Nigeria in West Africa is home to one such tribe, the Hausa
They were long flowing robes with wide sleeves to protect them from the sun. The women also wear colorful turbans and carry their babies on their back, in a cloth sling.
Kano is a caravan town in North Nigeria. See there how farmers live in the villages nearby. The soil of this area is sandy because of sparse rainfall which allows the Hausas to grow groundnuts, millet, yams and tapioca. There are large and small houses in this area but they are all built with flat roofs and small windows. The dried millet stalks are used as a framework for the walls and are plastered with wet clay which dries and becomes hard. The houses are set close together and the whole villages are fenced with millet stalks, to protect the villagers from the lions, jackals and hyenas that abound in this area.
The ground nuts are sown in May at the beginning of the hot, wet season. Land is dug up and manure and groundnut seeds are planted in long, straight rows. The seed germinates and soon a shoot begins to spread it self across the ground. After about five weeks pale, waxy, yellow flowers begin to appear from under the leaves. The stem then begins to thicken and the nuts developing under the ground, which gives this nut name. As groundnuts are a favorite with birds, animals and men, this is nature’s way of protecting them. By October the nuts are ready to be harvested.
The Hausa way of farming is known as peasant farming. The male members of the family use digging sticks to prepare the ground. Those members of the tribe who are more modern now use wooden ploughs drawn by bullocks.
The women shell the groundnuts and get them ready for export. Due to the dry weather to sacks of nuts can be stored in the open until they are moved to the coast. Since groundnut is a cash crop, great care is taken with its harvest and preparation.
Other food crops are millet, sweet potato, yam and tapioca. Millet is pounded and then boiled into a paste which is eaten with meat or soup. Tapioca is also made into a soup called tebba. Yam, when harvested, is stored by being tied to bamboo stakes which allow air to pass freely al round them. Some times, some of the groundnuts are roasted and pounded into a paste and eaten.
Apart from agriculture, the Hausas also keep cattle and chicken. Like people in India, they are good at cottage industries and are very clever with their hands. They weave cloth on looms at home and make articles of leather and grass and wood. Most of the Hausas are Muslims, though they have contact with people of other religions. Occasional trips are made to Kano, the collecting centre for groundnut.
The Masai
The African savanna has been a home to human beings since millions of years. And cattle have been herded ever since.
The Masai of Kenya and Tanzania are the most famous cattle-herders or `pastoralists’ of this region today. They keep goats, sheep and the humped Zebu type of cattle. Not all Masai are nomadic. Some have settled down and practice primitive agriculture. Their houses are circular in shape with thatched roofs and walls plastered with mud and cow dung. The huts are surrounded by thorn fences called bomas.
The Arusha are a group of Masai who cultivate many crops such as cotton, hemp, millet, bean, sweet potato, groundnut and yam.
Many of the Masai today are educated and they work amongst their own people. They are teachers and agricultural experts too, improving the quality of crops, animals and the lives of people in those regions.
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