Askia Muhammad, Maouri, and Borno

Although evidence for it is likely not strong, traditions included in Landeroin's "Notice historique" in the Documents scientifiques de la Mission Tilho, 1906-1909 include a tale of Askia Muhammad of Songhay passing through Borno on the return from the hajj. Well, according to the Tarikh al-Sudan, Askia Muhammad went to Mecca in 1496, returning to Gao in 1498. Oral tradition in Dendi, however, has Askia Muhammad going on the pilgrimage at age 15. But the youthful Askia Muhammad of Dendi tradition was apparently able to kill his uncle, the Si (Tchi in Landeroin's spelling) and undertake the pilgrimage as an atonement of sorts. In the words of Landeroin, "Au cours de son voyage de retour, Maammarou aurait traversé le Bornou, dont le sultan Dounama lui aurait rendu hommage, puis passant par Shifaoua (région de Sokoto) où un chef peul lui aurait fait présent de mille bœufs, il serait enfin rentré dans son pays par Bounza, Finguila, Tounouga, Sanafina, Koulou, Kirtachi et Saÿ." 

The legend seems to associate the return of Askia Muhammad, or Maammarou with the placement of different peoples on the way to Gao. Of course, there is also no evidence for Askia Muhammad being a teenager when he undertook the pilgrimage. But is there any chance of contact between Borno and the Askia? The mai he allegedly met, Dounama, would have been Ali b. Dunama (r. 1465-1497), if the recorded dates for the Askia's pilgrimage are correct in the chronicles. Since there is evidence of Ali b. Dunama also going on the hajj and meeting al-Suyuti, it would be intriguing if the two monarchs did meet at some point. But one must wonder if the Askia would have returned via Borno, particularly if Muslims from the Western Sudan were using trans-Saharan routes to reach North Africa and Egypt. 

But, Landeroin found lingering traditions of the Sayfawa visiting the area of the Maouris, too. Their chiefs supposedly had body scars similar to those of the Manga and Mobbers of Borno. Moreover, they claim descent from a Sayfawa prince named Ari. Said to be the son of a Sayfawa mai named Kaloumbou, who ruled contemporanously with Askia Muhammad I of Gao, one is tempted to think of either Ali b. Dunama or Ali b. Idris (r. 1538-1539). But when Landeroin calculated the number of generations based on the genealogies collected from the Maouri, he believed that their origin dated back to the 17th century. If so, is it possible that the name Kaloumbou might actually be connected to Kaloumbardo, a Sufi center in Borno whose members dispersed after its destruction in 1677?

Either way, it is very difficult to take at face-value the attempt to link Askia Muhammad with Borno. But there does seem to have been some movement into the Maouri region of people with roots in Borno. Later on, those claims were perhaps refined and a fictitious link to the Sayfawa became part of the narrative. Whether or not the famous Kalumbardo had any connection to the Arewa of Dallol Maouri is still speculative at this stage. 

Askia Muhammad and al-Maghili

John Hunwick's translation and commentary on al-Maghili's replies to 7 questions from Askia Muhammad is a difficult source for non-specialists. To truly understand al-Maghili's responses and the complex Islamic intellectual tradition he drew upon, one must have some basic familiarity with Islamic civilization, jurisprudence, and political ideology. Hunwick's introductory sections and commentary tremendously help readers make sense of this context. However, the main benefit of reading Shari'a in Songhay : the replies of al-Maghili to the questions of Askia al-Hajj Muhammad is in the glimpses of Songhay social, economic, and political life it provides. For instance, we learn of the practice of nude virgin women traveling through the streets of Jenne or the practitioners of a fox cult who appear to have been Dogon. Or the Masufa presence among Fulani marauders who were a source of concern for Askia Muhammad. These examples highlight the degree to which demographic changes, insecurity, and local cultural practices were in a state of flux across the Middle Niger. They also attest to the partly Islamized nature of the Western Sudan and its vast heterogeneity in cultural and religious identities. Since the date of al-Maghili's replies was in the early part of Askia Muhammad's reign, one must also keep in mind that conditions during his later years or those of his successors likely differed in key ways. For example, Askia Muhammad's expansion of the empire and the degree to which subsequent askias balanced secular government with Islamic precepts or the guidance of the scholars shows political dynamism and possible sources of internal societal conflict. We only wish al-Maghili and Askia Muhammad's secretary had revealed a little more about so-called "traditional" religions, practices of rituals by local Muslims, or the actual experiences of the peasantry and enslaved population.