Mixed feelings, reactions as police ban ‘Tashe’ in Kano

Tashe is a Hausa tradition specifically performed from the 10th day of Ramadan. The tradition comprises of plays, dances and songs that are normally performed by both males and females. Until recently, Tashe was enjoyed by the people of Kano State before it was banned by the police. Daily Trust Saturday takes a look at the situation.

The decision of the Kano State Police Command to ban the annual Ramadan traditional performance, locally called Tashe, has continued to generate mixed reactions in different quarters, with some residents supporting the move.

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The police in a statement by its spokesman, SP Haruna Abdullahi Kiyawa, on Monday had said the reason for the ban was because criminals have been hiding under the long historic performance to carry out criminal activities such as thuggery, phone snatching and drug abuse. The command also warned that anybody arrested doing the act will face the wrath of the law.

However, following the suspension of the performance, many residents were disappointed as they had been waiting for and/or preparing to either perform or watch the cultural celebration, which usually comes once a year. Some of them argued that the fasting period this time around will become dull since the entertainment part will not take place.

On the other hand, other residents are of the view that the performance, since not obligatory, should be suspended but not outrightly banned for fear that the culture may go extinct. They suggested adopting a different approach that will allow the tradition to remain.

Tashe (Pantomime) is a Hausa word used to describe the cultural performance by Hausa communities which commences after the first 10 days of the month of Ramadan. The activity, usually in form of drama, engages people of different ages both males and females, going around the nooks and crannies of the communities to entertain and pass across messages to the people. 

‘Tashe precedes Islam in Hausa land’

According to historians, Tashe has been in existence long before the coming of Islam, and during that time, the activity was usually to celebrate and mark the end of the farming season, considering the number of yields from the farm.

Speaking to Daily Trust Saturday on the history of the tradition, a university lecturer and expert in Hausa tradition, Dr. Muhammad Tahar Adamu, popularly known as Baba Impossible, said the Tashe cultural performance is a purely Hausa tradition usually celebrated to educate, entertain and pass across some important messages to the people, as well as to reduce the drains of hunger and thirst for the fasting Muslims by engaging them in the activity.

He said the long-practiced tradition, which is theatrical entertainment performed by mostly young men and women, plays a pivotal role in society by teaching a lot of moral lessons using entertainment. Considering its role in educating the people on culture and morals, Adamu cautioned that its total ban will not be good for the Hausa language and its entire people.

“Tashe tradition has been there long before the coming of Islam and it is among the good cultural performance that has good lessons and simply through entertainment. Although the years of Tashe could not be traced, Islam came to Hausa land during the reign of Sarkin Kano Naguje Dandariku, long before the coming of Sarki Rumfa, who also ruled Kano some 570 ago. So, it is a long tradition that was done to celebrate the end of farm harvest and later swapped into religion.

“Every performance of the Tashe tradition has its own messages. Some pass messages to wives at home on how to take care of their husbands, some to the husbands on how to deal with their wives, some on the way to live with other fellow tribes and religions in Hausa land, and so on,” he explained.

Baba Impossible said notable among the Tashe performances are Machukule, Mai Kiriniya, Malam Ya Yi Rawa, Mairama, Zanbige, among others, adding that the government had since banned some categories of the performance for the bad lessons they are expected to teach.

Speaking on the way the event was done in the past, Baba Impossible said the Emir of Kano usually assigns someone as Sarkin Gwagware, also called Nalako, who chairs the event annually.

“Nalako will go and greet the emir on the 9th of Ramadan and then the Emir will give him permission to hold that year’s Tashe and Kidan Gwauro. He will then raise his flag at the palace, then at Kasuwar Kurmi and Fagge Dandali. He and his people will then move to the vicinities of where the flags are raised, chanting and singing songs as well as playing drums. That marks the beginning of the historic event and finishes only when the fast ends,” he said. 

Implication of the suspension 

Speaking on the implications of the recent suspension of the tradition in Kano by the police, the university don, who is also the Commissioner for Religious Affairs in Kano, said the decision became necessary given the fact that the security of citizens is always foremost and a priority. 

According to him, although the development will affect and contribute to the death of the tradition, the government cannot watch while peoples’ lives are at risk, and that appropriate actions will be taken to prevent that.

“You know a culture is like a tree, it grows with water and fertilizer. Likewise, our cultures, if we don’t grow them with performance, then it will pave away. The coming of TV, social media and the mixture of different tribes have added to the death of many of our cultures not only Tashe.

“No matter how important Tashe is, security surpasses it. It is only with peace that we can do anything. Criminals are now disguising under it to steal people’s properties and engage in other criminal activities. So, the culture will not die since other Hausa speaking states are doing it and here too, when things normalize, we will continue,” he added.

He concluded that the police took the decision in the interest of securing peoples lives and property. “In previous years, they were accompanying the performers but this time around, it is beyond that.” 

Residents express divergent views

However, some Kano residents expressed divergent views on the decision to ban the activity across the state. 

A resident of Kurna, Umar Yunusa Kakansu, said the decision was right and necessary considering what happened during last year’s performance. He said thugs in their hundreds used the opportunity to snatch uncountable number of phones, aside from breaking into houses and stealing properties and injuring people.

“Last year, they even went to communication centres where people take their phones for charging and stole many phones. They were in their hundreds and nobody could stop them. If they come to your container and find it locked it, they break it and take all the phones inside. They also stabbed many people, including ladies coming back from the mosque. So, to me, the decision is good and necessary,” he said.

Kakansu said despite the ban this time around, some of the thugs gathered on the 10th of Ramadan with dangerous weapons saying they must do Tashe, but were later chased away by community leaders with the help of the police and vigilante.

A leader in Tudun Wuzurci community, Malam Jamilu Umar Baba, 68, said the cultural performance of Tashe should not be allowed to die in the society but rather appropriate measures should be taken to prevent turning it into a season of conflict and youth clashes in the state.

Although the suspension sounds odd to those of them living around the emir’s palace, Malam Jamilu said it came at the right time considering how the thugs are changing the tradition from the good to bad and even the ugly.

“You know the youth in the municipality of Kano have one bad behaviour of prolonging conflicts among themselves. They can fight for decades. So, it’s the same thing with Tashe. There used to be conflicts here and there and last year was one of the worst, honestly. Many people were stabbed, some even to death with many left injured. So, to me, I am not supporting the ban but there should be a resolution so that the tradition will not die and the security of life will also not be affected,” he added.

For Safiyanu Umar, 40, who often participates in the event every year, the suspension of Tashe is a move towards crippling the tradition of Hausa land and its people, suggesting that there are ways in which the criminal activities attached to it can be addressed.

“I believe that the security personnel know these criminals and the innocent citizens, so they should find a way of dealing with the criminals and allow the innocent people perform the culture they inherited for many decades now,” he said.