NEWSROYALE Jubilation as Emir Sanusi leads colourful Sallah durbar in Kano
As early as 6:30 am on Sallah day, Friday, September 1, 2017, hundreds of Muslim faithful thronged the famous Kofar Fatalwa to accompany the Emir of Kano, Malam Muhammadu Sanusi ll to the Kofar Mata Eid-el ground for the usual congregational prayer.
At exactly 7:29am, the Yanbindiga, acting on the instruction of their leader, Sarkin Yanbindiga, popularly known as Maitafari, fired several gunshots to announce to the people that the emir was set for the Eid-el prayer ground.
Few seconds after the traditional gun salute, the emir, who dressed in complete white colourful regalia, with a white sword and bakan dabo, came out from the palace through Kofar-Fatalwa and led the crowd to the Eid-el prayer ground.
Sanusi led the entourage to Kofar Mata, through Sabon-Titi, passing through the Murtala Muhammad Special Hospital to Kofar Mata, and finally to the Eid-el prayer ground.
The emir led other worshippers in the two raka’at prayer, delivered his sermon and slaughtered his Sallah ram before he rode a white decorated horse and led the entourage back to the palace in a colourful and attractive procession, amidst cheerful singing and dancing by local drummers.
However, in compliance to the teachings of Islam, the emir and his entourage returned to the palace through different routes. From the Eid-el prayer ground, the crowd moved to Kofar-Wambai, Zage, then to Yan Gamadan and Gidan Shatima, where the emir had a stopover and exchanged greetings with the state governor, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, top government functionaries and diplomats.
From Gidan Shatima, Emir Sanusi ll moved to Kofar Kwaru and joined his district heads and other horse riders, who were waiting for his arrival to deliver his annual Sallah message to the people of Kano.
In his Sallah message, the emir urged Nigerians to desist from the culture of rumour mongering in order to foster peace and unity in the country. He said rumour mongering was the source of hatred, disunity and crisis; hence it should be avoided to ensure harmony among Nigerians irrespective of religion or ethnic affiliations.
“I am appealing to Nigerians, irrespective of religion and ethnic background, to desist from the habit of rumour mongering. Rather, we should imbibe the culture of promoting peace and unity among ourselves,” he said.
He urged Nigerians to always think positively, as according to him, no society can develop while its people promote disunity and hatred. The emir also urged the youth in the country to be skillful in order to reduce dependency on government.
“It is high time our youth stopped relying on government for living. They should rather use their talents to initiate something they can rely upon to earn their living. Government cannot provide jobs to all,” he said.
Emir Sanusi, who expressed concern over the high cost of foodstuff, called on government and wealthy individuals to help the needy, as according to him, the poor were in dire need of assistance in that respect.
“Alhamdulillah, we are anticipating a bomber harvest this year, and I hope that at the end of the harvest period, the price of foodstuff would fall to the level that many people can afford,” he said.
He appealed to the public to ensure constant sanitation in their respective homes, offices, market places etc, in order to prevent malaria and other communicable diseases from spreading.
The mini horse procession from the Eid-el prayer ground to Kofar Kwaru has always been the beginning of Hawan Sallah or Sallah Durbar (a special horse riding) in Kano State for several decades. The procession is part of the annual Sallah festivities in the state.
On Saturday, September 2, 2017, hundreds of horse riders converged on Kofar-Kwaru for the traditional Hawan Daushe, the second horse procession after Hawan Idi/Sallah. Hawan Daushe is much longer than Hawan Idi.
As usual, the Yanbindiga fired several gun salutes to announce to other riders that the emir was set for the traditional procession. It was gathered that Hawan Daushe was introduced to Kano during the reign of Muhammadu Rumfa in 1400. The procession was said to be introduced to avail the people of Kano city of an opportunity to see the emir during Sallah festivities.
This time around, the emir came out from the palace through Kofar Kwaru. He was surrounded by Giwar Sarki, a team of unflinching loyal courtiers and special guards. The Giwar Sarki team comprises of Shamaki, Sallama, Dan-Rimi, Kilishi, Sarkin Dogarai and Makaman DanRimi, among others.
Behind the emir was a local band mounted on camels. The main function of these drummers is to make the procession lively with their tambourines and other local drums. The procession was highly organised and conducted based on the hierarchical order of the district heads, who also dressed in different colourful attires and riding on the back of decorated horses.
Throughout the procession, the emir’s horse will remain at the centre, with hefty and dreaded local guards protecting him. The Yanbindiga group leads the procession, followed by Yankwalkwali, Yansilke and then Dogarai, the emir’s local guards and other horse riders.
Hawan Daushe was initially a short ride from the palace to Babban Daki (residence of emir’s mother) located in Gwangwazo quarters. It was the emir’s first outing during Sallah, purposely to pay homage to his mother. But later, the tradition was modified and made much longer than it was before.
As the tradition demands, Emir Sanusi kick-started this year’s Hawan Daushe from Kofar-Kwaru at exactly 4:30pm. He moved from Kofar Kwaru through Gidan Kabara to Koguna, then to Gidan Shatima, where he stopped over and allowed his district heads and other horse riders to move to Babban Daki, another destination for the emir’s second stopover.
Wherever the emir met a crowd, he would stop and receive cheers from them before moving forward. He first stopped at the Asiya Bayero Hospital and received greetings from his district heads and moved on. Again, the procession was full of mini dramas by local musicians, dancers and drummers, who added value to the procession in various ways.
The entourage passed through Sabon-Titi, Galadanchi, Diso, TudunWazirchi and finally stopped at Babban Daki, where he disembarked from his horse and entered the house to greet his mother.
While he was inside Babban Daki, the district heads and other horse riders moved to Kofar-Kudu in an oragnised procession and waited for the emir. On arrival at Kofar Kudu, the emir stayed at a particular spot and received traditional greetings by horse riders called Jahi, from the district heads and other horse riders.
Like other processions, Hawan Daushe also ended with a series of gun salute by the Yanbindiga.
In Kano, durbar is always observed during the Sallah period, Eid-el fitr and Eid-el Kabir respectively. It is made up of five different processions - Hawan idi/ Sallah, Hawan Nasarawa, Hawan Daushe, Hawan Dorayi and Hawan Panisau.
Daily Trust on Sunday gathered that Hawan Panisau and Hawan Dorayi are interchangeable. The Hawan Panisau is observed only during Eid-el Kabir, while Hawan Dorayi is observed every Eid-el Fitr.