Zarma

Regarding African religions, the Zarma represent the complex intersect between the retentions of traditional African spiritual systems and the (forced) adoption of one or another of the major orthodox religions. In the case of the Zarma, the adopted religion is Islam. Understanding the complexity of this intersect is further exacerbated by the hegemonic technique of either omitting any detailed and respectful discussion of the traditional African spiritual beliefs or, in the discussion, codifying the traditional beliefs in denigrating or demonic terms and interpretations.

It is believed that the Zarma originated from the country of Mali. (Zarma is also spelled Djerma, Dyerma, Zaberma, and Zerma.) The Zarma people are descended from the great Songhai Kingdom that flourished in the 14th and 15th centuries. Since that time, they have migrated from Mali to live in the southwestern parts of Niger and Nigeria along the Niger River. The language of the Zarma is a dialect of the Nilo-Saharan language family. Traditionally, the Zarma and Songhai people view themselves as one family. The Zarma should more accurately be called the Zarma-Songhai. They have, in general, a less strict attachment to Islam and have in many ways resisted the full and complete conversion experience.

Although it is estimated that 75% to 80% of the Zarma profess to be Muslim and 1% to 2% to be Christian, traditional African spiritual systems serve as the unrecognized grounding belief for all

Zarma-Songhai. In general, the Islamic beliefs of the Zarma-Songhai have been by way of syncretism blended with traditional spiritual beliefs.

Among the Zarma, the Islamic rituals and ceremonies are centered on the observance of Ramadan, which involves fasting and the paying of alms for the poor, Tabaski, which is also called the Festival of Sacrifice, and the celebration of the Prophet Muhammad's birthday. The syncretism is obvious in the ritual of the naming day ceremony of children that is prevalent throughout much of Africa, where prayers are bestowed on the newborn after 7 days of life. This ritual seems to be an ongoing traditional African ritual without regard to Islam or Christianity. The practice of taking more than one wife also preceded the advent of Islam. Although the Zarma practice of polygamy, as in the past, is mostly associated with older and wealthy men, its pre-Islamic root meaning remains associated with spiritual evolution, cultural maturation, and family enhancement.

The Zarma-Songhai believe, as is true with most African peoples, that all living things have a knowable and knowing spirit and that as human spirits people can directly and deeply communicate with the spirit realm. Spirit work and reunions (often misunderstood as spirit possession) are common practices that are believed to have healing powers. The Zarma, like other African peoples, know that humans live among the diverse forces of the environment and the energy of the earth completes human society. In effect, the traditional beliefs of the Zarma utilize and channel the collective life force to recognize [Page 741]that these “forces and waves” are God in motion. The Zarma-Songhai believe that the different concentrations of spiritual energy have different purposes and effects. There are, for instance, “cold” spirits that control the forces of nature and there are spirits that control illness.

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