Béllo received me in his private apartment, and detained me for full two hours while I gave him complete information about the use of the medicines. He wanted, besides, two things from me, which I could not favour him with—things of a very different character, and the most desired by all the princes of Negroland. One of these was a “mágani-n-algúwa” (a medicine to increase his conjugal vigour); the other, some rockets, as a “mágani-n-yáki” (a medicine of war), in order to frighten his enemies.
Not being able to comply with these two modest wishes of his, I had great difficulty in convincing him of my goodwill; and he remained incredulous to my protestations that we had intentionally not taken such things as rockets with us, as we were afraid that if we gave such a thing to one prince, his neighbour might become fiercely hostile to us. But he remarked that he would keep such a gift a secret. I was very glad he did not say a word more about the pistols; but in order to give me a proof that he knew how to value fine things, he showed me the scissors and razor which I had given him the other day, for which he had got a sheath made, and wore them constantly at his left side. He then told me he would make me a present of an “abi-n-háwa” (something to mount upon), intimating already by this expression that it would not be a first-rate horse, as I had not complied with his heart’s desire, but that it would be furnished with saddle and harness, and that besides he would send me a large “hákkori-n-gíwa” (an elephant’s tooth) to Kanó. This latter offer I declined, saying that, though my means were very small at present, I did not like to turn merchant. He reminded me then of my promise to return; and we parted the best of friends. Notwithstanding the injustice of every kind which he daily commits, he has some sentiment of honour; and feeling rather ashamed for having given me so much trouble for nothing, as he was aware that it would become known to all his fellow-governors, and probably even to his liege lord, the Emír el Múmenín, he was anxious to vindicate his reputation. It was from the same motive that he begged me most urgently not to tell anybody that I had made him the presents here, adding, that he would afterwards say that he had received them from me from Kanó.
Having returned home, I thankfully received the compliments which were made me from different quarters on account of the fortunate issue of my affair with this “munáfekí,” or evil-doer; and although the horse, which was not brought till next morning after we had been waiting for it a long while, proved rather ill-looking and poor, being scarcely worth more than ten thousand kurdí, or four dollars, and though the saddle was broken and harness wanting altogether, I was quite content, and exulted in my good fortune. But before leaving this once most important place I shall try to give a short historical sketch of its past, and an outline of its present state.
CHAPTER XXIV.
HÁUSA.—HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF KÁTSENA.—ENTRY INTO KANÓ.
In order to render intelligible the anterior history of Kátsena, it will be necessary to enter into some preliminary explanation respecting the whole country of Háusa. The name Háusa was unknown, as it seems, to Leo Africanus; else instead of saying that the inhabitants of Zária, Kátsena, and Kanó spoke the language of Góber, he would have said that they spoke the Háusa language. But we have no right to conclude from this circumstance that the practice of giving the name Háusa, not only to the widely diffused language, but also to the countries collectively in which it prevails, is later than Leo’s time; on the contrary, I must acknowledge the improbability of such an assumption. It is true that, with the faint light available, we are unable to discern quite distinctly how the Háusa nation originated; but we may positively assert that it was not an indigenous nation, or at least that it did not occupy its present seat from very ancient times, but that it settled in the country at a comparatively recent date. As to one of the associated states, and the most prominent and noble amongst them (I mean Góber), we know positively that in ancient times it occupied tracts situated much further north;[18] and I have been assured that the name Háusa also proceeded from the same quarter—an opinion which seems to be confirmed by the affinity of that language with the Temáshight.[19] Whether the name was originally identical with the word “Áusa,” which, as we shall see, is used by the Western Tuarek and the people of Timbúktu to denote the country on this the northern side of the Great River, in opposition to “Gúrma,” the country on its southern side, I am unable to say.
Sultan Béllo’s statement that the Háusa people originated from a Bórnu slave, deserves very little credit. It is to be considered as merely expressive for his contempt for the effeminate manners of the Háusa people in his time. But their language, though it has a few words in common with the Kanúri, is evidently quite distinct from it, as well in its vocabulary as in its grammar. What Béllo says may be correct in a certain sense with regard to the population of Kanó, which indeed seems to consist, for the greater part, of Bórnu elements, though in course of time the people have adopted the Háusa language; and this may be the case also with other provinces, the original population having been more nearly related to the Manga-Bórnu stock. The name “Báwu,” which occurs in the mythical genealogy of the Háusa people as that of the ancestor of most of the Háusa states, can hardly be supposed to be a mere personification representing the state of slavery in which the nation formerly existed; the name for slave in the Háusa language is báwa, not báwu. It is, however, remarkable that this personage is said to be the son of Karbágarí, whose name evidently implies “the taking of a town,” and might be derived from the capture of the town of Bíram, which is universally represented as the oldest seat of the Háusa people, a tradition which is attested by a peculiar usage even at the present day. This town of Bíram is situated between Kanó and Khadéja, and is often called “Bíram-ta-ghabbes,” in order to distinguish it from a more westerly town of the same name. Bíram, the personification of this town, is said to have been, by his grandson, Báwu (the son of Karbágarí), the progenitor of the six other Háusa states (likewise personified): viz. Kátsena and Zégzeg, who are represented as twins; Kanó and Ranó, another pair of twins; Góber and Dáura. However, it seems almost universally acknowledged that of all these children Dáura was the eldest.[20]
More important in a historical point of view, and confirming what has been said above, appears to be the statement that the mother of these children belonged to the Déggara or Díggera, a Berber tribe at present established to the north of Múniyo, and once very powerful. Bíram, Dáura, Góber, Kanó, Ranó, Kátsena, and Zégzeg, are the well-known original seven Háusa states, the “Háusa bókoy” (the seven Háusa), while seven other provinces or countries, in which the Háusa language has spread to a great extent, although it is not the language of the aboriginal inhabitants, are called jocosely “bánza bókoy” (the upstart, or illegitimate); these are Zánfara, Kébbi, Núpe or Nýffi, Gwári, Yáuri, Yóruba or Yáriba, and Korórofa.
As for the six children of Báwu, they are said to have had each his share assigned to him by his father in the following way: Góber was appointed the “serkí-n-yáki” (the war-chief), in order to defend his brethren, Kanó and Ranó being made “sáraki-n-baba” (the ministers of the “máriná,” that peculiar emblem of the industry of Háusa), and Kátséna and Dáura “sáraki-n-káswa” (the ministers of intercourse and commerce), while Zégzeg is said to have been obliged to provide his brethren with those necessary instruments of social life in these regions, namely, slaves, becoming the “serkí-n-baÿ.” Ranó, which at present has been greatly reduced, though it is still a considerable place, situated south-west from Kanó, was originally, like each of the other towns, the capital of an independent territory, though not mentioned hitherto by any traveller who has spoken of Háusa.
If we credit Leo’s description, we must conclude that when he visited these regions, towards the end of the fifteenth century of our era, there was no capital in the province of Kátsena, the whole country being inhabited in “piccoli casali fatti a guisa di capanne.” For with respect to later events, which happened after he had left the country, and while he was writing his description, very imperfect information appears to have reached him. Now, the list of the kings of Kátsena, from a remote period, is still tolerably well preserved, together with the length of their respective reigns; and there is no reason whatever to doubt their general accuracy, as the history of the state has been in writing at least since the middle of the sixteenth century of our era, and we have something to control this list, and to connect it with facts gleaned from other quarters. This regards the period of the reign of the king Ibrahím Máji, who, as we know, lived in the time of the famous Tawáti Mohammed ben ʿAbd el Kerím ben Maghíli, the friend and contemporary, as I have said above,[21] of the great encyclopædist Abu ’l Fadhl Jelál eʾ dín ʿAbd eʾ Rahmán el Khodairi eʾ Soyúti, commonly known under the name of Eʾ Sheikh eʾ Soyúti; and his connection with the King of Kátsena we are able to fix with tolerable certainty by his relation to the Sónghay king Is-hák, who is said to have excited his severest indignation by refusing to punish the people who had murdered his son in Gógó.[22] And although we can scarcely believe that the ruin of the Sónghay empire, and the rise of that of Kátsena, was the consequence of this holy man’s curse, nevertheless we are justified in presuming that after he had received offence from the king Is-hák, by being refused satisfaction, he began to cultivate friendly relations with the King of Kátsena, a country then rising into importance.
We are therefore justified in placing Ibrahím Máji (the King of Kátsena, whom the fanatic Moslim converted to Islám) about the middle of the tenth century of the Hejra. Now, if we count backwards from this period, adding together the years attributed to each reign, to Komáyo, the man who is universally stated to have founded Kátsena, we obtain at least three hundred and fifty years, which would carry back the political existence of the state of Kátsena to the beginning of the seventh century of the Hejra. In this computation we reduce the reign of the first two kings, or chiefs (of whom Komáyo is said to have reigned a hundred years, and his successor ninety), to about twenty years each. Excepting this little exaggeration, which is such as we find recurring in the early history of almost every nation, I do not see any reason for rejecting the list of the kings of this country, as it is preserved not only in the memory of the people, but even in written documents, though, indeed, it is to be lamented that the books containing a comprehensive history of this nation have been destroyed intentionally by the Fúlbe, or Féllani, since the conquest of the country, in order to annihilate, as far as possible, the national records.