Citation: Furfuri, I.M.M. (2024). The Role of Nigerian University Libraries in Archiving Hausa Royal Songs for Effective Service Delivery to Researchers. Four Decades of Hausa Royal Songs: Proceedings from the International Conference on the Life and Songs of Makaɗa Sa'idu Faru, 3(3), 448-453. www.doi.org/10.36349/tjllc.2024.v03i03.062.
The Role of
Nigerian University Libraries in Archiving Hausa Royal Songs for Effective
Service Delivery to Researchers
By
Ibrahim M. M.
Furfuri (Ph.D)
Inuwa Abdul-Kadir Library, Sokoto State University, Sokoto
immfurfuri@yahoo.co.uk,
ibrahim.furfuri@ssu.edu.ng
Abstract
The need for archiving oral literature in any society cannot
be overemphasized. However, in Nigeria, archiving practices for oral literature
are still low. The aim of this paper, therefore, is to explore the role of
university libraries in enhancing archiving practices for Hausa royal songs for
effective service delivery to different researchers and other interest groups. Oral
literature in the form of royal songs in the Hausa language plays very
significant roles towards preserving history, cultural heritage, language
development and other traditional values. However, the emergence of Hausa popular
literature songs due to advancements in technology appeared to be a deviation
from the traditional Hausa oral songs. Hence, the consequences of not archiving
the traditional Hausa oral songs could endanger the historical and linguistic
preservation of the language as well as its tangible and intangible cultural
heritage. The qualitative approach based on content analysis of different
sources of information was adopted for this study. The techniques,
opportunities and challenges of print and digital archiving of oral songs were
discussed. Furthermore, the role of Nigerian university libraries in archiving Hausa
royal songs was highlighted. The libraries can be repositioned to enhance
archive management of oral literature for effective service delivery to
researchers who may desire access to such resources to satisfy research and
other information needs. Key strategies that university libraries could
implement to ensure long-term preservation and promote accessibility to Hausa
royal songs were also proposed. These strategies include training for print and
digital archiving of oral literature. In conclusion, the paper provides some
insights that will serve as a guide to university libraries and other
organizations, on the necessity of selecting, acquiring and archiving Hausa
oral songs for research and studies by present and future generations.
Keywords: Hausa Royal Songs, Archiving Oral Songs, Nigerian
University Libraries.
Introduction
Hausa traditional oral songs are very important components
of African oral kinds of literature. According to Sotunsa (2017, p.2), the
indigenous knowledge of African Societies is generally archived in oral kinds
of literature in the forms of oral traditions and folklore. Royal songs,
therefore, are indeed among the major genres of folklore, which were developed
over the years and transmitted from one generation to another. This type of
song are embodiment of ancient and culture-bound practices that have existed
for hundreds of years in many communities of sub-Saharan Africa (Bichi, 2018,
p.4). However, it is worth noting that, the practice of oral songs varies from
one society to another in line with its social, historical and cultural
heritage. This paper attempts to discuss Hausa oral songs and their
significance to society with particular emphasis on their relevance to
researchers in academia. The paper also seeks to briefly explore the role of university
libraries in Nigeria in enhancing archiving practices for oral songs for achieving
effective service delivery to different researchers in Hausa studies and other
interest groups. Furthermore, the paper will highlight the unique challenges of
archiving the traditional Hausa oral songs for long-term preservation and
accessibility by present and future generations. Proper documentation of
traditional oral literature is very crucial in ensuring long-term preservation,
promoting accessibility, and protecting the knowledge of literary studies for
use by present and future generations.
In this paper, a functionalist approach to the study of oral
literature has been employed to highlight the significance of oral poetry in
society. Chamo (2013, p.3) in his study on Hausa oral songs as a tool for
national integration and development, cited different scholars (Bichi, 1992;
Daba 2006; Zurmi 1981, and Na-Allah, 2010) who advanced the functionalists
theory in their various works. In other words, the tenets of this theory as
propounded by Auguste Comte is to interpret the society as a structure that is made
up of interrelated elements like customs, traditions and institutions (Surajo,
2019, p.468). Surajo further maintains that functional theory is applied to
study the relationship between language, culture, traditions and society.
Hence, it is on this basis that the functions Hausa oral songs play in society are
of paramount importance. Because of the nature of the topic of discussion, the qualitative
approach that was based on content analysis of different sources of information
was adopted in writing this paper.
Concept of Hausa
Oral Songs
The word ‘oral’ implies something that is related to the use
of mouth. But, concerning song, oral implied singing unwritten poetry with or
without music. In this regard, oral song refers to unwritten poetry. Chamo
(2013, p.5) describes oral song as poetry that is performed live within oral
cultures. Thus, the concept of ‘oral song’ is usually used interchangeably with
‘oral poetry’. However, Chamo further noted that Hausa oral songs are also
performed with the use of talking drums, or even such songs are accompanied by
dances. In other words, oral songs are an integral component of Hausa culture.
Generally, oral songs are part of everyday life activities in Hausa society.
According to Jangebe (2014, p.21), many singers in Hausa society perform oral
songs. These songs include court songs, work songs, praise songs, royal songs,
spirit songs, love songs, etc.
From the foregoing, therefore, Hausa oral songs are among
the principal genres of oral literature, not only in Nigeria but the African
society in general. Scholars like Ojaide (2018, p. xv) assert that, it is the
oral traditions that form the basis for modern African literature, and give it
(written literature) cultural identity. So concerning the Hausa oral songs, the
works of different researchers reveal that no exact time is known concerning
their origin. However, Gusau (2003) as cited in Jangebe (2014, p.23), had
associated the origin of Hausa oral songs with the time of hunting as a means
of livelihood in Hausa communities. But, with civilizations and the gradual
development of human societies, the practices of Hausa oral songs were done following
activities and ways of life in different Hausa communities. Akporobaro (2012,
p.9) maintains that the forms of African oral poetry are many, and varied from
one society to another. It is against this backdrop that every society
appreciates and encourages the creativity and performance of its traditional
oral poets. The Society recognizes that oral poetry is full of pearls of wisdom,
traditions and expressions as well as collective memory of cultural heritage
that can be transmitted from one generation to another.
Hausa Royal Songs
The Hausa royal song is another form of song for royalties.
Royalties here refer to traditional community leaders who have the status of
people of royal blood or family. For example, Makada Sa’idu Faru is one of the
popular royal singers. Though his biography and works are not within the
context of this paper, it suffices to briefly highlight the contributions he
made in the field of oral poetry before discussing the significance of Hausa
oral songs and the consequences of not archiving them within the domain of
Hausa society. Saidu Faru was generally known as a great Hausa oral singer
whose oral performance had grown beyond not only his immediate community of
former Sokoto Province but also transcends many African countries as well as
international communities and organizations. Muhammad and Sani (2024), have succinctly
described the royal songs of Sa’idu Faru as performance that encompasses not
only entertainment but celebrations of Hausa cultural traditions that were
preserved and promoted through the Hausa musical heritage. Though the central
theme of his songs focuses on royalties, his performances are full of
reflections on various aspects of human endeavours in the Hausa society. Thus,
Muhammad and Sani, further explore the themes of Sa’idu Faru’s songs that
delved into history and cultural heritage, economy, religion, politics, customs
and values, among others.
Fundamentally, the contributions and achievements of Sa’idu
Faru to the development of Hausa society are very remarkable in preserving,
upholding, promoting, and unifying both tangible and intangible Hausa cultural
assets. Indeed, the past, present and future generations within and beyond the
Hausa society stand to benefit from the performance of Sa’idu Faru. This, therefore,
justifies the imperative or calls for archiving and long-term preservation of
his works and similar ones. There is no doubt, that Hausa royal songs play a
very significant role in the cultural heritage of Hausa. This collection of
creative arts serves as an expression of history, identity and social
integration and cohesion. According to Sotunsa (2017, p.7), the indigenous
knowledge of Africans is generally used to sustain the local communities, in
terms of their cultural identity, and social and development goals.
Based on contemporary developments, globalization issues,
and the emergence of modern technologies, new trends and culture have had a greater
influence on Hausa oral songs. As such new themes that focus on urban life,
romance and hip-hop or afrobeat musical genres had gradually become popular
among the Hausa youth audience. This emergence and widespread of Hausa popular
songs appeared to be a deviation from Hausa traditional oral songs. This
suggests that without archiving and preservation, the historical and linguistic
components of the Hausa language and its cultural heritage could be exactly endangered.
Apart from the benefits that researchers can derive from these cultural
resources, one can also assert that oral poetry is generally regarded as a
powerful instrument for influencing change in the lives of people, thereby
bringing societal transformations. Given future expectations, Hausa traditional
oral songs such as the works of Sa’idu Faru and many others face the challenges
of accessibility and long-term preservation. However, the university libraries,
particularly those providing support for teaching and research, and offering
services for Hausa studies, can play a crucial role in addressing the
challenges of access and long-term preservation of the Hausa oral songs.
The Role of
University Libraries in Archiving Oral Songs
Generally, university libraries are recognized as the central
organ of their parent institutions. Their major traditional functions involve acquisition,
organization, dissemination as well as preservation and conservation of
information materials. But, presently, the advancement in technologies, the
phenomenon of information explosion, and users’ information-seeking behaviours,
preferences and expectations from their university libraries, are transforming
the traditional functions of the libraries. This informed the need to adopt
strategies to support teaching, learning and research as required by faculty
members, undergraduate students and researchers. Therefore, in the universities
that offer Hausa and linguistic studies, academic and research services in Hausa
oral songs are inevitable. Thus, content development, archiving and user engagement
for access to resources in Hausa oral traditions are of paramount importance.
The term “archives” refers to a collection of archival documents or materials,
rather than an institution or place where people can visit to access the
archival materials for their research or other needs. Archives are the corporate
memory of an institution or a society (National Archives of Nigeria, 2016, p.17).
The archives of a university may include its inaugural lectures, speeches, students’
handbooks, academic calendars, examination records, important and relevant
newspaper cuttings, reports, photographs, correspondences, data sets, and many
other primary source documents that are unique to the institution. Archives are
important sources of information for research.
Due to the importance and uniqueness of archives, some universities
in Nigeria have established an archives section for the benefit of their
faculty members, researchers and external users. From experience, Babcock University
Library in Ogun State is a very good example because of its rich archival
collections. A study by Ayorinde, Talabi and Okunade (2020, p.81) reveals that
in the past, efforts were made to develop archives of music (oral) songs at the
Institutes of African Studies in Nigeria, but this has not materialized. The
study further indicates that the archives in Nigerian university libraries were
developed as collections from projects of research scholars. However, the study
suggests the need to have printed format as a reliable method of archiving and
preserving oral poetry. Similarly, the University of Ife Press started, but
cannot continue its Project of publishing a series of documented oral songs. A
study was conducted by Nasidi and Jika (2023, p.12) on digital archiving and
establishment of Open Access Digital Repositories in libraries of three first-generation
universities in Nigeria. These universities are the University of Ibadan,
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and the University of Nigeria Nsukka. The
findings of their study revealed that both print and digital archiving are in
existence with huge information resources in their holdings. However, the
resources were found not easily accessible due to a lack of proper
digitization, inadequate ICT facilities, poor online visibility, and the absence
of staff with the required skill sets to manage the repositories. However,
their findings did not indicate the absence of an archives management system in
the three universities. For instance, a study by Liman and Aliyu (2023, p.86)
indicated the existence of archiving staff records at Ahmadu Bello University,
Zaria. The findings of their study showed that a combination of methods are in
use for the organization and storage of the archives. These methods include
alphabetic and numeric codes, subject-based and serial organization, geographic
location, and record order utilizing open and closed storage. Hence, modern archiving
and preservation practice is still a major challenge in Nigerian university
libraries. A study by Ogunbodede and Onah (2024, p.19) on the assessment of
modern preservation at Federal University Otuoke Library revealed that the website
is the only method of preserving information resources because the Institutional
Repository system is still in the planning stage. These researchers noted that
digital preservation can help ensure long-term accessibility to archival
resources. Hence, through advocacy, institutional policy, seeking financial
support and partnerships, university libraries can adopt advanced preservation
techniques to enhance access to its information resources including cultural
and historical records emanating from the local community. This situation
confirmed that in Nigeria, archiving practices for oral literature are still
low or in their infancy stage.
Archiving Hausa's oral song in university libraries,
particularly in Northern Nigeria has become imperative. It is a known fact that
the media organizations such as radio and television houses, have archival
collections of Hausa oral songs. However, their efforts need to be complemented
in more scholarly and comprehensive ways. That means, Hausa oral songs should
be well documented so that present and future generations of researchers and the
general public will have the opportunity of accessing the contents of oral
songs. By so doing, literary scholars, researchers and other interest groups
will continue to access the documented oral literature with less danger or risk
of its gradual extinction. Moreover, the documentation of oral poetry as part
of the requirements for the award of degrees, usually comes in piecemeal. Over
the years, oral songs have experienced great modifications and poor
documentation, which eventually led to the extinction of many indigenous
cultural heritage and societal values (Jayeola, Akintunde & Francisca,
2019, p.1606). These researchers maintain that poor knowledge and practices of
archiving and documentation have impacted negatively on the loss of cultural
heritage and values in Nigeria and Africa in general. Hence, a comprehensive
approach to the documentation and archiving of Hausa oral songs is not only
desirable, but a necessity for long-term preservation and accessibility to both
tangible and intangible Hausa culture. In other words, adapting an appropriate
system of archiving Hausa oral songs will serve as a memory of what happened in
the past for future development. In this case, the series of works by Sa’idu
Muhammad Gusau, titled Diwanin Wakokin
Baka, Juzu’I na Daya (zuwa Juzu’i Na Bakwai), are worthy of mentioning
here.
Strategies for
Archiving Oral Songs in University Libraries
The strategies required for proper archiving of Hausa oral
songs will involve procedures, techniques and challenges to be addressed. Below
are some major highlights of the strategies recommended for archiving Hausa
oral songs in university libraries:
i.
Acquisition
and transcription of recorded oral songs. The Hausa oral traditional songs are presently
available in digital recorded format. What is required in the university
libraries is proper planning and readiness for the project. In this regard,
developing a library policy to address oral literature issues is fundamental to
achieving set goals. Moreover, transcriptions of oral songs require experts in
both the Hausa language and linguistics. In addition to transcriptions, translation
of the printed works is necessary because other target researchers may only
have a better understanding of the new version.
ii. Digitization is key to promoting easy
access to research materials in the digital information environment such as university
libraries. A study by Oghu & Igwebuike (2024) revealed that the digitization
of cultural heritage information resources in South-East Nigeria was very low,
and recommended the urgent need for the digitization of such materials for
effective utilization in cultural institutions and related organizations
including the university libraries. Therefore, record conversion from print to
digital is very necessary for both physical and virtual access to the contents.
iii. Identification of relevant metadata for
cataloguing is also very essential in archiving oral songs. This implied that
the name of a song's performer, his geographical origin, the cultural context
of a song, etc, should be assigned unique identities for proper description, location,
and retrieval in the archives collections.
iv. Preservation: To ensure the long-term
preservation of Hausa traditional oral songs, university libraries must adopt
proactive measures for handling technological obsolescence, and physical and
human threats, such as mutilation and unauthorized access. Hence, regular
enhancement of storage conditions is important.
v. Consideration for Information Ethics:
This means archiving oral songs requires addressing ethical issues in terms of
intellectual property rights, consent of a performer based on certain
agreements, and other cultural heritage issues that may require community
engagement before disseminating the content.
Conclusion
In this paper, the importance of archiving Hausa traditional
oral literature has been discussed. The diversity, richness and significance of
Hausa oral songs to the development of society were highlighted. Specifically,
the paper draws from the principles of functional theory and discussed briefly,
the achievements and contributions of Sa’idu Faru’s royal songs in the Hausa society
and beyond. Based on a qualitative approach and the contents analysis of
different sources of information, the findings of this study revealed that the archiving
of oral poetry in Nigeria is still low. However, to enhance the practices of
traditional oral song preservations and archiving, the strategic role of
university libraries was highlighted. The university libraries can help ensure
long-term preservation and promote accessibility to Hausa traditional cultural
heritage for the benefit of faculty members, students, and researchers in
particular. Therefore, the paper also discussed the strategies for archiving oral
songs in university libraries. Without proper documentation and archiving of
the oral songs, the collective memory of performers like Saidu Faru are
endangered, and may soon go into extinction.
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