THE SONGHOIS
In travelling from the coast the European passes through successive
native tribes of Western Africa: Cérères, Ouolofs, Khassonkas, Soussons
and Bambaras, etc., all more or less thick-lipped, woolly-headed,
flat-nosed, and barbarous, and all equally well known to the
ethnographer.
But arrived at Jenne the traveller finds himself face to face with
an entirely new ethnographical entity, namely, the Songhois. Most
Europeans miscall them the Sonrhais, but the natives refuse to
recognise the word disfigured in this fashion. During the whole forty
years in which the interior of Africa has occupied the attention of
the world, the name has only appeared before us once. Among ancient
geographers Léon the African alone has mentioned them, and that in a
paragraph of--two lines! Among moderns, the famous German traveller
Barth mentions them at greater length, but all his remarks are wrongly
based, for he reckons the Songhois among the aboriginals of the
Sudan, and places their cradle between Tindirma and the Dira, to the
south-west of Timbuctoo. Quite other is the tradition of the Songhois
themselves. They invariably told me that they did not originate in
the countries of the Niger, and when questioned concerning the home
of their fathers they all gave the same reply. The right arm of the
human document was raised, flinging back the numerous white draperies
that serve as clothing, and a black hand pointed unhesitatingly in the
direction of the purple dawn. It was their unvarying response in Jenne
or elsewhere, and it was never the west, where Tindirma and Dira lie,
that they indicated, but always the east. Once again was that great law
of the migrations of peoples confirmed, which draws the nations from
the land of the rising to that of the setting sun.
After the human documents I consulted the written, and among all the
historical manuscripts collected in my travels the only one to refer to
the origin of the Songhois is the _Tarik_.
It must be attentively read, too, for its most precious indications are
very concisely enclosed. ‘The first king of the Songhois,’ it says,
‘was called Dialliaman. His name comes from the Arabian _Dia min al
Jemen_, signifying “He is come from Yemen.” Dialliaman,’ the narrative
continues, ‘quitted Yemen in company with his brother. They travelled
through the country of God until destiny brought them to the land of
Kokia.
‘Now Kokia was a town of the Songhois people situated on the banks of
a river, and was very ancient. It existed in the time of the Pharaohs,
and it is said that one of them, during his dispute with Moses, sent
thither for the magician whom he opposed to the Prophet.
‘The two brothers reached the town in such a terrible state of distress
that their appearance was scarcely human; their skins were cracked
by the heat and dust of the desert, and they were almost naked. The
inhabitants questioned them concerning the country of their origin, and
their names have been forgotten in the surname with which their reply
provided them, “Dia min al Jemen”--“Come from Yemen.” And Dialliaman
the elder settled in Kokia. Now the god of the Songhois was a fish who
appeared to them from the water at certain periods, wearing a golden
ring in his nose; and the people gathered together and worshipped the
fish, receiving its commands and prohibitions and obeying its oracles.
‘Perceiving their error, Dialliaman hid in his heart a resolution to
kill the false deity, and God assisted him in his design.
‘One day he pierced the fish with a lance in the presence of the people
and killed it. Then the people proclaimed Dialliaman king.’
We thus learn that the Songhois possessed, at a time which we will
determine later, a very ancient town called Kokia that was situated
near a river. Now where was this town? Barth sought for it on his
journey from Lake Chad to the Niger, and placed it upon the banks of
the Eastern Niger, though he would assuredly never have found it there.
We will now appeal to oral tradition. With the _Tarik_ in my hand I
questioned the Songhois concerning the whereabouts of this city of
Kokia. ‘The city of Kokia was far, very far away in the east, beyond
Gao,’ was their unanimous reply; and upon two occasions the marabuts
added, ‘It was a town in the country of Misr.’ Now in the Sudan the
country of Misr means Egypt, the valley of the Nile, and the name comes
from Misra, signifying Cairo.
What river do we find in the map east of Gao? None, large or small, but
the Nile; and it is in Egypt alone that Kokia, ‘situated near a great
river,’ could have existed. Moreover, this will explain why the author
said, to indicate the great antiquity of the town, ‘it already existed
in the time of the Pharaohs,’ and that ‘one of them sent thither for
magicians to defeat Moses.’ It would probably be a neighbouring and
vassal country to which they would apply for them.
Again, Yemen is not far from the valley of the Nile, and the journey of
Dialliaman from there to Kokia[2] is quite plausible. The passage of
the desert that separates the Nile from the Red Sea would amply explain
the condition in which he is depicted to have arrived.
* * * * *
[Illustration: HOUSES IN JENNE]
It now remains to be proved at what period and in what manner the
Songhois passed from the shores of the Nile to those of the Niger. The
reconstruction of their exodus is, unfortunately, not so simple as the
demonstration of their origin, but the following version seems to be
the most probable.
The emigrations must have begun towards the middle of the seventh
century, for Jenne was founded one hundred and fifty years after the
Hegira (about 765 of our era), and Jenne is the extreme western point
of their invasion. From a hundred to a hundred and twenty years would
be a sufficient length of time to include the years of wandering and
those of settlement and occupation in the Songhoi countries.
The tranquillity of Egypt (which had lasted since the Roman conquest)
was rudely disturbed in the seventh century by the lieutenants of
the first Khalifs; and the country received a shock that would fully
justify such an exodus. The conquerors were dazzled by the richness
of these territories, as the letter sent by Amru to the Khalif Omar
amply proves. It was a magnificent quarry to the starveling Arab,
and the distress of the vanquished must have been in proportion
to the enthusiasm of the conquerors. The Lower, Upper, and Middle
Egypts were all overrun towards the year 640. Possibly the Songhois
suffered more than others from this invasion. Perhaps they refused to
receive Islamism. My learned friends, the marabuts, being the official
representatives of Mohammedanism, would naturally not have admitted
this reason, and the historical manuscripts are dumb upon the subject.
Their compilers of three centuries ago were likewise marabuts, and
the silence of both is very likely to have been actuated by the same
motive. In any case, the habitual methods of the conquering Arabs,
their brutality and cupidity, would in themselves sufficiently account
for the flight of a people as peaceful and industrious as the Songhois
have remained to this day.
Was Dialliaman the promoter and leader of this emigration? The
character would harmonise with the picture the _Tarik_ has drawn of the
adventurer who raised himself to the throne of a country he had entered
naked and hungry. His native land was Yemen, the recent birthplace
and centre of the Mohammedan religion. He may have quarrelled with the
early disciples of the Prophet, or he may have quitted Arabia in order
to escape the violence of their propaganda. Finding himself once more
face to face with the fanatics in the country of his adoption, he would
naturally resolve upon a new exile to more remote countries, and would
depart, accompanied not merely by his brother, but leading a whole
people with him.
[Illustration: MAP OF THE SONGHOI EMIGRATION]
However that may be, Dialliaman, the intrepid traveller and adventurer
that the chronicle shows him to be--Dialliaman, the true Arab who
changes his country as easily as his coat,--was in every way fitted to
be the leader of a people driven by cruel conquest to seek a new home
in a far-off land. The route taken by the emigrants, keeping south of
the Libyan desert, passing by Agades and the north of Lake Chad, would
meet the Niger somewhere near Gao. They would naturally follow the
outskirts of the desert, as the line of less dense population would be
that least likely to impede their progress. In this manner they would
reach the Niger, in spite of the enormous tract of land to be covered,
in a comparatively short time. Several details favour this theory.
A language similar to that of the Songhois is spoken at Agades, the
people bordering the desert between the Chad and the Niger are also
Songhoi; and there is no doubt that many more analogous ethnographical
and linguistic traits will be found to exist when the countries lying
between Lake Chad and the Nile are better known.
Finally, in the country of Bourrousu, near the city of Gao,[3] local
tradition preserves the arrival in these parts of an Egyptian Pharaoh,
who is probably none other than Dialliaman, or the leader of the
Songhoi emigration.
Before tracing the development of this new country of the Songhois,
I will enforce the arguments in favour of their Egyptian origin by
others no less decisive. The great name of Barth, with whom I am in
opposition, seems to compel this digression.
The narratives of the famous traveller serve to confirm these very
suppositions, for he is continually finding Egyptian traces in the
Songhoi countries and in their countries alone. He observes, in
fact, that ‘the Songhois seemed to have received their civilisation
from Egypt and to have maintained very close relations with her, as
many very interesting details show.’ After that, what would not his
conclusions have been if he had visited Jenne itself and seen the
character of her architecture; or if he had gained his facts from the
intelligence and science of the Songhois themselves instead of relying
upon the information of the Kountas, his hosts at Timbuctoo, who were
strangers of comparatively recent date in the country?
He recognised the influence of Egypt, but not in its direct relation,
and he believed its civilisation had been received through the medium
of the Mohammedan religion! Now, at the date of the appearance of
Islamism in the Sudan (which was towards the eleventh century) the
civilisation of the Pharaohs had been dethroned for nearly four
hundred years by that of the Khalifs. It is hardly possible that the
apostles of a new and essentially exclusive cult would have imported
and established the manners of ancient Egypt in preference to those of
contemporary and Arabian Egypt, which was at that time at the height
of its prosperity. It follows therefore that the direct relation with
Egypt must have been instituted prior to the appearance of Islamism.
The strength of the connection, in spite of the enormous distance
which separates the valley of the Nile from that of the Niger, plainly
indicates a direct relation. The current that flowed so persistently
and strongly between Egypt and the Sudan up to the sixteenth century
represents something more than a merely commercial interest; it reveals
the route of an exodus. The influence and commerce of Morocco and
Algeria in the Sudan (countries comparatively near) were for a long
time overpowered by distant Egypt. We find undeniable proofs of this
among the ancient geographers. Ibn Batouta, a Moor, who visited the
countries of the Niger in 1352, relates that at Oualata ‘the greater
part of the inhabitants wore the beautiful costumes of Egypt.’ Now
Oualata is only two months’ journey distant from Morocco, while the
valley of the Nile is at a distance of at least eight months. Again, to
destroy the powerful and traditional bias of Egypt towards the Niger
and establish the preponderance of the northern countries of Africa
would require no less than a Moorish occupation in 1592.
The Songhois themselves furnish further proof that they were originally
strangers in the country. Their speech is totally different from the
numerous Sudanese dialects, and its roots are those of the languages
of the Nile. Moreover, their physical type owns nothing in common with
that of the West African negro. In the most mixed group of negroes a
Songhois may be identified at the first glance; his skin is as black as
theirs, certainly, but nothing in his mask conforms to their well-known
characteristics. The nose of the Songhois is straight and long, pointed
rather than flat; the lips are comparatively thin, and the mouth
wide rather than prominent and broad; while the eyes are deeply set
and straight in their orbit. A cursory glance shows that the profile
resembles that of the European, and one is struck by the remarkable
intelligence of their physiognomy and expression. In addition, they are
tall, well-made, and slender.
These peculiarities are still more noticeable among children between
six and ten years of age. Their skins are less profoundly black than
are those of other infant negroes, and the regularity of their features
is even more remarkable than in the adult. Many a time I have been
arrested by the sight of a group of children in Jenne and charmed by
their rare beauty. They seemed to be deeply bronzed children of the
race of Shem rather than of Ham. In short, the Songhois recalls the
Nubian rather than the West African negro, and I have studied both at
leisure. Ethnography, then, assists us in determining the point of
departure of the emigration from the valley of the Nile.
It is to the south of the island of Philæ that we find a similar race,
and there also has ancient Egypt left indelible traces. On the left
bank of the river she has set up a magnificent series of her most
characteristic monuments, and it is small wonder that its inhabitants
should be so strongly imbued with them that they preserved the vision
to the furthest point of their wanderings.
This point was Gao, as we have already seen. Quitting a country of
such numerous waters as Nubia, the emigrants would naturally, before
settling, seek a situation that would recall the land of their birth
in its external conformation; less from pious memories, perhaps
(patriotism is always the latest virtue acquired by a race), than from
a desire to continue to live according to their customs and special
aptitudes. For a great distance their route would appear singularly
unpropitious, for much sand and little water was not what they wanted,
and they would not settle in any quantities between the Nile and the
Niger.
[Illustration: THE EARLY SONGHOI EMPIRE]
But at Gao they would find a river which would recall the shores they
had left, and whose rise and fall fertilised the country in the same
manner. Here they could resume their accustomed methods of labour and
cultivation; and, like Barth, they would doubtless be charmed by the
beautiful vegetation, containing the date, tamarind, and sycamore trees
of their mother-country. And so they fixed their capital at Gao, where
they could think for the first time of definite repose, and where
their hope of a new home was realised. Half the valley of the Niger
they made their own, finding only a feeble and patient aboriginal
population there, which has almost disappeared to-day. These people,
the Habais, are so timid that they arm themselves with bows and
arrows to work in fields which are surrounded by their own villages,
and then prefer running away to using their weapons. Occupation was
therefore an easy matter to the Songhois. They founded Jenne, their
most western territory, in 765, and made it the market of their empire.
We may conclude their dominion to have attained its normal and present
boundaries towards the end of the eighth century. These limits comprise
the countries from the east of Gao to Lake Chad, and that portion of
the valley of the Niger below Jenne and Say. The Sahara bounds them in
the north, the empire of the Mali in the west, and the countries of
the Bambaras, the Mossi, and the Sokoti in the south; while the vague
regions between Agades and Lake Chad limit them in the east.
* * * * *
We will now take a rapid survey of the history of the Songhois and the
considerable place their empire held in the Sudan during a period of
nearly a thousand years. It comprised three dynasties, the Dia, the
Sunni, and the Askia, and was not without its hours of glory.
The prefix of the Dia was borrowed from Dialliaman, but the Sudanese
annals are silent concerning their employment of the six hundred years
that contained their reigns (700 to 1335); and we only know that they
numbered thirty in all.[4]
In the reign of Dia Soboï the Songhoi kingdom experienced its first
crisis, becoming the vassal of its neighbour of the west, the Mali
empire, then at the height of its glory. In addition to this an army
of the Mossi crossed the valley to pillage Timbuctoo, and succeeded in
separating Jenne from the main body of the empire (1329).
Dia Soboï’s two sons, Ali Kolon and Suliman Naré, were taken to the
court of Kounkour-Moussa. ‘For it was, and is still, the custom in the
Sudan for a monarch to be served by the children of his vassals,’ says
the _Tarik_. ‘Some were permitted to return to their native countries
after a certain time, but others lived in bondage to the end of their
days.’ The young Songhoi princes were detained for a long period at the
court of Kounkour-Moussa, but Ali Kolon travelled through the kingdom
of the Mali from time to time under the pretext of increasing its
revenues and augmenting its commerce. He was an intelligent youth, full
of prudence, reflection, and enlightenment. By prolonging each journey
a little further he learned to know the roads of the country, and,
above all, those leading towards Songhoi. At last he determined in his
heart to return to his native land, and for this purpose he collected
stores of arms and provisions, which he concealed along the route he
intended to take. Having confided his plan to his brother, they began
to train their horses, feeding them well and accustoming them to endure
great fatigue. One day they took their departure. When the news of
their flight came to the king’s ears he commanded them to be pursued
and killed; but although they were overtaken, they defended themselves
so well that they were enabled to reach the country of the Songhois.
Ali Kolon was proclaimed king and given the name of ‘Sunni, the
Liberator.’
Such is the history of the founder of the second dynasty, which lasted
from 1355 to 1492, and counted eighteen kings.[5]
Freed by Ali Kolon from the dominion of the Mali, the Songhois resumed
the peaceable existence they seemed to have led in the preceding
centuries.
[Illustration: JENNE: A CORNER OF THE TOWN]
The history of the Songhois takes a wider range with Sunni Ali (1464 to
1493). They now overflow their early boundaries and develop an empire
of an extent never before witnessed in western Africa.
Sunni Ali is pre-eminently the soldier; the true negro soldier, who
marches from conquest to conquest absorbing all the populations in
war, and so absorbed in it himself that he has no time to create and
organise his conquests in durable form. He is an old soldier solely
occupied with plunder and prisoners and the levying of tribute.
Nevertheless, while fighting from east to west during twenty years, he
is unconsciously laying the foundations of Songhoi greatness; and the
ground being thus prepared, it is not long before an organiser appears
who speedily raises the glory and prosperity of the empire to their
greatest height.
The career of Ali the Conqueror started in masterly fashion with the
conquest of Timbuctoo in 1469. It is somewhat surprising that we have
not met this name earlier in the history of the most civilised race of
the Sudan; but it was not founded by them, and had never before been
counted among their possessions. So complete was the annexation of this
famous city that it obtained its supreme grandeur at the precise moment
of the Songhois’ pre-eminence and declined with their fall.
Jenne, having emancipated itself at the time the Mali and the Mossi
were signalising their victories over the last of the Dias, was reduced
to obedience after a long siege. Sunni Ali followed up the conquest
by attacking the kingdoms of the Mossi and the Hombouri in the centre
of the valley, and the Teska Kouboura and Kanta in the east. His
chief and most prolonged effort, however, was directed to the west,
and concentrated upon the destruction of that Mali empire which had
threatened his nation in former days. He subdued nearly the whole
of the left bank of the western Niger in this manner, taking little
Haoussa (south of Timbuctoo) and Barra (country of Gundam at Lake
Debo); destroying Guiddio, a large town on Lake Debo, and fighting
against the Senhadiata, the Foulbes, and the people of Diarka.
Returning to Gao from one of these expeditions, he was drowned in a
small tributary of the Niger to the south of Timbuctoo.
‘He only suffered two reverses,’ relates the chronicle, ‘one at Duoneo
(Douentza?) and the other in Barkou (Bourgoo). He surpassed all the
kings, his predecessors, in the numbers and valour of his soldiery. His
conquests were many, and his renown extended from the rising to the
setting of the sun. If it is the will of God, he will be long spoken
of.’ The Sudanese writers do, in fact, speak much of Ali the Conqueror,
but it is in an unexpected fashion. They heap the most violent epithets
upon him and cover him with insults. ‘An impious monarch and horrible
tyrant,’ says one. ‘A great oppressor and destroyer of towns, with
a hard and unjust heart,’ says another. ‘A sanguinary despot who
slaughtered so many thousands of people that God alone knows their
number; he was cruel to the pious and wise, he humiliated them and put
them to death,’ exclaims a third.
As a matter of fact, he was neither better nor worse than his
successors, nor any other Sudanese prince. War has always a
particularly brutal and detestable aspect in negro countries. The
impartiality of history has no concern with these accumulations of
abuse; they merely represent the personal venom of his chroniclers.
These were the marabuts who represented literature and the sciences,
and were the vicegerents of Islam; it was this latter capacity
that dictated their judgments. The incident is interesting for its
revelation of the bitter and revengeful feelings which at this period
actuated the Mohammedan religion towards outside affairs, even those
of the past. It had not attained to great power at this time, and its
roots were by no means established in the country. Later on, having
acquired a stronger growth, we shall find it still pursuing this
_rôle_ and becoming the prime factor in considerable and calamitous
events. The great grievance cherished against the conqueror by the
marabuts was his very lukewarm religiousness. ‘He took great liberties
with the faith,’ relates the _Tarik_. ‘He was wont to delay until
nightfall or even till next morning the five prayers which every good
Mussulman should say between the rising and the setting of the sun. By
degrees he contented himself with merely mentioning their names, and
finally he still further simplified these negligences into a single
invocation of the name of God, adding, “You all know my prayers, let
each take therefrom what concerns him.”’
The origin of this scepticism is explained in a little work by El
Moucheïli, a very learned man of Tlemcen, of whom I shall have occasion
to speak later on. He affords us a glimpse of the customs of the
period, and shows us the position of Islamism in this country towards
the close of the fifteenth century. The higher classes alone, it
appears, had rallied to the religion of Mahomet, and that without any
great conviction. Idolatry was not prohibited in the court itself, and,
seeing that the monarch showed himself scarcely a Mohammedan even in
name, his retinue would naturally follow his example. The people openly
continued to practise witchcraft and the worship of fetiches, whose
temples remained standing even in Gao and Jenne.
‘God had directed us,’ says another extract, ‘towards a country whose
inhabitants called themselves Mussulmans, and who were so on the
surface. They attended the great service of Friday and the week-day
call to the five prayers, but we had little confidence in their
marabuts.... The manners of this country are very singular. We find
a people here who pretend to know the science of occult things, and
base this knowledge upon a study of lines traced upon the sand, on the
position of the stars, the cries of birds and their flight, etc.
They profess to write charms which will increase profits, excite love,
and oppose ruin; which will put their enemies to flight in battle and
preserve themselves from the sword and the poison of arrows: and many
other things that sorcerers practise in incantations.
[Illustration: JENNE: THE FISHING PORT]
‘The mother of Sunni Ali came from the country of Farou (Sokato), a
nation of infidels who adored images of wood and stone. They had faith
in these idols and consulted them. When good or evil befell them, they
ascribed it to the idols being favourable or unfavourable. The worship
of these false gods is directed by priests, who are guided in their
turn by soothsayers and magicians who give consultations.
‘Sunni Ali passed his youth and grew to manhood there, and his mind was
naturally influenced by these idolatries and customs. Nevertheless, he
decided in favour of Mohammedanism when he became king, although its
usages were barely known to him. He would add after the name of the
Prophet, Let him be praised: and after the holy name of Allah he would
say, May the prayer and salvation of God be with him. But the reverse
is what he should have said. For a time he fasted during the month of
Ramadan, and made offerings and sacrifices in the mosques; but after
a while he returned to idols and soothsayers, he sought guidance in
practices of witchcraft, and honoured trees and stones with sacrifices
and offerings, asking of them the fulfilment of his desires.
‘At last, neither he nor his companions were ever seen (even on Friday)
in the cathedral mosque, or in any of the others, and from fear of him
the thousands of men and women dwelling in his house neither fasted
nor prayed during Ramadan. He did not know the Fatiha (the first sûra)
by heart, nor any other sûra of the Koran. Habitually careless in
his prayers, he neither bowed nor prostrated himself during their
recitation. He had relations with women that are unrecognised by
marriage, or any other contract permitted by Islamism. If a woman
pleased him he took her to his palace regardless of her husband or her
family. He also allowed Mussulmans to be pillaged and slain, and he put
to death many theologians and learned men of law.’
The last clause is true, but Moucheïli omits to add that Sunni Ali
only ill-treated certain marabuts, and those, not because they were
Mussulmans and priests, but because they had interfered in politics
and conspired against him on account of his scepticism. In spite of
his enemies among the caste, he invariably honoured the holy men who
made religion and piety alone their study; ‘always keeping an accurate
record of their numbers,’ says the _Tarik_, ‘he paid homage to their
merits and made them large presents.’ This generosity shows the
tolerant spirit which is characteristic of the Songhoi people.
I will only dwell upon one more side of his character, the violence and
frenzy of his wrath. It flamed into a fury upon the least provocation,
and in its transport he would order the death of any one of his
retinue, even of the one who was useful and devoted to him and whom
he most cherished. The excess of his rage was only equalled by the
promptness of his remorse. His servants were aware of this, and, when
the condemned person was one whom Sunni Ali would afterwards regret,
they would merely keep him out of sight until the moment of repentance
arrived. The king would be filled with joy upon these occasions to find
that the fulfilment of his commands had been delayed.
Among those whose existence was often separated from Paradise by a mere
thread was Mohammed ben Abou Bakr, a native of Touroud. It is not easy
to establish the exact number of times he was condemned to death, but
he was Sunni’s right hand, his best general and his wisest minister. ‘A
great heart, gifted with a great generosity which God had given him by
nature.’
[Illustration: A HOUSE IN JENNE]
The death of Sunni Ali gave this man food for reflection. He naturally
did not care to continue the same precarious existence under the son,
Sunni Barro, which he had enjoyed under the father. His personal
influence being considerable, he determined to seize the crown.
‘As soon as his preparations were complete, therefore, he placed
himself at the head of his partisans and attacked Sunni Barro at
Dangha. His army was defeated and he was obliged to take refuge in Gao.
Reassembling his forces, however, the adventurer tried his fortunes a
second time. The struggle which ensued was a long and desperate one,
both armies being all but annihilated, but Sunni Barro was finally
obliged to fly from the country never to return to it, and Mohammed
ben Abou Bakr ascended the throne in 1494.
‘The news being announced to the daughters of Sunni Ali, they exclaimed
‘Askia!’ which signifies ‘It is not he,’ or ‘Usurper.’ This being
repeated to him, Mohammed ordained that no other surname should be
given him, and Askia Mohammed he accordingly became.’
We have thus arrived at the third and last Songhoi dynasty, which
reigned from 1494 to 1591.
* * * * *
Askia Mohammed showed considerable political ability from the very
moment of his accession. He adopted an entirely new attitude towards
religion, and a few months after his accession there was not a more
devout Mussulman throughout all Songhois than the late friend and
companion of the ‘miserable infidel.’ He insisted that Islamism should
be held in honour throughout the country, and instead of the former
soothsayers his retinue now consisted of marabuts. He showered gifts
upon them and took their advice in everything.
They, in return, hastened to legitimise his usurpation, authorised him
to take possession of the Conqueror’s treasure, and assisted him in
despoiling the dignitaries of the former’s rule. They demonstrated in
council that Sunni Ali had been the most abominable of infidels, and,
in consequence, the war undertaken by Askia against his descendant was
a necessary war, an excellent war--in short, a holy war.
The pious biographers exult over him, they represent him as ‘a
brilliant light shining after great darkness; a saviour who drew the
servants of God from idolatry and the country from ruin. The Defender
of the Faithful, who scattered joy, gifts, and alms around him.’
As soon as his authority was well established he placed the reins of
government in the hands of his brother Omar, and proceeded to still
further legitimise himself by a gorgeous pilgrimage to Mecca and Cairo
(1497).
‘He made a pilgrimage to the house of God, accompanied by a thousand
foot-soldiers and five hundred horse, and carrying with him three
hundred thousand mitkals of gold from the treasure of Sunni Ali. He
scattered this treasure in the holy places, at the tomb of the Prophet
in Medina, and at the sacred mosque at Mecca. In the latter town he
bought gardens and established a charitable institute for the people of
the Sudan. This place is well known in Mecca, and cost five thousand
mitkals.
‘He rendered homage to the Khalif Abassid Motewekkel in Egypt, praying
to be made his deputy in the Sudan in general and in Songhois in
particular. The Abassid consented, requiring the king of Songhois
to abdicate for three days and to place the power in his hands. On
the fourth day Motewekkel solemnly proclaimed Askia Mohammed the
representative of the sultan in the Sudan. He accompanied this by
placing a green fez and white turban upon his head and returning him
his sabre.’
This pilgrimage had another and still more important effect upon his
reign and his people, for he assiduously entertained the theologians
and learned men of Cairo while there. He evinced a great interest in
many subjects, and displayed much anxiety to receive their counsel
upon the best and most enlightened manner of life and government. He
deferred especially to Essoyouti, a scholar whose name is celebrated
in Arabian literature to this day. Askia opened a correspondence with
him on his return to Songhois, and always submitted his most important
reforms to the savant, never neglecting to follow his advice concerning
them. It was at Cairo, undoubtedly, that he acquired those notions of
government which his organising genius applied to the erection of a
fabric so solid and durable that it lasted to the end of his dynasty.
Thus once again we find Egypt exercising a civilising influence upon
the Sudan.
[Illustration: VIEW OF JENNE]
Having won the sonorous title of ‘Emir Askia el Hadj (the pilgrim)
Mohamman’ by this long voyage, he earned, as the immediate result of
it, the more valuable title of Askia the Great. He resumed the reins of
government on his return, making his brother Omar his generalissimo.
The position of neither was an easy one, for Sunni Ali’s unorganised
conquests had to be consolidated--almost, in fact, renewed; and hardly
a year of his reign is unmarked by some expedition.
The first was against the Mossi in 1449. This kingdom, situated to
the south of Songhois, had pursued a very turbulent and aggressive
policy, and advancing its boundaries throughout the north of the valley
(Gourma) had penetrated as far as Oualata. The _Tarik_ describes their
suppression by Askia in the following words:--
‘The Emir sent an ambassador to the king of Mossi demanding his
conversion to Islamism. The monarch replied, saying he must take
counsel with his ancestors who were in the other world; and for this
purpose he retired to the temple of his idols, accompanied by his court
and the ambassador, the latter being curious to see how the dead were
communicated with.
‘After the performance of the usual ceremonies of these heathen, an
old man appeared, before whom they prostrated themselves, delivering
the Emir’s message. “I will never consent to your doing this thing,”
was the reply. “You must fight against the Songhois until you have
exterminated either the enemy or yourselves.” Then said the king to
the ambassador, “Return to your master and say to him that nothing but
war can be between him and me.” When all the people had quitted the
temple, the ambassador spoke to the being who had appeared in the form
of an old man, and said, “In the name of the all-powerful God, what art
thou?” “I am Satan,” was the response, “and I have led these people
astray that they might perish in their infidelity.” The ambassador
related all that had passed to the Emir, and a holy war was declared.
The arms of Askia were victorious, and he destroyed their fields and
villages, making men, women, and children his prisoners, and compelling
them to be converted.’
After the south, the west; and it now became necessary to destroy
the kingdom of the Mali, a twelve years’ task (1501-1513). Zalna,
the capital, was taken, and so thoroughly destroyed that it is now
impossible to identify the situation of this once important town. This
success was followed up by a savage war upon the provinces, the towns,
and the races of the Mali.
The struggle was a desperate one on both sides, and the final supremacy
was dearly bought, as the following anecdote will show: ‘The Emir lost
such great quantities of his best soldiers in Mali that his brother
Omar wept, saying, “The Songhois will be exterminated.” But Askia
replied, “On the contrary, these conquered nations will make our lives
easier, for they will become a part of us, and will assist us in our
enterprises.” And in this manner he drove the sadness out of his
brother’s mind.’
Having thus reduced the west, Askia turned his attention to the east,
and reorganised that portion of his empire lying in the neighbourhood
of Lake Chad (1514-1519). Agades had asserted its independence at the
instigation of the Berbers, and he was obliged to reconquer it, as
Sunni Ali had formerly subdued Jenne. He also subjugated the kingdoms
of Katsina, Kano, Zegzey, and Sanfara.
[Illustration: THE SONGHOI ORGANISATION]
His empire now extended from the salt-mines of Thegazza in the north
to Bandouk, or the country of Bammaku, in the south, and from Lake
Chad in the east to the shores of the Atlantic in the west. ‘It
was a six-months’ journey to cross this formidable empire,’ says a
contemporary.
* * * * *
And yet the reign of Askia the Great is not so remarkable for its
conquests as for the wise method of government he established in
the country, and the pains he took to closely incorporate the new
territories with the Songhoi empire.
Unlike Sunni Ali, he was not content with simply demanding tribute,
but destroyed all the old systems, and reconstructed them, giving
their administration into the hands of his own functionaries. Thus the
empire was not merely temporarily but actually enlarged, and that for a
prolonged period. It is said that his will was as well carried out in
the furthest extremities of his kingdom as in Songhois, or even in the
royal palace itself.
Four viceroys were created, who controlled the governors of the
provinces, military chiefs, judges, and the collection of taxes.
The first was the viceroyalty of Dandi (with a capital of the same
name), which commanded Lake Chad; the second, that of Bankou, governed
the country between Timbuctoo and Gao in the north; the third was
the viceroyalty of Bal or Balma, and administered the whole of the
north-west from Timbuctoo and Gambara to Thegazza, and included the
control of the king of the Touaregs; whilst the fourth and most
important was that of Kourmina (capital Tindirma) and comprised the
government of Baghena (Mali), Barra (capital Sâ), Dirma (capital Dira),
and Massina.
The great governments of Bandouk, Kala (Sansanding), and Hombouri had
no viceroy.
The highest officers of state were either chosen from the royal family
or married to its princesses, as were the principal military chiefs and
marabuts.
The administration thus formed a dynastic aristocracy of the greatest
importance to national unity.
Another innovation, which assisted Askia to effect his numerous
conquests and ensure the peace and prosperity of the country, was the
creation of a standing army.
Sunni Ali had completely disorganised the Songhois by compelling
all the available population to prosecute his wars. Askia, on the
other hand, ‘divided his people into subjects and soldiers.’ It was
this trained soldiery that made the conquest of the improvised and
inexperienced bands of his enemies so easy. He formed a large body
of cavalry, armed with spears and mounted on powerful horses brought
from barbarous states. The bellicose Touaregs were also formed into
auxiliary squadrons.
The numerous infantry were armed with bows and poisoned arrows; the
great chiefs went to battle in cuirasses and iron helmets, while
the less important had shields only. When the new territories had
so greatly increased that the Songhois soldiers no longer sufficed
to maintain them, Askia recruited new troops from the conquered
populations, thus fulfilling the reassuring prospects with which he had
comforted Omar during the sanguinary Mali campaign.
The division of the population into civil and military classes
permitted the productive and trading elements to pursue their
occupations undisturbed. Commerce developed amazingly, its transactions
being favoured and assisted by excellent measures guaranteeing
regularity and honesty. A unification of weights and measures was
decreed, and all falsifications were severely punished, every market
of importance being placed under the surveillance of an inspector.
Jenne was the centre of the internal commerce, Timbuctoo monopolised
relations with the west and north-west (Morocco and Tuat principally),
and Gao those with the east and north-east (Egypt and Tripoli).
The Niger constituted the principal commercial route, for the
greater part of the transactions were carried on by water. European
merchandise penetrated in large quantities to the centre of the black
world, and were in such request, that the supply scarcely kept pace
with the demand.
In the train of the merchants came the learned strangers who flocked to
the Sudan upon hearing that they would be particularly well received.
They came from Morocco, Tuat, Algeria, and Cairo. Science and letters
received a sudden impetus, and were not long in producing Sudanese
writers of the greatest interest; whose manuscripts, in fact, furnish
me with all these details, and of whom I shall speak at greater length
when we have reached Timbuctoo.
Among his numerous innovations Askia naturally did not neglect
religion. It had, after himself, an official and supreme representative
(exclusively ecclesiastic) in the person of a Sheik-ul-Islam, whose
residence was at Timbuctoo. The king had seen a similar authority
side by side with the Khalif Abassid in Egypt; and he adopted this
religious institution, together with the attire and manner of living
of the Arabian ruler. He formed the etiquette of his court upon that
of the Khalif’s, keeping himself strictly invisible to the vulgar eye.
‘Askia el Hadj did not care to be seen,’ reports the _Tarik_, ‘and he
persuaded his brother Omar to follow his example in this. “Expose not
thyself to perish of the evil eye,” he said to him.’ He compelled the
women of the towns to lead the life of the Eastern harem, and forbade
that any (married or single) should show themselves unveiled, making
his own family set the example. People approaching the king in audience
covered their heads with dust: he never spoke directly to assemblies
nor to the people, but always dealt with them through the medium of a
herald. Upon the occasions of his going out, his cortège was preceded
by musicians, drums, and trumpets, and he rode in solitary state, with
his suite at a respectful distance behind. Servants marched surrounding
his horse, and holding by turns to his saddle; they were called foot
companions, and their head-man was the ‘master of the road.’ Viceroys
had a right to a similar but more modest display. Only one drum was
allowed to precede them, and their musicians were to keep silence when
in sight of a town in which the king was residing. In short, the royal
negro, like other white usurpers, made the greater parade of the power
and state of majesty the less right he had to it. But all this is
insignificant in view of the really great qualities possessed by this
ruler of the Songhois.
A wonderful impulse was imparted to this country in the sixteenth
century, and a marvellous civilisation appeared in the very heart of
the black continent. This civilisation was not imposed by circumstances
and force, as is so often the case, even in our own countries, but was
spontaneously desired, evoked, and propagated by a man of the negro
races. Unfortunately, its fairest promises were never fulfilled, owing,
not so much to the native successors, as to the civilised (some say
white) peoples who ruthlessly destroyed all this good seed, and caused
the tares of barbarism to sprout anew.
* * * * *
After thirty-five years of responsibilities nobly discharged, the
faculties of Askia the Great began to decline. His numerous sons (he
had a hundred) now longed to be quit of him, and finally the eldest,
Askia Moussa, revolted and deposed his father at Gao, 1529.
All that Moussa and his successors were called upon to do was to live
in the solid edifice erected by the founder of their dynasty. I will
only relate, therefore, those particulars of their reigns which will
enable us to form some idea of the character, manners, and customs of
these people at this time.
Moussa’s first care was to moderate the ambition of his brothers by
having a certain number of them put to death. Some offered armed
resistance, notably Bala, his father’s favourite son. ‘Being forced
to give himself up, Bala replied to the intercession of the king’s
son on his behalf, “My child, it is necessary that I should die; for
these three things I would never consent to do--give Moussa the title
of Askia, throw dust upon my head in his presence, nor ride behind
him in processions.” Moussa commanded an exceedingly deep hole to be
dug, in which Bala and one of his cousins were placed; it was then
filled with water, and the two young men were drowned.’ These singular
family manners furnished the restored and consolidated Islam with an
occasion to, very laudably and courageously, assert its authority. The
Sheik-ul-Islam interposed as mediator between Moussa and his brothers,
and vindicated his position in the following manner. He took his place
beside Moussa, turning his face away from him. ‘Dost thou dare to turn
thy back upon me?’ asked Moussa; and the Sheik replied, ‘I cannot look
upon the face of him that has deposed the Emir of the true believers.’
On another occasion a mere marabut delivered himself of the following:
‘We enjoyed prosperity and repose in the reign of thy father, the
happy, the good; and we made prayers that God might accord him victory
and a long life. We asked ourselves, Has he a son who shall be the hope
of Islam? and we answered, Yes; so we offered prayers for thee as well
as for thy father. Thou hast deceived our hopes, but we do not cease
our prayers, only instead of invoking God in thy favour we pray against
thee.’
Finding themselves in the process of decimation, the brothers of
Moussa assassinated him, and a nephew of Askia the Great reigned under
the title of Askia Bankouri (1533). He, also, made haste to remove
a certain number of his uncle’s sons, and even showed an increased
cruelty towards the great and unhappy old man himself. Moussa had
at least left Askia to live quietly in the royal palace of Gao, but
Bankouri relegated him to the little island of Kankaka, to the west of
that town, ‘where the frogs leaped around him,’ says the chronicle.
[Illustration: A CORNER IN JENNE]
Bankouri appears to have wielded the power with great magnificence.
His court was brilliant, for he liked to be surrounded by all his
dignitaries, who wore gorgeous garments. Music was held in high esteem,
and a chorus of singing slaves was established.
He was deposed in 1537 by the viceroy of Dandi, whom he had imprudently
threatened, and Askia Ismael was proclaimed king. The motives that
decided the latter to accept the crown were as varied as they were
remarkable.
‘I accepted the honour for three reasons,’ he declared: ‘to rescue
my father from his distressful condition, to enable my sisters to
resume the veil that Bankouri had obliged them to relinquish, and to
pacify Yan Mara, one of the hundred hen ostriches who was wont to throw
herself into a frenzy whenever she saw Bankouri.’
The _Tarik_ does not tell us if Yan Mara recovered her happiness after
this, but we learn with pleasure that Askia the Great returned to his
palace of Gao, and died in peace there in 1538. Ismael was the first
of the Askia to die on his throne (1540), and he was succeeded by
his brother, Askia Ishak. He, like his predecessors, had very strong
family feelings, and put an end to a good many of his relations. He is
reported to have destroyed one of them by means of a spell. Arbinda,
his sister’s son, caused him much anxiety. He was a remarkable man, of
such astonishing valour, that he was greatly desired as a successor
to Ishak. The latter confided his fears to a man versed in the occult
sciences, and begged his assistance. The magician filled a vase with
water and pronounced several invocations, after which he called
‘Arbinda! Arbinda! come hither!’ Then there rose out of the water a
puppet greatly resembling Arbinda, and the magician put chains upon
its feet and struck it with a spear, saying, ‘Go!’ and the puppet
disappeared. Soon afterwards it was found that Arbinda had died at the
moment the image was struck by the magician.
The four last Askias to reign over the whole empire were Askia Daoud,
1549-1581; Askia El Hadj II., 1581-1586; Askia Mohamman Ban, 1586-1587;
and Askia Ishak II., 1587-1591. These, like their predecessors,
undertook a certain number of expeditions (almost all fortunate ones),
not so much to make new conquests as to preserve the old ones. They
had no need to enlarge their magnificent heritage, as we can well
understand, but they did not even make an effort to improve it, nor to
encourage the progress instituted by the first of their race. If, on
the one hand, they were not guilty of any retrogressive movement, as
little can any wise innovation be attributed to them.
Fratricidal struggles, family ferocities, and a perpetual fear of
rivalry, were their dominant pre-occupations, always including debauch.
‘They changed the fear of God into infidelities. Abandoned to the
practice of forbidden things, they covered themselves with sin in the
open day. They drank intoxicating liquids, and committed acts contrary
to nature. Adultery was their most common vice; it would seem that they
did not even consider it reprehensible, and neither rank nor services
were any obstacle to them. Some even committed this sin with their own
sisters.’
[Illustration]
In spite of receiving no care from its rulers, the powerful machinery
created and set in motion by Askia the Great still endured, so well
had it been planned and so solidly was it built. For nearly a quarter
of a century its prosperity suffered no decrease. The empire was so
firmly constructed that it would have lasted intact until the race of
Askia had produced a sovereign worthy of its founder and well fitted to
continue his work.
But now the invading Moor appears, and the Songhoi empire passes out of
sight, to become a Moorish colony, which is to say that the terrible
Arabian race is about to accomplish one of its worst pieces of work in
the Sudan.