tawada

Ingredients

ground charcoal, water, gum, keso (grass mat)

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

Ethnocultural recipes revealed that ground charcoal could come from the burning of keso, a grass mat of the type into which cowries were sewn (p. 22). If the charcoal came from keso or was coarse, the ink was usually called tawada, the basic Hausa term for ink. This type of ink can be made into dry balls, tunkulen tawada (p. 22).

Evidence

"Examination of old allo and manuscript folio confirms the use of coarse carbon tawada on allo and refined lampblack-like zube on paper."

Remarks

Students in elementary Qur'anic schools used, and continue to use, this basic ink made of ground charcoal, water and gum. It is described as an easily prepared, easily erasable ink, ideal for use on the allo, wooden slates (p. 22). Replicative experiments indicate that for a functional binder, the volume of gum used should be near equal or equal to the volume of liquid (p. 23).