They were among the key promoters, planners and executors of the Fulani Jihad in Kano, which took place between 1804 and 1807 under the leadership of Shehu Usuman dan Fodiyo.

[1] Other Fulani Clans that participated in the Jihad included: the Jobawa, the Yolawa, the Sullubawa, the Danejawa and others, as well as a contingent of the native Hausa people led by Malam Usuman bahaushe.

It was at the time of Sundiata Keita (c. 1217–1255 A.D.) the Fulbe of that era began adopting surnames that conformed to their socioeconomic groups.

It is unclear how this process came to be, but it is true that all Fulbe belong to one of four tribes: The Ururbe (Ba, Diakite), Dialloube (Diallo), Ferrobe (Sow) and Dayebe (Barry, Sangare).

The Ba are considered to be a warrior group; the Diallo's geniuses; the Sow's, known to be religious, the guardians of the temple; the Barry were the nobility of the Fulbe.

The Dambazawa clan believes they migrated from Futa Tooro in what is now Senegal, with their whole clan consisting of their leaders, clerics, peasants and vocation castes (leyyi) that included; Jaawamɓe (courtesans/advisers), Maabuɓe (weavers), Wayilɓe Baleeɓe /sayakooɓe (blacksmiths/goldsmiths), Buurnaaɓe (ceramists), Sakkeeɓe (tanners), Lewɓe (woodworkers), Awluɓe (laudators), Wambaaɓe (guitarists) and Maccuɓe (slaves).

They would raise their cattle, transact business, gain and disseminate Islamic knowledge in the areas they settled or passed through.

[4] From Damban they moved to Gasakoli (a place in Jigawa, Nigeria), then to an area in what was then the eastern part of the Kano Kingdom—known today as Dambazau in Takai.

Today in Nigeria alone there are Dambazau villages in Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, Bauchi, Gombe and Muri (Taraba) states.

[5] Kano has always been the most populous and wealthiest of the Hausa Kingdoms, and its capital was almost certainly the greatest city in the Sudan at the end of the 18th century.

The settlement of the Dambazawa was situated north of the city wall and their leader at the end of the 18th century was Modibbo Muhammadu Yunusa Ummaru popularly called Dabon Dambazau.

The Fulani of Kano had already been in contact with Shehu (Usman dan Fodiyo) long before his breach with the Gobir King Yunfa (reign: 1802–1808), The leader of the Dambazawa alongside two other prominent Fulani clan members, Modibbo Sulemanu bii Abuhama of the Mundubawa clan, and Modibbo Muhammadu Ummaru popularly called Mallam Bakatsine of the Jobawa clan, were already studying under Shehu and were with him at the time of his flight to Gudu, after which, he sent them back to Kano with the task of rallying the faithful.

The Dambazawa participated fully in all the major battles of the Jihad in Kano from its beginnings in 1804 to its end in 1807, contributing in every way, especially in terms of military logistics and intelligence.

Though Sulemanu belonged to the Mundubawa Clan, and was said to be with Shehu at the time of his flight to Gudu, he did not make the Hijra to Kwazazzabon ´yar-kwando (also called Fagoje: a place thirty-eight miles (sixty-one kilometres) west of Kano city, where the Fulani made camp before starting the jihad in Kano).

[10] Again Emir Sulemanu, acting upon the advice of former Kano rulers' (Alwali) advisers, started disseminating propaganda that Malam Dabo would be killed on a certain date.

Shehu Usman retired from administering the caliphate in 1815 and handed over the administration to his brother Abdullahi Fodiyo and son Muhammadu Bello.

They were gunning for their leader to be appointed the next Amir of Kano and had the backing of not only the majority of the Fulani clans but also the Hausa peasants.

He then gave Fatsumatu to Dabo as a bride, together with Kunchi as a marriage gift, thus publicly demonstrating his reconciliation with the Dambazawa.

Dambazawa then made Danbatta the capital of their larger fiefdom and their military base against Dan Tunku.

Modibbo Muhammadu Yunusa Ummaru Ba-dambaje died in 1845 and was buried under a date palm tree at his house at Dambazau, inside the walled city of Kano.

[16] The titles include: Waziri, Madaki, Makama, Galadima, Wanbai, Ciroma, Tafida, Muqaddas, Dawaki and Santali.

Sarkin Bai is a title in Kano Emirate that is reserved exclusively for the leader of the Dambazawa Fulani Clan.