By Hassan Lawan Koli, Gombe
Maciya is a joint where dozens of neighbors gather and eat together, sharing their concerns for consultancy among one another.
It is an avenue where one can have lunch even if they cannot afford to cook at their own house, a situation that ease hardship and hunger from the grassroots.
For more than 7 decades, Kofar Mai Anguwa, has been a “Maciya” joint among neighborhoods of Herwagana in Gombe Metropolis.
For Babayo Mauɗo, a 55-year-old community leader, Maciya tradition has been one of the most significant ancient cultures among the Muslim communities in Northern Nigeria.
“The most significant part of this tradition is that you help people eat; whenever you come out to Maciya with your food, you will eat together with your neighbors, which help bond a good relationship. Besides, some strangers are also invited to eat together with the needy whom they could not afford to cook at home; it’s one of the beauties of the traditions.” He said.
Mai Jama’a Mai Anguwa, who is among the 10 people making part of Maciya at Kofar Mai Anguwa, said they inherited the joint from their fathers and for the past years they have been using it as the meeting point to discuss issues and help one another.
”Maciya is indeed a good tradition; we grew up seeing our parents practicing it here in Herwagana, and we continue with the legacy; eating together with our neighbor in the same place they used to. Our circle has 8 to 10 people, and we daily gather here for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We always ensure we look over or at times wait for everyone to show up before we eat, which showed that we love and cherish each other, with that, the goal of the tradition; which is spreading love among neighbors and strangers is achieved.”
For many elderly people like a 72-year-old Baffa Babuga, neglecting Machiya traditions forms part of the factors responsible for deteriorated relationships among neighbors and community members thereby worsening hunger in the society.
Babuga and co, opined that youth of today form ungenerous habits, a development they believed has contributed in worsening the current economic hardship.
‘When people ignore this tradition, it means they are not generous to others, this is bad. I could remember when there were a lot of Maciya here; one could just sit, and when others came with their food; he would eat and go” He said.
“People wouldn’t mind whether he came with food or not, but nowadays, everyone is eating at home and alone, which makes it difficult for a needy to have what to eat. This is indeed worrisome and worsening hunger among us; it is among the most important traditions ignored by many.” Babuga expressed.
Malam Sagir, a 61-year-old Gombe resident, is equally concerned that globalization has made the youth see Maciya as irrelevant to modern world, warning that avoiding such good traditions may continue to inflict serious setbacks on peace and tolerance.
“It is worrisome that our youths have no interest in Maciya tradition like we do; this is purely ungenerous, and I believed our children will never embrace this tradition as they have no love and care for one another. But for us, we are even proud of it; one will never worry about how and where to eat or take his guest when he has nothing to cook at home” he said.
“I could remember we had a guest sometime back who still call on us during lunch or dinner and jokingly asks for it, and this was a result of our sharing habit when he was in Gombe. So this tradition encourage us love each other and establish good relationships with strangers too.” He added.
In many urban communities, the Maciya tradition is rarely being practiced even among the elderly, a common practice that hitherto cut across all ages; young, youths, women and the elderly both in rural and urban communities of the north. This could be an indication that modern life styles are gradually fading the Machiya tradition to extinction.
Photos: Dauri Facebook page.