A photograph of a magira of Borno from Palmer's Bornu Sahara and Sudan.
The magira was an important position in Borno and Kanem probably since its inception as a state. Sometimes translated as Queen Mother, the title was occupied by a senior woman who was not necessarily the mother of the reigning mai. According to Studies in the History of Pre-Colonial Borno, the magira held the most number of fiefs in the royal family (106). To what extent this was true in Kanem is unclear, but it is probable that she controlled vast resources and exerted much influence. Indeed, the frequency with which mothers of the mai are listed in the Diwan and their ethnic origins may be a clue to both the significance of marriage alliances as well as the power some of these women likely held as magira or gumsu (first wife) of the mai.
Given the great power and influence these women appear to have held, a second look at Fasami (Barth's spelling in Travels and discoveries in North and Central Africa) is worthwhile. In terms of women remembered in the early annals of the Sayfawa dynasty, it is possible that Fasami, or Fasama in Palmer's orthography (Bornu Sahara and Sudan), was an important figure in at least 2, perhaps 3 reigns: Dunama b. Hummay (r. 1086-1140), Bir b. Dunama (r. 1140-1166) and possibly the reign of Abd Allah Bakuru (or Bakaru, Lange uses both spellings), c. 1166-1182. According to Lange, whose chronology we usually follow since it has remained unsurpassed, argued that there were two women named F. Sama, each one the daughter of a man named S.karam (Lange 70). However, we find that less likely than the alternative: a single woman named F. Sama, or Fasama/Fasami who was the mother of Biri (Lange prefers Bir) b. Dunama and grandmother of Abd Allah Bakuru. In fact, H.R. Palmer recognized this in his reproduction and study of the Diwan in Bornu Sahara and Sudan (91). This view is more likely given the repetition of the same names, unless a mistake was made by the copyists. However, Palmer also interpreted the name of Fasama's father as a title, which is an assumption without sufficient evidence. For proof, Palmer speculates that Sakarama is an old rendering of Zigina, pronounced in modern times as Chikama (167). Of course, it is also possible that the father of Fasama was simply being named, and not remembered with a title.
In addition to mentioning a woman named Fasama with the same name in connection with two reigns, the Diwan refers to Fasama as the gumsu during the reign of Biri b. Dunama. This may be the cause of the confusion regarding the possible existence of two different women named Fasama in the 12th century who happen to have a father with the same name. Lange reasonably interprets this as a sign of a woman named Fasama who was the first wife of Biri b. Dunama (Lange 70). However, according to the same source, Biri b. Dunama had been imprisoned for a year by his mother, also named Fasama, for violating Islamic law after executing a thief (Lange 69). It is more likely that the annalists of the Diwan referred to her as gumsu in reference to her being a chief wife of the father of Biri b. Dunama.
Indeed, the visit of Abd Allah Bakuru and his brother, Bitku, to Fasama as children seems more appropriate if she was his grandmother. After all, visiting the chief wife of Biri probably would not have required traveling away from the royal court at Njimi, since the visit was alleged to have taken place at a place called Khayr.k.r.s.mu. If the gumsu had major responsibilities like taking care of the princesses and helping to manage the royal family, one would expect her to be based at Njimi. The prince Abd Allah Bakuru would hardly have needed to travel elsewhere to see her.
If we are correct about Fasama being the mother of Biri b. Dunama and grandmother of Abd Allah Bakuru, this provides an example of a powerful woman in the early annals of the Sayfawa dynasty. Since Dunama b. Hummay was said to have drowned in the Red Sea due to Egyptian treachery, one may suspect that the transition of power in Kanem may have been a difficult one. It is possible Biri b. Dunama came to the throne at a young age and his mother, Fasama, may have been a regent or someone who helped him administer the kingdom. This could explain the story in the Diwan of a (young) Biri executing a thief, an unjust and extreme measure. However, this story contrasts with Ahmad b. Furtu's description of Biri b. Dunama as a learned and pious ruler. According to Ahmad b. Furtu's account of Idris b. Ali's Kanem campaigns in the 1570s, "On the Friday Sultan Hajj Idris also came to Gamtilo, which is the town where the learned and God-fearing Sultan Biri ibn Dunama died" (Palmer 28). The memory of Biri ibn Dunama as an ancestor of Idris b. Ali who was pious and learned led to the party reciting from the Koran and praying at Gamtilo. If this memory of Biri b. Dunama from the 1570s suggests a pious and devout Muslim ruler, the story in the Diwan might be recording a youthful mistake. Thus, Biri b. Dunama's punishment by his mother, Fasama, was likely due to her role in helping her young child rule the country and protect his legitimate claim to the throne.
Remi Dewiere's Du lac Tchad a la Mecque includes a number of useful maps depicting areas in Kanem visited by the forces of Idris b. Ali of Borno in the 1570s. The mai stopped at Gamtilo, where Biri b. Dunama died, to pray and seek merit. In addition, Fifisa, the probable town where Abd Allah Bakuru died, can be seen. His father died at Gamtilo, which was also southeast of Njimi. This region was also part of the dense network of fired brick ruins in central Kanem, as well as the mosque of Armi considered important enough to be visited by Ahmad b. Furtu during the 1570s. Construction of enclosures or structures with fired brick began in this area as early as the 1100s.
Of course, our theory lacks corroborating evidence. No Egyptian sources, for instance, have surfaced which could corroborate the death of Dunama b. Hummay in Egypt. Nonetheless, it is possible he did die abroad, possibly in or near Egypt due to fears and concerns in Fatimid Egypt about the black soldiers. Evidence from the 17th century suggests a fear on the part of the Pasha of Tripoli in 1655 to let Ali b. Umar into the city, where many of his subjects were enslaved since he would have to liberate them (Dewiere). Is it possible that a large percentage of the black soldiers of Fatimid Egypt came from Kanem or nearby regions? This might explain the fear of the Egyptians of Dunama b. Hummay, who was said to have settled hundreds of slaves in Egypt. He may have been viewed as someone who would pressure Fatimid Egypt to consider freeing other slaves from his domains. This train of thought, naturally, is very speculative, but even if Dunama b. Hummay did not perform the pilgrimage and die in the Red Sea, it is possible that the succession after his death was an arduous one in which Biri b. Dunama may have been young when he acceded to the throne. In fact, it may also have been a moment for the Kay (Kai, or Koyam) to reassert their link to the Sayfawa since the mother of Hummay was said to have been a Kay (Lange 68).
Besides her possible importance as a figure who helped consolidate the rule of Biri b. Dunama b. Hummay, Fasama was also still an important figure during the childhood of Abd Allah Bakuru, the son of Biri. According to the Diwan, the young maina and his brother both received 100 camels from Fasama (Lange 70). This was even the origin of his name, according to the Diwan. While the brief anecdote only hints at her influence at this point, the fact that she could easily give away 200 camels suggests ownership or access to many resources. Furthermore, external Arabic sources from the 12th century assert that wealth in Kanem, particularly Manan, was in camels and goats (Hopkins & Levtzion 114). Besides al-Idrisi, an earlier account by al-Muhallabi from the 10th century refers to the wealth of the rulers of Kanem being in livestock, such as sheep, cattle, camels and horses (Hopkins & Levtzion 171). It is likely that camel herds were one of the major sources of wealth for their use in transportation, milk, hair, and meat, so Fasama's vast numbers of camels suggest the magira at this time controlled resources and may have received large fiefs at this time. By the 17th century at least, the magira of Borno held tremendous amounts of captives and influence, enough for Ali b. Umar to inherit thousands (Palmer 34). Additional support for the far-flung domains and wealth of the magira can be found in Kanuri praise songs, too.
Unfortunately, it is unclear if Fasama lived into the reign of her grandson. But, even if she had died before he took the throne in c.1162, the close ties between Kawar and Kanem during the reign of Abd Allah Bakuru may provide evidence of her possible Kawar roots. According to the mahrams attributed to his reign and published in Palmer's Bornu Sahara and Sudan, the ruler of Kanem was a protector of the Kawar leaders. He also mediated in their conflict with the Tuareg of Ayar (for more, see here). This relationship with Kawar definitely predated the late 12th century, and the Banu Kay or Kay may have already been established in Dirku before the time of mai Bulu (reigned c.1007-1023). In fact, the Diwan also tells us that Arku settled 300 slaves at Dirku (Lange 67). Additional evidence of trade and perhaps cultural influence can be detected in descriptions of pre-Islamic Kanem kings dressed in woolen clothes, like the people of Kawar (Hopkins & Levtzion 171). It is probable that close ties between the rulers of Kanem and Kawar, which included Kay at both sites, might have linked Abd Allah Bakuru to the people of Dirku by ancestry and economic interests. Certainly, by the time of Dunama Dibalemi, a grandson of this mai, Kawar was one of the domains of Kanem (Hopkins & Levtzion 188). Indeed, Dunama Dibalemi may have been a descendant of Fasama on both his maternal and paternal lines. His mother, Dabali, was the daughter of Batku of a tribe interpreted by Lange as Maghumi (Lange 71). If true, this means she was a descendant of Fasama through the brother of Abd Allah Bakuru, and perhaps this helped lay the foundations for the Maghumi royal clan.
In summation, there are clues from the Diwan that suggest one woman may have played a particularly important role in the early consolidation of the Sayfawa. Assuming she was a wife of Dunama b. Hummay, mother of Biri b. Dunama and grandmother of Abd Allah Bakuru, she likely played an important role in the early reign of her son and may have contributed to the establishment of the family line that led to the Maghumi ("free born"). She likely held "fiefs" and tremendous resources in both people and livestock. Her origins among the Kay may have also contributed to the connections with Kawar, a region some of the earlier kings were already tied to through their mothers. Fasama, however, may have also had ties to the Kay of Kawar and through her adherence to Islamic law and protection of her son, may have contributed to the growing Islamization of Kanem's elites with those of Kawar, Muslims before Kanem. Moreover, although the evidence is still limited, Fasama may have also contributed to the lineage that led to the formation of the Maghumi, or at least its consolidation that led to Dunama Dibalemi.
Bibliography
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