nations, in so much as with them the conception of the state is
identified with that of the ruler. Any one who requires proof of this,
let him read any twenty pages whatever of Aug. Müller’s _Islam_, vol.
ii; he will then be convinced.]
[Footnote 505: ‘dan’ in Hausa is the Arabic ‘ibn’ (son).]
[Footnote 506: Cf. G. A. Krause’s ‘Samori’, in No. 483 of the _Vossische
Zeitung_ for October 15, 1898.]
[Footnote 507: Vid. _Le Mouvement géographique_, 1898, No. 47 (Nov.
20).]
[Footnote 508: Cf. Nachtigal, _Sahara und Sudan_, ii. 234.]
[Footnote 509: They had to repent of not having followed Rabeh’s advice;
for in spite of the assurances made to them they were massacred in an
altogether assassin-like fashion on July 15, 1879, owing to calumny and
intrigue (cf. Slatin Pasha, _Fire and Sword in the Sudan_, p. 28, German
edition). [‘I caused Suleiman and nine of the principal rebel chiefs to
be shot, for Suleiman, after a futile attempt to make my troop revolt,
had tried to escape,’ vid. Romolo Gessi, _Seven Years in the Sudan_, p.
329.]]
[Footnote 510: Cf. Slatin Pasha, _idem_, pp. 7-28.]
[Footnote 511: [The Bornu troops had included gun-men since the
sixteenth century (vid. p. 17). The Kanuri word for gun is ‘be̥nde̥ge̥’,
which has usually been derived from Venediga = Venice, the original
source of supply. Huart, however, in the _Encyclopaedia of Islam_ under
‘bundukiya’ derives it from Latin ‘(nux) pontica’ = a hazel-nut, hence a
bullet. He gives ‘bunduki’ = a Venetian sequin, as coming from
‘Bundukiya, the Arabic name of Venice’.]]
[Footnote 512: Ferryman, _Imperial Africa_, London, 1898, p. 354.]
[Footnote 513: _Sahara und Sudan_, ii. 141.]
[Footnote 514: _Fire and Sword in the Sudan_, p. 25.]
[Footnote 515: _Imperial Africa_, p. 355.]
[Footnote 516: Cf. Nachtigal, _Sahara und Sudan_, iii. 51 ff.]
[Footnote 517: _Imperial Africa_, p. 356.]
[Footnote 518: The Hausa word Mallam (or Mallami) is, of course, the
Arabic ‘mumalim’ = teacher. It is employed like the Arabic ‘Imam’ (in
Moroccan Arabic ‘Faki’) for the ‘scribes’.]
[Footnote 519: Sultan is here used in the broader sense; the rulers of
the latest (or Kanem) dynasty in Bornu made use of the official title of
Sheikh. Their names in succession are: Mohammed Amin Al-Kanemi, Umar,
Abba Bubakr, Abba Ibrahim, Abba Ashimi, Abba Kiari, and Abba Sanda.
Their relationships are shown in the following table:
Mohammed Amin Al-Kanemi
|
|
Umar
|
+-------------------+---+----------------------+
| | |
Abba Bubakr Abba Ibrahim Abba Ashimi
|
+----+--------+
| |
Abba Kiari Abba Sanda
‘Abba’ corresponds in this connexion to the Arabic ‘Saïd’. Cf.
Nachtigal, _Sahara und Sudan_, i. 582. [Abba is a Bornu title meaning
‘Prince’.]]
[Footnote 520: According to Ferryman, _Imperial Africa_, p. 356, Abba
Ashimi was not killed, but after the loss of the battle fled to Zinder.
[As a matter of fact he was murdered by his nephew, Abba Kiari.—P. A.
B.]]
[Footnote 521: ‘Sanda’ is the Arabic ‘Umar’.]
[Footnote 522: According to my calculation the conquest of Bornu took
place in the year 1894.]
[Footnote 523: Cf. Grothe, _Tripoli and the Caravan-trade with the
Sudan_, Leipzig, 1898, p. 22.]
[Footnote 524: Ferryman, _Imperial Africa_, p. 356. [A Niger Company
mission under McIntosh (‘Sarikin Charlie’) visited Shehu Ashimi in 1890,
starting from Yola, but were unable to conclude the commercial
arrangements which formed their object.—P. A. B.]]
[Footnote 525: Cf. Nachtigal, _Sahara und Sudan_, i. 732 ff.]
[Footnote 526: Dikoa, which in earlier days was once a place of
residence of the Bornu kings, lies in the German sphere of influence.
With regard to the favourable situation of the town cf. Barth, _Travels
and Discoveries_, iii. 122 ff. German edition. The natives in their
superstitious fashion give as a ground for the change of residence that
the ghosts of the Sultans murdered there appeared to Rabeh by night in
the royal palace at Kukawa. This motive is not new; thus Mohammed
Sherif, Sultan of Wadai, removed his residence from Wara to Abesher,
because, as popular report had it, ‘bad ghosts had made the old royal
town uninhabitable’ (Nachtigal, _Sahara und Sudan_, iii. 77). Of course
this is not to be taken seriously. New ruling families are frequently
accustomed to select new places of residence in order to wipe out as far
as possible remembrances of the old dynasty, just as Kukawa itself was
first founded by the Kanem dynasty at the beginning of the nineteenth
century (Nachtigal, i. 586).]
[Footnote 527: [Fika?]]
[Footnote 528: Belonging for the greater part to the German sphere of
influence.]
[Footnote 529: Hayatu was the son of Saïdu, grandson of Sultan Mohammed
Bello, and consequently great-grandson of Othman dan Fodio, the founder
of the empire. (Wurno, formerly the residence of the Sultan of Sokoto,
is a town a few miles north of Sokoto.)]
[Footnote 530: Cf. Nachtigal, _Sahara und Sudan_, i. 730.]
[Footnote 531: [This is incorrect.—P. A. B.]]
[Footnote 532: Vid. Introduction to this article.]
[Footnote 533: Cf. Nachtigal, _Sahara und Sudan_, ii. 712 ff., iii.
281.]
[Footnote 534: _Idem_, ii. 726.]
[Footnote 535: This spelling is common and refers to the etymology of
Bornu = the land of Noah.]
[Footnote 536: Corruption of ‘azuhur’.]
[Footnote 537: Misprint in the original of t for i.]
[Footnote 538: [Fika?]]
[Footnote 539: This letter, written in the Tripolitan dialect, is
printed with all its errors. My conception of the meaning is set out in
the accompanying translation. [As I know no Arabic, I can only give a
translation of the German translation.—P. A. B.]]
[Footnote 540: The sequence is confused here.]
APPENDIX VI
THE BAUCHI ACCOUNT OF SHEHU LAMINO’S KANO CAMPAIGN[541]
Extract from a _History of the Bauchi Emirs_, translated from the
manuscript of Mallam Mustapha, tutor and adviser to the sons of Yakubu,
first Emir of Bauchi, by A. Holdsworth Groom, Assistant Resident,
Central (Bauchi) Province, Northern Nigeria.
After this he (Yakubu) made a war and went to Dass. He remained there
five years, and fought with them and conquered half of them. He was
fighting with the other half when the news of Kanumbu (Shehu Lamino of
Bornu) reached him, and he started and went to Fake. They met Kanumbu,
whose horsemen numbered 44,444. He had driven away the village chiefs of
Kano, the chiefs of Kano city, and the Emir of Kano, Dabo. All had fled.
Yakubu came and found him encamped. When Kanumbu saw him he said: ‘This
slave of the Fulani is a liar, what does he think he will take from off
me?’ Yakubu said to his mallams: ‘What is your advice? Ye behold the
multitude of his horses. Ye behold also the number of my horses, 2,500.
What say ye?’ They replied, ‘The king’s word is ours.’ Yakubu said, ‘I
know not how to defeat him, neither do I know how he may be killed, but
one thing I do know, I know that he has no power to raise the dead, that
he has no power, if rain be lacking, to cause it to fall, that he has no
power, if the grass does not spring up, to cause it to do so.’ The
followers of Yakubu said, ‘As for these things Allah alone is able to do
them.’ Yakubu replied, ‘Since ye know this, that no one is able to do
anything save Allah, let us take courage and fight with him, for we
shall defeat him and kill him, because no one is powerful save Allah.’
Then they joined battle and slaughtered them, and scattered them.[542]
Kanumbu fled, leaving behind him his flag, his tents and drums, and went
away to Bornu. Yakubu started and went to Sokoto’and brought to the
Sarikin Mussulmin, Bello, son of Shefu dan Fodio, Kanumbu’s flag, his
tents, and his drums. Bello rejoiced greatly and made a prayer for
Ibraihim, son of Yakubu, that Allah would give him the kingdom of his
father, that Allah would give the children of Ibraihim the kingdom of
Ibraihim;[543] that Allah would establish the seed of Ibraihim in the
house of Yakubu. Yakubu returned and came home.
[Footnote 541: Cf. _Documents scientifiques de la Mission Tilho_, vol.
ii, p. 363.]
[Footnote 542: The Habe Archers that followed Yakubu, famous for their
shooting and their poisoned arrows, are said to have contributed largely
to the victory.]
[Footnote 543: The present Emir of Bauchi is the grandson of Ibraihim.]
APPENDIX VII
REBELLION OF ABBA MASTA
Extract from ‘Travels of Haji Mahomet, a Fulani of Kano’, translated
from _Hausa Stories and Riddles_, by H. G. Harris, p. 33.[544]
We reached the King of Bornu. There was a civil war going on. One of the
Bornu princes was fighting with the King of Bornu, and trying to take
the kingdom from him. This prince, whose name was Abba Masta, had
100,000 men and 40,000 horses. The King of Bornu’s name was Shehu
Ibrahim, he had 100,000 soldiers and 100,000 slaves called ‘Kachellas’.
Abba Masta refused to obey him. The Shehu said: ‘Why do you refuse, you
are my younger brother? Is it a question of politics? If you want a
title, I will give it you.’ But his courtiers said: ‘No, don’t give it
him, consider your own interests. Is Abba Masta your elder brother, will
you obey him?’ But the Shehu would not listen to them, he was angry, he
rose up, shook out his clothes, went to his house, and beat his drum,
proclaiming, ‘He that is my friend, let him follow me’. . . . 40,000
horsemen left the town and the Shehu was preparing to follow them, when
his official sister, the Magira, came and caught hold of his gown,
saying: ‘Do not go out now, wait a while, let them go. Do you wish to
injure your own interests? When they have gone, we will follow on
behind.’ So the army went on, and the Shehu stayed two days at home.
Then he beat his drum, and said: ‘Let all my friends rally round me’.
They assembled, and followed him. He met Abba Masta, and sent four
‘mallams’ with a message to him saying, ‘Let us not quarrel over
politics, which are but transitory things, let us not fall out over
them.’ Abba Masta replied that he intended to fight, so the ‘mallams’
returned to the Shehu and said: ‘Abba Masta is evilly disposed; he
intends fighting.’ The Shehu sent back the ‘mallams’ with another
message, saying, ‘Let us not fight, let not Mussulman blood be shed.’
But Abba Masta continued to advance, and was close on their heels. The
alarm was given in the Shehu’s camp, and they opened fire. Thereupon, a
certain young man came to the Shehu and said: ‘I will kill him.’ The
young man took his spear and pierced Abba Masta through the ribs. Abba
Masta fell from his horse; he said to his followers, ‘Fly, the battle is
lost.’ Thirty thousand of his followers were slain, some fled to
Mandara, some were captured and brought to the Shehu, and the rest
scattered. People said, ‘Abba Masta has failed to seize the kingdom.’
The Shehu said, ‘Kill the prisoners.’ They were killed. There was a
pursuit. The defeated army fled screaming. The Shehu had the victory. He
returned home, assembled his people, and said, ‘Give judgement between
me and Abba Masta, which of us was in the wrong.’ They said, ‘He was in
the wrong. He refused to obey you, you tried to make peace, but he
refused. He behaved like a heathen.’ Then the Shehu beat his drum, and
ordered Abba Masta’s men to be brought before him. A court of justice
was held, and some were killed and some spared, in accordance with the
Shehu’s orders. Five thousand were executed, and the people said, ‘They
have met with their deserts.’
The following genealogical table explains the relationships of Abba
Masta:
Shehu Lamino
|
+----------------------+-----------------------------+
| | |
Shehu Umar Abba Masta Abba Senussi
| | |
| | |
Shehu Ibrahim Abba Bukar Abba Othman (late
| Ajia of Karaguaro)
|
Abba Wada (now
Ajia of Karaguaro)
[Footnote 544: Translation published by kind permission of Hermann G.
Harris, Esq.]
APPENDIX VIII
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS IN BRITISH BORNU
Thermometrical and barometrical observations have been taken in Bornu
for some years past by the Government Medical Officers; at Maiduguri in
Southern Bornu from 1905, and at Geidam in Northern Bornu from 1907. The
observations in all cases are taken at 9 a.m. in the shade of an open
grass-roofed shed, with maximum and minimum thermometers.
_Average monthly temperature, ascertained by taking the monthly averages
for the years recorded._
_Month._ _Geidam._ _Maiduguri._
° °
January 70·65 74·28
February 75·6 76·9
March 84·13 84·78
April 89·41 91·77
May 90·58 90·62
June 89·81 86·42
July 84·6 82·31
August 80·29 78·76
September 83·77 81·46
October 84·48 83·51
November 77·66 79·17
December 71·16 73·88
_Average yearly temperature._
_Year._ _Maiduguri._ _Geidam._
° °
1905 80·9 —
1906 82·14 —
1907 82·68 81·01
1908 83·02 81·35
1909 82·83 81·57
1910 78·56 82·23
The record maximum temperature of 120° was obtained at Maiduguri on
April 6, 1907; the record minimum temperature of 41° at Maiduguri on
March 30, 1910; the record fluctuation of 61° at Maiduguri on March 10,
1910.
The record maximum temperature at Geidam was 119° F. on March 28, 1911,
and the record minimum 44° F. on January 8, 1912; the record fluctuation
at Geidam was 51° F. on May 1, 1911, and January 24, 1912.
RAINFALL
_Year._ _Rainfall at _Rainfall
Maiduguri._ at Geidam._
_Inches._ _Inches._
1905 26·04 —
1906 31·65 20·80
1907 23·63 18·15
1908 23·30 22·39
1909 31·99 21·22
1910 19·53 16·78
1911 30·00 10·46
The record rainfall for 24 hours was 3·87″ at Maiduguri on August 27,
1911.
[I am indebted for these figures to the kindness of Drs. Ellis, McLeay,
Moiser, and Cobb of the West African Medical staff.—P. A. B.]
DIRECTION OF PREVAILING WIND
According to the observations taken at Maiduguri, which is just below
12° North latitude, the prevailing winds are as follows:
January, ENE.
February, NE.
March, E.
April, SW.
May, SW.
June, SW.
July, SW.
August, SW.
September, SW.
October, NE.
November, NE.
December, E.
APPENDIX IX
LAKE CHAD AND THE BAHR EL GHAZAL
The French Mission under Captain Tilho devoted a good deal of attention
to the problem of the Bahr el Ghazal. Their conclusions are summed up on
p. 61, vol. ii of the _Documents scientifiques_: ‘The Bahr el Ghazal, as
far as we examined it (i.e. to Fantrassou), is neither an affluent nor
an effluent but simply a prolongation of Chad. . . . This conclusion
does not solve the problem of the mythical river, which, according to
old maps, formerly connected Chad with the Nile.’[545] Twelve varieties
of shells are common to Chad and the Nile, and indicate that there must
at one time have been a connexion by water between the lake and the
river (_Doc. sc._, ii. 170); cf. also note [343] of the present work.
Again, on p. 601 ff., vol. ii: ‘Topography and hypsometry on the one
hand, chemistry, geology, and malacology on the other, agree in
declaring that Lake Chad is not the remains of an ancient sea, that it
is hardly a lake, in spite of its appearance of being an alluvial lake,
and that it should be regarded as the expansion of a powerful sheet of
fluvial water flowing north-eastwards, rather than a true lake. . . .
It appears legitimate, _a priori_, to suppose that this sheet of fluvial
water, after having expanded to form Chad, may continue its course
subterraneously, protected by a mantle of sand against the intense
evaporation occasioned by the burning sun of the tropics and the
parching winds of the desert. Besides, have we not in the Sahara many
other examples of water-courses prolonged subterraneously very far from
the place where they seem to lose themselves in the sands? . . .
Moreover, if topography and hypsometry can only show us the possibility
of the waters of Chad being prolonged subterraneously, chemistry
demonstrates the necessity. The amount of chloride in the waters of Chad
is in fact so small, that one is bound to admit that there is an outlet
somewhere. . . . Chemical analysis has shown that the water of Chad
almost everywhere contains less chloride than the drinking water of
Copenhagen for example. Consequently, it is absolutely impossible that
it can be a self-contained lake. . . .
It is impossible to definitely trace the course of the connecting link
between the Chad and the Nile, assuming that it existed, . . . until
French Borku and English Darfur are really brought under control.’
[Footnote 545: Cf. the article on the connexion between Lake Chad and
the Nile in the _Journal of the Royal Geographical Society_, vol.
xxxviii, p. 463. [Commandant Tilho is now in charge of the Mao district
to the north of Lake Chad and is making a special study of the problem
of the Bahr el Ghazal. Chudeau, _Missions au Sahara_, vol. ii, p. 232,
discusses the problem of the Bahr el Ghazal.]]
APPENDIX X
SOME KANURI DERIVATIONS (MOSTLY PROPER NAMES)
About half of these derivations were given me by the late Major A.
McClintock, D.S.O., Acting Resident, Bornu, with a request that I would
revise them. I have added a few notes in square brackets [ ] and some
derivations of other proper names, also in square brackets. Some of the
derivations are obviously ‘aetiological’, but others are, I think,
correct. Major McClintock heads his collection—‘Lies and Otherwise’.
P. A. B.
[=Afuno= (the Kanuri name for the Hausas). King Iderisa Aloma of Bornu
went to war with Kano and found all the people there wearing nothing but
arse-cloths (‘funo’). He therefore called them ‘am-funo’ = arse-cloth
people. Cf. Benton, _Kanuri Readings_, p. 19. For other derivations vid.
Merrick, _Hausa Proverbs_, p. 92.]
[=Allanjurori= = the place of Lowan Allanjuro.]
=Alo.= Mai Iderisa, a Bornu king, was at war in Bagirmi; during a fight
he was standing under a tree; up in the tree hidden by the branches was
one of the enemy, who threw his knife at the king and wounded him very
badly. The Bornu army returned by easy stages with their sick king via
Dikoa to the lake now known as Alo. Here the king died from his wounds
and was buried. After his death there was much lamentation, until the
king’s son said, ‘It is the work of Allah’ [‘Allah kido’ = God did it].
All the people then chanted the word Allah and the lake has since been
called Alo.
[Another explanation suggests that the word is derived from the Tubu
‘alo’, meaning a water-melon. When Mai Iderisa died, the melons with
which the place was covered burst asunder from grief and formed a lake.]
[=Ardimini.= A town in Margawa District. This word means in the Koiyam
language the same as the Kanuri ‘arditsani’ (3rd pers. plur. negative
indefinite from ‘ardingin’) = they do not agree. The Koiyams are a
pastoral people who do not care to settle down.]
=Argum= = millet. Birds were responsible for carrying this seed and
dropping it in Kanem, at Birnin N’gebe, where the Bornu kings lived
prior to their coming to Gashergomo. The seed these birds brought was
taken to the king, who ordered horsemen to follow their flight and find
out where it grew. It was found in the Gongola valley, and they brought
some back to the king, who had it prepared and ate it. He then said,
‘Hold this safe and plant it.’
The word ‘argum’ or ‘arkum’ is a corruption of the Kanuri ‘arre ke̥mne’ =
come, hold it fast. [‘Arre’ is imperative from ‘iseskin’, and ‘ke̥mne’ or
‘kumne’ is imperative from ‘ke̥mgin’ = I close the fist.]
[=Arriaskuri.= Name of a village opposite the Government station at
Maiduguri, said to have been founded by one Arri Yasku-ma, i.e. Arri
from Yasku, a town near Lake Alo now abandoned.]
[=Bonigaral.= This was a slave village exempted from tax: its
inhabitants could therefore take their ease. ‘Bone’ is 2nd pers. sing.
imperative from ‘bongin’ = I lie down; ‘ngaral’ is an emphatic adverbial
suffix, cf. Koelle, _Kanuri Grammar_, p. 283.]
[=Bornu.= Or, as the natives write and pronounce it, Barnu. The usual
etymology given by the natives is that it is a corruption of the Arabic
‘Bahr Nuh’ = the water of Noah, because the ark was supposed to have
rested on the rocks of Hadjer Hamis on the south bank of Chad.[546]
Another is that it is derived from Kanuri ‘burum nui’ = the lake is
dead, has disappeared, pointing to a shrinkage of Lake Chad; cf.
Appendix XIV A.]
[=Borsari= = the place of Kachella Mbursa, grandfather of Kachella
Mahmut, ex-Ajia of this district.]
=Bussugua= = the fig-trees [parasitic _ficus_]. There is one in Ngubala
rest-camp. [This is where the Major died, June 24, 1912:
Νιγηρία γὰρ οὔποτ’ οὐδέν’ ἄνδῥ ἑκὼν
αἱρεῖ πονηρόν, ἀλλὰ τοὺς χρηστοὺς ἀεί.
P. A. B. and H. B. H.-H. with apologies to Sophocles’ _Philoctetes_,
line 436.]
[=Damasak.= Short for ‘mbarena damasak’ = we are tired, worn out.
‘Mbarena’ is 1st pers. plur. present participle of ‘mbareskin’;
‘damasak’ is an intensive adverbial suffix, said to be only used with
the verb ‘mbareskin’ and only with the 1st pers. plur. of that verb. The
town of Damasak was founded by pilgrims returning from Mecca.]
[=Debira.= For ‘dabbi-ri’ = the place of the long-handled hoe. It is a
blacksmith’s village.]
=Dikoa= (vid. =Alo=). When Mai Iderisa was returning to Birnin Gashermo
via Dikwa he left some of his people there. The ruling potentate, an
ally of Bornu, said, ‘Yes, you can stay here, but I mark a boundary for
you.’ He then marked out the site of the present town of Dikwa, which in
the Magari [or Mackeri] language means ‘a marked out place, a boundary’.
[Another suggested explanation connects it with the Kanuri word ‘digo-
wa’ = grandsons.]
=Galadima=, from ‘galti’, meaning to finish his job properly, i.e. if in
war a man was told to capture a village and did so properly the verb
‘galti’ applies.
Hence Galadima, the man who does things properly, who can be trusted to
carry out affairs.
[For another derivation vid. Benton, _Kanuri Readings_, p. 25.]
[=Gazerregomo= (Kasr Kumo). Vid. note in Appendix III, p. 248.]
[=Geidam.= A certain man came and sat down by the river. People asked
him, ‘Why do you sit down here all alone?’ He replied, ‘Ngai-dam
namgin,’ literally, ‘thus exactly I am going to sit down.’ ‘Dam’ appears
to be a semi-enclitic specific adverb of the kind described by Koelle,
_Kanuri Grammar_, p. 283. An American might translate it ‘right here’.]
=Grema.= From Kanuri [root ‘gere’] = to eat. The story is that one of
the old kings of Bornu insisted when riding about the country on tasting
all wild fruits and everything that could be eaten. He had one ‘boy’,
who was particularly good at bringing him these things. This boy died,
the king felt his loss, he therefore appointed a man who was to do this
work. Hence the name ‘Grema’.
[=Gujiba.= A certain king’s son went and sat down on this site. The king
summoned him but he refused to come. The king said, ‘Nguji-ba?’ = has he
rebelled?
‘Guji’ or ‘nguji’ is an impersonal verb meaning he rebels, he is
obstinate; ‘-ba’ is the interrogative particle.]
[=Gusamalla.= At the time of the capture of Gazerregomo by the Fulani, a
‘mairam’ (princess) came and sat down where Gusamalla now is. Fugitives
(‘nguzama’ from ‘nguzaniskin’) joined her and formed a town. The ‘-la’
is for the postpositive ‘-lan’, which is here to be translated as a
genitive, cf. Koelle, _Kanuri Grammar_, p. 300. The name therefore means
‘(the town) of the fugitives’.]
=Hausa=, from the Hausa word ‘haushi’: change the _h_ to _f_ you get
‘fushi’, which means to be angry; vid. Robinson’s _Dictionary_, p. 88,
‘He feels angry’ = ‘yana yin haushi’.
The story is that on the first invasion of this country by the Hausas
they met with opposition they did not expect, and were naturally angry
about it. They said, ‘These people (original inhabitants) make me angry’
= ‘Ba-Fushi’. _F_ comes roughly off the tongue, _H_ is the accepted
difference. ‘Haushi,’ between the _f_ and the _u_ a vowel must come or
no black man could say the word.
I now say further that the much disputed derivation of this word Hausa
is now solved for any one who knows anything about the matter. [!]
[The Major was always very hot on this being the correct derivation. For
other explanations of Hausa vid. Merrick, _Hausa Proverbs_, pp. 91-3,
and Robinson’s _Hausa Dictionary_, second edition, p. 88 a, and
Tremearne, _Niger and West Sudan_, pp. 51-64.]
[=Kaba.= A Marghi town, said to have been founded by a brother of the
Marghi king, Mai Ibrahim, who broke away from him and founded a town of
his own. ‘Ka-ba’ = no stick, i.e. without proper authority.]
=Kachella=, from Katsaga = a spear [and ‘-la’ or ‘-lan’ = on. ‘Kachella’
is a military title, they are those who sleep on their spears.]