THE SULTAN SETS OUT ON HIS EXPEDITION. 109 sultan's seal, which, on the whole, was composed in very handsome terms, stating that the prince had granted the request of commercial security for English merchants and travelers, which I, as a messenger of the Queen of England, had made to him. But the letter not specifying any conditions, I was obliged to ask for another paper, written in more distinct terms; and although 'Alíyu's time was, of course, very limited, as he was just about to set out with his army, even my last request was complied with, and I declared myself satisfied. I was well aware how extremely difficult it is to make these people understand the forms of the articles in which European governments are wont to conclude commercial treaties. In regions like this, however, it seems almost as if too much time ought not to be lost on account of such a matter of form before it is well established whether merchants will really open a traffic with these quarters; for as soon as, upon the general condition of security, an intercourse is really established, the rulers of those countries themselves become aware that some more definite arrangement is necessary, while, before they have any experience of intercourse with Europeans, the form of the articles in which treaties are generally conceived fills them with the utmost suspicion and fear, and may be productive of the worst consequences to any one who may have to conclude such a treaty. The sultan was kind enough, before he left in the afternoon, to send me word that I might come and take leave of him; and I wished him, with all my heart, success in his expedition, as the success of my own undertaking, namely, my journey toward the west, partly depended upon his vanquishing his enemies. Giving vent to his approval of my wishes by repeating that important and highly significant word, not more peculiar to the Christian than to the Mohammedan creed, "Amín, amín," he took leave of me in order to start on his expedition, accompanied only by a small detachment of cavalry, most of the troops having already gone on in advance. I had also forwarded a present to Hámmedu, the son of 'Atíku, an elder brother and predecessor of Bello; but he sent it back to me, begging me to keep it until after his return from the expedition. The ghaladíma also, who was to accompany the sultan, called before his departure, in order that I might wind round his head a turban of gaudy colors, such as I then possessed, as an omen of success. After all the people were gone, I myself could not think of passing another night in this desolate place, which is not only ex posed to the attacks of men, but even to those of wild beasts. Even the preceding night the hyenas had attacked several people, and had almost succeeded in carrying off a boy, besides severely lacerating one man, who was obliged to return home without being able to accompany the army. An hour, therefore, after the sultan had left his encampment, we ourselves were on our road to Wurnó, the common residence of 'Alíyu, where I had been desired to take up my quarters in the house of the ghaladíma; but I never made a more disagreeable journey, short as it was, the provisions which the sultan had given me encumbering us greatly, so that at length we were obliged to give away the heifer as a present to the inhabitants of the village of Gáwasú. It thus happened that we did not reach our quarters till late in the evening; and we had a great deal of trouble in taking possession of them in the dark, having been detained a long time at the gateway, which itself was wide and spacious, but which was obstructed by a wooden door, while there was no open square at all inside the gate, nor even a straight road leading up from thence into the town, the road immediately dividing and winding close along the wall. CHAPTER LVII. RESIDENCE IN WURNÓ. I SHALL preface the particulars of my residence in Wurnó with a short account of the growth of the power of the Fúlbe or Féllani in this quarter, and of the present condition of the empire of Sókoto. There is no doubt that, if any African tribe deserves the full attention of the learned European, it is that of the Fúlbe (sing. Púllo), or Fúla, as they are called by the Mandingoes; Féllani (sing. Baféllanchi) by the Hausa people, Felláta by the Kanúri, and Fullán by the Arabs. In their appearance, their history, and the peculiar character of their language, they present numerous anomalies to the inhabitants of the adjacent countries. No doubt they are the most intelligent of all the African tribes, although in bodily development they can not be said to exhibit the most perfect specimens, and probably are surpassed in this respect by the Jolof. But it is their superior intelligence which gives their chief expression to the Fúlbe, and prevents their features from present ORIGIN OF THE FULBE. 111 ing that regularity which we find in other tribes, while the spare diet of a large portion of that tribe does not impart to their limbs all the development of which they are capable, most of them being distinguished by the smallness of their limbs and the slender growth of their bodies. But as to their outward appearance, which presents various contrasts in complexion as well as in bodily development, we must first take into account that the Fúlbe, as a conquering tribe, sweeping over a wide expanse of provinces, have absorbed and incorporated with themselves different and quite distinct national elements, which have given to their community a rather varying and undecided character. Moreover, besides such tribes as have been entirely absorbed, and whose origin has even been referred to the supposed ancestors of the whole nation, there are others which, although their pedigree is not brought into so close a connection with that of the Fúlbe, nevertheless are so intermingled with them that they have quite forgotten their native idiom, and might be confounded with the former by any traveler who is not distinctly aware of the fact. Prominent among these latter are the Sissílbe, as they call themselves, or Syllebáwa, as they are called in Hausa, whom I shall have occasion to mention on my visit to Sókoto, and who are nothing but a portion of the numerous tribe of the Wákoré or Wangarawa, to whom belong also the Súsu and the so-called Mandingoes; and while that portion of them who are settled in Hausa have entirely forgotten their native idiom, and have adopted, besides the Fulfulde language, even the Hausa dialect, their brethren in the more western province of Zaberma use their own idiom at the present time almost exclusively. On the other hand, foremost among those tribes who have been entirely absorbed by the community of the Fúlbe are the Toróde or Torunkawa, who, although they are considered as the most noble portion of the population in most of the kingdoms founded by the Fúlbe, yet evidently owe their origin to a mixture of the Jolof element with the ruling tribe,* and in such a manner that, in point of numbers, the former enjoyed full superiority in the amalgamation; but it is quite evident that, even if we do not take into account the Toróde, the Jolof have entered into the formation * It is, however, remarkable that, according to Sultan Bello's account, in a passage not translated by Silame, the original idiom of the Tórode was the Wákoro or Wakoré, which, if it be true, would render the Toróde the near kinsfolk of the Sissilbe. of the remarkable tribe of the Fúlbe or Fúla in a very strong proportion, although the languages of these two tribes at present are so distinct, especially as far as regards grammatical structure; and it is highly interesting that A'hmed Bábá (who, by occasional hints, allows us to form a much better idea of the progress of that tribe, in its spreading over tracts so immense, than we were able to obtain before we became acquainted with his history of Súdán) intimates distinctly that he regards the Jolof as belonging to the great stock of the Fullán or Fúlbe,* although at the present time. the terms "Jolof" and "Púllo" seem to be used in opposition, the one meaning a person of black, and the other an individual of red complexion. It is this element of the Toróde in particular which causes such a great variety in the type of the Fúlbe community, the Toróde being in general of tall stature and strong frame, large features, and of very black complexion, while the other sections of that tribe are always distinguished by a tinge of red or copper color. But besides the Toróde, who, as I have said, in most cases as well in Fúta as in Sókoto, at present form the ruling aristocracy, there are many other nationalities which have been absorbed in this great conquering nation, and which, on the contrary, are rather degraded. The most interesting among these latter, at least in the more eastern tracts occupied by the Fúlbe, are certainly the Jawámbe, as they are called by the Fúlbe, but rather, as they call themselves, Zoghorán, or, as they are named by the Hausa people, Zoromáwa. This tribe, which we find at present quite absorbed by the Féllani, and, at least in the provinces of Háusa and Kébbi, reduced to the occupation of mere brokers, we still find, during the period of the A'skia, that is to say, in the sixteenth century of our era, quite distinct from the community of the Fúlbe or Féllani, as a tribe by themselves, settled to the S.E. of the Great Riv er, where it enters the province of Másina;† and it was this tribe which, having been continually persecuted by the Songhay during the height of their sway, at a later period, when that empire had been laid prostrate by the musketeers of Morocco, contributed the *He says of the Jolof that their character is distinguished greatly from that of the other Fullán or Fulbe: و طبایعهم تر این طبایع سایر الفلانيون See Journal of the Leipsic Oriental Soc., ix., p. 536. + Ahmed Bábá in J. L. Q. S., p. 550, 555, and elsewhere. DIFFERENT NATIONALITIES. 113 most to its ruin, and conquered great part of it, particularly the most fertile provinces, such as Bára and Kármina. Nearly the same character distinguishes the tribe of the Laúbe on the Senegal, who, in general, at the present time have been reduced to the rank of carpenters, but, nevertheless, at a former period evidently constituted a distinct tribe.* It is these degraded tribes-viz., besides those above-mentioned, the Mábube or Mábe, considered in general as weavers; the Gergasábe, or shoemakers; the Waílube, or tailors; the Wambaibe, or singing men; the Waúlube, or beggars—who impart to the community of the Fúlbe the character of a distinction into castes, especially as all of them, in the imaginary pedigree of the Púllo stock, have been carried back to one common progenitor called Só; but we find the same degraded families among the Jolof.† The absorbing of these western tribes, especially the Jolof and Wákoré by the Fulfulde nation, furnishes at the same time an unquestionable and unmistakable proof that the march of conquest of the latter proceeded from west to east, and not in an opposite direction, as has been the generally adopted view of those who have touched upon the subject. No doubt it is impossible for us, * M. Eichwaldt, from the account given of them by various French travelers, makes, as to this tribe, the following interesting statement, regarding them as gipsies: "En effet, les ethnographes considèrent habituellement les Laobés comme une branche des Foulahs: mais ce fait n'est nullement démontré, et nous avons nousmêmes connu des voyageurs qui affirmaient que les Laobés possédaient une langue nationale différente du Foulah." (Journal de la Société Ethnologique, 1841, vol. i., p. 62.) The Fulbe in general divide all the tribes belonging to their stock into four groups or families, but they by no means agree as to the particulars of the division. I will here give one which is commonly assumed: 1. The Jel, comprising the following sections: the Torobe; Ulérbe; Fíttobe; Jébtobe; Súdube; U'rube; Tarábe; Jéllube; Bá'abe; Símbirankóbe, also called Ndójiga, from their dwelling-place; Feroibe; Núkkobe; Síllube; Sosóbe; Tóngabe; Waijóbe. Of these the U'rube are again subdivided into five sections: the U. Bube, U. Feroibe (distinct from the Feroibe before mentioned), U. Dúde, U. Síkam, U. Waijóbe. The Jéllube, again, are subdivided into three sections: the J. Yorónga, J. Haire, and J. Másina. 2. The B'aá, comprising the sections of the Gnara or Gghara, the Síndega, and the Danéji. 3. The Só, comprising the Jawámbe, the Mábube or Mábe, Gergasábe, Waílube, Laube, Wambaibe, and Waulube. 4. The Berí, comprising the Siwálbe, Jaléji, Kombangkóbe, and Kíngirankóbe. But besides these there are a great many other divisions of this wide-spread tribe, called from localities, some of which I shall mention as opportunity occurs. See especially Appendix II. VOL. III.-H |