Dr. Usman’s Contributions to Folklore
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Dr Bukar Usman is the President of the Nigerian Folklore Society (NFS). He also serves on the board of trustees of Cibiyar Raya Harshen Hausa da Al’adunsa (Centre for the Preservation and Promotion of Hausa Language and Culture). As a multiple award-winning folklorist, he has done tremendous work in folktale research, collection, translation, writing and editing. His foray into folklore research and publications began in 2004. In 2005, his first collection of reinvented folktales, The Girl without Scars and Other Stories, was published by Klamidas Books. In 2006, further collections were published. They include A Stick of Fortune, Girls in Search of Husbands, and the colourfully-illustrated The Hyena and the Squirrel. He has also written 15 books of Hausa folktales all of which are now collected in the 652-page compendium, Taskar Tatsuniyoyi. Dr. Usman’s folklore research outputs also include academic papers and books. Under his folklore-inspired Biu Emirate Studies Series (BESS), a number of highly-acclaimed scholarly books have been published. They include A History of Biu (“a major contribution to African and Nigerian historiography”), and the illuminating book, Language Disappearance and Cultural Diversity in Biu Emirate. Folklore and History: Twin Rivers of World Heritage is one of his academic papers in the area of folklore. Dr. Usman has edited four books of pan-Nigerian folk narratives. These huge volumes, the outcome of a pan-Nigerian folktale-collection expeditions, include A Treasury of Nigerian Tales (TNT 001); A Selection of Nigerian Folktales: Themes and Settings (TNT 002); People, Animals, Spirits and Objects: 1000 Folk Stories of Nigeria (TNT 003); and Gods and Ancestors: Mythic Tales of Nigeria (TNT 004). In this section, we share some of Dr. Usman’s English-language folktales, folkloristic insights, and appraisals of his works. Click any of the links below to read the indicated topic. |
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“The Stick of Fortune” by Bukar Usman LITERARY APPRECIATION Social Advocacy and Child Rights: Commentary on Bukar Usman’s Hausa Tales by Khalid Imam Bukar Usman’s Literary Voyage in Biu Folktales by Ben Tomoloju ACADEMIC PAPER |
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