When the people of Kano celebrate the birthday of Abdulkadir Jilani, founder of a medieval Islamic sect, it has all the appearance of a serious religious festival.
But behind the prayers and sermons on spiritual life, the people of this bustling northern Nigerian city are also celebrating some more basic human traits, lust and pride among them.
”I am attracted to women,” declares Muktar Hamisu, a 26-year-old carpenter, as a magnificent parade of horsemen, chanting children and veiled female worshippers winds past.
”The celebration gives me an opportunity to make as many girlfriends as I want. I never miss it,” he says with a smile.
High school student Adamu Musa (18) leans over in his saddle.
”I love horse riding and the celebration gives me that opportunity. Many of us compete in adorning our horses. It is a pride to have the best decoration on your horse,” he confides.
He certainly has a lot of competition from his fellow riders, who lead the Qadiriyya sect’s parade through Kano on a magnificent set of steeds, decked out in gold and silver.
The leading men the community are resplendent in their green, red and white robes and turbans, followed by their wives in ankle length hijabs, Islamic veils.
From the balconies and windows of the metropolis they are cheered on their way by the admiring populace, and you could be forgiven for thinking that the point of the celebration has been missed.
Jilani founded the Qadiriyya order in Iraq in the 12th century and it now boasts followers in west and north Africa as well as in his homeland.
On the 10th day of the third month of the Muslim lunar calendar — this year in Nigeria this was June 22 — his followers celebrate the Maukibi ceremony to mark his birth.
”Qadiriyya is an order based on spiritual and moral development through knowledge and remembrance of God,” intones Muhammad Atiku, a Qadiriyya Sheikh.
For Qadiriyya followers, the parade, which leads through the city to a graveyard where the most respected of the local faithful are interred is a solemn event which attracts divine blessings.
But in the teeming city of Kano, a major commercial centre at the southern end of north Africa’s trans-Saharan trade routes, Maukibi is an opportunity for people to dress up and have fun.
”I am not a follower of the order, but I join the procession every year because I just like the drumbeats, the crowd, the noise and the dances. It’s thrilling,” admits Sammani Yakubu, a 25-year-old tailor.
But with lust, pride and luxury taking such a prominent role in the celebration surrounding the event, could wrath be far behind?
The annual jamboree is also plagued with violence between gangs of street thugs known as Yandaba, police say.
”Whenever the celebration takes place, we don’t have peace until it is over, for fear of clashes between the thugs. We beef up security all over the city,” one officer told AFP.
Zakariyya Yunusa (37) does not share the enthusiasm of his younger neighbours for the festival. ”Last year we had to stay indoors as a result of the fighting between the thugs, which left four dead and many others injured,” he complained.
This year’s celebration didn’t see any deaths, although it had its fair share of ugly incidents. In any case, however, nothing seems likely to shake it from its place in Kano’s affections.
”This ceremony has been taking place for 47 years and has become part of the lives of the people of Kano. You just can’t stop it,” declared Hashim Idris, a teacher of Islamic studies. – Sapa-AFP