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SHANGAWA 675
sixteenth century a Moroccan army defeated the Songhay; many Songhay soldiers
by then had merged with the indigenous populations, and myths take note of
the fact. Amidst the invasions the Shangawa found refuge in Yauri, and Shanga
District was most likely founded in the early nineteenth century. Invaders and
slave raiders forced them to retreat further into the hinterlands, and they found
a haven on the islands of the Niger River.
The Shangawa speak Kengawa, a branch of Niger-Benue division of the Niger-
Congo language family. They are thus linguistically allied with the Reshawa,
Kamberi and Dukawa, although their dialects are not mutually intelligible. Interethnic
communication is in Hausa (see Kamberi; Reshawa).
Shangawa are primarily farmers, secondarily fishermen and thirdly traders.
Still relying essentially on hoe technology, they grow millet and guinea corn
and, along the river, various vegetables. Shanga has three seasons: rainy (June-
October), harmattan (November-February) and bazara (March-May). In general,
positive feelings are associated with the rainy season, when temperatures
are lower but the climate is still pleasant. Annual rainfall is about 40 inches.
Prospects for replenishing storage bins are good and social events are more
common. Harmattan is colder weather, time to repair farms and compounds,
fish and visit friends. The bazara means hot weather, when temperatures stay
over 100°F. Not much work is accomplished. The recent Sahelian drought severely
affected Shanga. Food had to be imported.
Shangawa family life is characterized by an extended patrilateral family structure.
Upon the death of the eldest male, fissioning along matrilateral lines tends
to occur. Sons of the same mother tend to cluster together. Shangawa marriages,
while sometimes arranged at birth, result from considerable freedom of choice
for both sexes. Selection often takes place at intervillage wrestling matches, a
serious business. A boy begins wrestling at puberty and wrestles with his agemates
only until his first marriage. At wrestling matches prospective spouses
size each other up. Once selection is made, brideservice (gormu) can begin.
Brideservice requires the betrothed young man to work with his work team
(composed of his wrestling partners) for seven years on his future father-in-law's
farm. The young couple earns increasing conjugal rights as the service progresses.
Muslims do not perform brideservice and follow more traditional Islamic marriage
patterns.
Because Muslim Shangawa may have four wives and traditional Shangawa
males are limited only by their income and inclinations, plural marriage is
common. In all cases, however, a woman has a voice in whether she will marry
a particular person. That right extends to cases of leviratic marriage as well. A
man is required to marry his older brother's widow, who must be wooed, for
she is under no obligation to marry her husband's brother. How much real choice
she has of course, depends on her value. If she has been a "good" wife, her
dead husband's family will try to convince her to remain in the family. A "good"
wife is one who has remained faithful, tends her fields (rice, economic trees),
minds the children and shows proper modesty.