Niger - The Lougou site

The Lougou site is located some 350 km east of Niamey, in the current department of Dogondoutchi. This site represents the oldest sites of the inhabitants of Arewa. It is a very important place of worship with the presence of Saraounia as a spiritual guide. This cultural site of the Arewa people in Zakuda, includes a mythical stone of justice "Tunguma", the tombs of the various Saraounia Queens and the battle site of the French column Voulet and Chanoine. Saraounia represents a primordial and religious principle of its people. Indeed, the first Queen Saraounia dates back to the beginning of time. The only daughter of the king of Daoura, the first Hausa royalty, she was ousted from the throne by her paternal uncles and fled with one of them to settle after several stages in Lougou in present-day Aréwa. They formed the nucleus of Goubawa or Goubé, which all the present populations (Zarma, Kourfayawa, Fulani, and Tuareg) acknowledge to have found on the spot in the region of Dallol Bosso and Maouri at the end of the 14th century AD is Saraounia who is at the origin of the power of Maouri de Bajaji. The tradition speaks of 15 Saraounia having reigned in Lougou and Saraounia Aldjima Gado, the current one for 23 years, was able to list the names of the 12 known Saraounia queens: Yarkasa Dafada, Gouzouri, Lalma, Dafaya, Annaou, Mangou Taba Konnaou, Intaya, Talokoyo, Aldjima Gado, the current queen.