Source:

Background information on the ethnic group of the Kanuri [ID 15464]

Quoted after:

"The Kanuri form another major group in the north. They came into what is present-day Nigeria in the 15th century. They absorbed the indigenous Chadic-speaking peoples into their kingdom. In the 16th century, their empire often included some Hausa states and a large area of the central Sahara. In the 19th century, they battled the Fulani and managed to resist their advance. The Kanuri share many cultural traits with the Hausa, including the Islamic faith, Islamic law and governmental structure, extended patrilineal and patrilocal households, and the distinction between rural and urban life. They maintain, however, their own history and sense of identity, as indicated by their preference for a U-shaped town design, distinctive female hairstyles, food choices, and epics of past rulers. Kanuri cultural independence, nevertheless, is being threatened through peaceful assimilation into Hausa-Fulani culture as Hausa influence spreads into the Kanuri major city of Maiduguri. (Levinson, 1998, 157)"