Mahamat ibnou Dirmi and Wadai

Whilst perusing Abd el-Karim ibnou Djamé, propagateur de l'Islam et fondateur du royaume du Ouaddaï by Marie-José Tubiana, Issa Hassan Khayar, and Paule Deville, we noticed yet again the Borno/Kalumbardo connection for Wadai's founder. According to various oral traditions, Abd el-Karim studied theology or religion with a Mahamat ibnou Dirmi. This name appears in Muhammad Bello's account of the first Kalumbardo's destruction at the hands of Umar b. Idris of Borno. It also appears in Borno oral traditions and in Wadai. We have written about this elsewhere in our endeavor to analyze Umar b. Idris's decision. Yet the traditions cited by Tubiana et al. strengthen the Borno identification.  For example, the account of Adam Mahamat el-Amin of Wadai referred to Mahamat ibnou Dirmi in the following manner: "Il fut tué injustement par ses enemies"(27). Wadai tradition is adamant that Mahamat ibnou Dirmi was buried in Dar Bornou (20). 

Interestingly, however, Wadai tradition remembers a shaykh named Dede who was buried at the Bahr El-Ghazal (27). This is possible since Bagirmi (where Bidderi is located) in the late 1500s and early 1600s was not disconnected from this area and Islamic scholars sometimes taught in different locations as they moved. More importantly, if the teacher of Abd el-Karim was indeed the same leader of the first Kalumbardo, is it not unreasonable to postulate a totally political motive for the Borno mai's decision to execute him and exile Waldede? Consequently, does this mean that Wadai's foundations possibly preceded the reign of Umar b. Idris of Borno (r. 1619-1639, in Lange's chronology)? This could mean that Barth's chronology for the kings of Wadai is more accurate than that of Nachtigal's, although further confirmation is necessary. 

Tantalizing clues, however, may be found in the sparse data about one of the predecessors of Umar b. Idris. According to Palmer's Bornu Sahara and Sudan, Muhammad b. Idris (1596-1612) died in Kanem. According to Palmer, "He was slain in Holy War, and buried at Dagana Daniski" (244). This could have been related to the rise of Abd el-Karim's rise to power in Wadai. His political ascent led to some of the Tunjur leaving Kanem, although pressure on the Bulala sultans of Kanem may have also been a factor since it is unclear if a Tunjur exodus from Wadai had already begun in c.1610 or 1611. Either way, it does seem rather likely that Mahamat ibnou Dirmi was the very same leader at the first Kalumbardo. If one of his students, Abd el-Karim, later overthrew the Tunjur dynasty, it is no wonder that Umar b. Idris viewed Waldede and al-Jirmi as a political threat.