Borno Basketry

Whilst perusing Staatliche Museen zu Berlin's website for pictures of objects brought back to Europe by Gustav Nachtigal, we came across a color photo of one of the beautiful basket covers. Nachtigal's Sahara and Sudan includes sketches of basket covers Nachtigal saw in Borno in the 19th century. One of them bears a resemblance to the basket cover below, sitting in Germany. Nachtigal also brought back basket covers from Darfur which are quite exquisite, too.

Hallam's Photo of Gambaru

 

We tried to snap a photo of W.K.R. Hallam's photograph of the Gambaru ruins recently. Originally in an article published in Nigeria Magazine entitled "Komadugu Yobe: The First and Last River," Hallam's article is rather brief on the early history of this region. Since it was published in the 1960s, the article also relies on less accurate chronologies for the Sayfawa Dynasty. Nonetheless, the claim that Biyoma, the "first" historical mai, was buried at Yo (a town on the south bank of the Komadugu Yobe), is interesting for possible references to an early presence of Kanem kings in the Borno region.

Nasr Bultu

Whilst re-reading Dierk Lange's A Sudanic Chronicle: The Borno Expeditions of Idris Alauma (1564-1576) According to the Account of Ahmad b. Furtu, we were reminded of the Binawa convert, Nasr Bultu. Close ties between him and the vizier of Idris b. Ali of Borno (r. 1564-1596), Kursu b. Harun, also an Ngizim according to Lange, were also indicated by Nasr's Islamic conversion. Presumably, this is why Nasr Bultu began to use an Islamic name like Nasr. However, each of his appearances in Ahmad b. Furtu's chronicle include the surname Bultu. 

We wonder if this surname is actually the Kanuri word for hyena, búltu (Cyffer's spelling). In the Ngizim-English dictionaries easily found online, that language's word for hyena is not like the Kanuri term. For instance, the dictionary affiliated with the Yobe Languages Research Project lists bədlamu (see the Ngizim-English-Hausa Dictionary by Mohammed Alhaji Adamu and Usman Babayo Garba Potiskum). Intriguingly, the Hausa language does have the word bultu for a type of hornbill, possibly pointing to a Hausa connection for Nasr Bultu's surname. Since the Binawa were part of the Western Ngizim, a possible Hausa-derived word used for a name was perhaps plausible?

However, the closer ties of Nasr Bultu to Borno and one of its top officials during the reign of Idris Alooma could have played a greater role in the Binawa leader's new name. If one theorizes that his surname was also new like his first name of Nasr, perhaps the Kanuri-derived word was another sign of the integration of non-Kanuriphone populations into Borno. Islam and Islamic-derived names were an important part of that process. But, adding Kanuri names or surnames could have been yet another layer of the role of culture and language in integrating other ethnic groups into the state. Why the name of an animal may have been adopted as a surname is not clear, either, although it may have ties to the depiction of the hyena in Kanuri folklore and oral literature.

Dunama Dibalemi and the Kecherda

 

While rereading parts of Maurice Abadie's La colonie du Niger, we came across a garbled and problematic reference to Dunama Dibalemi from the Kecherda. According to an informant, Issa Maini, the earliest known Kecherda chief was a man named Kourei Koullougoni. Given an eastern origin, this figure's community included a Mai Doumouri, son of Debellemi (Dibalemi). This is almost certainly a garbled reference to Dunama Dibalemi of the Sayfawa (c. 1210-1248). However, the Kecherda tradition heard here at N'Guigmi by Captain Martin makes it the descendants of Dunama Dibalemi who moved to Kanem and then migrated further into Borno (while the Kecherda stopped in Kanem). One wonders if Dunama Dibalemia is being used anachronistically here to refer to the distant past. On the other hand, this Sayfawa ruler was remembered for having fought a war with the Tubu for several years. It is possible that some of the Daza in Kanem might recall traditions of being forcibly relocated during this poorly understood conflict. 

This also brings to mind Kreda songs translated by Henri Carbou. According to one song, Mai Dena was the Arab prince who led the ancestors of the Kreda into Kanem (possibly Sayf?). Despite being described as an Arab prince,  Mai Dena ("master of the world") was also described as "black" (azreq) in color. We wonder if Mai Dena here and the "Mai Doumouri" mentioned by the Kecherda elder may be a reference to the same figure. If so, then there may be a confused echo in these traditions of Dunama Dibalemi's relations with the Tubu in the 13th century. 

Jerma Melei and Assakélé

Another thing we have been contemplating is the question of the identity of the captor of Assakélé, a Bulala princess remembered in a Kanembu song partly recorded by Henri Carbou. Although we have written about our speculative thoughts on this figure and her possible connection with the Aisa Kili of Borno traditions, we should consider other possibilities. For instance, the song identified the Borno official who seized Assakélé as Kaléa djerma Meleï. Kaléa means captive, djerma or jerma (sometimes spelled zerma) was an important officer in the Sayfawa court and Meleï is probably Mele, a Kanuri form of the name Idris sometimes seen in Kanuri girgam lists and other sources translated by H.R. Palmer. Thus, Kanembu tradition remembers a jerma named Idris whose actions here sparked or contributed to the war between the Bulala and Borno. 

Is it possible that the song is actually remembering the Ngizim jerma of Idris Alooma? When mentioned by Ahmad b. Furtu in the context of the Kanem campaigns, his title had risen to wazir. Furthermore, we know from Ahmad b. Furtu's account that women related to the Bulala royal family were indeed seized during the conflict. Perhaps Kanembu tradition here is actually recalling an event right before the Kanem wars of Idris Alooma or one of those seizures of Bulala royal women during the war? Carbou claims that Kanembu tradition remembered Idris Alooma's vizier as Idris b. Harun, but that does not necessarily preclude the possibility of Idris b. Harun also being remembered as a jerma or jarma in other Kanem traditions. 

Of course, without the full song this conjecture remains pure speculation. For all we know, there was a jerma named Idris during an earlier period in Borno who may have seized a Bulala princess. Assuming Kalo, Assakélé's father, was Dunama b. Salma, then we would think Melei was a jerma during the reign of Idris Alooma's grandfather. But it is still possible for the song partly translated by Carbou to have been actually referring to the Ngizim jerma, Idris b. Harun.

The Bulala Sultan of Fitri

Whilst recently perusing a book on Chad, we saw the Bulala sultan of Fitri in Les treize préfectures de la République du Chad by Pierre Gentil (1962). Although we could not find his name in the pamphlet, we wonder if it is Oumar since the book was published in the 1960s. Or perhaps Hassan Absekin who became sultan in 1967 according to Hagenbucher. 

Wild Rice and Lake Chad

Whilst taking another look at Koelle's English-Kanuri dictionary, we noticed a reference to wild rice growing near Lake Chad. According to Koelle, who likely derived this information from Ali Eisami, the region around Dikwa (Digoa) was especially known for the wild rice growing there. This brought to mind al-Umari's description of Kanem from the 14th century (included in Corpus of Early Arabic Sources for West African History). According to an informant who knew an ascetic shaykh named Uthman al-Kanimi, related to the Sayfawa, rice grew without seed in Kanem. Perhaps this early 14th century reference is to the region specifically near Lake Chad, or what Eisami referred to as Pérgi, the region in Borno to the south/southwest of the Lake.