About Birnin Gayu Book One

Birnin Gayu Book One Complete Hausa Novel is a Hausa village drama about
poverty, education, family rejection, village gossip, hidden illness, motherhood, sacrifice,
and the difficult choice between staying in one’s roots or seeking survival in the city.

The story introduces Deeda, whose real name is Khadija. She is raised by
her grandmother, Inna Mai Fura, after tragedy breaks her family apart.
Deeda’s life is filled with sorrow, but her stubborn love for education gives her strength.

Tabawa, an old friend of Deeda’s late mother, wants to take Deeda to
Birnin Gayu for work. Inna Mai Fura begins to see the offer as a possible
way out of poverty, but Deeda refuses because she does not want to become a servant in
another person’s house.

Birnin Gayu Book One English Translation

Deeda Returns From School

She came toward the house holding her schoolbooks. From her appearance, anyone could tell
that hunger and tiredness had taken over her body.

She quickly entered the house and greeted calmly:

“Assalamu alaikum.”

What she saw made her stand still like someone whose soul had been pulled out.

Inna Mai Fura was struggling to turn over a very large mortar, which looked as if she too
had inherited it from her ancestors. The mortar appeared older than many people.

Inna turned and said:

“Oh, Deeda, have you closed from school already?”

Deeda replied:

“Yes, we have closed.”

Inna twisted her face and looked away.

“Honestly, I do not see the benefit of this school you attend. If you were at home, by now
we would have finished removing husks from more than three bowls of millet. The people of
Talle even sent work, but I returned it because the work was too much for me.

“Go inside, remove your school clothes, and come help me finish this one.”

Tabawa Arrives

Before Deeda could reply, someone greeted from outside. Inna answered the greeting and said:

“May Allah bless us. Who am I hearing? Is that Tabawa?”

The woman answered:

“It is me.”

Inna asked her to enter and sit on the mat.

After they exchanged greetings, Tabawa looked at Inna like a woman who had been told her
husband wanted to marry another wife.

She said:

“I came with something to discuss with you, if you will agree. You know this granddaughter
of yours is not like the other girls in this village. She is eighteen years old, yet no man
has come for her.

“Why not give her to me so I can take her to the city? You know the illness that killed her
two sisters. I am sure that if she remains in this village until she grows older, she may
never get a husband.

“This schooling she is doing is not helping either of you. Look at you. This is the time you
should be resting, but you are still removing millet husks and selling fura. If you agree,
there may be good in it. Through this, she may even find a husband and a solution to her
problem.”

Inna Considers The Offer

Inna became silent, thinking about Tabawa’s offer. She wondered whether she should accept
it this time. But Deeda was very stubborn, and Inna doubted whether she would agree.

Inna looked at Tabawa and said:

“I have not rejected your suggestion, but you know Deeda’s character.”

Tabawa replied:

“Her character cannot be stronger than you unless you allow it. I am only trying to help.
I will take her to Birnin Gayu for work.”

Inna’s eyes widened, and her body trembled.

“What did you say? Birnin Gayu?”

Tabawa nodded.

“Yes, Birnin Gayu. Even a small child in this village knows the name of that city. Do you
know the kind of wealth they have there? Their wealth is not like today’s money. They have
been rich since the old days, from the time when wealthy people could still be counted in
this country.”

Inna became excited and said:

“Honestly, now I believe you want us to benefit. Whether Deeda likes it or not, she must go
to the city.”

But her voice dropped as she added:

“But Tabawa, do you not think Deeda’s illness may stand between her and this opportunity?”

The Secret Illness

Tabawa stood and said:

“Do not worry. It is only in this village that people know about the illness. Besides, the
problem is connected to marriage. Apart from that, she is healthy. Nobody who looks at her
will know she has anything wrong with her.

“If you want her to go to the city, then her illness must remain a secret. What belongs to
the village should stay in the village. The main problem now is for Deeda to agree.”

Deeda Refuses

Suddenly, Deeda’s voice reached their ears.

“I will not agree.”

She stood at the door of the room with her hands on her waist, looking at them.

“You already know me, Tabawa. I will not go anywhere. Even if Inna turns me into groundnut
cake, I will not go and work as a servant in someone’s house. Even if poverty makes me walk
naked, Allah has covered my shame.

“Apart from selfishness, what am I looking for that will make me leave my mother’s grave
and go to another world for money?”

Inna became angry and called her shameless.

Deeda replied:

“Say whatever you want, but nobody will change my mind. And you, Tabawa, carry yourself and
leave our house. Do not come here again unless you bring something good.

“No matter what tricks you use, you will never succeed in taking me to the city. Nobody
will separate me from my roots.”

Tabawa became angry and left, grumbling that she had only tried to do good, but a small
girl answered her with disrespect.

Inna Scolds Deeda

Inna followed Tabawa and begged her, but Tabawa refused to listen.

When Inna returned, she began scolding and insulting Deeda.

“Continue living and dying with your school. What will education do for you? I have not
seen anything useful that you bring from school except walking long distances, sitting
under a tree, jealousy, hunger, and village gossip.

“Everywhere you pass, people insult you and whisper about you. A grown woman like you with
no husband should have stayed at home and protected her shame, but no, you prefer going out
and exposing us more.

“You are not useful to me, and you are not useful to yourself. I am tired of suffering for
you. The day your sorrow kills me, you will rest.

“Your pain is what I sleep with and wake with. You have become a burden to me. Even your
father could not keep you, so you became my responsibility because of your mother.”

Deeda’s Pain

Deeda looked at Inna with deep pain and anger. Her eyes became red.

She smiled bitterly and said:

“The words of the villagers are nothing compared to what you say to me every day.

“If not because you see me as a burden, you have the right to chase me from your house. But
your reminders, insults, and dark words will not break me, and they will not make me go to
the city as a house servant.”

After saying that, Deeda left the house and went to sit under a bridge on a stone.

That stone had become like her mother’s lap. Whenever she was deeply sad, confused, or
troubled by life, she went there to cry.

Who Is Deeda?

Nana Khadija came from Hayin Hago village in Tofa Local Government Area of Kano State. The
people of the village were well known for honey business. They were also known for farming
tomatoes and onions.

The village had both Hausa and Fulani people, and marriages took place between them.

Khadija came from a Hausa-Fulani background. Her father was Hausa, while her mother was
Fulani. Her father’s name was Malam Audu, and her mother’s name was Halima, whom people
called Hali.

Malam Audu had three daughters: Jamila, Mariya, and Khadija. Khadija was called Dija, but
the name Deeda came from her grandmother, Inna Mai Fura.

When Deeda cried as a child, Inna would play with her and say:

“Deeda, the child of Inna Mai Fura’s house.”

From there, the name stayed with her until people forgot the name Dija.

Deeda’s Family Tragedy

Deeda grew mostly under the care of her grandmother. Her parents once lived peacefully,
but trouble began when her elder sister Jamila got married.

The day after Jamila was taken to her husband’s house, she woke up with a terrible illness.
Her body looked as if she had been sick for many years.

Her husband quickly returned her to her family house, and they spent everything they had
trying to treat her. They visited different traditional healers, but nobody found a cure.

Some people said it was sorcery. Others said it was jinn. But no solution came until
Jamila died.

The same illness later happened to Mariya, Deeda’s second sister. She too died.

From that time, people began saying that jinn had married into Deeda’s family bloodline.
Others claimed that Deeda’s mother herself had been married by a jinn, and that her
daughters were not ordinary human children.

Because of village ignorance and lack of proper medical care, nobody seriously considered
hospital treatment.

Deeda’s Father Rejects The Family

The gossip and fear became too much for Malam Audu. He divorced Deeda’s mother, Hali, and
sent her away with her belongings.

He also rejected Deeda, saying he did not want to see her face in case she infected him
with the same strange problem.

Deeda was only seven years old when she stopped seeing her father. They lived in the same
village, but he avoided her. Later, he remarried and continued his life with his new wife.

This sorrow was too much for Inna Hali, Deeda’s mother. She became ill and later died,
leaving Deeda in the hands of Inna Mai Fura.

Deeda’s Quiet Childhood

After losing her mother and sisters, Deeda became an orphan in practice, even though her
father was alive.

She grew into a quiet child who hardly spoke. Whenever she opened her mouth, it was either
to ask an important question or say something serious.

The tragedies in her family planted many questions in her mind. Her eyes, heart, and brain
seemed to be searching constantly for answers.

Inna Mai Fura would try to make her talk by telling stories, joking, singing, or teasing
her, but Deeda would often remain silent until she finally broke down crying.

This frightened Inna, who feared that she might also lose Deeda.

The Illness Appears On Deeda

One evening, Deeda returned from sitting under the bridge and entered the house with a sad
face. Inna asked her many questions, but she did not answer.

Suddenly, Deeda asked:

“Inna, what is this thing coming out on my body?”

Inna quickly pulled her close and checked her body.

In shock, she asked:

“What is this, Deeda? Since when did it begin?”

Deeda said it had been on her stomach for some time, but now it had spread to her thighs
and down her legs.

Inna became frightened.

Deeda asked:

“What is it, Inna?”

Inna forced a weak smile and said:

“Nothing. Tomorrow, by Allah’s will, I will take you to a healer.”

That night, Inna could not sleep.

Trying To Hide The Illness

The next morning, Inna took Deeda to a traditional healer, but he too did not know exactly
what the illness was. He gave them medicine to apply, but it did not help. Instead, the
illness continued spreading.

Deeda suggested going to the hospital, but Inna said the hospital was in the city and that
the illness did not look like something for the hospital.

When the condition continued spreading, Inna became afraid that people would discover
Deeda’s secret. She began sewing long dresses for her, with long sleeves, long length, and
high collars to cover her body.

Over time, the illness covered almost all of Deeda’s body, leaving only her face untouched.

These long clothes became Deeda’s normal dressing.

Deeda’s Love For Education

When Deeda was nine years old, she insisted that Inna should enroll her in western school.
She had seen a few children in the village going to school, and she wanted to learn.

At first, Inna refused because she feared Deeda’s illness might be exposed.

But Deeda cried morning, afternoon, and night until she even became sick. Finally, Inna
agreed.

Inna gathered her little savings and bought Deeda used clothes from the market. She also
bought special inner clothes that covered her whole body so nobody could see her skin.

Inna then enrolled her in school and bought her books. Sometimes she escorted her, and
sometimes Deeda went alone.

The villagers mocked them because of Deeda’s schooling and strange dressing, but Inna stood
firm and defended her.

Tabawa And The City Offer

Tabawa had been a close friend of Deeda’s mother before she died. After her own marriage
failed, she left the village and began working in towns and cities. She became known for
finding housemaids from villages for wealthy families.

For a long time, Tabawa had been asking to take Deeda, but Inna refused.

Later, however, Inna began to think about it because she wanted Deeda’s life to change.
She was tired of the village gossip, the loneliness, the poverty, and the fear that Deeda
might never marry or have a better life.

But whenever Deeda heard the matter, she rejected it completely.

After The Fight

After crying under the bridge until sunset, Deeda returned home.

She did not speak to Inna, and Inna also did not speak to her. They remained angry with
each other until after Isha prayer.

Deeda did not eat. She went to bed hungry.

The matter disturbed Inna deeply. She could not sleep, so she went into the room and found
Deeda still awake, quietly crying.

Inna called her name:

“Deeda.”

Then she said:

“Please forgive me. I know I have not done well. I know I have not been kind. I wanted to
send you to the city for work. Please be patient and do not hold it in your heart. Insha
Allah, from today, I will not mention going to the city again. I have been selfish.”

Birnin Gayu Book One Novel Details

• Novel Title: Birnin Gayu Book One Complete Hausa Novel
• Category: Complete Hausa Novels
• Language: English Translation
• Main Character: Deeda / Khadija / Dija
• Other Characters: Inna Mai Fura, Tabawa, Inna Hali, Malam Audu, Jamila, Mariya
• Main Themes: Poverty, education, village gossip, family rejection, hidden illness, sacrifice, city life, dignity, and destiny
• Setting: Hayin Hago village, Tofa Local Government Area, Kano State, Inna Mai Fura’s house, school route, bridge, and the imagined city of Birnin Gayu

Why You Should Read Birnin Gayu Book One Complete Hausa Novel

Birnin Gayu Book One Complete Hausa Novel is perfect for readers who enjoy
emotional Hausa village stories about hardship, education, family secrets, painful gossip,
hidden sickness, and a girl’s refusal to abandon her dignity.

Deeda’s story is touching because she is poor, rejected, and misunderstood, yet she refuses
to let poverty or pressure break her. Her bond with Inna Mai Fura gives the story deep
emotion, while the mystery of Birnin Gayu creates suspense about what the city may bring.

Frequently Asked Questions About Birnin Gayu Book One Complete Hausa Novel

What is Birnin Gayu Book One Complete Hausa Novel about?

Birnin Gayu Book One Complete Hausa Novel is about Deeda, a poor village
girl with a hidden illness, painful family history, and a difficult choice between education,
poverty, and being taken to the city for work.

Who is Deeda?

Deeda is the main character. Her real name is Khadija, also called Dija. She is raised by
her grandmother, Inna Mai Fura, after losing her mother and sisters.

Who is Inna Mai Fura?

Inna Mai Fura is Deeda’s grandmother. She sells fura, removes millet husks for money, and
takes care of Deeda despite poverty and emotional pressure.

Who is Tabawa?

Tabawa is a former friend of Deeda’s mother. She works in towns and cities and wants to
take Deeda to Birnin Gayu for housework.

Why does Deeda refuse to go to Birnin Gayu?

Deeda refuses because she does not want to leave her mother’s grave, abandon her roots, or
become a servant in another person’s house.

What happened to Deeda’s sisters?

Deeda’s sisters, Jamila and Mariya, both suffered a mysterious illness after marriage and
later died, causing village gossip against the family.

What are the main themes of Birnin Gayu?

The main themes include poverty, education, family rejection, hidden illness, village gossip,
sacrifice, dignity, city temptation, and destiny.