Image Making in the Hausa Poetic Tradition: A Study of some Selected Oral Poems of Shāta

Abstract

Oral poetry is part and parcel of Hausa people‟s social life. Empirical antecedents have shown that the oral lore in the Hausa context is typically characteristics of the myriad forms of trado-social communication, education and entertainment habit of the people. Another vital role of the oral poetry is image making. Shāta as the most celebrated and renowned Hausa oral poet of the 21st century has played a significant role of image making by developing unpopular persons‟ image before the public, from grass to grace. The focus of this article is to analyze some selected Shāta‟s oral poems that have upgraded the images of his clients to prominence in Hausa society. Reference is made to the Shāta‟s songs of „Waƙoƙin Mamman Sarkin Daura and Habu „Yam Mama‟. Shāta has positively (in the case of Mamman Sarkin Daura) and negatively (in the case of Habu „Yam Mama) projected the images/personalities of his clients and made them more popular.