Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Excavation

Talatu has dug through the many layers to the very beginning, has set aside those little treasures, the happy moments that were truly, truly hers, and lets the other things rest where they lay, to be covered again by the ever-blowing dust. Allah ya ba da zaman lafiya. Amin.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Sannu Talatu,

I've been reading about the tragedies in Jos, and I am thinking about you and your family. I hope you are all safe and well.

The extent of the violence has left me speechless, and I was happy to find your blog with your reflections. Life is too precious.

Allah ya kiyaye

-Moriah / Laraba

Anonymous said...

How do i contact you to ask permission to quote yr blog?

aare said...

Hi,
This is fairly unusual for a blog comment, however I was unable to locate an email address for you, so here goes.
I have tried to research the meanings of my last name "Audu". Unfortunately, I have encountered several obstacles and would very much appreciate your help in view of your work in Hausa literature.
I know it is the Hausa short form of Abd' as found in Abdullahi or Abdulraheem.
Now does it mean "slave" or "son of"?

Talatu-Carmen said...

@Moriah, good to hear from you. thanks so much for the comment. Allah ya ba da alheri.

@Anonymous, sorry for the late response. You are welcome to quote. Just send me the link to whatever you write, once it is on the internet.

@Ayodeji, I was hoping I could help you because I just bought a book the other day A Dictionary of Muslim Names, ed. Prof. S.A. Rahman, but the name "Audu" was not in there. I also looked in the R.C. Abraham Hausa dictionary, but it just lists "Audu" as "man's name [Vd. Duma]. Duma is listed as "rustic Hausa name for man called Audu." The word "auduga" in Hausa means cotton. But I don't know if they are related in any way. (Other meanings for "duma" are "generic name for the gourds and pumpkins," and "a type of beer."

Sorry, I'm afraid that's not terribly helpful!