Si Hene
← All terms
Glossary

Habaici

Hausa · Hausa / Northern Nigeria; Niger; zongo communities in Ghana · Oral Literature

Innuendo or veiled insult. Robinson glosses habaichi as abuse behind one's back, signs understood only by the speakers, 'a covert sneer, or innuendo conveyed by use of a proverb', and also a fable or riddle.

Her song was full of habaici aimed at her co-wife.

← Back to glossary