Ali Eisami of Borno

For our long-term project on the history of Kanem-Borno, we assigned ourselves Koelle's  African Native Literature, or Proverbs, Tales, Fables, & Historical Fragments in the Kanuri or Bornu language. Written in Sierra Leone with the aid of Borno native Ali Eisami, the work consists of several fables, stories, historical narratives, and a glossary of Kanuri words. Eisami, the son of an Islamic scholar, was from a town or village near the old capital, Birni Gazargamo. He received at least a Quranic schooling, and experienced the upheaval of the fall of Gazargamo to the Fulani jihadist forces in 1808. By 1810s, he was captured by a group of Fulani, sold into slavery, and was relatively well-treated by a Yoruba master before Spaniards purchased him for the horrific trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Fortunately for him, a British ship used to suppress the slave trade intercepted the Spanish vessel and shipped the recaptives to Sierra Leone,. 

Although Eisami had arrived in Sierra Leone in 1818 and was thus away from Borno for over 30 years by the time Koelle's book was published in 1854, Eisami's dictated stories are an invaluable source for anyone interested in oral traditions and the history of the region and what we are calling the "Late Sayfawa Period." And while the presence of other Kanuris in Sierra Leone after 1818 provided updated information on events in Borno after Eisami's capture, it is clear that the major value of his experience is the plethora of oral traditions or folktales and his perspective on the early impact of the Fulani jihadist attacks which ushered in several political, economic, and social changes across the region before he became "lost" in captivity. 

Thus, the various short stories, fables, and historical fragments of the text shed light on a Borno that was lost with the fading Sayfawa dynasty and the declining political and economic fortunes of Borno across the turbulent 19th century. In a sense, Ali Eisami is an important final witness to to Borno as a civilization prior to the rise of al-Kanemi. His short stories and fables, which often reflect misogynistic views, also surprise. Some of the proverbs explicitly recognize slaves as untrustworthy. One tale, of a Muslim scholar and his heathen friend, exemplifies the ways in which oral traditions might reflect general social attitudes about religion and social obligation, challenging Islamic holymen on their character and not their adherence to tenets of the faith. His first tale, on the friendship between a rich man and a poor man, seems to reflect the importance of patron-client relations between superiors and inferiors, which could lead to long-lasting and surprising obligations. 

Eisami's tales and historical narratives likewise shed light on family and marriage relations, diet, the relationship between Islamic scholars and elites, and crises that struck Borno on the eve of the 1808 jihadist attack. For instance, we learn of Mai Ahmad's struggles with the vassal state or town of "Deia" which illustrates what might have been the incompetence of some kaygamas in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Or, to take another case, a famine and pestilence which struck Borno before 1808 and must have surely contributed to the weakness of Ahmad to defeat the invasion. Mai Ahmad, perhaps too old himself to have led the Twelve Regiments in person, abdicated and gave the crown to his son, Dunoma. However, according to Eisami, Dunoma was only able to retake Gazargamo thanks to the prayers, ability and "charm-water" of Sheikh al-Kanemi, the Kanembu mallam who would eventually seize effective political power in Borno. Much of this was witnessed by Eisami, or at least he was close enough to have heard the details before he left Borno. Unfortunately, his sources of information on events after his capture are sometimes conflicting, and in some cases, incorrect (the final end of the Sayfawa, for instance).

We shall revisit Eisami later on in a long-term project at the blog. We hope to explore in detail the oral traditions, proverbs, and stories he shared with Koelle. A related project is a comparative approach to Eisami, Nicholas Said, and James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw as authors of slave narratives written by men from Borno. To what extent were all three authors modified or misunderstood by their interlocutors or, in the case of Said, publisher? How did they come to represent Borno and Islam? To what extent were racialization and Western racial concepts shaping their narratives? These and other questions will be addressed in our future project.