Aréoua

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Millet harvest in the village of Koré Maïroua in Aréoua

Aréoua (also: Arewa ) is a landscape and a former state in Niger .

geography

Aréoua is located in the Dosso region in western Niger. The area borders on the neighboring state of Nigeria . Important places are Matankari , the former capital of Aréouas, as well as Dogondoutchi , Guéchémé , Karakara , Sokorbé , Tibiri and Zabori . The Dallol Maouri valley runs through Aréoua .

population

Aréoua forms a transition zone between the Hausa and Zarma ethnic groups , the Hausa language and the Zarma language . The national people of Aréoua were the Maouri , who speak either Zarma or Hausa. Various immigrants also settled here, including from Gobir , Ader and Birni-N'Konni . In addition to Islam , the predominant religion in Niger, Christianity and above all the religious traditions of the Azna are also widespread in Aréoua . In the village of Lougou , the Sarraounia is a traditional religious leader.

history

The founding legend of the state of Aréoua refers to the kingdom of Bornu further east . Ari, a son of the Sultan Kaloumbou of Bornu, is said to have fathered a son named Akazama (Hausa for "he stayed") on a trip to Gao with the daughter of the village head of Bagaji. Bagaji (also: Bagagi) ​​is now an administrative village in the municipality of Matankari and is considered the oldest existing settlement in Aréoua. One day Akazama wanted to visit his father Ari in Bornu, but he had since died. For this Akazama met his grandfather Kaloumbou, who appointed him as serki n'Aréoua (ruler of Aréoua). The name Aréoua is derived from Arioua from the personal name Ari. Another explanation is that the name comes from the Hausa word aréoun , which means "north". Ari and Kaloumbou, who settled in the no longer existing village of Toullou near Bagaji, are the ancestors of the Aréoua dynasty.

One of their successors, Mato, who ruled from 1767 to 1786, founded Matankari ( Mato n'Gari , "village of Mato") as the new capital. Soon afterwards the jihad of the Fulani began under Usman dan Fodio , whose conquests also threatened Aréoua. It initially benefited from its isolated location. West and east of Aréoua were uninhabited areas that separated it from Ader and Birni-N'Konni. In addition, the still independent city of Argungu blocked the Fulbe route to the west. So Aréoua initially managed to repel an attack by Fulbe from Gando . At the beginning of the 19th century, however, the Maouri, weakened by a famine, had to agree to a peace treaty that obliged Aréoua to pay annual tribute to the Fulani emirates of Gando and Kebbi .

In 1868 and 1873 there were revolts in several villages subordinate to the serki n'Aréoua , including in Bagaji, Dogondoutchi and Lougou. It was only after 1873, apart from the occasional Tuareg raids, that the area experienced a long period of peace again. The Mission Voulet-Chanoine submitted Aréoua to French rule in 1899 . In 1906 the serki n'Aréoua , now a subordinate of the French administration, moved his seat of power to Dogondoutchi.

literature

  • Marc H. Piault: Populations de l'Arewa. Introduction à une étude régionale (=  Études Nigériennes . No. 13 ). Paris 1964.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Abdourahmane Idrissa and Samuel Decalo: Historical Dictionary of Niger . 4th ed., Scarecrow, Plymouth 2012, ISBN 978-0-8108-6094-0 , pp. 66-67.
  2. ↑ Edmond Séré de Rivières: Histoire du Niger . Berger-Levrault, Paris 1965, p. 171.
  3. ^ A b Edmond Séré de Rivières: Histoire du Niger . Berger-Levrault, Paris 1965, p. 172.
  4. ↑ Edmond Séré de Rivières: Histoire du Niger . Berger-Levrault, Paris 1965, p. 170.
  5. ↑ Edmond Séré de Rivières: Histoire du Niger . Berger-Levrault, Paris 1965, p. 206.
  6. ↑ Jolijn Geels: Niger . Bradt, Chalfont St Peter 2006, ISBN 1-84162-152-8 , p. 139.

Coordinates: 13 ° 46 ′ 0 ″  N , 4 ° 0 ′ 0 ″  E