Activity: Choose one of the cities from the map. Create a travelogue (guide) of places to stay, things to do, and foods to try when you visit. This one page guide should include 4-5 pictures and some details about the city you chose.

Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.

18 West Africa

Name Class Date

West Africa Critical Thinking

Farming in Niger and Nigeria

The Hausa are a people who live in Nigeria and in parts of southern

Niger. Many Hausa have moved to big cities such as Lagos and Kano

in search of jobs that pay cash wages. However, most Hausa remain in

small villages, where they grow food crops and raise livestock on

nearby lands.

Hausa farmers time their activities according to seasonal changes in

rainfall and temperature. The chart below shows the Hausa farming

schedule and contains a glossary of farming terms in the Hausa

language. Use the chart to answer the questions that follow.

HAUSA FARMING SCHEDULE

• March–May: Winds from the Sahara blow dust into the region.

The land is brown, and there is little vegetation. Farmers fertilize

their fields and work at activities such as home construction and

repair and the cutting of firewood.

• Mid–May: Intense activity in the fields begin as the first rains

soften the soil. Guinea corn and millet are planted for an early

harvest. Not long after, groundnuts (peanuts) are planted among

the guinea corn and millet.

• June–July: Because of daily rains, crops must be weeded frequently.

• August: Cowpeas are planted. The harvesting of the millet begins,

with stalks left in the ground for later use. Cassava is planted for

the following year.

• October–November: When rains have stopped, groundnuts are

harvested and dried. Guinea corn is harvested.

• December–Mid-February: Cowpeas are harvested. Groundnut

leaves are collected for animal fodder; millet and corn stalks

are cut for home construction; grad is cut for thatching and

mat-making.

HAUSA FARMING TERMS

adda: the cutlass or machete used in clearing wooded land

firi: the first weeding of a grain farm

garma: the hand plow used for ridging

girbe: reaping completely, such as cowpeas after millet

Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.

19 West Africa

Name Class Date

girbi: the reaping of grain

gwarzo banza: making ridges for sowing

huda dawa: to bank up grown guinea corn after completion of firi and maimai

kafce: hoeing the whole plot deeply

maimai: the second weeding of a grain farm, perhaps adding fresh soil to the base of the plants

massassabi: a short-handled hoe for clearing land or reaping grain

rora: to harvest a crop that has to be picked separately from each plant, such as beans and groundnuts

sassabe: clearing the land of bushes to make a farm

sassarya: the third weeding

shuka: sowing

sungumi: a long-handled hoe used when sowing corn

toyi: when clearing farms, setting fire to the bush before it rains

Adapted from “The Agricultural Calendar” by Merry Merryfield. Copyright © 1983 by Merry Merryfield. Reproduced by permission of the author.

1. What crops do the Hausa raise?

2. How do the Hausa use the parts of crops that they do not eat?

3. What farming tools do the Hausa use? What are their names in the Hausa

language?

4. During what time period(s) does each of the following take place?

Farming in Niger and Nigeria, continued Critical Thinking

a. firi, maimai, and sassarya

b. gwarzo banza and shuka

c. rora

d. sassabe and toyi

5. How does this farming schedule show that the Hausas’ lives are shaped by their

environment?

Activity: Most of these crops are unknown in the west. Create an information page on how it is farmed, what it looks like when growing, and some of the foods it is used to make. Please include 4-5 pictures to show what you are talking about.