Gaisuwa da Ban Kwana 1.

01

GAISUWA DA BAN KWANA

CULTURAL COMMENTS

! Function of greetings: In Hausa society, as in all African societies, it is obligatory

for people to exchange a series of greetings when they encounter each other. To do
otherwise would be extremely rude.
! Greeting situations: Some all-purpose greeting
phrases can be used at any time. Others depend on the
circumstances, such as time of day, prevailing weather,
activity that the greetee is engaged in, or the family
situation of the greetee. Special circumstances such as
holidays, births, deaths, and so forth have their own
special repertoires.
! Comportment during
greeting: Male peers shake
hands, then touch their chest
with their right hand. Two
female peers or male and
female peers greeting each
other do not make physical
contact. A social subordinate
will crouch or kneel when
greeting a social superior. In
cases of great social distance,
such as in greeting an Emir,
the greeter may even prostrate
himself. A traditional sign of
respect to a superior is called

jinjina, a raised fist with the thumb to the back of the

hand, a gesture which originated in raising a spear
in salute to an Emir or other powerful leader, but
now extended to any subordinate-superior interac-
tion. In a greeting exchange, the subordinate is
expected to initiate the greetings by asking about the
welfare of the superior.

GREETING STRUCTURE

A greeting “conversation” (gaisuwa) has a structure. The repertoire of standard greeting

phrases and responses fall into groups, with one group leading to the next.

" Openers, attention callers: Phrases such as, “Salamu alaikum,” (from Arabic,
meaning, “Peace be on you.”) may optionally be used to open a greeting conversation
on meeting. Such phrases can function to call attention to a greeter’s presence when
s/he has not been seen or noticed, e.g. when arriving outside a house or when
approaching a person or group otherwise occupied.

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" General salutations: Phrases using “Sannu!” ‘Hello!, Greetings!’ or “Barka!”

‘Greetings!’ (from Arabic, meaning “blessing”) always initiate a greeting conversation,
whether or not an“opener” has been used.
" Enquiries on health and welfare: Following one of the “general salutations”, the
greeting conversation will include at least one, and often several questions about health
and welfare. These typically begin in, “Ina …?” or “Yaya …?” ‘How’s …?’, though
they may also be simple questions, such as. “Kina lafiya?” ‘Are you well?’

LEAVE TAKING STRUCTURE

Leave takings (ban kwana) are not as elaborate as greetings, but there is a structure to
multi-exchange leave takings.

" Statement of intention: One may make an overt statement of one’s intention to take
leave with a sentence such as, “To zan tafi!” ‘Well, I’m going to leave!’ or “To na
tashi!” ‘Well, I’m on my way!’
" Mention of next meeting: Leave takings will almost always include a statement
using sai ‘until’ followed by something about the next expected encounter. By far the
most frequent is, “Sai an juma!” ‘Until later!’ (literally, ‘Until one-has passed-time!’),
but others are also common, e.g. ‘Until tomorrow!’, ‘Until we meet again!’, etc.
" Well-wishing: One may follow the sai “next meeting” phrase with a phrase of well-
wishing, such as, “Sauka lafiya!” ‘Arrive safely!’, or very often an invocation of Allah,
such as, “Allah ya kiyaye!” ‘May Allah watch over (you/us/your trip)!’

GAISUWA DA BAN KWANA

The tables below give all the greeting (gaisuwa) and leave taking (ban kwana) expressions
and their responses which occur in segments 1.01a-i of the Hausar Baka video. These and
other typical phrases can be found in nearly all the video segments. The groupings are
those listed above.

GAISUWA

OPENERS, ATTENTION CALLERS

Greeting Response Translation

Saæla\muæ aælaikuæm. AÆlaikuæm aæs-saæla\muæ. ‘Peace be with you.’ ‘With you be peace.’
La¥le. Ma\®aæba, la¥le\. ‘Hello!’ ‘Welcome, hello!’

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GENERAL SALUTIONS

Saænnu
Saænnu. ‘Greetings, Hi.’
Saænnunkì. ~ Saænnunkaæ. Saænnu kaædai.  ‘Greetings also.’ 
Ya]uwa.  ‘Greetings to you.’ ‘Right!’ 
Saænnu daæ aik∑. Ya]uwa, saænnu.  ‘Greetings on work.’ ‘Right, greetings.’ 
Saænnu daæ hu\ta¥wa\. Ya]uwa, saænnu kaædai. ‘Greetings on resting.’ ‘Right, greetings also.’
   
Saænnu daæ zuwa¥. ‘Greetings on coming.’

Ba®ka¥
Ba® ka¥ kaædai.  ‘Greetings also.’ 
Ba®ka¥ daæ aik∑. Ya]uwa.  ‘Greetings on work.’ ‘Right!’ 
Ba®ka¥ daæ aæsuæba].   ‘Greetings at dawn.’ ‘Right, greetings.’ 
Ba®ka¥ daæ ra\na.  Ya] u wa, ba® ka¥ .  ‘Greetings at midday.’ ‘Right, greetings also.’ 
Ya]uwa, ba® ka¥ kaædai. ‘Greetings on seeing you.’
Ba®ka daæ dare\. Ba® ka¥ daæ ganinkì¶kaæ. ‘Greetings at night.’

ENQUIRIES ON HEALTH AND WELFARE

Äna\ ...@
Lafiya¥
@ lau. 
 ‘Just fine.’
Äna\ kwa\na\@ ‘How was the night?’
 Lafiya¥
@ ˚alau. ‘Just fine.’
Äna\ wun∑@ Lafiya¥
@ .  ‘How has the day been?’ ‘Fine.’ 

Äna\ gaæjiya¥@ Ba] gajiya. ‘How’s the tiredness?’ ‘There’s no tiredness.’

Ya¥ya¥ ...@
Ya¥ya¥ aik∑@ Aik∑ daæ go¥diya\. ‘How’s work?’ ‘Work, there’s thankfulness.’
Ya¥ya¥ maka®anta\@ Maka®anta\ daæ go¥diya\. ‘How’s school?’ ‘School, there’s thankfulness.’
Ya¥ya¥ la¥ba\®∑@ La¥ba\®∑ sai aælhe\®∑@ ‘How’s the news?’ ‘The news is only good.’
Ya¥ya¥ ruwa\@ Ruwa\ ya\ yi gya\ra\. ‘How’s the rain?’ ‘Rain makes repairs.’
Ya¥ya¥ gida\@ Gida\, aælhamduæ lìlla\hì. ‘How’s the household?’ ‘The household, praise God.’
Ya¥ya¥ amarya\@ Amarya\, aælhamduæ lìlla\hì. ‘How’s the new wife?’ ‘The wife, praise God.’
Ya¥ya¥ ìya\l∑@ Äya\l∑ la\fiya¥. ‘How’s the family?’ ‘The family is fine.’
Ya¥ya¥ gaærê@ Gaærê la\fiya¥. ‘How’s the town?’ ‘The town is fine.’
Ya¥ya¥ guæmê@ Guæmê lo\kaæcinsaæ ne\. ‘How”s the hot weather?’ ‘Hot weather, it's the time for it.’
Ya¥ya¥ dai@ Ga¥ mu dai. ‘How is it?’ ‘Here we are!’
The responses here are those in the videos. There are a number of alternate responses.
“Alhamdu lillahi!” ‘Praise to Allah!’ (from Arabic) would be a common response to any of
these greetings, not just the ones shown with that response here (except possibly “Yaya
labari?”, for which, “Labari sai alheri!” is a fairly automatic response).

Simple questions
La\fiya¥ kuæwa@ La\fiya¥ lau. ‘Are things OK?’ ‘Just fine.’
Bintaæ ce\@ ë, nê ce¥. ‘So it’s Binta?’ ‘Yes, it’s me.’

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BAN KWANA

STATEMENT OF INTENTION

Leave taking Response Translation

To¥ za]n taæfi. To¥ kì gai daæ gida\. ‘Well I’m going.’ ‘Well, greet the family.’
To¥ za]n ko\ma¥. Saæuka la\fiya¥. ‘Well I’m going back.’ ‘Arrive safely.’

MENTION OF NEXT MEETING

Sai ...

Sai an jima¥.
Sai an jima¥.


Muæ jima¥ daæ yawa¥.

‘Until later.’ {‘Until later.’
‘May we live long.’ } 1

Sai go¥be. Sai go¥be. ‘Until tomorrow.’ ‘Until tomorrow.’

Sai wata ra\na\. Sai wata ra\na\. ‘Until another day.’ ‘Until another day.’
Sai ka\ ~ kin da\wo\. AÆ da\wo\ la\fiya¥. ‘Until you (m~f) return.’ ‘May one return safely.’

WELL-WISHING

Saæuka la\fiya¥. Alla¥h yaæ sa]. ‘Arrive safely.’ ‘May Allah cause it.’
Muæ kwa\na la\fiya¥. Alla¥h yaæ sa]. ‘May we pass the night safely.’ ‘May Allah cause it.’
Alla¥h yaæ ba\ muæ aælhe\®∑. AÁmin. ‘May Allah give us good fortune.’ ‘Amen.’

Any invocation of Allah elicits the response, “Amin.” The well-wisher would normally
respond, “Amin,” to, “Allah ya sa,” in the first two exchanges here as well.

GREETINGS FOR SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES

• Congratulations on a birth: see video segments 2.04a-b

• Condolences on a death: see video segments 2.06a-b
• Commiserating with a sick person: see video segments 1.05a, 2.05
• Greeting a judge or traditional leader: see video segments 4.01, 4.02
• Greeting someone who holds animist rather than Islamic beliefs: see
video segment 2.17

1
The response, “Mu jima da yawa,” is a play on words. Jima (or juma) means ‘last/spend time’. The
leave taking, “Sai an juma,” means, “Until one has spent some time,” i.e. reference to time that will pass
until the next encounter. “Mu jima da yawa,” means, “May we last a lot of time,” i.e. may we live long.

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ASKING SOMEONE’S NAME AND ANSWERING

The expressions for asking someone’s name and answers are as follows. Learn these as
fixed expressions at this time. We cover the grammatical details in later lessons.
(Obviously the names in the second column will depend on the actual situation.)

Ya¥ya¥ su\nankì@ Su\na\na\ Zainaæb. ‘What is your name? ‘My name is Zainab.’
(speaking to a female)
Ya¥ya¥ su\nankaæ@ Su\na\na\ Îanla\dì. ‘What is your name? ‘My name is Danladi.’
(speaking to a male)
Ya¥ya¥ su\nantaæ@ Su\nantaæ Hajaæ®a\. ‘What is her name?’ ‘Her name is Hajara.’
Ya¥ya¥ su\nansaæ@ S\un\ ansaæ Dattì. ‘What is his name?’ ‘His name is Datti.’

HAUSA NAMES

Hausa names are of two basic kinds: Islamic and traditional. Every Muslim Hausa has
an Islamic name, called a sunan yanka “sacrifice name”, so-called because of the ram
slaughtered on the day a child is officially named, seven days after birth. These are names
of Biblical or Koranic figures such as angels, prophets, saints, family and companions of
the Prophet Muhammad and the Prophet himself, or other important personnages from
religious history. There are also many names derived from references to Allah, all
preceded by Abdu- ‘slave of -’. Many boys who have the sunan yanka “Muhammad” may,
instead, be referred to by one of the many names which have been used as traditional
epithets for the Prophet Muhammad. In some families, all the boys are named
“Muhammad”, but each is referred to by a name derived from an Arabic number indicating
where he falls in the succession of Muhammads in that family.
Although everyone has a sunan yanka, many people instead use a traditional name for
everyday reference. Traditional names have many sources, depending on the individual’s
personal circumstances. The most common sources of traditional names are the following:

• the day of the week on which one was born

• time of year or special event taking place on the birth day
• relation to siblings, e.g. being one of a pair of twins, being a child born after twins,
being a boy born after several girls or a girl born after several boys
• other family circumstances, such as having four living grandparents, being born after
parents were divorced, or being born after the death of several older siblings

The names below are listed roughly by these categories, with traditional names listed
first, followed by Islamic names. Those Islamic names with English counterparts are listed
separately. Names separated by slashes are alternatives with the same meaning, sometimes

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differing only in pronunciation. Names in parentheses following the main name are
nicknames referring to that name, similar to English ‘Dick’ for ‘Richard’ or ‘Meg’ for
‘Margaret’. For a fairly extensive list of names (mostly Islamic) marked for tone and
vowel length, see R.M. Newman, An English-Hausa Dictionary, Yale University Press,
1990, Appendix B. For a discussion and listing of names by category, see I.Y. Yahaya,
“Sunayen Hausawa na gargajiya,” in A.Y. Bichi (ed.), Sunayen Hausawa na Gargajiya da
Ire-Iren Abincin Hausawa, Centre for the Study of Nigerian Languages, Kano, 1979.

TRADITIONAL NAMES

DAY OF BIRTH

Male Female Circumstance

Îan Ju\maæ Jummai Friday

Îan AÆsaæbe AÆsaæbe Saturday
Îan La\dì La\dì¶La¥dê¶La¥dêdê Sunday
Taænêmuæ¶Îan L∑ti Taænô¶Tìne¶AÆtìne Monday
Îan Îaæla\ Taæla\tuæ¶Tatuæ Tuesday
Baæla\®abeæ¶Baæla\ La¥®aæba\¶La\®ai Wednesday
Îan La¥mô La¥mô Thursday

SEASON OF THE YEAR

Da¥mina Da¥mina rainy season

Îan Maærka¶Ana¥-ruwa Maærka wettest part of rainy season
C∑-tumuæ C∑-tumuæ end of rainy season
Îan Ka¥ka Ka¥ka harvest season
C∑-wa\ke C∑-wa\ke bean harvest time
C∑-ramaæ C∑-ramaæ time of hemp harvest
Îa\rê Îa\rê harmattan
Masaælla¥cê¶Saællau Ta-sallaæ Islamic Holy Day
Îan Azuæmi Azuæmi month of Ramadan
AÆlhajì Hajìya\ Id El-Kabir

CIRCUMSTANCES OF BIRTH

Maga¥ji Maga\jìya\ oldest son or daughter

(Îan) AÆuta\ (&Ya®) AÆuta\ last born child
Samboæ second born child
Hasaæn µ Huæsainì Hasaæna\ µ Husaæina\ twins
Gaæmbo Gaæmbo born following twins
Tankoæ Kaænde¶De¥lu born following two or more
children of the opposite sex
Baærau¶AÆ-bar-shì¶Ba\waæ¶ AÆ-bar-taæ¶Ba]iwa¶AÆ-ma]nta child surviving after death of
Maæntau several older infant siblings

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(Îan) Talle Talle mother dies during or

shortly after childbirth
AÆudi AÆudi father dies shortly after birth
Sa¥dau¶So¥-gijì Sa¥dau parents remarry after divorce
∑-gijì ∑-gijì parents divorce before birth
Raæbo AÆ-baici born after parents have spent
several years hoping for a
child
Mijìn-yawaæ all four grandparents living
She¥kaærau She\kaæra\ spends a year in the womb
Maæi-Gaæri one whose name is the same
as the town chief’s

APPEARANCE OF THE CHILD

Ja¥tau &Ya®-ja\ light-skinned

Du\naæ dark-skinned
Cindoæ Cindoæ six fingers
Saægê®uæ¶Saægô® Saægê®aæ very small

NAMES BASED IN ISLAM

PROPHETS AND ANGELS WITH COUNTERPART NAMES IN ENGLISH

Male English equivalent Female English equivalent

AÁdaæmu (AÁdo\) ‘Adam’ Haæwwa (Maæi Jiddaæ) ‘Eve’
Daudaæ ≠ Dauda¥ ‘David’ A|damaæ (fem. form of Adam)
Ha®u\naæ ‘Aaron’ Ma®yaæmaæ¶Ma®yaæma\¶ ‘Mary’
Äb®ahìm (IÁ®o¶Ib®o\) ‘Abraham’ Ma®yaæm (Maæi®o)
ësa\ ‘Jesus’ Sa\®atuæ (Sa\®ai) ‘Sarah’
Isiya\kuæ¶Isiya\kaæ ‘Isaac’
Isma\&êluæ¶Isma\&êlaæ ‘Ishmail’
Jìbì®êluæ¶Jìbì®ôn (Jibo¥) ‘Gabriel’
Mu\sa\ (Kaællamuæ) ‘Moses’
Nuhuæ ‘Noah’
Sulaæima\nuæ (Suleæ) ‘Solomon’
Ya¥kubuæ¶Ya¥˚ubuæ ‘Jacob’
Yu\sufuæ ‘Joseph’

NAMES OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD, HIS RELATIVES, HIS FAMILY, HIS

DISCIPLES, AND OTHER IMPORTANT ISLAMIC FIGURES

Male names Female names

AÆbu\bakaæ® (Ga®baæ¶AÁbu\¶Buka殶Bu\baæ¶Haæbu\) A|&ìshatuæ¶A|&ìsha\ (A|&ì¶Shatuæ¶Ändo\)
A|˚ibuæ AÆsma\&uæ
AÆ˚êluæ A|tìka\
AÆliyuæ (AÆli¶Za\k∑) Bìlkêsuæ (Bìlki)
AÆtêkuæ Fa\∂ìmatuæ¶Fa\tìma\ (Fa¥tê¶Bintaæ)
Abbaæ (AÆbba\tê) Haædêzatuæ¶Hadêzaæ (D∑je)

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Buæha\®i Haæfsatuæ¶Hafsaæt (Haæusu)

Îaælhatuæ (Îaælha\) Haælêmataæ¶Haælêmaæ (Dubu¶Sa¥diya\)
Haælêluæ Maimuænatuæ¶Maæimunaæ
Hamzaæ R”ab\ i
Ädì®êsuæ¶Ädì®ôs (ëdê) R”u˚aæyyatuæ¶R”u˚aæyya\ (Rakìya\)
Illo\ Saæ&a\datuæ
Inu\saæ¶Yunu\saæ (Inu\) Safìya
Ma¥mu\duæ (Mu\dê) Zaæhaæ®a\
Muæ&a\zuæ¶Maæ&a\zuæ Zaæinabuæ¶Zainaæb (A|buæ)
Muæba\®aæk Zubaæida\
Saæ&êduæ¶Saæ&a\duæ Zuwaæi®a\
Sa\lihuæ (Sa\leæ¶Saæle\le)
Tìjja\ni (Tijja¥)
UÆma®uæ¶Umaæ® (Sandaæ)
Usma\nuæ¶UÆsma]n (She\huæ)
Yaæhaæya\ (Yahaæi)
Zuæbai®uæ

Muæhammaduæ¶Muæhammaæn (Mammaæn¶Mammado\)
Some or all the boys of a family may be named “Muhammadu”, in which case they can be
called by “numerical” names which mean “First”, “Second”, etc. in Arabic. The Prophet
also has many other epithets which can be male names.

Numerical names Other epithets Female counterparts

1. AÆwwaluæ¶Lawaæn¶Lawaæl¶Lawaæi AÁhmaduæ (A|maædê)
2. Sa\ni AÆmênuæ¶AÆmôn Amênaæ¶Am∑na\
3. Sa\lisuæ Baæshê®uæ¶Baæshô®
4. R”ab\ i&uæ Belloæ
5. Ha\misuæ Îa\hi®uæ
6. Sa\disuæ Îaæyyabuæ
7. Sa\bi&uæ Haæbêbuæ¶Haæbôb Haæbêbaæ
8. Sa\minuæ Inuwaæ (Inuæ¶Îan Inuæ)
9. Ta\si&uæ Kaæbê®uæ¶Kaæbô®
10. Ashi®uæ Muæhta\®i¶Muæhta]®
Mu®taæla\
Mustaæfa\
Na\si®uæ¶Na\sì®
Nu\®uæ¶Nu\®aæ
Saædê˚uæ
Sêdì
Tukuæ®

NAMES COMBINING “ABDU-” ‘slave of’ WITH ONE OF THE NAMES OF ALLAH

AÆbduæl^aæzôz AÆbduælwaæha]b
AÆbduælkaæ®ôm AÆbduæ®®aæ^u]f
AÆbduæl˚a\dì® AÆbduæ®®aæhôm
AÆbduælla\hì (Abduæ¶Auduæ) AÆduæ®®aæhma]n
AÆbduællaætôf AÆbduæ®®aæshôd
AÆbduælma\lìk AÆbduæssaæla]m