Siècles Obscurs: The Alifas of Kanem and the Tunjur in the 17th and 18th Centuries

Zezerti, Alifa of Kanem in  Les coutumes familiales au Kanem by Robert Bouillié

One particularly difficult aspect of Kanem's history is establishing a better chronology for the series of alifas who ruled from Mao. First established by Dala Afuno under the auspices of the Sayfawa rulers of Borno, the alifas have not had their pre-19th century history documented extensively. Indeed, most accounts appear to rely on oral traditions, but a clearer picture only emerges in the 19th century. In that turbulent period, pressure from Wadai and the migration of the Awlad Sulayman and the loss of Borno's claims to any suzerainty in the region are recorded by various sources. In addition, European travelers such as Nachtigal or the early colonial-era administrators and scholars were able to collect traditions from what was then a very recent past. Unfortunately, what Zeltner has referred to as the siècles obscurs of Kanem (17th and 18th centuries) remain a mystery. Revisiting the various traditions from Kanembu, Borno, and Tunjur sources, we shall propose what may be a better chronology for understanding the exodus of the Bulala, the immigration of the Tunjur, and the rise of the Dala Afuno and the alifas of Mao.

First, the reign of Sabun of Wadai provides a relatively decent period for understanding the early 19th century in Kanem. According to Landeroin, the 14th alifa, Mele Koura, was deposed for endeavoring to force a Magumi group, the Yabouribous, to pay tribute. After attacking and pillaging their villages, Mele Koura was recalled to Birni Gazargamo and imprisoned. His brother, Hadji, was then appointed the alifa of Kanem. After occupying the office for ten years, he was overthrown by Mele Koura, who had escaped from Borno. With the aid of Sabun of Wadai, Mele Koura reoccupied his post as alifa of Kanem (Landeroin, 381). Since Sabun likely reigned from c.1804-1815 and Hadji was only alifa for 10 years, Hadji had to have held the post by 1805. This suggests that Mele Koura was deposed by the Sayfawa Sultan Ahmad b. Ali (r. 1792-1808). Keep in mind that Hadji could have occupied his post before 1805, too. For example, if his reign began in 1795 or 1796, and he was deposed by Mele Koura (with Sabun's aid) in 1805 or 1806, then the chronology would require some adjustment. Another event that might be correlated with the late 18th century is the intervention of Wadai in Mondo during the reign of Joda (1747-1795). His agid el-Bahr was said to have conquered Mondo and parts of Kanem near the end of his reign (Sahara and Sudan IV, 212).

What of the 13 preceding alifas of Kanem, who held the post in the 17th and 18th centuries? A clearer understanding of when the Bulala ruling dynasty lost control of Kanem and became centered around Lake Fitri may help. In terms of Bagirmi's history, Nachtigal dated the reign of Burkomanda 1635-1665. This mbang had a sister married to the Bulala sultan at Fitri (Sahara and Sudan III, 405). Nachtigal's dates are not infallible, but suggests that the Bulala sultans were based in the Fitri around by the mid-17th century. Tunjur historical tradition in Mondo sheds further light on the Bulala exit as well. According to Gros, whose study of the Tunjur was published in Les Arabes du Tchad, the Tunjur were led into Kanem by Diab, a son of Daoud, the last Tunjur king before the formal establishment of Wadai by Abd al-Kerim. Supposedly, Daoud reigned 17 years before Darfur fell to Solimon Solong (Gros, 272). It is perhaps best not to take this number too literally, and it could be only used relatively since firm regnal dates for the founder the Darfur sultanate are lacking. But, it was not Daoud who led the Tunjur to Kanem. That occurred under the leadership of his successors. Nonetheless, he was said to have launched raids that had reached Kanem (Gros, 275). The actual migration to Kanem occurred around the year 1630. However, Gros attributes the first attack on the Bulala at Mao to Smain, a grandson of Daoud. Allegedly taking place 3 years after the death of Diab, the Tunjur forces struck and seized Mao, a city which still had brick walls or edifices. Supposedly, Borno did not intervene at this time due to past conflicts with a Bulala sultan named Muhammad al-Fadil. If this tradiion is reliable, then it was only under the second generation of leadership in Kanem that the Bulala were able to take Mao and dislodge the Bulala (Gros, 278).

Of course, this traditional history (as told by Gros) is not always consistent chronologically. But it is plausible for the Tunjur not being strong enough to defeat the Bulala immediately upon arrival in Kanem. Tunjur tradition, however, suggests the first alifa sent by Borno, Dala Afuno, did not arrive until the 18th century. After Smain b. Diab died in c.1720, his son, Ramadan became the next Tunjur leader. It was this Tunjur leader who was attacked and killed by Dala Afuno in c.1735. This late date might have been meant to weaken the prestige of the Dalatoa of Mao. Indeed, Gros's Tunjur informants told him that Dala Afuno was originally a vassal of Ramadan (Gros, 279). Since there is no evidence of this elsewhere, it is very likely that Tunjur traditionists sought to increase their own status and history in Kanem while delegitimizing that of their political rivals, the Dalatoa. Indeed, Landeroin's account of Dala Afuno mentions no conflict with the Tunjur at all. It is possible that Mao was already abandoned or quickly fell to the Dalatoa while the Tunjur were largely limited to Mondo. Unsurprisingly, the next Tunjur head, Brahim, was said to have encouraged the Kanembu and Haddad to rebel against the alifas of Kanem. This is likely true, as Landeroin noted that most of the alifas of the 17th and 18th centuries had to wage various campaigns against multiple ethnic groups in Kanem to ensure the payment of tribute (Landeroin, 380).

Despite giving what is almost certainly an unreasonably late date for the arrival of Dala Afuno, Gros's traditions provide another clue for establishing a timeline. According to Gros, Yusuf, the next Tunjur leader, actually traveled to Borno to receive the kadmoul and become a fougbou. The Sayfawa mai who invested him was remembered in tradition as Tschoulloum Aouami (Gros, 279). This mai is difficult to identify, but Kanuri praise songs for the sultans of Borno might provide essential clues. In this case, a song to Muhammad b. al-hajj Hamdum, who likely reigned from 1729-1744, alludes to the Kurata in Kanem as "slaves" of the mai (Bornu Sahara and Sudan, 254). These "Kurata" slaves of the Borno ruler could be Yusuf, the fougbou of Kanem, and his following. Moreover, the praise song identifies the mother of the mai as Hawa, possibly matching the Aouami in the name remembered by the Tunjur. In addition, Jean-Claude Zeltner has connected the Kurata in Kanem with the Tunjur in his history of the Arabs of the Lake Chad Basin (Zeltner, 51). Thus, in a Kanuri praise song to a Sayfawa mai who reigned in the years 1729-1744, Yusuf of the Tunjur at Mondo could have come to Gazargamo for formal investment. Certainly, by 1744, the rulers of Borno were claiming authority over the Kurata (Tunjur) and Tunjur traditions are compatible with this timeline.

What of other ways for improving the chronology for the origin of Dala Afuno and the Dalatoa in Kanem? Landeroin repeated semi-legendary tales of Dala Afuno and his victory against the last of the Sao giants. This clearly legendary story serves as a pretext for his appointment to rule Kanem, as his popularity in Gazargamo worried the mai (Landeroin 379). Besides identifying his Magumi father, Mallam Madou, and assigning an origin in a village in Hausaland called Afo or Apo, we have little to work with. The traditions as recorded by Landeroin suggest Dala Afuno was taken captive by the Sayfawa when they seized control of Borno, which may be a reference to a Borno raid or attack on part of Hausaland (Landeroin, 379). Well, we do have records of an attack on Kano launched by Idris Alooma (r. 1564-1596). Is it possible that Dala Afuno was taken captive in one of these attacks, then brought to Gazargamo?  The Kano Chronicle seemingly refers to the attack on Kano by Borno during the reign of Abdullahi. Palmer assigns a regnal date of 1509-1565, which is likely incorrect (far too long reign of 58 years, though we have no alternatives). Nonetheless, during his reign 3 mallams from Borno came to Kano, Karsaku, Magumi and Kabi (Kano Chronicle, 79). Is it possible Dala Afuno, whose name might have been a reference to Kano and Hausaland, was the son of Magumi? If so, then he would have had to been rather young when brought to Gazargamo. This may also explain his legendary victory against the last Sao giant, possibly a reference to remnant "Sao" populations in Borno (Tatala and Gafata) after Idris Alooma's campaigns. Alternatively, Dala could be added to Dala Afuno's name in order to mark an achievement related to building a walled town or fortifications, as Lange has suggested (Lange, 119-120).

Nachtigal, on the other hand, believed that Dala Afuno was a Hausa slave. Apparently, he also believed that the Tunjur were initially accepted by Borno as legitimate rulers of Kanem, until they became too independent (Sahara and Sudan III, 9). Furthermore, Nachtigal saw ruins of a castle near Mao which was apparently once a Tunjur garrison until Dala Afuno made it his birni (11). This matches the traditions recorded by Gros on the Tunjur seizing Mao (which had brick structures or walls) from the Bulala. If so, Dala Afuno may have arrived in Kanem during the reign of Ali b. Umar (1639-1677) in Borno. That would best match the timeline of events in Kanem where the Tunjur arrived sometime between 1630 and 1650 and the Bulala sultans were installed in the Fitri region before 1665. 

Of course, one is tempted to consider Umar b. Idris of Borno as the first to install an alifa in Kanem since he appointed the first galadima at Nguru (a son of his by a slave woman). But the chronological details suggested here and the fact that there were only 5 generations of Tunjur sultans by c.1744 (4 only in Kanem and not before) might take the origin back to the 1630s or 1640s. It is unlikely that Dala Afuno arrived in the 18th century. Consequently, Dala Afuno may have arrived sometime in the 1640s after the Tunjur established themselves. The generational account based on the list of Landeroin (9 generations of alifas by the early 1800s) might push the birth of Dala Afuno back to the late 16th century, which is compatible with him arriving in Kanem by the 1640s if not earlier. If Dala Afuno was from a village ruled by Kano, we suspect his father may have been the mallam called "Magumi" in the Kano Chronicle. Of course, this is pure speculation, but could be a plausible explanation for traditions of Dala Afuno as a slave from Hausaland and the son of a Magumi mallam. Ultimately, we are forced to concur with Lavers general date of 1642 as the latest in which the first alifa would have begun the dynasty in Kanem.

Sources

Courtecuisse, L(editor). Les Arabes du Tchad  / par L. Courtecuisse [and others]. Paris: Centre de hautes études administratives sur l’Afrique et l’Asie modernes, 1971.

Lange, Dierk.  A Sudanic Chronicle: The Borno Expeditions of Idrīs Alauma (1564-1576) According to the Account of Aḥmad B. Furṭū : Arabic Text, English Translation, Commentary and Geographical Gazetteer. Stuttgart: F. Steiner, 1987.

Nachtigal, Gustav, Allan G. B. Fisher, and Humphrey J (trans.). Fisher. Sahara and Sudan, Vol. 3. Berkeley and; Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1971.

Palmer, H.R. The Bornu Sahara and Sudan. London: J. Murray, 1936.

__________. Palmer, H. R. “The Kano Chronicle.” The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 38 (1908): 58–98. https://doi.org/10.2307/2843130.

Zeltner, J. C. Histoire des Arabes sur les rives du lac Tchad. Paris: E. Karthala, 2002.

__________. Pages D'histoire Du Kanem: Pays Tchadien. Paris: Harmattan, 1980.