03 · Explore
Caravans, markets and indigo: the Hausa commercial world
Hausa cities sat between the desert and the forest. Salt, cloth, leather, kola and gold crossed their markets, and Hausa merchants carried the trade far beyond them.
Follow a bundle of cloth, a camel load of salt or a bag of kola from one market to the next, and you will find the Hausa behind almost every stage. This chapter is about trade, trust and craft.
In this chapter
01Between the desert and the forest
Camels, salt, kola and the merchants who linked the Sahara to the forest.
2 min read →
02The market cycle and the handshake
Three-day markets, daily markets and a handshake that was enough.
2 min read →
03Indigo, leather and the dye pits of Kofar Mata
The deep-blue dye pits of Kano and the red leather the world called “Morocco”.
1 min read →
04The groundnut pyramids
Pyramids of sacks, a railway and the snack that survived them: kilishi.
1 min read →