112 Proverbs in the Hausa Language Other instances are ma-dahi, ma-hafoj ma-yahij ma-hauka, etc. A similar word or prefix ma is in very common use with the signification to, place of. Ansa masa kaia, a load has been put on him. Ataya masu aiki, help them work. Ya gaia masu, he said to them. Kadda a hivache ma yaro galma, don't steal his hoe from the boy. Its use has been further extended, and in proverbs, songs, etc., it is commonly used instead of the more clumsy wurin, as : — Ma-tsaya instead of ivuri'n tsaya, place of stopping. Ma-hauta, instead of u-urin hauta, slaughter house. Ma-fufa instead of uurinfuta, resting place. Kanuri has a similar word, na, with the same signifi- cation. Lene na reehramah hero, go to the tailor's. Na hushaa todduh he, by that tree. With such words as mafahha, sanctuary, masallatclii, mosque, etc., the ma is probably due to Arabic in- fluences, and the extended use mentioned above may also owe something to the same language. 4. GENDER FORMATION IN HAUSA. The original dialect of Hausa probably had no gender formation, and so we find that the sex of such indivi- duals and animals as have always been familiar to him are distinguished by separate words. In the majority
