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 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. 

Song to the Gumsu

J.R. Patterson's translation of "The Song to the Gumsu" is one of the most interesting praise songs in Kanuri Songs. Said to have been a wife of Ali b. Umar (r. 1639-1677), one cannot help but wonder if this is the same gumsu mentioned in a 17th century source dated to 1658 by Palmer. According to this document, the Gumsu during the reign of Ali b. Umar was powerful, with up to 20,000 slave soldiers available to her, which is probably an exaggeration. Nonetheless, it does attest to the power and resources of this gumsu, who may have been the Amina praised in this song. She was even said to have under her employ 500 gunmen, again likely an exaggeration as Borno in the 17th century appears to have stopped using large numbers of musketeers in its military operations.

Of course, other possibilities exist. For instance, according to standard sources (Nachtigal, Ali Eisami, Nur Alkali), the gumsu's authority was usually restricted to the royal family, her own fiefs, and, indirectly, her influence on her husband, the mai. But, if the Gumsu was often the daughter of the talba, then her family may have wielded far more power than we realize. After all, according to Nur Alkali, the talba was part of the central government council and acted as a magistrate in the capital. If Amina was indeed the daughter of the talba, then her father may have been involved in the coronation and accession of Ali b. Umar in the first place. Another question to answer is if the gumsu was invariably the daughter of the talba, since Nur Alkali referenced a gumsu who became the mother of mai Brem Gumsumi while Ali Eisami likewise referred to a gumsu Amina who was the daughter of the talba (although Koelle may have mistranslated Eisami). 

As the daughter of a prominent official, and the senior wife which gave her additional status, it is perhaps understandable why Amina, according to this song, tried to control her husband's military policy ("prevented Sultan Ali son of Umar from riding"). If the praise singer's message to the sultan about ignoring his wife's wishes to focus on horses is a reliable indicator, perhaps this gumsu was either too fond of pleasure or wanted to influence Ali b. Umar's policy on matters of state. This even led to Ali b. Umar divorcing Amina, but later reconciling (remarried?) with her, he gave her a gift of 1000 slaves. Even if exaggerated, as are the figures for the slaves held by the gumsu in a 1658 document, it shows the access to wealth and resources the Sayfawa court could draw from during the 17th century. One only wishes to know what military conflict Amina wanted her husband to not engage in. Was it conflict with Kwararafa, or the Tuareg?

Gumsu, the whole earth is yours

Ruler of Islam (may you be) always happy

Owner of a thousand thrones

And five hundred gunmen

Chief of all women (may you be) always happy

You distribute slave children as you would food (to your followers)

If you camp at a single hut in the middle of a farm, even,

Your present of welcome is a camel

Yours Dugumaram, and the land of Bamma

Yours the large town of Banna, whose maidens are well-known

Gumsu, you are the queen of women

Owner of the town of Asaga whose orders are 

accomplished by no days of grace

Of the slave Bitku, the Yiroma who looks after

your riverain towns, you are the owner

Water in a place covered with wild rice never dries up

You are the mother of the (Yiroma) who looks after the riverain towns

Yours the towns on the river, and the town of Dillawa,

and the water holes of Gizawa

It is you who own a ‘yambal’ sword made in the North country

Gumsu, chieftainess of women

You are (like) flour made from the ‘Rogondimi’ snake,

(like) porridge made from a python

The man who cooks (that) porridge) will not drink it

Queen Gumsu, owner of Maradi town, never looks behind her

Owner of the city of Yam, and the land of Yemen

And of N’gasargamu and Njimi town

Your mortar is made of the scented Guinea-pepper wood

You own a pestle of polished silver

Gumsu Amina, daughter of Talba

A descendant of the great

The great and the blessed

Good morning, Good morning

You are (like) the moon at its full

(Like) the morning star

Precious as gold, daughter of a bush cow, you a bush cow among women

Gumsu daughter of a lion

She is a lion as precious as gold among all women

(Like) silver, Amina daughter of Talba

May God give you the long life of a frog, and the dignity of an eagle

(It was you Gumsu) who prevented Sultan Ali son of Umar from riding (to war)

The Babuma said to him (the Sultan) ‘Do not do as your wife wishes

You who own Watera and Rugaya,

Rugaya which lies at the further side of both rivers

Sultan leave behind the pleasures your wife wishes for

Look at this market of fine horses’

And Mai Ali divorced her

And after he had divorced her he reconciled Gumsu Amina, daughter of Talba, with one thousand slaves.

The Song of the Zakkama to the Zerma

Another praise song said to date from the reign of Ali b. Umar is "The Song of the Zakkama to the Zerma." In honor of a zerma named Ibrahim or Ibram, he was said to be the son of a princess and of royal blood. Obviously, this is at a time before the office of jerma was occupied by slaves. Indeed, according to Nachtigal, the title was once very important in the Sayfawa court since the holder was responsible for the sultan's security and the royal stables. He even attributes the leadership of the Tura to this office, too, with an administrative district not too far from Gazargamo. Furthermore, the position also included roles in the accession rituals of the mai, according to Nur Alkali. Sadly, Ali Eisami is not too useful here, since tsarma is translated as "a certain military officer." It would appear that there were two, a big one and a little one who led a smaller regiment in support of the tsarma kurabe regiment, who were tasked with making the first attack in battle.

Thus, from the little we could find on this title, it was once far more important in the court of Borno and occupied, in at least one case, by someone with family ties to the Sayfawa dynasty. The association with the Tura is also important, since a mahram from the time of Idris b. Ali (Idris Alooma) and translated by Palmer suggests the Tura traders were once major supplies of horses, although exempted from military service (check Palmer's Bornu Sahara and Sudan). Mahrams suggest some of the Tura were of great significance for trade via Kawar, such as the Bani Mukhtar. As indicated by Bobboyi, one Tura leader, Ali Kellu, was said to have even married a daughter of Ali b. Umar (the same as the 17th century ruler?). In fact, there may even be evidence of Ibrahim, the zerma, in a document translated by Palmer and dated to 1658. In that source, the zarma is named Muhammad Margimi, which could be related to the "son of Margi" Ibrahim. Indeed, Zerma Ibrahim was also called the son of Zerma Dunama, possibly a reference to "Muhammad Margi" in the 17th century document? Naturally, more evidence is necessary, but this should be explored further.

As for the song itself, it frequently praises the zerma and mention his support and proximity to the sultan. The second half of the song is more interesting, since it includes a number of warnings to the titleholder. For instance, "Do not match yourself against Providence." These moral lessons or warnings to a powerful official from a praise singer who declares, "You are not any relation of mine, nor my own flesh and blood, it is only so long as I am happy that I shall stay in your town" may suggest that the zerma was young when he took office. Alternatively, it may have been part of a discourse on the responsibilities of the office which had been abused in the past. 

Copied below is J.R. Patterson's full translation of the Kanuri text, from Kanuri Songs  (1926). 

Zerma Ibrahim, son of a princess

The Sultan’s support (firm as) a bowl made of fan palm trunk

His tribe the Tura, a son of Margi

Zerma, the warrior

A quiver for a hundred arrows

A hawk, a brave warrior

Alone he is equal to a thousand men,

he who can run hither and thither like a puppy

His patience like that of a male pelican

He is like boneless flesh, like brains

He is the owner of Buntigum Kadasha

And of Wawum and the town of Damasha

His eye (is to be feared as) a elephant hunter’s spear

His eyelashes are arrows

Support of a Sultan; if his eye becomes red he is preparing to fight

His Gursulu of the North

Who owns a tethering rope of gold

He is like a horse led behind the Sultan, its trappings ready on its back,

he too carries a Sultan on his back

Like a large spear: in his hand he carries an oil bottle

Zerma Ibrahim, a despoiler who lives in the Sultan’s house

Son of Zerma Dunama whose mother was a Sultan’s granddaughter

whose home was N’gasargamu

Support of a Sultan, yours the country called Gabana

Sugu, whose mother was a princess and who is happy therefore

You who sit in the shade of an acacia tree on a sandy mound, 

you are a faithful follower of your chief

Faithful as a dog to its master

(If a man does any of the things) which lie between frowning

on one to being responsible for one’s death,

that is hate, Ibram Mairammi

(If a man gives one a present of anything) from a ‘mudu’ 

of corn to a fine horse, that is favour

One thread of truth in a shuttle will weave

a hundred threads of lies, Ibram Mairammi

Vomiting one’s liver cures the most severe biliousness, Ibram Mairammi

The hatching of an egg is unpleasant for the shell, Ibram Mairammi

Do not match yourself against Providence 

God is all powerful: He prevents the eye from seeing the eyelashes (near it)

Eggs become lice

The small man becomes the great one, Ibram Mairammi

Stick to the truth, Ibram Mairammi

Truth is like the light of dawn, Sugu Mairammi

Untruthfulness is like the darkness at sunset, Ibram Mairammi 

The “kagura” bird is God’s caller to prayer

The crested crane is the blower of the ‘fum-fum’ of the birds

You are not any relation of mine, nor my own flesh and blood,

it is only so long as I am happy that I shall stay in your town

Song to the Magaram

Another song which is difficult to interpret  is "The Song to the Magaram." Patterson's translation appears to capture the repetition of the song, which uses a repetitive structure to list the areas where the magaram held lands and much influence. For instance, her land included parts of the Komadugu (presumably fertile areas near the river?) and the walled town of Nguri (Nguru?). Without a thorough knowledge of toponyms in Borno and Kanem, however, it is difficult to interpret this list. This honored sister of the mai does seem to be associated with fertile lands and even compared to the rains and harvest. It brings to mind references to pre-Islamic Kanem in which the mai is associated with fertility and as a source of provision. If our own speculative understanding of the ritual and sacral functions of pre-Islamic Kanem's royalty is probable, then the praise song associated the sister of the mai could also be drawing on this ancient, non-Islamic tradition. Naturally, this is pure speculation on our part that requires further investigation. 

The rest of the praise song for Aisa, a daughter of Dunama (which Dunama?), however, focuses on her genealogy. Here is where it becomes rather difficult to connect the names based on various girgams and the Diwan as Kanuri and Arabic names for the same figure appear and some names were repeatedly used by multiple rulers of the Sayfawa dynasty. Nonetheless, the Aisa named here appears likely to have been a Magaram in the 1500s or so, if she was indeed the great-granddaughter of "Kalima." This appears to have been a deposed mai named Uthman ibn Dawud. Named Uthman K.l.n.ma in the Diwan,  we know he was deposed by kaygama Nikali b. Ibrahim and yerima Kaday Ka'aku in c.1422. He later died in Kano. Other ancestors of this Magaram appear to have lived even earlier in the history of the Sayfawa. For instance, the earlier ancestor, Tsilim of Njimi, appears to be a reference to the first "black" mai of Kanem, a Salma b. Hawa who reigned c. 1182-1210. The genealogy is a little hard to follow, but the ancestors of the Magaram seem to include multiple past rulers of the dynasty. If one of the more recent ones had reigned in the early 1420s, we assume the Aisa named here to have lived sometime in the late 15th century or 16th century, perhaps yet another song for the mother of Idris Alooma? If the Magaram held lands along the Komadugu and other areas of Borno which were not fully under Sayfawa rule until the late 1400s or 1500s, then this woman may have lived after the initial consolidation of Sayfawa rule in Borno. Alternatively, the song may conflates details of different women, including the mother of Idris Alooma who was said to have reigned as a regent on behalf of her son. 

The Song to the Magaram

Magaram, Magaram Aisa, Dunama’s daughter

Of the fruitful land of the “kurna” trees

You are the owner, Magaram

Of Hadisharam Gabala,

You are the owner, Magaram

Of Damarkaba

You are the owner, Magaram

Yours Kindaguri, Magaram

Of Alagarno, the Sultan’s camp

You are the owner, Magaram

Of Damaji,

You are the owner, Magaram

Of the walled town Nguri

You are the owner, Magaram

Of Chegone with its rich farm-lands

You are the owner, Magaram

Of Komadugu,

And of Karnowa, you are the owner, Magaram

Of Ragunde

You are the owner, Ya Magaram

Of Wuli Bagori, Wuli Bagori established by force,

You are the owner, Magaram

The owner of Dagumo, you

And you the owner of Ilasri, Magaram

Of Malleya with its cattle-trough, a trough of gold

You are the owner, Magaram

The owner of Dalarge-on-the-hill, you

Of Labarwa you are the owner, Magaram

A mist has obscured the Sun

The land in the East, is yours

And you, Magaram, the owner of the land in the West

Of the women of small importance, you are the mother, Magaram

Of the great women you are the elder sister, Magaram

During the rainy season, you are the rains, Magaram

In the harvest, you are the harvest, Magaram

Derman son of Nguli (is your paternal uncle)

Nguli son of Atiman

(Your great-grandfather) Kalima, son of Daudu

(One of your maternal ancestors) a man named Liguma ‘son of Gaji’

(An ancestor) Gandange, son of Derman son of Dakkane

(An ancestor) Dalla whose mother was Amina and whose town Wuzudu

Amina, a daughter of Njimi Town

Njimi of Tsilim, Hawa’s son

And (Tsilim’s) son the Prince Kara, whose mother was Amimi

Magaram, who even when she camped in deserted bush,

Distributes a thousand bowls of food

God give to our mother Magaram, 

The long life of a frog,

And the dignity of an eagle

And we shall be happy