CHAP. LX. SETTLEMENT IN GANDO. 257 arms by the ruler of Gando, who was not at all pleased with the independent bearing of Lebbo and his son A'hmedu, by whom he was succeeded, those people, being borne away by a pure reformatory view of their religion, and elated by their victory, going so far as to despatch a message to their kinsmen in Sokoto and Gando, to the effect that, if they would not reduce the number of their wives to two, and renounce their wide effeminate dress, they would pay them a hostile visit; and it is on this account that, even at the present time, there is no amicable relation whatever subsisting between the courts of Sokoto and Gando, on the one hand, and that of Hamda-Alláhi on the other. The chief of Gando, therefore, granted Galaijo an extensive although not very fertile district in his territories, where he has now been settled for almost thirty years. Thus we find, in this region, a small court of its own, and a whole community bearing no resemblance whatever to the customs of the people around them, but having faithfully preserved the manners and institutions of their native country, Másina; for, while all the neighbouring Fúlbe are rather a slender race of men, with expressive and sharply-cut features, who make it a rule to dress in white colours, we find here quite the reverse-a set of sturdy men, with round open countenances, and long black curly hair, all uniformly clad in light-blue tobes, and almost all of them armed with muskets. I was utterly surprised at the noble bearing of several of the courtiers, but especially that of the vizier and the commander-in-chief or lámido konno, both of whom reminded me of Europeans. The old chief, even at the present time, keeps up a continual intercourse with Timbúktu, where his eldest son was at the time studying, and which place he did not leave until some time after my arrival. Indeed the town of Konári is still said to belong to Galaijo. Taking into consideration the peculiar character of this little colony, and the benevolent disposition and venerable character of the chief in particular, I thought it worth my while to enter into more intimate relations with him, and in consequence, the following day, presented him with a heláli bernús, which he admired very much, and was as grateful for as his reduced fortune allowed him to be; for, besides giving me a present of a heifer and a great number of fowls, he provided me also with corn, of which there was a great dearth in the place. The market was very small and insignificant, consisting merely of seven stalls, or shops, where scarcely a single sheep or ox was to be seen. The bitter species of groundnuts, or gángala, and salt, formed almost the sole articles for sale. Butter and sour milk were plentiful. The whole of this country belongs to Gurma-a name which, however, does not seem to owe its origin to the native inhabitants, but probably was given to it by the Songhay, who, while still settled on the north side of the river, applied this term to the region on the opposite or southern side, identical with the CHAP. LX. THE GURMA AND SONGHAY. 259 name Ari-bínda. The country, at least the northern portions of it, had gradually been conquered and colonised by the Songhay, who, as we shall see on my home journey, have preserved in this quarter a portion of their national strength and independence, while in the recent rising of the Fúlbe the chief places along the high-road had been occupied by the latter; but after the first impulse of the religious movement had passed by, the settlements of this conquering race had greatly decayed, so that the communication along this important highroad from the west, at the period of my journey, was almost entirely interrupted, nay, the native independent chief of Bójjo had totally destroyed the considerable settlement of Martebógo which commanded the road; for, from the very beginning the conquerors had only succeeded in establishing themselves along the high-road, leaving the independence of the chiefs in the interior almost undisturbed. The most powerful of these native chiefs of Gurma are those of Belánga, Bótu, Bosúgu, Bójjo, Machakwáli, Nándau, and Mayánga.* Of these the chief of Belánga seems to be at present the most powerful, while next to him ranks that of Bójjo; but in former times Bótu seems to have been the chief place in the country, which is the reason why it is still called by the Hausa people " fáda-n-Gurma," "the palace or royal residence of Gurma." The name * For a list of the other places in Gurma, and some itineraries establishing their position, as well as the more important places in Mósi, see Appendix V. Gurma however, as I have said, seems not to be the indigenous name either of the country or of the people, while the language of the natives bears a certain affinity to that of the neighbouring tribes, the Mósi or Móre, and Tombo. However, the original inhabitants of Gurma are not the only enemies of the Fúlbe, but, besides the former, there are also the Songhay, who have emigrated into the country since the time of their predominance along the Niger; and some of these communities are the most inveterate enemies of the present conquerors, especially the inhabitants of Lárba, or Láraba, a place which we had to pass on our further march. Besides the latter place, the most important settlements of the Songhay in this district are said to be the following: Téra (the residence of HammaKása), Darghol, Garmúwa, Fámbita, close to the river; and not far from it, to the west, Garú (probably identical with the neighbouring town of Sínder of that name), Kasáni, Kókoro, and Fóni.* We shall come into contact with some of these Songhay settlements on our return journey along the Niger, and I shall then say more about them. It was on account of the Lárba that I was induced to remain a day longer at Champagóre than had been originally my intention, the chief begging me most urgently to wait till some other people who were * As smaller places of the Songhay in this district, the following were mentioned to me: Fonekówa, Díbbilo, Léde, Dúmba, and Bási. CHAP. LX. SONGHAY TOWNS.-TORRENT GO'REBI. 261 going to Yágha might join me; and while staying here, we were so fortunate as to have a tolerable shower of rain, which greatly refreshed this parched country and again raised the hopes of the inhabitants. The whole depression between the hill on which we were encamped and the town became filled with water; and I was greatly delighted at the arrival of the proprietor of the farm where we had established ourselves, an energetic weather-beaten Púllo, who came to inspect the labours of the fields, and who was not a little surprised at finding us quietly established in his homely dwelling. Tuesday, June 28th. Our road lay through a hilly country, well wooded and intersected by a number of small watercourses; and in some favoured localities a good crop of corn was seen standing in the fields. Cattle also seemed not to be wanting, which accounted for the circumstance of the residence of Galaijo being so well provided with milk. We also met a great number of women on their way to the market of Champagóre with their supplies of sour milk. But besides the small dry watercourses just mentioned, we had also to cross a very rapid torrent, which is called Górebi, and is said to come from the direction of Kulféla, a very important market-place in the interior of Mósi, and which caused us considerable delay. Before we entered Champaláwel, also, where we took up our quarters half an hour before noon, we had to cross a considerable sheet of water, three feet and a half in depth and about thirty yards |
