Agalawa

{{Short description|Subgroup of the Hausa people in Nigeria}}

The Agalawa are an important sub-group of the Hausa people in Northern Nigeria, notable for their historical involvement in trade, governance, and Islamic scholarship. With origins that might trace back to North Africa, possibly among the Berbers, they became fully integrated into Hausa society and culture.{{cite journal |last=Asabe |first=Abdulkarim Usman Dan |title=The traders of Kasar Kano in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries: the case of Agalawa |journal=Nigeria Magazine |volume=57 |issue=3/4 |year=1989 |issn=0029-0033 |oclc=35768018 |pages=37–43}}{{Citation |last1=Krätli |first1=G. |title=Glossary |date=2010-01-01 |work=The Trans-Saharan Book Trade |pages=359–367 |url=https://brill.com/display/book/edcoll/9789004193611/Bej.9789004187429.i-424_012.xml |access-date=2024-12-22 |publisher=Brill |language=en |isbn=978-90-04-19361-1 |last2=Lydon |first2=G.}}

The Agalawa were prominent merchants, setting up extensive trade networks that linked Hausa city-states like Kano, Katsina, and Zaria with key trading hubs across West Africa. Their trade dealt with goods such as textiles, kola nuts, salt, and livestock.{{CN|date=January 2025}}

Aside from their commercial activities, the Agalawa held administrative roles and often acted as intermediaries between rulers and the people, which contributed to the political and economic stability of the region. Their contributions to Islamic education and the spread of Islam were also significant, as many Agalawa were Islamic scholars who influenced the region's religious identity.{{CN|date=January 2025}}

During British colonization, they adapted to new systems while maintaining their influence. Today, the Agalawa are recognized for their lasting contributions to the economic and cultural development of Hausa society, especially in trade and Islamic learning.{{Cite journal |last=Lovejoy |first=Paul E. |date=August 1973 |title=The Kambarin Beriberi: the formation of a specialized group of Hausa Kola traders in the nineteenth century |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-african-history/article/abs/kambarin-beriberi-the-formation-of-a-specialized-group-of-hausa-kola-traders-in-the-nineteenth-century1/9CDC6B2DBED9416D3027818364E1D385 |journal=The Journal of African History |language=en |volume=14 |issue=4 |pages=633–651 |doi=10.1017/S0021853700013098 |issn=1469-5138|url-access=subscription }}{{Cite web |title=KADAN DAGA CIKIN TARIHIN KASUWANCI A KANO |url=https://www.muryarhausa24.com.ng/2017/10/kadan-daga-cikin-tarihin-kasuwanci-kano.html?m=1 |access-date=2024-12-22 |language=english}}{{Cite web |date=2021-12-13 |title=Tarihin Fulani: Mahangai huɗu |url=https://fimmagazine.com/tarihin-fulani-mahangai-hu%C9%97u/ |access-date=2024-12-22 |website=Kannywood - News, reviews and more › hausa |language=en-US}}{{Cite thesis |last=Ibrahim |first=Usman |date=February 2018 |title=Gudunmuwar Baqin 'Yan Kasuwa Ga Fitattun Sana'O'In Kanawa Daga 1900-2015 |trans-title=Contribution of Foreign Entrepreneurs to Popular Industries in Kanawa from 1900-2015 |url=https://www.academia.edu/82494106 |degree=PhD |publisher=Ahmadu Bello University |location=Zaria}}{{Cite web |title=Africans in bondage : studies in slavery and the slave trade : essays in honor of Philip D. Curtin on the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of African Studies at the University of Wisconsin - Full view - UWDC - UW-Madison Libraries |url=https://search.library.wisc.edu/digital/AMLPN3OKGEB5O38U/pages/AEFMMYDYRSVFLL8V?as=text |access-date=2024-12-22 |website=search.library.wisc.edu}}