Dutse: The grand durbar

Out of the haze emerge many horses and their well dressed riders. In the distance the haze is thick, and the horses are  barely visible. You need to strain your eyes  to pick  out the turbans of the men. But if there is a gap in the haze then you see the horses. Sunlight falls […]

Out of the haze emerge many horses and their well dressed riders. In the distance the haze is thick, and the horses are  barely visible. You need to strain your eyes  to pick  out the turbans of the men. But if there is a gap in the haze then you see the horses. Sunlight falls upon a turban and we see that there are horses there but these are veiled by the haze. The massive horses canter out of the haze ridden by turbaned men, and the audience reacts to the living sight made up of a rainbow of turbans and costumes, uplifting chants, embroidered gowns and glowing bridles. It is nice to be alive and to witness all of this, and Dutse itself  is rich, matchless and inspiring as it presents, perhaps, its finest public event for 2015.
Beauty issues  from the haze which has cast a blanket of white and dust upon the town, and this is a common event at this time of the year. But the truly noble one, around whom are an infinity of dynamic colours and forms is the Emir of Dutse above whom a huge umbrella spins, who is heralded by a large contingent that fire guns from time to time, and he is escorted by magnificent horses  and solemn camels  a few which bear no rider. Some of his guards wear an array of dyed feathers and they cut a nice sight as they race around  with other horsemen and form a semicircle to protect the Emir as he makes his entrance. The durbar is pure tourism and the Emirs entrance even more so. The Emir has just turned 20 years on the throne of his forebears, and the 29 District Heads of the emirate have gathered in Dutse with horses, camels, music makers, praise singers, jesters and dancers, for a grand durbar  to mark the event. The excitement in the air seems to keep the cold away, and huge crowds are present in the Aminu Kano Triangle to watch the procession which has  not held for a few years owing to security concerns.
On the eve of the durbar large trailers arrive bearing horses. The men set up camp in parts of the town, and soon small fires begin to glow to keep the body warm as the men also drink tea. The horses neigh as though sensing the next day’s  immense  procession of men and animals. Some of the best music in the emirate is heard by morning when the contingents begin to move around the Triangle. This music is also framed by elegant chanting by men whose tongues never tire and who continue to release one praise after the next in honour of Sarki and his forebears, wishing the former long life and prosperity. There are the dancers too some of whom are from the guild of hunters, as well as from  some of the many other guilds. Ahead of each contingent is a man on horseback who bears a board announcing the name of the contingent following close by. There is order and protocol in the durbar.
The event seems to provide  an environment for another performance to take place, and this latter adds to, rather  than takes away from  the fun. This refers to the actors and performers who also bring animation to the contingents.There is a man  whose  face has been dyed in blue and wears baggy trousers and prances back and forth. Another also in baggy trousers carries a saw, and attempts to saw through his neck, but the saw  does not make a cut. But he shows that it cuts through a slipper which hangs around his neck. He stuns the audience. A man with a false beard soon comes along dancing and grinning at the same time. He is closely followed by another with a swollen false abdomen, which doesn’t sit well, for it has become loose. Soon, a musician turns up. He has lost many of his front teeth, but he has a nice singing voice and continues to raise a song. After a while some men pass along seated on a car wearing over size eye glasses, and carrying oversize prayer beads. They are a group of comics and truly create lots of laughter  with their antics. Following close by are 3 men bearing the longest musical instruments I have ever seen. From these instruments they release music which is endlessly pleasing.

A Fulani group presents an imitation Sharo performance and this is well received by the audience. There is the guard, popularly known as Dogari from the palace of the Emir of Hadejia, who  is also a professional photographer. He went about in his attire doing his work, and adding to the fun. It’s rare to see a Dogari who has mastered the art of photography. Thus, between the horses and their riders who make up the durbar proper, are these excellent performers who function as a second level of entertainment, helping to keep the durbar alive and providing variety in the context of colour and theme.
On the eve of the durbar Alhaji Nuhu Muhammad Sanusi, the Emir of Dutse, speaks to Daily Trust about the popular event “It is a procession of horses which are gaily decorated. In a durbar the horses and horsemen are the things you look art, but people don’t see what went into decorating the horses. On the average a good decoration will cost N1m. But there are fake decorations and people are doing the same thing with aluminium and this costs N25,000.”
He says that about 1,000 horses from 29 districts in the emirate will participate in the durbar. Emir Sanusi feels that the durbar has declined somewhat “The cost of feeding a horse is very expensive, and there is a Hausa saying to the effect that 1 horse is equal to 4 wives. You have to feed the horse  everyday, and it eats 24 hours. The horse consumes a lot, and many people who don’t have enough money and the time tend to lose out. A horse needs time. It likes to be groomed, to have a good clean environment so that flies don’t disturb. It’s very expensive now to maintain a horse, but we have to do it because it is part of the regalia. We also encourage our village and district heads to keep a horse, by  giving them allowances to buy horses.”

He speaks  on the cost of looking after a horse “A horse needs a balanced feed and this amounts to 1,500 each day, or about 45,000 Naira each month. There are people who cannot feed them and  you will find that their horses are shrinking in size. They feed them with 500 Naira worth of feed each day. That is not enough. Horses need good fodder and clean water and horses don’t drink from streams. They need husks every day and a bag of husks costs 6,000 Naira.”
He adds that horses can be expensive, saying that he has a horse which cost N3m to purchase. On the regalia for horses, he states “Every regalia has its name, and some gowns are very expensive. The handmade gown costs more than the other types and usually takes about 2 years to finish. It is a difficult task to weave it and to do the decorations as well.”
Emir Sanusi adds “to stage a durbar like ours, you need N30m. This is because people bring horses from their villages to Dutse, and I invited them, so I have to pay them for their meals, their accommodation as well as provide feed for their animals. I also give them a disturbance allowance. Thats where the money is going. Then there are the praise singers and other performers who all deserve to be settled. Nobody does anything for free these days.”
Back  in the Triangle the Emir makes to mount his horse after delivering his speech before the assembled guests. To the accompaniment of trumpet sounds which the ear never tires of hearing, he rides once more into the haze.