Le Comte d'Escayrac de Lauture and Bagirmi

  

Map of the regions stretching from Lake Chad to Kordan by de Lauture

Le Comte d'Escayrac de Lauture's "Mémoire sur le Soudan, géographie naturelle et politique, histoire et ethnographie, mœurs et institutions de l'Empire des Fellatas, du Bornou, du Baguermi, du Waday, du Dar-Four, rédigé, d'après des renseignements entièrement nouveaux et accompagné d'une esquisse du Soudan oriental" is another significant source on Bagirmi history. Despite never traveling there, de Lauture's (any connection with the Lauture in Saint-Domingue/Haiti?) information on Bagirmi appears to be largely derived from an identifiable native. A shaykh named Ibrahim who met with the author in Cairo, this informant was also said to be related to the sultans of Bagirmi. This means that he presumably possessed more access to court traditions. Ibrahim also claimed to have participated in the wars with Borno in the time of al-Kanemi and was well-traveled. His information on the royal genealogies of Bagirmi and neighboring states in the "Land of the Blacks" demonstrates a number of problems, however.

So, what does this recounting of Bagirmi history reveal? Using an apparently flawed dating system, Ibrahim supplied dates that placed the first ruler of Bagirmi, Bernim-Besse, to about 243 years earlier. Some familiar elements in the founder of the royal line appear, such as his success as a hunter who shared meat with locals. However, his initial military ventures were not directed against the Bulala sultans of Fitri. Instead, it was against the Fulanis, particularly their chief Yawa (?), the chief of Djouba. This variation appears to be based on a kernel of truth as some Fulani groups were indeed settled in the region before the arrival of the Bagirmi founder. Indeed, the Islamization of the Bagirmi dynasty was perhaps shaped by these Fulanis, whose communities included Islamic scholars and preachers. There very well could have been conflict with some Fulani local communities in the beginning, too. 

As for the origin of Bernim-Besse, he was allegedly a native of Yemen. Yet our author noticed a similarity in language and other traits between the people of Bagirmi and the Sara. Nachtigal and others, who actually traveled to the region, were perhaps closer to the truth when they noticed the probable Kenga origins of the Barma dynasty. Nonetheless, linguistic similarities of all these languages and a likely origin in central Africa seem justified. 

Subsequently, our author lists a number of successors to Bernim-Besse consisting of brothers and their sons. Other sources likewise record a number of early mbang successors who were brothers of the first king. By the time of the 7th king, Malo, Islam was adopted. Another name for Malo, ghazi in de Lauture, seems to indicate this particular king engaged in a number of military campaigns. He was even said to have chased the Djouba Fellata out of Derkam, a group who obeyed a king named Yaya (was this a garbled allusion to the actions of Bernim-Besse against the Djouba?). To make things even more confusing, Malo ascended to the throne 28 years after his father, presumably meaning 28 years after his father's death. If so, there were then 5 kings in a very short period between Malo and his father. Overall, it would appear that Malo here is actually Nachtigal's Abdallah, who reigned c. 1568-1608. But aspects of Abdallah's reign were confusingly attributed to Malo, the brother he usurped the throne from.

Later Bagirmi kings are often recognizable in de Lauture's list, albeit the regnal lengths and accomplishments of some appear to be misplaced chronologically. The 8th king, a Soliman ban Bigli (the big king), was only king for 6 months because he abdicated to live a contemplative life on an island in the center of Lake Chad. This sounds like the later Abd al-Qadir Woli of Nachtigal's chronology (c. 1680-1707). However, the Bigli part of the name brings to mind Lanier's Abdel Mahamoud Begli, the successor to Oumar (Lanier's dynastic founder). The fact that these kings likely had multiple names explains why oral traditions may conflate traditions about one with their predecessors or successors. Alternatively, there very well could have been another short-lived reign in which another mbang abdicated, thereby causing his erasure from other lists of kings due to the brevity of his tenure. 

Fortunately, some of de Lauture's information appears to confirm or match Nachtigal's data. For example, a fatsha named Kano appears in both of their works. According to the earlier list of kings by de Lauture, Kano was fatsha during the reign of  Alàwin, the 13th mbang. The fatsha Kano led Bagirmi to victory against Wadai in this reign. He was also said to have taken Ilelat from Wadai. In Nachtigal's version, Kano participated in Bagirmi campaigns or raids against the Karka archipelago, Logone, Qo'ran, and Gawi. There is no mention in Nachtigal's account of a victory against Wadai, although it is certainly possible campaigns against the Qo'ran or Goran may have entailed raiding against Wadai (areas seen by Wadai as tributaries or on its frontier). Nachtigal's fatsha named Kano was associated with the reign of Abd-al-Qadir Woli, the king de Lauture called Soliman. Kano was apparently defeated by a kamkolak of Wadai.

Yet in other ways, de Lauture diverged significantly from Nachtigal on the length of the reigns of some of these rulers of the 1600s and 1700s. Bar, for instance, was only assigned a reign of 2 years while Nachtigal estimated several years. Then his brother, who does appear as a king in de Lauture's list, was not named as such by Nachtigal. Instead, Wanja reigned until his death from smallpox. After him, came Burkomanda. But, de Lauture placed Abd el Kader Kebir here instead, then Alawin, Abdala, and Bourkoumanda. The Bourkoumanda listed here, or Burkumanda, seized a short-lived Wadai ruler, Mohammed-Zaouni. Based on his placement in the kings list of Wadai, this appears to be an example of de Lauture's list mixing up Burkumanda I with Burkumanda II, although he also appears to have omitted the first Burkumanda from his list altogether. But the general chronology of Nachtigal, which dates the reign of Burkumanda I from 1635-1665, does include mention of conflict with Wadai. de Lauture also attributed the slaying of a Bagirmi king, Ab-Sekkin II, to Mohammed-el-Hadji whereas others see that as the result of his son's reign. Likewise, he seemed to believe the motives for Saboun's invasion of Wadai had more to do with avenging an earlier defeat when Mohammed-Zaouni was taken captive. This seems to be more of the result of Ibrahim wanting to avoid impugning the Bagirmi kings on moral grounds. 

In conclusion, the royal list of de Lauture included some major errors in the list of kings and some of the events associated with their reigns. It nonetheless provides some details derived from a shaykh based on his understanding of Bagirmi's past and what he was willing to share with our Frenchman. Based on his own personal ties to the royal family, he may have sought to promote an image of Bagirmi strength and success, perhaps providing a motive for his claim of Bagirmi once taking captive a king of Wadai. On the other hand, the Wadai kings list is also difficult to reconstruct and rulers who only occupied the throne for a short period of time may have been omitted from some lists or genealogies. Despite its numerous inconsistencies and other problems, we find de Lauture's list useful and potentially instructive on some aspects of Bagirmi's history before the 1800s.

Bagirmi's Wealth

Whilst revisiting various sources on Bagirmi, we were struck by al-Tunisi's account of the staggering amount of wealth hoarded by the kingdom. Although he was not personally present for Sabun of Wadai's invasion of Bagirmi and the pillaging of Massenya, he did have access to informants who participated in the victory, such as his own father. This precious testimony makes al-Tunisi's Voyage au Ouadây an essential source on Wadai during the early 19th century. According to al-Tunisi, Wadai forces found the room in the palace filled up to the ceiling with leather sacs containing duros, or Spanish silver coins. One of the sacs supposedly contained 4000 duros and about ten were missing from the room of about 20 square feet. From this, we read an estimate of more than 200,000 francs were lost. He doesn't say the total number brought back to Wadai, but if the remaining number of sacs left in that room were brought back to Wara, loot seized from Bagirmi was immense. Indeed, perhaps the equivalent of millions of US dollars worth of silver coins were stolen from Bagirmi's palace. This amount of silver coins may have been the result of the last several Bagirmi kings hoarding the coins. Unfortunately, we do not know to what extent such silver was used in conjunction with strips of cloth or other units of exchange in the kingdom. Perhaps they were mainly used for purchasing luxury goods as well as ensuring the price of silver locally remained high (by restricting circulation)?

Rambling Thoughts on Lanier and l'ancien royaume du Baguirmi

Map of Bagirmi in Lanier's "L'ancien royaume du Baguirmi" in Bulletin du Comité de l'Afrique française 35 (1925).

Whilst revisiting various sources on the history of Bagirmi before the 19th century, we recently re-read Henri Lanier's essay, "L'ancien royaume du Baguirmi." Based on notes collected from 1913-1916, Lanier's essay provides a different look at the early origins of Bagirmi. He also claimed to have consulted a list of Bagirmi rulers with the regnal lengths from a lettered family that conserved this information orally. Unfortunately, he did not name said family but noted their familial ties to Bagirmi monarchs like Hadji (Muhammad al-Amin). Thus, his list of rulers and the dates are not the same as those of Nachtigal. One wonders if this list also fabricated a new Arab progenitor of the dynasty in the figure of Abdel Mahamoud Begli.

When we look at these different 19th century and colonial-era articles or chapters on the history of Bagirmi, we cannot help but think of the Andean world and the Spanish chronicles on the Inca. Like the Incas, in Bagirmi, the colonial writings are based (almost) entirely on oral tradition for the period before European conquest. Unlike the Incas, however, Bagirmi did possess a system of writing (although the khipu system was highly sophisticated and capable of recording different types of information, too). We suspect it was used for gargams as in Borno and for Islamic scholarship. Lettered village chiefs, given the title of gol, in places like Bidri and Aboughern may also have produced documents or texts with relevant information on Bagirmi's history, too. Also, recording of the royal genealogy of the kings was partly entrusted to someone Gaden believed was officially tied to the court. This person was supposed to recite the names of the kings of Bagirmi and how long they reigned. Presumably, praise-singers tied to the court and descendants of kings or dignitaries also preserved information orally. For instance, Nachtigal experienced this when writing his history of Bagirmi, speaking to elite descendants who even knew the names of the horses used by their ancestors in the various military campaigns or battles in Bagirmi's past. Like the Andean world, we also suspect descendants of different dignitaries and kings may have preserved or passed down competing versions of past events. With the frequency of revolts or usurpations in Bagirmi's past, one also suspects there may have been versions of the royal history that deviated from earlier traditions to help legitimize another descent group. 

We cannot prove it, but we suspect the reign of Muhammad al-Amin, or Hadji Muhammad, may have represented one such moment in which his reign sought to legitimize his descent group seizing the throne after their ancestor, Abd el-Kader, was killed by his brother, Ousman. Perhaps like Pachacuti in Tawantinsuyu, Muhammad al-Amin's reign, viewed by Lanier as the apogee of Bagirmi, witnessed the consolidation of another variation in Bagirmi's origins story. Certainly, the insertion of an unfamiliar Arab into the royal genealogy by Lanier's informants may have a connection with Muhammad al-Amin's reputation of propagating Islam in the kingdom during the second half of the 18th century. Doing so highlighted the Islamic credentials of the dynasy since their origins.

As in the case of the distant Incas, Lanier's summary of pre-19th century Bagirmi history shares much of the same information with other studies. However, perhaps due to the frequency of shared names among different mbangs, Lanier attributes historical events to different rulers than Nachtigal, Carbou, or others. For instance, Lanier believed that the Bourkoumanda Tadlele, whose reign he dated 1734-1739, was the one who gave his sister in marriage to a Bulala sultan and engaged on a long series of campaigns to Borku and Kawar. The evidence for this being the work of an earlier Burkomanda in the 17th century is more likely. 

Similarly, Lanier's account of Oumar, the first king, deviates from that of others. His Oumar, who allegedly arrived in Bagirmi in a group of about 300 companions, was the one who shared elephant meat with locals and gathered local support. He then led them in resistance to the Bulala sultans who imposed tribute on the area previously. However, the tribute to the Bulala was not the same as that recorded by Edwige, who reported the tribute to the Bulala sultan was in cloth. Otherwise, the traditions are somewhat similar in that Oumar defeats the cavalry sent by the Bulala sultan, although Edwige thought Dalou-Birni accomplished this.

Subsequent Bagirmi history according to Lanier diverges substantially with the addition of the Arab figure before continuing with some familiar names. Lanier's account apparently adds a second Libatko to the list of kings and then dates Bang Dolo Berni (also named Ahmet Al Berni or Dal Beri Besse)  1513-1543. This mbang is recognizable in other lists, as well as Malo (said to have been the tshiroma) and Abdallah. The custom of blinding royal competitors supposedly began with Abdallah, the first usurper (although other sources differ on this). As for the 17th century, little is reported except for father to son succession for a few reigns and the conquest of Dekakire by Abd el Kader (r. 1660-1694). Lanier's version of events after this appears garbled or confused compared to the narrative of Nachtigal. However, without elucidating his sources, Lanier produces a date of 1741 for an attack from Borno which forced the mbang Lahoual (Alahouine) to recognize the authority of the Sayfawa. This could very well be correct, and could be the result of one of the Late Sayfawa Period maiwa attempting to reassert Bornoan influence to the south and east of Lake Chad.

Toward the end of this period, when Sabun of Waday invaded and pillaged Massenya, Lanier's explanation of the conflict is quite familiar. Wadai's attack was partly motivated by Bagirmi's assault on the Bulala sultanate, which resulted in the death of its ruler. Supposedly, Saboun invaded, in part, to avenge the Bulalas (perhaps to also reassert Wadai's sphere of influence in the Fitri region and ending Bagirmi raids on their border, too). The details are in alignment with Nachtigal here.

Ultimately, besides a slightly different chronology with years presumably drawn from a well-connected family, Lanier's history of Bagirmi is quite familiar for anyone who has read Nachtigal. His narrative also stretches further back in time to include Oumar in the 1400s, attributing the cessation of Bagirmi tribute to the Bulala sultans to his leadership. By c. 1493, however, Oumar was dead, and a few additional reigns separate him from Bang Dolo Berni. Lanier seems to have acknowledged that other writers had little to report on the very early history of the kingdom since many of their informants only knew of Dolo Berni (or, Ahmet Al Berni/Dal Beri Besse). Possible problems immediately emerge in Lanier's account, too. The duplication of Libatko and the addition of an Arab into the royal genealogy (beyond just vague claims of Middle Eastern origin) may be the result of a specific family of informants. His account of later historical developments in the 1600s and 1700s also garbles or omits the stories associated with some mbangs. In this case, it is perhaps a result of this same family with elite connections choosing to promote certain Bagirmi rulers and their lineages above those of others. Alternatively, these informants may have mixed the achievements of kings with those of similarly named rulers from different centuries. 

As for its most unique trait, the extra details on the earliest rulers may also have been partly shaped by this family seeking to predate the origins of Islam among the royal family to the 1400s and early 1500s, before Abdallah. We return again to the Andean parallel where historians and chroniclers must parse through these often conflicting narratives passed on through oral tradition and how the specific background of their informants and the regions they collected information from in the kingdom shaped their retelling of the history. In the case of Bagirmi, perhaps greater attention to written texts produced within the kingdom can be analyzed to help understand the relationship between the royal court and the ulama. Implications here can be useful for comprehending the contradictions and divergence in the oral traditions.

Wali Mai Kargo (MaiKalgo) and al-Jirmi

Whilst rereading "Temple's 'Notes on the History of Kano' [1909]: A Lost Chronicle on Political Office" from Sudanic Africa by Lovejoy, Mahadi and Mukhtar, we saw an interesting miracle attributed to MaiKalgo (or Mai Kargo) on page 49. Although the document appears to have been a draft and contains a number of errors or contradicts the more famous Kano Chronicle at times, we thought it was intriguing to see Temple's version of the miracle of the famous wali in question. According to Temple, MaiKalgo's blood wrote out the Shahada when he was killed by the  Kwararafa forces which attacked Kano during the reign of Muhama Zaki. If one follows Palmer's chronology, his reign should be tentatively dated 1582-1618. Dokaji, on the other hand, associates Mai Kargo (MaiKalgo) with a later attack on Kano during the reign of Dada (Dadi, r. 1670-1703). Furthermore, the miracle reported by Dokaji does not mention anything about the blood of the slain wali from what we can tell.

However, the tradition of Temple about the slain holy man's blood writing out the Muhammadan creed is very similar to at least one tradition about al-Jirmi of Borno. Said to have executed by the order of the mai Umar of Borno, the blood of this leader of the earliest known Kalumbardo was said to have written out the Islamic creed. Undoubtedly, this miracle was part of a broader set of miraculous stories on the sanctity of figures unjustly killed. In the case of Mai Kargo, it was his death at the hands of the pagan Kwararafa. For Muhammad Bello, writing in the 19th century and seeking to justify the jihad against Borno, it was incorporated into the tale to heighten the charge against the Sayfawa on Islamic grounds. 

al-Kanemi and the Berawuna

 

Whilst perusing Gustav Nachtigal's Sahara and Sudan again, we came across an intriguing letter by Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanemi from 1828. Whilst reporting on an expedition in Kanem, what stood out to us was the word al-Kanemi used to refer to people of Borno: Berawuna. According to the footnote of Gustav Nachtigal, this word meant "people of Borno." We find this interesting since this was the word used by people in the Fazzan to refer to people from Borno as well as the Tubu. In other words, the term appears to recognize the common origin of the Kanuri in Borno with the Tubu. On the other hand, Barth, in his massive account of his travels in this part of Africa, reported that the Goranes called the people of Mao in Kanem Beránema, perhaps a reference to the Dalatoa. Likewise the Kel Ewey Tuareg apparently called the Teda Beráuni. Anyway, al-Kanemi's use of the term makes sense given his own Fazzani background.

One wonders if there is any connection here to the Hausa word for the Kanuri, Bare beri. We once thought that it may be a possible remnant of the alleged "Zaghawa" origins of early Kanem, particularly due to the existence of the ethnonym Beri by the Zaghawa. Now we wonder if it may be related to Beráuni or Berawuna/Berâouna. Or was the Fazzani term possibly related to the Beri? Someone with the requisite language skills and understanding of linguistics should explore this to understand the origins of the various ways people referred to the people of Borno and what we know as the Kanuri.  

Edwige's Notes on the Melfi Subdivision

Ch. Edwige's "Notes sur la subdivision de Melfi" is a report from the 1920s based largely on oral traditions. While certainly aware of earlier works on Bagirmi's history, such as Nachtigal, Edwige's list of Bagirmi kings before the 19th century is much shorter. Perhaps due to the nature of his informants in Melfi, which included Sokoro, Kenga, and Dekakire, much of Bagirmi's pre-1800s past was not retained in local traditions. Exceptions, of course, could be found. For instance, the chiefly lineage of the n'gares of the Sokoros claimed to know the names of about 13 different chiefs. Besides this family lineage which inherited a position, the heterogeneous population of Muslims and non-Muslims provides fewer instances of this type of well-established genealogy. 

Despite the obvious errors and incomplete nature of Edwige's list of Bagirmi kings, it is nonetheless a possible opportunity to explore how traditions from this area of the kingdom perceived their distant past. In some ways, it follows the general narrative with occasional omissions or what may be legendary traits added to the tradition. Take Dalou-Birni, for example. Clearly identifiable with Nachtigal's Dalobirni, who reigned in the 17th century, he is also meant to be Birni Besse, one of the founding figures of Bagirmi's royal dynasty. Edwige's informants added extra details. First, according to Edwige, Dalu was of Arab origin from the Kuraysh (though it is telling that his brothers included one named Kenga, perhaps an admission of the shared roots of the Barma and Kenga). This Middle Eastern origin story is hardly surprising. But Edwige also shared a more narratively rich background for Dalou-Birni, whose accentuated color sparked the feeling from his father that his mother had committed adultery. Perhaps this is an attempt to explain the darker skin of Dalou-Birni despite his Arab father. After his father threw the infant Dalou-Birni into a fire and he miraculously survived, his father gifted his mother 100 cows. This is an attempt to link the etymology of the toponym Bagirmi with the words "Bagara mia!" that his mother shouted after the gift. 

Later on, upon arriving in Bagirmi, Dalou-Birni attracted followers through his skills as a hunter. However, a local ruler of the Bidili (Bideri?), which included locals already in the region such as the Birkete, was forced to pay a tribute to the Bulala sultan of Fitri, Saboun (is this tradition remembering Wadai's Saboun, who invaded Bagirmi in the early 1800s?). Since the tradition also turns the Bulala rulers into tributaries of Wadai, one must suspect we are dealing with anachronisms. After all, if one uses the conventional dating for Dalou-Birni and early Bagirmi, the 16th century, there was no Wadai. Indeed, the Bulala sultans would have been based in Kanem in the early 1500s. Unless one wishes to follow Carbou's theory, which would turn the Fitri-based kingdom which imposed tribute on Bagirmi into the Kuka kingdom, what exactly was going on in the area that became the center of Bagirmi's royal dynasty remains unclear. A connection to the Bulala sultans, however, may make more sense given their reference to Bagirmi in the context of a Bulala sultan in the 1500s by Ahmad b. Furtu. 

Regardless, Dalou-Birni's success at hunting and sharing of the meat continued to attract followers. Meanwhile, he also began preparations for ending the payment of tribute to Bagirmi. Dalou-Birni prepared the revolt by secretly preparing shields and spears to use against Saboun. When 30 horsemen were sent by the Bulala to collect the tribute (in strips of cloth and clothes), Dalou-Birni and 100 of his followers attacked and killed most of them. Unsurprisingly, Saboun later sent 300 horsemen to plunder the herds of the Arabs and Fulani in Bagirmi. Once again, Dalou-Birni defeated these forces and became king upon his return to Massenya. As king, he imposed tribute in horses to strengthen the army and gather the tribute in strips of cloth. It seems unlikely that he would not have engaged in any slave raiding, but supposedly he avoided it.

Unfortunately, the list of subsequent kings by Edwige omitted so many names that it would only go back as far as c. 1660 instead of the early 1500s. This meant that for Edwige, Dalou Birni must have lived in the 1600s whilst his successors only included Allah Hadji I, Laouan, Allah Hadji II, Gaourang I Kabir, Bourkou-Manda-Kabi, Abd-el-Kader, Mohamed Abssakin, Bourkou-Manda and Gaourang II. A few of these names are instantly recognizable, although others are less so (Allah Hadji). His informants may have telescoped many kings from the period before the 19th century. One sees this through Allah Hadji I's reign, who is presumably based on Abd Allah (r. 1568-1608 by Nachtigal's reckoning). However, this Allah-Hadji I of Edwige appears to be a composite figure combining a number of different Bagirmi kings and their exploits. Thus, Allah-Hadji I was said to have begun to attack the Massa, but also attacked the Saroua, Boua, Logone, and imposed vassal status on Logone, Kousseri and Goulfei. Through a successful siege of the town of Mahamat, the Kotoko king, these aforementioned Kotoko towns became vassals of Bagirmi.

The next named king, Laouan, easily recognizable as Loen or Loel, would have reigned in c. 1741-1751. Like Loel, this Laouan was killed and replaced by his younger brother. Although not named correctly, this brother was Muhammad al-Amin, whose reign Nachtigal placed from c. 1751-1785. Here is where traditions become interesting for Hadji. This mbang was living in exile in a place called Sounar. Presumably, Sounar is what Edwige's informants thought to be the city of Sennar to the distant east. However, tradition here has turned Muhammad al-Amin's life in the Eastern Sudan into one of becoming a local dyer in a village and marrying the chief's daughter. Details also diverge on the tale of his return. Since his "brother" Laouan was so oppressive, one of his musicians sought Allah-Hadji (Muhammad al-Amin), working together with him to return to Bagirmi and seize the throne. Needless to say, this version is quite distinct from Nachtigal's retelling, although it follows the same basic sequence. Indeed, Allah-Hadji uses Moito as a base and then defeats Laouan at Sado before becoming ruler of Bagirmi.

Additional problems can be found. Unlike Nachtigal, whose informants stressed the cruelty of Muhammad al-Amin and his numerous military expeditions, Allah-Hadji II was liked by his subjects and nothing else stood out from his reign. A similar problem emerges with the reign of Gaourang-Kabir, the son of Muhammad al-Amin. Absolutely no mention is made of the Wadai invasion launched by Saboun or any of the military ventures of these rulers. 

Clearly, Edwige's recounting of Bagirmi history before the 19th century is very flawed. But the specific area he collected information in may have played a role. Despite these aforementioned issues, his article nonetheless raises new questions about how the Bagirmi mbangs were remembered in different parts of the kingdom. Nachtigal, who was able to collect information from political elites tied to the court of the mbang, could access a more controlled royal genealogy in somewhat informal settings. Edwige, on the other hand, may have heard a less official version which, in spite of its omissions, still coherently overlapped with parts of the "official" version Nachtigal heard from elite informants. 

The Kanema Who Killed a Mai

Another thing we have also been thinking about whilst revisiting the Diwan is the kanema Muhammad b. Abd Allah. According to Lange's chronology, this kanema killed a Sayfawa mai named Ghadji in c. 1454. Although Lange, in a footnote, referenced Barth raising the possibility of the kanema here being a reference to a Bulala sultan in Kanem, that seems less likely. Even Palmer, in Bornu Sahara and Sudan, believed the Kanem-ma was the Bulala sultan. After all, the author(s) of the Diwan had already recognized a Bulala ruler as king in the entry on Dawud b. Ibrahim. Later sections for references to the Bulala sultans of the 1500s sometimes name them as such. Consequently, we wonder if kanema was actually an old Sayfawa court title which disappeared by the time the dynasty ended. 

Fortunately, a possible clue, though weak, can be found in Hagenbucher's article on the Bulala in Fitri. According to Hagenbucher, one of the titles given to the son of a sister of a sultan (the equivalent of the tata mairambe in Borno) was kanama. Indeed, one kanama was tied to the lineage of the Bulala sultan (the Lafiawa) whilst another kanama was the head of the Wadawa and also the son of a sultan's sister. Given the strong influence of the Sayfawa court on what the Bulala sultans organized in Kanem and Fitri, we wonder if the kanema who killed Ghadji with his sword was actually a dignitary of the Sayfawa court. Perhaps he was the son of a sister of Ghadji or one of his predecessors. 

Indeed, the kanema being a Sayfawa dignitary participating in the conflicts between the descendants of Dawud and Idris in this period fits with the context of this era until Ali b. Dunama's rise to the throne. We just need to find out more about the kanama among the Bulala and the chances of it being yet another Sayfawa-derived office the Bulala sultans added to their own courts.