Although we have already attempted to write about a gumsu named Amina from 17th century Borno, we believe revisiting the topic was necessary. As a silence on the roles of women in Borno weakens our written sources, Kanuri oral tradition and song contains references to queens, queen-mothers, and other women who hold various high positions in society. Though these same oral traditions and praise songs often ignore women from the peasantry or enslaved women, they nonetheless require closer attention for any comprehension of women of the elite. As a senior wife to one of the most pivotal figures in the history of the Sayfawa, Ali b. Umar, Amina's contributions to this period in Borno's history is often overlooked. The following is a brief attempt at using various sources to corroborate details of her life. Admittedly, much of it is speculative given the paucity of sources. Revisiting this theme also reveals certain details about the relationship between the Sayfawa and the talba, a likely hereditary office of great importance for the royal council. The frequent intermarriage between the daughters of the likely hereditary post of talba and the Sayfawa rulers aids in understanding who was in the royal court and how this custom may have started as early as the 1200s if not earlier.
Even if the name of the gumsu, Amina, frequently appears in other sources as the name of mothers of various Sayfawa rulers over the centuries, there does seem to have been a consistent pattern of daughters of the talba marrying the mai. Indeed, we have proposed that such a custom may have begun as early as the 13th century, when Dunama Dibalemi married the daughter of a talba named Yunus. Muhammad Nur Alkali has also suggested that the gumsu was usually a daughter of the Talba based on the girgams (Alkali 96-97). Unfortunately, we could not locate any documents from the 17th century that named Ali b. Umar's first wife as Amina, but the likelihood that she was indeed the daughter of the talba is very high. Caution is still necessary since there was a gumsu named Amina Talbaram who was said to have been the mother of Brem Gumsumi, or Ibrahim b. Idris (Alkali 255). Intriguingly, his mother was said to have been a gumsu of the "Maghrama tribe" in the Diwan. Lange has suggested this was the Magumi (Lange 81). However, this would mean that the gumsu of Idris Alooma was the daughter of the talba just like the gumsu of Ali b. Umar, his grandson.
Luckily, we do have some written sources that shed light on the family and court of Ali b. Umar (r. 1639-1677). For example, a mahram translated in H.R. Palmer's Bornu Sahara and Sudan names the talba in 1647 as Talit ibn Fasam. This information identifies the talba by his maternal ancestry and yet lacks a first name. The Yuroma listed in the mahram, Biu, bears a name that could be connected to the Bitku in the song (Palmer 32). Since the yuroma was usually a eunuch official who also held responsibility for the women taken along on military or other journeys of the mai, he would have been close to the gumsu (Nachtigal 256). Of course, it would be necessary to verify this Bitku=Biu theory by examining the Arabic original of the mahram. Only then would it be possible to confirm that the Bitku named in Palmer's translation is perhaps a mistaken rendering of Bitku (or vice versa). Nonetheless, we at least know the name of the talba in 1647, who was probably the mother of the gumsu of Ali b. Umar.
The above aids us in establishing the probable origins of Amina. Other sources on elite women in Borno hint at not only their political influence, but travels abroad, great wealth, and ties with Islam. For instance, a sister of Idris b. Ali (Idris Alooma) accompanied him on the Hajj in 1565 (Hadrien 193). In the late 18th century, Miss Tully met a black prince from Borno who traveled to Tunis and Tripoli. Among his party were 3 of his wives, including one who learned the Italian laguage (Miss Tully 206). Whilst passing through Cairo during one of his pilgrimages, Ali b. Umar was seen by Evliya Çelebi. Although we do not know if the gumsu accompanied him on his pilgrimages, he came with 1000 camels carrying his retinue. Women and kings from Borno were also described as wearing strings of beads around their heads (Hodgkin 184). The implication is that elite women were undoubtedly part of Ali b. Umar's entourage that traveled to Mecca. Consequently, the gumsu Amina may have also traveled to Cairo and Mecca during one of these pilgrimages. We were unable to confirm this, but Girard, describing Borno from Tripoli, was told the mai had many women in his harem (Dewière 616, f.321v). Thus, it is possible that Amina had traveled abroad, performed the pilgrimage, and was far more worldly than contemporary sources indicate.
Certainly as gumsu, Amina's powers were likely extensive in Borno's royal court. According to Alkali, the gumsu was primarily responsible for the administration of the royal palace and overseeing the princesses. As a titled member of the court, she also received fiefs (Usman 107). In addition, Alkali wrote of the gumsu recommending to the mai which slave girls should be given kambe, or free-born status (122). A sense of the power and wealth of can be found in the praise song translated by Patterson. According to this song, Amina held the following lands: Dugumaram, Bamma, Banna, Asaga and riverain towns. Banna may have been the village of Bana, a town once inhabited by the Sau Gafata that was described in Lange's A Sudanic Chronicle (112). Anyway, these riverain settlements and towns were administered by the yiroma Bitku (Patterson 19). It is very likely that these riverain areas held as fiefs by the gumsu were near the Komadugu. She also held the town of Dillawa, Gizawa, Maradi Town, Yam, Yemen, Gazargamo and Njimi (20). Some of this may be hyperbole, yet it suggests the queen held fiefs scattered throughout the state. This scattered distribution of fiefs appears to have been common for chima recipients. Perhaps it was designed to prevent one person from accumulating too much power or influence in a region? Either way, the praise song (probably with great exaggeration) also indicates Amina had access to soldiers or musketeers. The number given, 500, is actually how many gunmen Idris Alooma was said to have had at his disposal in the late 16th century. Likewise, the song stresses her ownership of a silver pestle, clearly an indication of luxury. Yet military power is suggested by the praise song's reference to the queen's ownership of a Yambal sword from the north.
Besides the song in Patterson's Kanuri Songs, Palmer's Bornu Sahara and Sudan is the most detailed source on this queen. According to a document translated and dated to 1658, the gumsu was the first lady of Ali b. Umar's household. She was also the one who told the mai about the Islamic holy man and scholar, Umr ibn Othman, whose prayers on behalf of various people in the capital were particularly effective. According to this account of the capital, the Gumsu had 60 courtiers, 40 slaves, and 20,000 slave soldiers (Palmer 34). While these numbers are perhaps best if not interpreted literally, it nonetheless supports the image of the queen in the praise song. Access to many dependents, wealth, and even military power are clear. The same source also mentioned Ali b. Umar wanting 1000 slaves and asking Umr ibn Othman to pray for him. Unsurprisingly, the king later received 10,000 slaves with the death of his mother (magira). Although there is probably no connection, the praise song referred to Ali b. Umar reconciling Amina with 1000 slaves after divorcing her (Patterson 20). Is it possible he was looking for 1000 captives to reconcile with Amina?
Further evidence of Amina's power and influence during this period may be glimpsed through the history of her husband's reign. Since it is unclear if she accompanied him on each hajj, she may have been important for assisting in the maintenance of the state during Ali b. Umar's many extended absences. For instance, when rebels in Borno took up arms during one of his pilgrimages and the Sultanate of Agadez launched an attack that reached the capital, loyalists to the mai held the city. It is possible Amina and her father, the talba, helped in resisting the rebels. After all, the talba was often given administration of the state when the mai left on long military campaigns (Studies in the History of Pre-Colonial Borno 119). If the talba and Amina were still in Gazargamo at this time, they presumably would have helped or led the loyalists against the rebels and the forces of Agadez. Likewise, when Kashim Biri attempted to usurp power when Ali b. Umar was on the pilgrimage (assuming this was not the same rebellion mentioned previously), it is possible that Amina and her father, the talba, led forces loyal to the mai against him. Indeed, Amina's father may have assisted when Ali b. Umar ascended to the throne in c. 1639. According to one source, the mai had 4 brothers put to death as soon as he became mai, certainly due to contested succession of Umar b. Idris and fears of another revolt. Amina's father, as part of the Mainin Kenandi, could have been part of the smooth succession and assisted the young mai. Amina, as the daughter of the talba, would have occupied a key position in ensuring this alliance.
In spite of the close relationship between the gumsu and the mai as both marriage partners and the function of the talba in the royal administration, the praise song cited earlier hints at tensions. According to the song, "The Babuma said to him (the Sultan): Do not do as your wife wishes." The song also warns the mai, "Leave behind the pleasures your wife wishes for." It is difficult to tell specifically what pleasures the narrator meant, but Amina allegedly prevented the sultan from riding out to war (Patterson 20). This is presumably an allusion to the queen endeavoring to stop Ali b. Umar from going to war or engaging in raids, but it is impossible to tell where. The song's reference to the Shari and El Ebeit rivers suggest it may have been a campaign against an area south of Lake Chad. Regardless of this disagreement, Ali b. Umar later reconciled her. We would suggest this was due to her own recognized power and the possible influence of her father at court. Maintaining an alliance with such a powerful woman with connections in the royal court made her a key ally. Indeed, it is possible her forces may have been counted among those who supported his government when he traveled abroad.
Though our own thoughts on this powerful queen are necessarily speculative, we believe they are still plausible. In fact, they may account for descriptions of Amina in the praise song as "Ruler of Islam." Her position included a number of fiefs and administrators, providing ample resources for her while she oversaw the royal household and the princesses. Moreover, her father's position as talba meant the mai likely had to consider her position and connections at court. In the case of Ali b. Umar, this may have been even more important since he faced a period of contested succession and was frequently abroad for pilgrimages. Further confirmation of her parentage is required, perhaps through the Arabic original of the 1647 mahram and any alternative girgams. That said, the praise song, despite its occasional hyperbole, points to a woman of political and economic power and legitimacy. Indeed, her position was so admirable she was compared to the Sultan. Even after separating, Ali b. Umar was said to have reconciled her, perhaps in recognition of this.
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