by the merchants, but rather exceptionally, most of the latter being but
agents or commissioners engaged to effect the sale of the merchandise
forwarded from Tripoli and Fezzán. The silver likewise supplies a branch
of industry, the silversmiths, who are generally identical with the
blacksmiths, being very clever in making rings and anklets. In Kanó
scarcely any tradesman will object to receive a dollar in payment. With
regard to iron, which forms a very considerable branch of industry in
the place, I will only say that it is far inferior to that of Wándala or
Mándara and Bubanjídda, which I shall mention in the course of my
proceedings. Spears, daggers, hoes, and stirrups are the articles most
extensively produced in iron.
As for gold, though a general standard, of the mithkál at four thousand
kurdí, is usually maintained, in Timbúktu its price greatly varies, from
three thousand five hundred up to four thousand five hundred kurdí; but
this unreasonable fluctuation is but nominal, gold being scarcely ever
bought in Timbúktu for ready money, but for túrkedís, when a túrkedí
bought in Kanó for eighteen hundred, or at the utmost two thousand,
fetches there a mithkál. One hundred mithkáls of gold may easily be
bought in Kanó at any time. Even the common currency of the Kanó market,
the “urí” (_pl._ kurdí) or shell (_Cypræa moneta_), 2,500 of which are
equal to the Spanish or Austrian dollar[38], forms an important article
of import and commerce, though I have not been able to ascertain that a
large quantity is ever introduced at a time. Nevertheless that must
sometimes happen, as a great amount of shells has been exported to
Bórnu, where they have been recently introduced as currency; and this
obviously explains why since the year 1848 the demand for these shells
has so greatly increased on the coast.
These merely approximative figures cannot be reduced to the form of a
balance-sheet; but they will give a general idea of the commercial
activity of the place. I will conclude these few remarks by observing
that the market of Kanó is better supplied with articles of food than
any other market in Negroland; but meat as well as corn is dearer here
than in Kúkawa, particularly the latter. Besides the great market-place,
there are several smaller ones dispersed through the town, the most
noted of which are the káswa-n-kurmí, Mandáweli, Hanga, káswa-n-máta,
káswa-n-áyagi, káswa-n-Jírba, káswa-n-Yákase, káswa-n-kófan Wámbay, and
the káswa-n-kófan Náyisa.
The province of Kanó[39], which comprises a very fertile district of
considerable extent, contains, according to my computation, more than
two hundred thousand free people, besides at least an equal number of
slaves; so that the whole population of the province amounts to more
than half a million; though it may greatly exceed this number. The
governor is able to raise an army of seven thousand horse, and more than
twenty thousand men on foot. In the most flourishing state of the
country, the governor of Kanó is said to have been able to bring into
the field as many as ten thousand horse.
The tribute which he levies is very large, considering the state of the
country, amounting altogether to about one hundred millions of kurdí,
besides the presents received from merchants. The most considerable item
of his revenue consists in the “kurdí-n-kása” (what is called in Kanúri
“lárderám”), or the ground-rent. It is said to amount to ninety
millions, and is levied, both here and in the province of Kátsena, not
from the ground under cultivation, but every head of a family has to pay
two thousand five hundred kurdí, or just a Spanish dollar; in the
province of Zégzeg, on the contrary, the kurdí-n-kása is a tax of five
hundred kurdí levied on every fertáña or hoe, and a single hoe will
cultivate a piece of ground capable of producing from one hundred to two
hundred “démmi” or sheaves of grain (sorghum and pennisetum), each of
which contains two kél, while fifty kél are reckoned sufficient for a
man’s sustenance during a whole year. Besides the kurdí-n-kása, the
governor levies an annual tax called “kurdí-n-korófi,” of seven hundred
kurdí[40] on every dyeing-pot or korófi, of which there are more than
two thousand in the town alone; a “fítto” of five hundred kurdí on every
slave sold in the market; an annual tax, “kurdí-n-debíno,” of six
hundred kurdí on every palm-tree, and a small tax called “kurdí-n-ráfi”
on the vegetables sold in the market, such as dánkali or sweet potatoes,
gwáza or yams, rísga, rógo, &c. This latter tax is very singular, as the
meat, or the cattle brought into the town, as far as I know, does not
pay any tax at all. Clapperton was mistaken in stating that all the
date-trees in the town belong to the governor, which is not more true
than that all the sheds in the market belong to him.
The authority of the governor is not absolute, even without considering
the appeal which lies to his liege lord in Sókoto or Wúrno, if the
subjects’ complaints can be made to reach so far; a sort of ministerial
council is formed, to act in conjunction with the governor, which in
important cases he cannot well avoid consulting. At the head of this
council stands the ghaladíma, whose office originated, as we shall see,
in the empire of Bórnu, and who very often exercises, as is the case in
Kanó, the highest influence, surpassing that of the governor himself;
then follows the “serkí-n-dáwakay” (the master of the horse), an
important charge in barbarous countries, where victory depends almost
always on the cavalry; then the “bánda-n-Kanó” (a sort of commander-in-
chief); then the “alkáli” or chief justice, the “chiróma-n-Kanó” (the
eldest son of the governor, or some one assuming this title), who
exercises the chief power in the southern part of the province; the
“serkí-n-báy” (properly, the chief of the slaves), who has the
inspection of the northern districts of the province as far as Kazáure;
then the “gadó” or lord of the treasury, and finally the “serkí-n-sháno”
(the master of the oxen, or rather the quartermaster-general), who has
all the military stores under his care; for the ox, or rather the bull,
is the ordinary beast of burden in Negroland. It is characteristic that,
when the governor is absent paying his homage to his liege lord, it is
not the ghaladíma, but the gadó and the serkí-n-sháno who are his
lieutenants or substitutes.
With regard to the government in general, I think, in this province,
where there is so much lively intercourse, and where publicity is given
very soon to every incident, it is not oppressive, though the behaviour
of the ruling class is certainly haughty, and there is, no doubt, a
great deal of injustice inflicted in small matters. The etiquette of the
court, which is far more strict than in Sókoto, must prevent any poor
man from entering the presence of the governor. The Fúlbe marry the
handsome daughters of the subjugated tribe, but would not condescend to
give their own daughters to the men of that tribe as wives. As far as I
saw, their original type has been well preserved as yet, though, by
obtaining possession of wealth and comfort, their warlike character has
been greatly impaired, and the Féllani-n-Kanó have become notorious for
their cowardice throughout the whole of Negroland.[41]
[Footnote 26: Laird’s and Oldfield’s Narrative, vol. i. p. 233. As this
clear and rational conviction, which the meritorious man who has
laboured so long for that part of Africa entertained, has been entirely
confirmed by my succeeding discovery, I think it well to give to it all
the publicity which it deserves. The two learned geographers of Africa,
Mr. Cooley and MacQueen, concurred entirely in this opinion.]
[Footnote 27: ʿOthmán has since died of cholera, which made its
appearance in Kanó in 1855. I do not know the name of his successor. For
the sake of the country, I entertain the hope that he may be more
energetic than his predecessor.]
[Footnote 28: The very strong wind, which I had always the misfortune to
encounter when ascending Mount Dalá, did not allow me to enter into all
the details of the sketch, which would be requisite to give a true
picture of the variety of the scene; and the glowing, lively tone spread
over the whole has been inadequately caught by the artist. I must also
observe that the southern quarter of the town, which is at too great a
distance from this hill to be discernible, is far more picturesque than
the northern one.]
[Footnote 29: Clapperton and Denham’s Travels, vol. ii. p. 50.]
[Footnote 30: There is a great variety of this article, of which I shall
enumerate a few kinds:—“farí-n-zénne,” the white undyed one; “zenne
déffowa,” of light-blue colour; “fessagída,” with a broad line of silk;
“hammakúku,” with less silk, sold generally for 3000 kurdí; “mailémú,”
sold for 2500; “zelluwámi,” a peculiar zénne with a silk border;
“jumáda,” another similar kind; “da-n-katánga,” once a very favourite
article of female dress, and therefore called “the child of the market”
(of the word katánga, I have spoken on a former occasion), with red and
black silk in small quantity, and a little white; “albássa-n-Kwára” a
very peculiar name, chosen to denote a kind of zénne of three stripes of
mixed colours; “gódo,” white and black and of thick thread; “alkílla,”
white and black chequered; “sáki,” silk and cotton interwoven, and
forming small squares black and white; “kéki,” half túrkedí (that is to
say indigo-coloured), half “sáki,” or silk and cotton interwoven; “kéki
serkí bokoy,” four kinds. Besides, there are ten kinds of zénnwa
entirely of silk, but these are made better in Núpe than in Kanó. One of
these, called “biní da gáni” (follow me and look), a name which is also
given to a conspicuous kind of beads, is distinguished by three
colours—yellow, red, and blue. Then there is a zénne made of atlas,
called “massarchí;” another of coloured Manchester; and the simple one
of Manchester, which is called “béfta.”]
[Footnote 31: Among these specimens is also an undyed and a dyed
specimen of the “ríga tsámia,” which seems to deserve a good deal of
interest, as it consists half of home-made silk, obtained from a
peculiar kind of silkworm, which lives on the tamarind-tree. I also sent
home from Kúkawa, at a former period, a piece of native cloth of the
Kwána, a tribe of the Korórofa.]
[Footnote 32: There are many other branches of manufacture in Kanó which
are too minute to be enumerated here. I will only mention the framing of
the little looking-glasses, called lemmʿa, imported from Tripoli, and
the immense variety of bótta or múrta, small leathern boxes. There is
also a kind of small box made with great neatness from the kernel of the
dúm-fruit.]
[Footnote 33: This trade will now be greatly affected by the abolition
of the slave-trade in Tripoli.]
[Footnote 34: I need only refer to the memorable passage in his Journal,
Vol. ii. p. 203.—“The best of the slaves now go to Niffee, to be there
shipped for America. They are mostly males, and are minutely examined
before departure.” (This latter circumstance agrees exactly with my own
observations.) “From all reports there is _an immense traffic of slaves
that way exchanged against American goods_, which are driving out of the
markets all the merchandise of the North.” But another passage is not
less clear, p. 228. f. “Slaves are sent from Zinder to Niffee. Indeed it
now appears that all this part of Africa is put under contribution to
_supply the South American market with slaves_.”]
[Footnote 35: The names of the different kinds of beads, of which I have
collected thirty-five, bear evident testimony to the imaginative powers
and lively character of the Háusáwa.]
[Footnote 36: Originally these came from Nuremberg, but of late they
have been also produced in Leghorn.]
[Footnote 37: I will here only mention, that the profit on the copper
for the Jellába, if they do not go themselves to the hófra, but buy it
in Dar-Fúr, is as follows:—In Fúr they buy the kantár of copper for one
sedáshi (slave), equal to the value of a kantár of ivory, and sell it in
Kúkawa for 4000 rottls, equal to two kantárs of ivory. In Kanó the price
is about the same.]
[Footnote 38: There is no difference made between these two coins, women
in general even preferring Maria Theresa to the two columns on the
Spanish dollar, which they fancy to represent cannon.]
[Footnote 39: For a list of the principal places of the province see
Appendix, No. II.]
[Footnote 40: Other people have stated to me that the kurdí-n-korófi did
not exceed 500 kurdí.]
[Footnote 41: For some of the chief routes connecting Kanó with the
principal places around, and for an account of Korórofa and Wukári, see
Appendix, No. III.]
CHAP. XXVI.
STARTING FOR KÚKAWA. — THE FRONTIER-DISTRICT.
[Sidenote: Sunday, March 9th.]
The traveller who would leave a place where he has made a long
residence, often finds that his departure involves him in a great deal
of trouble, and is by no means an easy affair. Moreover my situation
when, after much delay, I was about to leave Kanó was peculiarly
embarrassing. There was no caravan; the road was infested by robbers;
and I had only one servant upon whom I could rely, or who was really
attached to me, while I had been so unwell the preceding day as to be
unable to rise from my couch. However, I was full of confidence; and
with the same delight with which a bird springs forth from its cage,
I hastened to escape from these narrow, dirty mud-walls into the
boundless creation.
There being scarcely any one to assist my faithful Gatróni, the loading
of my three camels took an immense time, and the horseman destined to
accompany me to the frontier of the Kanó territory grew rather
impatient. At length, at about two o’clock in the afternoon, I mounted
my unsightly black four-dollar nag, and following my companion, who (in
a showy dress, representing very nearly the German costume about the
time of the Thirty Years’ war, and well mounted), gave himself all
possible airs of dignity, started forth from the narrow streets of Dalá
into the open fields.
I felt my heart lightened, and, forgetting what had passed, began to
think only of the wide field now opening before me, if fresh means
should reach us in Kúkawa. We had taken a very circuitous road in order
to pass through the widest of the fourteen gates of the town: but the
long passage through the wall was too narrow for my unwieldy luggage;
and my impatient, self-conceited companion fell into despair, seeing
that we should be unable to reach the night’s quarters destined for us.
At length all was again placed upon the patient animals; and my noble
Bu-Séfi taking the lead of the short string of my caravan, we proceeded
onwards, keeping at a short distance from the wall, till we reached the
highroad from the kófa-n-Wámbay. Here too is a considerable estate
belonging to a ba-Ásbenchí (a man from Ásben), who has a company of
slaves always residing here. Going slowly on through the well-cultivated
country, we reached a small watercourse. Being anxious to know in what
direction the torrent had its discharge, and unable to make it out from
my own observation, I took the liberty of asking my companion; but the
self-conceited courtier, though born a slave, thought himself insulted
by such a question, and by the presumption that he ever paid attention
to such trivial things as the direction of a watercourse, or the name of
a village!
Having watered our horses here, I and my friend went on in advance, to
secure quarters for the night, and chose them in a small hamlet, where,
after some resistance, a mʿallem gave us up part of his courtyard
surrounded with a fence of the stalks of Guinea corn. When the camels
came up we pitched our tent. The boy ʿAbd-Alla, however, seeing that my
party was so small, and fearing that we should have some misadventure,
had run away and returned to Kanó.
Though there was much talk of thieves, who indeed infest the whole
neighbourhood of this great market-town, and, excited by the hope of
remaining unpunished under an indolent government, very often carry off
camels during the night even from the middle of the town, we passed a
tranquil night, and got off at a tolerably early hour the next morning.
The character of the country is almost the same as that during our last
day’s march in coming from Kátsena, small clusters of huts and detached
farms being spread about over the cultivated country, where we observed
also some tobacco-fields just in flower: my attention was more attracted
by a small range of hills in the distance on our left. I was also
astonished at the little traffic which I observed on this route, though
we met a considerable natron-caravan coming from Zínder, the ass and the
bullock going on peaceably side by side, as is always the case in
Negroland. The country continued to improve; and the fields of Charó,
shaded as they were by luxuriant trees, looked fertile and well cared
for, while the clusters of neat huts scattered all about had an air of
comfort. Here we ought to have passed the previous night; and my
companion had gone in advance to deliver his order, and probably to get
a good luncheon instead of his missed supper. Beyond this village, or
rather district, cultivation seemed to be less careful; but perhaps the
reason was only that the villages were further from the road.
The quiet course of domestic slavery has very little to offend the mind
of the traveller; the slave is generally well treated, is not over
worked, and is very often considered as a member of the family. Scenes
caused by the running away of a slave in consequence of bad and severe
treatment occur every day with the Arabs, who generally sell their
slaves, even those whom they have had some time, as soon as occasion
offers; but with the natives they are very rare. However, I was
surprised at observing so few home-born slaves in Negroland—with the
exception of the Tawárek, who seem to take great pains to rear
slaves—and I have come to the conclusion, that marriage among domestic
slaves is very little encouraged by the natives; indeed I think myself
justified in supposing that a slave is very rarely allowed to marry.
This is an important circumstance in considering domestic slavery in
Central Africa; for if these domestic slaves do not of themselves
maintain their numbers, then the deficiency arising from ordinary
mortality must constantly be kept up by a new supply, which can only be
obtained by kidnapping or, more generally, by predatory incursions, and
it is this necessity which makes even domestic slavery appear so baneful
and pernicious. The motive for making these observations in this place
was the sight of a band of slaves, whom we met this morning, led on in
two files, and fastened one to the other by a strong rope round the
neck.
Our march was to be but a short one, as we were to pass the remainder of
the day and the following night in Gezáwa; and as it was still long
before noon, and we had the hottest time of the day before us, I was
anxious to encamp outside the town in the shade of some fine tree, but
my escort would not allow me to do so. We therefore entered the town,
which is surrounded with a clay wall in tolerable repair, and moreover
by a small ditch on the outside; but the interior presents a desolate
aspect, only about a third part of the space being occupied by detached
cottages. Here I was lodged in a small hot shíbki (reed hut), and passed
the “éni” most uncomfortably, cursing my companion and all the escorts
in the world, and resolved never again to take up my quarters inside a
town, except where I was to make a stay of some length. I was therefore
delighted, in the course of the afternoon, to hear from the man who had
taken the camels outside the town upon the pasture-ground, that the
sheríf Konché had arrived and sent me his compliments.
I had once seen this man in Kanó, and had been advised to wait for him,
as he was likewise on his way to Kúkawa; but knowing how slow Arabs are,
and little suspecting what a sociable and amiable man he was, I thought
it better to go on; whereupon he, thinking that my company was
preferable to a longer stay, hastened to follow me. To-day, however, I
did not see him, as he had encamped outside the town; still I had
already much reason to thank him, as he had brought back my fickle
runaway servant ʿAbd-Alla, whom after some reprimand, and a promise on
his side to remain with me in future, I took back, as I was very much in
want of a servant. He was a native of the country, a Baháushe with a
little Arab blood in him, and had been reduced to slavery. Afterwards,
in Bórnu, a man claimed him as his property. His mother, who was living
not far from Gérki, was also about this time carried into slavery,
having gone to some village where she was kidnapped. Such things are of
daily occurrence in these countries on the borders of two territories.
The lad’s sister had a similar fate.
The inhabitants of Gezáwa seem to be devoted almost entirely to cattle-
breeding; and in the market which was held to-day (as it is every
Monday) outside the town, nothing else was offered for sale but cattle
and sheep, scarcely a piece of cotton cloth being laid out, and very
little corn. Also round the town there are scarcely any traces of
cultivation. The mayor seemed not to be in very enviable circumstances,
and bore evident traces of sorrow and anxiety; indeed the laziness and
indolence of the governor of Kanó in neglecting the defence of the
wealth and the national riches of his province are incredible, and can
only be tolerated by a liege lord just as lazy and indifferent as
himself. But at that period the country still enjoyed some tranquillity
and happiness, while from the day on which the rebel Bokhári took
possession of Khadéja, as I shall soon have occasion to relate, the
inhabitants of all the eastern part of this beautiful province underwent
daily vexations, so that the towns on this road were quite deserted when
I passed a second time through this country, in December, 1854.
Early next morning we loaded our camels and left the town, in order to
join our new travelling companion, who by this time had also got ready
his little troop. It consisted of himself on horseback, his “sirríya,”
likewise on horseback, three female attendants, six natives, and as many
sumpter oxen. He himself was a portly Arab, with fine, sedate manners,
such as usually distinguish wealthy people of the Gharb (Morocco); for
he was a native of Fás, and though in reality not a sheríf (though the
title of a sheríf in Negroland means scarcely anything but an impudent,
arrogant beggar), yet, by his education and fine, noble character, he
deserved certainly to be called a gentleman. The name “Konché” (Mr.
Sleep) had been given to him by the natives, from his very reasonable
custom of sleeping, or pretending to sleep, the whole day during the
Rhamadán, which enabled him to bear the fasting more easily. His real
name was ʿAbd el Khafíf.