Origin of Gobirawa and their tribal marks
They later moved to Yemen where they waged war against their host community and were victorious. He said war was part of their life style as they were very brave warriors and whenever they conquered a place, they migrated to another until when they reached Libya. From there they also continued moving west ward into […]
They later moved to Yemen where they waged war against their host community and were victorious. He said war was part of their life style as they were very brave warriors and whenever they conquered a place, they migrated to another until when they reached Libya. From there they also continued moving west ward into Sahara desert and founded a town called Azbin, now dominated by Tuaregs. During that period Azbinawa were scattered but they requested Gobirawa to hand over Azbin to them whenever they were leaving. They left Azbin and advanced westward again in to Sahara and founded another town called Magali, and later Surukal all in Niger Republic. After a short while they continued migrating until when they reached Birnin Lalle and Gwararramu parts of which are now in Nigeria and Niger Republic. Between 15th to 16th century during the period of Sarkin Zamfara, Abarshi whose capital was situated at Katanga, he married one of the Sarkin Gobir`s daughters called Fara who gave birth to Ibrahim Babari who later became Sarkin Gobir. Before he ascended the throne, he engaged Sarkin Zamfara in a war of wits and charms and he over powered him. As a result of that Sarkin Zamfara became scared of Babari and wanted to harm him in retaliation, but his elder sister returned him back home and was made Sarkin Gobir. Babari however begged Sarkin Zamfara to give him some land to settle but people warned Sarkin Zamfara not to allow Gobirawa to settle within his territory because they would later occupy the entire land. However, war ensued between them later and Gobirawa defeated Sarkin Zamfara and occupied Alkalawa, around 16th to 17th century.
War-like nature of Gobirawa: Every tribe in black Africa has its peculiar nature for which it is identified. Gobirawa are known for brevity, dexterity and show of manliness. They are steadfast and more often than not, don’t tolerate any slightest provocation. Sarkin Gobir Abdulhamid explained that during the famous Bawa Jan Gwarzo who ruled Gobir around 17th century, it was reported that even O’cock didn’t crow at all because of the spiritual powers he possessed. Throughout the series of wars they fought, Gobirawa had never surrendered even when they were over powered. They would rather die in the battle field than to retreat. An average Bagobiri believes in victory in whatever fight or conflict he finds himself; and that is why in a popular Hausa expression the land of Gobir is jokingly referred to Gobir gidan fada – meaning house of trouble or fighting.
According to Sarkin Gobir Abdulhamid, Bawa Jan Gwarzo never actually engaged Usman Danfodiyo in war when he settled at Akalawa. As a matter of fact Danfodiyo even taught the children of Bawa which included Yunfa, Atiku, Bello and Mayaki. It was reported that Danfodiyo even admonished them not to engage in any conflict among them. However, Sarkin Gobir averred that it were people close to them that ignited trouble between Bawa and Danfodiyo as a result of which Danfodiyo left Alkalawa and continued with his Jihad movement in other parts of Sokoto Caliphate.
Tribal marks: Alhaji Abdulhamid who is the 390th Sarkin Gobir, said originally, Gobirawa had no tribal marks but because of the series of wars they engaged in and their migratory trend, they formed their unique tribal marks for identification, so that wherever they go, they could easily identify themselves. He said whenever they wanted to migrate they went along with their kins and kith, without leaving behind any of their own. Another reason was that during inter tribal wars Gobirawa used tribal marks to identify their people so that they would not be attacked.
Even in the present time that such wars are over, Gobirawa still maintain the tradition of cutting marks on their face without minding whether it would deform the facial appearance or not. The marks are cut on a baby`s cheeks when it is seven days old, that is on the day of its naming ceremony. But with time, it is now done after two weeks when the child might have a bit strength to withstand the pain. The marks are carefully patterned so as to differentiate them from others that look similar like that of Kabawa in Kebbi State, Zamfarawa of Zamfara and Barebari of Borno. The tribal marks of Gobirawa contain seven lines on the right cheek and six on the left, while in some cases, they only make one single cut on both cheeks, and any body who knows Gobirawa would easily identify such people as one. But in the case of Kabawa, Zamfarawa and Barebari, their own have much more number of lines than that of Gobirawa.
Relationship of Gobirawa with Yorubas: According to Sarkin Gobir Abdulhamid, the relationship between them and Yorubas dated back to the period of Bawa Jan Gwarzo who gave out his daughter for marriage to a Yoruba man during the Jihad movement. He said when Jan Gwarzo advanced to Yoruba land with the mission to conquer the west, the Yoruba opted for truce rather than to engage him in a war and submitted themselves to him. As a result of that cordial relationship between them ensued and they requested him to give them one his daughters for marriage which he did. In accordance with Hausa culture which Gobirawa practice, there is always a traditional joke between cousins, as such, Gobirawa regard the Yoruba as cousins because they believed that Yoruba were begotten by the daughter of Bawa Jan Gwarzo.