A Hausa Botanical Vocabulary

Part 1

A HAUSA BOTANICAL VOCABULARY

A HAUSA BOTANICAL VOCABULARY

BY JOHN M. DALZIEL, M.D., B.Sc., D.T.M. West African Medical Staff

T. FISHER UNWIN LTD. LONDON: ADELPHI TERRACE

First published in 1916.

(All rights reserved)

A HAUSA BOTANICAL VOCABULARY

=A=

=abakuru=, a food made from the ground-bean; vide under =kwaruru=.

=abantoko=, a var. of =dawa= q.v.

=abawa=, vide under =abduga=.

=abduga= or =auduga=, indigenous species of Gossypium (Malvaceæ)—G. peruvianum, Cav. G. punctatum, Sch. et Thon. G. obtusifolium, Roxb. G. arboreum, L. with varieties, hybrids and other introduced species. The Cotton Plant or raw cotton. Syn. =kaḍa= (Sok.). Varieties known in different districts are:—ba ka tuka, or ba tuka, ya tabshi, ya tsauri, or ya ḳarifi, kwanta Ali da zugu, Ba-Gwandare, yar gari (G. obtusifolium, var. africana, Watt.), gwundi (G. peruvianum var. with red leaf veins), chukwi, laḅayi (G. punctatum), and kanawa or matan kanawa (G. arboreum, L. var. sanguinea, Watt.); the leaves of the last or of gwundi are used for making a red dye for thread. guriya (Sok.), anguriya (Kano), or yan guriya = cotton seed; sutu or subtu = cotton freed from the seed by crushing with a stone and roller and pulled by hand before carding with the masaḅi or bakan shiḅa (cotton carding bow); saḅi or shiḅa = carded cotton; zare = thinly plied cotton thread, used chiefly for the warp, and sometimes for warp and weft; abawa (Kano), or bartake (Sok.) = thicker loosely plied thread used for the weft; (the coarse cloth goddo, or nuru (East Hausa), woven on a vertical loom in broad strips and with a fringe, has abawa in warp and weft); waḍari = cotton yarn ready for weaving; fari (Kano) = woven cotton strips; zugu (Sok.) = cotton strips in a roll (= kunkurun fari, Kano); sawaye (Sok.) = the same unrolled; taḅe (Sok.), or chin aduga (Kano) = to pluck cotton out of the pod.

=abokin kibiya=, a tall grass used for arrow-shafts; vide =ḳyamro=.

=aburu=, a grass used for food; vide =iburu=.

=acha=, Digitaria exilis, Stapf. (Paspalum exile, Kipp.) (Gramineæ); a small grass cultivated as a cereal in several Hausa provinces, in Bornu, and by many pagan tribes. Syn. =intaya= (Sok. Kamberi, Kamuku, &c.), “Hungry Rice”. cf. also =tumbin jaki=.

=a chi da gero=, =a chi da kara=, =a chi da nono=, vars. of Guinea Corn; vide under =dawa=.

=aduruku=, Newbouldia lævis, Sun. (Bignoniaceæ); a tall slender tree with handsome purple flowers; often planted around native compounds. Syn. =ba reshe?=

=aduwa=, Balanites ægyptiaca, Del. (Simarubeæ). “Desert Date”; a thorny tree common in the north, deciduous but with evergreen branches, bifoliate leaves and yellow bitter-sweet fruit; its gum = ḳaron aduwa; the seeds yield “Oil of Betu” (Kanuri, bito); dabagira = flowers of aduwa, boiled and eaten with daudawa, q.v. salt and pepper; kaikwaiyo (Sok. Kano, &c.) = the kernel, sold as a medicine. Fruit edible; a common ingredient in fish-poison.

=ago= or =agu= (Gwari); a fish-poison, prepared usually from Tephrosia Vogelii (cf. =baina=, vide under =majimfa=); sometimes from the pods of Cassia spp. (vide =gamma faḍa=, &c.); cf. =aduwa=.

=agugu=, a native drug; the rhizome of a fern used for tapeworm; probably = “Male Fern” (Nephrodium Filix-mas); not indigenous; brought chiefly from Adamawa.

=agushi=, the seeds of a var. of the Water Melon, Citrullus vulgaris (vide =guna=); chewed raw or used in soup.

=aguwa= vide =ḳaguwa=.

=akiye= or =akwiye=, the seeds of =kiriya=, q.v.

=akwalu= (Kano and East), Trochomeria sp. (Cucurbitaceæ); a wild twiner with a large tuberous root, edible when cooked. Syn. =basko=, or =basgo= (West Sokoto).

=akwuya=, a var. of =dawa=, q.v.

=alale=, Blighia sapida, Koenig (Sapindaceæ). “Akee apple”; a tree found in the southern provinces, with red capsular fruit; the spongy white aril around the seeds is edible. (?Nupé ella = the name of the fruit). In Hausa generally called =Gwanja kusa=, q.v.

=alambo=, Sesbania leptocarpa, DC. (Leguminosæ); a slender branched tree with yellow flowers and narrow jointed pods, common on river-banks. (Kanuri, paiya paiya). Other species are included, e.g. S. aculeata, Pers. S. ægyptiaca, Poir, &c.; cf. also =sasabani= and =zamarke=.

=alayafu=, Amaranthus caudatus, L. (Amaranthaceæ). Native spinage; an excellent cultivated vegetable; a red variety resembles the ornamental plant “Love-lies-bleeding.” =farin alayafu=, Celosia argentea, L. (Amaranthaceæ); an erect weed of fields, 1 to 2 feet high, with pink and silvery flowering spike, not cultivated but used as a pot-herb.

Part 2

=albasa=, Allium Cepa, Willd. (Liliaceæ). The onion. Two varieties are distinguished, viz. guda (Kano), or gudaji (Sok.), the common bulbous onion; and shafa (Kano), safa (Sok.), the spring onion; lawashi or gabu (Sok.) = onion leaves pounded and dried, sold in the form of balls and used in soup. cf. =tafarnuwa=.

=albasar kura=, Urginea nigritiana, Bak. (Liliaceæ), and other common bulbous plants growing wild.

=albasar kwaḍi=, Crinum yuccæflorum, Salisb. (Amaryllideæ); a common plant of damp places, with an umbel of large lily-like flowers, white with a purple stripe. (Other species are included and the names of this and the last are commonly confused.) The scarlet-flowered Hæmanthus rupestris, Bak. (Amaryllideæ), “Blood Flower”, bears the same name.

=algarif=, the seeds of the “Common” or “Garden Cress,” Lepidium sativum, Linn. vide =labsur=; sold as a medicine; a red variety =algaru ja= in small masses, and a black variety usually loose; preparations are made for external and internal use.

=alhaji=, Ærua tomentosa, Forst. (Amaranthaceæ); an erect plant with hoary white leaves and flowers. (Etym. from the completely white habit, but the name like =Ba-Fillatani=, q.v. is probably applied to other white plants). More generally known as =furfura ta gyatumi=, q.v.

=alibida=, vide =alubada=.

=aliliba=, Cordia abyssinica, R. Br. (Boragineæ); a tree with broad leaves, white flowers, and sweet yellow berries used in making allewa, &c.

=aliyara=, vide =ḳaguwa=.

=alkama=, Triticum sativum, Lam. sub-race T. vulgare, Vill. “Common Wheat;” or T. compositum, Linn. “Mummy,” “Miracle” or “Egyptian Wheat;” grown chiefly in the north on river-banks with irrigation. taliya, a sort of macaroni made from alkama flour; gurasa, a sort of native wheaten bread; punkaso (Kano), or fankaso, wheaten cakes fried in oil. The following are delicacies made from alkama:—dashishi, cakes like masa but made with honey-water; sunasar, a preparation of wheat with meat and butter; tuwon ḅaure = tuwo made with finely ground wheat and butter instead of water.

=alkaman tururuwa=, Spermacoce stachydea, DC. (Rubiaceæ); a common weed eaten by goats, &c. (Etym. tururuwa, a species of social harvesting ant).

=alubada= or =alibida=, Carpodinus hirsuta, Hua (Apocynaceæ); a woody climber; one of the rubber vines in the south.

=amai mussa= (Sok.), Eragrostis major, Hochst. (Gramineæ); a grass with an unpleasant smell. (Etym. “cat’s vomit”). Syn. =buddari= (Sok.), q.v, and =bunsurun fadama= (Katsina and East).

=amara=, Tacca involucrata, Sch. et Thon. (Taccaceæ); a wild perennial herb with an edible tuber; cultivated in some districts, chiefly by Fulani; in the Benué district gathered wild and sold in the form of a starchy meal. (The same as “South Sea arrowroot” of the Sandwich and Society Islands). vide also under =giginyar biri=.

=anguriya=, cotton seed, vide under =abduga=.

=anza= (Sok. Kats. &c.), =hanza= (Gobir), Boscia angustifolia, A. Rich. (Capparideæ); a pale-leaved shrub; the berries are edible and sometimes the bark is prepared with cereals as a food similarly to the plant =bagayi=, q.v. hence also called =anza rashin bagayi=; including also the broader-leaved B. senegalensis, Lam. cf. =zayi=.

=arakke= (Sok.), vide =rake=; Saccharum officinarum, L. one of the two species of sugar-cane.

=ararabi=, vide =hano=.

=ataras=, a var. of kola nut; vide under =goro=.

=atillis=, a tree, the nut of which yields an oil used medicinally as food, &c. Canarium Schweinfurthii, Engl. (Burseraceæ). “African Elemi Tree.”

=auduga=, vide =abduga=.

=awarwaro=, Ipomœa aquatica, Forsk. (Convolvulaceæ); a prostrate purple-flowered convolvulus with hastate leaves, in muddy and marshy places; (loosely applied to other species of convolvulus). Syn. =furen gyado= (because the roots are eaten by wart-hog).

=aya=, Cyperus esculentus, L. the “Tiger Nut” or “Rush Nut;” a sedge, cultivated for its small edible tuber.

=aya aya=, Cyperus rotundus, L. (Cyperaceæ); a common wild sedge with edible slightly fragrant tuberous root. Syn. =giri giri= (Sok.); vide also =ḍan Tunuga=. Other wild sedges, e.g. Cyp. Fenzelianus, Steud., &c. are included.

=ayaba=, Musa sapientum, L. (Scitamineæ); the Banana. Musa paradisiaca, L. the Plantain. =ayabar daji=, Musa sp. a wild species with astringent pulp and black stony seeds.

=ayana=, Vitis Thonningii, Baker, Vitis gracilis, Baker, and other species (Ampelideæ); species of wild vines with small berries. From the acidity of the leaves they are also called =yakuwar fatake= or =y. mahalba=. vide also =buḍa yau=.

=B=

=ba-anguri=, a variety of =gero=, q.v.

=baba=, =b. rini=, or =b. kore=; Indigo plant; chiefly Indigofera arrecta, Hochst. and other cultivated species of Indigofera (Leguminosæ); I. tinctoria, Linn. I. Anil, Linn., &c. cf. =talaki=. kwosusu = the second crop of =baba=, said to be the better; shuni = prepared indigo, the extracted blue dye-stuff, usually sold in cones or small masses and not used in dye-pits; shuḍi = cloth or thread dyed blue; tamaseki = a sort of home-made indigo prepared by women, from =baba= in pots.

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