Escayrac de Lauture and Nachtigal

After revisiting the chronology and genealogies of the kings of Bagirmi, we once again see how arduous it can be to construct any meaningful timeline without written sources. The period before the 19th century, sadly, is poorly documented by surviving records. A few references here or there, some rather ambiguous, attest to Bagirmi as at least a place name by the 15th century (Fra Mauro's map). In addition, some have interpreted parts of the Diwan of the Sayfawa Dynasty as referring to Bagirmi long before the 16th century. Indeed, oral traditions of unknown provenance, cited by Lanier refer to an earlier leader of Bagirmi named Oumar who ruled in the second half of the 15th century. 

Overall, scholars seem to prefer the chronology of Nachtigal in Sahara and Sudan. For instance, Lavers mainly used it for his article on the history of Bagirmi before 1800. Other scholars seem to favor it, including Lebeuf. Despite some of the problems presented by Nachtigal's history of Bagirmi, he was in a better position than le Comte d'Escayrac de Lauture to collect information. After all, Nachtigal actually traveled to Bagirmi. Furthermore, he presumably spoke with multiple individuals who were familiar with the kingdom's past since its annals were the stories of their own ancestors. Although this raises questions about the accuracy or reliability of some of Nachtigal's informants, the elites affiliated with the royal court of Bagirmi were probably more likely to maintain a more controlled set of traditions on their past. 

After revisiting le Comte d'Escayrac de Lauture's list, it is immediately apparent that Nachtigal's list is likely more accurate. The former had to rely on fewer informants and did not travel to Bagirmi. Nonetheless, when there is concordance between his list of mbangs and that of Nachtigal's, we assume there is something meaningful recorded from oral traditions collected in the 1850s and 1870s. We noticed this with the case of a fatsha named Kano. According to the earlier list of kings by d'Escayrac de Lauture, Kano was fatsha during the reign of  Alàwin, the 13th mbang. Well, Nachtigal's history of Bagirmi included a king named Abd al-Kadir Woli (r. 1680-1707). In the version presented by the 1850s list of le Comte d'Escayrac, the fatsha Kano led Bagirmi to victory against Wadai. He was also said to have taken Ilelat from Wadai. In Nachtigal's version, Kano participated in Bagirmi campaigns or raids against the Karka archipelago, Logone, Qo'ran, and Gawi. There is no mention in Nachtigal's account of a victory against Wadai, although it is certainly possible campaigns agaisnt the Qo'ran or Goran may have entailed raiding against Wadai. 

It is also interesting to note that Escayrac de Lauture's list includes the tale of a mbang named Burkumanda who seized a short-lived Wadai ruler, Mohammad-Zaouni. Based on his placement in the list, this appears to be an example of Lauture's list mixing up Burkumanda I with Burkumanda II, although he also appears to have omitted the first Burkumanda from his list altogether. But the general chronology of Nachtigal, which dates the reign of Burkumanda I from 1635-1665, does include mention of conflict with Wadai. It seems rather likely that the earlier list from the 1850s included some major errors in the list of kings and some of the events associated with their reigns...