Programmed by culture?: Why gestures became the preferred ways of expressing emotions among the Hausa

The main thesis of this paper builds on my previous assumptions (Will 2009, 2015) that Hausa culture in general and in particular the value of kunya (shame, reserve, a sense of propriety, avoiding certain relations, actions and words) influence people’s behavior. The preferred, socially accepted form of expressing emotions is mainly through hand gestures, facial mimicry as well as paralinguistic sounds and formulaic expressions accompanying bodily movements. The paper describes an elaborate system of conventionalized gestures performed mainly by women. The contextual use of gestures is illustrated through fragments of films and novels. Although the primary function of the gestures is to express emotions, they play other roles: drawing someone’s attention, emphasizing a verbal utterance, contributing an additional, meaningful element to a given statement made or conveying a message that cannot be expressed verbally.