For most Hausa men, the most terrifying part of getting married is the lefe or akwatin aure. The literal meaning of the word “lefe” is “basket” or ‘akwatin aure.’ However, it is now referred to as the clothing and accessories a fiancé sends to his fiancée a couple of weeks before their wedding. Making lefe in Hausa culture is an obligation that rests on the shoulders of every Hausa man that wishes to get married. It is the last thing taken to the bride’s home before the wedding, Fatiha.
Before the end of this article, I will give you an idea of how much an average lefe costs and a sample of a kayan lefe list. But before that, know that the average lefe in 2023 costs between 3 to 5 million naira in Nigeria.
Before the invention of luggage sets, Hausa people used Lefen Kaba to deliver the clothing; they then graduated to using Kwalla – a vertically long container with a cover, to Pantimoti – a wooden box, and then Kumbo – another kind of container for clothing. In the olden days, one or two lefen kwaba/Kwalla/Kumbo/Pantimoti would be taken to the bride, but now a luggage set of six known as ‘Akwatin aure’ is usually what is given to the bride.
What is Found in Modern Lefe?
The wealth of the fiancé determines the quantity and quality of the clothing and accessories. The cost of an average lefe depends on the groom. If he’s wealthy, he and his family will go out and make two luggage sets for his fiancée.
Inside this luggage, items of clothing like Ankara, laces, shadda, fabrics, abaya, sleepwear, veils, and innerwear are put, as well as jewelry, shoes, bags, and cosmetics.
Average people, however,fill one luggage set with those items. And nowadays, it costs between 2.5 to 3 million for an average person to make lefe.
Average Kayan Lefe List
Items
Number
Cost in naira
Box
6-piece luggage set
200,000
Ankara, lace, shadda
90 pieces
1,000,000
Materials
10 pieces
250,000
Abaya
7 pieces
250,000
Inner wears, lingerie, and sleepwear
According to need.
460, 000
Veils
15 pieces
120,000
Shoes and bags
12 pieces each.
400,000
Pieces of Jewellery
According to need
400,000
Hair and skincare products
According to need
300,000
English wears
According to need
200,000
Hijab and Jilbab
8 pieces
80,000
After dress
5 pieces
100,000
Sewing of clothes
150,000
Bride conveyance gift (bag of rice, rugs or others, depending on location)
60,000
TOTAL
3.8 milllion naira
What Next After Lefe?
After bringing the lefe to the bride’s home, the next is the display it to family and friends to assess it. One’s future spouse’s reputation skyrockets or plummets after that.
The lefe is used to determine the wealth and taste of the fiancé. If the lefe is abundant, people will talk about it endlessly and praise the fiancé for a well-done job. If it isn’t, they’ll still talk about it, but in low tones.
The next set of traditions, including Kamu and kunshi, followed.
Conclusion
Despite mostly being Muslims, Hausa people have cultures of their own that they practice. They tend to mix cultural obligations with Islam. One such cultural obligation is the making of lefe. It is not a requirement for getting married in Islam, yet these people have held on to that culture strongly even as it hinders many young men from getting married early as it is costly. The Kayan lefe list is simply scary.
A Soke Kayan Daki Kuma a daina Lefe don a samu hanyar Aurar da Matan/Kwailayen da suka yi mana yawa a Arewa.
Also, the constant dollar hike in Nigeria keeps causing an unreasonable rise in the prices of things. This puts the average person in a difficult position should they decide to get married. Many youths have been calling for the scrapping of this cultural obligation. They wish to start small, and lefe is what hinders them from marrying.
Some people, however, argue that it is important that this culture is upheld because it is the backbone of Hausa marriage culture. Still, in Hausa culture, lefe or akwatin aure remains the biggest obstacle to many regarding marriage and is the only one preventing some from marrying a Hausa lady in 4 weeks.
Are you a tourist, a foodie, or simply a Nigerian who hasn’t been to the Northern part and plans to do so? Whatever the situation, allow me to be your food guide to some weirdly named finger-licking Northern cuisines. I will be sharing with you some of the popular foods from Northern Nigeria. Before then, let’s take a little detour and see how it all started.
Nigeria is blessed with over 200 ethnic groups and almost 500 languages across its six geopolitical zones. These zones have one thing in common: a love for rich, tasty, spicy, and aromatic food. More so, these foods are uniquely made with certain ingredients found in their various zones, and they have become the signature food of that particular region. Be it Amala and Ewedu from the South West, Pounded Yam and Egusi from the East, Black Soup from Edo, Afang Soup by the Efik and Ibibio, Banga Soup from the Urhobos, and the list goes on.
However, this article focuses on the Northern foods everyone must try at least once.
12 Popular Foods from Northern Nigeria You Must at Least Try Once
1. Tuwo (Swallow)
This is a thick pudding made from different types of grains and served with different soups. We have Tuwon Shinkafa (rice swallow),Tuwon Masara (maize swallow), and Tuwon Dawa (guinea corn swallow). The soups are Miyan Kuka (a soup made with dried baobab leaves turned into powder) and Miyan Kubewa (okra soup, either fresh or dry).
This is surely one of the most popular foods in Northern Nigeria.
2. Masa or Waina da Miyan Taushe (Rice Cake and Soup Made from Green Leaves)
This is made from rice and is usually served during breakfast with kunu (pap) by the side. Speaking of kunu, it is the next thing on this list.
3. Kunu (Pap)
More so, Kunu is one of the popular foods from Northern Nigeria. Just like Tuwo, it is made from different grains. We have Kunun Shinkafa (rice pap), Kunun Gyada (pap made with groundnut paste), Kunun Gero (millet pap), Kunun Masara (maize pap), Kunun Aya, and Kunun Tsamiya (pap made with tamarind).
4. Awara (Tofu)
This is made from soybeans, and it is fried in hot oil and eaten with yaji (ground chili pepper). It’s sometimes dipped in whisked eggs before being fried.
5. Shinkafa da Wake da Mai/GGaro/Garauarau Garau (Rice and Beans with Oil)
This is one of the popular foods in Northern Nigeria. The North isn’t the North without Shinkafa da Wake. It is accompanied by Yaji.
More so, it comes with garnishing too: lettuce, tomato, and cucumber by the side.
6. Danwake (Beans Dumplings)
Another food you should try is Danwake. This right here is my personal favorite. It is made from wheat flour with a small amount of dried baobab leaves powder.
It’s eaten with yaji and oil too, with the same garnishing as the Shinkafa da Wake and boiled egg.
7. Gurasa (Local Bread)
Gurasa is one of the popular foods from Northern Nigeria. This is made mainly from flour and water. Moreover, it is been prepared and consumed in different ways. We have the bandashe. Here, it is made with ground kuli-kuli (groundnut cake), cabbage, cucumber, tomato, and onion by the side.
It is served with the famous Suya too.
8. Fate (Porridge)
This is called gwate, pate, gote, tere, etc. It can be made from acha, rice, or maize, with smoked or dried fish and Aleho (green) or Shuwaka (bitter leaf).
9. Dambun Kaza (Chicken Floss), Dambun Nama (Meat Floss) and Dambun Shinkafa (Rice Grits)
The chicken or meat is shredded and cooked so deliciously into a floss. While the rice is broken into smaller pieces and cooked. This is one of the popular foods in Northern Nigeria.
10. Taliyar Hausa da Man Ja (Hausa Spaghetti with Palm Oil)
This is just boiled spaghetti, accompanied by Palm oil and yaji again
11. Wainar Fulawa (Local Pancake)
Unlike pancakes, Wainar Fulawa is been fried with palm oil and eaten with yaji.
12. Suya, Tsire or Balangu (Kebab)
I saved the best for the last. This right here is a good life. It can be made from beef, mutton, chicken, or goat meat, and served with yaji.
Conclusion
There are a lot of delicious foods in the North, I just made mention of a few. As you can see, yaji plays a vital role when serving these delicious meals. It is been sold on its own, made with rich ingredients. So, when you find yourself in the North, you know exactly what to order in terms of food.
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A large percentage of parents fail to realize that creativity is not inborn. Rather it’s learned through quality training. As a result of this, they spend their entire life criticizing their children for not performing up to their expectations. Likewise, the thought on how to encourage creativity in a child without experiencing stress keeps brooding through their minds.
Children at the tender stage are quick learners. Hence, it’s more beneficial to boost their creativity at such a stage. In this post, I will share 8 practical steps to foster your kid’s creativity.
Ways to Encourge Your Kids Creativity
1. Get Them Engaged in Creative Activities
Idleness and unproductive activities kill creativity in a child. Get your kids engaged in reasoning activities that enhance their intelligence quotient, encourage them to think outside the box, and do the extraordinary. These activities could include puzzle games, crambo, quantitative and verbal reasoning, camping, and treasure hunting.
It helps groom your child to view life from a broader perspective, outside the four walls of their classroom.
2. Encourage Freedom of Expression
Kids irrespective of their instant location love to live out their true selves, most especially amongst their peers. As a parent, your role in such a scenario is termed observation. Learn to study your kids while they display certain behaviours without scolding. The moment you scold that child fear of expression is inputted into his heart.
By observation, you detect what your child is keen about. Peradventure, you bumped into your child who had turned your living room in a trash bin with old papers, paints, and pencils used in drawing. Of course, I can relate to that initial annoyance to spank that child, seeing the mess the house looks like. Even at that, don’t shut that child up, allow him to express his creativity while you watch. In essence, it’s a pointer to your child’s interest.
3. Provide The Necessary Resources
When your child’s interest is known, step further by providing the needful resources to foster your child’s creativity. Are you parents who are interested in learning how to encourage creativity in a child? Then learn from Khadija’s story.
It was lunchtime, everyone was at the table except Khadija who was busy in her room. What could she be doing her mom ponders as she heads for her room. She had repeatedly called her name, but Khadija was engrossed with something no one knew about. On entering her room, she found her daughter stitching pieces of paper together to form little paper dresses and straps of her old dresses scattered around the room.
Khadija was so focused on what she was doing she didn’t notice the presence of her mom who watched her six-year-old daughter in amazement. Immediately, it dawns on her that Khadija was interested in fashion. The next day she ordered fabrics, buttons, sewing thread of different colours, and tape. Hence, she has succeeded in enhancing her daughter’s creativity in fashion by providing the needed resources.
4. Ask Questions
As a parent learn to stretch your child’s curiosity by asking them reasoning questions. Their imaginative faculty gets utilized as they think of answers to the questions asked. Usually, not related to the normal arithmetic and vocabulary studies in their school. Questions like; why is the sky blue and why do you have two eyes.
This set of questions deepen their curiosity as they attempt to provide an answer.
5. Show Interest in Their Creativity
To foster your child’s creativity, avoid criticizing their attempt to do something extraordinary. Always compliment your child whenever they did something good. For instance, your child walked up to you with a book containing a poem she had composed for you as a birthday present. Being a loving parent who is learning how to encourage creativity in a child, don’t start by highlighting the grammatical errors or spelling mistakes in her poem.
Rather, begin by complimenting her beautiful composition, showing how grateful you are, indicating your interest in her passion. Furthermore, don’t restrict your child’s creativity because it isn’t what you want for that child, neither should you pressure them into a career they don’t like.
6. Teach Them Different Methods of Solving Problems
Build your child’s creativity by instructing them on how to create an alternative course of action when faced with a challenge. This is perfectly illustrated in Ali’s story. This young teenager lost track of his mom in the market. However, he was able to locate his mom by putting a call through with the help of a trader’s cellphone.
In a nutshell, Ali would have spent hours crying in search of his mom, perhaps spending a night at the police station before being found by his parents. However, that wasn’t his story because before the incident his parents had taught him their respective phone numbers for emergencies.
7. Ensure Your Kids Achieve a Broader Knowledge
Ensure your kids acquire skills most especiallysoft skills which are rarely taught in normal academic settings. Acquiring more knowledge exposes them to a range of options. Also, enrol them in classes that enhance their interest. Perhaps, Your child produces Melodious sounds by skillfully hitting sticks on tables in the house. To encourage creativity enrol him in an instrumentalist school.
This is why it is important you consider several factors before choosing your kid’s school.
8. Inculcate Reading Habit in Your Kids
To encourage creativity in a child also entails reading books to gain more knowledge. Your child gets to picture what he or she reads from a book. They begin to create mental possibilities of the story plots in that book. This habit broadens their creativity.
Also, the more your child reads, they learn more about other fields of life and how things are done in different places around the world. It also helps to build their vocabulary and enhance quick understanding.
Conclusion
As a parent, learn to lead by example. It is vital when unveiling the steps on how to encourage creativity in a child. You shouldn’t expect your child to learn various methods of problem-solving when as a parent, you perform one task every day using one method. Likewise, you can’t force them to read while you watch TV shows. You should join them. Preferably allocate time for it.
Also, do share your thoughts regarding this post in the comment section below.
