Sakara Music

Sakara music recorded in Benin in the 1950s. The singing is quite engaging while the insistent rhythm of the drums and the droning stringed-instrument or violin make this quite the alluring song. According to Wikipedia, this genre of music among the Yoruba has Islamic influences, and the goje instrument used in it has some resemblance to similar instruments among West African cultures of the Sahel.

Kwararafa: A Multi-Ethnic Power in the Central Sudan

In the interest of experimentation with new technology, we have used our notes on Kwararafa to attempt a short overview of the polity. There is much that is poorly understood or unknown in the history of Kwararafa. However, using references to it from its northern neighbors can provide a rough chronology of sorts and insights. Sadly, it is probably an area in dire need of a second look by scholars who understand the relevant local languages for oral traditions or can read sources (in Arabic or Hausa) that refer to Kwararafa and the Jukun. It would also be necessary for those fluent in Kanuri and/or Arabic to check records and traditions from Borno to verify some possible mentions of Kwararafa in H.R. Palmer's work. But I digress. Below, we have attempted to a short overview of Kwararafa based on our notes and a little help from a friend. With the aid of this friend, we have two drafts. We suspect this friend misread our hand-written notes and that caused some of the errors here. 

The Kwararafa polity, active from at least the 16th to the 18th century, occupied a central position in the political and military landscape of the Central Sudan. Far from being a homogenous state, Kwararafa was a multi-ethnic confederacy led by the Jukun but also incorporating Abakwariga, Goemai, Alago, Tiv, and other groups. Its influence extended across the lower Sudanic regions and, at times, into the middle Sudan.

Origins and Structure

Kwararafa's political system reflected its confederal nature. Leadership was shared among four principal officers: the Mai, the Jirahu, a lesser Mai, and the Master of the Horse. Succession could be fluid—any son of a deceased king was eligible, and in some accounts, kings were replaced every two years. Religious leaders played a vital role in rituals, sacrifices, and even in controlling the weather.

The kingdom was deeply embedded in spiritual practices, blending local beliefs with outside influences. Ritual use of palm wine, divination, animal symbolism, and veneration of water spirits were widespread.

Political and Military Power

At its peak, Kwararafa claimed control over as many as 20 states (as recorded by Muhammad Bello in the 19th century). It was a feared military power, repeatedly launching raids on Hausa city-states such as Kano and Katsina, as well as on Borno. One notable tradition recalls the Jukun refusal to submit to Kano’s Queen Amina in the late 16th century. (Our own beliefs favor a 15th century date for Amina of Zaria)

In the early 1700s, the ruler Adi Matswen increased royal revenues by organizing salt-gathering expeditions and founding new towns. Large-scale military expeditions continued during this period: in 1707, Kwararafa attacked Borno, an event recorded by the French consul Lemaire, who also noted the presence of Kwararafa ambassadors in Borno. (AI likely misread our notes)

Religion and European Observations

European sources from the late 17th and early 18th centuries, including French consuls Lemaire and Delande, offer intriguing glimpses into Kwararafa’s religious life. These observers described Kwararafa as “Christian,” though likely in a nominal or syncretic sense. Lemaire estimated that more than 100,000 Christians lived in the kingdom. Crosses were reportedly displayed on horses and weapons, and Kwararafa dancers in Tripoli were seen making the sign of the cross. Such details suggest a complex religious environment, blending local traditions with Christian symbols—possibly transmitted via contact with Borno and the trans-Saharan trade routes.

Economy and Trade

Tribute formed a major part of Kwararafa’s external relations. According to 18th-century claims recorded by Koelle, the kingdom paid annual tribute to Borno, possibly in slaves. Control over salt resources was another pillar of its economy, with expeditions bringing wealth and political leverage. Kwararafa’s location allowed indirect contact with North Africa through Borno and Hausa intermediaries, linking it to the commercial networks of Tripoli and Fezzan.

Decline

By the mid-18th century, Kwararafa faced growing external pressure. Attacks from neighboring states, internal shifts in power, and the rise of the Sokoto Caliphate in the early 19th century eroded the kingdom’s influence. The Fulani jihad from 1806 marked a decisive blow, fragmenting the confederacy and absorbing its territories into new emirates and political formations.

And here is a second version:

The Kwararafa polity, remembered in Hausa, Kanuri, and European sources from the 16th to the 18th centuries, occupied a prominent position in the history of the Benue Valley. Contemporary accounts depict it as a multi-ethnic state dominated by the Jukun, but incorporating Hausa, Tiv, Mumuye, and other groups under a confederated structure. Its rulers exercised influence far beyond their core territories, engaging in warfare and diplomacy with Borno, Kano, and other Hausa states.

Political and Military History

Kwararafa’s military campaigns were a defining feature of its regional role. Abakwariga (and Jukun) oral traditions recall attacks on Kano and Katsina, taking captives from both Hausa cities in the late 17th century.^2^ Muhammad Bello, writing in the early 19th century, described the Kwararafa ruler as commanding “twenty states” and waging war against both Kano and Borno.^3^

European observers in North Africa and the Mediterranean also documented the kingdom. In 1706–1707, the French consul Lemaire in Tripoli described Kwararafa as a powerful, nominally Christian state, whose rulers clashed with Borno on religious and political grounds.^4^ Lemaire claimed that “more than 100,000 Christians” lived in Kwararafa, and even witnessed Kwararafa captives making the sign of the cross.^5^

Religion and Culture

The claim of Christianity within Kwararafa is controversial, but it recurs in early modern sources. Lemaire and other French officials reported Kwararafa ambassadors in Borno and Borno princes visiting Cairo in the early 18th century.^6^ Koelle, writing in the mid-19th century based on African informants in Sierra Leone, described the Jukun (Wukari) as the capital of Kwararafa and recorded tribute relations with Borno in the late 1700s.^7^

Internally, Kwararafa’s political organization featured a king assisted by principal officers, including the the Master of the Horse.^8^ Succession was flexible, allowing any male relative of a deceased king to ascend the throne.^9^ Spiritual beliefs blended political authority with religious rituals; Talbot’s ethnography notes the king’s involvement in weather control and divination, and his role as chief priest of the sun deity.^10^

Economy and Trade

Kwararafa’s economy combined agriculture, tribute, and control of regional trade. Meek records that rulers such as Adi Matswen increased revenues through salt expeditions and the founding of new towns in the 18th century.^11^ Tribute from subordinate towns and trade in goods such as slaves, horses, and salt connected Kwararafa to markets in Borno, Hausaland, and as far as Tripoli.^12^ French archival records from Tripoli in 1669 note captives taken from “the land of Kwararafa” being sold to North African buyers.^13^

Conclusion

The image of Kwararafa that emerges from African oral traditions, Hausa chronicles, Kanuri records, and European reports is that of a resilient, adaptable state. Its influence was felt from the Middle Niger to the Sahara, and its ambiguous religious identity—Islamic neighbors describing it as Christian, European consuls reinforcing the same—reflects both the complexity of its diplomacy and the layered identities of the Central Sudan in the early modern period.

Footnotes

1. Meek, A Sudanese Kingdom, 126.

2. Ibid., 124.

3. Muhammad Bello, Infaq’l-Maysur, in Hodgkin, ed.,  The Kano Chronicle, 480.

4. Lemaires, “Letter to the French Foreign Ministry, Tripoli, 1706–1707,” Archives Nationales, Paris, Series Afrique, carton 385.

5. Ibid.

6. Ibid., carton 386.

7. Koelle, Polyglotta Africana, 21.

8. Talbot, The Peoples of Northern Nigeria, 408–409.

9. Ibid., 408.

10. Ibid., 410–412.

11. Meek, A Sudanese Kingdom, 156.

12. Koelle, Polyglotta Africana, 21.

13. “French Debt Records in Tripoli, 1669,” Archives Nationales, Paris, Series Afrique, carton 390.

What is missing here is our notes on the possible earlier history of Kwararafa, stretching back to the 1300s and 1400s. 

Shuwa Arabs Documentary

After watching this same channel's series on the Kanuri, we decided to check out their other videos. They are short and of course are not anywhere close to a complete history. Nonetheless, it is interesting to see people from the region interviewed and discussing their traditions and history. The Shuwa Arabs appear to have been present in Kanem by the 14th century, where a reference to them seems evident in a letter from the Sayfawa mai to the Mamluk sultan, Barquq, written in 1391/2. According to that letter, Judham Arabs even killed a mai, so nomadic Arabs had become involved in the unstable conditions in Kanem related to civil war and the Sayfawa versus Bulala. This documentary focuses on aspects of Shuwa Arab culture and traditions, like marriages or the former importance of camels. 

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.

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.

The Song of the Ngijima to the Sultan of Bornu

J.R. Patterson's Kanuri Songs (1926) includes two songs for rulers during what we like to call the Late Sayfawa Period. This last century or so of Sayfawa rule, starting from c.1710 to 1808, or 1710 to 1846 if we include the last few decades of symbolic rule under al-Kanemi and his son, Umar, witnessed the gradual decline of Borno. Former vassal states fought for independence, like Mandara in 1781, or the Tuareg seizing effective control of Bilma and the Kawar salt trade to Hausaland by 1759. The Bade likewise became more autonomous in this period, and Tahir ibn Ibrahim al-Fallati criticized the ruling government (and possibly the Kanuri praise songs). Moreover, for several years, a Great Drought (1738-1753) led to widespread population movements as nomadic groups moved south and the Tubu increasingly came to control trans-Saharan trade. Thus, many developments in this pivotal century saw the decline of the Sayfawa rulers.

To read the ngijima's praise song to a mai during this period is therefore fascinating. If scholars like Dewiere are correct, the source of much of the power and influence of the Sayfawa rulers at this point often derived from their spiritual status as wali, pilgrims who made the hajj, and their support for Islamic scholarship. This is somewhat contradicted by the traditional conventions of the Kanuri praise song for mai Momada Ajimi (presumably Muhammad b. al-Hajj Hamdun, who reigned 1729-1744 in the chronology proposed by Lange). From the Diwan, one learns that part of this ruler's reign was impacted by famine, presumably tied to the years of drought that led to more southward migration of nomadic groups. While his father was remembered for the study of the Koran, the son's legacy was rather muted. 

What does the praise song suggest about this mai? The usual values of military leadership, wealth, and his ability to take captives and forcibly relocate them are mentioned here. Unsurprisingly, his descent (from both sides) is also significant in the song. The reference to his lordship over those who wear turbans and those who only wear loin-cloths is also significant, as it places all social classes underneath the king. Unfortunately, it is unclear who Derman is, but this maternal ancestor was clearly someone of status. Indeed, the references to his shettima uncles support this notion. Sadly, we cannot say for certain what the position of a shettima was, exactly, but Muhammad Nur Alkali noted that it was a title often bestowed by the Sayfawa rulers on mallamawa. If so, then this ruler's mother was from a respected Islamic family, possibly descendants of a respected mallam given land by a previous mai. This is not too surprising, since the father of this king was remembered for the recitation of the Koran and Islamic study. Who exactly was Derman (likely Darman) is another difficulty to untangle, but possibly identifiable with the Kubri (Kuburi). H.R. Palmer, in his Sudanese Memoirs mentioned leaders of the Kubri (Kuburi) Kanembu group who were said to be descendants of a man named Darman Aisami who performed the pilgrimage to Mecca. If this is the mai's maternal ancestry, his mother, Hauwa, must have been a descendant of a Kubri leader appointed shitima by one of the earlier Sayfawa rulers. 

Last, but certainly not least, the praise song asserts the ruler's power over the Kurata Shuwa of Kanem. According to Zelter, the Kurata may actually be of Tunjur origin, suggesting origins in Waday. At some point, they adopted the ways of Arabs in Wadai and started to migrate west, apparently reaching Kanem by the middle of the 1700s. If their migration was in part related to the Great Drought that struck parts of the Sahel is unclear, but the reference to them as "slaves" of the mai might suggest a past or recent conflict with the Sayfawa. Since control over nomadic or semi-nomadic populations was often difficult to say the least, and often relied on ethnic leaders responsible for sending tribute, one may assume that a Kurata sheikh failed to uphold his responsibilities or the entire tribe refused to pay tribute. Whether or not they were literally enslaved is difficult to say, but Ahmad Baba of Timbuktu did record Idris b. Ali (Idris Alooma) selling Arab slaves in the 16th century. One must also remember that the coming of the Tunjur to Kanem appears to have upset the balance of power in the region during the 17th century, eventually leading to the establishment of the alifa at Mao under the Sayfawa rulers. Perhaps the Kurata were one of the more intractable Tunjur elements in Kanem in the 18th century, still resisting authority after the Sayfawa sponsored the Dala Afuno at Mao to oversee Kanem instead of the Bulala and Tunjur? Other Shuwa Arabs were accepted or at least intermarried with the elite, as was the case of the mother of the yerima named Malumi

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.