The Song Sung to Kaigama Anterashi, Son of Lima

Palmer's Bornu Sahara and Sudan included the Kanuri praise songs earlier published with translations by J.R. Patterson.

As for "The Song Sung to Kaigama Anterashi, Son of Lima," it too is attributed to the time period of Ali b. Umar in the 17th century. This is difficult to confirm, although J.R. Patterson's introduction confirms it (and his translation pasted below of the song). However, when checking other sources from the reign of this significant mai of Borno, the only kaigama we found was named Ya'gha. Of course, this is from a mahram Palmer dated to 1647, so there may have been another kaigama before or after this date. Still, it is clear that the title was occupied people slaves by this time. However, as a "chief slave" of the mai and supreme military commander of Borno, these were very powerful men. 

Most of the song reiterates this strength, power, and military leadership of the kaigama in various ways. First, he is associated with the morning star, spears, the personality of a Sultan, and greater than all prosperous men. While the song reminds us that he serves the Sultan, he enjoys a number of privileges due to his importance position in Borno as the highest military authority. Unsurprisingly, Ali Eisami confirmed this since the regiment of the kaigama consisted of at least 1000 horsemen. Nachtigal likewise emphasized the slave origins of the titleholders (although not always the case in the annals of Kanem and Borno). His ability to feed troops, owning land or having tribute rights on dispersed lands, the influence in the south (Mandara and the Kotoko areas) and his even gifting slaves to praise singers suggest someone of immense wealth and power. This may explain the enigmatic allusion to witchcraft, since the power of the kaigama may have been aided by the use of charms and occult knowledge. Anterashi was also influential in Borno's southern frontier, with the mention of the Shari River and a few other place names pointing in that direction.

What is striking about this song, supposedly for someone who lived in the 17th century, is the praise song's vociferous praise of power officials with military and administrative powers that made more powerful than most free people. To be a slave with much power and owned by the most powerful person meant that, despite his enslavement, he was still one of the most powerful figures in Borno. One can imagine titled officials with family ties to the Sayfawa or origins in the royal dynasty might have resented this, which appears to be captured in a praise song to a yerima of noble lineage. 

Kaigama Anterashi

He is the Star of the morning

Chief slave, the rallying point of the spearmen

The hub of war

His town Chirami, his personality that of a Sultan

Morning and evening he is in the midst of the noise (of war)

A chieftain, the glowing embers of the Sultan’s Council

(His friendship) a death-trap; his friend short-lived

If a hawk snatches up a chicken

Following its tracks devolves on the Kaigama

Holder of the principal of the (Sultan’s) offices

Less than the Sultan, certainly, but greater than all the prosperous men

If the chief slave wages war, he does not do so in vain

If he does not engage in war, his idleness is not useless

Chief slave, if I say to you “Slave”

I mean the slave of the Sultan

Chief slave, if I say to you “Bush-cow”

You are a (Man with the heart of) a bush-cow among men

Chief slave, (if I say) your town is Ngumfane,

I mean that you are the forehead of all the slaves

Chief slave, patience is your attribute

Your patience like that of a dromedary

Chief slave, in your hand is a large-headed spear

Chief slave, you practice witchcraft

But its source is in the palm of your hand

Chief slave, my mastery, war is your hobby

Your play, play with a shining spear

You owner of the town of Zarara

Your attributes those of a Sultan

You and a Sultan do not eat from one calabash

Neither do you eat what a Sultan leaves

Sun (of greatness), seat (of power)

Embers of the Sultan’s assembly

If the Sultan counts as ten large kola-nuts

The Kaigama counts as twenty halves

If he and the Sultan are sitting together and their horses are fighting

He will not catch the Sultan’s horse

Nor will the Sultan catch his

Some other mann will catch them

These are the (privileges of) a chief slave

You are the father of all the minor chiefs

And the older brother of all the great chiefs

Chief slave, owner of the town of Ala and of Alari

Who lives between the Rivers Shari and Sharwa

Chief slave, Commander of Bornu’s army

Should the Sultan come out of an old woman’s dilapidated hut even,

After him will come the holder of the office of Kaigama

Should (the link in) the office of Kaigama break,

the Fuguma will join it up anew

Fuguma of the games that never cease

His play not like that of the women, nor of boys

They are games played with a polished spear

You (Fuguma) have lit the fires of war, and are feeling their heat

Other men look on at you from behind a screen

You (Kaigama) Chief slave, owner of the town of Fefelo and of Kafe Fello

Provide a thousand calabashes of food for your followers

The Ngijima, Babuma and Zakkama

All three have sung their song

For the success of the holder of the office of Kaigama

For the success of Anterashi, son of Lima

And he has given them seventy slaves.

The Song of the Zakkama to the Sultan of Bornu

The Song of the Zakkama to the Sultan of Bornu is the last praise song in J.R. Patterson's Kanuri Songs (1926). Meant for the sultan, Aman Alimi, or Ahmad b. Ali, the praise song provides a window to view the Late Sayfawa Period court on the eve of the fall of Gazargamo in 1808. Ahmad Ali, who reigned from 1792-1808 in Lange's chronology, was remembered in the Diwan for supporting the poor and scholars. Since his father reigned for so long (1747-1792), it is possible he was also quite old by the time took the throne. Either way, like his father, he was a devout man identified as a savant in a time of generally good conditions. However, Ali Eisami's testimony does suggest a famine occurred in c.1792, which is unsurprisingly not mentioned in the praise song. 

Nonetheless, the praise song remembered for him follows the same conventions of the genre, and stresses his genealogy. Indeed, Ali b. Umar of the 17th century appears to be mentioned along with other illustrious ancestors in the Sayfawa dynasty. Of course, as one would expect, some of the praise is unrealistic or merely symbolic, like the assertion of Borno's rule over Mali (Melle), which surely must only mean the Fulani in Borno (whose ancestors came from the west centuries earlier). Praising the mai as the "scourge of pagan towns" or "firm like a fixed rock" point to military leadership, determination and other attributes of kingship. Like past praise songs, one notes a pattern of attributing fertile land and harvests to the leadership of the mai. However, as recorded in the Diwan, Ahmad b. Ali was also generous and seen as a "ruler of Islam." This suggests that some of the sources of authority and power for the Sayfawa rulers was indeed their status as Islamic savants, supporters of Islamic scholarship, and promoting the religion. 

Of course, we know all was not good in Borno. During Ahmad b. Ali's reign, Wadai attacked Kanem. In addition, the appearance of a poem (in Palmer's Bornu Sahara and Sudan) expressing anti-Fulani sentiment may be a hint of tensions between Fulani communities and others in Borno. What were once at least cordial relations with some Fulani in Borno (evidence from a mahram reconfirmed during the reign of Dunama b. Ali in the early 18th century) appears to have declined by the late 1700s. One might even detect the assertion of Sayfawa rule in this praise song over the Fulani as a reflection of this atmosphere of hostility. This led to, by c.1807, open conflict between some Fulani in Borno with the galadima, followed up by the later attacks on Birni Gazargamo. Only with the intervention of al-Kanemi, a celebrated mallam, were the Sayfawa able to retake their ancient capital. Of course, by the end of his reign, Ahmad b. Ali was old and supposedly blind, according to Brenner's study of the al-Kanemi dynasty. Thus, he was unable to provide the type of leadership necessary to defeat the jihadist forces. 

To see you is to see the world filled with light

And to attain one’s desire 

You are the chief of the chosen Arabs, fair of skin

And you the chief of the light skinned Debaba Arabs

West, Melle, the land of the Fellata is yours

And yours Aliarge

Your slaves were in battle order, and all armed; you came and entered their ranks

Your kingship is on a pinnacle as high as that of any of your ancestors

You are the strength of Bornu

You are the scourge of the pagan towns

Ruler of Islam

To-day you are the prop of the world

Yours the town of Makibirrum honey-sweet

To-day you have become as honey to all the princes

Your town Makibirrum, and you the son of Gumsu who wore a turban

Fadallam’s son

Son of the owner of the town of Ngalji the less, and Ngalji the greater, (Ngalji) Buro

You call the owner of Bidi, with its thousand roads, your elder sister

You have sat, have grown up, were born (with your brothers)

But you have excelled them all 

By the length of a train of a hundred camels 

Yours the town of Kakere Karowa

A woman, your mother, has a sieve made of gold

You are the chief even of her who owns the ‘Sokkutu’ head dress and the sieve

A sieve of gold

You give a tithe of gold for the fast month

And alms of a fine horse

Of your chiefs and of your juniors

To-day you are the (protecting) shade

What men call your kingship,

Is like the bite of a caterpillar and like black anger

That is kingship

(Habits) like (those of) a mason wasp, that is kingship

Which makes the children of others its own, that is kingship

(Habits of) an old goat which frightens away the young of others, that is kingship

(The fleetness of) a huntsman’s stick,

(the lightness of) a broken calabash,

that is kingship

To be firm as the fixed rock, 

that is kingship

(If you prepare for war) When the

rainy season comes, (your advisers say) there are tornadoes

(If) when the hot season comes, (they say) the sun is hot

(If) in the winter, (they say) there is cold

Make your own plans as your father used to make his,

Leave others’ plans and they will follow yours

(For) you are like a carrier’s pad made of the male ‘kamga’ bush.

Which, if a man takes on his head, wears his head away

If he moves it to his shoulder it wears his shoulder away

If you leave it on the ground, you leave what the Sultan has put in your care

East, the land of the Beni Hassen is yours

West, the Beni Mala Feram pool,

The watering-place of one thousand cattle

Yours Makabiroma, Mai Haji of Mecca Damaram

Sultan Haji of Mecca,

Has every attribute of kingship

Kaigama Ali whose mother was Rashi and father Idirisa,

Has all his father’s attributes

Mohammadu owner of Lergam town, and whose mother was Mune, and his father Aji,

Has all his father’s attributes

The head of Ngala City, Kadabu the lion, son of Duna Haman,

Has all his father’s attributes

Fusam, daughter of Umar, whose towns are Bantigu and Tarmuswa

Has all the attributes of power

Mai Ibrahim son of Aman, son of Aman the son of Saifu

Has all his father’s, Aman Saifumi’s, attributes

You whose town is Lergam, whose mother was Mune, Mai Mohammadu,

whose father was Haji

Mai Haji of Mecca Damaram, whose mother was Fanna

You have attained to the topmost heights of power

You son of Gumsu, Gumsu Amina daughter of Talba, you Ibrahim,

Have attained to your father’s place among the great

(During your reign) One rainy season gives seven harvests

A he-goat gives milk and oxen give milk

Because of his kingly power set forth to war (you men of his)

Because of his good luck, set forth to war

You, son of Haji, who are the owner of Ngeleru, whose mother was Gumsu

Gumsu Amina, Talba’s daughter

You have attained to the greatness of your father Arri son of Umar

And Amadu was Arri’s son

You have attained to your father’s greatness

And Ibrahim was Amadu’s son

You have attained to your father’s greatness

Son of Dalatu, Mari Arri of Minarge town

You have every attribute of power

To the East we look to worship, pray, give alms and sit in congregation,

To-day you hold it with a rod of gold

The West, the world’s back, 

You hold with a rod of gold

The North, the world’s foot, 

You hold with a rod of gold

The South, the world’s head,

To-day you hold with a rod of gold

May God (put a future) full of health before you

May God (leave a memory) of happiness behind you

Reign in health, the health of Fusam

Long life, good fortune, perfect health be yours

Reign amidst happiness.

The Song of the Ngijima to the Sultan of Bornu

J.R. Patterson's Kanuri Songs (1926) includes two songs for rulers during what we like to call the Late Sayfawa Period. This last century or so of Sayfawa rule, starting from c.1710 to 1808, or 1710 to 1846 if we include the last few decades of symbolic rule under al-Kanemi and his son, Umar, witnessed the gradual decline of Borno. Former vassal states fought for independence, like Mandara in 1781, or the Tuareg seizing effective control of Bilma and the Kawar salt trade to Hausaland by 1759. The Bade likewise became more autonomous in this period, and Tahir ibn Ibrahim al-Fallati criticized the ruling government (and possibly the Kanuri praise songs). Moreover, for several years, a Great Drought (1738-1753) led to widespread population movements as nomadic groups moved south and the Tubu increasingly came to control trans-Saharan trade. Thus, many developments in this pivotal century saw the decline of the Sayfawa rulers.

To read the ngijima's praise song to a mai during this period is therefore fascinating. If scholars like Dewiere are correct, the source of much of the power and influence of the Sayfawa rulers at this point often derived from their spiritual status as wali, pilgrims who made the hajj, and their support for Islamic scholarship. This is somewhat contradicted by the traditional conventions of the Kanuri praise song for mai Momada Ajimi (presumably Muhammad b. al-Hajj Hamdun, who reigned 1729-1744 in the chronology proposed by Lange). From the Diwan, one learns that part of this ruler's reign was impacted by famine, presumably tied to the years of drought that led to more southward migration of nomadic groups. While his father was remembered for the study of the Koran, the son's legacy was rather muted. 

What does the praise song suggest about this mai? The usual values of military leadership, wealth, and his ability to take captives and forcibly relocate them are mentioned here. Unsurprisingly, his descent (from both sides) is also significant in the song. The reference to his lordship over those who wear turbans and those who only wear loin-cloths is also significant, as it places all social classes underneath the king. Unfortunately, it is unclear who Derman is, but this maternal ancestor was clearly someone of status. Indeed, the references to his shettima uncles support this notion. Sadly, we cannot say for certain what the position of a shettima was, exactly, but Muhammad Nur Alkali noted that it was a title often bestowed by the Sayfawa rulers on mallamawa. If so, then this ruler's mother was from a respected Islamic family, possibly descendants of a respected mallam given land by a previous mai. This is not too surprising, since the father of this king was remembered for the recitation of the Koran and Islamic study. Who exactly was Derman (likely Darman) is another difficulty to untangle, but possibly identifiable with the Kubri (Kuburi). H.R. Palmer, in his Sudanese Memoirs mentioned leaders of the Kubri (Kuburi) Kanembu group who were said to be descendants of a man named Darman Aisami who performed the pilgrimage to Mecca. If this is the mai's maternal ancestry, his mother, Hauwa, must have been a descendant of a Kubri leader appointed shitima by one of the earlier Sayfawa rulers. 

Last, but certainly not least, the praise song asserts the ruler's power over the Kurata Shuwa of Kanem. According to Zelter, the Kurata may actually be of Tunjur origin, suggesting origins in Waday. At some point, they adopted the ways of Arabs in Wadai and started to migrate west, apparently reaching Kanem by the middle of the 1700s. If their migration was in part related to the Great Drought that struck parts of the Sahel is unclear, but the reference to them as "slaves" of the mai might suggest a past or recent conflict with the Sayfawa. Since control over nomadic or semi-nomadic populations was often difficult to say the least, and often relied on ethnic leaders responsible for sending tribute, one may assume that a Kurata sheikh failed to uphold his responsibilities or the entire tribe refused to pay tribute. Whether or not they were literally enslaved is difficult to say, but Ahmad Baba of Timbuktu did record Idris b. Ali (Idris Alooma) selling Arab slaves in the 16th century. One must also remember that the coming of the Tunjur to Kanem appears to have upset the balance of power in the region during the 17th century, eventually leading to the establishment of the alifa at Mao under the Sayfawa rulers. Perhaps the Kurata were one of the more intractable Tunjur elements in Kanem in the 18th century, still resisting authority after the Sayfawa sponsored the Dala Afuno at Mao to oversee Kanem instead of the Bulala and Tunjur? Other Shuwa Arabs were accepted or at least intermarried with the elite, as was the case of the mother of the yerima named Malumi

Carefully weave (the sets of kingship)

Hear all and weave

Weave as your grandfather did

Weave as your first ancestor did

You are a match for even the wily men of the town of Debera of the Fig Trees

Dabaga of the large “Damsa” tree, the town of Dall is yours

In Debera a Kauwa Melemi, your ancestor (is buried)

In Tumbur a Kauwa Melemi, your ancestor (is buried)

In Gazajemi, Mai Biri Melemi, your ancestor (is buried)

(And one) in Biddum of the Rocks, seven worlds above it and seven rivers below

May God preserve you in the same way as he does not allow friendship to grow old

O! King, your bounty is to us as the milk of a cow which never goes dry to the calf by its side

From you we find our food in the evening, and water to drink in the morning

May God grant that we may see you every day and rejoice

May God grant the fulfilment of every one of your kingly plans

Always you are the son of Aji,

Aji Duniani, you are the greatest chief on earth

In your kingdom, men live in peace

And of the chiefs in their tents you are the greatest

Of those who wear turbans and those who wear only loin-cloths, you are the chief

You are the ruler alike of men who have a leather loin-cloth tied between their legs and of those who ride on the horses

Of the prosperous land of Yamte in which is the Crested-Rock, you are the king

Father, Sultan of Bornu

The Kurata Arabs in the Kanem towns, of you are the slaves

You are the strength of Bornu

The scourge of every pagan town, you will remain

O! King! You are a man in the prime of his health, and your beasts of burden are all in good condition

O! King! Yours is all the power, you have no equal

The plans for every day are in your hands, the owner of Gagara Wunji

Wunji, from which you sallied to take your captives and cause their relations to follow you with piteous entreaties

O! King, you are the bush fire which burns up the towns of the pagans

You son of Aji, can collect or disperse people at your will

And turn again, and make a town (with those you have dispersed)

You are the scourge of Jillam, Dalla Darge and Dakkinam Dalla Damaram

Some towns are founded during the cold season of the year

But some of yours have been founded as the result of your victories, Aji Gana the Intriguer

O! King, your reign is the equal of any

You son of Aji, have accomplished this

Some days of your reign are as the reign of Ume

You have made them so, son of Aji

O! King the other days of your reign deserve a place in the chronicle of Kings

You have made them as they are, son of Aji

O! King, you are the son of Hauwa, daughter of Derman

Your forehead is that of your mother’s, Hauwa of the large forehead

May God preserve you, and you will equal any of the achievements (of other Sultans)

The King is lord of the people who ride on horses and of those who go on foot, and you are the King

He is a fool who says to a King that he has become wealthy

You are the Sultan, who when he camps in the middle of the forest,

Causes a white town of tents to spring up, son of Aji

You camp will turn the woods brown with horses, son of Aji

You the Sultan, son of Aji, whose camp-fires turn the waste places bright red

Yours the town of Yambe and Bitur

Of all men you are the father

(When you go to war) your slaves surround you as with a thorn fence

And you can put chains round the necks of the slaves from other men’s towns, and bring them to your own town

Let your heart be fearless as that of a bush-cow, you, son of a man brave as bush-cow

Start up now with the fearlessness of a bush-cow and we will at once become joyful

Your uncles are all Shettimas, Sultan, son of a Shettima’s daughter

Your aunt Zainafa, Sultan, son of a Shettima’s daughter

Nephew of Alima, Sultan, son of a Shettima’s daughter

A descendant of Derman who could accomplish all he set before him

You too can utterly destroy the pagans’ towns

There is no one to gainsay you over any of your projects

If intrigue were your object, no one could withstand it

If the place of your intrigue were known no one dare point it out

The cities of Yam and Yaman are yours, descendant of Derman the Powerful

And you can at will destroy the pagans’ towns

There is no one to oppose himself to you

Fusam Burud is my father’s sister

Aman Leman my mother’s brother

I am your humble servant.