natives of Ágades), Yóla—the princely quarter of the town, and called on
this account “mádaki-n-Kanó.” It is interesting also as having given its
name to the new capital of Adamáwa, (the natives of Negroland being not
less anxious than Europeans to familiarize the new regions which they
colonize by names taken from their ancient homes); el Kántara (so called
from a rough kind of bridge, or kadárko, thrown over one of those
numerous pools which intersect the town), Wuaitákka, Go-shérifé-dodó (a
quarter, the name of which is taken from the ancient pagan worship of
the “dodó),” Tókobá, Dukkáwa, Zaghidámse, Sháfushí. Returning from east
to west we have the quarters Shérbalé, Mádaté, Kúrna, Sheshé, “Dirmí (or
dírremi)-kay okú” (called from a tree of the dírremi species, with three
separate crowns), Lelóki-n-lemú, Kóllwá al héndeki, Sóra-n-dínki, Rími-
n-kóro, Tojí, Yárkasá, Mándáwari, Mármara (different from the quarter
mentioned above), Dantúrku, Sabansára, Kudedefáwa, Jingo, Doséyi,
Warúre, Gʿao (an interesting name, identical with that of the capital of
the Sónghay empire), Kurmáwa, Háusáwa, Ungwa Mákama, Ghaladánchi (the
quarter wherein resides the ghaladíma), Shúramchí (the quarter where
lives the eldest son of the governor, whose title chiróma—a Kanúri
name—in the corrupted form of “shúromo” has furnished the name of the
quarter), Ye-serkí, Kurmáwa (not identical with the above), “Kusseráwa”
(the corner), Udeláwa. South from the palace of the governor, Rími-n-
kerá, Káraká, Dugeráwa, Yákase, Naseráwa (most probably destined to be
hereafter the quarter of the Nasára or Christians), and ʿAbdeláwa.
All over the town, clay houses and huts, with thatched conical roofs,
are mixed together; but generally in the southern quarter the latter
prevail. The clay houses, as far as I have seen them in Dalá, where of
course Arab influence predominates, are built in a most uncomfortable
style, with no other purpose than that of obtaining the greatest
possible privacy for domestic life, without any attempt to provide for
the influx of fresh air and light, although I must admit that a few
houses are built in somewhat better taste; but invariably the courtyard
is extremely small, and in this respect the houses of Kanó are very
inferior to those of Ágades and Timbúktu, which are built almost on the
same principle as the dwellings of the ancient Greeks and Romans. I here
give the ground-plan of the house in which I lodged in 1851.
[Illustration:
1. Large public yard common to the two houses, with two huts.
2. Irregular apartment where I was to reside, as it was least wanting in
light and air.
3. Dark room without any current of air, but to which I was obliged to
withdraw when suffering from fever.
4. Storeroom.
5. Inner private yard.
6. Closet.]
Almost all these houses have also a very irregular upper story on a
different level, and very badly aired. Many of the Arabs sleep on their
terraces.
In estimating the population of the town at 30,000, I am certainly not
above the truth. Captain Clapperton estimated it at from 30,000 to
40,000. The population, as might be expected in a place of great
commercial resort, is of a rather mixed nature; but the chief elements
in it are Kanúri or Bórnu people, Háusáwa, Fúlbe or Féllani, and Nyffáwa
or Núpe; a good many Arabs also reside there, who by their commerce and
their handicraft contribute a great deal to the importance of the place.
The influx of foreigners and temporary residents is occasionally very
great, so that the whole number of residents during the most busy time
of the year (that is to say from January to April) may often amount to
60,000. The number of domestic slaves, of course, is very considerable;
but I think it hardly equals, certainly does not exceed, that of the
free men, for, while the wealthy have many slaves, the poorer class,
which is far more numerous, have few or none. It would be very
interesting to arrive at an exact estimate of the numbers of the
conquering nation, in order to see the proportion in which they stand to
the conquered. As for the town itself, their whole number, of every sex
and age, does not, in my opinion, exceed 4000; but with regard to the
whole country I can give no opinion.
The principal commerce of Kanó consists in native produce, namely, the
cotton cloth woven and dyed here or in the neighbouring towns, in the
form of tobes or rígona (_sing._ ríga); túrkedí, or the oblong piece of
dress of dark-blue colour worn by the women; the zénne[30] or plaid, of
various colours; and the ráwani bakí, or black lithám.
The great advantage of Kanó is, that commerce and manufactures go hand
in hand, and that almost every family has its share in them. There is
really something grand in this kind of industry, which spreads to the
north as far as Múrzuk, Ghát, and even Tripoli; to the west, not only to
Timbúktu, but in some degree even as far as the shores of the Atlantic,
the very inhabitants of Arguin dressing in the cloth woven and dyed in
Kanó; to the east, all over Bórnu, although there it comes into contact
with the native industry of the country; and to the south it maintains a
rivalry with the native industry of the Ígbira and Ígbo, while towards
the south-east it invades the whole of ʿAdamáwa, and is only limited by
the nakedness of the pagan _sans-culottes_, who do not wear clothing.
As for the supply sent to Timbúktu, this is a fact entirely overlooked
in Europe, where people speak continually of the fine cotton cloth
produced in that town, while in truth all the apparel of a decent
character in Timbúktu is brought either from Kanó or from Sansándi; and
how urgently this article is there demanded is amply shown by the
immense circuit which the merchandise makes to avoid the great dangers
of the direct road from Kanó to Timbúktu travelled by me, the
merchandise of Kanó being first carried up to Ghát and even Ghadámes,
and thence taking its way to Timbúktu by Tawát.
I make the lowest estimate in rating this export to Timbúktu alone at
three hundred camel-loads annually, worth 60,000,000 kurdí in Kanó—an
amount which entirely remains in the country, and redounds to the
benefit of the whole population, both cotton and indigo being produced
and prepared in the country. In taking a general view of the subject, I
think myself justified in estimating the whole produce of this
manufacture, as far as it is sold abroad, at the very least at about
300,000,000; and how great this national wealth is, will be understood
by my readers when they know that, with from fifty to sixty thousand
kurdí, or from four to five pounds sterling a year, a whole family may
live in that country with ease, including every expense, even that of
their clothing: and we must remember that the province is one of the
most fertile spots on the earth, and is able to produce not only the
supply of corn necessary for its population, but can also export, and
that it possesses, besides, the finest pasture-grounds. In fact, if we
consider that this industry is not carried on here as in Europe, in
immense establishments, degrading man to the meanest condition of life,
but that it gives employment and support to families without compelling
them to sacrifice their domestic habits, we must presume that Kanó ought
to be one of the happiest countries in the world; and so it is as long
as its governor, too often lazy and indolent, is able to defend its
inhabitants from the cupidity of their neighbours, which of course is
constantly stimulated by the very wealth of this country.
Besides the cloth produced and dyed in Kanó and in the neighbouring
villages, there is a considerable commerce carried on here with the
cloth manufactured in Nýffi or Núpe, which, however, extends only to the
first and the third of the articles above mentioned, viz., the “ríga,”
or shirt worn by men, and the “zénne,” or plaid; for the Nyffáwa are
unable to produce either túrkedí or ráwaní—at least for export, while
they seem, with the exception of the wealthier classes, to supply their
own wants themselves. The tobes brought from Nýffi are either large
black ones, or of mixed silk and cotton.
With regard to the former, which are called “gíwa” (the elephant’s
shirt), I am unable to say why the Kanáwa are not capable of
manufacturing them themselves; but it seems that, while they thoroughly
understand how to impart the most beautiful dye to the túrkedí, they are
unable to apply the same to the ríga—I do not know why.
Of the latter kind there are several varieties:—the ríga sáki, with
small squares blue and white, as if speckled, and therefore called by
the Arabs “fílfil” (pepper), and by the Tawárek, who, as I have
mentioned, esteem it more than any other kind, the “Guinea-fowl shirt”
(tekátkat taílelt), as shown in the accompanying woodcut, is very
becoming, and was my ordinary dress from the moment I was rich enough to
purchase it, as a good one fetches as much as from eighteen to twenty
thousand kurdí; then the tob-harír, with stripes of speckled cast like
the taílelt, but intermixed with red; the jellába, red and white, with
embroidery of green silk, and several others. Specimens of all these I
have brought home and delivered to the Foreign Office.[31]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
The chief articles of native industry, besides cloth, which have a wide
market, are principally sandals. The sandals are made with great
neatness, and, like the cloth, are exported to an immense distance; but
being a cheap article (the very best, which are called “táka-sárakí,”
fetching only 200 kurdí), they bear of course no comparison in
importance with the former. I estimate this branch at ten millions. It
is very curious that the shoes made here by Arab shoemakers, of Sudán
leather, and called “bélghʿa,” are exported in great quantities to North
Africa. The “nesísa,” or twisted leather strap, is a celebrated article
of Kanó manufacture, and “jebíras,” richly ornamented, as the
accompanying woodcut shows, are made by Arab workmen.
[Illustration]
The other leather-work I will not mention here, as it does not form a
great article of commerce; but tanned hides (“kulábu”) and red
sheepskins, dyed with a juice extracted from the stalks of the holcus,
are not unimportant, being sent in great quantities even as far as
Tripoli. I value the amount of export at about five millions.[32]
Besides these manufactures, the chief article of African produce in the
Kanó market is the “gúro,” or kola-nut; but while on the one hand it
forms an important article of transit, and brings considerable profit,
on the other large sums are expended by the natives upon this luxury,
which has become to them as necessary as coffee or tea to us. On another
occasion I shall enumerate the different kinds of this nut, and the
seasons when it is collected. The import of this nut into Kanó,
comprising certainly more than five hundred ass-loads every year, the
load of each, if safely brought to the market—for it is a very delicate
article, and very liable to spoil—being sold for about 200,000 kurdí,
will amount to an average of from eighty to one hundred millions. Of
this sum, I think we shall be correct in asserting about half to be paid
for by the natives of the province, while the other half will be profit.
But we must bear in mind that the greater part of the persons employed
in this trade are Kanáwa, and that therefore they and their families
subsist upon this branch of trade.
A very important branch of the native commerce in Kanó is certainly the
slave-trade; but it is extremely difficult to say how many of these
unfortunate creatures are exported, as a greater number are carried away
by small caravans to Bórnu and Núpe than on the direct road to Ghát and
Fezzán. Altogether, I do not think that the number of slaves annually
exported from Kanó exceeds[33] 5,000; but of course a considerable
number are sold into domestic slavery either to the inhabitants of the
province itself, or to those of the adjoining districts. The value of
this trade, of which only a small percentage falls to the profit of the
Kanáwa, besides the tax which is levied in the market, may altogether
amount to from a hundred and fifty to two hundred millions of kurdí per
annum.
Another important branch of the commerce of Kanó is the transit of
natron from Bórnu to Núpe or Nýffi, which here always passes into other
hands, and in so doing leaves a considerable profit in the place. The
merchandise is very cheap; but the quantity is great, and it employs a
great many persons, as I shall have ample occasion to illustrate in the
course of my proceedings. Twenty thousand loads, at the very least,
between pack-oxen, sumpter-horses, and asses, of natron must annually
pass through the market of Kanó; which, at 500 kurdí per load, merely
for passage-money, would give 10,000,000 kurdí.
I here also mention the salt-trade, which is entirely an import one, the
salt being almost all consumed in the province. Of the three thousand
camel-loads of salt which I have above computed as comprising the aïri
with which I reached Kátsena, we may suppose one-third to be sold in the
province of Kanó; and therefore that hereby a value of from fifty to
eighty millions annually is drained from the country. But we must not
forget that the money which is paid for this requisite (and not only for
that consumed in Kanó, but also in other provinces) is entirely laid out
by the sellers in buying the produce of Kanó; viz., cloth and corn.
Here, therefore, is an absolute balance—a real exchange of necessaries
and wants.
As for ivory, at present it does not form a very important branch of the
commerce of Kanó; and I scarcely believe that more than one hundred
kantárs pass through this place. The lowest price of the kantár is in
general thirty dollars, or 75,000 kurdí; but it often rises to forty
dollars, or 100,000 kurdí, and even more, though I have seen it bought
with ready money for twenty-five dollars.
Of European goods the greatest proportion is still imported by the
northern road, while the natural road, by way of the great eastern
branch of the so-called Niger, will and must, in the course of events,
be soon opened.
But I must here speak about a point of very great importance for the
English, both as regards their honour and their commercial activity. The
final opening of the lower course of the Kwára has been one of the most
glorious achievements of English discovery, bought with the lives of so
many enterprising men. But it seems that the English are more apt to
perform a great deed than to follow up its consequences. After they have
opened this noble river to the knowledge of Europe, frightened by the
sacrifice of a few lives, instead of using it themselves for the benefit
of the nations of the interior, they have allowed it to fall into the
hands of the American slave-dealers, who have opened a regular annual
slave-trade with those very regions, while the English seem not to have
even the slightest idea of such a traffic going on. Thus American
produce, brought in large quantities to the market of Núpe, has begun to
inundate Central Africa, to the great damage of the commerce and the
most unqualified scandal of the Arabs, who think that the English, if
they would, could easily prevent it. For this is not a legitimate
commerce; it is nothing but slave-traffic on a large scale, the
Americans taking nothing in return for their merchandise and their
dollars but slaves, besides a small quantity of natron. On this painful
subject I have written repeatedly to H.M.’s consul in Tripoli, and to
H.M.’s government, and I have spoken energetically about it to Lord
Palmerston since my return. I principally regret in this respect the
death of Mr. Richardson, who, in his eloquent language, would have dealt
worthily with this question. But even from his unfinished journals as
they have been published, it is clear that, during his short stay in the
country before he was doomed to succumb, he became well aware of what
was going on.[34]
The principal European goods brought to the market of Kanó are bleached
and unbleached calicoes, and cotton prints from Manchester; French silks
and sugar; red cloth from Saxony and other parts of Europe; beads from
Venice and Trieste; a very coarse kind of silk from Trieste; common
paper with the sign of three moons, looking-glasses, needles, and small
ware, from Nuremberg; sword blades from Solingen; razors from Styria. It
is very remarkable that so little English merchandise is seen in this
great emporium of Negroland, which lies so near to the two branches of
“the Great River” of Western Africa, calico and muslins (or tanjips, as
they are called by the merchants) being almost the only English
articles. Calico certainly is not the thing most wanted in a country
where home-made cloth is produced at so cheap a rate, and of so
excellent a quality; indeed the unbleached calico has a very poor chance
in Kanó, while the bleached calico and the cambric attract the wealthier
people on account of their nobler appearance. In Timbúktu on the
contrary, where the native cloth is dearer, unbleached calico is in
request; and it would be so in an extraordinary degree, if it were dyed
dark blue. It is very interesting to observe that a small proportion of
the calico imported into Kanó is again exported, after having been dyed,
returning even the long way to Ghadámes. I estimate the whole amount of
Manchester goods imported into Kanó at about forty millions; but it may
be somewhat more. The sale of tanjips is very considerable; and the
import of this article into Kanó certainly equals in value that of the
former.
The very coarse silk, or rather refuse, which is dyed in Tripoli, is
imported to a very considerable amount, this forming the principal
merchandise of most of the caravans of the Ghadámsíye merchants, and
about one third of their whole commerce, amounting certainly to not less
than from three to four hundred camel-loads annually, worth in Kanó each
about 200,000 kurdí; this would give a value of about seventy millions
imported. But according to some well-informed people, even as many as
one thousand loads of this article pass annually through Ghadámes; so
that, if we take into consideration that the supply of the northerly
markets (as Tasáwa, Zínder) may well be compensated by what is brought
by way of Múrzuk, the value of the import of this article into Kanó may
be much more. A great deal of this silk, I have no doubt by far the
greatest part, remains in the country, being used for ornamenting the
tobes, sandals, shoes, and other things.
Woollen cloth of the most ordinary quality, chiefly red, but about one
third of the whole amount of green colour, was formerly imported to a
great extent; but it has gone out of fashion, and I think a better
quality, like that with which the market of Timbúktu is supplied by way
of Mogador or Swaira, would succeed. I estimate this branch at present
at only fifteen millions.
Beads, in very great variety[35], form an important article of import;
but the price has become so low of late years that there has been very
little profit, and the supply has been kept back to raise the prices.
The import of this article certainly amounts to more than fifty millions
of kurdí, of which sum the value of twenty may remain in the country.
Of sugar, I think about one hundred camel-loads are imported every year,
each containing eighty small loaves, of two and a half pounds each,
which are sold in general at 1500 kurdí; so that the import of this
article would amount to about twelve millions. It is very remarkable
that in all Central Negroland the large English sugarloaf is scarcely
ever seen, while it is the only one seen in Timbúktu. However, I was
greatly surprised when, on my return from that place in 1854, ʿAlíyu,
the Emír el Mumenín of Sókoto, presented to me an English loaf of sugar;
and I heard that he had received several of them as presents from a
merchant of Tawát. The small loaf has certainly a great advantage in
such a country, where money is scarce; and I found in 1854 that its
weight had even been reduced to two pounds.
Common paper, called on the coast “tre lune,” from the mark of three
moons which it bears, is imported in great quantity, being used for
wrapping up the country cloth; but it is a bulky, heavy article, and in
larger quantities is sold at a very cheap rate. The whole amount of this
import may be about five millions of kurdí.
Needles, with the emblem of the pig[36], and small looking-glasses
called “lemmʿa,” in boxes, form important but very cheap articles, and I
think their amount together will not much exceed the value of eight
millions. Generally, the needles in large quantities are sold for one
“urí” or shell each, but often even cheaper; and I was obliged to sell a
thousand for six hundred kurdí. Also, fine needles for silk-work are in
request, but only in small quantity, while large darning-needles are not
at all wanted here, where the cotton cloth is fine, but are the most
profitable thing in Eastern Negroland, from Bagírmi inclusive to
Abyssinia.
Sword-blades, which are set here, are imported in considerable quantity;
as not only the Kél-owí and the neighbouring Tárki tribes, but also the
Háusáwa, Fúlbe, Nyffáwa, and Kanúri or Bórnu people, are supplied from
this market. Fifty thousand may be the general annual amount of this
article, which produces (the blade being reckoned at one thousand kurdí)
fifty millions. Almost all of them that I saw, not only here, but even
among the Tawárek near Timbúktu, were from Solingen. Only a small
proportion of the import remains in the country; but the setting of the
blades, which are again exported, secures a great profit to the natives.
Very few fire-arms, as far as I became aware, are imported into this
market, although common muskets have begun to be imported by way of
Nýffi at extraordinarily cheap prices by the Americans. Pistols and
blunderbusses are privately sold by the merchants to princes or great
men.
The common razors, made in Styria, with black wooden handles, bad as
they are, are very much liked by the inhabitants, who know how to
sharpen them most beautifully, and strengthen the wretched handle with a
guard of copper. I had a tolerable supply of English razors, and found
that those bought for sixpence at home would sell profitably, but that
nobody would give, for a good razor, though ever so excellent, more than
one thousand kurdí; however, the better sort are very fit for presents
to men of importance, who know well their value. In any case the handles
ought to be strong, and not likely to break. This commodity does
certainly not much exceed two or three millions.
French silks, called “hattáya,” were formerly in great request, but at
present seem to be a little out of vogue; and most of what is imported
here is exported again by second-hand buyers to Yóruba and Gónja. The
amount of this import into the Kanó market, I think, does not exceed
twenty millions.
An important branch of import is formed by articles of Arab dress,
chiefly bernúses, caftans, sedríyas, trowsers, red caps, red sashes,
shawls. It is difficult to state, even approximately, the value of these
articles; but it cannot certainly be much less than fifty millions
altogether. The sort of dress most in request comes from Tunis, but a
good deal also from Egypt; and from the latter country come all the
white shawls with red borders, called “subéta” in Arabic, “aliyáfu” in
Háusa, and very much liked by the negroes as well as by the Tawárek. The
import of this article alone exceeds the value of ten millions. The
common articles of dress, of coarser workmanship, are made in Tripoli.
Red caps of very coarse description are now imported from Leghorn, and
find a sale, but are not liked by the free people.
Frankincense and spices—principally jáwi, benzoin, the resin obtained
from a species of styrax, “símbil” or _Valeriana Celtica_, and
cloves—form a not inconsiderable article of import, perhaps amounting to
fifteen millions. However, I exclude from this sum the value of the
rose-oil which is annually imported in considerable quantity, and, being
a dear article, forms also an important one; but very little of it comes
into the general trade, almost all of it being disposed of privately to
the princes and great men, or given to them in presents. I am inclined
to estimate the value of this article imported at about forty millions.
Tin and many other smaller articles may together be estimated at ten
millions.
In the trade of Kanó there is another very interesting article, which
tends to unite very distant regions of Africa; this is copper—“ja-n-
kárfi.” A good deal of old copper—say fifty loads, together with about
twenty loads of zinc—is imported from Tripoli; but a considerable supply
of this useful and handsome metal is also imported every year by the
Jellába of Nímro in Wadáy, who bring it from the celebrated copper-mine,
“el hófra,” situate to the south of Dar-Fúr, of which I shall have
occasion to speak in the following volume.[37] I estimate the whole
import of this metal at about from fifteen to twenty millions; but it is
to be remarked that, so far from being to the disadvantage of the
Kanáwa, it proves a new material of industry, while only the smaller
part remains in the country.