Aspects Of The Phonology Of Gunganchi Language
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Aspects Of The Phonology Of Gunganchi Language
Chapter one
1.0 Introduction
This chapter will look at the case study of the Gungawa people, who speak the Gunganchi language. It will take notice of their general background, historical background, sociocultural profile, and genetic categorisation of the Gunganchi Language. This chapter will also go into the scope and organisation of the study, the theoretical framework used, data collecting, and data analysis for this project.
1.1. General Background
The Gunganchi people are a group known as the “Bareshe” people by their Hausa neighbours, which means “Island Dwellers”; they were given this name because of their proximity to lakes and rivers.
Among themselves, they are known as “Gungawa, Tsureja, Bareshe, or Yaurawa” people. Their language goes under several names, including Gunganchi, Tsureshe, Gunga, and Tsureja, and their country is known as Reshe or Gungu.
The current Gunganchi people are descendants of a tribe that fled to the nearby island of Niger in the mid-nineteenth century and settled in a new location known as Gungu or Yelwa. The Gunganchi are thought to be Yauri’s original inhabitants.
During the British government, the state of Yauri as an emirate and the state of Yelwa as the seat of the Emir of Yauri acknowledged that both Yauri and Yelwa had become Hausarized as a result of their interactions with the Hausa. Today, the Yauri people predominantly speak Hausa language.
The Gunganchi people lived in islets (extremely small islands) and along the Niger’s beaches above Bussa until 1974, when Kainji Lake was created, disrupting their settlement and way of life outside of Kebbi State.
1.2 Historical Background of the Gunganchi People
According to oral history, the Gunganchi people have various histories that have been told about their beginnings, which will be explored below.
In the nineteenth century, a descendent of a warrior known as ‘kasira’ or ‘Kachin’ teamed with Hausa warriors to capture area in the extreme north, later settling with his co-fighters in the modern Yauri town.
A native speaker of Gunganchi known as “Agmalafiya” believes that the Gunganchi people descended from Kabbawa. He stated that they were hunters from Katsina State, and that some people believe the Gunganchi people are from other Yauri ethnic groups like as Shangawa, Kambari, Kabbawa or Sarkawa, Dukawa, and so on.
Another history linked them to Songhai warriors who came from Mali to seek territorial dominance and eventually settled in Yauri, Lopa, and Laru (Gunganchi’s bordering territories).
The narratives mentioned above show that the Gunganchi people have no precise history about their origin. They have different historical foundations.
1.2.1. Population
In 1993, the Gunganchi people numbered between forty and sixty thousand. Approximately 45% lived outside Yauri Local Government in Kebbi State, 60% in Yauri town, 9% in Kotangora, Bussa, and Borgu Local Governments, and 1% in Kiama Local Government Area in Kwara State.
Back in 1990, the population of Yauri speakers was known as Yaurawa or Reshewa in Hausa. According to Agmalafiya, Queen Amina of Zaria referred to the Gunganchi people as Yaurawa, but they are more commonly known as Gungawa among the Gunganchi in Diaspora, and they occasionally refer to themselves as Bareshe (plural) or Ureshe (single).
1.3 Sociocultural Background or Profile of the Gunganchi People
The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines culture as a country or group’s way of life, customs and beliefs, art, and social organisation.
The Gunganchi have a social and cultural character similar to that of their neighbouring ethnic group, the Hausa. It is stated that their lifestyle is based on the Emirate’s system.
The Gunganchi people hold sociocultural ideas that are shown in their culture, form of dress, occupation, religion, festivals, marriage system, naming ceremony, burial ritual, education system, and political administration.
1.3.1 Culture
The Bareshe (Gunganchi) people are highly civilised, as seen by their way of dress, greetings, occupation, and body ornamentation, such as tattooing the woman’s legs and large tribal marks on her face during the wedding ceremony.
1.3.2 Method of Dressing
The Gunganchi people used to dress differently than they do today. They used to dress in animal skins, but now they dress in ‘Banbariga’, the traditional outfit for men, while ladies dress in loose-fitting clothing with a native embroidery scarf tied around the woman’s body to protect her from the sun. They generally wear loose robes to relax.
1.3.3 Profession
Gunganchi people are predominantly farmers and fishers. Their main crops are guinea corn, beans, rice and onions, and their fishing equipment, a fish cage, is known as ‘Suru’ and ‘Hauwuya’ in the Gunganchi language. They are also known for manufacturing canoes and mats.
1.3.4 Religion.
The Gunganchi people are primarily Muslims, with a few traditional worshippers and relatively few Christians.
1.3.5 Festivals.
Gunganchi celebrates two festivals: ‘Anipo’ and ‘Idembe’. Festival. During the celebration, the blood of animals such as goats or bushmeat is offered as a sacrifice to their gods.
During the festival, individuals form a circle seat while eating. Such gatherings are also held during weddings, naming ceremonies, sallah festivals, and relaxation spots.
1.3.6 Marriage System of the Gunganchis
The Gunganchi have a special method of marriage. It demonstrates that a sluggish guy cannot marry a Gunganchi lady because marriage is considered tough, particularly for men.
First and foremost, a man must inform his parents that he is in love with a woman. The man’s parents must then communicate their son’s interest to the lady’s parents.
He will then farm for the lady’s family before seeking their permission to marry. The time of farming is not specified; nevertheless, the man is reported to end farming when the lady’s father is satisfied and the guy’s family has given their final assent. The lady’s family would then formally inform his relatives about their daughter’s courtship with the man before the wedding date is set.
According to Muauzu, the marriage or engagement ceremony follows Islamic customs, with the bride price (Zadaki) paid. The bride will be adorned with tattoos on her legs and prominent tribal markings on her face.
The ritual includes guinea corn pap in the morning and rice with fish soup and burukutu at sunset. Their sitting position is similar to that of the celebration, as previously said;
they sit around a plate of guinea corn pap on a mat, and their sitting culture is the same as the Hausas. As a result, the Gunganchi and Hausa people have intermarried.
1.3.7 – Naming Ceremony
The Gunganchi hold a naming ritual seven days after the child’s birth, and its hair is shaved. During the ritual, rice or guinea corn pap is served, and people sit around the feast. Therefore, the infant will be circumcised after ten years.
1.3.8 Burial ceremony
Like most tribes, the Gunganchi celebrate the death of the elderly and mourn the loss of the young. They investigate sudden or unusual death by consulting the oracle known as “Gigo” (real god) or “Ujigo” (the deity of thunder and rain). The oracle will cause the deceased’s spirit to exact retribution by slaying the individual who caused his or her death.
However, this behaviour is unique to the local or extreme Gunganchi population.
1.3.9 Educational System
The Gunganchi embrace Western education, and they educate both their male and female children. They have schools, and they also use their own homes as schools.
1.3.10 Political Administration.
The Gunganchi adopted the system of their neighbouring tribe (Hausa), which is the Emirate’s system, because it is a multi-ethnic territory with Yelwa, Lopa, Yauri, and Laru people living alongside them. Because the Emir’s residence is in Yelwa, the Gunganchi were the first people to settle in Yauri. The designated Emir governs all ethnic groups in Yauri.
During the British era, the Yauri emirate and Gungu (Island) district of the Yauri Local Government were recognised, and they are currently the population centre for Reshe (Gunganchi).
The Gunganchi people’s political administration is not hereditary because the Emir must be nominated, despite the fact that a Gunganchi man was Yauri’s first Emir. Before being appointed, the Emir must meet certain criteria, such as being elderly, well-known, and respected among the Yauri ethnic groups.
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