Modernity and the Reconfiguration of Moral Upbringing and Traditional Values among the Hausa Society

Abstract

Traditional values and Hausa moral upbringing (tarbiyya) have traditionally regulated the social behavior, with respect to the elder, collective duty, honesty and religious practice. Nevertheless, the contemporary forces of urbanization, formal education, media, and digital communication brought about new contexts in which moral socialization occurs, which brings the continuity and cultural change issues. This paper will explore the effects of modernity to the moral upbringing and traditional values among the Hausa with particular interests to establish the basic components of tarbiyya, look at the effects of modernity on moral socialization, discuss the value adjustment areas, and evaluate generation-based perceptions in the community. A qualitative research design was used where the data collected included in-depth interview, focus group discussion, participant observation, and document/media analysis with the elders, parents, religious leaders, educators and youth in urban and rural Hausa communities. The results indicate that although contemporary forces have changed the conventional patterns of teaching morality, the Hausa moral values are being redesigned instead of being eroded. Hybrid morality systems are created, combining the old morality with the new practices, and the generational attitudes are based on bargaining and adjustment instead of the straightforward rejection. The paper emphasizes the strength of Hausa moral systems and makes some suggestions regarding how to apply the indigenous moral education in the institutional and community context. It is an addition to Hausa cultural studies and African social researches because it provides a theoretically based and empirically grounded conceptualization of moral change in the modernity context.