NGIZIM-ENGLISH- HAUSA DICTIONARY - UCLA

Introduction xi
SPECIAL TERMS IN ENGLISH DEFINITIONS
Cultural differences make it impossible to find satisfactory
English equivalents for a number of common items found in Yobe
State cultures and African cultures in general. This is particularly
true of food terms, but also of certain items of material and political
culture. Rather that use English terms that would not convey
appropriate connotations, this dictionary uses Hausa words to express
a number of concepts that come up frequently in definitions. The
following terms will be found in English definitions:
Hausa word Explanation of meaning
tuwo staple food made from guinea corn or maize flour, rice,
or other starch base, cooked to a stiff consistency
miya a “sauce” or “stew”, usually with a vegetable base,
such as okra, sorrel, baobab, tomatoes, etc. and often
with meat or fish, served accompanying tuwo
kunu a “gruel” of finely ground flour, cooked to a relatively
thin consistency, usually with a flavoring such as
tamarind or lime juice
fura millet flour, cooked and formed into balls that are
broken up and mixed into a liquid, preferably cultured
milk, but sometimes water
faifai a round tray woven from grass, often with designs
woven in by using different colors of grass; multifunctional,
used as a pot or bowl cover, a mat on which
to place small object, a tool for separating bran from
flour, and, sometimes decorated with cowries or coins,
as decoration in room
zana a mat made from interwoven heavy grass, used as a
fence, granary liner, and other functions