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.
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