Why Dala hill is not attracting tourists

The hills were chosen as early settlements by the Kano people for security reasons. History has it that because of territorial expansion that characterised the ancient period, there were lots of wars and raids between cities. Settling on the hills was to strategically keep vigilant of an approaching army or raiders. Through such surveillance, they […]

The hills were chosen as early settlements by the Kano people for security reasons. History has it that because of territorial expansion that characterised the ancient period, there were lots of wars and raids between cities. Settling on the hills was to strategically keep vigilant of an approaching army or raiders. Through such surveillance, they were able to safeguard their city and device means of repelling their enemies.

Dala at that time was significant for two reasons; it was housing the idol that was worshipped by the ancient Hausa people and there was iron ore in abundance around the hill. Because of the iron ore, skilled craftsmen were attracted to the site as disclosed by Malam Dikko Idris, a curator with Gidan Makama Museum, Kano.

Dikko said on top of Dala hill was the shrine of the idol called Tsumburbura which was worshipped by the people. “Dala hill was prominent because on top of the hill was the shrine of their idol called tsumburbura. People were attracted to the site because of the god and because of the iron ore that was found in abundance,” he said.

He said the idol was under the care of the chief priest called Barbushe who was acting as the leader of the people. He was held in high esteem because of his position as the intermediary between the god and the people.  “Barbushe, by virtue of his position as the chief priest who acts as an intermediary between the idol and the people, was held in high esteem by the Kano people and the neighbouring states that used to visit the Dala hill for religious and socio-economic activities. Every year, Barbushe would foretell the important events of the year to the pilgrims,” he said.

The people living around the Dala hill had no system of kingship then; it was Barbushe who was acting as their spiritual and temporal leader. People from the neighbouring cities of Katsina, Daura, Zaria and some parts of Niger, used to visit the hill annually and at intervals to worship and consult the idol.

The fall of Dala hill

Explaining the fall of Dala hill, Dikko said a warrior from Daura called Bagauda, came to Kano and conquered the area.  “The Dala hill was conquered by a warrior from Daura called Bagauda. He was the person who demolished the shrine and destroyed the idol,” he said.

He added that the site was completely abandoned during the reign of the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Rumfa. This was attributed to the influence of Islam which was declared the state’s religion by the emir.

Significance of the two sites

Significantly, Dala, Gwauron Dutse and the remaining hills were the foundation of Kano city. This is because these early settlements were what transformed to become Kano today. During that period, the location of the community was mainly in the surrounding areas of Dala. It was constituted in the form of separate local clusters called wards. There were such wards as Kantudu, Makafin Dala, Dogon Nama, Rijiya biyu and Shirawa among others.

With the conquest of the area by Bagauda, a new system of kingship was established. Bagauda became the first king of Kano and after him, the kingship continued in his family by his children. According to Kano chronicle, the building of city walls by the third king, Gijimasu began from the foot of Dala hill.

Economically, the Dala hill; because of the iron ore, had attracted so many people to its site and as a result of that other economic activities had emerged attracting more people to the ancient city. Professions like agriculture, leather works, building construction, weaving and dyeing emerged.  The development of these professions led to the establishment of the famous Kurmi market which served as the centre for both internal and external trade.

Dala today

Investigations by Sunday Trust revealed that despite the importance of the site to the history of Kano city, little has been done to develop and raise it to the standard that would attract tourists. Dala hill for example, is in the midst of residential areas. Apart from the staircase constructed to ease climbing the hill, there is virtually the nothing of to show that the hill was the foundation of Kano city. People defecate around the area. It is only during the Maulud period that the Dala hill is besieged by celebrants seeking for fun.

Further findings by Sunday Trust revealed that the influence of Islam; which is the state religion, has contributed in leaving the site to rot. The Gidan Makama curator, Malam Idris, said the declaration of Islam as the state religion by the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Rumfa, led to the abandonment of the site by subsequent governments. “The emergence of Islam as the state religion is the main reason why the site is no longer regarded as sacred,” he said.

Islam being the major cause, lack of political will on the part of the leaders is another reason for the abandonment of the site. Visiting the site will leave no one in doubt that neither the people nor the government has a business there. The defecation on the sites is enough evidence.

Why Dala hill is not attracting touristS

Hajiya Aisha Shehu, Director, Research and Documentation, History and Culture Bureau, said it might not be unconnected with security reasons. She said generally, the world is faced with problem of insecurity. “Insecurity in the world is affecting tourism. Tourists feel insecure now to travel to other parts of the world for site seeing.”

She added that the deplorable condition of the sites in Kano is another reason. She said even though many proposals had been submitted to the state government to renovate the site and make it reach a desired standard, the proposals were yet to see the light of day. “For over 10 years we have been making proposals to the state government to renovate the site but nothing has been done yet.”

Aisha, however, observed that renovating the site to make it attain the desired standard is a money consuming venture which might be difficult for the state government to handle it single handed alone. She said a collaborative effort between the state government and a donor agency is necessary. “I suggest that a well articulated proposal be written to some of these donor organisations that have the interest to preserve world heritage to come and collaborate with the state government to renovate the site,” she said.

The director disclosed that there is no plan on ground yet by the state government or any NGO to renovate the site and make it a tourist attraction.