The Wealth of Bagirmi

 

Whilst revisiting various sources on Bagirmi, we were struck by al-Tunisi's account of the staggering amount of wealth hoarded by the kingdom. Although he was not personally present for Sabun of Wadai's invasion of Bagirmi and the pillaging of Massenya, he did have access to informants who participated in the victory, such as his own father. This precious testimony makes al-Tunisi's Voyage au Ouadây an essential source on Wadai during the early 19th century. According to al-Tunisi, Wadai forces found the room in the palace filled up to the ceiling with leather sacs containing duros, or Spanish silver coins. One of the sacs supposedly contained 4000 duros and about ten were missing from the room of about 20 square feet. From this, we read an estimate of more than 200,000 francs were lost. He doesn't say the total number brought back to Wadai, but if the remaining number of sacs left in that room were brought back to Wara, loot seized from Bagirmi was immense. Indeed, perhaps the equivalent of millions of US dollars worth of silver coins were stolen from Bagirmi's palace. This amount of silver coins may have been the result of the last several Bagirmi kings hoarding the coins. Unfortunately, we do not know to what extent such silver was used in conjunction with strips of cloth or other units of exchange in the kingdom. Perhaps they were mainly used for purchasing luxury goods as well as ensuring the price of silver locally remained high (by restricting circulation), thereby increasing the monarch's control of international commerce?

"L'ancien royaume du Baguirmi" and Lanier

 

Map of Bagirmi in Lanier's "L'ancien royaume du Baguirmi" in Bulletin du Comité de l'Afrique française 35 (1925).

Whilst revisiting various sources on the history of Bagirmi before the 19th century, we recently re-read Henri Lanier's essay, "L'ancien royaume du Baguirmi." Based on notes collected from 1913-1916, Lanier's essay provides a different look at the early origins of Bagirmi. He also claimed to have consulted a list of Bagirmi rulers with the regnal lengths from a lettered family that conserved this information orally. Unfortunately, he did not name said family but noted their familial ties to Bagirmi monarchs like Hadji (Muhammad al-Amin). Thus, his list of rulers and the dates are not the same as those of Nachtigal. One wonders if this list also fabricated a new Arab progenitor of the dynasty in the figure of Abdel Mahamoud Begli.

When we look at these different 19th century and colonial-era articles or chapters on the history of Bagirmi, we cannot help but think of the Andean world and the Spanish chronicles on the Inca. Like the Incas, in Bagirmi, the colonial writings are based (almost) entirely on oral tradition for the period before European conquest. Unlike the Incas, however, Bagirmi did possess a system of writing (although the khipu system was highly sophisticated and capable of recording different types of information, too). We suspect it was used for gargams as in Borno and for Islamic scholarship. Lettered village chiefs, given the title of gol, in places like Bidri and Aboughern may also have produced documents or texts with relevant information on Bagirmi's history, too. Also, recording of the royal genealogy of the kings was partly entrusted to someone Gaden believed was officially tied to the court. This person was supposed to recite the names of the kings of Bagirmi and how long they reigned. Presumably, praise-singers tied to the court and descendants of kings or dignitaries also preserved information orally. For instance, Nachtigal experienced this when writing his history of Bagirmi, speaking to elite descendants who even knew the names of the horses used by their ancestors in the various military campaigns or battles in Bagirmi's past. Like the Andean world, we also suspect descendants of different dignitaries and kings may have preserved or passed down competing versions of past events. With the frequency of revolts or usurpations in Bagirmi's past, one also suspects there may have been versions of the royal history that deviated from earlier traditions to help legitimize another descent group. 

We cannot prove it, but we suspect the reign of Muhammad al-Amin, or Hadji Muhammad, may have represented one such moment in which his reign sought to legitimize his descent group seizing the throne after their ancestor, Abd el-Kader, was killed by his brother, Ousman. Perhaps like Pachacuti in Tawantinsuyu, Muhammad al-Amin's reign, viewed by Lanier as the apogee of Bagirmi, witnessed the consolidation of another variation in Bagirmi's origins story. Certainly, the insertion of an unfamiliar Arab into the royal genealogy by Lanier's informants may have a connection with Muhammad al-Amin's reputation of propagating Islam in the kingdom during the second half of the 18th century. Doing so highlighted the Islamic credentials of the dynasy since their origins.

As in the case of the distant Incas, Lanier's summary of pre-19th century Bagirmi history shares much of the same information with other studies. However, perhaps due to the frequency of shared names among different mbangs, Lanier attributes historical events to different rulers than Nachtigal, Carbou, or others. For instance, Lanier believed that the Bourkoumanda Tadlele, whose reign he dated 1734-1739, was the one who gave his sister in marriage to a Bulala sultan and engaged on a long series of campaigns to Borku and Kawar. The evidence for this being the work of an earlier Burkomanda in the 17th century is more likely. 

Similarly, Lanier's account of Oumar, the first king, deviates from that of others. His Oumar, who allegedly arrived in Bagirmi in a group of about 300 companions, was the one who shared elephant meat with locals and gathered local support. He then led them in resistance to the Bulala sultans who imposed tribute on the area previously. However, the tribute to the Bulala was not the same as that recorded by Edwige, who reported the tribute to the Bulala sultan was in cloth. Otherwise, the traditions are somewhat similar in that Oumar defeats the cavalry sent by the Bulala sultan, although Edwige thought Dalou-Birni accomplished this.

Subsequent Bagirmi history according to Lanier diverges substantially with the addition of the Arab figure before continuing with some familiar names. Lanier's account apparently adds a second Libatko to the list of kings and then dates Bang Dolo Berni (also named Ahmet Al Berni or Dal Beri Besse)  1513-1543. This mbang is recognizable in other lists, as well as Malo (said to have been the tshiroma) and Abdallah. The custom of blinding royal competitors supposedly began with Abdallah, the first usurper (although other sources differ on this). As for the 17th century, little is reported except for father to son succession for a few reigns and the conquest of Dekakire by Abd el Kader (r. 1660-1694). Lanier's version of events after this appears garbled or confused compared to the narrative of Nachtigal. However, without elucidating his sources, Lanier produces a date of 1741 for an attack from Borno which forced the mbang Lahoual (Alahouine) to recognize the authority of the Sayfawa. This could very well be correct, and could be the result of one of the Late Sayfawa Period maiwa attempting to reassert Bornoan influence to the south and east of Lake Chad.

Toward the end of this period, when Sabun of Waday invaded and pillaged Massenya, Lanier's explanation of the conflict is quite familiar. Wadai's attack was partly motivated by Bagirmi's assault on the Bulala sultanate, which resulted in the death of its ruler. Supposedly, Saboun invaded, in part, to avenge the Bulalas (perhaps to also reassert Wadai's sphere of influence in the Fitri region and ending Bagirmi raids on their border, too). The details are in alignment with Nachtigal here.

Ultimately, besides a slightly different chronology with years presumably drawn from a well-connected family, Lanier's history of Bagirmi is quite familiar for anyone who has read Nachtigal. His narrative also stretches further back in time to include Oumar in the 1400s, attributing the cessation of Bagirmi tribute to the Bulala sultans to his leadership. By c. 1493, however, Oumar was dead, and a few additional reigns separate him from Bang Dolo Berni. Lanier seems to have acknowledged that other writers had little to report on the very early history of the kingdom since many of their informants only knew of Dolo Berni (or, Ahmet Al Berni/Dal Beri Besse). Possible problems immediately emerge in Lanier's account, too. The duplication of Libatko and the addition of an Arab into the royal genealogy (beyond just vague claims of Middle Eastern origin) may be the result of a specific family of informants. His account of later historical developments in the 1600s and 1700s also garbles or omits the stories associated with some mbangs. In this case, it is perhaps a result of this same family with elite connections choosing to promote certain Bagirmi rulers and their lineages above those of others. Alternatively, these informants may have mixed the achievements of kings with those of similarly named rulers from different centuries. 

As for its most unique trait, the extra details on the earliest rulers may also have been partly shaped by this family seeking to predate the origins of Islam among the royal family to the 1400s and early 1500s, before Abdallah. We return again to the Andean parallel where historians and chroniclers must parse through these often conflicting narratives passed on through oral tradition and how the specific background of their informants and the regions they collected information from in the kingdom shaped their retelling of the history. In the case of Bagirmi, perhaps greater attention to written texts produced within the kingdom can be analyzed to help understand the relationship between the royal court and the ulama. Implications here can be useful for comprehending the contradictions and divergence in the oral traditions.

Wali Mai Kargo and al-Jirmi Miracles

Whilst rereading "Temple's 'Notes on the History of Kano' [1909]: A Lost Chronicle on Political Office" from Sudanic Africa by Lovejoy, Mahadi and Mukhtar, we saw an interesting miracle attributed to MaiKalgo (or Mai Kargo) on page 49. Although the document appears to have been a draft and contains a number of errors or contradicts the more famous Kano Chronicle at times, we thought it was intriguing to see Temple's version of the miracle of the famous wali in question. According to Temple, MaiKalgo's blood wrote out the Shahada when he was killed by the  Kwararafa forces which attacked Kano during the reign of Muhama Zaki. If one follows Palmer's chronology, his reign should be tentatively dated 1582-1618. Dokaji, on the other hand, associates Mai Kargo (MaiKalgo) with a later attack on Kano during the reign of Dada (Dadi, 1670-1703). Furthermore, the miracle reported by Dokaji does not mention anything about the blood of the slain wali from what we can tell.

However, the tradition of Temple about the slain holy man's blood writing out the Muhammadan creed is very similar to at least one tradition about al-Jirmi of Borno. Said to have executed by the order of the mai Umar of Borno, the blood of this leader of the earliest known Kalumbardo was said to have written out the Islamic creed. Undoubtedly, this miracle was part of a broader set of miraculous stories on the sanctity of figures unjustly killed. In the case of Mai Kargo, it was his death at the hands of the pagan Kwararafa. For Muhammad Bello, writing in the 19th century and seeking to justify the jihad against Borno, it was incorporated into the tale to heighten the charge against the Sayfawa on Islamic grounds.

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, Bareberi. 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.

Señor Burns

 

Nostalgia for the great JRPGs of the 1990s reminded us of the peak years of The Simpsons. We always thought it was amazing that Tito Puente appeared in an episode, and even more that his group recorded the song "Señor Burns." The Simpsons truly had some magical moments back in those days...

Edwige's Notes on the Melfi Subdivision

Ch. Edwige's "Notes sur la subdivision de Melfi" is a report from the 1920s based largely on oral traditions. While certainly aware of earlier works on Bagirmi's history, such as Nachtigal, Edwige's list of Bagirmi kings before the 19th century is much shorter. Perhaps due to the nature of his informants in Melfi, which included Sokoro, Kenga, and Dekakire, much of Bagirmi's pre-1800s past was not retained in local traditions. Exceptions, of course, could be found. For instance, the chiefly lineage of the n'gares of the Sokoros claimed to know the names of about 13 different chiefs. Besides this family lineage which inherited a position, the heterogeneous population of Muslims and non-Muslims provides fewer instances of this type of well-established genealogy. 

Despite the obvious errors and incomplete nature of Edwige's list of Bagirmi kings, it is nonetheless a possible opportunity to explore how traditions from this area of the kingdom perceived their distant past. In some ways, it follows the general narrative with occasional omissions or what may be legendary traits added to the tradition. Take Dalou-Birni, for example. Clearly identifiable with Nachtigal's Dalobirni, who reigned in the 17th century, he is also meant to be Birni Besse, one of the founding figures of Bagirmi's royal dynasty. Edwige's informants added extra details. First, according to Edwige, Dalu was of Arab origin from the Kuraysh (though it is telling that his brothers included one named Kenga, perhaps an admission of the shared roots of the Barma and Kenga). This Middle Eastern origin story is hardly surprising. But Edwige also shared a more narratively rich background for Dalou-Birni, whose accentuated color sparked the feeling from his father that his mother had committed adultery. Perhaps this is an attempt to explain the darker skin of Dalou-Birni despite his Arab father. After his father threw the infant Dalou-Birni into a fire and he miraculously survived, his father gifted his mother 100 cows. This is an attempt to link the etymology of the toponym Bagirmi with the words "Bagara mia!" that his mother shouted after the gift. 

Later on, upon arriving in Bagirmi, Dalou-Birni attracted followers through his skills as a hunter. However, a local ruler of the Bidili (Bideri?), which included locals already in the region such as the Birkete, was forced to pay a tribute to the Bulala sultan of Fitri, Saboun (is this tradition remembering Wadai's Saboun, who invaded Bagirmi in the early 1800s?). Since the tradition also turns the Bulala rulers into tributaries of Wadai, one must suspect we are dealing with anachronisms. After all, if one uses the conventional dating for Dalou-Birni and early Bagirmi, the 16th century, there was no Wadai. Indeed, the Bulala sultans would have been based in Kanem in the early 1500s. Unless one wishes to follow Carbou's theory, which would turn the Fitri-based kingdom which imposed tribute on Bagirmi into the Kuka kingdom, what exactly was going on in the area that became the center of Bagirmi's royal dynasty remains unclear. A connection to the Bulala sultans, however, may make more sense given their reference to Bagirmi in the context of a Bulala sultan in the 1500s by Ahmad b. Furtu. 

Regardless, Dalou-Birni's success at hunting and sharing of the meat continued to attract followers. Meanwhile, he also began preparations for ending the payment of tribute to Bagirmi. Dalou-Birni prepared the revolt by secretly preparing shields and spears to use against Saboun. When 30 horsemen were sent by the Bulala to collect the tribute (in strips of cloth and clothes), Dalou-Birni and 100 of his followers attacked and killed most of them. Unsurprisingly, Saboun later sent 300 horsemen to plunder the herds of the Arabs and Fulani in Bagirmi. Once again, Dalou-Birni defeated these forces and became king upon his return to Massenya. As king, he imposed tribute in horses to strengthen the army and gather the tribute in strips of cloth. It seems unlikely that he would not have engaged in any slave raiding, but supposedly he avoided it.

Unfortunately, the list of subsequent kings by Edwige omitted so many names that it would only go back as far as c. 1660 instead of the early 1500s. This meant that for Edwige, Dalou Birni must have lived in the 1600s whilst his successors only included Allah Hadji I, Laouan, Allah Hadji II, Gaourang I Kabir, Bourkou-Manda-Kabi, Abd-el-Kader, Mohamed Abssakin, Bourkou-Manda and Gaourang II. A few of these names are instantly recognizable, although others are less so (Allah Hadji). His informants may have telescoped many kings from the period before the 19th century. One sees this through Allah Hadji I's reign, who is presumably based on Abd Allah (r. 1568-1608 by Nachtigal's reckoning). However, this Allah-Hadji I of Edwige appears to be a composite figure combining a number of different Bagirmi kings and their exploits. Thus, Allah-Hadji I was said to have begun to attack the Massa, but also attacked the Saroua, Boua, Logone, and imposed vassal status on Logone, Kousseri and Goulfei. Through a successful siege of the town of Mahamat, the Kotoko king, these aforementioned Kotoko towns became vassals of Bagirmi.

The next named king, Laouan, easily recognizable as Loen or Loel, would have reigned in c. 1741-1751. Like Loel, this Laouan was killed and replaced by his younger brother. Although not named correctly, this brother was Muhammad al-Amin, whose reign Nachtigal placed from c. 1751-1785. Here is where traditions become interesting for Hadji. This mbang was living in exile in a place called Sounar. Presumably, Sounar is what Edwige's informants thought to be the city of Sennar to the distant east. However, tradition here has turned Muhammad al-Amin's life in the Eastern Sudan into one of becoming a local dyer in a village and marrying the chief's daughter. Details also diverge on the tale of his return. Since his "brother" Laouan was so oppressive, one of his musicians sought Allah-Hadji (Muhammad al-Amin), working together with him to return to Bagirmi and seize the throne. Needless to say, this version is quite distinct from Nachtigal's retelling, although it follows the same basic sequence. Indeed, Allah-Hadji uses Moito as a base and then defeats Laouan at Sado before becoming ruler of Bagirmi.

Additional problems can be found. Unlike Nachtigal, whose informants stressed the cruelty of Muhammad al-Amin and his numerous military expeditions, Allah-Hadji II was liked by his subjects and nothing else stood out from his reign. A similar problem emerges with the reign of Gaourang-Kabir, the son of Muhammad al-Amin. Absolutely no mention is made of the Wadai invasion launched by Saboun or any of the military ventures of these rulers. 

Clearly, Edwige's recounting of Bagirmi history before the 19th century is very flawed. But the specific area he collected information in may have played a role. Despite these aforementioned issues, his article nonetheless raises new questions about how the Bagirmi mbangs were remembered in different parts of the kingdom. Nachtigal, who was able to collect information from political elites tied to the court of the mbang, could access a more controlled royal genealogy in somewhat informal settings. Edwige, on the other hand, may have heard a less official version which, in spite of its omissions, still coherently overlapped with parts of the "official" version Nachtigal heard from elite informants. 

Corridors of Time

 

Although Chrono Trigger has never been our favorite JRPG, it's undoubtedly one of the best. The 1990s were a great time for the JRPG, and the soundtracks were occasionally brilliant. For instance, "Corridors of Time" from this game has been stuck in our mind for the last few days. Deceptively simple, it as a way of lingering in one's thoughts. Yasunori Mitsuda created a masterpiece here.