CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF THE HISTORY OF BOʻRNU. 605 sheikh, and employed his authority too exclusively. The results of this unfortunate quarrel I will here report to their end, although they fall after the time of my arrival in Bórnu. I have already observed above that, on leaving Múrzuk, we were informed that a quarrel was about to break out between 'Omár and 'Abd e' Rahmán; but, happily, matters were then adjusted, and the rivalry did not proceed to a civil war before the winter of 1853, when 'Abd e' Rahmán, with his partisans, left Kúkawa and went to Gújebá. The shiekh and his vizier followed him, but being betrayed by many of the courtiers, who were badly disposed against the vizier, they were defeated in an irregular skirmish; and Háj Beshír, certainly with very little show of courage, was the first who turned his back, and, collecting his most valuable treasures, started for Wádáy. Being detained by the Shúwa, who would not allow him to cross the Shárí, he was induced to return to Kúkawa, on safe-conduct being promised to him by 'Abd e' Rahmán, but, having been found guilty of treason, was strangled. 'Omár meanwhile was allowed to reside as a private man in the house of his former vizier till, in the summer of 1854, 'Abd e' Rahmán ordered him to go to reside in Díkowa. He then collected the malcontents, and on the 'Aid el kebir vanquished his brother in the open place between the two towns, and made him prisoner, and in the first days of December killed him. Thus he is once more ruler of the country, but having lost his vizier, upon whose advice he was formerly wont to rely entirely, he has nobody to supply his want of energy. Time will show whether Bórnu is again to flourish under this dynasty, or whether it has to undergo another revolution. From the sequel of my narrative it will sufficiently appear that it is not in such a state as it ought to be; but it has the advantage that all over Negroland there is no warlike and energetic king at the present time. APPENDIX II. ACCOUNT OF THE EASTERN PARTS OF KAʼNEM, FROM NATIVE INFORMATION. IN attempting to give a description of those parts of Kánem which I have not visited myself, I must express my regret that, when in that country, I had no knowledge of the manuscript history of the expeditions of Edrís Alawoma into the same region, as, with the assistance of the rich supply of the important historical as well as geographical data contained in that work, I should have been enabled to give a far more interesting description of the country, and even perhaps to identify the sites of many of its former remarkable places. The former capital of Kánem, as has been seen, was Njímí or Njímiye, a place whose approximate situation will be pointed out hereafter; the present capital, if we may still employ this title in such a country as Kanem is at the present time, is Máwó,* or rather M'awó, a place which already, in the time of Edrís Alawóma, was of great importance. This town, which it was our ardent desire to visit, and which we most probably should have reached if the Welád Slimán had undertaken that expedition, on which we accompanied them, with the whole of their little troop, instead of allowing half of it to go to Kukuwa, seems to be situated about 20 miles S.S.E. from Hénderi Siggesi, and is at present only thinly inhabited, its population probably not exceeding 3000 or 4000, though the circuit of the town is said to be still of considerable magnitude. It is surrounded with a wall, and is adorned with a great many date-trees. It is the residence of a khalifa, whose power is of the most precarious and uncertain condition, as its existence depends entirely on the relative supremacy of either Wádáy or Bórnu. The consequence is, that there are generally two khalifas-one actually in power, and the other watching to expel him at the first opportunity, with the assistance of one of the patronizing powers-Mohammed Saleh, the father of the celebrated King of Wadáy, 'Abd el Kerím Sabún, having succeeded to the pretensions which the Bulála, the princes of the provinces of Fittrí and Kúka (then swallowed by the empire of Wáday), possessed by conquest over the kingdom of Kánem. But, to return to M'awo, there is a market held in the town every Wednesday; but, on account of the very insecure state of the country, it can not possibly be now of any great importance. The inhabitants seem to belong to a peculiar race; معوا The name is written in Arabic in very different ways, the MS. account of the expeditions of Edris sometimes having the form at others; but the real indigenous form seems to be M'awó, a name exactly similar to G'awó, that of the capital of the Sónghay empire, and Yawo, the residence of the Bulála princes. It is not improbable that, by corruption, the name Mátán, which by E′bn S'aid and Abú 'l Fedá (p. 162) is given to a well-known place in Kánem, has originated in the name of M'awó, although they place it close on the shore of the Tsád (bahiret Kúri), and north from Njimiye. M'AWO' AND ITS NEIGHBORHOOD. 607 for the Tedá Gur'aán call them by the name of Beránema, the origin and meaning of which I was not able to make out with certainty, but which may seem to have some connection with the name Bórnu, although it can scarcely have any relation to the name Berauni, given to the Tedá themselves by the Kél-owi and other foreigners. Between M'awó and Hénderi Síggesi there appear to be several favored valleys, where the date-tree grows in more or less abundance. The most famous are the large valley called Kárafu or Kárfu, a few miles from M'awó, under the authority of Keghamma Gurde, who succeeded to Keghámma Sintal; on the west side of Kárfu, at a short distance from it, Yégi; and not far from it the valley Badanga, stated to be very rich in date-trees, and Kédalá, belonging to the chief Chéfandé;* then the valleys Hamáji (belonging to Fúgo?), Gáltará, and Mápal. The valley of Mápal is said to form the limit of the date-tree in that direction. On the west side of M'awó is likewise an inhabited place called Kajídi, but without date-trees. The upper part of the valley Gésgi, which is said to stretch from south to north, is called Télerí-Chemó, and is the dwelling-place of the Shiri, to whom belong the Fugábú (or, as the name is often pronounced, Fógubó†) Shírí, who are the inveterate enemies of the Woghda, the inhabitants of Gésgi. In this neighborhood is also a valley called Lillowa. North from M'awó, at no great distance from Aláli, toward the east, is the place Kulakulá, inhabited likewise by Kánembú. How Beráda, a place stated to be also on the north side of M'awó, and to be inhabited by a tribe called Kemálla, who are under the authority of a keghámma, is situated in relation to these places, I am unable to say. In various valleys on the same side of M'awó are also stated to be the dwelling-places of the Médelé, a nomadic tribe who possess a great many herds and flocks. In this neighborhood is also the valley called Gúmsa, inhabited by a Tebu tribe called Gúmsuwa, and who seem to be different from the Gúmsu mentioned further on. E.N.E. from M'awó are the inhabited places Kammegrí and Jugó, inhabited by a peculiar tribe called El M'allemín by the Arabs. What their indigenous name is I did not learn; they are most probably identical with the tribe called Haddáda, whose original name is Búngu. The dwelling-places of the Shitati are very numerous, and at a greater distance west from M'awó: several of them, indeed, we visited, such as Yégil, Aghó (formerly an important place, of great antiquity), Arnánko, Burkadrússo, Bóró. Besides these, the following are the most renowned places of their temporary residence: Bérindé, Línkero, Kinti, Hedérke, Din, Géringé, Tyíro, Kulla, Laríska, two different places called Núnku, Kaú or Kó, Lishegó, Kélemrí, Delé, Tawáder, Géno, Lérgeji, Yiggela, Maina, Yíggu, Yakúlge, Bágalé,‡ Búni, Chánga, Nduró, Lódoré, two places with the name Kiyala (with one of which we shall soon become acquainted as Gharni Kiyála), Bolleli, Kúttuwa, My, Kájiró, A ́ddufó, Yeró. I now proceed southward from M'awó toward the southeastern border of Lake In this last statement there may be some error. May the name Fúgó, Fugábú, have any connection with the tribe of the Fúgu mentioned by Masúdi (Golden Meadows, chap. xxxiii., p. 138, MS. transl. R. Asiatic Society)? ✦ Bágalé is certainly an interesting example of the homonymy of African names in distant countries. Tsád, the interior basin of which being tolerably well established by Mr. Overweg's navigation, its outline can be laid down according to these data with a great deal of approximative accuracy, though it is certainly much to be regretted that we did not succeed in reaching this district ourselves, and deciding the principal points by ocular demonstration. Day. I. ITINERARY FROM M'Awó to Tághghel, DIRECTLY SOUTH. 1st. Royendú, a place inhabited by a peculiar tribe of Tedá or Tebu, called Vgýgim. 2d. Belangara, a place inhabited by the Dibberi, who speak the Kanúri language,* and are said to be the original tribe of the Fugábú. Arrive before the heat of the day. 3d. Ghala, a considerable village of huts inhabited by the Kúbberi or Kobber, who speak the Kanúri language. 4th. Jékeré, a place at present inconsiderable, but once of large size, inhabited by the Kánku (identical with the Kúnkuná?), a tribe or section of the Kánembú. 5th. Arrive, before the heat is great, at the well Lefádu, without inhabitants, make a short halt, and reach Mailo, a place with a lake full of fish, and inhabited by a peculiar tribe called Haddada or Búngu, who are said to speak the Kanúri language, but go almost naked, being only clothed with a leather wrapper round their loins, and are armed with bows and arrows and the góliyó. They are very expert bowmen, and, when attacked, withdraw into the dense forests of their district (to which seems to apply the general name of Bárí), and know well how to defend their independence in politics as well as in religion-for they are pagans. To them belong the famous clan called, at least by the Welád Slimán, Dwárda Hájra. A celebrated town of the Haddáda is Dímári, the residence of Malá Díma. In Bárí there is a market held every Thursday, as it seems, in that part of it which is nearest to M'awó. In 1853 the Welád Slimán made a strict alliance with the Haddáda, and in consequence defeated, in their woody district, the officer of Wádáy, called Agid el Bahr. For the general outlines of this little-known region, the following itinerary from Kusuri to M'awó, according to the Kánemma chief A'msakay, is of great importance: 2d. Sleep near Káú Abúddala, a rocky eminence near the lake (see 4th. Bárí, a large place or district formerly under the authority of the From the origin of the people the name of the place is probably derived; for Bille Ngáre is the name which the inhabitants of Logón give to the Kanúri. ROUTE FROM BERI' TO TAʼGHGHEL. 609 Day. Day. 5th. Dímári, a considerable place belonging to Díma, called by A'msakay a vice-governor of Kánem. 6th. Gúmsu, a place situated in a valley rich in date-trees, inhabited by Kánembú and Shuwa. 7th. Mandó or Mondó, a large market-place, formerly under the Khalifa of Bórnu. 8th. M'awó. 6th. Tághghel, a place situated on the border of the lagoon, and inhabited by the Kajidi, who cultivate a good deal of corn, and have large herds of camels. Arrive before the heat of the day. If agreeable, you can go on from Jékeré without stopping, and reach Tághghel the same day at sunset. N.B.-The direction of all the wádiyán or valleys which you cross on this route is from west to east. II. FROM BERÍ TO TAGHGHEL, GOING ALONG THE BORDER OF THE Lake. 1st. Kólogo. 2d. Késkawa, inhabited by the Kúbberi, with much cultivation of corn, principally "masr" (Zea maïs), besides beans; much cattle. There was formerly also a village or district Késkawa on the southern shore of the lake, one day from Ngála. 3d. Kóskodó. 4th. Talgin, a considerable open village. At no great distance from this place is a valley with date-trees. A man on foot can easily reach Talgín in two days from Berí, sleeping in Késkawa. From Talgin the direct road leads to M'awó in three days: 1st. Mánigá, a place inhabited by Tebu and Kánembú, and situated, as it seems, on a creek of the lake. 2d. A village inhabited by Tebu, under the authority of Kashélla Bacha, with a market of some importance, where a great many dates are sold. 3d. Reach M'awó at sunset, after having passed the heat in an open valley-plain with date-trees. 5th. Vuli or Fúli. From here another route leads to M'awó. 6th. Kúnunú. 7th. Kánaná. 8th. Forrom, a place on terra firma, not to be confounded with the island of the same name. 9th. Ngillewá. 10th. Medí. 11th. Tághghel. I will here only just mention that Tághghel can not be identical with Denham's Tangalia, because the latter was situate about one day's journey south (see Denham, vol. i., p. 265*), or rather S.W. from the Bahr el Ghazál, and Tághghel lies a day and a half to the north of it. • In this passage, however, it seems almost as if there were a misunderstanding, "in a day" instead of "once." VOL. II.-Q 9 |