If two tribes, a long distance apart, have the same marks, it is probable that they once had some connection. The only instance of this, that I know, is Daura and Ariawa, and the Ariawa people claim to have come from Danra; their marks, two long lines from corner of mouth towards the ear, are the same.
People who have been settled for generations in a foreign district still continue to put the old tribal marks on their children. A knowledge of marks is useful, for, in addition to knowing a man's district, one knows roughly his special aptitudes. For example, a man with Kabbi marks would probably be able to swim; one with Gober marks would know about camel and donkey transport; one with Bornu marks would know about ox transport, &c. One can also trace criminals and deserters.
The marks of the Hausa States proper are, as a rule, neatly executed and well defined. No one could mistake the Katzena or Gober marks.
Tribal marks are cut, not branded, and for this reason Rabeh's mark is easily distinguished, as it was generally branded.
Marks with a large number of lines, such as Bornu, Kabbi, &c., are known as zübbe.
The mark which slants down, bisecting the angle made by the nose and eye, like the Nupe, is, in conjunction with tribal marks, called shātanni. In Kabbi, if a man has a shātanni on each side, it signifies that both his father and mother are Kabawa.
In Gober, a shātanni on the right side signifies good birth.
Keskestu are small marks or dots in parallel lines.
Akanza are marks tattooed with blue pigment,
