The most famous origin story comes from Daura, the oldest seat of the tradition. A prince named Bayajidda (sometimes Abu Yazid, and said to have come from the east, often from Baghdad) travelled west and reached Borno, where he married a local princess, Magira. He then left and arrived in Daura.
There the people could draw water from the well at Kusugu on one day a week only, because a huge serpent, Sarki, guarded it. Bayajidda killed the serpent with his sword and was rewarded by the queen, Daurama, who married him. The sons born from these unions are remembered as the founders of the Hausa states.
Tradition sorts those states into two sets of seven. The Hausa Bakwai (“the seven true Hausa”) are held to descend from the legitimate wives. The Banza Bakwai (often rendered “the seven bastard Hausa”, banza meaning something like “of lesser standing”) are the neighbouring states linked to a concubine’s line.
| Group | States | Idea expressed |
|---|---|---|
| Hausa Bakwai | Daura, Kano, Katsina, Zazzau (Zaria), Gobir, Rano, Biram | The core of Hausaland, tied to Bayajidda’s lawful line |
| Banza Bakwai | Zamfara, Kebbi, Yauri, Gwari, Nupe, Kwararafa (Jukun), Ilorin (various lists) | Culturally close neighbours, tied to a secondary line |
Few historians read the legend as literal history. Many see a charter myth: a story that explains how a shared language and a family of kingdoms came to belong together, and that gives the ruling houses a prestigious foreign ancestor. Some also read the well, the serpent and the queen as a memory of older, locally rooted rulers and cults meeting a new military and Islamic elite. Stories of a founding hero from the east are told in other parts of West Africa too, so Daura’s version is one tradition among several.
Sources for this article
- Unsigned overview (n.d.), section “The Bayajidda Legend” (summary of the tradition)
- Last 1967, introduction
- Palmer 1928, Daura and Kano chronicles