Although the extant source materials are far from ideal, it is possible to reconstruct the pre-Islamic foundations of early Kanem. As a major Central Sudanic state that was already in existence by the 9th century, when its religion was described as worship of kings, attempting to recover the "pagan" foundations of the state can shed light on its early origins. Indeed, as a state with strong links with clan names that appear among Teda, Daza, Kanembu and Kanuri peoples, the origins of Kanem seem to be significantly correlated with the non-Islamic, ancient roots of these related peoples. The Zaghawa and Bideyat, also part of this larger world of Central Saharan and Sahelian "black" nomads and semi-nomads, provide even further evidence of early Kanem's foundations, particularly in the relevance of the king in ceremonis tied to rain and agriculture.
Unfortunately, the medieval Arabic sources are light on details of pre-Islamic Kanem. Written off as pagans by al-Bakri and described as worshippers of their monarchs by al-Muhallabi, early Kanem's "paganism" did not interest Muslim visitors. However, when reading later ethnographies of the Zaghawa and their pre-Islamic rituals, one may begin to see what exactly al-Muhallabi and others were describing. To be specific, it is unlikely that the people of Kanem actually worshipped the mai or king (kireh, or kakireh). Instead, royal authority was tied to rituals reflecting a larger cosmovision or worldview. The ancestors and spirits needed to receive offerings (or, sadaga, Chappelle 87). Kingship among the Zaghawa studied by Tubiana or Kanem as described by al-Muhallabi was a position closely linked to indigenous religious practices. In early Kanem, the mai and the royal lineage were necessary in rituals that led to rain and bountifulness. Without their position as sacral rulers who could lead the necessary rituals and offerings, the people may face droughts, poor harvests, famine, and other turmoil. It is in this way that the subjects of the early mais of Kanem venerated their king, who was believed to be the source of life, death, illness or good health (Hopkins and Levtzion 171).
Therefore, it is unlikely that the kings of Kanem itself were actually the object of worship. The sacral nature of their position and their appearance in rituals designed to communicate with spirits perhaps led to the view of the king as semidivine or associated with mystical and spiritual authority. By virtue of their special position and the political and ceremonial demands, the king must be separate from the commoners or rest of society. This led to more developed forms of ritual seclusion of the king and veneration of the royal lineage. Indeed, in Borno sacrifices were offered to ancestors and alms given while the king was ritually secluded (Bjorkelo 33). One can even detect echoes of this among the Islamic Sayfawa dynasty for centuries after al-Yaqubi and al-Muhallabi wrote of Kanem. Indeed, the interest of the Sayfawa mais in performing the pilgrimage and Islamic scholarship likely resonated with pre-Islamic beliefs of the mai's position being rooted in sacral patterns. For this reason, the kings of Kanem were often ritually secluded, endeavored to avoid be seen eating, and made appearances as specific festivals or public celebrations. Indeed, Borno natives enslaved in Saint Domingue reported to Descourtilz that the mai of Borno never left the palace and those who dared to look directly at him were executed (Descourtilz 146). Remarkably, al-Umari in the 14th century also reported on rare public appearances of the mais of Kanem, who only appeared during 2 festivals (Hopkins and Levtzion 260). Consequently, Islam may have not represented so much of a rupture to this process as it could have been incorporated into "traditional" patterns of kingship established in ancient Kanem.
In addition to the ritual seclusion of kings in Kanem (and Borno under the Sayfawa), the specific reverence attached to ancestors and remembering clan affiliations through maternal lines may have been an additional remnant of pre-Islamic Kanem. According to Abraham Rosman's analysis of Kanuri social structure, clans were once very significant in the history of the Kanuri people. Kanuri were divided into jili with distinctive facial scars. Each jili had a common ancestor and a head appointed by the mai to collect taxes (Rosman 93). This system of clans and clan sub-groups, organized patrilineally but also emphasizing the maternal clan, may have been important to the ancestors of the Kanuri if they did not marry within the same clan If early clans among the ancestors of the Kanuri were similar to those observed among the Tubu and Zaghawa, then clan founders would have been of great importance for ancestral veneration. Specific clan taboos, areas for offerings, and even animals associated with the clan founder could have been major concerns in early Kanem (Chapelle 362). The mai, or head of the senior lineage and clan group, would have been at the zenith of clan leaders whose marriage alliances with other clans brought some degree of centralization and common investment from each one. The spread of these clans into Kanem, Borno and even other areas like the Tibetsi and Kawar, must have, even if fabricated in some cases, brought a degree of unity and shared belief in a shared origin defined by similar ceremonial offerings to ancestors. Women and the clan of the queen mothers of Kanem must have been important for this reason, or at least important enough to be recalled by the later editors of the Diwan for the early centuries of Kanem.
An instance of the significance of ancestral veneration and sacrifice can be found in Idris b. Ali's campaigns in Kanem. While campaigning against the Bulala, Idris b. Ali stopped to pray at the tombs of previous Sayfawa rulers near Njimi. Although the prayers Idris b. Ali recited for his ancestors were Islamic in nature, ethnographic work on the Teda and Daza also include special reverence tied to the graves of ancestors. In addition, Idris b. Ali then gave alms and cattle after the Quran was recited at his ancestors' graves in Njimi. Through commemorating and making offerings to ancestors, one also asks for their intercession. The past rulers of the Sayfawa dynasty and the specific clans of their maternal ancestors points to the possible role of clan intermarriage with forging alliances among the various Teda, Daza, Zaghawa, Kanembu, and Kanuri groups who comprised the population of Kanem. Each clan would have been linked to ruling dynasty through intermarriage, rituals, taboos and ceremonies that brought them to the royal court and created bonds through offerings. Manan, the "pagan" capital of Kanem, possibly featured a stream, grotto, or spiritually significant place for offerings. It is likely that a form of divination ceremony took place at caves, the kurkuri of the Daju and Zaghawa mentioned by Palmer (in Bornu Sahara and Sudan 212). It is also possible that specific clans, such as the Tomagheras and others mentioned in the Diwan, may have had names derived from a wadi, or an animal believed to have assisted the clan founder. The clans could have identified their ancestor or founder with a mountain, tree, or even serpent (Tubiana 16). If so, there may have been specific clans associated with specific roles in rituals involving the king (Tubiana 45).
The example of the rain ceremony among the Zaghawa, for instance, brought together members of various Zaghawa sub-groups and clans to a spiritually significant place for a ceremony that included the offering to a spirit and ritual feasting. A similar practice was also observed among the Keira sultans of Darfur and the rulers of Wadai, states which were also influenced by Kanem-Borno. Indeed, something similar was likely practiced in Borno, too. Muhammad Bello's letters with al-Kanemi accuses the Muslims of Borno of shirk, as they performed sacrifices at rivers and possibly even sacrificed a virgin in a river (Bello, 72). While these practices might reflect some of the pre-Islamic beliefs of Buduma, Marghi, Kotoko and "Sao peoples" who initially resisted the Sayfawa, they also resemble those practiced among the Teda, Daza, and Zaghawa. Thus, the alleged worship or sacrifices to idols in trees and rivers could have also been a remnant of Teda, Daza, and pre-Islamic Kanuri beliefs. Indeed, even if the improper practices written of by Muhammad Bello were exaggerated or perhaps a product of indigenous populations living near Borno who gradually adopted Islam, the continuity of ritual seclusion among the mais suggests a strong link to the pre-Islamic past. Yet it would be intriguing to study the words for God among the neighbors of the Kanuri to establish the origin of ramabe, a term which may have been the original Kanuri word for God (Koelle 275). In light of these considerations, perhaps for reasons of ritual seclusion and sacred places more so than other factors, Idris b. Ali's mother had the brick mosque and palace at Gambaru constructed for his use. Njimi in Kanem, the capital after Manan, also used fired-brick for constructions that clearly designated the area of the mai as distinct.
Addressing the issue of the mune may further elucidate the matter at hand. The mune, often presented as a pagan relic that, once opened or destroyed by Dunama Dibalemi, led to dissolution and civil war among the Sayfawa (which certainly was common enough in 13th and 14th century Kanem as civil wars, assassinations, deposed mais, usurpers, and conflict with the Bulala and Sao indicate), presents a number of historical questions. Palmer, whose Sudanese Memoirs is an important yet problematic source on Borno, mentions the Zaghawa of Wadai referring to the Quran covered in skins as Mani. Moreover, the "pagan" Beli and Zaghawa allegedly believed mani was a ram stored in a cave. Even though one must use Palmer very carefully, the mune of Kanem was likely something derived from pre-Islamic beliefs yet redefined or adapted to fit Islam. Thus, Ahmad b. Furtu described the mune as something wrapped up and vital to the success of the Sayfawa. Indeed, our Bornoan chronicler compared it to the Ark of the Covenant. Thus, opening or destroying the mune was perceived by a 16th century Borno intellectual as un-Islamic. This is a testament to the degree to which pre-Islamic Kanem practices were capable of adaption to new religious and political paradigms. The mune, from pre-Islamic Kanem to the Muslims of the Sayfawa, was a talisman or highly charged spiritual object capable of reinterpretation through Islamic lens. According to Muhammad Yanbu, the mune was also carried into army and therefore associated with the military successes of the mais (Bobboyi 87).
Although there is inherent danger in relying too heavily on 20th century ethnographic studies of the Zaghawa and Tubu peoples, their ethnographic present likely illuminates aspects of early Kanem. After all, Islamization among the Tubu and Zaghawa is a late phenomenon, and they appear to have been closely linked to the major clans that contributed to the formation of Kanem. Thus, their practices of sadaga or offerings, veneration of ancestors, practice of clan totems and taboos, and belief in the centrality of the king in specific rituals tied to rain and agriculture are probable indicators of what early Kanem looked like. Thus, the early kings of Kanem were probably not objects of worship of their subjects. However, their position was closely linked to spiritual power or contact with ancestors and spirits that required offerings. Through ritual seclusion and the maintenance of specific ceremonies of rain-making or, in the case of Darfur, a festival in which the king physically engaged in a sowing festival, the kings of Kanem were the ritual center of the state. Marriages with other clans must have further cemented the unification around an early polity as other clans would have contributed participants in important state ceremonies. Early Kanem's conversion to Islam was not necessarily seen as disruptive to this "traditional" order as Islam and its message of a universal God could have been used to buttress the belief in the king's sacral powers. Thus, the mais could have continued to venerate ancestors, maintain some of the pre-Islamic customs, and incorporate Islamic scholarship and pilgrimage into their toolbelt of spiritual (and supernatural) power. Even after conversion and despite the resistance of some Tubu and Zaghawa to Islam, the maintenance of clan identities and traditions, remembered through oral history, written genealogies and chronicles, must have contributed to some degree of common identity and investment in the Sayfawa state from its core.
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