Focusing on Kanem, Borno, Lake Chad, Sahel, and West Africa from a historical perspective
8/4/25
Shuwa Arabs Documentary
7/30/25
Attacking Birni Gazargamo (c.1667)
During our attempts to revisit the sources for the enigmatic state or polity known as Kwararafa, we encountered Jukun traditions of Kwararafa's conflict with Borno. One of these episodes, first discussed by Heinrich Barth (who did not name his sources), was an attack on Birni Gazargamo from Kwararafa at the same time as a Tuareg attack. It was said to have occurred during the reign of Ali b. Umar (r. 1639-1677), whose victory against Kwararafa was recorded by a Katsina poet, Dan Marina. In addition, reports of Borno's conflicts with the Tuareg reached Europeans at Tripoli, just as the chirurgien esclave also wrote of Borno's wars with the land of Prester John. Upon closer examination, and particularly with the aid of Richard Gray's work on the ill-fated Borno missions of the Church, it is possible to support some of the Jukun traditions of Kwararafa as a regional power in the 17th century. How exactly it looked in the 16th or 15th century is more difficult to untangle, although traditions from Hausaland and the Kano Chronicle suggest Kwararafa was a power to be reckoned with by the 14th century. In order to clarify the issue, one must enter debates on the chronologies of various kings lists of Kano, Katsina, Zaria, and try to identify when and if the famous Amina of Zaria ever conquered Kwararafa. Sadly, and this may be due to Kwararafa having developed as a multiethnic confederacy in which the Jukun may have been latecomers, Jukun traditions seem to be mainly useful for the period of the 17th century onward rather than these earlier centuries.
However, in the 17th century and early 18th century, reports of Kwararafa as a "Christian" kingdom in conflict with Borno reached Europeans. Claude Lemaire, a French consul in Tripoli with a keen interest in the history of what is now Libya, recorded reports and observations that support this. For instance, in a 1686 letter, Lemaire wrote about trans-Saharan commerce through the Fezzan. In addition, the previously mentioned history of Tripoli by an enslaved surgeon included several observations on the kingdom of Borno. Included in Dewiere's fine dissertation, the relevant sections of Girard's Histoire chronologique du royaume de Tripoly de Barbarie appear to allude to Kwararafa multiple times. Since Girard was confused about the exact geography of the African interior, he believed Ethiopia bordered Borno. And since, already by this time, Europeans believed the "Kwararafa" to be Christian, we suspect Girard confused Kwararafa with Borno. Nonetheless, when reading his account, he uses the word cridi for the so-called Christian black slaves in Tripoly. Upon closer examination, it is very likely that Girard was actually repeating the word kirdi, used in Borno for pagan peoples. This misunderstanding was continued by Lemaire, who then repeated it to the Church, whose missionary arm in the Propaganda Fide began an ill-fated Borno Mission to reach Kwararafa. Needless to say, Kwararafa was not Christian at all, but Gray cites fascinating letters and reports that suggest the cross was a venerated symbol. Someone should revisit these and other sources from the archives of the Propaganda Fide to see what else may be useful for reconstructing the history of Kwararafa.
But, we digress. In short, external, written sources do support the existence of Kwararafa as a regional power in the 17th century. Its conflicts with Kano and Katsina undoubtedly contributed to problems with Borno, too, since the Sayfawa rulers had interests in trade and commerce with these major Hausa states. For example, as late as c.1671, Kwararafa, under Agwabi, attacked Kano. Lemaire, writing in 1706, described "Gourourfa" as powerful, waging war on Borno on religious grounds. The point about religion here is likely a misunderstanding on Lemaire's part, but it shows that even into the early 18th century, relations between Borno and Kwararafa were still marked by conflict. Intriguingly, in 1707, Lemaire wrote of an ambassador of Kwararafa in Borno. This must have been around the time that Borno appointed its own representative, a zanua, to Kwararafa. This position, according to Meek's Sudanese Kingdom, was maintained in Wukari until the 20th century.
So, conflict between Borno and Kwararafa persisted even into the 18th century. However, at some point, Kwararafa was said to have paid annual tribute to Borno. This idea, apparently reaching Koelle in Sierra Leone via Ali Eisami, should be verified with other sources. Nonetheless, the establishment of permanent envoys between Borno and Kwararafa by the early 1700s may indicate the beginning of more cordial relations. If the decline and disintegration of the confederacy hastened, it would be another reason for more peaceful relations between the two states to become the norm. Interestingly, Adamu, author of The Hausa Factor in West African History, researched oral traditions from the Abakwariga Hausa communities in the region. According to his chronology, two famous malams from Kano and Katsina were said to have settled in the area by the late 1600s. In addition, traditions recorded by Europeans at Wukari indicate the discovery of salines during the late 1600s. The Kwararafa kings, based on Wukari, likely sought to boost the trade in salt, horses, textiles, and other products. In fact the growth of the Abakwariga population was said to have supported crafts and production, especially Hausa-descended blacksmiths. Moreover, Meek, who visited the site of the old Kwararafa capital before Wukari, noticed dye-pits of the Abakwariga as well as pottery fragments with designs like those of the Jukun. This may indicate that already, before the shift of the capital to Wukari in the 17th century, the Hausa communities were an important part of the kingdom's economy.
This brings us back to the conflict with Borno. If Girard's chronology is reliable, we know that in 1667, Ali b. Umar went on the pilgrimage to Mecca. However, upon his return, he found Borno to be in ncivil war. Rebels had tried to seize control, calling for aid from the sultan of Agades against the officers loyal to Ali b. Umar. During this unstable time, a prince of Borno, Ali b. Umar's nephew, was taken captive and sold into slavery across the Sahara. Meanwhile, if the stories reported in Jukun tradition are reliable, a Kwararafa army decided to take advantage of the political instability and attack Borno. According to the Gazetteer of Muri Province edited by Freemantle, the Kwararafa ruler, Katakpa invaded and attacks Gazargamo at the same time as the Tuareg. Unfortunately for them, they were defeated when the besieged Bornoan forces made a deal with the Tuareg and jointly attacked the "pagans" of Kwararafa. What followed was a tale of supernatural magic as the Borno ruler was said to have supernatural control of fire and the Jukun ruler could control rain. Meek, on the other hand, reported from Jukun tradition at Pindiga slightly different details. Supposedly, one story of war with Borno took place under the reign of Adi Matswen.
While the traditions are somewhat ambiguous on the chronology and perhaps even when Wukari became the capital of Kwararafa, it does appear to be the case that one of the Kwararafa attacks on Birni Gazargamo took place around 1667. Whether or not this was tied to the celebration of Ali b. Umar's victory in a poem by Dan Marina is unclear, since the poet was believed to have died before 1667. If so, then it may have been a celebration of Borno's military intervention against Kwararafa earlier in Ali b. Umar's reign, perhaps after Kwararafa, led by "Adashu," attacked Kano. If the poem by Dan Marina is reliable, Ali b. Umar's forces pursued Kwararafa into their own territory. Regardless of chronological problems if one attempts to connect Dan Marina's poem with the c.1667 conflict, Barth, who likely heard the tale of Birni Gazargamo under attack from the Kwararafa and Tuareg via oral traditions, reported something similar to traditions from the Jukun of Wukari. Of course, the colonial officials who recorded this from the Jukun may have also drawn heavily from Barth, but there reasons to suspect the narrative is largely correct. And if it occurred due to internal strife and civil war in Borno, one can understand more clearly how the Kwararafa and Tuareg of Ahir were able to threaten the capital.
7/29/25
The Song of the Zakkama to the Sultan of Bornu
The Song of the Zakkama to the Sultan of Bornu is the last praise song in J.R. Patterson's Kanuri Songs (1926). Meant for the sultan, Aman Alimi, or Ahmad b. Ali, the praise song provides a window to view the Late Sayfawa Period court on the eve of the fall of Gazargamo in 1808. Ahmad Ali, who reigned from 1792-1808 in Lange's chronology, was remembered in the Diwan for supporting the poor and scholars. Since his father reigned for so long (1747-1792), it is possible he was also quite old by the time took the throne. Either way, like his father, he was a devout man identified as a savant in a time of generally good conditions. However, Ali Eisami's testimony does suggest a famine occurred in c.1792, which is unsurprisingly not mentioned in the praise song.
Nonetheless, the praise song remembered for him follows the same conventions of the genre, and stresses his genealogy. Indeed, Ali b. Umar of the 17th century appears to be mentioned along with other illustrious ancestors in the Sayfawa dynasty. Of course, as one would expect, some of the praise is unrealistic or merely symbolic, like the assertion of Borno's rule over Mali (Melle), which surely must only mean the Fulani in Borno (whose ancestors came from the west centuries earlier). Praising the mai as the "scourge of pagan towns" or "firm like a fixed rock" point to military leadership, determination and other attributes of kingship. Like past praise songs, one notes a pattern of attributing fertile land and harvests to the leadership of the mai. However, as recorded in the Diwan, Ahmad b. Ali was also generous and seen as a "ruler of Islam." This suggests that some of the sources of authority and power for the Sayfawa rulers was indeed their status as Islamic savants, supporters of Islamic scholarship, and promoting the religion.
Of course, we know all was not good in Borno. During Ahmad b. Ali's reign, Wadai attacked Kanem. In addition, the appearance of a poem (in Palmer's Bornu Sahara and Sudan) expressing anti-Fulani sentiment may be a hint of tensions between Fulani communities and others in Borno. What were once at least cordial relations with some Fulani in Borno (evidence from a mahram reconfirmed during the reign of Dunama b. Ali in the early 18th century) appears to have declined by the late 1700s. One might even detect the assertion of Sayfawa rule in this praise song over the Fulani as a reflection of this atmosphere of hostility. This led to, by c.1807, open conflict between some Fulani in Borno with the galadima, followed up by the later attacks on Birni Gazargamo. Only with the intervention of al-Kanemi, a celebrated mallam, were the Sayfawa able to retake their ancient capital. Of course, by the end of his reign, Ahmad b. Ali was old and supposedly blind, according to Brenner's study of the al-Kanemi dynasty. Thus, he was unable to provide the type of leadership necessary to defeat the jihadist forces.
To see you is to see the world filled with light
And to attain one’s desire
You are the chief of the chosen Arabs, fair of skin
And you the chief of the light skinned Debaba Arabs
West, Melle, the land of the Fellata is yours
And yours Aliarge
Your slaves were in battle order, and all armed; you came and entered their ranks
Your kingship is on a pinnacle as high as that of any of your ancestors
You are the strength of Bornu
You are the scourge of the pagan towns
Ruler of Islam
To-day you are the prop of the world
Yours the town of Makibirrum honey-sweet
To-day you have become as honey to all the princes
Your town Makibirrum, and you the son of Gumsu who wore a turban
Fadallam’s son
Son of the owner of the town of Ngalji the less, and Ngalji the greater, (Ngalji) Buro
You call the owner of Bidi, with its thousand roads, your elder sister
You have sat, have grown up, were born (with your brothers)
But you have excelled them all
By the length of a train of a hundred camels
Yours the town of Kakere Karowa
A woman, your mother, has a sieve made of gold
You are the chief even of her who owns the ‘Sokkutu’ head dress and the sieve
A sieve of gold
You give a tithe of gold for the fast month
And alms of a fine horse
Of your chiefs and of your juniors
To-day you are the (protecting) shade
What men call your kingship,
Is like the bite of a caterpillar and like black anger
That is kingship
(Habits) like (those of) a mason wasp, that is kingship
Which makes the children of others its own, that is kingship
(Habits of) an old goat which frightens away the young of others, that is kingship
(The fleetness of) a huntsman’s stick,
(the lightness of) a broken calabash,
that is kingship
To be firm as the fixed rock,
that is kingship
(If you prepare for war) When the
rainy season comes, (your advisers say) there are tornadoes
(If) when the hot season comes, (they say) the sun is hot
(If) in the winter, (they say) there is cold
Make your own plans as your father used to make his,
Leave others’ plans and they will follow yours
(For) you are like a carrier’s pad made of the male ‘kamga’ bush.
Which, if a man takes on his head, wears his head away
If he moves it to his shoulder it wears his shoulder away
If you leave it on the ground, you leave what the Sultan has put in your care
East, the land of the Beni Hassen is yours
West, the Beni Mala Feram pool,
The watering-place of one thousand cattle
Yours Makabiroma, Mai Haji of Mecca Damaram
Sultan Haji of Mecca,
Has every attribute of kingship
Kaigama Ali whose mother was Rashi and father Idirisa,
Has all his father’s attributes
Mohammadu owner of Lergam town, and whose mother was Mune, and his father Aji,
Has all his father’s attributes
The head of Ngala City, Kadabu the lion, son of Duna Haman,
Has all his father’s attributes
Fusam, daughter of Umar, whose towns are Bantigu and Tarmuswa
Has all the attributes of power
Mai Ibrahim son of Aman, son of Aman the son of Saifu
Has all his father’s, Aman Saifumi’s, attributes
You whose town is Lergam, whose mother was Mune, Mai Mohammadu,
whose father was Haji
Mai Haji of Mecca Damaram, whose mother was Fanna
You have attained to the topmost heights of power
You son of Gumsu, Gumsu Amina daughter of Talba, you Ibrahim,
Have attained to your father’s place among the great
(During your reign) One rainy season gives seven harvests
A he-goat gives milk and oxen give milk
Because of his kingly power set forth to war (you men of his)
Because of his good luck, set forth to war
You, son of Haji, who are the owner of Ngeleru, whose mother was Gumsu
Gumsu Amina, Talba’s daughter
You have attained to the greatness of your father Arri son of Umar
And Amadu was Arri’s son
You have attained to your father’s greatness
And Ibrahim was Amadu’s son
You have attained to your father’s greatness
Son of Dalatu, Mari Arri of Minarge town
You have every attribute of power
To the East we look to worship, pray, give alms and sit in congregation,
To-day you hold it with a rod of gold
The West, the world’s back,
You hold with a rod of gold
The North, the world’s foot,
You hold with a rod of gold
The South, the world’s head,
To-day you hold with a rod of gold
May God (put a future) full of health before you
May God (leave a memory) of happiness behind you
Reign in health, the health of Fusam
Long life, good fortune, perfect health be yours
Reign amidst happiness.
7/28/25
The Song of the Ngijima to the Sultan of Bornu
Carefully weave (the sets of kingship)
Hear all and weave
Weave as your grandfather did
Weave as your first ancestor did
You are a match for even the wily men of the town of Debera of the Fig Trees
Dabaga of the large “Damsa” tree, the town of Dall is yours
In Debera a Kauwa Melemi, your ancestor (is buried)
In Tumbur a Kauwa Melemi, your ancestor (is buried)
In Gazajemi, Mai Biri Melemi, your ancestor (is buried)
(And one) in Biddum of the Rocks, seven worlds above it and seven rivers below
May God preserve you in the same way as he does not allow friendship to grow old
O! King, your bounty is to us as the milk of a cow which never goes dry to the calf by its side
From you we find our food in the evening, and water to drink in the morning
May God grant that we may see you every day and rejoice
May God grant the fulfilment of every one of your kingly plans
Always you are the son of Aji,
Aji Duniani, you are the greatest chief on earth
In your kingdom, men live in peace
And of the chiefs in their tents you are the greatest
Of those who wear turbans and those who wear only loin-cloths, you are the chief
You are the ruler alike of men who have a leather loin-cloth tied between their legs and of those who ride on the horses
Of the prosperous land of Yamte in which is the Crested-Rock, you are the king
Father, Sultan of Bornu
The Kurata Arabs in the Kanem towns, of you are the slaves
You are the strength of Bornu
The scourge of every pagan town, you will remain
O! King! You are a man in the prime of his health, and your beasts of burden are all in good condition
O! King! Yours is all the power, you have no equal
The plans for every day are in your hands, the owner of Gagara Wunji
Wunji, from which you sallied to take your captives and cause their relations to follow you with piteous entreaties
O! King, you are the bush fire which burns up the towns of the pagans
You son of Aji, can collect or disperse people at your will
And turn again, and make a town (with those you have dispersed)
You are the scourge of Jillam, Dalla Darge and Dakkinam Dalla Damaram
Some towns are founded during the cold season of the year
But some of yours have been founded as the result of your victories, Aji Gana the Intriguer
O! King, your reign is the equal of any
You son of Aji, have accomplished this
Some days of your reign are as the reign of Ume
You have made them so, son of Aji
O! King the other days of your reign deserve a place in the chronicle of Kings
You have made them as they are, son of Aji
O! King, you are the son of Hauwa, daughter of Derman
Your forehead is that of your mother’s, Hauwa of the large forehead
May God preserve you, and you will equal any of the achievements (of other Sultans)
The King is lord of the people who ride on horses and of those who go on foot, and you are the King
He is a fool who says to a King that he has become wealthy
You are the Sultan, who when he camps in the middle of the forest,
Causes a white town of tents to spring up, son of Aji
You camp will turn the woods brown with horses, son of Aji
You the Sultan, son of Aji, whose camp-fires turn the waste places bright red
Yours the town of Yambe and Bitur
Of all men you are the father
(When you go to war) your slaves surround you as with a thorn fence
And you can put chains round the necks of the slaves from other men’s towns, and bring them to your own town
Let your heart be fearless as that of a bush-cow, you, son of a man brave as bush-cow
Start up now with the fearlessness of a bush-cow and we will at once become joyful
Your uncles are all Shettimas, Sultan, son of a Shettima’s daughter
Your aunt Zainafa, Sultan, son of a Shettima’s daughter
Nephew of Alima, Sultan, son of a Shettima’s daughter
A descendant of Derman who could accomplish all he set before him
You too can utterly destroy the pagans’ towns
There is no one to gainsay you over any of your projects
If intrigue were your object, no one could withstand it
If the place of your intrigue were known no one dare point it out
The cities of Yam and Yaman are yours, descendant of Derman the Powerful
And you can at will destroy the pagans’ towns
There is no one to oppose himself to you
Fusam Burud is my father’s sister
Aman Leman my mother’s brother
I am your humble servant.
7/27/25
The Song to the Galadima
The "Song to the Galadima" in J.R. Patterson's Kanuri Songs can more easily be connected with a known galadima who ruled from Nguru in the early 18th century. Using a girgam of galadimas published in H.R. Palmer's Gazetteer of Bornu Province, we know that a galadima named Dunama Aisatami held the office for about 3 years. Using the regnal lengths of all the previous tenants of the office since its foundation under the Sayfawa mai Umar b. Idris (r. 1619-1639), we can tell that Dunama Aisatami held the post sometime in the early 1700s. If we make the assumption that the position of galadima was instituted in the beginning of Umar b. Idris's reign, then Dunama Aisatami may have began to serve sometime in c.1706-1717.
Knowing from the girgam that Dunama Aisatami only held the post for 3 years, one can see how the praise song, by its very nature, must have embellished and exaggerated the accomplishments of some of the elites. From what is known from Palmer and Patterson, Dunama gained the position in a somewhat unusual manner. His father, Iruma, had refused the position and died. His son, Dunama, paid the fee for his late father to occupy the position nominally before becoming galadima himself. Apparently, if the praise song is reliable, he occupied the important position long enough to defend Borno's western borders, impose Islam on pagans, and engage in valiant warrior behavior. According to Patterson's notes, Dunama Aisatu's mother was also the princess of Hadija, one of Borno's western dependencies, and he was related to the ruling family in Muniyo, too. This makes sense as the post of galadima was to defend and oversee Borno's western borderlands, and marriage alliances with local dynasties supported by Borno would have been essential to create buffer states and assert Borno's economic and political interests across the region.
Indeed, the significance of the galadima is best indicated by the following line, "When the Galadima comes to the capital, eleven of the Birni titles cease to exist." The office was so central to the state that its occupant was like second after the mai in Gazargamo. Perhaps it is an inappropriate analogy, but the galadima was like a viceroy whose responsibilities were important enough to warrant a brick palace structure at Nguru. Keeping in mind the growing economic importance of Hausaland, one can also see the galadima being essential for providing security for trade that connected the Hausa states with Borno, especially for the trade in salt, natron, horses, leather, textiles, slaves, and kola nuts.
Galadima Dunama
Vulture of Nguru town
Who drives away the birds of Bornu
Dunama son of Magira whose father was Mala
You are easier to withstand than the swoops of the white hawk
Outside the capital you are a valiant warrior but a meek man in the town
When the Galadima comes to the capital,
Eleven of the Birni titles cease to exist
When anyone says you are liberal,
Your liberality is the polished spear
Rather than the Nuguruma should drive me in front of him
Better than seven hippopotami should drive me in front of them
Galadima Dunama
Nguti the town of your slaves
During your attack on the town which lasted from the forenoon to the afternoon,
You made Muslim converts even of the pagans of Garmangal
You fought and conquered it and gave it to your mother
Kaiuri and Lefiya Loiloi
Kaigama Dunama, that husband of mine (his wife says)
is no husband to look after his wife and family,
he is a man to bear a polished spear
I love you only for what you give me
(When you go to war) either I become a beggar, or I receive presents
Or I put white ants in your nose
Your wiles are like the wiles of a wry-necked calabash water-bottle
Don’t forget your sly tricks
If you forget your whiles the jackal will fall upon the jujube fruit
Galadima Dunama son of Aisata daughter of the princess Mangu
(The Galadima) is a nephew of Zainaba daughter of the ruler of Muniyo
Dunama, you are like a ball of fused metal, like corn mixed with pebbles
A man whose teeth are not made of iron cannot overcome you
Fear makes a man be wounded in the back
He is a brave man who receives his wounds in the front of the body
You Galadima Dunama, prevented the people of the town of Ngutuwa from saying their morning prayers
You burnt Garamgalga and made its inhabitants captives
God has granted you all your desires
Gura Zau Zau’s song is a pleasant one
Galadima my master has dismissed me with a present of twelve slave maidens and twelve slave youths all of six spans.