The People of Yelwa and its Hamlets

Yelwa, the seat of the Emir of Yauri, was at the headwaters of the newly formed Lake Kainji. The town market was the meeting place of many tribal groups. The nomadic Fulani walked miles across the grasslands to bring their milk to sell. The Kamberi women carried their clay cooking pots, their men sold the onions from their small farms. The fishing people, the Sarkawa, paddled by boat with their fresh and smoked fish. And the Hausa townspeople came out of their large family compounds hidden behind tall adobe walls.
Some of these people were Muslim, many followed their traditional religions, and a few were Christian. All co-existed, at that time, in that place, without strife – even though they spoke different languages, followed different customs and occupations. A mixture of traditional law, Muslim shar’ia, and modern Nigerian legal code were followed. And it worked. Then.