governor) old Elaíji was the speaker, beginning his speech with a
_captatio benevolentiæ_, founded on the heavy and numerous losses
sustained on the road by me and my companions. Altogether he performed
his office very well, with the exception that he dwelt longer than was
necessary on Overweg’s journey to Marádi, which certainly could not be a
very agreeable topic to a Ba-Féllanchi. Sídi ʿAli also displayed his
eloquence in a very fair way. The ghaladíma made some intelligent
observations, while the governor only observed that, though I had
suffered so severely from extortion, yet I seemed to have still ample
presents for him. Nor was he far wrong; for the black “kabá” (a sort of
bernús, with silk and gold lace, which I gave him) was a very handsome
garment, and here worth sixty thousand kurdí: besides, he got a red cap,
a white shawl with red border, a piece of white muslin, rose oil, one
pound of cloves, and another of jáwi or benzoin, razor, scissors, an
English clasp-knife, and a large mirror of German silver. The ghaladíma
got the same presents, except that, instead of the kabá, I gave him a
piece of French striped silk worth fifty thousand kurdí.
However, our audience did not go off so fast as I relate it; for, after
being dismissed by the ghaladíma, we were obliged to wait full two hours
before we could see the governor; yet although we returned to our
quarters during the very hottest hour of the day, I felt much better,
and in the evening was able to finish a whole chicken, and to enjoy a
cup of Cyprian wine, for which I felt very grateful to Mr. and Mrs.
Crowe, who had supplied me with this cheering luxury.
Having now at length made my peace with the governor, and seeing that
exercise of body and recreation of mind were the best medicines I could
resort to, I mounted on horseback the next day again, and, guided by a
lad well acquainted with the topography of the town, rode for several
hours round all the inhabited quarters, enjoying at my leisure, from the
saddle, the manifold scenes of public and private life, of comfort and
happiness, of luxury and misery, of activity and laziness, of industry
and indolence, which were exhibited in the streets, the market-places,
and in the interior of the courtyards. It was the most animated picture
of a little world in itself, so different in external form from all that
is seen in European towns, yet so similar in its internal principles.
[Illustration:
1. My own quarters in Dalá. During my second stay in Kanó, I also
resided in Dalá, at a short distance from my old quarters.
2. Great market-place.
3. Small market-place.
4. Palace of Governor.
5. Palace of Ghaladíma.
6. Kofa Mazúger.
7. Kofa-n-ʿAdama.
8. Kofa-n-Gúdan.
9. Kofa-n-Kansákkali.
10. Kofa-n-Limún, or Káboga.
11. Kofa-n-Dakanye, or Dukánie.
12. Kofa-n-Dakaina.
13. Kofa-n-Naïsa.
14. Kofa-n-Kúra.
15. Kofa-n-Nasaráwa.
16. Kofa-n-Máta.
17. Kofa-n-Wambay.
18. Kofa-n-Magardi.
19. Kofa-n-Rúa (at present shut.)
20. Mount Dalá.
21. Mount Kógo-n-dútsi.]
Here a row of shops filled with articles of native and foreign produce,
with buyers and sellers in every variety of figure, complexion, and
dress, yet all intent upon their little gain, endeavouring to cheat each
other; there a large shed, like a hurdle, full of half-naked, half-
starved slaves torn from their native homes, from their wives or
husbands, from their children or parents, arranged in rows like cattle,
and staring desperately upon the buyers, anxiously watching into whose
hands it should be their destiny to fall. In another part were to be
seen all the necessaries of life; the wealthy buying the most palatable
things for his table; the poor stopping and looking greedily upon a
handful of grain: here a rich governor dressed in silk and gaudy
clothes, mounted upon a spirited and richly caparisoned horse, and
followed by a host of idle, insolent slaves; there a poor blind man
groping his way through the multitude, and fearing at every step to be
trodden down; here a yard neatly fenced with mats of reed, and provided
with all the comforts which the country affords—a clean, snug-looking
cottage, the clay walls nicely polished, a shutter of reeds placed
against the low, well-rounded door, and forbidding intrusion on the
privacy of life, a cool shed for the daily household work,—a fine
spreading alléluba-tree, affording a pleasant shade during the hottest
hours of the day, or a beautiful gónda or papaya unfolding its large
feather-like leaves above a slender, smooth, and undivided stem, or the
tall date-tree, waving over the whole scene; the matron in a clean black
cotton gown wound round her waist, her hair neatly dressed in “chókoli”
or bejáji, busy preparing the meal for her absent husband, or spinning
cotton, and at the same time urging the female slaves to pound the corn;
the children naked and merry, playing about in the sand at the “urgi-n-
dáwaki” or the “da-n-chácha,” or chasing a straggling stubborn goat;
earthenware pots and wooden bowls, all cleanly washed, standing in
order. Further on a dashing Cyprian, homeless, comfortless, and
childless, but affecting merriment or forcing a wanton laugh, gaudily
ornamented with numerous strings of beads round her neck, her hair
fancifully dressed and bound with a diadem, her gown of various colours
loosely fastened under her luxuriant breast, and trailing behind in the
sand; near her a diseased wretch covered with ulcers, or with
elephantiasis.
[Illustration]
Now a busy “máriná,” an open terrace of clay, with a number of dyeing-
pots, and people busily employed in various processes of their
handicraft: here a man stirring the juice, and mixing with the indigo
some colouring wood in order to give it the desired tint; there another,
drawing a shirt from the dye-pot, or hanging it up on a rope fastened to
the trees; there two men beating a well-dyed shirt, singing the while,
and keeping good time; further on, a blacksmith busy with his rude tools
in making a dagger which will surprise, by the sharpness of its blade,
those who feel disposed to laugh at the workman’s instruments, a
formidable barbed spear, or the more estimable and useful instruments of
husbandry; in another place, men and women making use of an ill-
frequented thoroughfare, as a “kaudi tseggenábe,” to hang up, along the
fences, their cotton thread for weaving; close by, a group of indolent
loiterers lying in the sun and idling away their hours.
Here a caravan from Gónja arriving with the desired kola-nut, chewed by
all who have “ten kurdí” to spare from their necessary wants, or a
caravan laden with natron, starting for Núpe, or a troop of Ásbenáwa
going off with their salt for the neighbouring towns, or some Arabs
leading their camels, heavily laden with the luxuries of the north and
east (the “káya-n-ghábbes”) to the quarter of the Ghadamsíye; there, a
troop of gaudy, warlike-looking horsemen galloping towards the palace of
the governor to bring him the news of a new inroad of Serkí Ibrám.
Everywhere human life in its varied forms, the most cheerful and the
most gloomy, seemed closely mixed together; every variety of national
form and complexion—the olive-coloured Arab, the dark Kanúri, with his
wide nostrils, the small-featured, light, and slender Ba-Féllanchi, the
broad-faced Ba-Wángara (Mandingo), the stout, large-boned, and
masculine-looking Núpe female, the well-proportioned and comely Ba-
Háushe woman.
Delighted with my trip, and deeply impressed by the many curious and
interesting scenes which had presented themselves to my eyes, I returned
by way of the “úngwa-n-makáfi,” or “belád el amiyán” (the village of the
blind), to my quarters, the gloominess and cheerlessness of which made
the more painful impression upon me from its contrast with the brightly
animated picture which I had just before enjoyed.
The next day I made another long ride through the town; and being
tolerably well acquainted with the topography of the place and its
different quarters, I enjoyed still more the charming view obtained from
the top of the Dalá, and of which the accompanying sketch is but a
feeble representation.[28]
[Illustration: Drawn by J. M. Bernatz, from a Sketch by Dr. Barth.
M. & N. Hanhart, lith. et impt.
KANÓ FROM MOUNT DALÁ.
Feby. 10th. 1851.]
I had just descended from the eminence beneath which spread this
glorious panorama, when I heard a well-known voice calling me by my
name; it was ʿAbdalla the Tawáti, my friend and teacher in Ágades, who
after residing some time in Tasáwa, had come to try his fortune in this
larger sphere of action. I had besides him some other acquaintances, who
gave me much interesting information, particularly a young Ba-Háushe lad
of the name of Ibrahíma, who gave me the first tolerably correct idea of
the road to Yóla, the capital of Adamáwa, although he was puzzled about
the direction of the Great River, which he had crossed, supposing that
it flowed eastward instead of westward. I derived also a great deal of
information from a less agreeable man named Mohammed, with the surname
“el Merábet” (reclaimed), rather antithetically, as “lucus a non
lucendo,” for he was the most profligate drunkard imaginable, and
eventually remained indebted to me for several thousand cowries.
I was much worried during my stay in Kanó by a son of the governor of
Zária, who, suffering dreadfully from stricture or some other
obstruction, had come expressly to Kanó in the hope of being relieved by
me; and it was impossible for me to convince him that I had neither the
knowledge nor the instruments necessary for effecting the cure of his
disease. It would, no doubt, have been of great service if I had been
able to cure him, as he was the son of one of the most powerful princes
of Negroland; but as it was, I could only afford him a little temporary
relief. My intercourse with this man was indeed most painful to me, as I
felt conscious of entire inability to help him, while he conjured me by
all that was dear to me not to give him up and abandon him. He died
shortly afterwards. More agreeable to me was a visit from the eldest son
of the governor of Kanó, who, accompanied by two horsemen, came to call
upon me one day, and not finding me at home, traced me whither I had
gone, and having met me, followed silently till I had re-entered my
quarters. He was a handsome, modest, and intelligent youth of about
eighteen years of age, and was delighted with the performance of my
musical-box. I gave him an English clasp-knife, and we parted the best
of friends, greatly pleased with each other.
I had considerable difficulty in arranging my pecuniary affairs, and
felt really ashamed at being unable to pay my debt to the Háj el Dáwaki
till after El Wákhshi himself had arrived from Kátsena. After having
sold, with difficulty, all that I possessed, having suffered a very
heavy loss by Báwu’s dishonesty, paid my debts, and arranged my business
with Mohammed el Túnsi, who, suffering under a very severe attack of
fever, wanted most eagerly to return home, I should scarcely have been
able to make the necessary preparations for my journey to Bórnu if the
governor had not assisted me a little. He had hitherto behaved very
shabbily towards me, not a single dish, not a sheep or other token of
his hospitality having been sent me during my stay in the town. I was
therefore most agreeably surprised when, on the morning of the 2nd of
March, old Elaíji came and announced to me that, in consequence of his
urgent remonstrances, the governor had sent me a present of sixty
thousand kurdí. He told me, with a sort of pride, that he had severely
reprimanded him, assuring him that he was the only prince who had not
honoured me. I should have been better pleased if the governor had sent
me a pair of camels or a horse; but I was thankful for this unexpected
supply; and giving six thousand to the officer who had brought the
money, and as much to Elaíji, and dividing eight thousand between Báwu
and Sídi ʿAli, I kept forty thousand for myself.
With this present I was fortunately enabled to buy two camels instead of
sumpter oxen, which give great trouble on the road during the dry
season, especially if not properly attended to, and prepared everything
for my journey; but the people in these countries are all cowards, and
as I was to go alone without a caravan, I was unable to find a good
servant. Thus I had only my faithful Tébu lad Mohammed whom I could rely
upon, having besides him none but a debauched young Fezzáni, Makhmúd,
who had long lived in this town, and a youth named ʿAbd-Alla.
Nevertheless I felt not a moment’s hesitation, but, on the contrary,
impatiently awaited the moment when I should leave my dingy and
melancholy quarters, full of mice and vermin.
I had hoped to get off on the 6th; but nothing was heard from the
governor, and it would have been imprudent to start without his
permission. With envious feelings I witnessed the departure of the
natron-caravan for Núpe or Nýffi, consisting of from two to three
hundred asses. With it went Mohammed Ánnur, a very intelligent man, whom
I had endeavoured by all possible means to hire as a servant, but could
not muster shells enough. However, the exploration of all those more
distant regions I was obliged in my present circumstances to give up,
and to concentrate my whole energies on the effort to reach Kúkawa,
where I had concerted with Mr. Richardson to arrive in the beginning of
April. I had had the satisfaction of sending off a long report and
several letters to Europe on the 1st of March (when the Ghadámsíye
merchants dispatched a courier to their native town), and felt therefore
much easier with regard to my communication with Europe. My delay also
had given me the great advantage of making the acquaintance of a man
named Mohammed el ʿAnáya, from the Dʿara el Takhtaníye, to the south of
Morocco, who first gave me some general information about the route from
Timbúktu to Sókoto, which in the sequel was to become a new field for my
researches and adventures.
I became so seriously ill on the 8th, that I looked forward with
apprehension to my departure, which was fixed for the following day. But
before leaving this important place, I will make a few general
observations with regard to its history and its present state.
The town of Kanó, considered as the capital of a province, must be of
somewhat older date than Kátsena, if we are to rely on Leo’s accuracy,
though from other more reliable sources (which I shall bring to light in
the chapter on the history of Bórnu) it is evident that even in the
second half of the 16th century there could have been here only the
fortress of Dalá, which, at that period, withstood the attacks of the
Bórnu king. I think we are justified in supposing that, in this respect,
Leo (when, after an interval of many years, he wrote the account of the
countries of Negroland which he had visited) confounded Kanó with
Kátsena. The strength of the Kanáwa, that is to say, the inhabitants of
the province of Kanó, at the time of the Bórnu king Edrís Alawóma, is
quite apparent from the report of his imám; but from that time forth the
country seems to have been tributary to Bórnu; and the population of the
town of Kanó is said, with good reason, to have consisted from the
beginning mostly of Kanúri or Bórnu elements. However, the established
allegiance or subjection of this province to Bórnu was evidently rather
precarious, and could be maintained only with a strong hand; for there
was a powerful neighbour, the king of Korórofa or Júku, ready to avail
himself of every opportunity of extending his own power and dominion
over that territory. We know also that one king of that country, whose
name, however, I could not obtain, on the entry of a new governor into
office in Kanó, made an expedition into that country, and installed his
own representative in the place of that of Bórnu, and though the eastern
provinces of Korórofa itself (I mean the district inhabited by the Koána
or Kwána) became afterwards tributary to Bórnu, yet the main province
(or Júku Proper) with the capital Wukári, seems to have always remained
strong and independent, till now, at length, it seems destined to be
gradually swallowed up by the Fúlbe, if the English do not interfere.
But to return to our subject. As long as Kátsena continued independent
and flourishing, the town of Kanó appears never to have been an
important commercial place; and it was not till after Kátsena had been
occupied by the Fúlbe, and, owing to its exposed position on the
northern frontier of Háusa, had become a very unsafe central point for
commercial transactions, that Kanó became the great commercial entrepôt
of Central Negroland. Before this time, that is to say, before the year
1807, I have strong reason to suppose that scarcely any great Arab
merchant ever visited Kanó, a place which nevertheless continues till
this very day to be identified with Ghána or Ghánata, a state or town
expressly stated by Arab writers of the 11th century to have been the
rendezvous for Arab merchants from the very first rise of commercial
connections with Negroland. And all regard to historical or geographical
facts is put aside merely from an absurd identification of two entirely
distinct names such as Kanó and Ghána or Ghánata.
As to the period when the Kanáwa in general became Mohammedans, we may
fairly assume it to have been several years later than the time when
Máji, the prince of Kátsena, embraced Islám, or about the 17th century,
though it is evident that the larger portion of the population all over
Háusa, especially that of the country towns and villages, remained
addicted to paganism till the fanatic zeal of their conquerors the Fúlbe
forced them to profess Islám, at least publicly. Nevertheless even at
the present day there is a great deal of paganism cherished, and rites
really pagan performed, in the province of Kanó as well as in that of
Kátsena,—a subject on which I shall say something more on another
occasion.
With regard to the growth of the town, we have express testimony that
Dalá was the most ancient quarter. The steep rocky hill, about 120 feet
high, naturally afforded a secure retreat to the ancient inhabitants in
case of sudden attack; but it is most probable that there was another or
several separate villages within the wide expanse now encompassed by the
wall, which rather exceeds than falls short of fifteen English miles,
and it seems inconceivable why the other hill, “Kógo-n-dútsi” (which is
inclosed within the circumference of the walls) though it is not quite
so well fortified by nature, should not have afforded a strong site for
another hamlet. We have, indeed, no means of describing the way in which
the town gradually increased to its present size; this much, however, is
evident, that the inhabited quarters never filled up the immense space
comprised within the walls, though it is curious to observe that there
are evident traces of a more ancient wall on the south side, which, as
will be seen from the plan, did not describe so wide a circumference,
particularly towards the south-west, where the great projecting angle
seems to have been added in later times, for merely strategical
purposes. The reason why the fortifications were carried to so much
greater extent than the population of the town rendered necessary, was
evidently to make the place capable of sustaining a long siege
(sufficient ground being inclosed within the walls to produce the
necessary supply of corn for the inhabitants), and also to receive the
population of the open and unprotected villages in the neighbourhood.
The inhabited quarter occupies at present only the south-eastern part of
the town between Mount Dalá and the wall, which on this side is closely
approached by the dwellings.
On the northern margin of the Jákara is the market-place, forming a
large quadrangle, mostly consisting of sheds built in regular rows like
streets; but the westernmost part of it forms the slaughtering-place,
where numbers of cattle are daily butchered, causing an immense quantity
of offal and filth to accumulate, for which there is no other outlet
than the all-swallowing Jákara. It is the accumulation of this filth in
the most frequented quarters of the town which makes it so unhealthy. On
the north-east side of the sheds is the camel-market, where also pack-
oxen are sold. The shed where the slaves are sold is at the north-west
corner; and thence, along the principal street, which traverses the
market, is the station of the people who sell firewood. The market is
generally immensely crowded during the heat of the day, and offers a
most interesting scene.
The wall, just as it has been described by Captain Clapperton[29], is
still kept in the best repair, and is an imposing piece of workmanship
in this quarter of the world. This wall, with its gates, I have not been
able to lay down with much exactness; but, from my observations on my
later visit in 1854, being aware of the great inaccuracy of the little
sketch of the town given by Clapperton, who himself pretends only to
give an eye-sketch, I thought it worth while, with regard to a place
like Kanó (which certainly will at some future period become important
even for the commercial world of Europe), to survey and sketch it more
minutely; and I hope my plan, together with the view taken from Mount
Dalá of the southern and really-inhabited quarter of the town, will give
a tolerably correct idea of its character.
The market-place is necessarily much less frequented during the rainy
season, when most of the people are busy with the labours of the field.
A great part of the market-place during that time is even inundated by
the waters of the pond Jákara.
I now proceed to enumerate the quarters, the names of which are not
without their interest. I must first observe, that the quarters to the
north of the great and characteristic pond Jákara, which intersects the
town from east to west, are chiefly inhabited by Háusa people, or, as
they are called by their conquerors, “Hábe,” from the singular “Kádo,”
while the southern quarters are chiefly, but not at all exclusively,
inhabited by the Fúlbe (_sing._ Púllo), called Féllani (_sing._
Baféllanchi), by the conquered race.
Beginning with Dalá, the oldest quarter of the town, and which in
commercial respects is the most important one, as it is the residence of
almost all the wealthy Arab and Berber (principally Ghadámsíye)
merchants, I shall first proceed eastwards, then return by south to
west, and so on. East-south-east, the quarter called Déndalin (the
esplanade) borders on Dalá, then Kutumbáwa, Gérke, Mádabó, Ya-n-tándu,
Adakáwa, Kóki, Zéta, Límanchí (or the quarter of the people of Tóto, a
considerable town not far from Fánda); south from the latter, Yandówea,
and thence, returning westward, Jibdji-n-Yél-labu, another Límanchí
(with a large mosque), Masu-kiyáni (the quarter near the “kaswa” or
market-place), Túddu-n-mákera (the quarter of the blacksmiths) on the
west side of the market, Yámroché, “Marárraba bókoy” (the seven
crossways), “Báki-n-rúa” (the waterside—that is, the quay along the
Jákara), not very neat nor fragrant, and in this respect deserving to be
compared with the quays of the Thames, which may be called, just with
the same reason, the great sink of London, as the Jákara is that of
Kanó, the difference being only that the Thames is a running stream,
while the Jákara is stagnant), “Runfáwa” (the quarter of the sheds),
Yéllwá. Here, turning again eastwards, we come first to the quarter
Ríma-n-jirájiré, then enter Mággoga, then Maggógi, Ungwa-n-kári,
Déndali-n-Wáre, Límanchí (a third quarter of this name), Dukkuráwa,
Rúffogí, Dérma. All these are quarters of the Hábe, where no Púllo, as
far as I am aware, would deign to live. Beyond the Jákara we now come to
the quarters of the ruling race, proceeding from west to east.