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Shaihu Umar
Describes the experiences of Umar and his mother, members of the Hausa, a Black Islamic people of Northern Africa, around the turn of the century, when the slave trade was still going on
144 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1934
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 14, 2021
Shaihu (sheikh) Umar is teaching the Quran in the town of Rauta, Nigeria. One day his students ask him how he happened to come to town. This simple question unfolds a story of motherly love, slavery, abduction, caravans across the Sahara, sandstorms, learning, and eventual return home after losing everything.
The author, Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, who published his novel in 1955, was the first president of independent Nigeria (1960). He was killed in the 1966 coup.
The story of Shaihu Umar takes place between the late 1870s and 1900, in a highly unsettled period in West African andd Saharan history. The French were slowly but surely forcing their way into the region, while various armed groups -- one of which figures crucially at the end -- were terrorizing the region around Lake Chad. Umar's story intersects with some of this big history, but for the most part it is just the take of a young boy's tribulations and his mother's undying yearning to be reunited with him after he is kidnapped.
Slavery was still very much alive in the late nineteenth century; though diminished in numbers, caravans of slaves were still driven across the desert to be sold in Tripoli or Egypt. Umar is caught up in this traffic, which relied on kidnapping individuals like him or large-scale organized raids, like the one sponsored by Umar's stepfather Makau's chief -- and which is the start of all his troubles.
Balewa takes slavery for granted; it is woven into the social world that Umar moves in, from his hometown in Nigeria through to the shores of the Mediterranean and Egypt, where he spends his youth and teen years learning the Quran. Umar benefits from the kindness of a slaver named Abdulkarim, who acquires him because he has no son and wants to raise Umar as his own. Umar's mother has much less luck; when she leaves Nigeria by joining a caravan to find him, two unscrupulous slavers falsely represent her as a slave and sell her on. Her appeals to qadis (Islamic judges) in Murzuq, Libya, and Tripoli both fail -- they qadis accept the lying representations her owners give and reject her pleas for justice.
Umar's voice is appealing, direct, and honest. He hides nothing about his experiences, and we can only sympathize with his predicament -- and be happy at his successes. His mother's tenacity is heartbreaking; she gives up everything, ultimately even her life, to see her son just one time again.
"Shaihu Umar" tells a very human story, full of the unpredictabilities that bedevil our lives. His social and cultural world is not America's, but that hardly matters; we are taken into it adroitly and simply. It is no wonder "Shaihu Umar" remains a classic of Nigerian literature.
The author, Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, who published his novel in 1955, was the first president of independent Nigeria (1960). He was killed in the 1966 coup.
The story of Shaihu Umar takes place between the late 1870s and 1900, in a highly unsettled period in West African andd Saharan history. The French were slowly but surely forcing their way into the region, while various armed groups -- one of which figures crucially at the end -- were terrorizing the region around Lake Chad. Umar's story intersects with some of this big history, but for the most part it is just the take of a young boy's tribulations and his mother's undying yearning to be reunited with him after he is kidnapped.
Slavery was still very much alive in the late nineteenth century; though diminished in numbers, caravans of slaves were still driven across the desert to be sold in Tripoli or Egypt. Umar is caught up in this traffic, which relied on kidnapping individuals like him or large-scale organized raids, like the one sponsored by Umar's stepfather Makau's chief -- and which is the start of all his troubles.
Balewa takes slavery for granted; it is woven into the social world that Umar moves in, from his hometown in Nigeria through to the shores of the Mediterranean and Egypt, where he spends his youth and teen years learning the Quran. Umar benefits from the kindness of a slaver named Abdulkarim, who acquires him because he has no son and wants to raise Umar as his own. Umar's mother has much less luck; when she leaves Nigeria by joining a caravan to find him, two unscrupulous slavers falsely represent her as a slave and sell her on. Her appeals to qadis (Islamic judges) in Murzuq, Libya, and Tripoli both fail -- they qadis accept the lying representations her owners give and reject her pleas for justice.
Umar's voice is appealing, direct, and honest. He hides nothing about his experiences, and we can only sympathize with his predicament -- and be happy at his successes. His mother's tenacity is heartbreaking; she gives up everything, ultimately even her life, to see her son just one time again.
"Shaihu Umar" tells a very human story, full of the unpredictabilities that bedevil our lives. His social and cultural world is not America's, but that hardly matters; we are taken into it adroitly and simply. It is no wonder "Shaihu Umar" remains a classic of Nigerian literature.
February 7, 2014
I'll start off by saying this sin't really the kind of book I normally read....even so, I did find myself enjoying parts of it. The pace moves pretty quickly, and the author writes well. I really think this could have been stretched out to more than 80 pages if it had less footnotes, and a little more description. This guys style is pretty cut and dry. I love that it was written though, this is pretty powerful book that everyone should read once, regardless of how much they know or care about Africa's history.
October 22, 2020
Quick and easy read.
Love the sectioning and titling of each section as opposed to chapters.
The story and introduction were personally informative as a Nigerian from the south with no knowledge of northern nigeria's history
Love the sectioning and titling of each section as opposed to chapters.
The story and introduction were personally informative as a Nigerian from the south with no knowledge of northern nigeria's history
July 21, 2019
The basic struggles of living in a community really never changes
November 24, 2023
This is an excellent book that covers an aspect of the history of slavery that is very rarely covered. The fact that slavery has until very recently been a fundamental component of human economic life is often lost. The context of this novel is the slave trade in the northern section of Africa around and in the region of the Sahara Desert. With an emphasis on Nigeria.
Issues of how African chieftains regularly raided the areas of other tribes in order to capture people to be sold into the slave trade and how many of those slaves were sold and held locally are covered. It has generally been lost in the modern conversation about slavery that the people that European ships picked up on the African coast for slave cargo were sold to them by Africans.
The timeframe is the late nineteenth century and follows the life of a talented boy being raised in the Muslim religion. Therefore, there are many references to the grace of God. There is an instance of tribal warriors being excited when the Chief orders a raid against a village so that they can capture cattle and slaves. There are some acts of kindness, but overall, the actions of the characters are what one would expect when slavery is just an accepted part of society.
At a time when there is a movement for black people in the United States to be awarded reparations for the consequences of slavery, it is important to recognize a historical fact. White Europeans were not the only ones that engaged in the slave trade.
Issues of how African chieftains regularly raided the areas of other tribes in order to capture people to be sold into the slave trade and how many of those slaves were sold and held locally are covered. It has generally been lost in the modern conversation about slavery that the people that European ships picked up on the African coast for slave cargo were sold to them by Africans.
The timeframe is the late nineteenth century and follows the life of a talented boy being raised in the Muslim religion. Therefore, there are many references to the grace of God. There is an instance of tribal warriors being excited when the Chief orders a raid against a village so that they can capture cattle and slaves. There are some acts of kindness, but overall, the actions of the characters are what one would expect when slavery is just an accepted part of society.
At a time when there is a movement for black people in the United States to be awarded reparations for the consequences of slavery, it is important to recognize a historical fact. White Europeans were not the only ones that engaged in the slave trade.
February 14, 2019
had to read for class, poorly written.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews