Untold Story Of The Decaying 500-year-old Kano Dye Pits

It’s a business that the people of Kano have been practising for over five centuries, and is still seen aslucrative in the face of modern-day developmentprocesses; the dye business. But due to neglect,
the dye pits in Kofar Mata can no longer satisfy theneeds of the dye industry, while the site has become
a tourism site. Abubakar Salihi, Kano writes The Kofar Mata dye pits have been in existence in the heart of the ancient city of Kano for the past 500
years; that is to say, it was established in 1498. It has remained a
tourists’ attraction site for students and researchers from across the world. Kofar Mata dye pits also played a significant role in the collective
economy of the then everbusiness community of Kano. History also has it that the originators of Kofar Mata dye pits were the
earliest wise business people who had cleverly set up the industry in a time when even the western world was yet to be industrialised.
Kofar Mata dye pits are located very close to the old Kofar Mata historical
gate and walls, also known as Ganuwa. According to a school of thought, the dye pits existedlong before the building of the Kofar Mata gate and walls. The Kofar Mata dye pits are also located east
of the Kano City central mosque.The famous Kofar Mata dye pits have surpassed history as even the greatest of world leaders have confirmed knowledge of it in books of
history and great museums across the globe.However, it is now faced with time changing events and leadership.It was originally an open place with no fence or beautification, and
nothing was being done to modernise it.JOURNALIST checks have revealed that the less-thantwo square kilometres field was well fenced, painted and all the dye pits were either rebuilt or reconstructed
to meet modern demands.At Kofar Mata dye pits, there areno fewer than a hundred dye pits grounds of about 12 pits below the ground with the distance of one o two metres from each dye pit.
Malam Mamudu Abubakar is among the great grandchildren of the inventors of Kofar Mata dye pits, and he is 60-year-old, and has spent over 50 years in the business of dying. Abubakar was born in Kofar
Mata quarters, so also his father and grandfather. He described the business of dying as quite lucrative in the heydays unlike now when modernisation has taken over almost
everything, including the dying business.He confirmed to Journalists that Kofar Mata dye pits remains a tourists attraction
site and that students, researchers,tourists and journalists from across the world have been visiting the site throughout the year. Foreign tourists come to buy their materials there and learn how the dying
is conducted in the old ways.According to him, many of the visitors took a lot of pictures and movie shots of them and jot down some of their words.Others who visit the dye pits are businessmen and women from
Mali, Niger and Maiduguri in Nigeria,who brought their fabrics, such as Babbar Riga, Rawani for dying.Abubakar explained that they don’t just dye fabrics and keep them, but rather they make it for those in the
business of selling traditional attires.Malam Abubakar explained how they put in the efforts and materials into the dye pit and all other needed items for them to do the dying job.He said they make sure that each pit
contained between 2,000 to 2,500litres of water and mixed with ashes made from firewood of about 50 kilogramme, followed by what they termed Baba (pieces of wood) which they normal sourced from villages,to produce the required deep blue
colour.
Having this mixture for seven days, the next thing is to go back to what they termed as Katsi; that’s the excess of the previous mixture that was removed out of the particular dye pit and kept to dry. This excess Katsi will be made in blocks
and put on fire made of huge pieces of firewood for about seven days before it burnt to ashes. This residue Katsi will then be mixed with the 2,000 litres of water, 50 kilogramme of firewood ashes and would continue to be diluted on
daily basis for another two weeks.According to him, each of the mixture has a specific function to  give required colour or colour quality, and also, a well mixed dye pit can have a lifespan of a year before it lost its value.
It takes Malam Abubakar and his colleagues in the dying business three days of soaking fabrics in and out of the pits for three days before it finalised.He also explained the health benefit of the concoction, saying a pregnant women can
drink it for the cure of pile,among other ailments, while making the allegation that medical doctors have recommended the concoction for their pregnant patients. It also cures rashes, diarrhea, and starvation in children, he further claimed.
He gave an incident that happened about 30 years ago, when the Yoruba people came to him for Katsi and they told him that it was used for curing other diseases,which he didn’t know much about.
However, at the other end of the dye pits site, there were a number of people practicing what they called Bugu; that is hammering the dyed and dried fabrics with wood. According to a young Baballe, the practice of Bugu is as old as dying itself and
always came second to dying. In fact, it was an old way of pressing clothes into shape, he added,while describing the business as lucrative, considering that it goes with modern time where people brought their clothes for bugu in the case of
power outage.
It was observed with utmost dismay how the long-age dying industry became a shadow of itself, where out of the almost 100 dye pits only one has been functioning.
Enquiries at the Kano State Tourism Board to ascertain the mystery surrounding the total collapsed of the trade of traditional dying revealed that insurgency, modern dying and negligence on the part of government were the causes of the
death of the trade.In our encounter with one of the tourism board staff, he expressed concern that the board had not been doing enough to assist the business than doing all what it could to keep the  place as the only tourists attraction site.
He also emphasised the significance of modern dying as all-encompassing and can dye various colours than traditional dying that produced only lagoon blue colour.
Kofar Mata dye pits site is now under the control and administration of the Kano State Tourism Board, and still exists and continues to receive tourists
and business patrons, only marred by the insurgency in the country today.