Escualo

Beautiful music from Astor Piazzolla. Yet another great musician we have not thoroughly explored...

Ancestry Timeline Feature

 

Although it obviously can't be interpreted literally, the timeline feature of 23andMe shows you the possible most recent ancestor who fell into one of the assigned categories. Most of these are plausible for Caribbean people with roots in Haiti and the Spanish Caribbean. And as indicated here, the indigenous ancestry is from far deeper in time. The South Asian here is probably noise while "Swedish" is presumably due to overlap with western European or Iberian populations. In addition, the Senegambian & Guinean being dated earlier in time is also consistent with the large numbers of Senegambian captives brought to Saint Domingue earlier in the French colonial period.

Wakar Bawa Jangwarzo

 

Another pleasant surprise was seeing an ajami text praise song for the Gobir ruler Bawa Jangwarzo in Heskitt's work. Since courtly praise singing was looked down upon by some Islamic scholars (think of al-Tahir's reference to praise singing in a poem on Borno), we are assuming this text was written in the Arabic script by someone affiliated with the court of Gobir's dynasty. The use of kirari for short verses describing Bawa Jangwarzo. Unfortunately, Mervyn Hiskett, whose A History of Hausa Islamic Verse is quite detailed otherwise, does not elucidate the origin of this song.

Since it appears to be one of the few surviving examples of an ajami courtly praise song for a pre-jihad ruler, it must have been written by someone familiar with the praise literature for the Gobirawa royal line. While short kirari appear in the Kano Chronicle, this seems to be one of the few extended songs to be adapted with the Arabic script. Moreover, this praise song was written in what Hiskett refers to as the khafif meter. This suggests its author was someone well-versed in the tradition of Islamic poetry, even if using it for a secular theme in praise of Gobir's king. 

The thematic and symbolic language of the praise song is similar in some ways with what one can read in Kanuri praise songs. The ruler, Bawa, is praised as the "forked pole that supports the roof" and his military victories or conquests are celebrated. The references to rebellions put down in Shiki and Dole or the narrator asking for a horse further support the idea of the Gobir king as a great warrior. Indeed, traditions refer to his campaigns against Zamfara which sought to free itself from Gobir's dominance. It is perhaps worth nothing that Dan Tafa referred to Bawa as the first Hausa ruler to refuse to send tribute to Borno, too. 

The Song of al-Kanemi (1821)

 

The first page of Denham's English translation of Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanemi's Q. daliyya Nasim al-saba arajta rab'an bi-Kukawa wa-shahadta man bi ' l-babi min mutaraddidi

Although we read it a few years ago in the work of Denham and Clapperton, it somehow escaped our attention until recently. We are speaking of, naturally, an Arabic poem penned by Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanemi, the founder of the Shehus who have ruled Borno after the fall of the Sayfawa. In this case, we found the poem by al-Kanemi intriguing for its resemblance to Kanuri praise songs from the period of the Sayfawa dynasty. In this case, one sees a song or verse poem about the martial prowess and victory of al-Kanemi against Bagirmi (and other unnamed foes). This, naturally, brings to mind Kanuri praise songs for the mai, yerima or galadima for similar military victories or skills. Some of the metaphorical language used by al-Kanemi is also quite rich and draws on what must have been some of the standards of Borno's Arabic poetry and oral literature. For instance, references to "forests of spears" when referring to his large army is quite evocative or to the hyena bring to mind Kanuri praise songs referring to lions, bush cows, and the rogondimi snake. Moreover, metaphors and similes comparing al-Kanemi's favorite mistress, rescued during this lengthy campaign (over 6 months away from Kuka, or Kukawa) to Indian silks are rather well-done. Indeed, this personal element in which al-Kanemi celebrated this reunion with a lover is a personal dimension to Borno's written literature that is not easily found. This makes it very much a personal statement even as it celebrates the contributions of other military chiefs or officials like Tirab. Perhaps this favorite mistress was the mother of the future Shehu, Umar? Last, but certainly not least, the song from 1821 refers to the palace of the Bagirmi sultan facing an attack from al-Kanemi's troops. This is another piece of evidence for Borno's role in the sacking and pillaging of Massenya, the Bagirmi capital.

Ali b. al-Hajj Dunama and the Tuareg (1747-1792)

Map from Studies in the History of Pre-Colonial Borno.

    One key factor of Borno’s 18th century decline during the “Late Sayfawa Period” was the loss of Kawar, a major salt production center and part of the trans-Saharan trade routes. During the long reign of Ali b. al-Hajj Dunama (r. 1747-1792), Borno not only suffered defeat at the hands of the Tuareg at Bilma in c. 1759, but some of Borno’s vassal states and regions suffered Tuareg depredations, particularly areas like Gaskeru under the shaykhs of the Koyam. Lovejoy, who has written extensively about the salt trade in West Africa, has relied heavily on Palmer (and, via Palmer, Jean) for the basic narrative of the Tuareg seizure of the Kawar salt trade to Hausaland. However, this momentous development in the 18th century Central Sudan is poorly documented. Besides passing references to Kawar and a conflict or war in Bilma in c. 1759-1760 in the Chronicles of Agadez, Palmer (and Jean) presumably drew on Tuareg oral traditions to show resistance from Borno to Kel Owey and other Tuareg acts of aggression. Intriguingly, however, oral traditions from Borno do not seem to refer to wars with the Kel Owey or Agadez Sultanate over Bilma. Instead, traditions collected from the Koyam refer to a disastrous battle in which forces from Gaskeru and additional warriors sent from Birni Gazargamo were massacred by the Imakiten Tuareg at Kaiguem, an area north of Kelle in Koutous. We propose a return to the sources and oral traditions to better understand relations between Borno during Ali b. al-Hajj Dunama’s reign and the Tuareg associated with Aïr. It shall be argued that Borno’s conflict with the Tuareg during the reign of Ali b. al-Hajj Dunama cannot be understood as a single, decisive war for Kawar, but rather as a series of fragmented commercial and military struggles involving multiple Tuareg groups, local intermediaries, and uneven Borno intervention. Beginning with the written sources from the time period in question, we will then attempt an analysis of the various traditions on this period recorded since the 19th century. It is hoped that the connection between the Koyam conflict with the southeastern Tuareg was indeed tied with the Kel Owey commercial rise in Aïr and Kawar.

Review of Precolonial Sources

            Beginning with the main written sources, a number of 18th century or early 19th century texts refer to the Tuareg and the salt caravan to Hausaland. In addition, the Chronicles of Agades alludes to conflict with Borno or in Kawar in the second half of the 18th century. According to the French translation of Urvoy, the “combat” of Bilma took place in 1760.^[1] Another conflict erupted in Bilma or Kawar during the affair of Dirfass in 1777-1778. The same collection of Agadez chronicles also contain earlier references to conflict with Borno in the 17th century, such as a possible war in 1685 and the Kel-Owey Tuareg attacking Borno in 1679.^[2] These references to conflict in Kawar or with Borno are, unfortunately, very thin on the details. It is possible that the sultans of Agadez were not directly involved in instigating the conflict with Borno or the Tubu for Kawar, meaning that their royal chronicles shed less light on the conflict than Kel Owey oral traditions. But, according to Hamani, the Agadez sultans Muhammad Humad and Muhammad al-Udala (r. 1768-1792) were allies of the Kel Owey.^[3]

Salines of Bilma (Abadie).

Besides the Agadez sources, written sources from Borno do, if indirectly, refer to conflict during the second half of the 18th century. A mahram dated by Palmer to 1752 referred to a failed attempt by the mai to enlist the Tura for war. When the Tura threatened to leave Borno and return to Dirku in Kawar, the Sayfawa ruler relented and reaffirmed their privileges.^[4] While this predates the c. 1759 aggression in Bilma, there must have been some threat or campaign important enough to tempt the mai to enforce military service from a privileged group. A later mahram dated to 1785 also affirms the town of Laluri as belonging to the Beni Mukhtar Tura.^[5] More written sources, such as poems and texts on Islamic rulership, the meaning of the Mune, and other texts exist, but not in translation. The sense appears to have been one of insecurity and conflict with various neighbors or vassal states. Indeed, a 19th century Mandara kirgam may be obliquely referring to this troubled political climate when elucidating how the motive of Ali b. al-Hajj Dunama’s aggression was Mandara’s resources.^[6] This is certainly plausible as the Mandara campaign of 1781 took place after Borno’s loss of Bilma. Perhaps eager to reassert Borno’s status in the Central Sudan, the Sayfawa mai also wanted to acquire extra resources to make up for the losses to the Tuareg.

In addition to these aforementioned sources, a number of European 18th century descriptions also establish that the Tuareg had achieved a monopoly of the trade in Kawar’s salt to the markets of Hausaland in the second half of the 1700s. For example, the journal of Hornemann referred to the Kel Owey Tuareg’s dominance of Asben. The same source referred to the Koyams (“Kojams”) living to the north of the principal town of Borno (Gazargamo) so his account was presumably written before the final abandonment of Gaskeru. More importantly, Beaufoy is cited for the salt caravan from Agadez to Domboo.^[7] Thus, Hornemann’s journal, written in the 1790s, clearly establishes a Tuareg (and specifically Kel Owey) ascendancy, as well as the ties to Agadez for the trade in Kawar salt. Carsten Niebuhr, writing in German and basing his information on the Sudan from talks with Tripolitanian envoy and his African slaves from the Central Sudan, reported that Afnu (Hausaland) gets its salt from Asben. Niebuhr also referred to the Tuareg by the Kanuri term for them, indicating one of his informants was Kanuriphone or came from the Borno region.^[8] While some of the salt from Asben’s own salines likely contributed to the supply of desert salts to Hausaland, Niebuhr’s information was collected in the 1770s. Consequently, it is possible that Kawar’s salt production was also being exploited by Tuareg traders in Katsina, Kano, and other Hausa cities. The use of the Kanuri term for the Tuareg also shows the degree to which the Tuareg were a known and identifiable group in 18th century Borno, possibly through their raids and pillaging of Kutus, Muniyo, Koyam centers, and other parts of Greater Borno. Last, but certainly not least, North African and Fezzani informants in the late 18th century reported that Borno still exported salt (perhaps natron is meant), but the people of Agadez controlled the salt caravans from Domboo to Cashna (Katsina). Supposedly, the Tuareg only paid brass and copper to peasants or oasis dwellers of Kawar for their salt. The overall picture suggests the Agadez merchants controlled the trade in salt from Borno (Kawar) to Katsina.^[9]

Map of Hausaland, Asben and Borno by a Hausa mallam (in Hornemann's Journal).

            This sense of Tuareg control of the Kawar salt trade to Hausaland is confirmed in a number of 19th century writings by European travelers to the region. Richardson, for example, noted that the Aïr Tuareg were in possession of the Bilma salt caravan. Moreover, a “short time ago,” Borno destroyed or stole the supplies used by this caravan, causing the loss of hundreds of camels.^[10] Since Richardson did not give a year for this act of Borno’s sabotage, we can only assume that well into the 19th century, Borno tried to impede the Tuareg traders. Heinrich Barth also observed the history of Tuareg conflict with Borno and the salt caravan. According to Barth, the Kel-Owey had an alliance with the people of Azanéres that was linked to the Bilma salt exchange. Furthermore, Barth believed this trade of the Asben-affiliated Tuareg trading Bilma’s salt to Hausaland only began about 100 years ago.^[11] This agrees with the Agadez chronicle of the Tuareg of Aïr engaging in a war or battle at Bilma in c. 1759. Elsewhere in his account of his travels, Barth also referred to Ali b. al-Hajj Dunama’s violent struggles with the Tuareg in the middle of the 18th century: “He made great exertions in every direction, but his efforts seem to have resembled the convulsions of death…”^[12] Although he confusingly referred to the mai as Ali Omari, recalling Ali b. Umar of the 17th century, it’s quite clear that Barth was referring to Ali b. al-Hajj Dunama. He even named his successor correctly as Ahmad. That this period was a turbulent one in Borno’s history can also be found in Barth’s allusion to Ali b. al-Hajj Dunama’s campaigns against the Bade (Bedde).^[13] Nachtigal, for his part, wrote of the responsibilities of the yerima including oversight of the southeastern Tuareg groups while the galadima was responsible for the Bade and western Borno. Thus, during the conflicts with the Tuareg in the 18th century, the yerima was presumably the first official meant to respond to the crisis. This is perhaps contradicted by oral traditions of the Koyam, however, who remembered a kaigama named Ali, allegedly a son of Ali b. al-Hajj Dunama, who came to their aid when their community was attacked by the Imakiten Tuareg at Gaskeru.^[14] Clearly, a major dimension of conflict with the Tuareg during this period involved Koyam and other groups living outside of Kawar.

Revisiting Colonial-Era Scholarship

            Moving into the colonial period, more precise traditions of conflict between the Tuareg and Borno were recorded. Jean, whose Les Touareg du sud-est. L'Aïr. Leur rôle dans la politique saharienne was published in 1909, was the first to explore what actually happened in c. 1759. Unfortunately, his account is garbled and may mix events associated with Borno’s failed siege of the Tuareg forces at Bagzam with events in the 18th century. In Jean’s retelling, the Bornoan forces abandoned their siege of the Tuareg at Bagzam and, when fleeing to the east, were pursued by the Kel Owey to the wells of Ashegur. There the Kel Owey defeated the forces of Borno, took hundreds of prisoners, and established them at Bilma.^[15] It is difficult to say to what extent this tradition is accurate, but it does correctly identify the Kel Owey as protagonists in this conflict. Later, the sultan of Agadez and the Kel Gress went to Fachi and Tuareg suzerainty of the region was established. But, in c.1765, Kel Owey traders were massacred in Borno. This prompted a counterattack in which the sultan of Agadez, Mohammad Almoubari invaded Borno and seized cattle. Supposedly, the Tuareg marched almost to Kuka (Gazargamo) and ensured free access to the area for Tuareg traders.^[16] A number of problems exist with this narrative, despite Palmer, Lovejoy and later authors repeating it. If the named sultan is correct, then this was probably Muhammad al-Mubarek, a powerful sultan of 17th century Agadez. Various sources refer to specific wars or battles with Borno during his reign. On one of those occasions, forces from Agadez did reach the capital of Borno. But, that attack occurred in the 1660s, not the 1760s. Besides, the sultan of Agadez in c. 1765 was Muhammad Humad. While Rodd identified him as the son of Mubarak, Hamani’s genealogy of the kings of Agadez names his father as Usman.^[17] That some type of conflict likely emerged may be seen in the allusion to the Kel Owey as the Tuareg group targeted by Borno’s violent massacre. In this context, their presence in Borno was due to people of Bilma demanding supplies from Borno. Once there near Lake Chad, they were poorly received and most were killed. The specific reference to the Kel Owey, the sultan of Agadez (at the time, an ally of this group) and the bravery of the Kel Férouan in the expedition against Borno are details that could very well refer to the 1760s.  Furthermore, that the sultan of Agadez at the time was an ally of the Kel Owey reinforces the idea that the sultan may have sent forces to aid the Kel Owey against Borno.

Vikor's map of the Tuareg Salt trade in The Oasis of Salt.

            Despite his garbled reconstruction of Tuareg oral tradition, the narrative of a 1765 invasion from Aïr that reached just before Gazargamo has been repeated by subsequent scholars. The unavoidable Palmer, in Bornu Sahara and Sudan, essentially repeated Jean. Thus, the War of Bilma began in 1759 and in that conflict, Kel Owey achieved victory against Bornoan soldiers. Again, the 1765 reference to the massacre of Kel Owey in Borno and the response from the Agadez sultan are presented uncritically.^[18] As Palmer did, other colonial-era scholars largely repeat this narrative or merely stress different aspects of Tuareg tribute demands or the workings of the salt trade. Abadie, as one colonial-era example, merely referred to the Tuareg domination of Kawar probably beginning before the Tubu presence but had to admit the Kanuri traditions remembering a Tubu presence first.^[19] In his Tarikh El Khawar, Le Sourd reported that the Kanuris of Guezebi-Guassar sent tribute to the Kel Owey. Yet prior to that relationship, they paid tribute to the “Temaghra” Tubu. Further, the Koyam were said to have once lived in villages between Agram and Fachi in the distant past.^[20] This reference to the Koyam in Kawar and their ties to its trade before the Tuareg may be implied by the mountain east of Bilma’s main mountain, called Diotko, after the Diotko of Borno. Abadie was told the Diotko, or Jetko, were said to have been traders of salt and dates in the region.^[21] The Jetko, like the Koyam, were a pastoralist group related to the Koyam. Urvoy, on the other hand, provided some key information on the Tuareg groups involved in Kawar and to the lands south of Aïr. For instance, his Histoire de l’Empire du Bornou mentions the Amakitan Tuareg in Koutous, demanding tribute from sedentary farmers, yet the Ikaskazane of the Kel Owey were installed to the west of the Amakitanes, with a center at Garazou in Alakoss.^[22] It would be worthwhile to further explore the extent to which the Kel Owey and Amakitan groups coordinated their actions or engaged in joint raids, especially if directed against Koyam and Jetko traders in Kawar with links to Borno’s trans-Saharan and desert salt trade.

Unquestionably, this memory of Koyam or Jetko traders active in Kawar was surely another aspect of the Koyam conflict with the Tuareg during the 18th century. Unsurprisingly, this is precisely where the Koyam traditions described by Landeroin are the most detailed on Tuareg conflicts. In fact, conflict with the Imakiten (and likely other Tuareg) began as early as the 17th century, when Kalumbardo was destroyed by Tuareg raiders. The 18th century settlement at Gaskeru, under the effective leadership of shaykhs descended from the founder of the earlier Kalumbardo, was probably connected to traders in Kawar. Hence, it is likely not insignificant that the only conflict with the Tuareg reported by Landeroin was with the Imakiten Tuareg of Koutous who attacked Gaskeru with the aid of other Kel Aïr:

Sous le commandement d’Abdoullaÿ, frère cadet de Beker, les Touaregs Imakiten du Koutous, aidés des Touaregs de Azbin, vinrent attaquer Gaskérou. Abdoullaÿ demanda du secours au Maï Ali, qui lui envoya son  fils, le kaïgama Ali. Ensemble, ils repoussèrent les Touaregs jusque dans leur pays. Mais, ayant voulu pénétrer dans l’intérieur de celui-ci pour reprendre les captifs et les troupeaux razzés, les pillards firent front avec toutes leurs forces et au combat de Kaïguem, au Nord de Kellé, les Koyams furent massacrés en grand nombre.^[23]

 Perhaps even more significantly, the mai sent his kaigama, the top military official, to aid the Koyam against the Tuareg. When they pursued their enemy to Kaiguem, north of Kelle, the Borno forces were massacred and the shaykh, Abdoullay, was killed. This detailed account of utter defeat is, of course, referring to the Imakiten Tuareg who regularly raided parts of Borno. Nevertheless, it is possible this event took place before 1781 since a kaigama named Ali died in that campaign.^[24] If the kaigama remembered in tradition was the same man, Abdoullay may have died in conflict with the Tuareg before 1781. To verify this, of course, would require a gargam or more precise genealogies or successions for the kaigamas of 18th century Borno. Overall, this tradition of conflict with the Tuareg supports the notion of how complex and multivalent the relationship with the Kel Aïr Tuareg was at this time.

Thoughts on Postcolonial Scholarship

With the postcolonial era, more precise studies of Kawar, Borno, and the Tuareg of Aïr appeared. Lovejoy, whose detailed study of the desert salt trade drew heavily on Jean and Palmer for Borno’s conflict with the Tuareg, also provides some dates for a Tuareg attack at Gaskeru (c. 1787-1792) before it was finally abandoned.^[25] Maikorema, on the other hand, reported the Jetko of Yari Jetko were attacked by the Tuareg, so they moved to Tal Bul, north of N’Gigmi.^[26] This is in concordance with attacks on the Jetko and Koyam during the 18th and 19th century by Tuareg bandits. Scholars such as Muhammad Nur Alkali likewise noted the importance of the loss of Kawar for Borno’s economy. Furthermore, the growing independence of the vassal rulers of Muniyo and the Daagirawa, based on an alliance against Tuareg raiders, may have been another sign of Borno’s failure to provide the necessary security for its client states in the 18th and 19th centuries.^[27]

Vikor, in The Oasis of Salt, provides the best synthesis for the Kawar or Fachi-centered aspect of the conflict with the Tuareg. Thus, the familiar tale of the Tuareg defeating Borno forces at the well of Ashegur north of Fachi is maintained. This victory was achieved with the aid of the sultan of Agadez. Additionally, the Itesan held Fachi while the Kel Owey chased the Bornoan forces to Kawar. But, and here is a key difference, Vikor stressed the role of Teda raiders in attacking the Tuareg. One such attack took place in 1768-9, when Isandalan Tuaregs were attacked at Jado. Another Teda attack on the salt caravan led to a major battle in 1777, where the Tuareg leader was named Dirfass.^[28]

This notion of the Tubu playing a disproportionate role in these conflicts with the Kel Aïr was also believed by Djibo Hamani. For his part, Hamani viewed this period as one in which Borno’s rulers were less involved in the affairs of their vassal states on their western border, areas often raided by the Tuareg: Muniyo, Kutus, Damargu. In Kawar, the Tuareg were seen by Hamani as clashing with the Tubu in 1759, 1768/9, and 1778.^[29] Though Vikor recognized the role of Borno in the conflict of 1759, Hamani seems to prefer contextualizing it as one of Tubu raids on Tuareg traders or pilgrims, thereby causing counterraids or battles. Such a perspective, however, ignores the role of Borno in the earlier conflict and the tradition of a Kel Owey group massacred in Borno in c. 1765. Even if that tradition has been problematically reported by Jean, there seems to have been some clear Borno involvement in the fight with the Tuareg. Such a view can find quick support in Borno’s support for the Koyam shaykh, Abdoullay, during this period.

In the study of Aïr’s political economy during this era, Kathleen O’Mara’s dissertation presents a compelling case for the commercial and political ascent of the Kel Owey. In her study, the Kel Aïr alliance won a battle at Bilma in 1759/60. The rights to tribute and monopoly over Kawar’s salt trade went to the Kel Owey and Kel Geres. The Sarkin Turawa of Agadez also received taxes or tribute from a bulama of Kawar. Lastly, she argued against Grandin’s theory of the Kel Geres controlling Bilma in the 1500s, finding no evidence for such an assertion.^[30] More importantly, her materialist analysis of the Kel Aïr in the late 1700s and early 1800s emphasizes how the seizure of Kawar’s salt trade was an impetus for agro-pastoral expansion. With the growth of a Kel Owey commercial class investing in salt, agricultural production, livestock, and trade in textiles, slaves, leather products, and items acquired through trans-Saharan trade via the Fezzan or Ghat, the Aïr Tuareg system became a fully tributary one that maintained the dominance of the "nobles."  In fact, the maintenance of the sultanate structure in Agadez as an intermediary of Tuareg groups in Aïr, plus their own source of legitimacy via Islam, provided a balance with Kel Owey elites who rose to dominance during the 18th century. Finally, the growing economic integration with the Hausa states to the south and, eventually, the Sokoto Caliphate, contributed to a southward migration as more Tuareg elites began to rely on the labor or tribute from servile or free dependents laboring in agriculture. This process must have fueled further Tuareg settlement in lands to the south, in addition to the ecological pressure during periods of extended droughts in the Sahel. As one can likely imagine, this process among the Kel Aïr of the second half of the 18th century would have included the Amakitan and Kel Owey groups.

Conclusions and Evidence

As the evidence suggests, Borno’s conflict with the Tuareg during the lengthy reign of Ali b. al-Hajj Dunama was complex. The battle for Kawar was merely one (and an important one) aspect of this era, the Late Sayfawa Period. The fissures in the imperial system of the Sayfawa state were widening as vassal states rebelled, Borno failed to provide security for others, and internal contradictions and conflicts fueled dissension. Borno’s response to the disastrous 1759/60 war over Bilma revealed how significant it was to the state’s trans-Saharan and Sudanic economy. By also responding to attacks on the Koyam at Gaskeru, the Sayfawa were likewise acting to defend their frontier inhabited by groups who were also tied to Kawar and the trade in desert salts. This means that Borno’s response was based on the goals of protecting its own economic, political, and military interests. That the Bilma salt trade was of such importance can be seen in the dynamic rise of the Kel Owey Tuareg during this time, whose burgeoning power also encouraged further Tuareg depredations and settlements in lands south of Asben. That conflict extended to Borno’s peripheral tributaries such as Muniyo and Koutous is linked to the growth of Tuareg settlement to the south, itself facilitated by the Kawar salt trade and the Hausa markets of centers like Kano and Katsina. To properly analyze this period, one must interrogate closely all sources, particularly the problematic oral traditions (or the debased or elaborated forms reported in colonial sources).

---

^[1] Yves Urvoy, “Chroniques d’Agades,” 161.

^[2] Ibid., 160, 162, 170

^[3] Djibo Hamani, Le sultanat touareg de l'Ayar: au carrefour du Soudan et de la Berbérie, 261.

^[4] H.R. Palmer, Bornu Sahara and Sudan, 46.

^[5] Ibid., 47.

^[6] Eldridge Mohammadou, Le royaume de Wandala ou Mandara au XIXè siècle, 44.

^[7] Friedrich Hornemann, The Journal of Frederick Hornemann's Travels, from Cairo to Mourzouk: The Capital of the Kingdom of Fezzan, in Africa, 113, 180-182.

^[8] Carsten Niebuhr, “Das Innere von Afrika", 981, 986.

^[9] Association for Promoting the Discovery of the Interior Parts of Africa, Proceedings of the Association for Promoting the Discovery of the Interior Parts of Africa, Volume 1, 154, 157, 167.

^[10] James Richardson, Travels in the Great Desert of Sahara in the Years of 1845 & 1846 Containing a Narrative of Personal Adventures During a Tour of Nine Months Through the Desert Amongst the Touaricks and Other Tribes of Saharan People; Including a Description of the Cases and Cities of Ghat, Ghadames and Mourzuk, Volume 2, 143.

^[11] Heinrich Barth, Travels and discoveries in North and Central Africa Including accounts of Tripoli, the Sahara, the remarkable kingdom of Bornu, and the countries around Lake Chad, (1890), 154, 158.

^[12] Ibid., Travels and Discoveries in North and Central Africa Including accounts of Tripoli, the Sahara, the remarkable kingdom of Bornu and the countries around Lake Chad, Volume 2 (1857), 281.

^[13] Ibid., 599.

^[14] Landeroin, “Notice historique” in Documents scientifiques de la Mission Tilho, 399.

^[15] C. Jean, Les Touareg du Sud-Est: l'Air ; leur rôle dans la politique saharienne, 119-120.

^[16] Ibid., 121.

^[17] Rodd, People of the Veil, 415, Hamani, 452.

^[18] Palmer, Bornu Sahara and Sudan, 86.

^[19] Maurice Abadie, Afrique centrale: La colonie du Niger, 177.

^[20] Michel Le Sourd, Tarikh El Kawar, Bulletin de l'I.F.A.N VIII, (1946) 6, 28.

^[21] Abadie, 5.

^[22] Yves Urvoy, Histoire de l’Empire du Bornou, 91.

^[23] Landeroin, 399.

^[24] Mohammadou, 55.

^[25] Paul E. Lovejoy, Salt of the Desert Sun, 229.

^[26] Maikorema Zakari, Contribution à l'histoire des populations du sud - est Nigérien . Le cas du Mangari (XVIe - XIXe s.), 83.

^[27] Muhammad Nur Alkali, Kanem-Borno Under the Sayfawa, 268, 314.

^[28] Knut S. Vikør, The Oasis of Salt, 212, 216.

^[29] Hamani, 267.

^[30] Kathleen O’Mara, A Political Economy of Ahir (Niger): Historical Transformations in a Pastoral Economy, 1760-1860, 114, 124, 343.

The Goodbye Look (Live)

We are quite fond of this live rendition of Fagen's "The Goodbye Look." Also recommended is "Ruby Baby." It's kind of funny how 20 years ago we didn't care much for Steely Dan or Fagen but we have grown to appreciate their jazzy stylings more. In the past we couldn't help but think some of the jazz musicians they paid homages to were infinitely more interesting...

Fugitive Slaves from Turks and Caicos (Haiti)

One of the cool things in the Digital Collections of the New York Public Library is seeing evidence of the Haitian government's defense of its free soil policies in the 19th century. In this case, the president of Haiti stood by the state policy of immediately emancipating slaves from Turks & Caicos. Migration of Turks & Caicos to northern Haiti continued after emancipation in the British colonies, too. 

Ceramic Age Caribbean Matches

As we should have done at the beginning, we finally went back and re-read the reference study (Fernandes et al.) used by 23andMe for their indigenous Caribbean references. As expected, our Matches are to Ceramic Age samples from sites in Hispaniola (mostly eastern), Puerto Rico, and Bahamas. Our historical matches fell into the following major groups based on the above study's analysis of the genomes of ancient Antillean peoples:

Haiti Ceramic: 2 matches

Bahamas Ceramic: 2 Matches

SECoast DR Ceramic: 11 Matches

Eastern Greater Antilles Ceramic: 11 matches

The overwhelming number of matches (although mostly small) are with what the study terms Southeast Coast DR groups and Eastern Greater Antilles (which includes samples from Puerto Rico and the eastern Dominican Republic). This matching pattern is to be expected given the Ceramic Age population largely replacing Archaic lineages and the pattern of close relatives from different sites on Hispaniola or genetic matches between individuals from other islands. To what extent this pattern was also due to relatively small population sizes in Hispaniola and Puerto Rico is another mystery. We have always tended to prefer somewhat higher population numbers for Puerto Rico and Hispaniola in pre-Columbian times based on Moscoso's analysis of Puerto Rico. 

We also found it cool that some of our larger matches were to the two Individuals in the Haiti Ceramic clade. These two individuals were related and harbored significant Archaic ancestry from groups on the island before the Saladoid or Arawakan expansion to the Greater Antilles (unless we are already outdated in our terminology here). We matched the two ancient Haitians from Diale for approximately the same amount of total shared cM on 2 segments. It would be interesting if part of that shared ancestry was from the earlier, Archaic population.

Speculating on Massenya and Bricks in Bagirmi

Heinrich Barth's plan of Massenya, the Bagirmi capital.

Although the kingdom of Bagirmi also used fired brick, this part of Chad does not appear to have received as much analysis as sites in Kanem and Borno. This is unfortunate since details about the arrangement of the royal center in Massenya and the use of fired-brick for walls as well as the porio may provide clues for understanding earlier sites in Kanem. Moreover, understanding the arrangement of the space and its larger cosmological significance in Bagirmi could very well reveal something about the nature of space, royal palace layouts, and cosmology in Kanem and Borno. In our own very limited and exploratory manner, we will attempt a brief overview of Massenya's history and the use of fired brick in its elite constructions. The tentative analysis here is merely one of raising questions and exploring the deeper political and social connotations of brick constructions in this part of the "Central Sudan."

A view of Massenya based on Barth.

A quick commentary on the sources is in order. Researching the history of Bagirmi, particularly its history before the 19th century, is an arduous task. Heinrich Barth, Muhammad Bello, Escayrac de Lauture,  Nachtigal, al-Tunisi, and Denham wrote about the region in the 19th century. Before them, one finds occasional references to Bagirmi from other sources, both European and African. Unfortunately, most of the pre-1800 sources are very vague or imprecise, often only referring to Bagirmi's geography or mentioning its role in provisioning captives for the trans-Saharan trade. That Bagirmi was at least used as a name for the region by the 15th century can be seen in the map of Fra Mauro. Furthermore, references from the Diwan and the chronicle of Ahmad b. Furtu (as well as Anania's writings) refer to Bagirmi. Fortunately, the travelers, colonial "scholars" and administrators, and anthropologists and historians of the 20th century have contributed greatly to a fuller picture of Bagirmi's history. Nonetheless, the loss of a Barma equivalent of the Kanuri girgam, and the absence of written chronicles has impeded the development of a more complete history. This has forced Lebeuf, Reyna, Pâques, Gaden, Lavers, Lanier, Devallée, and others to compare lists of kings, look to oral tradition recorded at different times, explore Barma cosmology, and, in some cases, write about Fulani Muslim scholars based at Bidderi or other parts of the kingdom.

Pâques, Le roi chasseur

As for the  possible deeper antiquity of a kingdom of Bagirmi before the 15th or 16th century, as once proposed by Lange, the evidence is too ambiguous to say. The general chronology of Bagirmi's kings, with dates based on Nachtigal's interviews with Bagirmi elites, appears to be the most accurate, and that places the dynasty's origins back to the 16th century. We are inclined to favor such a date, with the period before the rise of the dynasty of Bagirmi as one of Bulala domination over a heterogeneous population (which included Fulani and other groups). In fact, the Bagirmi tradition on the foundation of Massenya's royal palace suggests the kingdom had already been in existence for at least a generation and Fulani Muslim clerics were highly esteemed. Therefore, a 16th century origin for Bagirmi as a singular kingdom is likely. Since Nachtigal relied on informants from Bagirmi and his list omitted names remembered by other informants (as reported by Escayrac de Lauture), there is a possibility that the dynasty's origins began earlier than Nachtigal's chronology suggests. For instance, Nachtigal was told that it was Lubatko who ordered a hedge of thorns placed around Massenya (Nachtigal 401). This mbang was said to have reigned from 1536-1548. Only under Abdallah (1568-1608) was the royal dwelling walled, with a plan by 4 Fulani Muslims named Dede, Shille, Aji Amede, and Majangala (Nachtigal 403). 

Besson's plan of old Massenya's palace complex.

Yet Escayrac de Lauture, writing decades earlier on Bagirmi's history, reported that a large number of brothers of Birni Besse ruled Bagirmi before Malo, the son of Birni Besse, ascended to the throne (Escayrac de Lauture). If Malo, who was said to have become mbang 28 years after his father, was preceded by a number of uncles (only one of whom is mentioned by Nachtigal, Lubatko), then Nachtigal's list omitted several kings. It also raises questions about the nature of succession in early Bagirmi. If it was practiced collaterally until the rise of Malo, and 5 kings ruled in between Birni Besse and Malo, the kingdom may have begun a little earlier than 1522, assuming that some brothers may have been significantly younger than Birni Besse. Of course, Escayrac de Lauture had access to fewer sources than Nachtigal, so all of his information on the kings of Bagirmi must be used cautiously. This nonetheless illustrates how difficult it can be to construct a coherent chronology without additional sources to corroborate or date events more firmly.

Vestiges of a wall in Old Massenya (from Lebeuf).

What of the city of Massenya? The sources disagree on some key details, but are largely compatible. Pâques attributes the foundation of Massenya to Dala Birni (Pâques 17). This is interesting since Nachtigal named Dalo Birni as a brother of Birni Besse. Most sources (Lavers, for example) concur on this point with Nachtigal. Mbang Bolo was said to have built Massenya and the royal palace by Lanier, but this may be a reference to Malo or perhaps another name of Abdallah (Lanier 460). In terms of Massenya itself, Nachtigal believed that Malo had a hedge placed around Massenya. Then, his brother and successor, Abdallah, built a wall around the royal palace. But only in the 17th century, during the reign of Burkomanda I (1635-1665), was a brick wall built to surround the gur, or palace (Reyna 62). Nachtigal, Reyna, and Devallée all associate Burkomanda with the first brick walls around Massenya's palace. 

Plan of Old Massenya in Lebeuf.

This early date, assuming the regnal years of Nachtigal are accurate, point to the 17th century for the first fired brick walls in the town. Indeed, when Heinrich Barth visited Bagirmi in the 1850s, he saw the brick wall of the palace was in a state of decay and probably more than 100 years old (Barth 518). This would suggest the wall was built by the 1750s at the last, and an earlier date in the 17th century is not impossible.  Later on, the town walls of Massenya were rebuilt during the reign of Wanya (1722-1736). Another 18th century mbang, Loel (or Loen, 1741-1751), was said to have added an additional room in the palace complex for his 500 horses and began to employ 1000 slaves as a royal bodyguard force in the royal square (Nachtigal 407-408). Lastly, the mbang named Haji (1751-1785) was remembered in some sources for promoting the use of fired brick at Bousso (Pâques 200). Haji was also known for promoting Islam in Bagirmi, which including the use of bricks for mosques. This did not stop him from endeavoring to limit the use of brick for elite structures outside the capital (Seignobos 276).

Ruin of part of the fired brick wall for the palace (Lebeuf). 

Unfortunately, Massenya had been sacked and pillaged on a number of occasions in the 19th century. Consequently, Barth's description of the fired brick wall around the gur or his brief mention of brick buildings outside Massenya are based on a visit to the site after at least 2 periods of pillaging or invasions. The first, when Sabun of Wadai invaded Bagirmi and took Massenya, involving destroying part of the town and palace walls (El-Tounsy 158, 162). An attack from Borno, led by al-Kanemi, was likewise said to have resulted in much destruction. Lanier attributes the destruction of the palace to this Bornoan invasion as Massenya was once again pillaged (Lanier 462). Despite these attacks, the city of Massenya was still described as a very large town by a variety of sources. Aboubakar, a Bagirmi native living in Brazil during the 19th century, described the capital "une tres grande ville" (Comte de Castelnau 31). Seetzen, writing from Cairo and basing his writing on interviewing a native of Afade, reported that Bagirmi "c'est une ville considerable" (Seetzen 166). Even buildings of two or 3 storeys were said to exist in Massenya when Escayrac de Lauture collected information on the kingdom (Escayrac de Lauture 91). Whilst Escayrac de Lauture's information is perhaps an exaggeration, one senses that Massenya was a large town. Even when, by the second half of the 19th century, when Massenya was known for having a large circumference but small number of houses and people for its size, it covered a large space (Nachtigal 423). It is very likely that the royal capital was more densely populated in the past before the kingdom's capital was sacked and Bagirmi became a tributary of Wadai.

Ruins of the old houses in Massenya (Lebeuf)

We are fortunate to know something about the nature of the gur of Massenya. Its walls were 10 feet at the base, 15-20 feet high (Reyna 62). Reyna, who drew this observation from Barth, who wrote that the palace wall was 18 feet high, 10 feet thick and built of decaying baked bricks (Barth 516). The town's circumference, in Barth's reckoning, was about 7 miles but only half of the capital's space was actually inhabited. Barth similarly noticed the city had a dendal  and baked-brick ruins outside the city on the road to Abu-Gher (Barth 518). Pâques, who also visited the site, found evidence for the vestiges of 20 houses, a cemetery and a mosque in the palace complex. Unfortunately, many bricks from the site were later used for the road between N'Djamena to New Massenya, meaning we have less evidence available (Pâques 17-18). Lebeuf has also written about the fired brick mosque in the palace. Evidence for additional fired brick buildings 1 km west-northwest of the palace were also noted (Lebeuf 219). The palace's grand entry gate and porio were made of fired bricks. The latter structure was only accessible to the mbang and certain adims (Lebeuf 227). Unsurprisingly, the palace cemetery had a short brick wall around it (Lebeuf 229). As for the length of the palace wall, Lebeuf measured it as 245 m and 240 m on its north and south sides and 215 and 182 meters on its other sides (Lebeuf 217). In terms of the palace complex's buildings, the ngarman, or "minister of the royal household," was in charge of its oversight. But the galadima was also responsible for the construction and oversight of some palace buildings (Reyna 111, 115). 

Some of the fired bricks from Massenya (Seignobos).

Overall, Massenya's brick structures were either for elites or the walls of mosques. This is similar to the patterns observed in Kanem, Wadai and Borno for this construction material. The palace complex of Massenya not only employed brick for its outer wall, but used for other structures. Outside of Massenya, other elite structures or mosques used brick, too. While Seignobos believes the earlier use of fired bricks at sites along the Chari predated Bagirmi's territorial expansion, other sources contradict this. For instance, Boussou, where bricks were used for the circular homes of the local mbang, was supposedly a site where their use predated Bagirmi's conquest (Seignobos 265). Contra Seignobos, however, Pâques argued that the use of fired bricks at Bousso was associated with the Bagirmi king, Haji, who facilitated the Islamization of the region (Pâques 200). Intriguingly, the local ruler of Bousso was also one of the few dignitaries allowed to sit on a carpet, perhaps another sign of the association of bricks for elite structures (Barth 562). Similarly, Bagirmi's conquest of chiefdoms or small polities along the Chari may have begun earlier and promotion of brick for elite structures or mosques could have started in the 17th or early 18th century. While Seignobos raised a legitimate point about the differences in brick shapes in Massenya and sites along the Chari, the common use of the word yalul for brick may be another indication of a common origin (Seignobos 273). Moreover, despite the diversity of brick types at Massenya, the most archaic ones were similar to those of Bousso (Seignobos 272). This could possibly indicate the deeper shared diffusion of the technology of bricks among societies south of Lake Chad. 

Overall, the use of bricks for elite structures is consistent with symbolizing power. Seignobos also emphasizes the role of submission in the use of bricks as peripheral towns or villages had to supply the bricks or labor through a corvee (Seignobos 275). This close association of elite status and brick constructions is certainly consistent with what is known about similar sites in Kanem, Borno, and Wara in Wadai. Massenya's palace complex, with its brick outer wall and use of brick for other elite structures, clearly exemplified this trend. It was also likely used to buttress the ritual seclusion and spatial separation of the king from the rest of the city. In the case of Massenya and Birni Gazargamo, where the palace complex occupied a central position, the political message must have been clear: the world revolved around the king. In the case of Bagirmi, where the local cosmological significance of the king as a Sun-like figure loomed large, one can imagine how brick served to highlight this elevated position (as well as that of the royal family and upper-echelon of officials or dignitaries). Therefore, Massenya's gur was yet another example of brick and elite ideology (and Islamization) in the Central Sudan. It reinforced, however, more deeply rooted cosmological or spiritual ideas about kingship.

Bibliography

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Comte de Castelnau, Francis. Renseignements sur l'Afrique centrale. Paris: Chez P. Bertrand, 1851. 

Devallée, J. "Le Baguirmi," Bulletin de la society de recherches congolaises 7, 1925.

El-Tounsy, Mohammed ibn-Omar. Voyage au Ouadây. Paris: B. Duprat, 1851. 

d'Escayrac de Lauture, Pierre-Henri Stanislas. Mémoire sur le Soudan, géographie naturelle et politique, histoire et ethnographie, moeurs et institutions de l'Empire des Fellatas, du Bornou, du Baguermi, du Waday, du Dar-Four, rédigé, d'après des renseignements entièrement nouveaux et accompagné d'une esquisse du Soudan oriental, par M. le Cte d'Escayrac de Lauture. Paris: Arthur Bertrand, 1855-56.

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Lebeuf, AMD. "Boum Massénia, capitale de l'ancien royaume du Baguirmi," Journal des Africanistes 37-2, 1967.

Nachtigal, Gustav. Sahara and Sudan, Volume 3. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1971.

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Reyna, Stephen. Wars Without End: The Political Economy Of A Precolonial African State. Hanover: University Press of New England, 1990.

Seetzen, Ulrich Jasper, "Nouvelles recherches sur l’intérieur de l’Afrique," Annales des voyages, de la géographie et de l’histoire ou Collection des voyages nouveaux les plus estimés, 19, 1812, p. 164-184.

Seignobos, Christian. "Les briques cuites du Chari," 2000 ans d’histoire africaine. Le sol, la parole et l’écrit. Mélanges en hommage à Raymond Mauny. Tome I. Paris : Société française d'histoire d'outre-mer, 1981. 542 p. (Bibliothèque d'histoire d'outre-mer. Études, 5-6-1).