Mamman Shata

Who was Mamman Shata?

Alhaji Mamman Shata Katsina born in 1923 in Musawa village, Katsina State, Nigeria, died on 9 June 1999.

He is a well-known Hausa griot/musician among the Hausa people of West and North-east Africa. His vocals are often accompanied by talking drums, known as kalangu. He performed for the Hausa people of Northern Nigeria for more than half a century. He went to the Islamic school as a boy, according to Hausa Muslim tradition.

Musawa at the birth of Shata was under the Katsina Native Authority (N.A.), but when the Local Governments were created it came under Kankia Local Government. At the present time, Musawa itself is a Local Government of its own.

Shata's father, Ibrahim Yaro, did not want him to become a musician due to widely held belief of those days that music or praise-singing was a form of 'roko' or begging. Being of the Fulani ethnic stock, the young Shata was expected to become a farmer - a more dignified occupation. Shata's insistence on becoming a musician was therefore seen as a form of rebellion against the norm.

Shata acquired his sobriquet of 'Shata' from the sale of kolanuts, which he indulged in as a young man.