In this photo story, Abubakar Sadiq Mustapha, a photojournalist dives into the life of one Usman Dahiru, a Fulani herder whose nightmare was having no male child. He would accept his destiny and train his daughters in the art of manly herding.
When Usman Dahiru’s wife continued to give birth to female children, his family and friends began to advise him to take another wife, who would give him sons that would take care of his cattle and restore his dignity as a Fulani man in society. His culture and religion encourage marrying more women and marrying more women, means bringing more wealth because each woman brings cattle with her to the marriage or after giving birth.
But he was more concerned about healing from the trauma of escaping cattle rustlers than taking a new wife. The cattle rustlers had carted away 10 of his cattle in Kogi State during the dry season migration from Lapai Local Government Area of Niger State in search of pasture and water.
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Among the pastoral Fulani, youthful boys take care of the cattle, travelling miles away from home during the dry season in search of pasture and water to quench the thirst of their animals while the women are responsible for processing and marketing daily products (cheese, butter, and milk).
Unlike his siblings, Usman has no son to help him tend to his animals, but only daughters who will tend to home affairs and someday be taken away by another man.
Consecutively, after giving birth to four daughters, his dream for a male child began to wilt away, and then he realized a son is no different from a daughter and likewise, and if trained well each can master the role of the other, if not better.
Between the age of 5-6, the transition to adulthood proceeds in a Fulani society, girls are taught about sexual relationships, their bodies, and the moral code of the society and are seen carrying dolls or practising hair plaiting — these are all taught by women. During this period, the girl child is monitored constantly and cautioned on how to sit, eat, and speak like a female, unlike her male counterparts.
But the case of Usman’s daughters Hauwa and Khadija is different. He handled the transition lessons and instead of teaching them about womanhood he taught them how to herd cattle and allowed his wife, a little time to teach them the important part of womanhood.
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When other girls were in the middle of a circle of dancing women, learning how to dance and sing, Hauwa and Khadija who are Usman’s oldest children were with cattle learning how to milk them, how to tie the legs before milking, how to use the stick to control the flock, how to identify between the male and female, the pregnant and the non and how to tend to the sick among the flock. They would, together with their father every morning after milking the cattle herd them to the river for water and grazing. They repeat the routine in the evening.
In many Fulani societies in northern Nigeria, there seem not to be any strict rule that regulates women from herding cattle but most of the Fulani people do not support the idea, because they believe that a woman’s place is only inside the home. But Usman’s decision will continue to inspire parents who have no male children and will rise hope in girls who want more beyond marriage.
Mustapha is a storyteller, a poet and an art curator. He believes in the power of photography and how it can be used for mental health. His work has appeared in Ebedi Review, The Song Is, The Nigeria Review, The Shallow Tales Magazine, Libretto Magazine, Literandra and elsewhere. He is a fellow of the Bada Murya fellowship.
