Lagos and the North unknown: The entertainment face of Arewa

DUE to its cosmopolitan nature, Lagos belongs as much to the Igbo and the Yoruba as to the Hausa. Lagos is one of the large coastal cities in West Africa where Hausa-speaking communities, which are scattered throughout the region, are found.

The arrival and settling down of Hausa people, for varieties of reasons that include long distance trade, in Lagos have been traced to the 18th century, from when the population of the tribe in the city is believed to have continued to increase.

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Members of this tribe of Northerners are known in the city to be successful businessmen, just as a vast number of them typically make a living as bureau de change operators, okada riders, sellers of yam, tomato and onion in markets and mai-ruwa (water vendors) in the neighbourhoods.

Just like other tribes, Hausa people are also given to entertainment in the forms of festivals, games and shows. Lagosians are no strangers to roadside performances by Hausa youths who use monkeys and some other wildlife to get people entertained. They also engage in magical performances, especially under bridges where they do weird stuff like eating broken bottles and testing of knife-repelling charms. At spots like this, they also sell local mixtures prepared for sexual enhancement.

A visit to Hausa settlements around Abule-Egba where a traditional boxing called Dambe (usually for wagers) takes place would provide one with a spectacle. The betting aspect notwithstanding, the fights are a vital part of the Hausa cultural display and entertainment.

However, the aforementioned pale into insignificance at their comparison to an Arewa cultural festival (Arewa is a Hausa language term for north). With the recent staging of the 2019 Arewa Lagos Festival at the Agege Stadium, many Lagosians saw a part of the North they never knew before.

The atmosphere was charged. There were Koroso dancers from faraway Argungu in Kebbi State. Identifying with brown animal skin stripes, they danced to the rhythmic beats of the drums. The bracelets tied around their ankles gave a rhythm of sekere, a musical instrument consisting of a gourd surrounded by a net of beads. Defying natural laws was their show; to their bodies, the sword was softer than wools.

Dambe fighters did battles for glory. Dambe is a Hausa traditional one-handed boxing game. Jamus from Sokoto State, Kudawa from Kano State and Gurumada from Niger State were teams of versed young men in the art of Dambe fight.

Sharo was also performed. It is a Fulani cultural practice where men get flogged with wooden sticks and canes to test their level of endurance and are rewarded with maidens as wives. It could also just be for entertainment.