include dominance by the Fulbe, an ethnic group
who were primarily rural pastoralists; a leadership
outside the established political system; the con-
quest of urban states; and a belief in Sufi ideas and
practices (the Qàdiriyya and Tijàniyya orders were
important theological influences). These religious
teachings encouraged the development of new doc-
trines and pious literatures and the use of vernacu-
lar languages, which in turn led to new roles for
women.
One legacy of these jihads was the spread of
Muslim beliefs from urban centers to the country-
side where people from a variety of ethnic groups
were encountered, some nominally Muslim, others
following traditional religions. Conversion became
a goal, especially in combating local spiritual prac-
tices. This particular struggle was often a gendered
project and the battle one of words. For example,
the Fulbe scholars of the Labe region of Futa Jallon
wrote religious verse in their own language instead
of Arabic in order to proselytize women and slaves
(that is, non-Muslims) and free Fulbe Muslim women
were enlisted to be teachers and pedagogues.
The leadership role of women was especially
important in the establishment of the Sokoto
Caliphate, founded by Usman dan Fodio (1754–
1817). The explicit purpose of his military jihad
was to establish a society where men and women
could be Muslims under Muslim organizations and
where un-Islamic behavior, epitomized by adher-
ence to Bori spirit possession practices, would not
be allowed. Dan Fodio came from an intellectual
Fulbe elite (his family is believed by some to
descend from Futa Toro reformists), which for gen-
erations had chosen to live in village settings, remote
from the distractions of urban commerce and rule,
that is, a form of hijra(migrating away from disbe-
lievers). In his family it was normal for women to
be educated, some becoming highly trained scholars.
He said it was a positive duty to instruct women,
and criticized men who kept their wives in igno-
rance: “Men treat these beings like household
implements which become broken after long use,
and which are thrown out on the dung-heap” (from
Usman dan Fodio, Nùr al-Albàb, Hodgkin 1960).
Children were taught that the heart had to be
purified from the whisperings of Satan, pride, false
hope, anger, envy, and showing off. They were told
they had to turn away from anything superfluous
to a simple life. This training in the inner struggle
was directed by women teachers, notably dan
Fodio’s wives Aisha and Hawwa, who both out-
lived him by 20 years and promoted post-jihad
standards throughout the caliphate.328 jihad
Dan Fodio started preaching in the 1790s and
after inspiring large numbers of people to join his
community, became a threat to the Hausa status
quo and the jihad ensued. From February 1804 to
October 1808 the Shehu was on the move, some-
times in retreat, sometimes on the attack. Losses
were considerable and the privations suffered
affected the women and children who traveled with
the army, there being no safe haven for them. These
women had to do things they had never dreamed of
doing. In one crucial battle it was recorded,Then, they [the enemy] turned away and most of them
were struck down by arrows,
And there were slain among them about fifty impious
men,
And our women added to it by stoning and leaving
them exposed in the sun (A. Danfodio 1963).By 1808 the period of intensive warfare was over
although military actions continued for decades.
When Usman dan Fodio’s son and eventual succes-
sor, Muhammad Bello, began building a defensive
ribà†at Sokoto, he had as his objectives the safe-
guarding of the frontier, the resettlement of a huge
number of captives, and the reconciliation of all
factions of the population.
The young female slaves who became concubines
posed a threat to the integrity of the new caliphate
because they were ignorant of Islam, while at the
same time being knowledgeable about the spirit
world of Bori. The Bori spirit cult originated and is
most associated with the Hausa of Nigeria and
Niger. Dan Fodio’s establishment of the Sokoto
Caliphate in Northern Nigeria involved the consol-
idation of a number of Hausa emirates that had
included both Muslim and “pagan” Hausas, Mus-
lim and “pagan” Fulbes, and members of other
ethnic groups. This possession cult included such
un-Islamic practices as the use of hallucinatory
herbs, hypnotic drumming, confidence in magic,
belief in the efficacy of animal sacrifice, and female
religious leaders such as the Inna of Gobir. The
invasion of the Sokoto wives’ domains by foreign
women who, in due course, bore their masters’
children presented a threefold challenge. First, the
wives had to accommodate the newcomers emo-
tionally, exercising tact and patience. Second, they
had to strive to keep the homogeneity of the
caliphate heartland intact by educating the concu-
bines and requiring from them religious conform-
ity. Third, they had to ensure that the children of the
concubines received proper training and grew up as
Muslims.
In the postwar period, educated women were