The Dambazawa (or Danbazawa) are a Fulani clan residing mainly in Kano State, Nigeria. They were among the key promoters, planners and executors of the Fulani jihad in Kano, which took place between 1804 and 1807 under the leadership of Shehu Usuman dan Fodiyo. The clan was said to be the top financiers of the jihad because it was said to be extremely wealthy at the time of the jihad. Other Fulani clans that participated in the jihad included: the Jobawa, the Yolawa, the Sullubawa, the Danejawa and others, as well as a contingent of the native Hausa people led by Malam Usuman bahaushe. Together, they formed a formidable force and toppled the 158-year Kutumbawa dynasty led by its last ruler Muhammad Alwali dan Yaji dan Dadi bakutumbe who ruled between 1781 and 1806.
History and origin
The origin of the Dambazawa is as unclear as that of the Fulani race itself, but sources within the clan believe it to be of a Dayebe Fulani group. It was at the time of Sundiata Keita (c. 1217–1255 A.D.) that the Fulbe began adopting surnames that conformed to their socioeconomic groups. During that era, the socioeconomic group of a Pullo could easily be identified by considering his/her surname. It is unclear how this process came to be, but it is true that all Fulbe belong to one of four tribes: The Ururbe (Ba, Diakite), Dialloube (Diallo), Ferrobe (Sow) and Dayebe (Barry, Sangare). The Ba are considered to be a warrior group; the Diallo's geniuses; the Sow's, known to be religious, the guardians of the temple; the Barry were the nobility of the Fulbe.
The Dambazawa clan believes they migrated from Futa Tooro in what is now Senegal, with their whole clan consisting of their leaders, clerics, peasants and vocation castes (leyyi) that included; Jaawamɓe (courtesans/advisers), Maabuɓe (weavers), Wayilɓe Baleeɓe /sayakooɓe (blacksmiths/goldsmiths), Buurnaaɓe (ceramists), Sakkeeɓe (tanners), Lewɓe (woodworkers), Awluɓe (laudators), Wambaaɓe (guitarists) and Maccuɓe (slaves). Their sojourn eastward, took them through the Republics of Mali, Niger, Chad and Cameroun. Their migratory drift was characterized by settling in an area for months or years before moving on. They would raise their cattle, transact business, gain and disseminate Islamic knowledge in the areas they settled or passed through. For over two centuries they kept roaming until they arrived at the Kanem Empire in (Borno-Nigeria) and settled there. By the early 16th century, they left Borno and settled for a while in Damban in present-day Bauchi, Nigeria). From Damban they moved to Gasakoli (a place in Jigawa, Nigeria), then to an area in what was then the eastern part of the Kano Kingdom—known today as Dambazau in Takai. They remained in that area for a while. From there, they continued their westward movement, avoiding Kano city and settling in an area north of the Kano city wall. Today this area is also known as Dambazau. After Kano city fell to the Fulani forces in 1806, their nobility, clerics and most of their Jaawando and Maccube moved into the walled city. There they occupied the House of Sarkin Bai, a compound north of the city, behind the city market called Jakara. Today that compound is also called Dambazau within the city wall. After the clan settled permanently in Kano, some of its members moved out to other areas. Wherever they settled they tended to name that area Dambazau.
The Dambazawa have a tradition of leaving behind some of their clan members and herds, whenever they decided to leave an area they have settled. Most of the time that area is named Dambazau meaning: "The abode of the Dambazawa". The Dambazawa believed that wherever they lived, in Nigeria or beyond, the area is called Dambazau. Today in Nigeria alone there are Dambazau villages in Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, Bauchi, Gombe and Muri (Taraba) states.
Dambazawa during the jihad in Kano (1804–1807)
Kano has always been the most populous and wealthiest of the Hausa Kingdoms, and its capital was almost certainly the greatest city in the Sudan at the end of the 18th century. Kano's weather is well suited for cattle rearing. Kano had already been settled by a number of Fulani clans, which had already established themselves centuries before the jihad. According to the Kano Chronicle, the first wave of Fulani people arrived in Kano during the reign of the 19th ruler of Kano, Sarki Yakubu Dan Abdullahi Bar-ja who ruled between 1452 and 1463. Kano Fulani settlements were scattered throughout the Kingdom of Kano in such a way that they formed a ring round the walled capital city. The settlement of the Dambazawa was situated north of the city wall and their leader at the end of the 18th century was Modibbo Muhammadu Yunusa Ummaru popularly called Dabon Dambazau.
The Fulani of Kano had already been in contact with Shehu (Usman dan Fodiyo) long before his breach with the Gobir King Yunfa (reign: 1802–1808), The leader of the Dambazawa alongside two other prominent Fulani clan members, Modibbo Sulemanu bii Abuhama of the Mundubawa clan, and Modibbo Muhammadu Ummaru popularly called Mallam Bakatsine of the Jobawa clan, were already studying under Shehu and were with him at the time of his flight to Gudu, after which, he sent them back to Kano with the task of rallying the faithful. The first thing Malam Dabo did after his return from Gudu was to rally his Dambazawa clan, and then proceeded, together with other Fulani clan leaders, to rally the Kano, Fulani and Hausa faithful.
The Dambazawa participated fully in all the major battles of the jihad in Kano from its beginnings in 1804 to its end in 1807, contributing in every way, especially in terms of military logistics and intelligence. The entire jihad force camped in the northern part of the Kingdom of Kano (i.e. Tomas—an area with a water pond presently in Danbatta district) for almost a year before the final assault was made on the walled capital city of Kano in 1806. This part of the kingdom (Danbatta) happens to be an area the Dambazawa were very conversant with because their settlement Dambazau was located there.
Dambazawa after the jihad in Kano
The Dambazawa were said to be a very united Fulani clan and were extremely devoted to their leader Malam Dabo. They followed, obeyed and protect him anywhere, anytime. After the jihad was successful, the Fulani consolidated their power by defeating the remnants of the Kano forces under the leadership of the ousted king (King Alwali) in the walled town of Burumburum in 1807. For almost three years (1806–1808/9) Kano was without central leadership (an Emir). It was administered collegially by the leaders of the Kano Jihad; Malam Jibir and Malam Abdurrahman of the Yolawa Clan, Malam Bakatsine of the Jobawa clan, Malam Jamo of the Sullubawa Clan, Malam Usman Bahaushe of the Hausa faithful and Malam Dabo of the Dambazawa Clan. By late 1808 or early 1809, the Kano Fulani decided to visit Shehu Usman and raised the issue of leadership in Kano. They were to meet with Shehu at Birnin Gada in Zamfara, but Shehu was unable to make the journey and was represented by his son Sheik Muhammadu Bello (who later became sultan after the death of Shehu in 1817) who appointed Modibbo Sulemanu of the Mundubawa clan as the Amir of Kano. Though Sulemanu belonged to the Mundubawa Clan, and was said to be with Shehu at the time of his flight to Gudu, he did not make the Hijra to Kwazazzabon ´yar-kwando (also called Fagoje: a place west of Kano city, where the Fulani made camp before starting the jihad in Kano). Nor did he participate in the Kano Jihad struggles. He lived for the whole time within Kano city as an Imam. His appointment did not go down well with the Kano Jihadists. After their return from Birnin Gada, things were calm for a while, but the style of Amir Sulemanu's leadership of Kano did not sit well with most of the prominent Fulani clan leaders, who saw his actions/omissions as undermining the successes achieved by the Jihadists in Kano. They opposed many of his policies and Malam Dabo became the embodiment of that opposition.
Malam Dabo later asked the hand in marriage of Shehu's daughter and it was given. This deepened the already complicated relationship between the Dambazawa and Emir Sulemanu. Sulemanu saw this as an affront to his authority by Dabo, as he was also said to be married to another of Shehu's daughters. At the height of this conflict, Sulemanu seized some parts of Dabo's fiefdom (Kunya district among some other villages) and imprisoned Malam Dabo in the royal prison, but the Dambazawa went to the prison by nightfall and freed him. Again Emir Sulemanu, acting upon the advice of former Kano rulers' (Alwali) advisers, started disseminating propaganda that Malam Dabo would be killed on a certain date. But that date came and passed with nothing happening to Malam Dabo. Then another day would be announced. This series of pronouncements terrified most of the Dambazawa, but Dabo was unperturbed and kept calming them saying "nothing would happen". But their fear kept increasing by the day, so they continued to urge him to leave for Sokoto (to Shehu). They later prevailed over him and Dabo left Kano for Sokoto. Upon hearing that Dabo left for Sokoto, Emir Sulemanu rode after him to Sokoto, fearing what Dabo might tell Shehu. After they both arrived before Shehu, he reconciled and made peace between them, and they returned to Kano. This happened between 1810 and 1811 A.D. From that day, Dabo and the Dambazawa removed themselves from the activities of the Emirate, but Dabo retained his seat at the council of Ulama (Clerics) which consisted of all the clan leaders.
Shehu Usman retired from administering the caliphate in 1815 and handed over the administration to his brother Abdullahi Fodiyo and son Muhammadu Bello. He later died in 1817 A.D. and upon his death Muhammadu Bello succeeded him as the commander of the faithful (Sultan). Emir Sulemanu died in 1819, but not before he wrote a letter to Sultan Muhammadu Bello requesting the appointment of Modibbo Ibrahim Dabo from the Sullubawa clan as Emir in the event of his death. In his letter, he accused Malam Dabon Dambazau of haughtiness and Malam Dikko (of the Jobawa clan) of oppressive tendencies and urged Sultan Bello not to appoint either of them in the event of his death. He recommended the appointment of Malam Ibrahim Dabo of the Sullubawa, who happened to be his student at one time. Their parents, Modibbo Abuhama and Modibbo Mahmudu (known as Malam Mai Dan Gwado) were very close friends.