Kwankwason Jimina Part 1 Complete Hausa Novel

The Early Settlers and the Founding of Bunza
 
The first people to settle in the Bunza area were blacksmiths who migrated from the town of Gafa in search of gold-rich land that they could use to craft decorative ironwork.
 
They were fortunate to discover a land rich in gold, fertile for farming, abundant in water, and surrounded by forests suitable for hunting. The area was also naturally secure, surrounded by large rocks and mountains where the people could climb and hide in case of attack. These mountains included Bunza, Gafa, Fannau, Sarbo, and Denteka.
 
There were also several rivers around the area, such as the Lawuna River and the Nakare River. This abundance of resources and safety attracted many migrants who gradually settled there.
 
Among the first settlers, the most famous was a brave and skilled goldsmith named Bunza, after whom the town was named.
 
The Bunza Hill, which covers approximately 634.209 square kilometers (about 52% of the state’s total land area), dominates the region. The Bunza district also includes the Gafa desert, filled with mountains and rocky terrain.
 
Most of the people in the area are descendants of Lebanese Arabs (Hamidiyya Lebanon) who were displaced centuries ago and brought to Nigeria, where they were settled in Bunza. They multiplied and mixed with Baribari, Fulani, and Hausa tribes.
 
The War Over Gold and the Aftermath
 
Because of its vast gold deposits, many surrounding territories united to plan an invasion of Bunza. These foreign groups demanded that the people of Bunza sell their camps and mining areas, but the Bunza people refused.
 
This led to a major war — multiple regions joined forces and attacked Bunza. The invaders killed many people, shattered rocks, and looted much of the gold. However, the main core of Bunza’s mountain remained unbroken because the attackers failed to notice it from one side.
 
The invasion brought great loss of lives and property. Many families perished, some fled, while others lost their sanity due to the trauma and loss of wealth.
 
After a long time, the people of Bunza recovered and began engaging mainly in the trade of salt and dates. However, in the 1970s, the business of eye-opening tours (sightseeing or cultural exchange) became another major source of livelihood.
 
Despite these developments, traditional culture remained strong — girls did not attend Western schools, and only boys received limited education. Even then, most boys abandoned school to return to farming or inherited manual labor.
 
The little education they received only helped them communicate with foreigners visiting the area, who could not speak Hausa, Fulfulde, or Arabic — so the young men acted as translators in English.
 
Culturally, once girls matured, they were married off early to young men only slightly older than them — often not by choice but by family decision.
 
The Culture, Traditions, and the Story of Nawraah
 
In Bunza, the man’s duty was to farm the land within a few days, while the woman’s duty was to fetch water from a distant river or lagoon, carrying it in large pots to her in-laws’ house — often ten trips per day.
 
The distance between the river and the homes was very far, yet this hard labor was seen as a requirement before marriage. Every boy and girl had to complete their assigned tasks before being allowed to wed — a practice seen as destiny (Kaddara).
 
After this brief history of the Bunza region, the story transitions to the fictional narrative of Nawraah, a young girl from the Hamidiyya Lebanese lineage living in Bunza.
 
Nawraah sits on a small mat, holding a pen and paper as she secretly practices writing the English alphabet “ABCD.” Suddenly, Amnah rushes into the room and signals to her frantically. Nawraah quickly hides her book under the mat and conceals her pen inside her headscarf, pretending innocence.
 
Soon, Yafendo, an older woman using a walking stick, enters, asking about Nawraah’s health. Nawraah fakes a smile, saying she’s fine. When Yafendo leaves, she breathes in relief, retrieves her hidden notebook, and continues practicing.
 
Amnah, her little sister, watches and smiles. Nawraah gives her some money, telling her to go buy something, thankful that Amnah didn’t reveal her secret.
 
Moments later, Layla, another girl, calls Nawraah, reminding her they’ve been sent on an errand to their uncle Bappah Auwalu’s house. Nawraah insists on wearing her hijab before leaving, saying her mother advised that modesty brings lasting honor.
 
As they walk, Layla teases Nawraah, saying she’ll one day get caught reading or writing secretly. Nawraah smiles and replies that she won’t be caught — she dreams of learning, unlike others who reject education.
 
The two girls finally reach their uncle’s house, where they meet him chewing kola nuts. He tells them to follow him to the Dangaki Farm, the largest farm in Bunza — a place traditionally used to train young men and women before marriage.
 
There, the men cultivate their portion of land, while the women fetch water from Rafinrau, the great river also called “the sea,” where over a hundred people are said to drown every year. The water each bride fetches before marriage is used symbolically in her new home — a deep-rooted custom still practiced generation after generation in Bunza.