Identifying the Six Pillars of the Character Counts Inherent in the Hausa Folktales

Abstract

The goal of this study is to fill in the knowledge gap regarding the character development found in Hausa literature, especially in Hausa folktales. This study must inevitably rely on primary and secondary sources drawn from (a) fieldwork story collections generated through interviews with storytellers in Kaduna State's Zaria Local Government Area and (b) published works, including Usman (2018), Yahaya (1974), and Josephson Institute of Ethics (2015). There are so many moral lessons that could be derived from Hausa folk tales. This paper has identified the six pillars of the character count inherent in the Hausa folktales. It also explains how folktales in our schools could help uphold core ethical values and instil the six pillars of character count in our students. The Hausa folktales The Dove and the Bush Bird, The Water of Cure, The Mother of the Little Rats, Nababa- Duka's Two Wives, Jealousy, and Animal Kingdom and the Small Ant all contain elements that represent the six pillars of character count: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship, respectively. It is suggested that the government should make the teaching of our indigenous languages compulsory so that this aspect of the literary genre that has been integrated into the curriculum could be taught so that the students could learn and appreciate all the six pillars of the Character Counts embedded in the Hausa folktales.