Kano Chronicle

The Kano Chronicle is a written account of the history of the Hausa people who inhabit northern Nigeria. Although it relates only to Kano, it is typically drawn upon to explain the early history of the Hausa as a whole. This chronicle, a list of rulers of Kano stretching back to the tenth century AD, tells of eleven clans of animists (such as salt-extractors, brewers, or smiths) who were warned by their spiritual leader that a stranger would come and cut down their sacred tree and wrest their dominion from them: “If he comes not in your time, assuredly he will come in the time of your children, and will conquer all in this country” (Palmer 1928: III: 98). Indeed, a man named Bagauda allegedly arrived soon after, conquered, and became the first king of Kano (Palmer 1928: III: 97-100). The existing version was probably written in the 1890s but represents the amalgamation of earlier works. The original copy is still with the descendants of Malam Idris al-Khilawiy in Kano.