Joking Relationship (Wasan Barkwanci) in Hausa: A Tool for National Integration in Nigeria

Abstract

Joking relationships meaning; Wasan Barkwanci or Taubasantaka in the Hausa language is a Hausa term referring to different forms of joking relationships, a cultural phenomenon that is played both among the Hausa people and to some extent, their neighbors. Joking relationships in their simple form exist between people who share kinship relationships. Prior to the British conquest of Hausa states and the subsequent imposition of colonial rule in the early part of the 19th century, notable Hausa states waged interstate wars of conquest for territorial expansion and gaining access and control of trading routes, to further enhance their revenue drive and economic viability. The British however halted these wars as a result of which peace prevailed and this brought about stability among the states. During peacetime, a joking relationship sprung up between the people of the warring states. Culturally, practitioners of similar but different occupations do engage in jokes between themselves, each claiming superiority, prestige, and worthiness of their trade over another. Culture being a dynamic phenomenon, joking relations as it relates to trade groups, were shifted to incorporate people who undertake the practice of new occupations that were introduced as a result of the contact between the British overloads and their Hausa subjects. Hence, joking relationships exist between masons and carpenters, between drivers and People who transport goods using camel. The main feature of these joking relationships is that the persons who engage in it are automatically related to one another such that one is entitled to say and do things to another without offence, which ordinarily when said or done to a different person will generate quarrels and misunderstandings. This paper is an attempt to examine this cultural phenomenon and its efficacy in bringing about harmonious relationships and social integration of Hausa people and their neighbors, which if properly harnessed will bring about national integration.