private individuals who have more than a thousand slaves. In this
respect the governor of the whole province is not the most powerful man,
being outstripped by the governors of Chámba and Kóncha—for this reason,
that Mohammed Lowel has all his slaves settled in rúmde or slave-
villages, where they cultivate grain for his use or profit, while the
above-mentioned officers, who obtain all their provision in corn from
subjected pagan tribes, have their whole host of slaves constantly at
their disposal; and I have been assured that some of the head slaves of
these men have as many as a thousand slaves each under their command,
with whom they undertake occasional expeditions for their masters. I
have been assured also that Mohammed Lowel receives every year in
tribute, besides horses and cattle, about five thousand slaves, though
this seems a large number.
The country of Fúmbiná is about two hundred miles long in its greatest
extent, running from south-west to north-east, while its shortest
diameter seems to reach from north-west to south-east, and scarcely ever
exceeds seventy or eighty miles; but this territory is as yet far from
being entirely subjected to the Mohammedan conquerors, who in general
are only in possession of detached settlements, while the intermediate
country, particularly the more mountainous tracts, are still in the
hands of the pagans. The people in this part of the country are engaged
in constant warfare. While the country north from the Bénuwé, between
Yóla and Hamárruwa, is entirely independent, and inhabited by warlike
pagan tribes, the best-subjected tract seems to be that between the
Wándalá and the Músgu country, where the settlements of the conquering
tribe are very compact. I must observe, however, that I am not quite
clear as to the exact manner in which those distant settlements are
dependent on the governor of Ádamáwa. That part of the country seems to
deserve a great deal of interest, and to be destined to become a
province by itself. It is sometimes designated by the special name of
“Jemmára,” a name certainly of general import, and meaning nothing but
“the congregation”—a corruption, in short, of Jemmáʿa.
The country is certainly one of the finest of Central Africa, irrigated
as it is by numerous rivers, among which the Bénuwé and the Fáro are the
most important, and being diversified with hill and dale. In general,
however, it is flat, rising gradually towards the south, from an
elevation[128] of about eight hundred feet, along the middle course of
the Bénuwé, to fifteen hundred feet or more, and broken by separate
hills or more extensive groups of mountains; but, as far as I know,
there is not here a single example of large mountain masses. Mount
Alantíka, of which I had a fine view from several points, though at a
considerable distance, is considered as the most massive and elevated
mountain in the whole country; and this is an entirely detached
mountain, at the utmost fifty miles in circumference, and elevated
certainly not more than eight thousand five hundred or nine thousand
feet above the plain from which it rises. No doubt the Bénuwé may be
presumed to have its sources in a mountainous tract of country; but of
the uppermost course of this river I was not able to obtain the least
information, while have been able to lay down its lower course with
great approximative certainty.[129] Yet, although the elevation of the
country is in general the same, the nature of the different districts
varies greatly: thus in Chámba, apparently on account of the
neighbourhood of Mount Alantíka, which attracts the clouds, the rainy
season is said to set in as early as January, so that by the end of
April or beginning of May the first crop is ripe, while in Yóla, and in
the country in general, the rains rarely begin before March.
The grain most commonly grown in the country is _Holcus sorghum_; but in
this respect also there is a great difference between the districts.
Thus, the country of the Mbúm round Ngáundere scarcely produces anything
but rógo, or yams, which form the daily, and almost sole food of the
inhabitants. Meat is so dear there that a goat will often fetch the
price of a female slave. Ground-nuts (_Arachis hypogæa_) are plentiful
both in the eastern and the western districts. A tolerable quantity of
cotton, called “póttolo” in Ádamáwa, is cultivated; but indigo or
“chachári” is very rare, and is hardly cultivated anywhere but in Saráwu
and Máruwa; and this is very natural, as the Fúlbe do not value coloured
shirts.
With regard to exuberance of vegetation, Tibáti seems to be one of the
richest places; there both kinds of the banana, or ayabáje, the gonda,
or papaya, “dukúje,” several species of the gúro tree, the _Pandanus_,
the _Kajilia_, the monkey-bread tree, or _Adansonia_, the “rími,” or
_Bombax_, and numerous other kinds are found. Of the palm tribe, the
deléb-palm, or gigiña, and the _Elaïs Guineensis_, are frequent, but
strictly limited to certain localities, while the date-tree (called by
the Fúlbe of Ádamáwa by the beautiful name “tannedaráje[130]”) is very
rare, and, except a few specimens in Yóla and Búndang, scarcely to be
met with. Among the bushes, the _Palma Christi_, or _Ricinus_, is
extremely common. Altogether, the predominant tree in the southern
provinces of Ádamáwa seems to be the banana. There are hot springs in
the country of the Bakr Yemyem, about three days south from Kóncha,
which are said to issue from the west foot of a mountain stretching from
east to west, and to have a very high temperature; the water is reported
to be palatable.
Of animals, the elephant is exceedingly frequent, not only the black or
grey, but also a yellow species. The rhinoceros is often met with, but
only in the eastern part of the country. East from the Bénuwé the wild
bull is very common. The most singular animal seems to be the ayú, which
lives in the river, and in some respects resembles the seal[131]; it
comes out of the river in the night, and feeds on the fresh grass
growing on its banks.
With regard to domestic animals, cattle were evidently introduced by the
Fúlbe some two or three hundred years ago. There is an indigenous
variety of ox, but quite a distinct species, not three feet high, and of
dark-grey colour; this is called máturú. The native horse is small and
feeble; the best horses are brought from the northern districts, chiefly
from Úba.
I now proceed to mention the names of the most powerful Fúlbe governors
of the country, to which I shall subjoin a list of the native tribes,
over which the conquerors are gradually extending their sway, and which
they may even partially succeed in exterminating. Of those who are bound
to the governor of Ádamáwa in due allegiance—that is to say, who send
him a certain present and assist him in his warlike expeditions, the
governors of Chámba and Kóncha take the first rank. The present governor
of Chámba, Ámba (properly Mohammed) Sámbo, who is now a very old man,
has made himself extremely famous by his daring and distant expeditions,
and more especially that to the Íbo country and to Mbáfu, which he
undertook three years ago, and through which he has succeeded in
extending not only the influence, but even the dominion of the
conquerors, in a certain degree, as far as the Bight of Benín. I have
some reason to suspect that it was partly owing to this expedition,
which brought the Fúlbe into contact with tribes on the coast, who, on
account of their dress, furniture, and many of their customs, were
regarded by them as Christians, that Mohammed Lowel looked upon my
presence with distrust; for there were still some hundreds of slaves of
those so-called Christian tribes scattered over Ádamáwa. Mohammed dan
Jóbdi also, the governor of Kóncha, has made some very interesting
expeditions, the itineraries of some of which I shall give in the
Appendix.
More powerful certainly than these two, and in a state of quasi-
dependence on the governor of Yóla only, though at present in open
hostility with him, is Búba, the governor of Búbanjídda. The name of
this province also is entirely new, and is formed in a very remarkable
way, being compounded of the name of the conqueror himself (Búba) and of
that of his mother (Jídda). Búbanjídda is an extensive province,
including the districts on the upper course of the Bénuwé; and its
capital is called Ray-Búba. The governor is so powerful that, having in
vain solicited the Emír el Múmenín, his sovereign lord, to make him a
chief vassal, like the governor of Hamárruwa, so as to be independent of
the governor of Ádamáwa, he has placed himself in open opposition to
both. It is also very remarkable that Ray-Búba (that is to say, the town
which at present bears this name) was, with the exception of Tibáti, the
only walled town which the Fúlbe found in the country; and it took them
three months of continual fighting to get possession of it. I have
already mentioned, in another place, that this country produces the best
sort of iron; and it is not improbable that the more warlike spirit of
its inhabitants, the Dáma, is in some degree connected with this
circumstance.
Less powerful than the three governors just mentioned, but nevertheless
mighty vassals, and most of them valiant champions of the faith, are the
following chiefs: Bákari (properly Bú-Bakr), governor of Ribágo, north
from Búbanjídda; Ardo Badéshi, governor of the territories of the Falí;
Mʿallem Sudé, governor of Holma; Mʿallem Hámma, governor of Song; the
governor of Súmmo[132]; Mahmúd, governor of Kílba; Mʿallem Dáuraka,
governor of the large settlement of Máruwa or Marba; Mʿallem Yúsufa, the
pious old governor of Bínder; Mʿallem Ádama, the dashing governor of
Agúrma in the territory of the Dáma; Ardo ʿOmáro, seignior of Sabóngi,
near Búbanjídda; Mʿallem Mústafa, the pious old lord of Míndif; Ardo
Gári, the energetic and learned master of Bógo, whose people joined the
Bórnu army on the expedition to Músgu which I shall describe in the
succeeding volume; the lord of Kafta-Báudi; Húrsu, or Khúrsu, master of
Pédde or Fétte.
The dominion of the Fúlbe is generally centred in single settlements,
which are of various descriptions, comprising not only large towns,
where a numerous host of these intruders, and a powerful chief, reside,
but also more private settlements, such as country seats of governors,
“ribádo” or “ribágo;” seats of mere petty chiefs, or “jóro;” farm
villages, or “úro;” slave villages, or “rúmde.” But the Fúlbe are
continually advancing, as they have not to do with one strong enemy, but
with a number of small tribes without any bond of union. It remains to
be seen whether it be their destiny to colonize this fine country for
themselves, or in the course of time to be disturbed by the intrusion of
Europeans. It is difficult to decide how a Christian government is to
deal with these countries, where none but Mohammedans maintain any sort
of government. It cannot be denied that they alone here succeed in
giving to distant regions a certain bond of unity, and in making the
land more accessible to trade and intercourse.
The most numerous among the native tribes, as I have already stated
above, are the Bátta, whose prince, Kókomi, was previous to the conquest
of the Fúlbe the most powerful chief in the country. They are divided
into several great families, speaking also various dialects, which in
some cases differ from each other very widely, and are closely related
to the Marghí.[133] Many of the names of their districts serve to
designate the territories as well as the tribes settled in them, of
which several are still entirely independent of the Fúlbe.
The Bátta inhabit not only all the country on the middle course of the
Bénuwé and along the Fáro for some distance beyond Mount Alantíka, but
also the whole region north from these rivers as far as the southern
boundaries of Bórnu. It is in their language that the river has received
the name Bé-noë, or Bé-nuwé, meaning “the Mother of Waters.”
The tribe which ranks next in numbers and importance is the Falí,
settled between the upper course of the Bénuwé and the southern
provinces of Bagírmi, of whose families and territories (the same name
generally indicating both) I learnt the following names: Safaláwa,
Yamyam (probably not an original name), Gidér, Débba; Múndam, with the
chief place Lére, the residence of the powerful pagan prince (kówa)
Gónshomé; Mámbay, Dáma, Láme, Láka, Durú, Nánigí, not far east from
Chámba, and Bóka. Their idiom seems to be quite distinct from that of
the Bátta; but it shows some affinity with other neighbouring
tongues.[134] Among the few people belonging to this tribe with whom I
came into contact, I observed some of very light colour. Then follow the
Mbúm, living to the south from the Bátta and south-west from the Falí,
and partly subjected, the Fúlbe conquerors being principally established
in the place called Ngáundere. There is another large place, called
Bére. As separate divisions of the Mbúm, I learnt the names of the
Máiwa, Wúna, and Buté. South-east from the Mbúm live the Yángeré, and
still further on in that direction the Báya. In what relation the
Chámba, after whom the large place at the southern foot of Mount
Alantíka is called, stand to the above-named tribes, I cannot say. The
Chámba are said to have driven from these seats the Kóttofo, who dwell
at present further south. Then there are several other tribes, ranked by
my informants as separate nations, the independence or relation of which
to the rest I am not able to determine, as I have not obtained specimens
of their languages. These are the Holma, the Zummáwa, the Gudá, the
Kílba, Honá, Búza, the Bá, Múchelár, Hína, Búla, Múkubá[135], all of
whom live in the mountainous region to the south-west from Mount Míndif,
and no doubt are partially cognate with other tribes; but in order to
group them it is necessary to collect specimens of their languages.
Around Ádamáwa, partly within, partly beyond its boundaries, but in a
certain degree of subjection, are the following tribes: the Tikár (by
this name at least they are called by the Fúlbe, though they have,
probably, another name for themselves, as by this they do not seem to be
known near the coast[136]), the Yétem, the Dókaka, the Batí, a tribe of
rather light colour, the Dáka, the Wére, the Díngding (partly armed with
muskets, and regarded by the Fúlbe as Christians), the Mbáfu. Then the
Wága, the Yángur, and the Róba. With most of these tribes the reader
will be brought into nearer contact by the itineraries subjoined in the
Appendix, where I shall have occasion to add a few remarks with regard
to information obtained by Europeans near the coast. Here, however, it
will be not without interest to compare with this list of tribes the
following list of languages spoken in Ádamáwa which Mohámmedu gave me:
Battanchi[137]; Damanchi, the idiom spoken in the province of
Búbanjídda; Falanchi; Bumanchi, or perhaps more correctly Mbumanchi, the
language of the Mbúm and of the people of Báya; Butanchi; Tekarchi;
Mundanchi; Marghanchi[138]; Kilbanchi; Yangurchi; Gudanchi; Chambanchi;
Kotofanchi; Weranchi; Duranchi; Wokanchi; Toganchi; Lekamchi; Parparchi;
Kankamchi; Nyangeyárechi; Musganchi[138]; Mandaranchi[138], or rather
“Ára Wándalá”; Gizaganchi; Rumanchi; Giderchi; Dabanchi; Hinanchi;
Muturwanchi; Zinanchi; Zaninchi; Momoyëenchi; Faninchi, the idiom of
Fani, the dominion of Hajji Ghálebu; Nyaganchi; Dewanchi; Lallanchi;
Doganchi; Longodanchi.[139]
[Footnote 123: With regard to the Fúlbe, the prayers of dhohor
(“zúhura,” or “sallifánna”) may rightly be called mid-day prayers, as
they are accustomed to pray as soon as the zawál has been observed. But
in general it would be wrong to call dhohor noon, as is very often done;
for none of the other Mohammedans in this part of the world will say his
dhohor prayer before two o’clock P.M. at the very earliest, and
generally not before three o’clock.]
[Footnote 124: Lowel is most probably a name belonging to the Fulfúlde
language, although in writing with Arabic letters it is spelt الاول as
if it were of Arabic origin, and meant “the first.”]
[Footnote 125: Although ʿAlíyu, the present Emír el Múmenín, resides in
Wúrno, nevertheless Sókoto is still regarded as the official capital of
the empire.]
[Footnote 126: Ádamáwa is certainly not quite identical with Fúmbiná, as
it denotes only those regions of the latter which have been conquered by
the Fúlbe, while many parts are as yet unsubdued.]
[Footnote 127: With regard to salt, I will observe, that the greater
part of it is brought from Búmánda on the Bénuwé, near Hamárruwa, where
it seems to be obtained from the soil in the same way as I shall
describe the salt-boiling in Fóga in the fourth volume, although in
Búmánda there is no valley-formation, and Mr. Vogel, who lately visited
this place, may be right in stating that the salt is merely obtained
from ashes by burning the grass which grows in that locality.]
[Footnote 128: It is a great pity that the members of the Bénuwé
expedition were not able to measure the elevation of the river at the
furthest point reached. My thermometer for measuring the boiling-point
of water was so deranged, that my observation at the Tépe is without any
value. Till further observations have been made, I think it may be
assumed to be from 800 to 850 feet.]
[Footnote 129: It would be rather more appropriate to give the name of
Lower Bénuwé to that part of the river below, and that of Upper Bénuwé
to the part above the confluence, than to call Upper Bénuwé the part of
the river visited by Dr. Baikie.]
[Footnote 130: This name is evidently connected with that of the
_Balanites_, which they call “tanní;” and several Negro nations compare
the date with the fruit of that tree.]
[Footnote 131: Mr. Vogel, who has succeeded in obtaining a sight of this
animal, found that it is a Mammal like the Manatus Senegalensis. The
South African rivers also have these Mammals, and the ayú is not less
frequent in the Ísa near Timbúktu than it is in the Bénuwé.]
[Footnote 132: Súmmo, situated between Holma and Song.]
[Footnote 133: They are settled in the following places:—Song; Démsa,
comprising Démsa-Póha and Démsa-Mésu, which most picturesque places I
shall soon describe on my journey back to Kúkawa; Sulléri, Bundáng,
Gáruwa, Villáchi, Surkólchi[a], Kanáda, Áfong, Táwi, Sedíri, Boróngo,
Fáwe, Hólchi, Gírbu, Kárin, Béfate, Géllefo, Fúro, Béngo, Búlkuto,
Kóngchi, Yógo, Ganta, Bágelé, Bírgené, Yébbolewó, or Yébborewó, Dásin,
Réddo, Geré, Kéddemé, Ndóng, Lawáru, Bang, Báchama, Bulla, Záni, Boy,
Kirréngabó, Bólki, Murbáya, Ferma, Bólimbé, Alantíka, Komro, Malábu,
Mubákko, Kúrachi, Wóko.]
[Footnote a: These terminations in chi certainly do not seem to be
indigenous.]
[Footnote 134: The numbers “three” (tan) and “four” (nan) seem to point
to the Fulfúlde as well as to the Kaffir languages.]
[Footnote 135: It is probable that this tribe is indicated by the مكبا
of Makrízi (Hamaker, _Spec. Catal._ p. 206.), although there are several
other localities of the same name.]
[Footnote 136: Probably their real name is Tikʿa. See Appendix.]
[Footnote 137: The termination nchí, is nothing but the Songhay word ki,
which in several dialects is pronounced as chí, and means “language.” On
account of this termination being added to the original name, I have
purposely not marked the accents in this list.]
[Footnote 138: The languages thus marked are spoken only partly in
Ádamáwa, the tribes to whom they are peculiar being for the greatest
part independent.]
[Footnote 139: In the Appendix will be found a collection of
itineraries, which, written down with accuracy from the mouth of the
natives, will give a sufficient idea of the various districts of the
country.]
CHAP. XXXVII.
MY JOURNEY HOME FROM ÁDAMÁWA.
Having made these few remarks with regard to the interesting work of
conquest and colonization which is going on in Ádamáwa, I now return to
my quarters in Ribágo, in order to carry the reader with me on my
journey back from that country to Kúkawa.
[Sidenote: Wednesday, June 25th.]
Our luggage had been so wetted on the preceding afternoon, while
crossing the máyo Bínti, that we were obliged to stay in Ribágo the
whole morning, in order to dry it. The horseman who had escorted me out
of the town had returned; and in his stead Ibrahíma, with a companion on
foot, had made his appearance with orders from the governor to escort me
to the very frontiers of the country. In order to render him a more
sociable companion, I thought it well to make him a present of a
túrkedí. My mʿallem had not come along with us; and I could not be angry
with him for not desiring to return to Kúkawa, where he had been
detained against his will. The horse on which I had mounted him he had
well deserved for his trouble. Ibrahíma told me that Katúri had come
after me as far as Yébborewó, thinking that I would pass the night
there, but that the governor would not let him go further.
Before starting in the afternoon, I made our landlady, the wife of the
Ardo of Ribágo, very happy by a few presents, as an acknowledgment of
her hospitality in having twice entertained us in her house. After a
short march of a few miles, we took up our quarters for the night in
Duló, where the landlord, who a few days ago had been deprived of his
office of mayor, received us at first rather unkindly, but afterwards
assigned me a splendid hut, where the ganga or large drum, the ensign of
his former authority, was still hanging from the wall. I was greatly in
want of rest, and was obliged to keep my head always wet, and to abstain
entirely from food.
[Sidenote: Thursday, June 26th.]
I thought we should certainly cross the Bénuwé to-day; but, as if in
defiance of the governor of the country, Bíllama desired to move on as
slowly as possible, and took us to our well-known quarters in
Chabajáure. But this slow progress was certainly better for me, as I had
this day arrived at a crisis, and was dreadfully weak. Taking small
doses of quinine the whole of the afternoon, I strengthened myself for
the next day’s work, when after five miles’ march we reached the Tépe.
[Sidenote: Friday, June 27th.]
The Fáro had only risen a little more than twenty inches since the
18th—that is to say, two inches and a half per day; nevertheless we had
great difficulty in fording it. The Bénuwé had risen more rapidly; and
of course in July both rivers rise at a very different rate. When the
rainy season is at its height, the sandy beach of the headland at the
junction is almost completely under water; and this was the case with
our old place of embarkation on the northern bank of the Bénuwé, so that
I was obliged to creep up the steep bank.
In order to withstand the fatigue, I continued taking quinine the whole
day long, and was glad when in the evening we reached Sulléri, where, to
my astonishment, we were this time exceedingly well received. The mayor
of the place would not allow me to start the following day, although my
camels were already laden, and a beautiful fine morning invited us to
travel. After a good deal of resistance I at length gave way to his
entreaties, under the condition that he would construct for me a cool
shed wherein to spend the heat of the day; and in twenty minutes a lofty
hall had risen from the earth. Thus I spent the day very comfortably;
and although I was unable to alleviate the pains suffered by my host
from an arrow-wound in one of his eyes, or to give him a charm to
prevent the death of his cattle, I was so fortunate as to effect a
splendid cure on one of his sons, which procured me great fame.
[Sidenote: Saturday, June 29th.]