Investigative Report on The Importance Of Kanuri Traditional Attire With Special Reference To Kulwu
By Babagana Kambar
Kanempress
10th May 2023
The Kanuri people are an African ethnic group living largely in the lands of the former Kanem and Bornu Empires in Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon. The Kanuri are the dominant ethnic group of Borno province in north-eastern Nigeria with over 3 million population and rich historical heritage, site and monuments. Borno emirate, the major division of the province and the Kanuri home land, has a history as a political entity that stretches back at least 1,100 years. The Kanuri are sedentary hoe agriculturalist, although almost all of the men practice some other occupation as well. The economy is complex, with commerce, transportation and construction constituting the other main elements of the private business sector, the art of making Kulwu is also considered a noble trade passed on from generations. One important and interesting aspect of Kenem Bornu culture is the traditional dresses, Kanuri, one of the most conservative ethnic groups in Nigeria, is wearing Kulwu long, Roomy garments with caps, the garments depict the adherence to cultural beliefs and one’s attachment to the Kanem Bornu tradition. The importance of Kulwu Kanuri traditional attire in Kanem Borno tradition can never be over emphasized. By donning and understanding the importance of traditional clothing in Kanem Borno, the people can express their culture and humility and their interest in preserving and understanding the ways of the past. The Kulwu garment depicts respect for the culture and custom of the great Kanem Borno tradition. It is in view of these traditional norms that the paper attempted to understand the importance of Kanuri traditional attire with special reference to Kulwu.The methodology employed in the study was the Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) mixed with Focus Group Discussion (FGD) was used for data collection. The subject of study covered was 50 respondents (Fifty Informants) in Maiduguri and environs with some of the findings revealing; the Kulwu clothing would completely in future replaced the contemporary attires in Kanem-Borno Empire. The paper therefore, recommends among others that the traditional institutions should protects the traditional attires from being mocked or ridiculed at all cost for future generations to understand the past.
The Kanuri people are an African ethnic group living largely in the lands of the former KanemBorno empires in south eastern Niger, north eastern Nigeria, northern Cameroun and southern kanem in Chad. The Kanuri peoples include several subgroups and Dialect groups some are identify and differ from the Kanuri and inheriting the religious, historical artifact, cultural heritages, tradition and monuments of the Kanem-Borno empires. Borno Emirate, the major division of the province and the Kanuri,
Homeland, has a history as a political entity that stretches back at least 1,100 years and predominantly, Sunni Muslim emirate since the eleventh century.
The Kanuri are the dominant ethnic group reside in Borno and Yobe state in the northeastern geo-political zone of Nigeria, constitute the second largest ethnic group in northern Nigeria. The Kanuri have had a strong monumental and cultural heritage influence on surrounding peoples, which include the Budum of lake chad, the mandara and kotoko or marghi who live southeast of the Kanuri, the marghi of the Damboa district, the Babur in the hills south of the Kanuri, the Bolewa located southwest of the Kanuri and the Bade of Gashuwa, within the Kanuri territory. All of those groups have acquired various aspect of Kanuri culture. The Kanuri are sedentary hoe agriculturists, although almost all of the men practice some other occupation as well. The economy is complex, with commerce, transportation, farming, fishing, dying, weaving, making garments/caps and construction constituting the other main elements of the business sector.
Before the advent of manufactured textiles, the Kanuri people made garments traditionally by hand. The garment depicts respect for the culture and custom of the great Kanem Borno tradition. The viability of the use of traditional attire, the social importance for one to preserve ones rich cultural heritage and the need to produce living documents on the ways of life of the Kanuri people in particular prompted the researcher to write on this article.
Ethnographic Background
Cotton spinning is an age-old traditional hand work of drawing out strands of fiber to make a yarn, subsequent process of refinement is what manufacturers call wet spinning which entails boiling the cotton with coal ash and potash. It is dried and then further beaten with wood to soften it, the cotton is pile into sacks and distributed to various destinations. In Gangamari, a neighborhood in shehuri North mostly traditional, conservative Kanuri settings engaged in spinning cotton or Kantal as it is called in Kanuri language, working tirelessly for hours to make perfectly spun cotton use for embroidery for the kulwu.
The term Kulwu to many scholars have described it as a gown (cf:Bulakarima 2003). Others are of the view that the term kulwu as robe (cf: sheriff 2004:87). Others studies posit the word Kulwu, it origin derived from the word K3lowun, which literary means shroud. They believe that as death comes without notification the kanuri man is always readily prepared for it and as such he is in his k3lowun/lawakan (kulwu gown), so in the event that he dies in any circumstances where a shroud could not be found or easily obtained, he could then be buried in his kulwu. As most of the Kanuri people were caravan traders, they may likely encounter such predicaments, on their journey and the kulwu attire could solve the problem.
Researchers describe the Kanuri traditional attire “Kulwu” as a robe or shroud consisting of trousers, a long sleeve undershirt and the open stitched sleeveless gown atop it. The culture of the Kanuri, one of the most conservative ethnic groups in the northeastern part of Nigeria, is wearing long roomy garments (Kulwu).
A voluminous and heavily embroidered piece, the Kulwu worn by men is one of the most sought-after items at Arinmari and Gangamari in shehuri north in Maiduguri city of Borno State. The fabrics come in change of prices depending on the social and financial status of the wearer of the Kulwu garments. The more expensive the Kulwu the higher the status of the individual wearing the garments and also it depicts the coherence to cultural beliefs and one’s attachment to the great Kanem-Borno rich cultural heritage, the art of making Kanuri traditional attire “Kulwu” is also considered a noble trade passed on from generation to generation.
The traditional attire is mostly worn during important occasion of the village, District Head, Emirs and Shehus. The Kanuri or the northerner is considered well properly dressed when he is completely dressed in his kulwu attire of the Kanuri. There is strong contention among the Kanuri people that when one is in western dress exposes the parts of the body and are tighter and smaller compared to the kulwu Kanuri garments. According one Kole Mallam Usman of Bulabulin Ngarannam in Bolori II of Maiduguri, aged 65years, Man who not completely addressed in his kulwu is regarded deviant & not trustworthy in Kanuri society. A cultures dress is much more than what meets the eye, it reflects a great number of elements that make up an attire identity and history, where we know them or not. The importance of kulwu Kanuri traditional attire in kanem Borno tradition can never be over emphasized. By donning and understanding the importance of traditional clothing in kanem Borno, the People can express their culture and humility and their interest in preserving and understanding the customs of the past by wearing traditional attire. Adding to that, the Kanuri traditional attire (kulwu) conveys perceptions and information about Kanuri people. Their appearance, or how they dress can also command or earn respect. It tells more about the diversity, beauty and solidarity of Kanuri people
Traditional attire or clothing in Kanem Borno tradition have a special meaning, the way and style of clothing evolves and determines gender identity from a psychological, political, cultural, religious, historical and social standpoint. It’s no surprise, however, that communicates have used clothes to communicates status, commemorate significant events and demonstrates solidarity among other things.
One of the importance of Kanuri traditional attire or clothing is meant to reveal certain aspects of their personality, who they are, where they come from, what their social status.
Clothing comfort has been proven to affect cognitive performance in studies. Unfortunately, clothing has been linked to distraction and increased cognitive load, so anything that causes you to lose attention can undermine your self-assurance. There are several festivals observed in Kanuri tradition, each of which is a true reflection of the kanem Borno’s rich historical and cultural heritage and custom, and people choose to dress traditionally on these occasions or events. Traditional attire or cloth in Kanem Borno have been a symbol of cultural identity and the preservation of culture for centuries. The importance of traditional attire cannot be overemphasized as they can present kanem Borno norms and values and understanding the past historical and cultural heritage.
Since evolution, people almost in all societies remains the highest evolved to the present stage of devising a special covering apart from the hair on the body, head or fur to use leave or clothe to cover their nakedness. Subsequently so, human being, no matter where they found them self, still wear one of the other kind of clothing for a distinct individual reasons. However, in general, person wear clothes for three cardinal reasons and such reasons equally constitute the functions clothing serve for the wears namely include; protection, communication and decoration. The first functions of clothing is primarily to cover the body for protection against the element of weather and beautification as human. The other function of clothing that cannot be contested is the social aspect, as it serves as class distinction.
The Americans and Europeans in the late 19th century believed that people wore clothing purposely for modesty. With the emergence of a nonreligious worldview, people began to offer distinct formal set of philosophical ideas and principles. Some theorist argued that the origin of clothing was originally designed for sexual attraction to expose the beauty of the body.
Evelyn (2003) ideally clothes should be seen as expressing the chosen, an identity of the wearer who has selected his/her garment from personal experience and taste Beddoe (1998). According to (Bewaji, 2003:193), clothing & textiles are significant forms of African act, which play important roles in the cultural milieu of the people. Clothes act as protection from the elements, including rain snow and wind and other weather conditions, even from the sun. Clothes also reduce the level of risk during an activity, such as work or sport. In addition to the obvious function of providing protection and warmth, clothing serves many other purpose, most of them having to do with communicating our identity to others. However, protection and warmth may not have been the earliest purpose of dress. Many people have always lived in warm climates where clothing is not needed for protection from the elements, yet they have developed forms of dress. In many societies, clothing is an aspect of norms, in relation to standards of modesty, religious practices and social status. Clothing may also function as a form of adornment and an expression of personal taste or style. Cloth and dress have been described as a mirror of the culture of the people in any society (Perani and Wolff, 1999:25). They symbolize the practices of the society, bounded by the same geographical location, sharing the same cultural values. In the cultural context cloth serves basic needs as clothing and shelter (Payne, 1965).
Clothes also have important overlapping mediating functions beyond basic role in shelter and protection, which include; occupation indicator; culture and change indicator; measurement of self and personal worth; measurement of social value; standard of economic value; definition and negotiation of political power; religious signifies and repository of supernatural powers.
TYPOLOGIES OF KULWU: THE KANURI MALE GARMENTS
There are various types of Kulwu Kanuri Clothing or garments and are required and worn depending on the occasion, events or celebrations. According to Sheriff (2004) Classified as many as thirty different types of Kanuri attires for males genetic and other eight for the females. However, this study is not concerned with female garments, and for the purpose of this research work the paper specifically focused on Kulwu the Kanuri male clothing. The different types of Kulwu among others include below presented:
METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY
STUDY METHOD
The study area is Maiduguri and environs. The population for the study is 50 and the methodology adopted for this study is the participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) mixed with focus group discussion (FGD) in the host community, questionnaire administration, as well as field observation. The secondary data have obtained from existing records both published and unpublished as well as from the internet.
STUDY AREA
Maiduguri is the capital city of Borno State in the northeastern part of Nigeria. It lies in the Sudan Sahel transition zone, located between latitude 110 5’N and longitude 130 06’E with a land mass of 550-kilometer square. And the study covers areas which includes, Arinmari in Shehuri South, Gangamari in Limanti Area, Shuwari IV/Pompomari in Bolori I, Zajiri, Gidan Dambe, State Low-cost Estate, Herwa Peace Estate and Ngarannam in Bolori II of Maiduguri Metropolis.
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
This section of the research deals with Analysis, Interpretation and discussion of the findings.
Data was analyzed using the number of respondents and percentages together with interpretation and discussions on the findings.
| Sex | No. of Respondents | Percentage (%) |
| Male Female Total | 46 4 50 | 92% 8% 100% |
From the table presented above indicates that out of the 50 respondents, 92% were male, while, 8% of the total respondents were female. This shows that the majority of the respondents in the study were male considering the subject of the research, they were in good position to provide enough necessary information required.
| Age range | No. of respondents | Percentage{%} |
| 25-34 yrs 35-44 yrs 45-54 yrs | 4 6 11 | 8% 12% 22% |
| 55-64 yrs 65 and above Total | 10 19 50 | 20% 38% 100% |
Table 2 shows that highest number of respondents with a score of 19 falls within the age range age of 65 years and above representing 38%, while the lowest number of respondents with a score of 8% falls within the age of 25-34. Others were those within the age of 45-54, 55-64 and 35-44 years with score percentage is 22%, 20% and 12% of the total respondents respectively.
| Status | No. of Respondents | Percentage (%) |
| Single Married Divorced Widowed Total | 2 38 7 3 50 | 4% 76% 14% 6% 100% |
From the data presented in the above table, it can be observed that 76% out of the total respondents are married, while 7% respondents were divorced. Out of the total respondents, widowed people covered 6% and single 4%.
| Option | No. of respondents | Percentage (%) |
| Culture and identity Measuring self and personal worth Festivals, ceremonies, special occasions and events Viewed as part of fashion Shelter and self-protection All of the above No response Total | 29 6 9 3 2 1 0 50 | 58% 12% 18% 6% 4% 2% 0% 100% |
From the analysis presented in table 4 above 58% of the respondents wear Kulwu clothing to indicate the symbol and identity of their culture. Another 12% of the respondents posit that, were worn to communicate their social status/class and aesthetic value, while 18% are of the view that, the Kanuri people wear traditional attire for special occasion, ceremonies, festivals and other religious rites or events subsequently, 6% of the respondents viewed as part of fashion, others are those with 4% and 2% of the respondents claimed that, the primary purpose of clothing is functional, as a protection from the environmental elements while the later do so daily, they are usually worn appropriately, which is determined by the occasion and understanding what to wear and when to wear it is crucial.
| Option | No. of Respondents | Percentage (%) |
| Agree Strongly agree Disagree Strongly disagree Total | 13 36 1 0 50 | 26% 72% 2% 0% 100% |
The table above indicates that 72% of the total respondents strongly accepted that kulwu clothing will completely replace the contemporary attires in the future in Kanem Borno Empire, another 26% of the respondents fairly accepted, while 2% of the research population admitted a negative stand against the view of the above respondents.
| Age group | No. of Respondents | Percentages (%) |
| 25-34 yrs 35-44yrs 45-54yrs 55-64yrs 65 and above Total | 7 10 11 13 9 50 | 14% 20% 22% 26% 18% 100% |
The table above indicates that 7 respondents representing 14% said those within 25-34 age groups often wear Kulwu clothing, another 10 respondents with score of 20% admitted in support of 35-44 age group, while 11 respondents scoring 22% posit that 45-54 age group often wear Kulwu clothing, other 13 respondents (26%) of the research population are of the view that those within group of 55-64 often wear, where 9 respondents (18%) said the 65years and above people often wear Kulwu clothing. This indicates that all the categories of the age groups in the study area often wear kulwu clothing with those within 55-64 age group scoring the majority with 26% of the study population.
FINDINGS OF THE STUDY
Based on the field work carried out in the study area below is the summary of the findings;
Table 4 indicates the various reasons for wearing Kulwu clothing in Kanuri tradition, apart from the primary purpose of clothing which is said to be functional, as a protection from the elements. It also creates a sense of belonging and serves as a medium of communication, it evolves and determines gender identity from a psychological, political, cultural, religious, historical and social stand point, wearing the kulwu traditional clothing instills pride and a sense of origin in the wearer. They are usually worn appropriately, which is determined by the occasion or event and understanding what to wear and when to wear it is important.
With regard to the growing acceptance of kulwu clothing among Kanuri people table 5 shows that a total number 36(72%) strongly agreed while 13(26%) agreed therefore, 49 respondents representing 88% of the study population accepted that kulwu clothing will in future completely replaced the contemporary attires in kanem Borno empire. Only 1 (2%) of the population look a negative stand. From the data all the different age groups captured in the study often wear the kulwu Kanuri traditional clothing with minimal differences of percentages within the groups, this shows the importance of kulwu traditional attire among Kanuri people in kanem Borno traditional in particular and northern Nigeria at large.
It is impossible to exhaust all that can be said about the importance of Kanuri traditional attire in a paper of this nature, as Kanuri traditional attire is a very wide topic. In view of these constraints, this study focused on kulwu clothing.
From the literature reviewed, it is concluded that the first objective of clothing was not to provide protection and warmth, the majority of them have to do with communicating our identity and social status to others, therefore, saved as a mirror of the culture of the people in any society, symbolizing the practices of the society, bounded by the same territorial geographic location sharing the same rich cultural norms and values.
As a result of the great importance attached to Kanuri traditional attire the study indicates significant growing acceptance of kulwu clothing among Kanuri people of different age groups. It’s no surprise, however, that Kanuri people have used kulwu clothing to communicate status, commemorate significant occasions, events and demonstrate solidarity and the preservation of the rich cultural heritage among another things for centuries.
This explains the importance of kulwu clothing in Kanem Borno tradition, more especially as a symbol of identity, culture and unity. The importance of kulwu clothing cannot be overemphasized, as they can represent Kanem Borno norms and values. In view of this therefore, this research work emphasizes the importance of kulwu Kanuri traditional clothing.
CONCLUSION
By way of conclusion, the Kanuri traditional institutions should as a matter of important protect the traditional attires and all the cultural heritage from being mocked or ridiculed by those who do not know or understand their importance and are such there is need for political will to provide laws to protect, promotes and preserved the historical sites, monuments and cultural heritage potentials. Subsequently, it’s vital to have preserved and conserved them at all cost for future generations to understanding the past. In addition to promote the Kulwu Kanuri traditional gown there is every need for leaders such as Governors, National Assembly Members, Ministers and the state Assembly among other paramount personalities from the region to wear them or buy from companies who protect this heritage as this will also draws attention to the prestige of the Kulwu Kanuri traditionally made clothing.
