Kwatancin Al'adun Haihuwa Tsakanin Hausawa da Ga’anda

Abstract

This study compares the birth traditions between the Hausa and Ga'anda communities in Gombi town of Adamawa state. The paper provides a summary of the history and the union of the two communities to compare the traditions of the birth between Hausa Muslims and Ga'anda Christians. Observation was used as a means of data collection during the birth ceremonies of the two communities. The results of this study shows that there are some customs that the Hausas do, but the Ga'anda do not do, such as: sharing of cow's leg and pepper soup among the relatives of woman who deliver (shan ƙauri), shaving the babies at the naming ceremony, slaughtering an animal for the babies and so on. There are other customs as well that the Ga'andas do, but the Hausas do not do them, they are: frequent taking of a sesame pap, preventing a patient with stomach ache from coming near the woman who delivers; so that she can not spread the disease to her, presence of women during the naming ceremony, choosing adoptive parents for the baby, in case something will happen to the parents of the baby later in life. Then there is the impact of the Hausa culture on Ga'anda, which includes: bathing the babies three times for a male child and four times for a female child, offering a feast to the woman who delivers the baby with the expectation of payment in the future, and gifts for the parents or the husband's family to the woman who deliver and so on.