What is "daura"

Daura is a town and Local Government Area in Katsina State, northern Nigeria. It is the spiritual home of the Hausa people.

The University of California's African American Studies Department refers to Daura and Katsina as having been "ancient seats of Islamic culture and learning." Daura is the city that Bayajidda, a figure from Hausa mythology, arrived at after his trek across the Sahara. Once there, he killed a snake (named Sarki) who prevented the people from drawing water from the well, and the local queen, Magajiya Daurama, married him out of gratitude; one of their seven children was named Daura. The well in Daura where Bayajidda is said to have slain Sarki is protected by a wooden shelter and has become a tourist attraction.

The emirate is referred to as one of the "seven true Hausa states" ( Hausa Bakwai) because it was, (along with Biram, Kano, Katsina, Zazzau, Gobir, and Rano), ruled by the descendants of Bayajidda's sons with Daurama and Magira (his first wife). The University of California's African American Studies Department refers to Daura, as well as Katsina, as having been "ancient seats of Islamic culture and learning."