The Malgwa in Maiduguri

This article concentrates on the Malgwa in Maiduguri and aims at various objectives. First of all, it wants to characterize the situation of a minority group within contemporary Metropolitan Maiduguri. Secondly, it answers some important questions: how is the social network of the Malgwa established, which religion do they practise, whom do they marry, which languages do they speak, and to what extent are they integrated in everyday life in Maiduguri? The Malgwa were chosen as an example for a minority group, because it is a widely accepted assumption that they have been swallowed” by the Kanuri after heavy processes of acculturation initiated by the dominant group, i.e. the so-called “Kanurization”. Cf. e.g. Cyffer et al. (1996) for a brief outline of some cultural assimilation processes of the Malgwa people and Löhr (1998) for a description of some linguistic assimilation processes of the Malgwa language. This article presents a more differentiated portrait. Hausa language competes with Kanuri language as far as status and use are concerned. But as of now, the former has replaced the latter as second language (L2) in Maiduguri. This paper demonstrates that the process of Kanurization is giving way to a process of Hausanization. Hausa presents a threat to the use and future of smaller linguistic entities/languages spoken in Maiduguri. Cf. Sambo (2000) for details on the “glottophagic” nature of Hausa in Maiduguri. Other studies, e.g. Broß (forthcoming and in this volume) or Othman & Bashir (2000), confirm this phenomenon as well. An own sociolinguistic survey conducted in 1998 confirms the presence of Malgwa in several wards of Maiduguri.1 The paper presents hitherto unpublished socio-economic information and data on the language use and repertoire of the Malgwa. Empirical information on the Malgwa people in Maiduguri and their actual presence as an independent cultural group with its own language is given here.