Kanuri tradition and circles of women  The Kanuri people are an African ethnic group living largely in the lands of the former Kanem and Bornu Empires in Niger, Nigeria, Sudan, Libya and Cameroon. Those generally termed Kanuri include several subgroups and dialect groups, some of whom are identified as distinct from the Kanuri. In Kanuri tradition, a girl at birth is labelled ‘fatu’.  After her naming ceremony, she is addressed as ‘tiwal’ and as she circles around, she will be called ‘kurkumi’. At the age between 7 and 8, she is called...