Biography of the Legendary Queen Amina of Zazzau
A Myth Fact or a Legend?
The story of the queen Amina of Zazzau is heard by almost every one, it tells us how she ruled over men after conquering the cities and empires, the history tells us about her fearlessness and how she gave the order of building tall boundaries around Zaria city. She was indeed a great woman.
Brief History from Her Birth to Death
King Nikatau and Queen Bakwa Turunku, rulers of the Hausa tribe in Zazzau which is now located in the kaduna state of Nigeria gave birth to Queen Amina in 1533, she was their first daughter and oldest of two siblings, a boy named Karama and a girl named Zaria, which the colonial masters changed the name of Zazzau to her name in the 20th century.
Amina was referred to as the Queen of Zazzau when she was 16 years old. Bakwa, Zazzau’s 22nd Habe, who was either her father or mother according to the history and traditions.
It was brought that peace and tranquility reigned during her Father’s time of rule and also Amina and her followers were littered with military expeditions which were aimed at boosting trade.
Amina started leading the warriors at a very young age during her brother Karam’s reign because she showed interest to war and politics, her grandfather encouraged her to fulfil her passion.
After the demise of her beloved brother, She was given the role of leadership in 1576, and the role was very easy to her where she made over twenty thousand soldiers within their area and about a thousand soldiers in the neighboring towns and villages within a short period of time.
Marriage and Relationship
Amina has never been into a relationship with a man because she kept herself busy with the act of rule and male dominance. During her time, she received a lot of marriage proposals from men that are from well influential and high class but she rejected all the proposals. According to the history, Amina took her several lovers and killed them afterwards.
Amina spent 34 years in the grips of power, she was killed in 1610 in a battle, the history told us how Amina conquered many towns, cities and villages, and she built popular walls that surrounds Zaria city which are referred to as child of her ingenuity.
The Myth, Legend and Controversy.
The exciting history of how Amina has conquered her several wars have brought up an argument between scholars and historians on how authentic is the available information.
One of the fact accepted by the public about Amina is that the kind of life she lived exist, but the debated point was on how she carried out many expeditions and conquests. Also, there was an argument about the difference between the Amina of Zazzau that was described in the history books and the real Amina that existed. Many facts in her life were changed by the historians :, however, the fact that she existed truly was accepted, and according to the history she was assumed as a Muslim ruler.
Almost all of the history of Queen Amina was brought by the Kano chronicles, a sultan after Danfodio translation of pre colonial African traditions named Muhammad Bello, and it was based in part on unidentified Hausa Manuscripts. The rest of informations comes from Nigerian oral traditions.
After all, the name of Queen Amina, will remain widely Known in Hausaland and beyond. Her leadership and wars were enhanced by the legend, and her military and fights remains largely unknown to the public.
Her Unacceptable Historical Texts
There are two sources that brought the history of Queen Amina which are controversial to one another, these two sources are the Kano chronicles and that in Infakul Maisuri – a book written by Muhammad Bello, son of Usman Fodio. And there is no third source apart from these two that carries a story of Queen Amina that is similar to the two.
The Name Factor
There was an argument about her name to be a Muslim name because of her siblings ‘ name and parents.
Mistake of Identity
It was written by Lady Flora Shaw, the wife of Lord Lugard – overseers of colonial Nigeria that the name Queen Amina was changed by the Hausa chronicles ignorantly from “Queen Al – Mina”, a fertility Goddess that the people of middle belt Nigeria worship. A well known story of Kisra, the Nupe King of Zozo, and how the hausa storytellers hijacked it.
Disagreement by Leading Scholars
Disagreement by leading scholarsA professor Abdullahi Smith and professor Murray last disagree about the existence of that personality in Zazzau.
Conclusions
The proofs on the fact that Queen Amina exists or not are still presented by the historians, and to what extent the actual accomplishments assumed was.
People in the world like to believe in myths and legend, they give people a reason and belongings to the world, if someone like Amina could have ruled what was a male-dominated society in 15th to the 16th century, it gives the womenfolk hope to the endless possibilities the world could unleash for them.
A myth or not, until there is a concrete proof about the fact that she did not exist, it is alright for people to believe that she is one of the female heroes who helped shaped Nigeria.
