’s walls. A Hausa proverb still in use labels venerable people or objects as wane ya cika takama da tsufa kamar ganuwar Amina (proud and old as Amina’s walls).

Amina inspired loyalty and pride among her subjects, and although she must have had trusted advisers, she invariably traveled herself to witness firsthand any difficulties in her land. Stories about her private life are conflicting: Some say she never married and others that she married many times. When she died around 1610, she left no heirs.

Significance

Amina is remembered in Nigeria as one of the great queens of old, important because she ruled a generally patriarchal society and was accepted because of her firmness and military strength. Following her mother, Bakwa, Amina was only the second female ruler in recorded history of what is now called Nigeria.

Nigerians speak of her, in the Songhai language, as Amina, yar Bakwa ta san rana: Amina, the daughter of Bakwa, a woman as strong as a man. Her accomplishments, however, extend far beyond showing that a woman could rule capably. She increased the size of her state to its greatest size in history and built cities and walls that stand to this day. The earthen walls that she designed were so effective as fortifications that neighboring states also adopted their use.

Bibliography

Abubakr, Sa’ad. “Queen Amina of Zaria.” In Nigerian Women in Historical Perspective, edited by Bolanle Awe. Lagos, Nigeria: Sankore/Bookcraft, 1992. This volume, intended for a Nigerian audience, offers the stories of Nigerian women’s contributions to the nation’s development. The chapter on Queen Amina, written by a historian, draws on oral traditions for much of its information.

Clay, Denise. “Amina Sarauniya Zazzua.” In Heroines: Remarkable and Inspiring Women: An Illustrated Anthology of Essays by Women Writers, edited by Sara Hunt. New York: Crescent Books, 1995. The tone of this collection of fifty brief biographies is inspirational, as it seeks to define heroism and show women’s capabilities. The illustrated biography of Amina summarizes her accomplishments in clear and compelling language.

Davidson, Basil. West Africa Before the Colonial Era: A History to 1850. New York: Addison-Wesley, 1998. Davidson, a leading historian of precolonial Africa, describes several kingdoms and cultures in this accessible volume. His analysis places Amina and the Zazzua in the broad context of a complex region, and the text is illustrated with maps and a time line.

Mernissi, Fatima. The Forgotten Queens of Islam. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1997. Mernissi, a well-regarded scholar of the Qur՚ān, tells the story of Amina and fourteen other Islamic female rulers, placing them within the context of the Muslim world today. She argues that the one-sided view of Muslim women held by many in the West does not take into account the rich history of women such as Amina.

Ogunyemi, Wale. Queen Amina of Zazzua. Ibadan, Nigeria: University Press, 1999. A dramatization interpreting the life of Amina, by an award-winning Nigerian playwright. In this version of Amina’s life, she is brought down in battle through the forces of sexism and disloyalty; her own success leads to her fall.