al-Kanemi and the Berawuna

 

Whilst perusing Gustav Nachtigal's Sahara and Sudan again, we came across an intriguing letter by Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanemi from 1828. Whilst reporting on an expedition in Kanem, what stood out to us was the word al-Kanemi used to refer to people of Borno: Berawuna. According to the footnote of Gustav Nachtigal, this word meant "people of Borno." We find this interesting since this was the word used by people in the Fazzan to refer to people from Borno as well as the Tubu. In other words, the term appears to recognize the common origin of the Kanuri in Borno with the Tubu. On the other hand, Barth, in his massive account of his travels in this part of Africa, reported that the Goranes called the people of Mao in Kanem Beránema, perhaps a reference to the Dalatoa. Likewise the Kel Ewey Tuareg apparently called the Teda Beráuni. Anyway, al-Kanemi's use of the term makes sense given his own Fazzani background.

One wonders if there is any connection here to the Hausa word for the Kanuri, Bare beri. We once thought that it may be a possible remnant of the alleged "Zaghawa" origins of early Kanem, particularly due to the existence of the ethnonym Beri by the Zaghawa. Now we wonder if it may be related to Beráuni or Berawuna/Berâouna. Or was the Fazzani term possibly related to the Beri? Someone with the requisite language skills and understanding of linguistics should explore this to understand the origins of the various ways people referred to the people of Borno and what we know as the Kanuri.