Soli is the name given to the historic, yet mysterious well, situated in Naibawa area of Kumbotso Local Government Area in Kano State.
The well, which was believed to be naturally built, has no specific history to trace its origin but reports said it had been in existence for over 200 years.
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The only history it could be attributed to, according to historians, was when a Fulani man with his cows discovered water around the area and since then the well was sighted and remained in existence to date.
The well, according to residents of the area, has never dried up and was used by the people of the community until when boreholes and portable water surfaced in the area.
It was gathered that while all the wells surrounding the area dry out and it is only Soli that would be left with water, that was how it was nicknamed Soli Hamada Uwar Ruwa, meaning a well that has never dried out.
Close to the well also is a dying pit where people in the past used the water from the well for their dying job, which made it easier for them and saved a lot of money.
One of the amazing mysteries of the well is how it was discovered to be connected to the river Wudil, a journey of over 40 kilometres from Kano city. It is said to have a cave by the eastern side, which is predicted to have linked the two together.
A 65-year-old Malam Abdulmuminu Kassim, who was born and raised in the area, said since childhood, they have witnessed so many uncommon things that have happened inside the well.
“Our grandparents told us that nobody built Soli well; it was found naturally. According to history, it was a Fulani man while passing with his cows that discovered water around the area. When he alerted the people in the area, they surrounded it to look like a well. Since then, people surrounding the area have been using it to date. People then have nowhere to get water unless from that well.
“For the history of the well, it is as old as this area, and history says this place is over 200 years old. This is because our parents said their parents used to tell them and you know people in the past were not used to keeping records with dates. So they didn’t specify the actual years but it’s over 200 years.”
Mysteries of Soli well
Mallam Abdulmuminu said the Soli well is mysterious to the extent that people are afraid to go near it. He said even though it never harmed anybody, there are so many things that differentiate it from other wells that were dug and built by the people.
“One of the mysteries of the well is that every Friday around 12 noon, something unusual used to happen. Whenever you looked inside the well, you would see a mat on top of the water with silver plates as if someone washed and dried them there. But no matter what you would put inside, you couldn’t get to the mat. And you would never see such until another Friday, but that has stopped for over 40 years now.
“Another one is, the well used to alert us about the coming of the rainy season. Whenever the rain was about to start, there was a frog inside the well and it would cry for three days. After that, hardly a week would pass without rain. As people came from the neighboring villages to confirm if the frog had cried, they would go and prepare their farms,” he said.
According to Mallam Abdulmuminu, for over 40 years, the frog has stopped appearing in the well and that a notice was placed by the well to alert the people.
He said a paper was pasted on the south wall inside the well in Ajami writing. “It was neither in the water nor on top of it and nobody could read the message even though it could be seen. After some days, the paper too disappeared. I witnessed that too.”
He said people from far distances usually come to the area to get the water from Soli well for various purposes among which are for medications. But according to him, Soli has one only condition. You can’t fetch water from it with a normal well bucket (Gugan Danko, the one made from a tube or any other rubber), rather “you must get a calabash (Koko) to fetch water from the well. Even if you are using the other one, people will not allow that to happen because of a reason which nobody has revealed to us.”
The linkage to River Wudil
“Our parents told us that this well connects to River Wudil from here through this cave that you can see from here”, he said, pointing at the cave.
“They said the Sarkin Ruwa of Wudil then came here severally to tell them that one of his canoes escaped from there (Wudil). He usually said it was taken by supernatural beings to the well and that it has a linkage to the river.
“Whenever he gets permission from the village head, he will just enter the well and bid them farewell and through the well, he gets back to Wudil. Even though they have never seen the canoe he assured them that it happened.”
According to him, one of the unusual things attached to the well then was the fact that you can’t pass with anything black close to it.
“We didn’t know the reason but that was what led the mysterious things attached to the well to vanish, I think,” he added.
The fade of the mysteries
When the area was fully surrounded with people and the use of the well reduced due to the number of boreholes and taps, the mysteries attached to the well went with time.
The said mat and silvers that appear on Fridays, the frog that used to alert rain arrival and the other mysterious elements all have disappeared and the well has become like the normal ones.
The historian of the area, Abdulmuminu, further said since when that notice was pasted inside the well, so many changes occurred.
One of them is that the water went low, an incident that never happened during the years of its existence, and it had to undergo dredging.
He added that even though it has not dried out totally, the water has reduced and people have to wait some hours for the water to come up.
According to him, as no one had ever entered the well before that time, the people of the area had to summon the Sarkin Ruwa of Wudil, and when he came, he led other people into the well for the dredging.
“Immediately after they had started, the water returned and people had to rush outside and the last person was almost drawn in the water, while the Sarkin Ruwa was inside and nothing happened to him.
“We were there when the first, second and third dredging of the well was done and from that moment, it has never dried out again. People no longer use the well unless for specific purposes.”
It has never harmed anyone but….
The well, according to the residents of the area, has never harmed anybody despite how it was surrounded by people and has been used as a playground by children in the area.
People, it was gathered, often sit on blocks moulded around the well for discussions and it is used as a meeting venue for members of the community.
Sani Muhammad, who has a provision store close to the well, said people have been asking whether he was harmed or had experienced something unusual due to his stay near the well, and that some people advise that he should leave the place to be safe.
“I have never seen anybody been harmed by the well and nothing has happened to me either. Even though some people are afraid, we are used to it here,” he said.
But according to Malam Adulmuminu, there was one person that died inside the well over 70 years ago. He was a stranger who came to fetch water from the well and he accidentally fell inside and died. It was the Sarkin Ruwa that came from Wudil and brought out his corpse, he said.
“The second incident was when one Alhaji Umar Sanda fell inside the well and luckily he hid within the cave and was brought out when he was sent a rope inside. But apart from that, it has never harmed even animals. You will see small boys playing around the well and nothing has ever happened to them.
“One tradition that we inherit from our parents is that every end of the month, we gather here close to the well and do our general meeting, recite the Qur’an and pray for our community. This has never stopped.”
Government should fence the well
Residents of the area said despite the mysteries that have surrounded the well for a very long time, it has never got any attention from the government.
One of the residents said since 1973 when the community members contributed money to work on its surroundings, there has not been any further development around it.
“If possible, the government should fence this place at least with a wire for protection and also for the benefit of the people. I told you that up to now, people come from far away to get the water for medication. You know people use Ruwan Mazauni (water from a well that has never dried out) for many purposes.
“The place can also serve as a history as it has been there for over 200 years. So it is historical and will be useful for many purposes,” he said.
