The history of Borno’s 19th
century al-Kanemy dynasty, Kukawa, inherited many traits of past Kanuri and
Kanembu capitals. First established in 1814 by the first shaykh, Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanemi, Kukawa survived as a political
capital until the conquest by Rabeh in 1893. Despite an attempt to revive the
city as British Borno, it was replaced by Maiduguri. In spite of its brevity as
Borno’s political center, Kukawa’s past is illustrative of certain trends in
Kanem and Borno urbanization. Moreover, detailed descriptions of Kukawa can be
found in the various works by Europeans who traveled to Kukawa during the
1820s, 1850s, 1870s and 1890s. With this more abundant material describing the
city, a closer look at Kukawa’s past is in order to see how the al-Kanemi dynasty
continued the tradition of urbanization.
First, the origins. Louis Brenner,
author of a major study of the al-Kanemi dynasty, collected oral traditions of
Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanemi conflicting with the people of Ngornu. This town,
whose praise singers allegedly did not include al-Kanemi in their songs, may have
had tensions with al-Kanemi.[1] By this time, Birni
Gazargamo had already been abandoned due to conflict with forces claiming adherence
to Uthman dan Fodio’s jihad. Furthermore, the Sayfawa, still holding
much symbolic power, were based at Birni Kabela. Since al-Kanemi did not desire
to completely supplant the role of the Sayfawa, he let them be as figureheads
who still retained many followers in their own court. But al-Kanemi, in need of
his own political center, established Kuka, or Kukawa, in c. 1814. This
settlement, the original Kukawa, was what was later known as the western town
after 1846, when the town had been attacked by Wadai.
Much of the early history of Kukawa must
have involved the Shehu’s closest followers also establishing themselves in the
city, particularly his Shuwa and Kanembu allies and inner circle. But over
time, even the Shehu’s court began to resemble the court of the Sayfawa.
According to Brenner, the Sayfawa even sent courtiers to Kukawa, where the system
of seating by rank or precedence was adopted from the court of the mai.[2] More direct testimony of
the town of Kukawa in the 1820s can be found in the writings of Denham and
Clapperton, British travelers to Borno. According to Denham, the main market of
the town was in front of one of the principal gates, attracting at least 15,000
people. In addition, wrestling was one attraction for spectators in the town.[3] But at this time, Ngornu
was the most populous town in Borno and the major market town. Said to have
contained at least 30,000 inhabitants, one is left with the impression that
Kukawa was not designed to be a major center for trade by al-Kanemi.[4] Instead, Kukawa was
envisioned mainly as a political center with Ngornu as an economic capital.
Meanwhile, the Sayfawa figureheads retained their own large court at Birni
Kabela. It is very likely that before Shehu Umar’s son extinguished the last mai in 1846, the courtiers of the old
dynasty were still not entirely convinced to permanently shift their allegiance
to the Shehu.
Fortunately, some description of
life in the capital in the 1820s can be found in the reports of the British
visitors. For instance, al-Kanemi was motivated by a desire to control the
moral behavior of women in the capital. Thus, when he ordered harsh punishment
for 60 women of poor repute, in which 5 were hanged and 4 flogged, many
“Bornouse” (Kanuri?) left the city. Indeed, supposedly more than 100 families
left Kuka in disgust at al-Kanemi’s diabolical public punishment.[5] Besides the possible
unpopularity of the Shehu’s public policy with regards to women and morality,
there may have been ethnic tensions in early Kukawa, too. For example, Nicholas
Said, who was, admittedly, born in a later period, recalled the divisions of
Kukawa’s Kanuri, Shuwa, and Kanembu population. To Said, the Kanouri formed the
ruling caste who occasionally mistreated or seized goods of the Shuwa and
Kanembu.[6] Additionally, the map of
the town produced by the 1820s British mission showed the city’s division into
ethnic quarters, one each assigned to the Bornouese (Kanuri), Kanembu and
Shuwa. Perhaps by the time of Nicholas Said’s youth, the elite from the old
Sayfawa dynasty had been more thoroughly integrated into the al-Kanemi court. A
possible example of this may be the family of the alkali of Kukawa, who at the
time of Migeod’s visit was the grandson of Liman Yusufu of Gazargamo.[7] Either way, the
possibility of ethnic tensions, especially in the early years of Kukawa,
necessitated ethnic quarters. Perhaps Tripolitanian Arabs and Tubu were also
assigned their own sections in the city, too.
Sketch of the dendal in Barth's Travels and discoveries in North and Central Africa.
Unfortunately, not much else is
known about these early decades of Kukawa’s history until the death of
al-Kanemi in c. 1837. Reports of an attack on the town from Bagirmi’s king,
Burkomanda, indicate it must have been rebuilt at least once before the 1846
attack.[8] It is very likely that,
with the consolidation of al-Kanemi’s rule and the decay of the Sayfawa, more
of Borno’s old elite began to increasingly look to al-Kanemi as the real and
legitimate authority. This likely attracted even more residents as it became
clear to all that al-Kanemi’s power was not waning. With more people, Kuka may
have also begun to attract more commerce, gradually becoming a major center for
regional and trans-Saharan trade in Borno. Consequently, by the end of
al-Kanemi’s life, his administration had survived a number of challenges: an
attempt by the Sayfawa to retake power with the aid of Bagirmi, the Manga
rebellion, attacks from the west and tensions with Sokoto, and even charismatic
shaykhs who he saw as threats to his
power. Undoubtedly, Kukawa must have grown with new people eager for titles or
fiefs from the most powerful person in Borno.
Moving into the reign of Shehu Umar,
al-Kanemi’s son, even more detailed descriptions of Kukawa can be found.
Unfortunately, Shehu Umar was seen as lethargic and less accomplished than his
father. Nonetheless, Kukawa continued to grow. It was during his reign that the
capital became two towns. After a final attempt by the Sayfawa to oust the
al-Kanemi dynasty with the help of Wadai, Kukawa was pillaged again. Thus,
after 1846, construction began on the eastern town. The capital was
significantly expanded as the old city, the western town, was used for
non-titled nobility, commoners, and North African merchants.[9] The area in between the
two parts was called Gumzi-gini that was about ¼ of a mile.[10] The old, western town, or
Bula-pute, was said to have been about 1 mile long each way before the capital
was rebuilt.[11]
The distance between the part of the western town where Rohlfs stayed in the
1860s to the Shehu’s palace in the eastern town took an hour to walk.[12]
Nicholas Said, who recalled seeing
Heinrich Barth during the latter’s visit to Kukawa, believed the town, which
was enclosed by a clay wall 30 feet high, had at least 40,000 people. During
the dry season, this population more than doubled to over 100,000.[13] Even the palace grounds
of Shehu Umar in the eastern town were vast. One of them was said to have been
larger than the town of Bilma in Kawar.[14] Barth, on the other hand,
was surprised by the large extent of the double town.[15] During his time in the
capital, he moved to a clay house in the western town, billa futeba, which
contained small rooms and a yard. The eastern town was separated from the
western one by a space about half a mile broad, also densely inhabited.[16] Yet compared with the
bustle of Kano and towns in Hausaland, Barth believed that the town only had
one dyeing yard.[17]
Moreover, political turmoil in 1853-1854 struck as Shehu Umar was deposed by
his brother, who briefly reigned until September 1854.[18] In spite of Shehu Umar’s
lack of his father’s ability, Kukawa significantly expanded during his reign.
Ties with North Africa continued as well, with the Ottoman authorities in
Tripoli appointing Sharif Barkan as their resident in 1854-1869.[19] A few Christians were
even living in Kukawa, the Lanzon Maltese family.[20]
Perhaps it was the visit of Gustav
Nachtigal in the 1870s that produced the most comprehensive description of
Kukawa. Nachtigal was able to see the eastern town, western town, and the
various hamlets on the northern side which likely cultivated grain that fed the
city. According to Nachtigal, Kuka was more than 2 kilometers from east to west
and a little less than this from north to south. Confusingly, Nachtigal also
wrote that Kukawa stretched, at its furthest east and west points, to more than
½ a German mile.[21]
Its weekly market every Monday was held outside the western’s town’s western
gate. The dendal, or major avenue, had earthen houses on either side. As
one might expect for an old Kanuri city, the western town had few regular
streets, like Birni Gazargamo. Moreover, the space between the eastern and
western towns was more than 1 kilometer wide. Further, the eastern town, Billa
gedibe, was longer and narrower than the western town but had a wider dendal
that ended right at the palace and main mosque.[22]
In terms of housing, the eastern town had more earthen houses than the
western town, and they were similar to homes in the Fezzan but with smaller
living spaces and bigger courtyards.[23] In the western town, more
houses built of straw or reed, ngim, could be found. Of course, the
western town was also where 2/3 of the population lived. Since Nachtigal
estimated the total population at 50,00-60,00, the western town may have had as
many as 40,000 residents.
Public life was centered on the dendal.
Nachtigal wrote, “Rides along this main thoroughfare were always of novel and
enthralling interest for me, revealing a life of such variety and even splendour
as a European can scarcely associate with the idea of a Negro town.”[24] Although it would become
littered with many little lakes during the rainy season, the dendal was
the center of life for the city. In addition, Nachtigal described aspects of
the various social classes in the capital. For example, well-to-do free people
often wore multiple garments as a sign of their wealth. Thus, wearing 2-4
garments showing off fine clothes and riding horses were signals of wealth and
status.[25] The rich also lived in
larger homes with flower and vegetable gardens.[26] Descendants of the old aristocracy
of Borno were very much present, with the men carrying the mbare scepter.[27] Elite men also enjoyed
giving audiences to their clients, slaves and servants.[28] Nachtigal also witnessed
the influential Fezzani, Muhammad el Titiwi, who acted as a consul for North
Africans in Kukawa.[29] Perhaps unsurprisingly,
Shehu Umar also welcomed and gave gifts to foreign sharif visitors to
Kukawa just as adventurers and pilgrims passed through Kukawa.[30] Besides the North African
traders and local elites, Nachtigal also saw evidence of the artisans and laboring
masses. Unlike Barth, he noticed signs of the division of labor and specialized
artisans, with professional standards in the capital. Women were very much
involved in the city’s economic life as vendors while those who dealt in
horses, fish, cloth, leather, natron, salt, and other products sold their wares
in the city. Young people also gathered at night to sing and dance while the
streets were full of blind beggars and mendicant students.[31] But once one left the dendal,
streets usually had less traffic and more crooked paths and modest homes were
visible.
As one moves into the last two decades of
Kukawa’s history before the fall, sources are less detailed. An article describing
the city in 1883 by Lt. Massari mentioned European merchandise for sale via
Tripoli and ostrich feathers as a major export. However, Massari also described
a city in which pleasure, amusement, singing, and dancing were the
characteristics of its residents. Thus, it was common for bands of young girls
to walk the streets while singing and clapping their hands.[32] This perspective of
Europeans on the relative freedom of women in Kukawa was similarly noted by
Monteil, who saw the city on the eve of its destruction.[33] In spite of the city’s
joyful spirit, the 1880s also included a period of pestilence or disease,
Wuromaram, which killed many people.[34] As the ruling dynasty
declined in the years leading to Rabeh’s invasion and conquest of Borno, Kukawa
probably declined as well. Certainly, the excessive taxation of the Shehus and
their inability to defend trans-Saharan routes were symptoms of this period of
decline. Finally, by 1893 (although some say 1894), Rabih was able to pillage
Kukawa itself. According to one Mallam Aba asked about the event in 1895, the
carnage of Rabih’s conquest of Kukawa lasted for 2 days, with 3,100 skulls
counted by the end.[35]
With the fall of Rabih’s state and the
coming of European colonialism, Kukawa was considered by the British to become
the capital of Borno. However, those plans failed as Maiduguri was chosen
instead. Despite this, Kukawa serves as an example of Kanuri urbanism under a
non-Sayfawa dynasty. The city maintained many past traditions, such as the
prominence of the dendal and mosques near the royal palace. The city’s daily
and weekly markets were also probably organized along similar lines to what
existed in Birni Gazargamo. Indeed, the various trades and crafts in the city appear
to have been organized in this way. As the al-Kanemi dynasty borrowed more
titles and styles of the Sayfawa court, one can imagine this also shaped the
development of the capital’s neighborhoods or quarters in similar ways.
However, Kukawa took this one step further by expanding to include an eastern
town primarily associated with the Shehu’s court and high dignitaries. This
spatial separation from the masses of the population is similar to the use of
fired-brick walls and structures in Gazargamo, but Gazargamo’s royal complex
was close to the center of that vast metropolis. Without fired-brick (except
for the tombs of the Shehus), Kukawa’s elite built a separate eastern town that
still marked their distinction from the rest of society spatially. In many
respects, Kukawa inherited the older traditions of Gazargamo with 19th
century changes and modifications as the new dynasty rose and fell.
[1] Louis Brenner, The Shehus of
Kukawa: A History of the Al-Kanemi Dynasty of Bornu, 47.
[2] Ibid., 61.
[3] Denham, Dixon, Hugh Clapperton, and
Walter Oudney. Narrative of Travels and Discoveries in Northern and Central
Africa: In the Years 1822, 1823, and 1824, 93, 273.
[4] Ibid., 108-109.
[5] Denham, Dixon, Hugh Clapperton,
and Walter Oudney. Narrative of Travels and Discoveries in Northern and
Central Africa: In the Years 1822, 1823, and 1824 Vol. 2, page 79-80.
[6] Nicholas Said, The Autobigraphy
of Nicholas Said: A Native of Bornou, Eastern Soudan, Central Africa, 14.
[7] Frederick William Hugh Migeod, Through
Nigeria to Lake Chad, 179.
[8] Landeroin, “Notice historique” in Documents
scientifiques de la Mission Tilho, page 361.
[9] Louis Brenner, The Shehus of Kukawa,
p. 70.
[10] Migeod, Through Nigeria to Lake
Chad, 173.
[11] Ibid., 172.
[12] Frauke Jager, “Maiduguri—Twentieth
Century Capital with Ancient Roots,” in From Bulamari to Yerwa to
Metropolitan Maiduguri, 27.
[13] Nicholas Said, The
Autobiography, 13.
[14] Ibid., 26.
[15] Heinrich Barth, Travels and
Discoveries (1890), p. 354.
[16] Ibid., 376-377, 379.
[17] Ibid., 385.
[18] Brenner, The Shehus of Kukawa,
79.
[19] Rémi Dewière, “Borno in the
Ottoman Archives,” 156.
[20] Raymond Hickey, “Filippo da Segni’s
Journey from Tripoli to Kukawa in 1850,” 153.
[21] Gustav Nachtigal, Sahara and
Sudan Vol. 2, 162.
[22] Ibid., 148-149.
[23] Ibid., 149-150.
[24] Ibid., 155.
[25] Ibid., 157.
[26] Ibid., 152.
[27] Ibid., 157.
[28] Ibid., 160.
[29] Gustav Nachtigal, Sahara and
Sudan Vol. 4, 11.
[30] Gustav Nachtigal, Sahara and
Sudan Vol. 2, 174.
[31] Ibid., 159-160.
[32] Lieutenant Massari, “La traversée
de l’Afrique de la mer Rouge au golfe de Guinée, article in Bull. de la Soc.
belge de géographie (1883), 868.
[33] Monteil, De Saint-Louis à
Tripoli par le Lac Tchad: Voyage au travers du Soudan et du Sahara, 355.
[34] Kyari Mohammed, Borno in the
Rabih Years, 1893-1901: The Rise and Crash of a Predatory State, 24.
[35] H.R. Palmer, Gazetteer of Bornu Province, 109.
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