Zumuntar Kenan Part 1 Complete Sumayya Abdulkadir Takori

Description

ZUMUMTAR KENAN COMPELET BOOK BY TAKORI

Title Idea: That is Kinship (Zumuntar Kenan) – Part 1
As you approach the town of Giwa, the house is the first thing you will spot from the southeast. It is a massive, modern estate with a dark-red roof, surrounded by a gigantic black iron gate popularly referred to as a "Mahdi-ka-ture" (a gate so strong it defies being pushed open). The estate itself swallows up fifteen modern flats.
If you look up, there is an inscription written in glittering gold paint: ABUBAKAR BAMALLI GIWA ESTATE. The houses are arranged in neat, dispersed rows, painted a soothing egg-yolk yellow. Only one house stands out from the other fourteen—the very first house.
This first house is the largest of them all, and it is the only two-story building. The owner of this grand mansion is a woman of about seventy-five years old who goes by the name Hajiya Hadiza Giwa, whom her children and grandchildren fondly call Hajjah.
You would be amazed to hear that despite the massive size of this house, she lives in it alone as the sole matriarch. Furthermore, she gave birth to all fifteen of her children one by one; there is no child from a co-wife or another marriage involved.
According to the people of Giwa, this was due to the immense love her late husband, Abubakar Bamalli Giwa, had for her, as well as her excellent character and good relations with everyone. Consequently, after the passing of A.B. Giwa, his children did not feel orphaned for long. Hajjah became their pillar of support. However, this does not mean she spoiled them; no, there was strict discipline and moral upbringing for every child or grandchild of Hajjah.
No one dared cross the line she drew, and no one would say "no" if she said "yes." No one could make a major decision regarding themselves or their family without her explicit permission. She is a woman of great intellect and sharp intuition, such that she understands the underlying motives behind every movement her children or grandchildren make. She is straightforward and never double-tongued.
Despite the love she shows her grandchildren, she never allows a younger one to disrespect an elder. Her grandchildren love her deeply—even more than their own biological parents. Most of them eventually packed their bags one by one to move into the "Big House" (as they call it) to live with Hajjah. According to them, life is much better at Hajjah’s house: they get a wide variety of food to choose from, she tells them wisdom-filled folktales and bedtime stories about navigating the world, and she embraces them—no matter how old they are—to comfort them whenever their parents upset them. Yet, this does not mean she lets them off the hook if they commit a wrongdoing; she would have Baban Giwa punish them, or she would discipline them herself using a hand fan or a knuckle-knock (rankwashi).
Following A.B. Giwa's death, Hajiya Hadiza stood firm in raising his lineage and preserving intermarriage within the family bloodline. To this day, Hajjah remains committed to her late husband's wish of arranging marriages exclusively within the extended family tree—whether the youth like it or not. Her philosophy is that they will eventually learn to adapt, love each other by force, and live to thank her later.
This policy led to the expansion and multiplication of the A.B. Giwa family within and outside Giwa town. Wherever they go, they are easily recognized due to their distinct family resemblance and the traditional Mallanci facial tribal marks on both sides of their cheeks, inscribed on every male and female child by the family barber on their naming day. Although they live secluded within their estate, their businesses and civil service jobs take them into the cities of Kaduna and Zaria.
Living in the house of A.B. Giwa alongside the grandchildren are the relatives of her late husband: her nieces, Kaltume and Kubra, both of whom are divorcees/widows (zawara). Since they are older, they oversee house cleaning and cooking, even though there is an abundance of domestic servants in the house.
Hajjah designated the Boys' Quarters at the front of the house for the young men. Even though their parents have flats within the estate, they fled their homes to live with her into adulthood. As for the grown granddaughter generation, she married them off within Giwa or Zaria to family relatives (mostly residing in Zaria). In total, Hajjah has fourteen surviving children: ten boys and four girls.
Abubakar Bamalli Giwa was an immensely wealthy tycoon from decades past. He was a native of Giwa by birth and ancestry. His core business was large-scale crop production—farming maize, millet, fonio (achcha), sorghum, wheat, rice, sweet potatoes, yams, and vegetables every year, which were loaded into Bedford (Daf-Daf) trucks and distributed to various markets across different towns. He owned over ten massive farmlands in Giwa inherited from his ancestors, alongside countless rental properties in Giwa, Kaduna, and Zaria.
It would take too long to list the names of Abubakar Giwa’s descendants one by one, but the eldest is Alhaji Mukhtar Abubakar Bamalli, who leads the Kaduna branch of Bamalli Food Crops and Cash Crops Production. Because he oversees their entire Kaduna operations, he and his family mostly live in Kaduna city. Although he owns a house in the A.B. Bamalli Estate, they only open, clean, and occupy it during Islamic Eid festivals or family ceremonies.
Next is Ahmadu A.B., a Professor of Agriculture at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria. His primary residence is in the staff quarters at ABU Zaria, but like his elder brother (Baban Kaduna), his second home is in the estate, where he brings his family for visits and occasions.
He is followed by Alhaji Na’ibi Abubakar Bamalli, who lives in the estate and manages their farmlands. Then comes Ibrahim A.B., who manages their rental properties in Kaduna. Barau A.B. handles the distribution of their agricultural harvest to various towns and lives in the estate with his family. Sani A.B., Sadi A.B., and Salisu A.B. each head different sectors of the family business.
Then there are the daughters: Aunty Hauwa, who is married to the son of the late A.B.'s best friend, Alhaji Sabi’u Kwangila. She lives in the upscale Malali neighborhood in Kaduna with her five children. She is followed by Yaya Ladidi, who is married and lives in the Tudun Wada area of Zaria. Next is Yaya Hafsatu, who is married within Giwa town. Aunty Rabi (Hajjah’s last-born child) is the youngest at around twenty-seven years old. She was married the previous year to Yaya Muftahu, the son of A.B.'s younger brother, whose job stationed him in Kano working for the Zain telecommunications company.
Hajiya Hadiza’s continuous physical strength and vitality can be attributed to the comfort and care she receives from her children. Every day, she seems to gain more youthfulness; you would never guess her true age by looking at her face or physique. She also inherited substantial wealth from her late husband. Her own parents and grandparents were natives of Zaria, originating from the Tukur-Tukur neighborhood. Her late husband was the native of Giwa, while marriage brought her there. After his passing, she did not abandon the home; instead, she stayed to keep her children united and close to their father's legacy, fiercely preserving their kinship. They do not marry outsiders (male or female)—only within their bloodline.
This custom is why they look so much alike. If you know one member of the family, you can recognize the others anywhere. They are exceptionally fair-skinned, tall, broad-shouldered, with long, straight noses and large, expressive eyes. Beyond their physical traits and tribal marks, they are instantly recognized by their distinct pride and elegant poise, true for both their men and women. Many outsiders claim the A.B. lineage is arrogant and proud, but in reality, it is simply a natural composure, dignity, and high self-worth bestowed upon them by God, as they are all well-educated in both Islamic and Western knowledge. Furthermore, A.B.'s wealth continues to grow because they never neglect the obligatory alms (Zakkah).
To this day, an outsider marriage has never been attempted or tolerated in the family. They believe marrying an outsider would dilute their family identity, alter their distinct physical features, and divide the children.
Although Hajjah is strict and vocal most of the time, she is incredibly easygoing once you understand her temperament, likes, and dislikes. Her children pamper her constantly, and she does not suffer from typical geriatric illnesses like diabetes, leg pain, high blood pressure, or senility. Her eldest son, Alhaji Mukhtar, is particularly skilled at living with her, catering to her needs, and obeying her every command.
Inside the estate is a large central mosque where they gather to perform all five daily prayers on time. The men's section is separated from the women's section by a curtain. It is rare to see any child or adult praying at home unless there is a severe health emergency. They have been strictly trained to respect prayer times. The moment Baba Barau (the Imam of the A.B. Mosque) calls the Adhan, everyone drops what they are doing to perform ablution and head to the mosque to pray in congregation—men, women, children, elders, girls, and boys alike.
Adjacent to the mosque is their private mini-clinic (a medical room where they pay a monthly salary to a doctor and a nurse to look after the health of the family and their children). Additionally, half of the food section in the Giwa main market consists of Bamalli shops, allowing them to run their businesses smoothly and peacefully.
All the men in the family studied agricultural fields (Agricultural Engineering or Agricultural Science) at Ahmadu Bello University. The women studied diverse fields: Aunty Hauwa studied Quantity Surveying; Ladidi studied Education and works as a school teacher; Yaya Hafsatu is a Home Economist; while Aunty Rabi studied Journalism. Because her husband, Muftahu, works in Kano, he secured a job for her at Freedom Radio in Kano, and she has not yet had her first child.
God blessed this family with tranquility and obedience to their matriarch, Hajjah. No one makes a decision in his home or over his family without her knowledge and approval. Even the arranged marriage bonds she ties are never questioned; even those who comply against their initial wishes eventually see the benefits and become grateful. Consequently, none of the growing youth ever think of dating or picking a partner; they simply wait for Hajjah to match them with whoever she deems fit.
Currently, there are only three young girls under her direct care who have not passed the age of seven or eight—all granddaughters: Ummi, Zanirah, and Fa’iza. The young boys in secondary school and university are the ones who fill the house, having abandoned their parents' homes to crowd into Hajjah’s boys' quarters. She doesn't mind at all; in fact, she experiences joy seeing them wherever she turns, engaging in affectionate banter and deep grandchildren-grandmother bonding. She loves being surrounded by them, settling their disputes, or playfully striking them with her hand fan when they tease one another.
However, Hajjah raised them with such strict morals that a younger child never disrespects an elder, and the growing girls rarely sit idly or mingle inappropriately with the boys. Every single move they make happens under her watchful eye. Currently, her entire focus is on nurturing and instilling discipline in the remaining three young granddaughters before her: myself (Fa'izah), Ummi (Khadija), and Zanirah.
FA’IZ is the son of Hajjah’s eldest son, Alhaji Mukhtar. Unlike the rest of us, his life centered around Hajjah’s house right from the time he was weaned. Hajjah’s love for Fa’iz is completely different from her love for the other grandchildren because he is the only one named after her late husband, Abubakar (A.B.). According to her, Yaya Fa’iz is a carbon copy of A.B. Giwa in both looks and character.
Fa'iz holds a special place in her heart. Hajjah notes that he is exceptionally endearing and shows her more care than anyone else in the lineage. Everything Fa'iz gets is shared with Hajjah; he never hoards anything from her, especially since she loves chewing white kola nuts and using olive oil, black seed oil (habbatus-sauda), and musk perfume on her body and clothes. Since childhood, he knew how to stock these items for her, ensuring they never ran out. She calls him "Hafizi" (The Memorizer) because he fully memorized the Holy Quran by the age of fifteen. He can flawlessly recite it with a perfect accent using the various styles of the famous Saudia Arab reciters like Abdur-Rahman As-Sudais, Jaber, Abdur-Rahman Bin Marwan Al-Juhany, and Al-Khussari.
Fa’iz was the only one who attended secondary school in the holy city of Medina (Madinah Al-Munawwarah) on a government scholarship. At age ten, he won a 30-Juz (whole Quran) competition representing Kaduna State, earning him a sponsorship to a secondary school in Medina. He returned home at age seventeen and chose Hajjah’s house as his permanent residence instead of his father's house in Kaduna. Hajjah allocated a private room for her "husband" Fa’iz in the Boys' Quarters, fully equipped with everything he needs. Whenever he is unusually quiet, she walks over to his room to check on him, asking, "Is everything alright, Hafizi? You haven't come inside." He always replies, "I am doing something, Hajjah. I will come in shortly." This is their daily routine.
Zanirah is Fa’iz’s younger sister (also Baba Mukhtar's daughter). Her stay at Hajjah’s house began when she was four years old, after her mother went to Hajj, leaving her with Hajjah. Upon her mother’s return, Zanirah flatly refused to go back home. Her visits to their family home on Jabi Road became rare holiday events, and only when she felt like it. Their eldest sibling is Bashir, an undergraduate student at Ahmadu Bello University. He is followed by Fa’iz (who finished secondary school this year), then Abdulhakim, Shu’aib, Yahaya, Zanirah, and their youngest brother Abbas (whom we call Junior).
Khadija (Ummi) was the very first among us to be named after Hajjah. She is the daughter of Aunty Hauwa from Kaduna. When Ummi was five, Aunty Hauwa would bring her over for vacations to play with Zanirah. Her visits became frequent every school holiday. Once Ummi witnessed the fun and freedom the other children enjoyed at Hajjah's house, she rebelled against her mother, screaming and throwing tantrums whenever it was time to leave. If forced to return to Kaduna, she would cry all night, sobbing to the point of choking. Her parents eventually gave up and left her with Hajjah.
As for me, FA’IZAH AHMAD ABUBAKAR GIWA, I am one of the granddaughters of the A.B. family. As mentioned earlier, my father is Hajjah’s second son, Professor Ahmadu Bamalli of ABU. He is in a family marriage with my mother, Maimunatu, whom we call "Momin ABU" (ABU's Mom), while he is "Baban ABU" (ABU's Dad). I am the firstborn child, followed by Abdallah, Walida, and our last-born, Kausar.
Momi is a nurse at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH) in Zaria. Because of her extreme emotional distance and neglect toward me—claiming it is because I am her first child, out of a sense of traditional shyness and restraint that makes a mother look down upon her firstborn—our father took me away from her at the age of five and handed me over to Hajjah.
Personally, I preferred Hajjah's house anyway, if only to be with Zanirah. The three of us girls formed a trio and began a lifestyle that constantly tested the patience of our parents and our grandmother, Hajjah. Not a single day went by without us causing some trouble, because each of us has a distinct, dramatic personality. However, we met our match in Ya Fa'iz; there was never a day where we didn't clash, requiring Hajjah to intervene as a judge or peacekeeper.
I will never forget the day I was scheduled to return to Giwa. I couldn't sleep a wink out of sheer excitement. At the first break of dawn, I was already banging on our father’s door so we could leave for Giwa before Zanirah and the others left for school. Annoyed by my behavior, Momi came out, gave me a thorough beating, and decreed that we wouldn't leave until twelve noon. I spent the entire day staring at the clock and pouting, until Baban ABU finally returned from the university campus, and we set off for Giwa (our safe haven).
As soon as we arrived, I reported Momi's actions to Hajjah. Hugging me close, she said, "Leave her alone. From today onward, she will have to fill out a form just to see you! Since she doesn't want you, I do. She will come looking for you on her own two feet, just watch and see." I knew deep down that Momin ABU would never willingly travel to Giwa just for me unless she had her own business there.
I asked, "Hajjah, where are Zanirah and the others? I haven't heard their voices since I arrived." She replied, "They are at Islamic school right now, you will see them soon. By God's grace, tomorrow your uncle in Giwa (Baba Barau) will get your enrollment forms for both Western and Islamic schools so you can all attend together." I started jumping up and down with joy.
From there, I sneaked into Hajjah's kitchen and began opening the food warmers and pots, picking out pieces of meat from the top of the food and devouring them, completely unbeknownst to Hajjah who was in the living room. God created me with an insatiable love for meat—just like a cat. Momi used to say I was like a witch because of it. Because of this habit, whenever I was away in Zaria, Hajjah would always have a large batch of shredded dried meat (Dambun Nama) made and sent to me via our father whenever he visited her.
Just as I opened a medium-sized brown food flask, Hajjah walked in. I reached out to grab a chicken thigh resting on top of the food, but Hajjah caught my hand, smiling. She said, "No, you can eat anyone else's share, but not my Hafizi's! Come on, Fa'iza. He picked this chicken out himself before it was even cooked just so he wouldn't be deprived of it. He must eat this chicken thigh."
Holding the flask lid in one hand and staring at the chicken thigh in shock, I asked, "Hajjah, who on earth is this Hafizi who is so special that everyone else's food is kept in ordinary pots while his is served in a special food flask?"
Hajjah replied, "Fa'iz, of course! A memorizer of the Quran must be honored. Especially Fa'iz, who loves me more than any of you do. You girls do nothing but take from me, but Fa'iz? If you dare touch his meat again, you will end up vomiting it back out."
I tore off a piece of chicken, ate it anyway, and headed straight to bed. Before long, sleep overtook me while Hajjah went about her business.
I was later awoken by the loud chatter of Ummi and Zanirah... "Wow! Fa'iza? For real, Hajjah? Is it true she has moved back here permanently?"
I didn't hear Hajjah’s response before Zanirah rushed in, slapped me playfully on the back, and startled me awake. We instantly locked arms and burst into fits of laughter.
After the Isha night prayer, each of us opened our food bowls to eat. Ummi sneered, "Darn it, Fa'izah! The moment I saw these meatless dishes, I knew you had arrived in town."
Zanirah defended me, saying, "So what if she ate our meat? You should just be glad she's here. Before she arrived, weren't you the one whining that you wished Fa'iza would spend the holiday with us at Baban Kaduna's house because trips are more fun with her? But now that she's here, you're complaining about meat?"
Ummi glared at her and countered, "Look at you acting all holy and defending her. As if I don't know you two; by tomorrow or the day after, the wrestling matches will begin between you both."
Right at that moment, Fa'iz walked in. He was wearing a cream-colored jallabiya robe and holding a rosary (carbi) in his hand. He was exceptionally fair-skinned, looking like a native of Ta'if (Saudi Arabia)—a well-built young man typical of the A.B. Giwa lineage. He had a prominent, straight nose and a thick head of hair. The distinct Mallanci tribal markings stood out sharply on both sides of his face. He was remarkably tall with broad shoulders for his young age.
It was obvious he was coming back from the mosque, holding a prayer bead in his right hand. His sudden entry cut off Ummi and Zanirah's bickering. He walked right past us without throwing so much as a single glance in our direction, heading straight into the kitchen to grab his food flask, and walked right back out.
A brief moment later, he stormed back into the room, visibly furious. He slammed the food flask onto my lap while narrowing his bright white eyes—eyes that possessed a natural, glossy moisture, making them look as though they were perpetually filled with unshed tears.
In a booming voice, he yelled, "You greedy glutton! You better vomit my meat right now, or by Allah, I will make mincemeat out of you (kuli-kulin kubra) right here in this house! I will thrash you with a beating your own mother has never given you!"
I was completely speechless out of shock and deeply offended by the disrespectful mention of my mother. Ummi and Zanirah sat there wide-eyed and terrified. He continued raging violently:
"You filthy, worthless brat who soils her pants! Who told you to put your dirty hands inside my food? Since you've contaminated it with those filthy hands that are used to playing with dirt, I am not eating this food anymore!"
He lifted the entire bowl of rice, pasta, and stew and dumped it right over my head. Letting out a long, irritated sigh, he stormed off, muttering, "If only this greedy glutton hadn't moved into this house, one could actually find a piece of meat left in their food! A year of misery has officially begun for me if I have to live in this house with this diaper-soiler. Ugh!"
He stomped out, continuing his angry tirade in his distinct voice inflected with a broken, Hijazi-Arabic accent. His Hausa didn't flow very smoothly.
I burst into tears...

2. Summary of the Original Story

This opening chapter introduces a wealthy, tightly-knit, and deeply traditional aristocratic family living in Giwa town, Kaduna State, Nigeria. The family operates under the absolute, iron-fisted yet loving matriarchy of Hajiya Hadiza (Hajjah), the widow of the late agricultural tycoon Abubakar Bamalli Giwa (A.B. Giwa).
To preserve the family wealth, physical traits, and spiritual legacy, the family practices strict endogamy (intra-family marriage), blocking outsiders from marrying into the family. The narrative is told from the perspective of Fa'izah, a young granddaughter who has been sent away by her emotionally distant mother to be raised by Hajjah.
Fa'izah joins two other young granddaughters (Ummi and Zanirah) in Hajjah's house, forming a chaotic trio. The status quo is disrupted by Fa'iz (Hafizi), a brilliant, deeply religious, and heavily pampered grandson who memorized the Quran at age 15 and studied in Saudi Arabia. He is Hajjah's absolute favorite because he is a carbon copy of her late husband. The excerpt ends in an intense domestic clash when Fa'izah secretly eats the chicken from Fa'iz's special food flask, causing him to storm in, insult her mother, and dump a bowl of food over her head.

3. Character Descriptions

• Hajiya Hadiza (Hajjah): The 75-year-old matriarch of the Giwa family. She is physically vibrant, highly intuitive, deeply respected, and rules her 15 children and numerous grandchildren with strict discipline. She enforces family traditions, dictates marriages, and deeply pampers her grandchildren, especially Fa'iz.
• Fa'izah (The Narrator): A young, energetic, and stubborn granddaughter (around 7–8 years old). She is the firstborn of Professor Ahmad but was sent to live with Hajjah due to her mother's cultural coldness toward her. She has a deep, cat-like love for eating meat, which triggers conflicts.
• Abubakar Fa'iz (Hafizi): A tall, broad-shouldered, exceptionally fair-skinned teenager with thick hair and sharp Mallanci facial marks. He is deeply religious (a Hafiz of the Quran) and was educated in Medina, Saudi Arabia, giving him a distinct Arabic accent when speaking Hausa. He is short-tempered, fiercely protective of his boundaries, and highly favored by Hajjah.
• Zanirah & Ummi (Khadija): Fellow young granddaughters living under Hajjah’s roof. They form a playful, sometimes argumentative sisterhood with Fa'izah. Zanirah is Fa'iz's biological sister who chose Hajjah over her parents' home.

• Momin ABU (Maimunatu): Fa'izah’s biological mother. She is a nurse at ABUTH Zaria. She exhibits a harsh, emotionally distant attitude toward her firstborn daughter (Fa'izah) due to traditional Hausa customs of maternal modesty/shyness (Kunya).

  4. Literary Analytics

  A. Core Themes

• Kinship and Endogamy (Zumunci): The driving theme of the text is the deliberate isolation and preservation of the bloodline. The family intentionally rejects marrying "bare" (outsiders) to avoid dividing their wealth or diluting their physical appearance.
• The Power of Matriarchy: Although set in a patriarchal, highly Islamic environment, a woman (Hajjah) holds complete administrative, marital, and financial authority over multiple generations of men and women.

• Cultural Psychology of the Firstborn (Kunya): The text accurately captures the traditional Northern Nigerian custom where mothers display emotional detachment or strictness toward their firstborn child out of modesty or bashfulness.

  B. Cultural and Setting Details

• Setting: Set in Giwa, a real local government area in Kaduna State known for its highly fertile soil and large-scale farming, adding a layer of realism to late A.B. Giwa's agricultural empire. References to ABU Zaria, ABUTH, and Malali anchor the story firmly in contemporary Northern Nigerian geography.
• Physical Inscriptions: The Mallanci facial marks mentioned are historic tribal marks associated with Islamic scholars, clerics, or specific clans in Hausaland, symbolizing heritage, pride, and distinct identity.

• Linguistic Background: The author cleverly incorporates Fa'iz's background by noting his "broken Arabic accent" and his ability to emulate famous Saudi Qurra (reciters). This highlights the cultural bridge between Northern Nigeria and Saudi Arabian Islamic education.

  C. Style, Tone, and Pacing

• Tone: The story transitions from an epic, descriptive prologue detailing wealth and structural layout to an intimate, dramatic family sitcom once the children are introduced.
• Conflict-Driven Pacing: The narrative builds up Fa'iz's saintly character (Quran memorizer, perfect grandson) only to instantly contrast it with his explosive temper and pride, setting up an engaging interpersonal rivalry between him and the narrator.