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ARCHIVING HAUSA POPULAR ENTERTAINMENT THROUGH NEW MEDIA TECHNOLOGY: AN ASSESSMENT OF THE RECREATION OF RUWAN BAGAJA INTO VIDEO MOVIE BY DR. (MRS) ASABE KABIR USMAN asabekabir@yahoo. com DEPARTMENT OF MODERN EUROPEAN LANGUAGES AND LINGUISTICS USMANU DANFODIYO UNIVERSITY, SOKOTO. SOKOTO STATE. NIGERIA. Abstract The Hausa people are the largest ethnic group found in northern Nigeria. They are found in areas of Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, Zaria as well as other parts of north western and north central Nigeria.
The Hausa language is one of the widely spoken languages of black Africa. The Hausawa as they are called by other tribes have a controversial historical origin but the Bayajidda legend is held by Hausa folklorists and anthropologists to be the true account of their emergence. The media as a system of communication is a constituent feature directly linked to the processes of globalisation of culture due to its role in mediating a range of aspects of popular culture like the film, dance, music and other aesthetic expressions.
New media technology a recent terminology is a general term used to refer to those digital media which are interactive, incorporate two-way communication and involve some form of computing as opposed to ‘old media’ such as telephone, radio, and television. The frequent use of oral traditions by the Hausa people has proved that they are inevitable aspects of Hausa culture. One very important genre of Hausa oral tradition is the narrative/folktale a form of popular entertainment, which the Hausa people call tatsuniya.
Since the advent of the Hausa movie industry it has served as one of the significant source materials for the popular Hausa video movie. Targeted mainly at, but not restricted to children, the traditional tatsuniya reflects the cultural and social life of the Hausa people, at the same time drawing attention to the salient aspects of Hausa culture and how to live it according to set down ocietal norms and values. This paper therefore attempts an assessment of the recreation of the traditional Hausa folktale Ruwan Bagaja into movie using the power of new media technology which is spreading and developing fast in many communities and societies the world over in an era of globalization thereby bringing many changes to cultural values . – INTRODUCTION
Globalisation must be understood as a series of new dynamics that promote new cultural and social networks and conflicts both locally and transnational (Hjarvard, 2003,p. 7). Globalisation implies a great mobility of cultural impulses, signs, and messages across the world. In the 1990s there was a sudden increase in the need for films and videos, resulting in the growth of new supplementary markets worldwide and the release of material in other formats.
Perhaps the first of these was the computer CD-ROM, which permitted interactivity with the user; but its capacity was insufficient for feature-length films and its use for films and television shows was not all-embracing, but the current multimedia technology which is the DVD (digital video disc or digital versatile disc) has proved competent of delivering digital quality pictures and sound for full-length feature films with enhanced features such as alternate versions, other languages, notes and biographies of participants and surround sound.
Subsequently, many films and movies are today released on DVDs. This contemporary revolution in media communication technology has also had a remarkable impact in the field of popular entertainment in Hausa society; this new trend in technology has enabled a wide range of changes in the way oral literary genres are transmitted and documented to reach a larger audience. Thus, literary genres that were a few years ago termed archaic and restricted to a small local audience are now viewed globally.
Though the Hausa video movie is a recent development in Nigeria compared to their Igbo and Yoruba counterparts, it has become an avenue through which the Hausa people sustain and archive their various forms of popular entertainments. One such popular entertainment that has been used is the narrative/folktale. The narrative/folktale has from time been one of the medium through which the Hausa people like other Africans, hand down their tradition and culture, educate their children and entertain them. The traditional narrative as a enre contains orderly creative accounts of events presented as if they actually occurred and the fictional world that is captured by folktales seem so real. The most clearly spelt out reason why folktales are narrated by the Hausa people is for amusement and entertainment. It is popular, that is to say created by and for the people. From the 1990s to the present, the development and patronage of digital DVD players, home theatre amplification systems with large LCD or plasma screens have made it convenient for those who can, to view movies and films with great ease, and improvement in audio and visual production.
These new media technologies provided viewers with larger and clearer windscreens which could provide high quality audio and visual to viewers. Narratives/Folktales in Hausa Society Narratives/folktales as a genre of folklore contain orderly creative accounts of events presented as if they actually occurred. “They are regarded as fiction, they are not considered as dogmas or history; they may or may not have happened and they are not to be taken seriously” (Bascom, 1992, p. 97).
Emeaba (1987) believes, narratives/folktales originates among a particular people and is handed down in oral and recently in written form from generation through generations. Folktales could therefore include fairy tales, animal tales, tall tales, fables, trickster tales and explanatory tales to mention just a few of its categories. Amusement or entertainment is the first and obvious function of folktales; as the tales are told the funny ones among the stories make listeners roar with laughter, they are carried into the fanciful lands of talking trees and talking animals; a land where impossible things can be done or can happen.
The existence of narratives/folktales is quite evident in Hausa Land because they are to a great extent “the mirror of life, they reflect what people think, how they live and have lived, their values, their joys and sorrows. They are also a means of articulating man’s response to his environment, for example, his observations of nature, his speculation about life and death and his judgment upon human relation” (Bichi, 1978, p. 10). The Hausa people call folktales Tatsuniyoyi (Sing.
Tatsuniya), if they are ordinary folktales; Almara if they are dilemma tales; Labaru (sing Labari) if they are legends, or Kissoshi (sing. Kissa) or Hikayoyi (sing. Hikaya) if they involve religious elements such are prophets, angels and jinns. Folktales also produce insight into the values and beliefs of the people. Approach The structural functional approach to the study of Oral Literature would be used in this paper. This is the study of folklore which lays emphasis to the social significance of folklore in the light of its contextual background (Yahaya, 1979, p. 19).
This would clearly demonstrate the social roles of narrative/folktale as source of popular entertainment in reflecting the way of life of a group of people thereby the need to preserve it for cultural continuity. Therefore the folktale Ruwan Bagaja would be analysed in the context in which it is used in Hausa Society. In translating the folktale into the English language, we employed the contextual method of translation. This method allows the basic principle of creativity taking into consideration verbal elements and the linguistic cultures of the two languages involved.
It therefore “provides a translator with all the chances of rendering the meaning which is relatively equivalent to the source Language”(Sarbi 2008, p. 96). This way the listeners or readers can easily understand the message without distortion. The Folktale, Ruwan Bagaja( River Bagaja) Traditionally, the Hausa people have good tales and taletellers, as have most past and present societies around the world who are rooted in oral cultures and traditions.
They are primarily oral peoples, and their art forms are oral rather than literary and have remained living traditions that continue to evolve and flourish today even with technological advancement. One of the most beloved folktales that have existed over time is the Cinderella story which is classified as an Aarne Thompson type 510A of folktale. Cinderella is known throughout the world among many different cultures, though her name may be different, the elements of the story remain essentially the same. She is always a young girl persecuted by a step mother or an adoptive family after the loss of her mother.
The father in the story is usually absent or rather neglectful, blind to her plight and ignorant of her circumstances. The Cinderella character is always depicted as possessing all the desired qualities in a woman, selfishness, faithfulness, loyalty, duty bound, honourable, meek and modest as well as possessing physical beauty. She is the representation of all the morals that society has timelessly prized and valued in women; as a result, she is rewarded for her goodness in the end with great riches and happiness.
Though the story has changed throughout the centuries, the themes in the story are intact and have inspired generations of storytellers. The still-popular story of Cinderella continues to influence popular culture internationally, lending plot elements and allusions to a wide variety of media. In Hausa society, one similar folktale that is well-known to embody the myth-like element of Cinderella is Ruwan Bagaja. Many prose fictional writers have documented different variants of the story as they are known through time.
One such literary writer is the late Ibrahim Yaro Yahaya who also gave his story the title “Ruwan Bagaja” in his collection of Hausa traditional story readers series; Tatsuniyoyi da Wasanni (1971). The story centers on a man who had two wives, Bora and Mowa and each had a daughter. Mowa was the queen of the house and Bora was made to do all the domestic chores. When she cooks, Mowa eats up the best part and leaves Bora with the left over. One day Mowa’s daughter soiled the bed spread; but at dawn, Bora’s daughter was accused and told to go and wash the bed spread at River Bagaja.
Bora’s daughter took the bed spread and made for the river. On the way, she met River Guinea Corn which was filled with soup and meat. She then sang; River, river, are you River Bagaja Precious Bagaja of royalties I was asked to come and wash this bed spread at River Bagaja The river then replied, “no young girl, I am not River Bagaja, I am River guinea corn filled with soup and meat. If you want to eat you can do so. ” The girl said, “No I will not eat I am okay”. The river then said, ” go along, River Bagaja is far ahead”.
The little girl went along and got to River rice flour with soup and meat. She sang the same song she had sang earlier on and the river asked her to get along since she had refused to eat. She went on walking and passed several other rivers of honey, rice flour cake, wheat flour cake and whenever she was asked to eat she would politely refuse. After a long walk she finally got to River Bagaja and the river permitted her to wash her bed spread. Hardly had she began washing when it started raining, she looked round and saw a lone hut; she rushed there, knocked and went in. he was surprised to see a dog and a human leg. The leg said, “kn kn” and the dog told her that the leg wanted to know what had brought here there and she narrated her story to them. The leg further asked to go out and get a grain of rice and a single bone which she was to cook. She did as she was asked and when it was cooked she saw that the rice and bone had filled the pot and she was asked to eat her fill and she did so. She stayed with them for several days and then took her leave. When she was leaving, the leg gave her two eggs and asked her to choose one, she chose the small egg.
She was asked to break the egg only if no one responded to her request of breaking the egg. She thanked them and left. She did as she was asked and she emerged triumphant and was taken home on horseback with lot of wealth and goodies. The step mother instantly became jealous and asked her daughter to wet her bed spread. Just like her step sister she was asked to wash the spread at River Bagaja; but because she was greedy, dishonest, and so rude she was punished and rewarded with lepers, the blind and the disabled of every kind on donkeys and she was disgraced.
The Development of the Hausa Movie Industry Since the early 1990s, the Nigerian movie industry, popularly called “Nollywood,” has released thousands of titles and brought many producers, marketers, actors, and technicians into the limelight. The video movie has become a household name in contemporary Nigeria and has become a popular form of entertainment. Thus, when the home video replaced other forms as a more powerful source of popular entertainment, it became instantly accepted.
The origin and development of the Hausa video movie industry known as Kannywood, can be traced to the local theatre tradition known as the open air drama groups/clubs found in big cities in the early 1970s. Some of these drama clubs started to get involved in the production of television soap operas and in the recording of their stage performances on video (Adamu 2002). With these developments recreational video production operation emerged and these later translated to what is today known as the Nigerian home video.
Subsequently, towards the end of the 1980s video movie had become a leading technological medium of transmitting popular entertainment. Haynes and Okome, 1997; Adamu 2002; Behrend 2005; Furniss 2003, 2005; Johnson 1997; Krings 2005a, 2005b; Larkin 1997a, 1997b, 2003, 2004, 2005 have among many others commented on the rise of the video movie industry in Nigeria and have in different ways shown how not only the culture and tradition of a society affects the movies but also the different elements that aided the rise and development of the video movie industry. The first successful Hausa home video according to Adamu (2002, p. 06) was Turmi Danya which was produced in 1990 by Ibrahim Mandawari then president of the Tumbin Giwa Drama group. Indian movies, western movies, Hausa popular literature, known as ‘Kano Market Literature’ or littattafan soyayya which developed as a revival of Hausa literature in the mid-1980s and was getting more popular especially among women readers at the end of the 1980s (Adamu 2002); have at one time or the other formed source materials for Hausa movies. Another very important source material for the video movies is the traditional narrative/folktale which will be the focus of this paper.
The Video Movie, Ruwan Bagaja ( Plot) Written by None Produced by Sale Muhammad (Roosy) Directed by Iliyasu Abdulmumin (Tantiri) Cover Design Khalifa C. B. C. Daneji Marketed & distributed by Nagari & sons Enterprises LTD Running time 78 minutes Released date 2008 CAST Sadiya Muammad Ladiyo
Zainab Umar Uwani Shuaibu Lawan Ilu Baballe Hayatu Musa Hussaini Sule Koki Mallam Ali Rabiu Ali Habu Yahanasu Sani Zulai Maryam Tahir Hamma Ladin Cima Gwoggo Aminu Ari Mallam Boka Awwalu Marshal Carbi
Lubabatu Madaki Inna Lawal M. Adams Musa’s Friend Adamu Umar Mujaheed Habu’s Friend The movie spans several scenes. First we are introduced to Mallam’s house, where the differences in the status of his two wives were clearly spelt out. Zulai, the first was the favourite and she ruled the home front with a tight fist while Hamma the second was the despised wife who did all the household chores and was unfairly treated by the husband and first wife.
As the story unfolds we learn that the family is childless and upon Zulia’s request, Mallam went to a spiritualist for medication and he was given medicinal herbs which would make Zulai pregnant. Ironically, though Hamma was refused the treatment she got the opportunity of taking a sip from the herbal calabash and two months later both wives become pregnant to the dismay of the husband, the first wife and Gwoggo, Mallam’s mother. To show his displeasure of both wives getting pregnant, Mallam refused to pay the spiritualist.
Both wives put to bed at almost the same time, but Zulai was delivered first and we were shown how Hamma helped her during labour pains but she on the other hand refused to help Hamma when she was in labour. Both gave birth to daughters, Ladiyo to Zulai and Uwani to Hamma. The setting of the story takes us to sixteen years later. Both daughters are grown up, but the subjugation and unfair treatment against Hamma has not changed. Her daughter also faces the same plight. While she is made to do all the house chores and allowed no social life, Ladiyo is allowed to visit friends and is given the best of everything.
When Ladiyo got a suitor, Uwani’s aunty Inna also suggested that her successful son should marry Uwani so as to ease the unfair treatment being faced by her sister and her daughter. Meanwhile Ladiyo’s suitor backs out from the engagement because of Zulia’s bad character that was the talk of the village and frowned at by everyone. To further frustrate Hamma and her daughter, Uwani, Zulai decided to poison their food; but alas Uwani’s cousin and suitor took the poisoned meal and died. One day, Uwani came across the prince, Musa who proposed to her.
Her joy was short lived because not long after, she was accused of soiling the bed spread which Ladiyo had soiled. As punishment, her father asked her to seek for River Bagaja, a mythical river which no one had ever seen to wash the soiled spreads or remain forever banned from the village. Sad and disillusioned, Uwani bid her mum goodbye and went in search of the river. On the way Uwani met an old man who rewarded her for her respect and polite nature. He directed her towards River Bagaja and disappeared. Uwani came across rivers wheat cake, bread cake, milk etc; but when asked to eat from the rivers she always refused.
Finally she got to River Bagaja and was permitted to wash her bed spread. At the end of it all she was given two eggs to choose one; she chose the small one and was ordered to break the egg only if no one responded to her request of breaking the egg. She did as she was asked and she emerged triumphant and was taken home on horseback with royal status. Her mum, dad and friends welcomed her with joy. Out of spite Zulai also claimed that her daughter had soiled the bed spread and requested the husband to allow Ladiyo go to River Bagaja. Against his will he consented.
Like Uwani, Ladiyo met rivers of different delicacies but unlike her sister she took time to eat everything offered her until she got to River Bagaja; and when asked to choose an egg, she chose the big one and her stubborn character made her break the egg where she was asked not to. And behold! She was visited by the physically challenged who escorted her on donkey backs home. Her father rejected her; the mother disowned her before running out of the compound raving with madness. The prince, Musa formally asked for Uwani’s hand in marriage and everything ended happily.
Ruwan Bagaja: An Assessment of the Recreation Narratives/Folktales serve as a means of cultural reflection of the society in which they are told; through tales, the culture of the people is seen. Hausa narratives/folktales contain the total traditional set up of the society such as friendship, family life and administrative set up, kinship etc; “both in the tales and the manner of their telling, situation after situation occurs which leads easily and naturally into discussions of what people actually do and what their belief systems are all of which throw much light on the total culture” (Herskovits, 1961, p. 9). Similarly, Boas (1935, p. xxvii) believes in the tales of a people, those incidents of everyday life that are of importance to them will appear either incidentally or as a basis of a plot. Most of the references to the mode of life of the people will be an accurate reflection of their habits; no wonder Hausa folktales have been used as source material for their written Literatures. Therefore, the traditional popular Hausa tatsuniya has culminated into the much acclaimed popular video movie entertainment in Hausa society.
Though most Hausa narratives serve as a form of entertainment, they are also used for instructing, shaping of characters, and preparing the young for adult roles (Nkata, 2001). The folktale represents the traditional medium, which is a live interactive performance between the tale teller and the audience/listeners while the movie represents the modern medium, an extended version of the tale which requires technology to be realized. In the movie the themes are developed to reflect and comment on Hausa social life.
It depicts clearly a typical Hausa polygamous setting with the tensions, disharmony and upheavals associated with such homes; where co-wives fight each other or even go an extra length to harm each other’s children. The very first scene illustrates such a setting where the senior wife had turned the second wife into a slave. All through the movie, scene after scene depicts the trauma associated with polygamy. We also see the portrayal of men as unjust husbands, preferring one wife to the other and even showing preference to the children of the favoured wife.
This is clearly seen in Mallam’s character. His preference for Zulai was very evident, saw nothing wrong in her maltreatment of Hamma. He even ordered Hamma to obey Zulai as if she were the husband ignoring the fact that Hamma should equally be treated as his wife. When Hamma became pregnant, he did not hide his displeasure, refusing even to pay the medicine man for giving him the herb that got both wives pregnant instead of one. Surprisingly, he did not deny the pregnancy. When Uwani was born, Mallam treated her as if she were not his daughter.
She was treated differently from Ladiyo her sister and when Zulai claimed that it was Uwani who had soiled the bed spreads, he believed her and sent Uwani on a mission of no return despite protests from Hamma. But, ironically Hamma and her daughter became the loved ones after her triumphant return, and Zulai and her daughter were rejected by the husband when they were disgraced. The movie also depicts the evil attempt of co-wives in Hausa society who seek the help of spiritualists in order to harm the other.
This is seen when Zulai visited the spiritualist requesting for powers to harm Hamma and her daughter. Even though the intended targets were spared, a loved one, Uwani’s suitor lost his life. Another aspect of the Hausa way of life shown in the movie is in the dressing of the characters. All the characters are portrayed in Hausa cultural outfits which conform to the traditional rural life in which the story is set. The artifacts seen in the movie like mortar and pestle, the thatched mud buildings, pottery, and utensils all reflect Hausa social life.
An aspect of life attached to the ruling class can also be seen in the movie; the prince, Musa is depicted even in informal situation in his royal regalia and royal tone of talking thereby giving us an insight into the way of life of Hausa royalties. Showcasing the Dandali, the traditional Hausa play ground where young boys and girls play different games during the moonlight nights, spells out a part of Hausa culture where songs with accompanying Hausa music is reflected.
The moral messages explored by the themes in the movie reflect many values of the Hausa society like, honesty, hard work, leading to achievement, perseverance, courage, respect for elders, obedience to the society and consideration for others. Both Hamma and Uwani were depicted as courageous even when denied, hard working even when incapable, obedient even to those they did not know, persevered when humiliated, respectful even to those beneath them; all these qualities culminated to make them triumphant at the end of the story. Zulai and her daughter on the other hand lost out because they refused to abide by set down Hausa societal values.
Through this movie, knowledge, values and attitudes about Hausa life are transmitted and expressed indirectly metaphorically. We therefore gained from it insights into behaviour, derive from it commentaries on happenings that reveal the system of value under which the culture functions. Indeed, the movie has made one of its greatest humanistic contributions because in it we were able to learn certain moral lessons that warn people not to break the norms of the society. It has also depicted structure of the Hausa traditional society in general and the position of certain class of people.
The movie could also be said to have provided models through which people can verbalize the relationship and constitutions of the Hausa traditional society. Conclusion New media technology is a broad term which refers to those digital media which are interactive, incorporate two-way communication and involve some form of computing. The narrative/folktale as a genre of oral literature is generally defined as an imaginary adventure narration with a didactic notion. It is popular, that is to say created by and for the people; it is a participatory act that occurs between the people/ listener and the storyteller.
Traditionally, it is orally transmitted from generation to generation. The narrative/folktale as a form of popular entertainment in Hausa society is alive as seen in this paper, and has proven to be a rich source material for video movies, a new invention in media technology that came about due to globalization. It “has proliferated so much that today it is the most vibrant sector of the Nigerian media and contemporary video culture has created a distinctly new media era which interacts with older forms of the mass media and popular culture” (Larkin, 1997, p. 10). Video movies are not only popular in native Nigeria and other African countries, but in less than twenty years they have attracted the attention of many media practitioners, film festivals, and some American and European universities. In fact, DSTV (Digital Satellite Television), a digital satellite service in Africa, features “Magic World” (Channel 112), “African Magic” (Channel 114) African Magic Plus (Channel 115) all channels devoted to Nollywood films.
Therefore, it is safe to conclude that the folktale Ruwan Bagaja and the movie depict a metaphorical relationship between the relics of the past and the new images of the contemporary world. This way the audience are given a refreshed judgment of happenings, because it is only when images of contemporary realities are recreated that the version becomes reality. Thus by employing new media in recreating the folktale just as was done with Ruwan Bagaja, a popular form of entertainment in Hausa society would be archived before it is lost totally to the forces of modernization. References Adamu, Y.
M. (2002) “Between the word and the screen: A historical perspective on the Hausa Literary Movement and the Home Video Invasion” in Journal of African Cultural Studies, 15, 195-207. Bascom, W. R. (1992). African Folktales in The New World. Indiana: Indiana University Press. Bichi, A. Y. (1978). “Annotated Collections of Hausa Folktales from Nigeria. ” M. A Thesis (Unpublished). Indiana: Indiana University. Boas, F. (1936). “Kwakaill Culture as Reflected on Mythology” in American Folklore Society Memoir. Xxvii. Emeaba,E. O. (1987). Dictionary of Literature. Aba: Inteks. Furniss, G. (2003).
Hausa Popular Literature and Video Film: The Rapid Rise of Cultural Production in Times of Economic Declin. Arbeitspapiere No. 27, Mainz: Johannes Gutenberg Universitat. Furniss, G. (2005). “‘Video and the Hausa Novella in Nigeria”. Social Identities. 11, 89-112. Herskovitis, M. (1961). “The Study of African Oral Art” in Folklore Research around the World. (Indiana University Folklore Series No 16). Bloomington: University of Bloomington. Johnson, D. (1997). Culture and Art in Hausa Video Films’, in Haynes (ed. ). Nigerian Video Films. Jos: Nigerian Film Corporation. Krings, M. (2005a), ‘Verfuhrung oder Bekehrung?
Zensur und Islam in nordnigerianischen Videodiskursen’, Sociologus. Zeitschrift fur empirische Ethnosoziologie und Ethno-psychologie, 55, 61-88. (2005b), ‘Bollywood/Kannywood. Mediale Transfers und populare Videos in Nigeria’, in G. Blaseio, H. Pompe & J. Ruchatz (eds. ), Popularisierung und Popularitat. Koln: Dumont. Hjarvard, S. (2003). Media in a globalised society. Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press. Larkin, B. (1997a). “Indian Films and Nigerian Lovers. Media and the Creation of Parallel Modernity”. Africa. 67, 406-440. 17. (1997b). “Hausa Dramas and the Rise of the Video culture in Nigeria”, in Haynes. (ed). Nigerian Video Films.
Jos: Nigerian Film Corporation. (2003). “Itineraries of Indian cinema: African Videos, Bollywood and Global Media”. in Shohat and Stam (eds). Multiculturalism, Poscolonialty, and Transnational Media. New Bunswick: Rutgers University Press. (2004), Degraded Images, Distorted Sounds: Nigerian Video and the Infrastructure of Piracy. Public Culture. 16, 289-314. (2005). Nigerian Video: Infrastructure of Piracy. Politique Africaine. 100, 146-164 Nkata, D. (2001). Continuity and Change in Story Telling: Children’s Stories in Uganda’s Past and Present. Paper, presented at the 15th IRSCC Benniel Conference: Warmbatha, South Africa. 0-24 August. Sarbi, S. A. (2008). Studies in Translation. Kano: Samarib Publishers. Skinner, N. (1980). An Anthology of Hausa Literature. Zaria: NNPC. Thompson, S. (1966). Motif Index of Folk-Literature. (6vols). Indiana: University Press. Yahaya, I. Y. (1971). Tatsoniyoyi da Wassani. (1-6). Ibadan: Oxford University Press. Yahaya, I. Y(1979),”Oral Art and the Socialization Process”. (Unpublished) PhD Thesis. ABU Zaria. ARCHIVING HAUSA POPULAR ENTERTAINMENT THROUGH NEW MEDIA TECHNOLOGY: AN ASSESSMENT OF THE RECREATION OF RUWAN BAGAJA INTO VIDEO MOVIE BY DR. (MRS) ASABE KABIR USMAN asabekabir@yahoo. om DEPARTMENT OF MODERN EUROPEAN LANGUAGES AND LINGUISTICS USMANU DANFODIYO UNIVERSITY, SOKOTO. SOKOTO STATE. NIGERIA. Abstract The Hausa people are the largest ethnic group found in northern Nigeria. They are found in areas of Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, Zaria as well as other parts of north western and north central Nigeria. The Hausa language is one of the widely spoken languages of black Africa. The Hausawa as they are called by other tribes have a controversial historical origin but the Bayajidda legend is held by Hausa folklorists and anthropologists to be the true account of their emergence.
The media as a system of communication is a constituent feature directly linked to the processes of globalisation of culture due to its role in mediating a range of aspects of popular culture like the film, dance, music and other aesthetic expressions. New media technology a recent terminology is a general term used to refer to those digital media which are interactive, incorporate two-way communication and involve some form of computing as opposed to ‘old media’ such as telephone, radio, and television.
The frequent use of oral traditions by the Hausa people has proved that they are inevitable aspects of Hausa culture. One very important genre of Hausa oral tradition is the narrative/folktale a form of popular entertainment, which the Hausa people call tatsuniya. Since the advent of the Hausa movie industry it has served as one of the significant source materials for the popular Hausa video movie.
Targeted mainly at, but not restricted to children, the traditional tatsuniya reflects the cultural and social life of the Hausa people, at the same time drawing attention to the salient aspects of Hausa culture and how to live it according to set down societal norms and values. This paper therefore attempts an assessment of the recreation of the traditional Hausa folktale Ruwan Bagaja into movie using the power of new media technology which is spreading and developing fast in many communities and societies the world over in an era of globalization thereby bringing many changes to cultural values . INTRODUCTION Globalisation must be understood as a series of new dynamics that promote new cultural and social networks and conflicts both locally and transnational (Hjarvard, 2003,p. 7). Globalisation implies a great mobility of cultural impulses, signs, and messages across the world. In the 1990s there was a sudden increase in the need for films and videos, resulting in the growth of new supplementary markets worldwide and the release of material in other formats.
Perhaps the first of these was the computer CD-ROM, which permitted interactivity with the user; but its capacity was insufficient for feature-length films and its use for films and television shows was not all-embracing, but the current multimedia technology which is the DVD (digital video disc or digital versatile disc) has proved competent of delivering digital quality pictures and sound for full-length feature films with enhanced features such as alternate versions, other languages, notes and biographies of participants and surround sound.
Subsequently, many films and movies are today released on DVDs. This contemporary revolution in media communication technology has also had a remarkable impact in the field of popular entertainment in Hausa society; this new trend in technology has enabled a wide range of changes in the way oral literary genres are transmitted and documented to reach a larger audience. Thus, literary genres that were a few years ago termed archaic and restricted to a small local audience are now viewed globally.
Though the Hausa video movie is a recent development in Nigeria compared to their Igbo and Yoruba counterparts, it has become an avenue through which the Hausa people sustain and archive their various forms of popular entertainments. One such popular entertainment that has been used is the narrative/folktale. The narrative/folktale has from time been one of the medium through which the Hausa people like other Africans, hand down their tradition and culture, educate their children and entertain them.
The traditional narrative as a genre contains orderly creative accounts of events presented as if they actually occurred and the fictional world that is captured by folktales seem so real. The most clearly spelt out reason why folktales are narrated by the Hausa people is for amusement and entertainment. It is popular, that is to say created by and for the people.
From the 1990s to the present, the development and patronage of digital DVD players, home theatre amplification systems with large LCD or plasma screens have made it convenient for those who can, to view movies and films with great ease, and improvement in audio and visual production. These new media technologies provided viewers with larger and clearer windscreens which could provide high quality audio and visual to viewers. Narratives/Folktales in Hausa Society Narratives/folktales as a genre of folklore contain orderly creative accounts of events presented as if they actually occurred. They are regarded as fiction, they are not considered as dogmas or history; they may or may not have happened and they are not to be taken seriously” (Bascom, 1992, p. 97). Emeaba (1987) believes, narratives/folktales originates among a particular people and is handed down in oral and recently in written form from generation through generations. Folktales could therefore include fairy tales, animal tales, tall tales, fables, trickster tales and explanatory tales to mention just a few of its categories.
Amusement or entertainment is the first and obvious function of folktales; as the tales are told the funny ones among the stories make listeners roar with laughter, they are carried into the fanciful lands of talking trees and talking animals; a land where impossible things can be done or can happen. The existence of narratives/folktales is quite evident in Hausa Land because they are to a great extent “the mirror of life, they reflect what people think, how they live and have lived, their values, their joys and sorrows.
They are also a means of articulating man’s response to his environment, for example, his observations of nature, his speculation about life and death and his judgment upon human relation” (Bichi, 1978, p. 10). The Hausa people call folktales Tatsuniyoyi (Sing. Tatsuniya), if they are ordinary folktales; Almara if they are dilemma tales; Labaru (sing Labari) if they are legends, or Kissoshi (sing. Kissa) or Hikayoyi (sing. Hikaya) if they involve religious elements such are prophets, angels and jinns. Folktales also produce insight into the values and beliefs of the people.
Approach The structural functional approach to the study of Oral Literature would be used in this paper. This is the study of folklore which lays emphasis to the social significance of folklore in the light of its contextual background (Yahaya, 1979, p. 19). This would clearly demonstrate the social roles of narrative/folktale as source of popular entertainment in reflecting the way of life of a group of people thereby the need to preserve it for cultural continuity. Therefore the folktale Ruwan Bagaja would be analysed in the context in which it is used in Hausa Society.
In translating the folktale into the English language, we employed the contextual method of translation. This method allows the basic principle of creativity taking into consideration verbal elements and the linguistic cultures of the two languages involved. It therefore “provides a translator with all the chances of rendering the meaning which is relatively equivalent to the source Language”(Sarbi 2008, p. 96). This way the listeners or readers can easily understand the message without distortion. The Folktale, Ruwan Bagaja( River Bagaja)
Traditionally, the Hausa people have good tales and taletellers, as have most past and present societies around the world who are rooted in oral cultures and traditions. They are primarily oral peoples, and their art forms are oral rather than literary and have remained living traditions that continue to evolve and flourish today even with technological advancement. One of the most beloved folktales that have existed over time is the Cinderella story which is classified as an Aarne Thompson type 510A of folktale.
Cinderella is known throughout the world among many different cultures, though her name may be different, the elements of the story remain essentially the same. She is always a young girl persecuted by a step mother or an adoptive family after the loss of her mother. The father in the story is usually absent or rather neglectful, blind to her plight and ignorant of her circumstances. The Cinderella character is always depicted as possessing all the desired qualities in a woman, selfishness, faithfulness, loyalty, duty bound, honourable, meek and modest as well as possessing physical beauty.
She is the representation of all the morals that society has timelessly prized and valued in women; as a result, she is rewarded for her goodness in the end with great riches and happiness. Though the story has changed throughout the centuries, the themes in the story are intact and have inspired generations of storytellers. The still-popular story of Cinderella continues to influence popular culture internationally, lending plot elements and allusions to a wide variety of media. In Hausa society, one similar folktale that is well-known to embody the myth-like element of Cinderella is Ruwan Bagaja.
Many prose fictional writers have documented different variants of the story as they are known through time. One such literary writer is the late Ibrahim Yaro Yahaya who also gave his story the title “Ruwan Bagaja” in his collection of Hausa traditional story readers series; Tatsuniyoyi da Wasanni (1971). The story centers on a man who had two wives, Bora and Mowa and each had a daughter. Mowa was the queen of the house and Bora was made to do all the domestic chores. When she cooks, Mowa eats up the best part and leaves Bora with the left over.
One day Mowa’s daughter soiled the bed spread; but at dawn, Bora’s daughter was accused and told to go and wash the bed spread at River Bagaja. Bora’s daughter took the bed spread and made for the river. On the way, she met River Guinea Corn which was filled with soup and meat. She then sang; River, river, are you River Bagaja Precious Bagaja of royalties I was asked to come and wash this bed spread at River Bagaja The river then replied, “no young girl, I am not River Bagaja, I am River guinea corn filled with soup and meat. If you want to eat you can do so. ” The girl said, “No I will not eat I am okay”.
The river then said, ” go along, River Bagaja is far ahead”. The little girl went along and got to River rice flour with soup and meat. She sang the same song she had sang earlier on and the river asked her to get along since she had refused to eat. She went on walking and passed several other rivers of honey, rice flour cake, wheat flour cake and whenever she was asked to eat she would politely refuse. After a long walk she finally got to River Bagaja and the river permitted her to wash her bed spread. Hardly had she began washing when it started raining, she looked round and saw a lone hut; she rushed there, knocked and went in. he was surprised to see a dog and a human leg. The leg said, “kn kn” and the dog told her that the leg wanted to know what had brought here there and she narrated her story to them. The leg further asked to go out and get a grain of rice and a single bone which she was to cook. She did as she was asked and when it was cooked she saw that the rice and bone had filled the pot and she was asked to eat her fill and she did so. She stayed with them for several days and then took her leave. When she was leaving, the leg gave her two eggs and asked her to choose one, she chose the small egg.
She was asked to break the egg only if no one responded to her request of breaking the egg. She thanked them and left. She did as she was asked and she emerged triumphant and was taken home on horseback with lot of wealth and goodies. The step mother instantly became jealous and asked her daughter to wet her bed spread. Just like her step sister she was asked to wash the spread at River Bagaja; but because she was greedy, dishonest, and so rude she was punished and rewarded with lepers, the blind and the disabled of every kind on donkeys and she was disgraced.
The Development of the Hausa Movie Industry Since the early 1990s, the Nigerian movie industry, popularly called “Nollywood,” has released thousands of titles and brought many producers, marketers, actors, and technicians into the limelight. The video movie has become a household name in contemporary Nigeria and has become a popular form of entertainment. Thus, when the home video replaced other forms as a more powerful source of popular entertainment, it became instantly accepted.
The origin and development of the Hausa video movie industry known as Kannywood, can be traced to the local theatre tradition known as the open air drama groups/clubs found in big cities in the early 1970s. Some of these drama clubs started to get involved in the production of television soap operas and in the recording of their stage performances on video (Adamu 2002). With these developments recreational video production operation emerged and these later translated to what is today known as the Nigerian home video.
Subsequently, towards the end of the 1980s video movie had become a leading technological medium of transmitting popular entertainment. Haynes and Okome, 1997; Adamu 2002; Behrend 2005; Furniss 2003, 2005; Johnson 1997; Krings 2005a, 2005b; Larkin 1997a, 1997b, 2003, 2004, 2005 have among many others commented on the rise of the video movie industry in Nigeria and have in different ways shown how not only the culture and tradition of a society affects the movies but also the different elements that aided the rise and development of the video movie industry. The first successful Hausa home video according to Adamu (2002, p. 06) was Turmi Danya which was produced in 1990 by Ibrahim Mandawari then president of the Tumbin Giwa Drama group. Indian movies, western movies, Hausa popular literature, known as ‘Kano Market Literature’ or littattafan soyayya which developed as a revival of Hausa literature in the mid-1980s and was getting more popular especially among women readers at the end of the 1980s (Adamu 2002); have at one time or the other formed source materials for Hausa movies. Another very important source material for the video movies is the traditional narrative/folktale which will be the focus of this paper.
The Video Movie, Ruwan Bagaja ( Plot) Written by None Produced by Sale Muhammad (Roosy) Directed by Iliyasu Abdulmumin (Tantiri) Cover Design Khalifa C. B. C. Daneji Marketed & distributed by Nagari & sons Enterprises LTD Running time 78 minutes Released date 2008 CAST Sadiya Muammad Ladiyo
Zainab Umar Uwani Shuaibu Lawan Ilu Baballe Hayatu Musa Hussaini Sule Koki Mallam Ali Rabiu Ali Habu Yahanasu Sani Zulai Maryam Tahir Hamma Ladin Cima Gwoggo Aminu Ari Mallam Boka Awwalu Marshal Carbi
Lubabatu Madaki Inna Lawal M. Adams Musa’s Friend Adamu Umar Mujaheed Habu’s Friend The movie spans several scenes. First we are introduced to Mallam’s house, where the differences in the status of his two wives were clearly spelt out. Zulai, the first was the favourite and she ruled the home front with a tight fist while Hamma the second was the despised wife who did all the household chores and was unfairly treated by the husband and first wife.
As the story unfolds we learn that the family is childless and upon Zulia’s request, Mallam went to a spiritualist for medication and he was given medicinal herbs which would make Zulai pregnant. Ironically, though Hamma was refused the treatment she got the opportunity of taking a sip from the herbal calabash and two months later both wives become pregnant to the dismay of the husband, the first wife and Gwoggo, Mallam’s mother. To show his displeasure of both wives getting pregnant, Mallam refused to pay the spiritualist.
Both wives put to bed at almost the same time, but Zulai was delivered first and we were shown how Hamma helped her during labour pains but she on the other hand refused to help Hamma when she was in labour. Both gave birth to daughters, Ladiyo to Zulai and Uwani to Hamma. The setting of the story takes us to sixteen years later. Both daughters are grown up, but the subjugation and unfair treatment against Hamma has not changed. Her daughter also faces the same plight. While she is made to do all the house chores and allowed no social life, Ladiyo is allowed to visit friends and is given the best of everything.
When Ladiyo got a suitor, Uwani’s aunty Inna also suggested that her successful son should marry Uwani so as to ease the unfair treatment being faced by her sister and her daughter. Meanwhile Ladiyo’s suitor backs out from the engagement because of Zulia’s bad character that was the talk of the village and frowned at by everyone. To further frustrate Hamma and her daughter, Uwani, Zulai decided to poison their food; but alas Uwani’s cousin and suitor took the poisoned meal and died. One day, Uwani came across the prince, Musa who proposed to her.
Her joy was short lived because not long after, she was accused of soiling the bed spread which Ladiyo had soiled. As punishment, her father asked her to seek for River Bagaja, a mythical river which no one had ever seen to wash the soiled spreads or remain forever banned from the village. Sad and disillusioned, Uwani bid her mum goodbye and went in search of the river. On the way Uwani met an old man who rewarded her for her respect and polite nature. He directed her towards River Bagaja and disappeared. Uwani came across rivers wheat cake, bread cake, milk etc; but when asked to eat from the rivers she always refused.
Finally she got to River Bagaja and was permitted to wash her bed spread. At the end of it all she was given two eggs to choose one; she chose the small one and was ordered to break the egg only if no one responded to her request of breaking the egg. She did as she was asked and she emerged triumphant and was taken home on horseback with royal status. Her mum, dad and friends welcomed her with joy. Out of spite Zulai also claimed that her daughter had soiled the bed spread and requested the husband to allow Ladiyo go to River Bagaja. Against his will he consented.
Like Uwani, Ladiyo met rivers of different delicacies but unlike her sister she took time to eat everything offered her until she got to River Bagaja; and when asked to choose an egg, she chose the big one and her stubborn character made her break the egg where she was asked not to. And behold! She was visited by the physically challenged who escorted her on donkey backs home. Her father rejected her; the mother disowned her before running out of the compound raving with madness. The prince, Musa formally asked for Uwani’s hand in marriage and everything ended happily.
Ruwan Bagaja: An Assessment of the Recreation Narratives/Folktales serve as a means of cultural reflection of the society in which they are told; through tales, the culture of the people is seen. Hausa narratives/folktales contain the total traditional set up of the society such as friendship, family life and administrative set up, kinship etc; “both in the tales and the manner of their telling, situation after situation occurs which leads easily and naturally into discussions of what people actually do and what their belief systems are all of which throw much light on the total culture” (Herskovits, 1961, p. 9). Similarly, Boas (1935, p. xxvii) believes in the tales of a people, those incidents of everyday life that are of importance to them will appear either incidentally or as a basis of a plot. Most of the references to the mode of life of the people will be an accurate reflection of their habits; no wonder Hausa folktales have been used as source material for their written Literatures. Therefore, the traditional popular Hausa tatsuniya has culminated into the much acclaimed popular video movie entertainment in Hausa society.
Though most Hausa narratives serve as a form of entertainment, they are also used for instructing, shaping of characters, and preparing the young for adult roles (Nkata, 2001). The folktale represents the traditional medium, which is a live interactive performance between the tale teller and the audience/listeners while the movie represents the modern medium, an extended version of the tale which requires technology to be realized. In the movie the themes are developed to reflect and comment on Hausa social life.
It depicts clearly a typical Hausa polygamous setting with the tensions, disharmony and upheavals associated with such homes; where co-wives fight each other or even go an extra length to harm each other’s children. The very first scene illustrates such a setting where the senior wife had turned the second wife into a slave. All through the movie, scene after scene depicts the trauma associated with polygamy. We also see the portrayal of men as unjust husbands, preferring one wife to the other and even showing preference to the children of the favoured wife.
This is clearly seen in Mallam’s character. His preference for Zulai was very evident, saw nothing wrong in her maltreatment of Hamma. He even ordered Hamma to obey Zulai as if she were the husband ignoring the fact that Hamma should equally be treated as his wife. When Hamma became pregnant, he did not hide his displeasure, refusing even to pay the medicine man for giving him the herb that got both wives pregnant instead of one. Surprisingly, he did not deny the pregnancy. When Uwani was born, Mallam treated her as if she were not his daughter.
She was treated differently from Ladiyo her sister and when Zulai claimed that it was Uwani who had soiled the bed spreads, he believed her and sent Uwani on a mission of no return despite protests from Hamma. But, ironically Hamma and her daughter became the loved ones after her triumphant return, and Zulai and her daughter were rejected by the husband when they were disgraced. The movie also depicts the evil attempt of co-wives in Hausa society who seek the help of spiritualists in order to harm the other.
This is seen when Zulai visited the spiritualist requesting for powers to harm Hamma and her daughter. Even though the intended targets were spared, a loved one, Uwani’s suitor lost his life. Another aspect of the Hausa way of life shown in the movie is in the dressing of the characters. All the characters are portrayed in Hausa cultural outfits which conform to the traditional rural life in which the story is set. The artifacts seen in the movie like mortar and pestle, the thatched mud buildings, pottery, and utensils all reflect Hausa social life.
An aspect of life attached to the ruling class can also be seen in the movie; the prince, Musa is depicted even in informal situation in his royal regalia and royal tone of talking thereby giving us an insight into the way of life of Hausa royalties. Showcasing the Dandali, the traditional Hausa play ground where young boys and girls play different games during the moonlight nights, spells out a part of Hausa culture where songs with accompanying Hausa music is reflected.
The moral messages explored by the themes in the movie reflect many values of the Hausa society like, honesty, hard work, leading to achievement, perseverance, courage, respect for elders, obedience to the society and consideration for others. Both Hamma and Uwani were depicted as courageous even when denied, hard working even when incapable, obedient even to those they did not know, persevered when humiliated, respectful even to those beneath them; all these qualities culminated to make them triumphant at the end of the story. Zulai and her daughter on the other hand lost out because they refused to abide by set down Hausa societal values.
Through this movie, knowledge, values and attitudes about Hausa life are transmitted and expressed indirectly metaphorically. We therefore gained from it insights into behaviour, derive from it commentaries on happenings that reveal the system of value under which the culture functions. Indeed, the movie has made one of its greatest humanistic contributions because in it we were able to learn certain moral lessons that warn people not to break the norms of the society. It has also depicted structure of the Hausa traditional society in general and the position of certain class of people.
The movie could also be said to have provided models through which people can verbalize the relationship and constitutions of the Hausa traditional society. Conclusion New media technology is a broad term which refers to those digital media which are interactive, incorporate two-way communication and involve some form of computing. The narrative/folktale as a genre of oral literature is generally defined as an imaginary adventure narration with a didactic notion. It is popular, that is to say created by and for the people; it is a participatory act that occurs between the people/ listener and the storyteller.
Traditionally, it is orally transmitted from generation to generation. The narrative/folktale as a form of popular entertainment in Hausa society is alive as seen in this paper, and has proven to be a rich source material for video movies, a new invention in media technology that came about due to globalization. It “has proliferated so much that today it is the most vibrant sector of the Nigerian media and contemporary video culture has created a distinctly new media era which interacts with older forms of the mass media and popular culture” (Larkin, 1997, p. 10). Video movies are not only popular in native Nigeria and other African countries, but in less than twenty years they have attracted the attention of many media practitioners, film festivals, and some American and European universities. In fact, DSTV (Digital Satellite Television), a digital satellite service in Africa, features “Magic World” (Channel 112), “African Magic” (Channel 114) African Magic Plus (Channel 115) all channels devoted to Nollywood films.
Therefore, it is safe to conclude that the folktale Ruwan Bagaja and the movie depict a metaphorical relationship between the relics of the past and the new images of the contemporary world. This way the audience are given a refreshed judgment of happenings, because it is only when images of contemporary realities are recreated that the version becomes reality. Thus by employing new media in recreating the folktale just as was done with Ruwan Bagaja, a popular form of entertainment in Hausa society would be archived before it is lost totally to the forces of modernization. References Adamu, Y.
M. (2002) “Between the word and the screen: A historical perspective on the Hausa Literary Movement and the Home Video Invasion” in Journal of African Cultural Studies, 15, 195-207. Bascom, W. R. (1992). African Folktales in The New World. Indiana: Indiana University Press. Bichi, A. Y. (1978). “Annotated Collections of Hausa Folktales from Nigeria. ” M. A Thesis (Unpublished). Indiana: Indiana University. Boas, F. (1936). “Kwakaill Culture as Reflected on Mythology” in American Folklore Society Memoir. Xxvii. Emeaba,E. O. (1987). Dictionary of Literature. Aba: Inteks. Furniss, G. (2003).
Hausa Popular Literature and Video Film: The Rapid Rise of Cultural Production in Times of Economic Declin. Arbeitspapiere No. 27, Mainz: Johannes Gutenberg Universitat. Furniss, G. (2005). “‘Video and the Hausa Novella in Nigeria”. Social Identities. 11, 89-112. Herskovitis, M. (1961). “The Study of African Oral Art” in Folklore Research around the World. (Indiana University Folklore Series No 16). Bloomington: University of Bloomington. Johnson, D. (1997). Culture and Art in Hausa Video Films’, in Haynes (ed. ). Nigerian Video Films. Jos: Nigerian Film Corporation. Krings, M. (2005a), ‘Verfuhrung oder Bekehrung?
Zensur und Islam in nordnigerianischen Videodiskursen’, Sociologus. Zeitschrift fur empirische Ethnosoziologie und Ethno-psychologie, 55, 61-88. (2005b), ‘Bollywood/Kannywood. Mediale Transfers und populare Videos in Nigeria’, in G. Blaseio, H. Pompe & J. Ruchatz (eds. ), Popularisierung und Popularitat. Koln: Dumont. Hjarvard, S. (2003). Media in a globalised society. Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press. Larkin, B. (1997a). “Indian Films and Nigerian Lovers. Media and the Creation of Parallel Modernity”. Africa. 67, 406-440. 17. (1997b). “Hausa Dramas and the Rise of the Video culture in Nigeria”, in Haynes. (ed). Nigerian Video Films.
Jos: Nigerian Film Corporation. (2003). “Itineraries of Indian cinema: African Videos, Bollywood and Global Media”. in Shohat and Stam (eds). Multiculturalism, Poscolonialty, and Transnational Media. New Bunswick: Rutgers University Press. (2004), Degraded Images, Distorted Sounds: Nigerian Video and the Infrastructure of Piracy. Public Culture. 16, 289-314. (2005). Nigerian Video: Infrastructure of Piracy. Politique Africaine. 100, 146-164 Nkata, D. (2001). Continuity and Change in Story Telling: Children’s Stories in Uganda’s Past and Present. Paper, presented at the 15th IRSCC Benniel Conference: Warmbatha, South Africa. 0-24 August. Sarbi, S. A. (2008). Studies in Translation. Kano: Samarib Publishers. Skinner, N. (1980). An Anthology of Hausa Literature. Zaria: NNPC. Thompson, S. (1966). Motif Index of Folk-Literature. (6vols). Indiana: University Press. Yahaya, I. Y. (1971). Tatsoniyoyi da Wassani. (1-6). Ibadan: Oxford University Press. Yahaya, I. Y(1979),”Oral Art and the Socialization Process”. (Unpublished) PhD Thesis. ABU Zaria. ARCHIVING HAUSA POPULAR ENTERTAINMENT THROUGH NEW MEDIA TECHNOLOGY: AN ASSESSMENT OF THE RECREATION OF RUWAN BAGAJA INTO VIDEO MOVIE BY DR. (MRS) ASABE KABIR USMAN asabekabir@yahoo. om DEPARTMENT OF MODERN EUROPEAN LANGUAGES AND LINGUISTICS USMANU DANFODIYO UNIVERSITY, SOKOTO. SOKOTO STATE. NIGERIA. Abstract The Hausa people are the largest ethnic group found in northern Nigeria. They are found in areas of Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, Zaria as well as other parts of north western and north central Nigeria. The Hausa language is one of the widely spoken languages of black Africa. The Hausawa as they are called by other tribes have a controversial historical origin but the Bayajidda legend is held by Hausa folklorists and anthropologists to be the true account of their emergence.
The media as a system of communication is a constituent feature directly linked to the processes of globalisation of culture due to its role in mediating a range of aspects of popular culture like the film, dance, music and other aesthetic expressions. New media technology a recent terminology is a general term used to refer to those digital media which are interactive, incorporate two-way communication and involve some form of computing as opposed to ‘old media’ such as telephone, radio, and television.
The frequent use of oral traditions by the Hausa people has proved that they are inevitable aspects of Hausa culture. One very important genre of Hausa oral tradition is the narrative/folktale a form of popular entertainment, which the Hausa people call tatsuniya. Since the advent of the Hausa movie industry it has served as one of the significant source materials for the popular Hausa video movie.
Targeted mainly at, but not restricted to children, the traditional tatsuniya reflects the cultural and social life of the Hausa people, at the same time drawing attention to the salient aspects of Hausa culture and how to live it according to set down societal norms and values. This paper therefore attempts an assessment of the recreation of the traditional Hausa folktale Ruwan Bagaja into movie using the power of new media technology which is spreading and developing fast in many communities and societies the world over in an era of globalization thereby bringing many changes to cultural values . INTRODUCTION Globalisation must be understood as a series of new dynamics that promote new cultural and social networks and conflicts both locally and transnational (Hjarvard, 2003,p. 7). Globalisation implies a great mobility of cultural impulses, signs, and messages across the world. In the 1990s there was a sudden increase in the need for films and videos, resulting in the growth of new supplementary markets worldwide and the release of material in other formats.
Perhaps the first of these was the computer CD-ROM,