The Hausa (autonyms for singular : Bahaushe (m), Bahaushiya (f); plural Hausawa and general: Hausa/Haoussa; exonyms being Ausa, Mgbakpa, Kado, Al-Takari, Fellata and Abakwariga) are the largest ethnic group in West Africa and one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa. The Hausa are a racially diverse but culturally homogeneous people based primarily in the Sahelian and Sudanian areas of northern Nigeria and southeastern Niger, with significant numbers also living in parts of Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Chad, Togo, Ghana, and Sudan. The largest population of Hausa are concentrated in Nigeria and Niger, where they constitute the majority. Predominantly Hausa-speaking communities are scattered throughout West Africa, and on the traditional Hajj route north and east traversing the Sahara Desert, with an especially large population around and in the town of Agadez. Other Hausa have also moved to large coastal cities in the region such as Lagos, Accra, Abidjan, Banjul and Cotonou, as well as to parts of North Africa such as Libya over the course of the last 500 years. Most Hausa, however, live in small villages or towns in West Africa, where they grow crops, raise livestock including cattle and engage in trade. They speak the Hausa language, an Afro-Asiatic language of the Chadic group. The Hausa aristocracy had historically developed an equestrian based culture. Still a status symbol of the traditional nobility in Hausa society, the horse still features in the Eid day celebrations, known as Ranar Sallah (in English: the Day of the Prayer).
