The Biu Plateau, Borno and Kwararafa

Although we still have not located a copy of an important study of Kwararafa by Webster, reading a thesis by a student of his, John E. Miller, has been informative. Miller's thesis, The Biu Plateau: Establishing a Chronology and the Linkages Between Bura-Babur and Kwararafa, attempts to interpret oral traditions and the few written sources available to contextualize Biu in the larger context of Kwararafa and Bornoan history. In so doing, the author draws from colonial-era reports and collections of traditions by authors like Meek as well as written sources included in works like Palmer's Bornu Sahara and Sudan. Pushing back against attempts to read the earlier phases of Kwararafa as a heavily Jukun-influenced entity, Miller follows Webster in situating Kwararafa's second phase capital at Tagara (after being driven out of Santolo). It is this earlier context which elucidate things like the royal crocodile totem observed by many groups in the Biu region and along the Gongola, not the supposed Jukun influence reaching this area earlier. 

While pushing back against the Jukun readings of Kwararafa, Miller also tries to tentatively date the arrival of Yamta in Biu. Drawing on somewhat contradictory traditions, which also make Yamta a Bornoan prince from Gazargamo who left after some sort of succession dispute, Miller suggets a date of c. 1519-1546 for reign of Yamta in Biu. Citing Palmer, who reported traditions of Ali b. Dunama defeating Kwararafa, Miller argues that Yamta arrived in the region after Kwararafa abandoned the capital at Tagara to move south to cross the Benue. This meant the region was possibly politically divided or in a state of transition, facilitating the establishment of new chiefdoms in the area. But, critically, the previous ruling lineages who were influenced by or part of Kwararafa may have retained some influence as priestly clans or lineages. The evidence for this is still fragmentary, but observing totems, clan and lineage moieties, as well as commonalities between cultures associated with the later Kwararafa phases and those in regions like Biu, Miller thinks his model is plausible. 

Naturally, Miller's chronology and model here relies heavily upon Webster, whose notion of different phases of Kwararafa we have yet to examine. Miller is also assuming that the Sayfawa mai named in the traditions about Yamta, Idris, is Ali b. Dunama's son, who reigned (in Lange's chronology, 1497-1519). A firmer date is provided by Ahmad b. Furtu, whose account of Idris Alooma's wars refers to Yamta's chiefdom aiding in the attack on Amsaka. Using average regnal lengths and the date of Idris b. Ali, Miller has one of the few confident dates in his chronology. He's also assuming that Kwararafa's later capital at Biepi only began after c. 1485 (and with a Kanuri or more likely, Babur, dynasty by the 1520s) and only after the mid-1700s did the Jukun come to dominate Kwararafa. All of this could be plausible, but we need additional data on the Bura, Kilba, Marghi, Chibbuk, and other peoples to adequate test the proposed chronology of Miller. Hopefully future scholars will consult the more recently published studies on this region and try to incorporate more of the written sources from Vatican archives or European reports of the 1600s and 1700s. These could aid in proving or weakening the chronology adopted here...

Kwararafa: A Multi-Ethnic Power in the Central Sudan

In the interest of experimentation with new technology, we have used our notes on Kwararafa to attempt a short overview of the polity. There is much that is poorly understood or unknown in the history of Kwararafa. However, using references to it from its northern neighbors can provide a rough chronology of sorts and insights. Sadly, it is probably an area in dire need of a second look by scholars who understand the relevant local languages for oral traditions or can read sources (in Arabic or Hausa) that refer to Kwararafa and the Jukun. It would also be necessary for those fluent in Kanuri and/or Arabic to check records and traditions from Borno to verify some possible mentions of Kwararafa in H.R. Palmer's work. But I digress. Below, we have attempted to a short overview of Kwararafa based on our notes and a little help from a friend. With the aid of this friend, we have two drafts. We suspect this friend misread our hand-written notes and that caused some of the errors here. 

The Kwararafa polity, active from at least the 16th to the 18th century, occupied a central position in the political and military landscape of the Central Sudan. Far from being a homogenous state, Kwararafa was a multi-ethnic confederacy led by the Jukun but also incorporating Abakwariga, Goemai, Alago, Tiv, and other groups. Its influence extended across the lower Sudanic regions and, at times, into the middle Sudan.

Origins and Structure

Kwararafa's political system reflected its confederal nature. Leadership was shared among four principal officers: the Mai, the Jirahu, a lesser Mai, and the Master of the Horse. Succession could be fluid—any son of a deceased king was eligible, and in some accounts, kings were replaced every two years. Religious leaders played a vital role in rituals, sacrifices, and even in controlling the weather.

The kingdom was deeply embedded in spiritual practices, blending local beliefs with outside influences. Ritual use of palm wine, divination, animal symbolism, and veneration of water spirits were widespread.

Political and Military Power

At its peak, Kwararafa claimed control over as many as 20 states (as recorded by Muhammad Bello in the 19th century). It was a feared military power, repeatedly launching raids on Hausa city-states such as Kano and Katsina, as well as on Borno. One notable tradition recalls the Jukun refusal to submit to Kano’s Queen Amina in the late 16th century. (Our own beliefs favor a 15th century date for Amina of Zaria)

In the early 1700s, the ruler Adi Matswen increased royal revenues by organizing salt-gathering expeditions and founding new towns. Large-scale military expeditions continued during this period: in 1707, Kwararafa attacked Borno, an event recorded by the French consul Lemaire, who also noted the presence of Kwararafa ambassadors in Borno. (AI likely misread our notes)

Religion and European Observations

European sources from the late 17th and early 18th centuries, including French consuls Lemaire and Delande, offer intriguing glimpses into Kwararafa’s religious life. These observers described Kwararafa as “Christian,” though likely in a nominal or syncretic sense. Lemaire estimated that more than 100,000 Christians lived in the kingdom. Crosses were reportedly displayed on horses and weapons, and Kwararafa dancers in Tripoli were seen making the sign of the cross. Such details suggest a complex religious environment, blending local traditions with Christian symbols—possibly transmitted via contact with Borno and the trans-Saharan trade routes.

Economy and Trade

Tribute formed a major part of Kwararafa’s external relations. According to 18th-century claims recorded by Koelle, the kingdom paid annual tribute to Borno, possibly in slaves. Control over salt resources was another pillar of its economy, with expeditions bringing wealth and political leverage. Kwararafa’s location allowed indirect contact with North Africa through Borno and Hausa intermediaries, linking it to the commercial networks of Tripoli and Fezzan.

Decline

By the mid-18th century, Kwararafa faced growing external pressure. Attacks from neighboring states, internal shifts in power, and the rise of the Sokoto Caliphate in the early 19th century eroded the kingdom’s influence. The Fulani jihad from 1806 marked a decisive blow, fragmenting the confederacy and absorbing its territories into new emirates and political formations.

And here is a second version:

The Kwararafa polity, remembered in Hausa, Kanuri, and European sources from the 16th to the 18th centuries, occupied a prominent position in the history of the Benue Valley. Contemporary accounts depict it as a multi-ethnic state dominated by the Jukun, but incorporating Hausa, Tiv, Mumuye, and other groups under a confederated structure. Its rulers exercised influence far beyond their core territories, engaging in warfare and diplomacy with Borno, Kano, and other Hausa states.

Political and Military History

Kwararafa’s military campaigns were a defining feature of its regional role. Abakwariga (and Jukun) oral traditions recall attacks on Kano and Katsina, taking captives from both Hausa cities in the late 17th century.^2^ Muhammad Bello, writing in the early 19th century, described the Kwararafa ruler as commanding “twenty states” and waging war against both Kano and Borno.^3^

European observers in North Africa and the Mediterranean also documented the kingdom. In 1706–1707, the French consul Lemaire in Tripoli described Kwararafa as a powerful, nominally Christian state, whose rulers clashed with Borno on religious and political grounds.^4^ Lemaire claimed that “more than 100,000 Christians” lived in Kwararafa, and even witnessed Kwararafa captives making the sign of the cross.^5^

Religion and Culture

The claim of Christianity within Kwararafa is controversial, but it recurs in early modern sources. Lemaire and other French officials reported Kwararafa ambassadors in Borno and Borno princes visiting Cairo in the early 18th century.^6^ Koelle, writing in the mid-19th century based on African informants in Sierra Leone, described the Jukun (Wukari) as the capital of Kwararafa and recorded tribute relations with Borno in the late 1700s.^7^

Internally, Kwararafa’s political organization featured a king assisted by principal officers, including the the Master of the Horse.^8^ Succession was flexible, allowing any male relative of a deceased king to ascend the throne.^9^ Spiritual beliefs blended political authority with religious rituals; Talbot’s ethnography notes the king’s involvement in weather control and divination, and his role as chief priest of the sun deity.^10^

Economy and Trade

Kwararafa’s economy combined agriculture, tribute, and control of regional trade. Meek records that rulers such as Adi Matswen increased revenues through salt expeditions and the founding of new towns in the 18th century.^11^ Tribute from subordinate towns and trade in goods such as slaves, horses, and salt connected Kwararafa to markets in Borno, Hausaland, and as far as Tripoli.^12^ French archival records from Tripoli in 1669 note captives taken from “the land of Kwararafa” being sold to North African buyers.^13^

Conclusion

The image of Kwararafa that emerges from African oral traditions, Hausa chronicles, Kanuri records, and European reports is that of a resilient, adaptable state. Its influence was felt from the Middle Niger to the Sahara, and its ambiguous religious identity—Islamic neighbors describing it as Christian, European consuls reinforcing the same—reflects both the complexity of its diplomacy and the layered identities of the Central Sudan in the early modern period.

Footnotes

1. Meek, A Sudanese Kingdom, 126.

2. Ibid., 124.

3. Muhammad Bello, Infaq’l-Maysur, in Hodgkin, ed.,  The Kano Chronicle, 480.

4. Lemaires, “Letter to the French Foreign Ministry, Tripoli, 1706–1707,” Archives Nationales, Paris, Series Afrique, carton 385.

5. Ibid.

6. Ibid., carton 386.

7. Koelle, Polyglotta Africana, 21.

8. Talbot, The Peoples of Northern Nigeria, 408–409.

9. Ibid., 408.

10. Ibid., 410–412.

11. Meek, A Sudanese Kingdom, 156.

12. Koelle, Polyglotta Africana, 21.

13. “French Debt Records in Tripoli, 1669,” Archives Nationales, Paris, Series Afrique, carton 390.

What is missing here is our notes on the possible earlier history of Kwararafa, stretching back to the 1300s and 1400s. 

Attacking Birni Gazargamo (c.1667)

During our attempts to revisit the sources for the enigmatic state or polity known as Kwararafa, we encountered Jukun traditions of Kwararafa's conflict with Borno. One of these episodes, first discussed by Heinrich Barth (who did not name his sources), was an attack on Birni Gazargamo from Kwararafa at the same time as a Tuareg attack. It was said to have occurred during the reign of Ali b. Umar (r. 1639-1677), whose victory against Kwararafa was recorded by a Katsina poet, Dan Marina. In addition, reports of Borno's conflicts with the Tuareg reached Europeans at Tripoli, just as the chirurgien esclave also wrote of Borno's wars with the land of Prester John. Upon closer examination, and particularly with the aid of Richard Gray's work on the ill-fated Borno missions of the Church, it is possible to support some of the Jukun traditions of Kwararafa as a regional power in the 17th century. How exactly it looked in the 16th or 15th century is more difficult to untangle, although traditions from Hausaland and the Kano Chronicle suggest Kwararafa was a power to be reckoned with by the 14th century. In order to clarify the issue, one must enter debates on the chronologies of various kings lists of Kano, Katsina, Zaria, and try to identify when and if the famous Amina of Zaria ever conquered Kwararafa. Sadly, and this may be due to Kwararafa having developed as a multiethnic confederacy in which the Jukun may have been latecomers, Jukun traditions seem to be mainly useful for the period of the 17th century onward rather than these earlier centuries.

However, in the 17th century and early 18th century, reports of Kwararafa as a "Christian" kingdom in conflict with Borno reached Europeans. Claude Lemaire, a French consul in Tripoli with a keen interest in the history of what is now Libya, recorded reports and observations that support this. For instance, in a 1686 letter, Lemaire wrote about trans-Saharan commerce through the Fezzan. In addition, the previously mentioned history of Tripoli by an enslaved surgeon included several observations on the kingdom of Borno. Included in Dewiere's fine dissertation, the relevant sections of Girard's Histoire chronologique du royaume de Tripoly de Barbarie appear to allude to Kwararafa multiple times. Since Girard was confused about the exact geography of the African interior, he believed Ethiopia bordered Borno. And since, already by this time, Europeans believed the "Kwararafa" to be Christian, we suspect Girard confused Kwararafa with Borno. Nonetheless, when reading his account, he uses the word cridi for the so-called Christian black slaves in Tripoly. Upon closer examination, it is very likely that Girard was actually repeating the word kirdi, used in Borno for pagan peoples. This misunderstanding was continued by Lemaire, who then repeated it to the Church, whose missionary arm in the Propaganda Fide began an ill-fated Borno Mission to reach Kwararafa. Needless to say, Kwararafa was not Christian at all, but Gray cites fascinating letters and reports that suggest the cross was a venerated symbol. Someone should revisit these and other sources from the archives of the Propaganda Fide to see what else may be useful for reconstructing the history of Kwararafa.

But, we digress. In short, external, written sources do support the existence of Kwararafa as a regional power in the 17th century. Its conflicts with Kano and Katsina undoubtedly contributed to problems with Borno, too, since the Sayfawa rulers had interests in trade and commerce with these major Hausa states. For example, as late as c.1671, Kwararafa, under Agwabi, attacked Kano. Lemaire, writing in 1706, described "Gourourfa" as powerful, waging war on Borno on religious grounds. The point about religion here is likely a misunderstanding on Lemaire's part, but it shows that even into the early 18th century, relations between Borno and Kwararafa were still marked by conflict. Intriguingly, in 1707, Lemaire wrote of an ambassador of Kwararafa in Borno. This must have been around the time that Borno appointed its own representative, a zanua, to Kwararafa. This position, according to Meek's Sudanese Kingdom, was maintained in Wukari until the 20th century. 

So, conflict between Borno and Kwararafa persisted even into the 18th century. However, at some point, Kwararafa was said to have paid annual tribute to Borno. This idea, apparently reaching Koelle in Sierra Leone via Ali Eisami, should be verified with other sources. Nonetheless, the establishment of permanent envoys between Borno and Kwararafa by the early 1700s may indicate the beginning of more cordial relations. If the decline and disintegration of the confederacy hastened, it would be another reason for more peaceful relations between the two states to become the norm. Interestingly, Adamu, author of The Hausa Factor in West African History, researched oral traditions from the Abakwariga Hausa communities in the region. According to his chronology, two famous malams from Kano and Katsina were said to have settled in the area by the late 1600s. In addition, traditions recorded by Europeans at Wukari indicate the discovery of salines during the late 1600s. The Kwararafa kings, based on Wukari, likely sought to boost the trade in salt, horses, textiles, and other products. In fact the growth of the Abakwariga population was said to have supported crafts and production, especially Hausa-descended blacksmiths. Moreover, Meek, who visited the site of the old Kwararafa capital before Wukari, noticed dye-pits of the Abakwariga as well as pottery fragments with designs like those of the Jukun. This may indicate that already, before the shift of the capital to Wukari in the 17th century, the Hausa communities were an important part of the kingdom's economy.

This brings us back to the conflict with Borno. If Girard's chronology is reliable, we know that in 1667, Ali b. Umar went on the pilgrimage to Mecca. However, upon his return, he found Borno to be in ncivil war. Rebels had tried to seize control, calling for aid from the sultan of Agades against the officers loyal to Ali b. Umar. During this unstable time, a prince of Borno, Ali b. Umar's nephew, was taken captive and sold into slavery across the Sahara. Meanwhile, if the stories reported in Jukun tradition are reliable, a Kwararafa army decided to take advantage of the political instability and attack Borno. According to the Gazetteer of Muri Province edited by Freemantle, the Kwararafa ruler, Katakpa invaded and attacks Gazargamo at the same time as the Tuareg. Unfortunately for them, they were defeated when the besieged Bornoan forces made a deal with the Tuareg and jointly attacked the "pagans" of Kwararafa. What followed was a tale of supernatural magic as the Borno ruler was said to have supernatural control of fire and the Jukun ruler could control rain. Meek, on the other hand, reported from Jukun tradition at Pindiga slightly different details. Supposedly, one story of war with Borno took place under the reign of Adi Matswen. 

While the traditions are somewhat ambiguous on the chronology and perhaps even when Wukari became the capital of Kwararafa, it does appear to be the case that one of the Kwararafa attacks on Birni Gazargamo took place around 1667. Whether or not this was tied to the celebration of Ali b. Umar's victory in a poem by Dan Marina is unclear, since the poet was believed to have died before 1667. If so, then it may have been a celebration of Borno's military intervention against Kwararafa earlier in Ali b. Umar's reign, perhaps after Kwararafa, led by "Adashu," attacked Kano. If the poem by Dan Marina is reliable, Ali b. Umar's forces pursued Kwararafa into their own territory. Regardless of chronological problems if one attempts to connect Dan Marina's poem with the c.1667 conflict, Barth, who likely heard the tale of Birni Gazargamo under attack from the Kwararafa and Tuareg via oral traditions, reported something similar to traditions from the Jukun of Wukari. Of course, the colonial officials who recorded this from the Jukun may have also drawn heavily from Barth, but there reasons to suspect the narrative is largely correct. And if it occurred due to internal strife and civil war in Borno, one can understand more clearly how the Kwararafa and Tuareg of Ahir were able to threaten the capital.