This is the Song in Praise of the Yerima

The praise song for a yerima named Malumi (and Aji?) is occasionally ambiguous and difficult to identify the recipient of its honor. According to Patterson, this yerima lived during the reign of the Idris b. Ali (Idris Alooma). However, there are not enough clues within the text of the song, at least from Patterons's translation, to establish this clearly. First, one must remember the yerima was a titled official in the administration instituted by the Sayfawa dynasty. Their primary task was to protect the northern frontier of Borno, although the title existed earlier in Kanem by the early 14th century (a yerima was said to have thrown the body of mai Ibrahim b. Bir into a river in c.1315). 

The particular yerima here, Malumi or Aji, is difficult to place in a historical context. If he lived during the reign of Idris b. Ali in the late 1500s, then the allusion to Kukawa in this praise song is another anachronism. Even the reference to Malumi's mother, Amne of the Shuwa Arabs, could be suggestive of a later time period. For instance, the Shuwa Arabs were partners of al-Kanemi's rise to power in the 19th century, even if the Shuwa and Kanembu were not always loyal. Alternative explanations exist, naturally, since some Shuwa Arabs were already in Borno long before the 1800s. The other place name we could easily locate, Gajiram, is not too far north of Borno's current capital. The other toponyms are presumably areas in the north, as suggested by the praise song's mention of stables in the north and the town of Zari, which may be the same place that northwest of Kukawa that can be located with Google Maps. To reiterate, the anachronisms and place names do suggest northern areas, as does the line about acacia trees in abundance (the word, kindil,also used for Tuaregs and possibly a reference to areas on Borno's northern frontier). 

In terms of the attributes of the yerima, he is praised profusely and even attributed impossible tasks, like milk from male goats or bulls. He is of noble lineage, wealthy, a great warrior, and praised for defending the gateway to Borno with many spears and guns. This is what one should come to expect from this genre of literature. Intriguingly, conflict with the kaigama is hinted at a few times in the song. Indeed, the opinion of expert testimony is solicited to "prove" the greater position of the yerima against the kaigama. Unlike him, the yerima is not of slave descent, is a bigger man, and presumably more deserving of praise. According to historians, like Muhammad Nur Alkali, the kaigama was a commander-in-chief title of great responsibility. But, by the time of this praise song, perhaps the kaigama title was held by men of slave origin or status. While the position used to be conferred on people of royal blood, sometime in the Borno period of the Sayfawa, they began to confer the title on individuals of slave backgrounds. As an official with immense responsibilities in the state military as well as ritual obligations with regards to the mai in Gazargamo, one would think the yerima was actually less important in terms of power and influence. The praise song referring to a yerima as superior must date to conditions after kaigamas were of slave status, and perhaps a reference to conflict over power and influence in the state between officials of noble lineages and those of slave status used by the mais. Furthermore, use of these titles during the 19th century under the al-Kanemi may have provided another source of conflict between ruling factions of free/noble lineage and slave officials. This is clearly distinct from past alliances between holders of these titles in the 1300s and 1400s. Indeed, their alliances in the past could depose Sayfawa sultans, like Uthman b. Dawud in 1422. Presumably, the newer arrangement in which kaigamas were of servile origin was used by the Sayfawa rulers to counter any attempt by these powerful individuals from uniting their strength to seize power. If Nur Alkali is correct, this change in practice, when princes were no longer appointed as kaigamas, took place during the reign of Ali Gaji in the late 15th century.

Take a second and read the praise song in Patterson's 1926 translation. Let us know what you think.

Yerima Malumi, he is the strength of the Capital

Yerima who owns the town of Kurkuri of may jujube trees

You are the Yerima who owns Dal Karia

Yerima, you are the owner of Sugugu

Star of the morning whose light illumines the East and the West

These are all attributes of Yerima Malumi

Yerima, if your father is alive, Dal Karia is yours

And even if he dies, Dal Karia is yours

Yerima, for whom a he-goat gives milk and a bull gives milk

That is what it is to be Yerima

Is the Kaigama the big man? No, no, the Yerima is the big man

It is said that people argued on this point

Where is Adam, Fanta’s son? Seek him

And Yusuf, Palmata’s son? Seek him

And Dunama, Fana’s song? Seek him

They got these three witnesses and they gave their evidence,

(They said) Yerima is like the moon at its full.

That is what it is to be the Yerima

His father and mother are both of noble birth

The Yerima is a chief who has his stables in the North, that is the Yerima.

Who is the Kaigama? The Kaigama is a slave.

You, Yerima the owner of Firi Mayamiram

And of Yuri Arbasan, and of Mafi Gudu

And of Barkawal and Belle

And the owner of Ngilwasu, and Damaya of the Fan Palms

Zari the Yerima’s town is the gateway (to Bornu) defended with many spears

Zari the Yerima’s town where guns are as numerous as the fruit of the fan palms

Zari the Yerima’s town where those who sit in council with him are as numerous as the “Kindil” (acacia) trees

Zari the Yerima’s town where vendettas are as numerous as the Acacia Verek trees

Zari the Yerima’s town where silks and silver head-ornaments abound

Zari the Yerima’s town full of milch cows and arrow shafts

Hi! Young lady! Be careful young lady!

When his neighbor is sweeping out his compound, the Yerima breaks his head with cones of sugar.

Yerima Aji whose mother was Amne was the last of his line to rule in Gajiram

The honey of Kummowa town

Kumai in the East the town of your female slave

You a son of Amne of the Shuwa Arab tribe

A son of Mairema, who never turns his back on his assailants

Owner of Tawai and of Barai town

Since I was born I have never seen a good man (except you),

Since I was born and grew up to be as old as I am now

I have never seen a good man (except you)

Fire of the town of Barari

Smoke of Kukawa called “Ngwali”

Yerima Aji whose mother was Amne

Owner of Tawai, my lord Aji

East, the town of Barari is yours

In the West, you own Bara the pagan town

Son of a man invincible. 

A calabash spoon with get one over the difficulty of eating hot food

For the dangers of the water of a river a canoe is the remedy

For hunger possession of a milch cow is the remedy

For cold a blanket is the remedy

A large leather sheet is a protection against a tornado

Aji whose mother was Amne and father the invincible is one’s remedy against things that annoy

The kid of a long-haired goat

Will perhaps show a likeness to its dam either in its forehead or its ribs or its legs

Son of a man invincible, you are the remedy against things that annoy.

The Song to the Magaram

Another song which is difficult to interpret  is "The Song to the Magaram." Patterson's translation appears to capture the repetition of the song, which uses a repetitive structure to list the areas where the magaram held lands and much influence. For instance, her land included parts of the Komadugu (presumably fertile areas near the river?) and the walled town of Nguri (Nguru?). Without a thorough knowledge of toponyms in Borno and Kanem, however, it is difficult to interpret this list. This honored sister of the mai does seem to be associated with fertile lands and even compared to the rains and harvest. It brings to mind references to pre-Islamic Kanem in which the mai is associated with fertility and as a source of provision. If our own speculative understanding of the ritual and sacral functions of pre-Islamic Kanem's royalty is probable, then the praise song associated the sister of the mai could also be drawing on this ancient, non-Islamic tradition. Naturally, this is pure speculation on our part that requires further investigation. 

The rest of the praise song for Aisa, a daughter of Dunama (which Dunama?), however, focuses on her genealogy. Here is where it becomes rather difficult to connect the names based on various girgams and the Diwan as Kanuri and Arabic names for the same figure appear and some names were repeatedly used by multiple rulers of the Sayfawa dynasty. Nonetheless, the Aisa named here appears likely to have been a Magaram in the 1500s or so, if she was indeed the great-granddaughter of "Kalima." This appears to have been a deposed mai named Uthman ibn Dawud. Named Uthman K.l.n.ma in the Diwan,  we know he was deposed by kaygama Nikali b. Ibrahim and yerima Kaday Ka'aku in c.1422. He later died in Kano. Other ancestors of this Magaram appear to have lived even earlier in the history of the Sayfawa. For instance, the earlier ancestor, Tsilim of Njim, appears to be a reference to the first "black" mai of Kanem, a Salma b. Hawa who reigned c. 1182-1210. The genealogy is a little hard to follow, but the ancestors of the Magaram seem to include multiple past rulers of the dynasty. If one of the more recent ones had reigned in the early 1420s, we assume the Aisa named here to have lived sometime in the late 15th century or 16th century, perhaps yet another song for the mother of Idris Alooma? If the Magaram held lands along the Komadugu and other areas of Borno which were not fully under Sayfawa rule until the late 1400s or 1500s, then this woman may have lived after the initial consolidation of Sayfawa rule in Borno. Alternatively, the song may conflates details of different women, including the mother of Idris Alooma who was said to have reigned as a regent on behalf of her son. 

The Song to the Magaram

Magaram, Magaram Aisa, Dunama’s daughter

Of the fruitful land of the “kurna” trees

You are the owner, Magaram

Of Hadisharam Gabala,

You are the owner, Magaram

Of Damarkaba

You are the owner, Magaram

Yours Kindaguri, Magaram

Of Alagarno, the Sultan’s camp

You are the owner, Magaram

Of Damaji,

You are the owner, Magaram

Of the walled town Nguri

You are the owner, Magaram

Of Chegone with its rich farm-lands

You are the owner, Magaram

Of Komadugu,

And of Karnowa, you are the owner, Magaram

Of Ragunde

You are the owner, Ya Magaram

Of Wuli Bagori, Wuli Bagori established by force,

You are the owner, Magaram

The owner of Dagumo, you

And you the owner of Ilasri, Magaram

Of Malleya with its cattle-trough, a trough of gold

You are the owner, Magaram

The owner of Dalarge-on-the-hill, you

Of Labarwa you are the owner, Magaram

A mist has obscured the Sun

The land in the East, is yours

And you, Magaram, the owner of the land in the West

Of the women of small importance, you are the mother, Magaram

Of the great women you are the elder sister, Magaram

During the rainy season, you are the rains, Magaram

In the harvest, you are the harvest, Magaram

Derman son of Nguli (is your paternal uncle)

Nguli son of Atiman

(Your great-grandfather) Kalima, son of Daudu

(One of your maternal ancestors) a man named Liguma ‘son of Gaji’

(An ancestor) Gandange, son of Derman son of Dakkane

(An ancestor) Dalla whose mother was Amina and whose town Wuzudu

Amina, a daughter of Njimi Town

Njimi of Tsilim, Hawa’s son

And (Tsilim’s) son the Prince Kara, whose mother was Amimi

Magaram, who even when she camped in deserted bush,

Distributes a thousand bowls of food

God give to our mother Magaram, 

The long life of a frog,

And the dignity of an eagle

And we shall be happy

The Song of the Ngijima to the Magira

The following is a praise song to the Magira Aisa, a daughter of one of the most important rulers in the annals of  the Sayfawa, Dunama Dibalemi. According to the praise song, Aisa became magira, perhaps meant here as symbolic rather than actually the mother of a king. The song is very interesting for what it suggests about the power of elite women in medieval Kanem, even during the apogee of medieval Kanem in the late 13th century. In addition to holding "fiefs" in various regions, she also received praised for military leadership ("battle-axe, the whip of Wadai") and for her ability to provide ("honey, honey cakes"). According to Patterson's footnotes, the reference to honey cakes here is to their use as subsistence for military campaigns, again suggesting the wealth and status of the Magira was at least in part invested in military expeditions. It seems highly unlikely that Aisa herself led campaigns, but further investigation into this topic is required to know for certain. 

What about trying to connect the praise song to the 13th century? Again, there are anachronisms in the text, such as the reference to Wadai (the "Tajuwa" under Kanem's suzerainty mentioned by Ibn Said?) or Gambaru (the former certainly did not exist as such in the 13th century). However, we know Kanem under Dunama Dibalemi did extend its influence far to the north (the Fezzan) and to other areas around Lake Chad and the east. Perhaps the allusions to Bagirmi or Wadai are simply references to those directions as regions under the influence of Kanem or subject to predatory raids. It may have been similar for the references to Air and Damergu, although we have evidence from mahrams supposedly written in medieval Kanem that mention Air. Indeed, one wonders if references to Kanem's overlord ship of "Berbers" in the 1200s may actually be a reference to Berbers in Air and southern Libya. 

After all, we know from the Diwan that conflict with the Tubu erupted during the reign of Aisa's father, Dunama. In addition, via al-Maqrizi we learn of a Kanem raid or attack on the Mabna people in 1252/53, perhaps a group in the Lake Chad region (Mober?). Even more intriguing is the assassination of Dunama Dibalemi's son, Kade (Kaday) in 1277 by a court dignitary. According to the same Diwan, Kade was succeeded by a brother, Bir. Perhaps the prominence of Aisa was due to her helping a younger brother consolidate his reign during troubled times, after the assassination of her other brother? Furthermore, Nur Alkali saw the period of conflict after the reign of Dunama Dibalemi as one related to ecological changes, leading to conflict over scarcer resources. This might explain praise songs mentioning the extensive lands held by the Magira, her ability to support food for soldiers, and her ability to host games (horse races or festivities?). Moreover, we know from Ibn Said's account of Kanem that Dunama Dibalemi's Kanem included vast numbers of horses and control of various regions around Lake Chad, including gardens for sugar-cane. These areas were noted for giraffes, fowl, agricultural fertility and wealth, so it is likely that the Magira Aisa held land (worked by peasants and slaves?) in these regions, too. 

Ultimately, it is perhaps perilous to attempt to connect this praise song with the historical conditions of Kanem in the second half of the 13th century. Nonetheless, there are some clues here that could be suggestive of the major role of a daughter of Dunama who helped keep the kingdom together in the divided, fractious times after the reign of her father. If, perhaps, she helped oversee the transition after the assassination of Kaday in c.1277, she played a major role as a military leader and within court politics. If, on  the other hand, she was the mother of a king, then we must revise this theory. There is also a small chance that the Aisa remembered here is confused with the mother of Idris b. Ali, a powerful mai of the 16th century. If so, then the praise singer was mistakenly understood by Patterson. If the Magira in mention was the Aisa Killi, a Bulala princess and daughter of a Bulala royal named Dunama, then the anachronistic elements of the story are gone. But, this still doesn't explain the reference to Dunama Dibalemi in the song, the greatest King of 13th century Kanem and never, to our knowledge, a name used by the Bulala rulers.

Magira Mother of the King

Magira

You the cause of Bagirmi’s harrying

You the battle-axe, the whip of Wadai

You the leopard (that lies) in the cassia bush

You the lion (hungry until) forenoon with a cub beside it

Mother of the King, Magira

She is precious, precious as gold

(Daughter) of Kadabu Lafiam

Your land Ngalagati, the land of the bush-cow 

To the man who likes you, give honey to drink

Him who despises you, kill, drag away and leave (unburied)

You, Magira, are sweeter than honey

You are whiter than milk

(Your face) brighter than the moon at its full 

The river Magira yours; no one will oppress you

Yours the games at which are your daughters of four spans:

Yours the seventy dandals

At their games one thousand maidens attend

Magira you too are a Sultan

The fig tree in whose shade the play is held is yours

Yours the place of the games which are held every day

To the place of games the Ngijima, Zakkama and Babuman come, all three of them

You said “I shall give you the customary present”

Where is it? We have come for it

Yours Ngabala, Ngabala of the games

Today you have completed the acquisition of the seventh attribute of kingship

Yours Bantego, Tarmusuwama

And the city Njimi of the plains

Yours Firi Kimo and Firi Mayamiram

Yours Ngelgusuwa and Damaya town

The King the Protector of Islam was created from you

North, Air Damergo is yours

South, Barka Wal

There rain is first to fall, and does not cease until all other rains are over

Of the slaves Barka Gana and Barka Kura you are the owner, Magira

Yours Mogomi, and Gambaru

In the Acacia tree before your house the people pound the honey cakes

Mother of the King, Magira Aisa, daughter of Dunama Dabalemi

You are glowing embers of the town of Njimi

Aisa Dunama’s daughter was buried in their town Ngabala of the Deleh Palms

The Ngijima, Babuma and Zakkama have accomplished their purpose.

The Song of the Babuma to the Sultan Ume Jilmi

The following is Patterson's translation of "The Song of the Babuma to the Sultan Ume Jilmi" from his Kanuri Songs. As a praise song for a mai of Kanem who lived in the 11th century, the text is full of anachronisms that require careful consideration and interpretation. While the general tenor of the praise song may reflect, to some degree, the high regard with which the first Muslim ruler of Kanem was viewed. However, anachronistic elements and the transformations over time in Kanem (and later, Borno) undoubtedly shaped the song and how early Islamic Kanem was remembered by the Kanuri of the early 20th century. For an example of anachronisms, note how the song ends with a reference to Birni Njimi, the ancient capital of Kanem. However, the sources are not exactly clear when Njimi replaced Manan as the capital of Kanem. Similarly, there is no way to know if the first Muslim Sultan of Kanem really did attack the land of Mobber or scatter captives in Bagirmi. While Lange seems to believe in the deeper antiquity of the name Bagirmi and perhaps a longer history of a polity there, we have no way to know to what extent Kanem was active in Bagirmi during the late 11th century. However, the song does record the name of Humme's maternal grandfather, Aji of Gagara Wunji. If the Diwan is reliable, Humme's mother was of Kay extraction, but the grandfather was named Ghumar. Was one name Kanuri (Aji?) while Ghumar reflected what may have been an already Islamized Muslim background of Hummay's mother? Intriguingly, like other traditions and sources, this Muslim ruler was remembered as having fair skin. 

Hail all powerful! To-day you are the world’s health-giver

Who hold destiny in your hands,

to-day you have made the world a paradise:

With whom lies the power for good

or evil, to-day you are the world’s

sweetness

Islam’s disposer, to-day you are the

pillar supporting the world

Who hold destiny in your hands, 

to-day, you have made the world a 

paradise

Sultan, who owns the town of Beskur,

leave off pleasure-seeking

Yours the market of the finest horses,

Ume Jilmi

Her whose mother was Tika, son of 

a warrior, a bush cow among men

Whose town is Umuru, who is a 

cause for wonder amongst all men

Went to the Wabe war three hundred and thirty-three times:

Three were undecided, but of your

goodness lead an army into battle 

You have fought in many parts and

put up the (mosque in the) ‘dandal’

Yours the corn measure in the daily 

markets and in the large ones too

Head of a troop of horse to-day you

are the greatest of all horsemen

Your protection spreads like wings

o’er your men, your men spread out 

behind you like wings

I (i.e. the Babuma) shall tell of

your greatness 

You are our protector whose acts are

done in secret

You are Sultan of all the great

Protect us and we shall protect you 

here on earth 

O! Sultan, you are the Ark of the 

Koran 

Whose grandfather was Aji of

Gagara Wunji

Son of Aji’s daughter 

You are a Sultan, fair of skin,

 who own the land of Kanem

On Sunday night you make you

plans, day dawns

On Monday forenoon, as it were

now, (you carry them into effect)

On your shoes, a piebald horse, on a 

fine stallion do your prancing

Send out the heat of your fiery 

spirit: no one can oppose your

plans

You put to flight a warrior, Dalla,

son of Mukka, chief of the land of 

Mobber, during the freshness of the 

rainy season

Again and again you put him to

flight 

Then forced him on to a raft of papyrus grass

Then you returned to your camp:

And came back and again forced him

on to his raft

And captured (from his following) a thousand slaves

And took them and scattered them 

in the open places of Bagirmi

The best you took (and sent home) as

the first fruits of battle

The children crying on their mothers

you snatched away from their 

mothers

You took the slave wife from a slave,

And set them in lands far removed 

from one another 

O! Sultan, the good, whose sleep is

(light as that) of a hare

Sultan, truly a Sultan, who stays 

not in the house of his father’s

sister 

Of noble birth from both his father 

and mother

Of noble birth indeed, of noble birth

from both his parents

(Where you sit) costly carpets are

spread for you, above your head is

a canopy of gold

O! Sultan, (who can discomfit one) 

like pebbles on one’s eyelashes

O! Sultan, Angel of God.

As (there is a) protector of the 

camel’s tongue, do you protect us

The friend of youth

Whose writing slate is made of ‘kabwi’ wood

At night (a warrior) on a coal-black

Horse; but when day dawns he (is

to be seen) with his Koran in his hand.

We wait upon your blessing

Babuma Amadu said to Mai Aji Fannami at the Sugu war,

“Sultan, even if you are mounted

on your bay horse called ‘Kite

Kiteram”.

Birni Njimi is a long way off if you

want to run away.

Gazetteer of Bornu Province

H.R. Palmer's Gazetteer of Bornu Province is what one expects from the works of Palmer. The colonial administrator moonlighting as a scholar is more of the former here in terms of presenting information of all types on colonial Borno in the 1920s. Thus, beyond his usual far-fetched theories of Hamitic migration/conquest illustrated with questionable linguistic evidence and problematic, forced correspondence of legends and myths of origins across a vast swathe of Sahelian Africa (the Kanuri rulers are ultimately traced back to Kush and the Hamites), Palmer also presents information on the roads of Kanem, taxation, residents, and brief histories of the various emirates within Bornu province. Thus, the people of Biu, Fika, Potiskum and the Bedde receive brief attention here, although their deeper history is nowhere treated as seriously as that of the Kanuri and Kanembu. 

There are few interesting observations of ethnological and historical interest, of course. For instance, Palmer viewed the Sao as some sort of singular state or kingdom, with a main capital near the site of Dikwa at N'difu, ruling for 400 years before transferring their court to N'galla. The Manga people, are also described as being a servile class, descendants of slaves of Kanem's rulers, who adopted the Kanuri language and ways. In addition, Palmer noted a weakness of "national" feeling in precolonial Borno. Thus, even the Sugurti Kanembu who supposed al-Kanemi when he seized power in Borno later turned against his dynasty in the 1840s when Wadai supported the Sayfawa candidate Ali Dalatumi against the Shehu. Intriguingly, Palmer likewise raises attention to a mallam, named Buki, who led an "unarmed rabble" against Rabeh in the 1890s, which is yet another fascinating moment in which mallams played a role in popular movements. 

In terms of other peoples and emirates in the province, all are in the shadow of Borno, even if independent or largely so. Biu, for example, remembered the first ma as Yamta ra Wala, who was said to have been born in Birni Gazargamo. Unsurprisingly, the rulers of Biu sent gifts to the ruler of Borno as well. The Bedde and Ngizim are also linked to Borno through Kanem, where they are said to have come from. As for the other groups, such as the Koyam and Tubu, Palmer forces everything through his Hamitic theory's lens, trying to connect the koyam to the Tuareg and the clans which later came to rule Kanem and Borno to the Kushites of Yam and Nubia. It's a wild ride, but one familiar to anyone who has Bornu Sahara and Sudan. Palmer certainly had a creative imagination!

Songs for the Sayfawa

J.R. Patterson's Kanuri Songs are a fascinating collection of praise songs from precolonial Borno. Collected by Patterson in the 1920s from descendants of the professional praise singers who once occupied an important position in the Sayfawa court, all the songs commemorate rulers, leaders, or relatives associated with the Sayfawa dynasty. Intriguingly, several (about 4) are in honor of people associated with Ali b. Umar's reign in the 17th century. Perhaps this attests to memories of his reign as one of prosperity and a Golden Age for the state. One, the earliest, which was certainly reworked over the generations and likely contains anachronisms, is a praise song for the first Muslim mai, Humme. Even more interesting is the fact that two of the songs are for women, including a magira and a gumsu, both of whom appear to have not only occupied prominent positions in the state but held extensive fiefs. Indeed, a more thorough familiarity with the Kanuri language and toponyms in Borno and surrounding areas might be necessary to locate some of the places where these powerful women once held land. 

Naturally, a deep familiarity with the conventions of praise songs among the Kanuri, as well as other oral and written literary traditions is necessary. Patterson was praised by Palmer for his deep familiarity with the Kanuri language, but one wonders if future scholars noticed errors in translation and interpretation. Of course, by the very nature of their genre and function, the praise songs must be interpreted very carefully for any historical content. The genealogies are useful and likely one of the sources for the various girgams and the Diwan, but they undoubtedly focus on military triumphs, celebrate the ruler (or elites) and likely obfuscate defeats, problems, or unjust practices by the Sayfawa dynasty. Moreover, one must also wonder about the larger corpus of praise songs for the Sayfawa. If a song was still in use on the very first Islamic king of Kanem, surely some songs likely survived on other medieval kings of Kanem. For example, Patterson translated a song in honor of Dunama Dibalemi's daughter, yet there is no song for Dunama Dibalemi himself? Similarly, prominent Sayfawa mais like Idris b. Ali, Ali b. Dunama, or Idris b. Katakarmabe almost surely were the subjects of praise songs.

If, however, the once respected positions of the ngijima, babuma and zakkama were no longer an important part of the Shehu court, then it is perhaps understandable why the repertoire might have shrunk by 1926. Perhaps the most glorious Sayfawa kings, whose dynasty was wiped out in 1846 by al-Kanemi's son, would not have been a popular subject matter to the al-Kanemi dynasty's court. For instance, by the time of Barth's travels in Borno, finding detailed records on the previous dynasty was difficult for him. It may have been the case that by the 1920s, when Patterson's translation of these songs was published, Kanuri praise songs might have been lost or hidden. 

So, what types of historical information can be gleamed from these songs? A closer examination awaits us, but they highlight the role of the Sayfawa rulers, the kaigama, yerima, galadima, as military leaders who defend their borders, make conquests, and hail from noble lineages (the genealogical aspect is rather important here). The song for Humme, for example, even includes Bagirmi as an area of operations for the first Muslim king, which may or may not be an example of anachronisms in the song. The praise songs for women are striking for the celebration of women as elites and for their wealth and noble lineage, not just as wives, sisters, or relatives of the kings. That women were once so powerful as landowners and political forces in their own right reveals an aspect of Kanem and Borno under Sayfawa rule that is largely hidden in the Islamic sources.

Even more remarkable is the number of songs dedicated to figures associated with Ali b. Umar (r. 1639-1677). One of his wives is the subject of a praise song, as well as one each for a yerima, kaigama, and to the zerma. In short, 4 out of the 11 songs are said to date to Ali b. Umar's reign. In other words, memories of his reign loomed large, and even though no song specifically for him was recorded by Patterson, his wife and other prominent officials/relations of his were remembered positively. One even alluded to conflict with Air, something verified by other sources and traditions for Ali b. Umar's reign. Whether or not Ali b. Umar's wife truly did endeavor to stop him from going to battle is another question, yet the praise songs for leaders with military responsibilities suggest Ali b. Umar's officials were usually successful in their operations. Again, the very nature of these sources would mitigate against mention of any extreme failures.

Overall, the Kanuri Songs translated by Patterson are fascinating examples of what must have been a much larger repertoire of traditional praise singing going back several centuries. To what extent it would be possible today to find examples of praise songs for other rulers or leaders of Kanem and Borno before the advent of the al-Kanemi dynasty is hard to say, but they certainly provide a different perspective on this fascinating civilization. Those on the Kanem period or the era of Sayfawa consolidation in Borno would be particularly interesting to compare with chronicles and written sources on the same periods. 

Kanuri in 16th Italy (Lucia Celu)

A fascinating performance of "Lucia Celu" by Orlando di Lasso features some words in the Kanuri language. According to Salvatore, some of the allegedly nonsensical words associated with this song are Kanuri, with Giorgio even referencing Borno.