Biography of Yagagi Mamman Kogi


Yagagi married to Mamman Kogi. Mamman Kogi has three wives

including her. She is the youngest of the three wives. She has two

children, one girl and a boy. The girl is now in secondary school and

the boy still in primary school. The elder wife has one boy and one

girl oo, while the third wife has no children of her own. The wife

who has no children of her own is a o_ ___ (princess).

Her mother's name is Yapandar and her father's name is Ya Dawi.

They lived in Bif. When she was young, about 11 years, she was very

active because whatever her mother did she too tried to immitate her,

and she reached a stage Not onlyher mother did she
Not only~)her motherdid she

imitate)but their neighbours. If their neighbours would go to farm,

she too would follow them and hoe her own farm. Nobody would prevent

her from doing such things, because she would cry and disturbs the

whole compound. She lived in an extended family. In the compound,

there were three different families in it. One her own father's

family, secondly her father's eldest brother. He has four wives and

each wife has a farm of her own and feeds her own children. That

was the whole system in the family. The third family was the youngest

brother of her father's family. He has only one wife, so this girl

(Yagagi) was given to them, to act as their daughter to do everything

for them. During that time girls didn't wear dresses, they wore only

wrappers and head tie. If you were seen with a dress, a wrapper and

a headtie, it meant you were married. So all girls were forbidden to

put on dresses. Rich and poor girls were distinguished because for









the richer girls they wore bracelets on the rinsCA between the upper

arms and lower arms, knees, on the elbows, on the wrist, feet, and toes.

She used to be decorated exactly as I described. She would follow

people to the bush to collect fire-wood, it might be about two miles or

three. (When I asked her how about she said someone has to ride for

more than five or six miles, and again I asked her why, she said because

bush has been cleared and order has been passed that anybody caught cutting

trees would be taken to jail.) They use to go to the bush also at 5 a.m.-

6 a.m., normally they didn't take anything/in the morning, I mean when

they were going, so when they were busy cutting the wood, she would start

to shout that she was hungry, so the people had to leave what they were

doing and take her home. T

When she was 12 years old, she went to S&. The reason for her

going there was because her brother was there and she has to take a wife
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for himt bV /4i / nobody big in their family; she was the only
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(female) elderly of the house. When I asked her how did she reached J66

or rather with what, she said she tracked she said during that time

there was no other means of transport only the primitive ways, like

donkeys, and foot. Horses for noble people, and if you were in the group

of between the range of ten and twenty age you would not travel on donkeys

only on foot, because you were young and active. When her parents have

arranged the journey that she would be going to itS, she was very happy

because this was what she had been longing for, travelling in a group.

When it was confirmed that she would be leaving the next some friends,

she went and say good-bye to her friends. Her friends decided to escort

her very early in the morning the next day ready for the journey.









Her things and the lady who she was escorting to JOS were packed. Each

person took her own load on her head and started the long journey. Even

if you started out for the journey alone, you would meet more than swIf0ay

0 people on the way. So the same thing with them, they met many people

on the way. Some were going to the same place and some different places

like fadd and other big cities which they referred to as lb 3 / dkj C?)

Some on donkeys and some like themselves tracking. As they were travelling,

when itbecame dark, they would camp in the village they last came to, but

they didn't like camping in a town, because they were afraid that maybe at

night when they were sleeping thenV criminals would go and destroy the

properties of the people, and that would involve them in trouble. To

avoid this, they would move out of the village about a mile from the main

village and camp there. Her companion tied their donkeys, made a fire,

cooked for them, and still slept just near their donkeys and used their

heads as pillows. If it happened that they camped at night, the ladies

would be left on the ouetskirtf)of the town, while the men would go to the

town and search for food for them. Then in the morning they would proceed

to the next village. The journey continued in the same way until they

reached their places.

She was just only 12, but covered 200 miles in a week. The returning

journey was the same. Her load had been increased because her brother

bought gift for her.

Two men have proposed for her, and between them she chosed Mahman Kogi

for the first time. When she accepted the offer of his proposal, he sent

her 4 bracelets, and 4 wrappers (a woven wrapper). When approved they got

married. He sent 4 wrappers, Kolenuts, underwear ('Pakre').
A







4l G'41
She got married when the Emir of Biu Ai4-a e-Gege was only one year

being appointed. (C tq36?)

Whenitwas time for her to be taken to the husband's house, one of

her best friends was chosen and two girls on the husband's side were

appointed to represent the husband. That made three friends were to escort

her. For a complete one week, she and her best friends did not eat in the

husband's house. Wherever ae had been brought, they would just rush out

of the house, nd the two girls on the husband's side,~ 5 they

used to eat and drink water of the house. Fora week too, they didn't take

bath in the house. From morning till evening, the job of the new wife

and her friends was to carry water and to fill the pots in the house, the

work of the rest of the wives were completely left for them. After a week

everydoby was dispersed and the rest of the wives resumed their normal

jobs. She too became a member of the house, and started to immitate what

they usually do in the house, ed ig that time# she didn't do anything,

she would only get money from her husband on Marketing days and did her

shopping then came back to the house. When she first came to the house she

met two other wives, now they became totally including her three. She

stayed for three years, then they get divorced with the man. (Reasons not

told). Within those three years she didn't have any children for this man.

When they got divorced, she stayed with her parents in Biu Sid A

Then another man asked for her hand, Mallam Biu and they were married. She

met one wife in the house. The wife was very tough, they LVsd to fight

every time. The wife didn't like her very much. The quarrel became

constant, at last she revolted that she would not stay any longer and asked

for her freedom. In this house, she stayed for only 1 years. She had no

child for Mallam Biu. By then he was a teacher.









Again after getting her divorce she went to her parents and stayed.

She found another man, Mallam Shate and they were married. Mallam Shatte

had two other wives, she could not cope with them and even with the husband,

after staying for three years, without any permission she went to her parents

house and started to establishing her own life without getting her divorce

from her husband. Her reasons for doing this, because he refused to give

her her freedom. At last he gave up, thinking that one day she would come

back for him again.

After staying without a husband for about 6 months, she fell in love

with a young man very much. Both of them loved each other, so they decided

to get married, but the both sides of the family were against the idea of

their marriage. The people were serious that they would not allow the
6 a Pp
marriage to take place. It had been even reported to Ali Geaes. When both

of them were tired with the situation, just one night they sat and thought

out their problem, that now the best solution to this problem was for them

to elope to any town or city that they were not known and they would start

a new refresh life. They had arranged that they were leaving at 5 a.m., at

this time people may be sleeping, and so the following if their people

wake up they would start searching for them.

They said since now their people had found out they are missing, they

would try and trace them on the way to JOS and other big cities.which were

known before. So they decided again to take a round about way to JOS. She
s/'ck
had only a calebash in her hand, and her so-called fiancee a skzde and a

few coins in his pocket. They used to spend the whole day walking, and

when they came to a village, she would not be allowed to go inside the

village, maybe the following who were looking for them would see them so









she would stay out and he would go and buy the food for them. At night

they camped, and the following morning to continue with the journey until

they reached JOS. They didn't stay inside JOS. They lived there for only

a year and came back to Biu, and settle again as a well married couple.

They had a happy family for 9 years, until the man died.

After the death of her husband, she decided to marry a man and h

a peaceful mind. Then they reformed again with her first husband Manman

Kogi, and they get married. She said it was this time she knew she had

entered the world and is her duty to face any problem in this world as a

mature married woman. Taking an oath to me that this man would be her

last husband. /re. /A l Lr 4 e