Daura Kusugu Pondfield (Bayajida Well)
Kusugu Well · Daura Pondfield · Bayajida Well · Daura Kusugu
Medieval Hausa (Bakwai period, 9th–15th c. CE)·Hausa (Daura, Hausa Bakwai)·🇳🇬 Katsina State, Daura Emirate, Kusugu pond-well at Daura town centre, Nigeria
About
About Daura Kusugu Pondfield (Bayajida Well)
Hausa foundation pondfield (fatal shrine) of Daura, Kusugu is a 250×80 m sacred pool-well where Bayajida legend slew the snake Sarki (vet. well 6 m shaft with serpent taboo). Surrounding tells (8 mounds 3 m high) with Daura Ware pottery (12th c.), iron slag, glass beads. Hausa Bakwai origin place. Ritual still active; fence encloses. Queen Daurama shrine myth. Well water never dries.
Why it mattersHausa ethnogenesis myth landscape with archaeological Daura Ware tells.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Legend vs pottery chronology
- 02Pond hydrology never dry
Theories
- 01Sutton Daura
- 02Smith Hausa origins
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- Daura Ware settlement 10th–12th c. CE; well legend 9th c.?
- Period
- Medieval Hausa (Bakwai period, 9th–15th c. CE)
- Culture
- Hausa (Daura, Hausa Bakwai)
- Builders
- Hausa (Queen Daurama/Bayajida tradition)
- Purpose
- Mythohistoric well and tel mound field — Hausa ethnogenesis site
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
9th c. CE ?
Bayajida legend Sarki slain
10th–12th c. CE
Daura Ware mound occupation
19th c. CE
Fenced shrine formalized
On the ground
Structures & features
13.0370° N · 8.3220° E · 470 m · 2 mapped features
Kusugu Sacred Well Shaft
well6 m stone-capped shaft in pond where Sarki serpent dwelt
13.0375° N · 8.3225° ETell Mound Field
mound8 tells 3 m high with Daura Ware, iron slag, glass beads scatter
13.0365° N · 8.3215° E