Re: HausaSpeaking Northern Christian Names: An Onomastic Analysis

Last week’s column attracted a rich cornucopia of responses. There is no space to reproduce all of them here, so I will only publish a few. Although it’s not my tradition to publish reactions to my language column, except in the Q and A columns, I’ll make an exception this week because I specifically invited responses from readers and, most importantly, because the responses I received have enriched the conversation, in my opinion.

For instance, several people wrote to tell me that Rifkatu, which I couldn’t explain in last week’s column, is the Hausa Christian name for Rebecca, which is Rivka in Hebrew and Ribika in Arabic (because there is no “v” in Arabic). I have not been able to put my finger on the phonological logic behind the appearance of “f” in the Hausa version of the name. The terminal “tu” probably mimics the Africanization of female Arab names like Hadijatu (from Khadija), Aishatu (from Aisha), Ramatu (from Rahma), etc. in Muslim societies. I hope someone reading this will help shed further light on this.

I have also been told that I should add a fifth category of Hausa Christian names. Dr. Muhammad Shakir Balogun, an epidemiologist and one of the most remarkable polymaths I’ve ever encountered, called the fifth category names that capture “moral attributes and religious sentiments” (see his comment below) which are nonetheless given in the Hausa language.

I also realized that, without intending to, I disproportionately wrote about male Hausa Christian names. When I rework the article in the future, I will correct this unintentional gender imbalance. A reader offered a brief but rich historical excursion into the personalities and historical influences that shaped the translation of the Bible into Hausa. Others shared personal reflections that redound to the richness of the data. Enjoy:

The translation of the Holy Bible from English to Hausa started in 1854, concretized in 1869 and was completed in 1931 with a review in 1980. Its unadulterated linguistic basis was established by Reverend Bargery who had completed the ‘Kamus’ Hausa-English, EnglishHausa dictionary in 1923 while residing in Koki, Kano.

The main challenge in the translation effort was there was no standardized Hausa, so the team that included the Swiss-born but Cambridge-educated Hans Visher (Dan Hausa of Kano whose residence in Nassarawa is now a National Heritage site), Dr. Walter Miller, Malam Abdulmajid Samaila, Dan Galadiman Zazzau Peter Omar Tafida, Sarkin Ayyukan Zazzau Bulus Audu, Dai Iyan Zazzau Nuhu Bayero, Sarkin Wusasa Paul Amfani and so many others too numerous to mention here factored certain phrases to act as a binder across the Hausa people for instance in ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ (Addu’a Ubangiji) “…give us our daily bread” which is translated as “…ka ba mu rananga abincin yini”.

Interestingly, the missionaries perfected their Hausa not in the colonial contours of what was to become Nigeria but in Tripoli because the Sokoto caliphate was in the process of being studied to be subsequently conquered piecemeal, so due to the large immigrant population of diverse Hausa speakers to and from pilgrimage to Mecca and Madina and settled business men and their families, the missionaries started their translation work in Libya.

The likes of Malam Umaru Fate worked directly from the Arabic Bible as a crosscheck with the various liberated slaves from across all the Hausa-speaking populace (the first set of converts) as sounding board.

There were also aspects like “Peace be upon you” which Muslims eventually adopted from their Christian neighbors in Arabia 600 years before Islam was established but in the first Hausa Bible edition put as - ‘Salama a gare ku’ but now

There is a category of names that are just Hausa words for moral attributes and religious sentiments. They are unique because they are not used by Hausa Muslims. Such as Murna (Joy), Godiya (Gratitude), Alheri (Grace), Bishara (Glad tidings), etc. My younger sister attended Baba Alhamdu in Kano for a few terms. It is an ECWA-owned school. I suspect the ‘Alhamdu’ is from Arabic (meaning ‘praise’), via Hausa. Saratu is Sarah, Iliyasu is Elias.

I went to high school in a community of Hausa-speaking Christians in a White missionary (SUM) establishment. So many of my classmates had Hausa Christian names such as Alheri--Grace. In fact, our Sunday morning service was in Hausa and we read from a Hausa Bible and sang hymns in Hausa. One of my favorite hymns, “There shall be showers of blessings,” still pops up in my head as “Albarka cin Allah na