🎵 Queen of the North - Daurama of Daura, 9th c. (History Song)

Daurama was the last recorded queen of Daura, one of the early Hausa city-states located in what is now northern Nigeria. Her reign is traditionally placed in the 9th century, during a time before Islamic influence reshaped political structures in the region.

She ruled in her own right, independently of male lineage, at a time when matrilineal succession was practiced in parts of West Africa. Oral tradition holds that she held full sovereign authority. This contrasts with the later rise of the patrilineal Bagauda dynasty, which marked a major political shift in the governance of Hausaland.

A popular Hausa legend tells of a foreigner named Bayajidda who killed a serpent guarding the town’s water source, the Kusugu well. After this act, he was said to have married Queen Daurama. This legend symbolically represents the transfer of authority from indigenous matriarchal rulers to external male dynasties and serves as an origin story for the Hausa Bakwai, or “Seven True Hausa States”.

While Bayajidda’s tale became central in Hausa cultural memory, Daurama’s historical role reflects a deeper reality: she was not merely a character in myth but a real political figure. Her name survives in griot traditions and local histories as a ruler who governed with legitimacy and strength before the rise of Islam and the male-dominated emirate systems.

Her reign marks an important moment in West African history when indigenous female leadership still played a central role in political life.

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Видео 🎵 Queen of the North - Daurama of Daura, 9th c. (History Song) канала LoreTrack | History through Music