The Kano Durbar: Thousands of Horsemen Salute an Emir
At the end of Ramadan and Eid al-Adha, the ancient city of Kano fills with horsemen in flowing robes riding to honour their emir. Here is the story of the Durbar.
First comes the sound: drums, long trumpets and gunfire. Then the colour: thousands of horses and riders in embroidered gowns, turbans and polished armour, moving through the streets of an old walled city. At the centre, under a great umbrella, rides the Emir of Kano. This is the Durbar — one of the grandest spectacles in Africa, held in the ancient Hausa city of Kano in northern Nigeria.
An ancient city
Kano is one of the oldest cities in West Africa. It grew as a centre of trade on the routes across the Sahara, famous for its indigo-dyed cloth, leather goods and markets. Its historic city walls once stretched for many kilometres, and its emirs have ruled from the Gidan Rumfa, a palace dating back to the 15th century. Kano remains one of Nigeria's largest cities and a centre of Hausa culture and Islamic learning.
Horsemanship has a long history here. Cavalry were central to the armies of the Hausa city-states and, later, the Sokoto Caliphate, which brought Kano under its rule in the early 19th century.
From military parade to festival
The Durbar grew out of military tradition. Local accounts trace horse processions in Kano back to the reign of Muhammadu Rumfa in the 15th century, when district heads were expected to present their cavalry to the ruler as a show of loyalty and readiness. Over time, these displays became linked to the two great Islamic festivals, Eid al-Fitr (ending Ramadan) and Eid al-Adha, known locally as Sallah.
The word "durbar" itself came later, from a Persian term adopted by the British in India and then applied to ceremonial gatherings in northern Nigeria during colonial rule. Today the Hausa name is Hawan Sallah — "the Sallah ride."
What happens
In Kano, the Durbar is not one event but a series of rides over several days of the Sallah holiday. The best known include:
- Hawan Sallah — on the morning of Eid, the emir rides from the palace to the prayer ground and back, accompanied by his guards and district heads.
- Hawan Daushe — usually the following day, the emir rides out through the city to visit the home of his mother or the queen mother, then returns to the palace.
- Hawan Nassarawa and Hawan Dorayi — further rides through other districts, bringing the celebration to different parts of the city.
Each district head arrives with his own riders, so the procession builds up, group by group, into thousands of horses. The emir's guards include traditional bodyguards, the dogarai, and armed men who fire volleys to mark the ride's progress. Drummers mounted on camels, trumpeters playing the long kakaki, and praise-singers add to the noise.
The emotional high point is the jahi: as riders reach the square in front of the palace, each group gallops at full speed towards the emir and halts abruptly, raising a hand in salute. It is a show of loyalty and nerve, and the crowd roars at every charge.
Dress and horses
Riders wear the finest Hausa dress: large flowing gowns called babban riga, heavily embroidered; turbans wound in careful styles; and sometimes quilted armour and chainmail, echoing the cavalry of earlier centuries. Horses are dressed just as richly, with embroidered saddlecloths, brass fittings and bright tassels. Families and districts compete to make the finest impression.
A tradition recognised
In December 2024, UNESCO added the Durbar in Kano to its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, recognising it as a living tradition that brings together horsemanship, craft, music and community.
Like the Homowo festival in Accra, the Durbar belongs to a specific people and a specific city — yet it draws visitors from across Nigeria and the world.
Why it matters
The Kano Durbar is a living link to a time when the Hausa cities were powers of the Sahel, defended by horsemen and governed from palaces that still stand. It is also a reminder that tradition in Africa is not frozen: every Sallah, a new generation of riders learns to control a horse at full gallop, stop within a few metres of the emir, and raise a hand in salute.
