whom the fanatic Moslim converted to Islám) about the middle of the 10th
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 7th 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.
The dynasty founded by Komáyo comprised four kings in succession,
besides its founder, namely, Rámba, Téryau, Jerinnáta and Sanáwu.
Sanáwu, after a reign of thirty years, is said to have been killed by
Koráwu, who came from a place named Yendútu, and founded a new dynasty
(if we count backwards from the time of Ibrahím Máji) about the year 722
of the Hejra; but, of course, I do not pretend to any exactness in these
dates. Whether Ibrahím Máji belonged to the same dynasty which Koráwu
had founded, I am not able to say. About thirty years before the time of
Ibrahím Máji, in the year 919 A.H., or 1513 A.D., occurred that eventful
expedition of the great Sónghay king Háj Mohammed Áskiá which threw all
these countries into the greatest confusion. According to Leo, at that
time Kátsena acknowledged the supremacy of Kanó, having been subjected
for only a short time to the sway of the king of Sónghay, and afterwards
most probably to that of the energetic and successful king of Kébbi, who
repulsed the great Áskiá. Kátsena must have fallen very soon under the
supremacy of the empire of Bórnu. About fifty years after the beginning
of the reign of the first Moslim king, a new dynasty commenced, that of
the Hábe[20], which, as it is unanimously stated to have ruled for a
hundred and sixty-nine years, and as it was driven out by the Fúlbe in
the year of the Hejra 1222, must have commenced about the year 1053
(A.D. 1643). In this latter dynasty, however, there seem to have been
two factions (or families), which are noticed already in the preceding
dynasty, one of which was called Chagarána, and the other
Káryaghíwá.[21] But before speaking of the struggle between the Fúlbe
and the Hábe, I shall say a few words about the town of Kátsena.
The town, probably, did not receive the name of the province till it had
become large and predominant; which event, if Leo be correct, we must
conclude did not happen much before the middle of the 16th century of
our era, while in early times some separate villages probably occupied
the site where, at a later period, the immense town spread out. The
oldest of these villages is said to have been Ambutéy or Mbutéy, where
we must presume Komáyo and his successors to have resided. After Gógó
had been conquered by Muláy Hámed, the emperor of Morocco, and, from a
large and industrious capital, had become a provincial town, great part
of the commerce which formerly centred there must have been transferred
to Kátsena, although this latter place seems never to have had any
considerable trade in gold, which formed the staple of the market of
Gógó. Thus the town went on increasing to that enormous size, the
vestiges of which still exist at the present time, although the quarter
actually inhabited comprises but a small part of its extent.[22]
The town, if only half of its immense area were ever tolerably well
inhabited, must certainly have had a population of at least a hundred
thousand souls; for its circuit is between thirteen and fourteen English
miles. At present, when the inhabited quarter is reduced to the north-
western part, and when even this is mostly deserted, there are scarcely
seven or eight thousand people living in it. In former times it was the
residence of a prince, who, though he seems never to have attained to
any remarkable degree of power, and was indeed almost always in some
degree dependent on, or a vassal of, the king of Bórnu, nevertheless was
one of the most wealthy and conspicuous rulers of Negroland.[23] Every
prince at his accession to the throne had to forward a sort of tribute
or present to Birni Ghasréggomo, the capital of the Bórnu empire,
consisting of one hundred slaves, as a token of his obedience; but this
being done, it does not appear that his sovereign rights were in any way
interfered with. In fact, Kátsena, during the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries of our era, seems to have been the chief city of this part of
Negroland, as well in commercial and political importance as in other
respects; for here that state of civilization which had been called
forth by contact with the Arabs seems to have reached its highest
degree, and as the Háusa language here attained the greatest richness of
form and the most refined pronunciation, so also the manners of Kátsena
were distinguished by superior politeness from those of the other towns
of Háusa.
[Illustration:
1. House where I was lodged during my first stay in Kátsena in 1851.
2. House belonging to the quarter Dóka where I was lodged in 1853.
3. The Zénsere.
4. Palace of the governor.
5. Market-place.
6. Old mosque.
7. Kofa-n-Gúga.
8. Kofa-n-Yendúkki.
9. Kofa-n-Koya.
10. Kofa-n-Gazúbi.
11. Kofa-n-Káura.
12. Kofa-n-Marúsa.
13. Kofa-n-Dúrdu.
14. Kofa-n-Samrí.
15. A brook formed by a spring.
16. Former place of encampment of salt caravan.]
But this state of things was wholly changed, when, in the very beginning
of the present century, in the year 1222 of the Hejra, or 1807 of our
era, the Fúlbe, called Féllani by the Háusa, and Felláta by the Bórnu
people, raised to the highest pitch of fanaticism by the preaching of
the Reformer or Jihádi ʿOthmán dan Fódiye, and formed into the religious
and political association of the Jemmáʿa, or, as they pronounce it,
Jemmára, succeeded in possessing themselves of this town. However, while
Kanó fell ingloriously, and almost without resistance, into the hands of
Slimán (the Háusa king El Wáli having escaped to Zária), the struggle
for Kátsena was protracted and sanguinary. Indeed Mʿallem Ghomáro had
carried on unrelenting war against the town for seven years, before he
at length reduced it by famine; and the distress in the town is said to
have been so great that a dead “ángulú” or vulture (impure food which
nobody would touch in time of peace) sold for five hundred kurdí, and a
kadángeré or lizard for fifty. But the struggle did not cease here; for
the “Hábe” succeeded once more in expelling the conquerors from the
town, without, however, being able to maintain their position, when
Mʿallem Ghomáro returned with a fresh army. Five princes of Kátsena, one
after the other, fell in this struggle for religious and national
independence; and the Púllo general was not quite secure of his conquest
till after the total destruction of the town of Dánkama, when Mágajin
Háddedu was slain only four months after his predecessor Mahamúdu had
succumbed in Sabóngarí. Even then the new Háusa prince Benóni, who still
bore the title of “serkí-n-Kátsena,” did not lay down his arms, but
maintained the contest till he likewise was conquered and slain in
Túntuma.
From this time the town declined rapidly, and all the principal foreign
merchants migrated to Kanó, where they were beyond the reach of this
constant struggle; and even the Asbenáwa transferred their salt-market
to the latter place, which now became the emporium of this part of
Negroland, while Kátsena retained but secondary importance as the seat
of a governor. This is indeed to be lamented, as the situation of the
town is excellent, and, both on account of its position to the various
routes and of its greater salubrity, is far preferable to Kanó. However,
as matters stand, unless either the Fúlbe succeed in crushing entirely
the independent provinces to the north and north-west (which, in the
present weak state of the empire of Sókoto, is far from probable), or
till the Goberáwa and Mariadáwa, whose king still bears the title of
serkí-n-Kátsena, reconquer this town, it will continue to decline and
become more desolate every year. In fact, Mohammed Béllo, the present
governor, had conceived the design of giving up this immense town
altogether, and of founding a new residence of smaller compass in its
neighbourhood; but his liege-lord, Alíyu, the Emír el Múmenín, would not
allow him to do so.
I shall say nothing here about the empire of the Fúlbe, or about their
character, of which I received a very bad impression during my first
dealings with them, but shall treat of both these subjects hereafter.
The only inhabited part of the town at present is the north-west
quarter, although any one who should omit to take into account the
population scattered over the other parts, principally round about the
residence of the governor, and the people settled in the hamlets near
the gates, would make a great mistake. Here it may be added, that most
of the importance which Kátsena has still preserved, in a commercial
aspect, is due to its position with respect to Núpe, with which it keeps
up a tolerably-lively intercourse, the route from it to that industrious
but most unfortunate country being practicable even for camels, while
the road from Kanó can only be travelled with horses and asses. Almost
all the more considerable native merchants in Kátsena are Wangaráwa
(Eastern Mandingoes).
The province of Kátsena was formerly far more extensive than it is at
present, but it has been curtailed, in order not to leave its governor
too much inducement to make himself independent. Besides, many parts of
it, being much exposed to the continual incursions of the independent
Háusáwa, have greatly suffered, so that probably the population of the
whole province does not now exceed three hundred thousand souls[24], of
whom only about one half seem to pay tribute. Every head of a family has
to pay here two thousand five hundred kurdí-n-kassa, or ground-rent, and
the whole of the kurdí-n-kassa of the province is estimated by those
best acquainted with the affairs of the country at from twenty to thirty
millions; a tax of five hundred kurdí is levied also on every slave. The
military force of the province consists of two thousand horsemen, and
about eight thousand men on foot, most of them archers.[25] Altogether
the province of Kátsena is one of the finest parts of Negroland, and
being situated just at the water-parting between the basin of the Tsád
and that of the Kwára, at a general elevation of from 1200 to 1500 feet,
it enjoys the advantage of being at once well watered and well drained,
the chains of hills which diversify its surface sending down numerous
rapid streams, so that it is less insalubrious than other regions of
this continent. Its productions are varied and rich, though its elevated
situation seems unfavourable to the growth of cotton. But, on the other
side, useful trees seem to be more numerous in this district than in any
other under the same latitude; and the áyaba or banana, and the gónda or
papaya, are found in many favoured spots, while the dorówa or _Parkia_,
the tsámia or tamarind, and the kadeña, or the Shea butter-tree (_Bassia
Parkii_), are the most common trees everywhere, and very often form
thick clusters. As I shall have to describe the western districts in the
narrative of my journey to Sókoto, in 1853, I now proceed with my route
to Kanó.
[Sidenote: Thursday, January 30th.]
I was extremely glad when, after a long delay—for we had been obliged to
wait more than an hour for the poor nag presented to me by the
governor,—we reached the south-eastern gate of the town, the “kófa-n-
Káura.” It was as if I had just escaped from a prison, and I drew my
breath deeply as I inhaled the fresh air outside the wall. I should have
carried with me a very unfavourable impression of Kátsena, if it had not
been my destiny to visit this place again under more favourable
circumstances; and I should have obtained a very false idea of the
character of the Fúlbe, if, from the little experience which I had
acquired in this place, I had formed a definitive judgment of them.
On the southern side of the town there is at present no cultivated
ground; but the whole country is in a wild state, covered with
brushwood. What we saw also of the traffic on the path seemed to be not
of a very peaceable kind; for we met nothing but armed foot and horsemen
hastening to Kátsena on the news of the expedition in course of
preparation by the people of Marádi. But further on, the aspect of the
country became a little more peaceful; and after a march of three miles
we passed a well, where the women from a neighbouring village were
offering for sale the common vegetables of the country, such as gowáza
or yams, dánkali or sweet potatoes, kúka, the leaves of the monkey
bread-tree, dodówa or the vegetable cakes mentioned above, ground nuts,
beans, and sour milk. Nevertheless the whole country, with its few
fortified villages, its little cultivation, and the thick forests which
separated the villages one from another, left the impression of a very
unsettled and precarious existence. I observed that brushwood, where it
is not interrupted by larger trees, is always a proof of cultivation
having been carried on at no distant period. In the midst of a wild
thicket, which deranged all my things, we met a long warlike-train of
several hundred horsemen, who perhaps might have incommoded us on the
narrow path, if the strange appearance of my luggage had not so
frightened the horses, that they rather chose to carry their riders
through the very thickest of the covert than to fall in with us. Dúm-
palms now began to appear; and beyond the considerable village Bay,
cultivation became more extensive. Besides the fan-palm, the dumma and
kaña, and the immense monkey bread-tree, with its colossal (now
leafless) branches, from which the long heavy “kauchi” were hanging down
on slender mouse-tail stalks, were the prevalent trees.
By degrees the country became more beautiful and cheerful, exhibiting a
character of repose and ease which is entirely wanting in the northern
parts of the province; separate comfortable dwellings of cattle-breeding
Féllani were spread about, and the corn-fields were carefully fenced and
well kept. I was greatly astonished when Gajére, with a certain feeling
of national pride, pointed out to me here the extensive property of Sídi
Ghálli el Háj Ánnur, the man whom I had occasion, in my description of
Ágades, to mention amongst the most respectable people of that town. It
is astonishing how much property is held in these fertile regions by the
Tawárek of Ásben; and to what consequences this may eventually lead,
everybody will easily conjecture.
A little before four o’clock in the afternoon we encamped close to a
village called Shibdáwa, the celebrated town of Dáura being distant two
days’ march.
[Sidenote: Friday, January 31st.]
It was a most beautiful morning; and I indulged in the feeling of
unbounded liberty, and in the tranquil enjoyment of the beautiful aspect
of God’s creation. The country through which we passed on leaving
Shibdáwa, formed one of the finest landscapes I ever saw in my life. The
ground was pleasantly undulating, covered with a profusion of herbage
not yet entirely dried up by the sun’s power; the trees, belonging to a
great variety of species, were not thrown together into an impenetrable
thicket of the forest, but formed into beautiful groups, exhibiting all
the advantage of light and shade. There was the kaña, with its rich
dark-tinged foliage, the kadeña, or butter-tree, which I here saw for
the first time, exhibiting the freshest and most beautiful green; then
the marké, more airy, and sending out its branches in more irregular
shape, with light groups of foliage; young tamarind-trees rounding off
their thick crown of foliage till it resembled an artificial canopy
spread out for the traveller to repose in its shade, besides the gámji,
the shéria, the sokútso, the turáwa, and many other species of trees
unknown to me; while above them all, tall and slender górebas unfolded
their fan-crowns, just as if to protect the eye of the delighted
wanderer from the rays of the morning sun, and to allow him to gaze
undisturbed on the enchanting scenery around. Near the village Káshi
even the gónda-tree or _Carica Papaya_, which is so rarely seen in these
quarters, enlivened the scenery. The densely-luxuriant groves seemed to
be the abode only of the feathered tribe, birds of numberless variety
playing and warbling about in the full enjoyment of their liberty, while
the “serdi,” a large bird with beautiful plumage of a light-blue colour,
especially attracted my attention. Now and then a herd of cattle was
seen dispersed over the rich pasturage-grounds, all of white colour, and
the bulls provided with a large fat hump or “tózo” hanging down on one
side. But in this delightful spectacle objects of destruction also were
not wanting, the poisonous plant “túmnia” starting forth everywhere.
Cotton and karásia fields interrupted the parklike scenery; and near
Kámri, a small place surrounded with a low clay wall, we were delighted
with the view of a green patch of low ground laid out into beds, and,
with the help of a number of drawbeams, “khattatír,” or “lámbuna,”
producing wheat and onions. This ground too is only worked with the
gélma and the fertáña or small hoe.
Granite rock was protruding in several places; and a little after mid-
day we had a detached range of hills on our right stretching E. and W.
Soon afterwards, near the village Temma, we passed a small market-place,
consisting of about eight sheds, and shaded by a number of wide-
spreading tamarind-trees, where I was astonished at the number of cattle
and horses assembled, but heard on inquiry that they were not intended
for sale. Further on, after we had passed the fields of Gógó, plenty of
cattle and goats were seen browsing everywhere about. All the cattle
were of a white, and all the goats of a coffee-brown colour. Having
passed the encampment of the Tin-néggaru or Kél-néggaru, and crossed a
dale fringed with small fresh patches of wheat, which were watered by
way of the said “lámbuna” from wells in the hollow, we encamped a
quarter before four o’clock close to the fence of the village Bógo; for
the whole country swarms with thieves, and great caution is necessary at
night: the Tin-néggaru last night killed a thief, who was attempting to
carry off a loaf of salt.
[Sidenote: Saturday, February 1st.]
After a march of about two miles and a half, over clayey ground greatly
broken up by the rains, we reached the N.W. corner of the considerable
town Kusáda, and continued along its western wall, where a group of very
tall and majestic rimis (_Bombax_ or _Eriodendron Guineense_), though at
present leafless, formed a most conspicuous object. It is very singular
and highly characteristic, that this tree (the bentang-tree of Mungo
Park) generally grows near the principal gate of the large towns in
Háusa, while otherwise it is not frequent, at least not the large full-
grown specimens; and it is not improbable that the natives purposely
planted them in those places as a kind of waymark—or perhaps it may be a
remnant of their pagan customs, this tree being deemed holy by several
pagan tribes. It is almost incredible at what an immense distance these
stupendous trees, the tallest of the vegetable kingdom, may be seen.
Kusáda is a town of importance, and is very little less than Gazáwa,
though not so thickly inhabited; the wall of the town is in tolerably
good repair, and the interior is rich in trees, making it look very
cheerful and comfortable. Most of the huts consist of clay walls, with a
thatched roof, which is certainly the mode of architecture best adapted
to the climate and the whole nature of the country.
When leaving the south side of this town we were joined by a troop of
women very heavily-laden, each carrying upon the head from six to ten
enormous calabashes filled with various articles: but they did not prove
to be agreeable company; for not being able to walk steadily for any
length of time with their loads, they stopped every few minutes, and
then went on at a running pace, till they were obliged again to halt, so
that they came frequently into collision either with my camel or with
the bullock. It is really incredible what loads the native women of
Negroland can carry on their heads, but I think no other tribe is equal
in this respect to the Tápua or Nyffáwa. The country through which we
had to pass along for the first two miles was overgrown with underwood,
and much broken up by the rains, till we reached the stubble-fields of
Kaférda, where my attention was attracted again by a few scattered
specimens of the gigiña, or deléb-palm, which, in these districts, seems
to be extremely rare. Descending then a little, the country assumed once
more that delightful park-like appearance which had so charmed me the
previous day; and the variety of the vegetation was
extraordinary,—góreba, jéja, gámji, rími, and dóka being the principal
trees.
The industry of the natives was also well represented; for soon after we
had met a troop of men carrying home loads of indigo-plants, in order to
prepare them in their simple way, we passed over extensive tobacco-
fields, which had very nearly reached maturity. Rich aromatic bushes
were growing everywhere in the fields, affording most nourishing food
for bees, for which purpose hives, formed of thick hollow logs, were
fastened to the branches of the colossal kúka-trees. We here passed a
most curious specimen of vegetable intercourse in the thorough
intermixture of a gigiña with another tree. In the course of my travels
my attention was drawn to the interesting attraction which exists
between the tamarind-tree and the kúka, both of which trees I very often
found linked together in the closest embraces. This district was greatly
enlivened also by a rich variety of the feathered tribe, but the
beautiful serdi was not seen; the káló and the tsírna now taking its
place.
A quarter of an hour after noon we passed the considerable place Dan-
Sábua, defended only by a stockade, and, with the exception of a small
market-place, giving very little proof of any kind of industry existing
among its inhabitants. When I passed the place three years later, it
even seemed almost deserted. About two miles further on we passed a
small round hill covered with underwood up to its very summit, and
remarkable enough for being taken as a boundary-mark between the
provinces of Kátsena and Kanó; in 1854, however, the frontier was
carried further N.W., near Kaférda. We encamped early in the afternoon
near the village Gúrzo, separated from it only by a dell laid out in
small garden-fields with wheat and onions, and obtained a good supply of
the latter, but nothing else. In the night a thief almost succeeded in
carrying off some of our luggage, but had to run very hard for his life.