After the father's death, the Emir (or Sarkin Hausawa) took Dan Maraya under his care when his parents died.

[3] Dan Maraya showed an early interest in music and came under the influence of local professional musicians.

[4] The kuntigi is a small, single-stringed lute which Maraya plucked, and also drummed the skin soundboard with his fingers.

Dan Maraya chose the griot profession when he was seven-years old, having been told that his decreased father was a royal drummer.

[4] By the end of his life he had toured internationally, performing in the United States, the Netherlands, Germany, Cuba, Trinidad, Jamaica, Guyana, Venezuela, Brazil, and Ethiopia.

[4] He was of such prominence that he was performing in national events for Nigeria; his last concert before he fell sick was at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) fund-raising dinner.

"Gulma-Wuya" ["The Busybody"][13] describes a neighborhood gossip who works in collusion with a boka (a practitioner in casting spells, removing evil spirits, etc.)