THE VOICE OF AFRICAVOL.II.

Woman

of

Ife.

Nupe-Woman.

Tuareg of Asben.

Gober Man.

SOUDANESE TYPES(fromoil

and water colour sketches by Carl Arriens.)

The Voice of AfricaBEING AN ACCOUNT OF THE TRAVELS OF THE GERMAN INNER AFRICAN EXPLORATION EXPEDITION IN THE YEARS I9I0 1912

BY

LEO FROBENIUS

IN

TWO

VOLS.

WITH SEVENTY PLATES, INCLUDING

TWO COLOURED FRONTISPIECES TWO HUNDRED ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT FROM PHOTOGRAPHS AND DRAWINGS FOUR MAPS AND TABLES

TRANSLATED BY RUDOLF BLINDJt

VOL.

II.

London: HUTCHINSON & CO.Paternoster1913

Row

CONTENTSVOL. IlT^)CHAP.

PAGE

XVI.XVII.

The Spectacles of Islam

353

MOKWA, SEENThe

IN

THE LiGHT OF AnCIENT StORY AND FROM364

THE Caravan RoadXVIII.

Nupe-Fulbes:

Olympic

Games

and

Religious383

Holidays in Mokwa

XIX.

Our Entry

into the Capital of Bida

....

400421

XX.XXII.XXIII.

The Splendour of BidaHistorical Poem

XXLAn

449 467 495521

The Fight with the Dragon

A

Race of Emperors and Kings

XXIV.

The Giants of the Past

XXV.XXVI.

The Demons of Love

537

The Religion ofHoussA Tribes

Possession, especially

among the560

XXVILTheXXVIII.

Decay of a Dynasty

The African Imperial Palatinate,

......

573 597

XXIX.Byzantium XXX. The Journey

615 650

into the Country of Problems

ILLUSTRATIONSVOL.Soudanese Types.Coloured Plate.II.

[From paintings hy Carl Arriens)Frontispiece

The

old

Lilli in

Wrestlers in

Mokwa. [Drawn hy Carl Arriens) Mokwa. [Photo hy Leo Frohenius)duellists

The seconds plucking the lockedFrohenius)Frohenius) Frohenius) Frohenius)

Dako-Boea dances on the market-place

The Nup6 and Fulbe.

Large Katamba (passage house or door

The Emperor comes.

.......... .......... ......... .......... .....asunder.in

.... .....[Photo

Facing page366

384

[Photo hy l,eo

384392401

Mokwa.

by Leo

princes say good-bye in

Mokwa.Bida.

[Photo hy Leo

edifice) in

[Photo hy Leo

[Photo by Leo Frohenius)

Scenes in the great night market in Bida.Glass- workers (Massaga) in Bida.

[Oil sketch hy Carl Arriens)oils

.

410 418 426

[Study in [Study in

by Carl Arriens)oils

.

.

Workshop

of bronze-chasers in Bida.

[Study inoils

hy Carl Arriens).

.

Bead-cutters' workshop in Bida.

Bronze-chasing Work.

Plate

I.

Bronze-chasing Work. Plate II. Iron foundry in Nupeland. [By Carl Arriens).

Bronze-chasing Work. Plate III. Old Nupe chased bronze vessels of the 15th century, aboutsize

Busu on their way to the coast lands. [Drawn by Carl Arriens) Horse games before the Galadina's compound in Tshamba. ( Water-colour..

hy Carl Arriens)

View of the great prayer on Friday in Bida. [Photo hy Leo Frohenius) The Bori Magadja and Adjingi in Ilorin. [Photo hy Alhrecht Martins) Zar or Alsar dance in Omdurman. [Drawn hy Fritz Nansen from photos..

hy Edith Frohenius)

........... ......... .........J

....... ..... ......by Carl Arriens)

.

434 442 452 459 465 476 484492 518 526

of natural

534 542546 598

Cavalryman

in

padded armour.

[After a water-colour hy Carl Arriens)vii

.

viii

ILLUSTRATIONS

Facing page Cavalryman with shirt and cap of chain-mail in Chamba. [Photo by 608 Leo Frobenius) Antique bowl with the cross called Sarra or Starra. (Collection of

...........

theG. I. A. E. E.) Saddles with crosses on the pommel, from Bussa and Gober... . .

616[After

.621 water-colours by Carl Arriens) tray with " Mesi-period " string and dove decoration, from a grave Ifanear Offa.the G. I.

[Collection of the G, I.

Ifa tray with string ornament,

A. E. E., 1912) from a holy tomb near Ojo.

.

.

.

624634

[Collection of

A. E. E., 1912)

Carved planks and beams from Yoruban temples. [Collection of the G. I. A. E. E., 1910) The founder of empire or holy horseman in Yoruban sculpture of morerecent date.[Collection of the G. I.

636646652

A. E. E., 1912)

.

.

.

Our camp on Stirling Hill above Lokoja, overlooking the confluence [Drawn by Carl Arriens) of the Benue and Niger. [From an English steel StirHng Hill about the middle of last century.engraving)

..........in the.

.

.

.

652

The Expedition marching through North Cameroon.,

autumn, 191 1..

[By Carl Arriens) Crossing a " brook " in the rainy season, 191 1, in North Cameroon... .

.

.

.

660664 668672

(By Carl Arriens)

DweUing

of the

Komai

Carl Arriens)

Komai women

grinding

Atlantica mountains. Return of the ExpeditionCarl Arriens)Carl Arriens)

Night camp of the Expedition on the sand banks of the Benue.

.......... ..... .......... ..........in

'Ndera, overlooking the Faro plain.

[Bythe

the corn forin native

the evening

porridge in

[By Carl Arriens) boats on the Tarabba-Benue.

[By676 680

[By

MAPSThe most importantolder States of the Soudan.the direction of Dr.

M.

Groll)

...........

[Drawn underPage 353[Con-

Chart of opposing streams of civilization in the Soudan. structed under the direction of Dr. M. Groll)

March

of civilization in

West Soudan

in the

Middle Ages

Page 449 Facing page 496

!

The most important(Drawn under

older States of the Soudan.

the direction of Dr. Jd. Groll.)

CHAPTER XVITHE SPECTACLES OF ISLAMDifferent Soudanese races;

State-building races and " disruptive " tribes

and influence on the Soudanfollowing chapters.

The meaning

of the " spectacles " of Islam

Islam origin Division of the;

its

^T^HEoccupied

investigation of ancient

civilizations

and the existence of

an ancient cultured nation on the West Coast of Africathefirst

portion

ofit

this

work.

We

will

now proceedstate

to the actual

Interior

and

will

be

my

endeavour to supply

material for properly judging the so-calledofits

Soudan and theof

culture.

The ArabsIt

gave

this

country

the

name

" the Soudan.'*

means and is the land of the blacks, and thus these first words demonstrate the influence of the people who brought thereligion of the

Prophet

into

the

Continent,higher

a

religion which, as

many

believe,

introduced

the

civilization

to

" poor

negroes " and gave

The

Arab,

black's

them the opportunity of higher development first pronounced the word " Soudan," i,e,^ the country, must have come from the North. It stretches

who

from the Southern edge of the mighty Great Desert, which is inhabited by fairer-complexioned races, from the Nile away to Senegambia. Geographically considered, it represents the equationVOL. n..

353

I

354of the tropical

THE VOICE OF AFRICASouth with the burning waste lands of the North and is not, therefore, uniform in character, butoftransitionaldistricts

in this Continent,

containssimilar

evidencesto

qualities

in

the

north

very

which " Sahel " is the most the South has the characteristic landfitting name, and towards scapes and other attributes peculiar to the tropical Western or Southern regions. The Soudan can scarcely be said to be beauthe desertfortiful in

the proper sense of the word.

Its

general

aspect

is

flat,

and

its

uniform

plains

of

clay

soil

are

signalized

by annually

and sparsely distributed and streams are shallow and sandy, dry up acclivities. almost entirely when the rainy season is over, and give the population far less water than the millions of wells which have been hacked out and driven into the earth.recurrent bushfires,

debilitated vegetation

Its rivers

Two

completely different types of nation dwell in the Soudan.I

By "type"peculiarities,

do not here mean to indicate generalizedsigns

racial

butareI

of

civilization.as

Thebetribes

extremes

of

bothin

these

types

socall

pronouncedthese

to or

without

parallel

Europe,builders "

and

peoples

respectively

" state-

and " disrupters." For the Soudan, going from east to west, is composed of a great series of '' powerful " kingdoms (in the African sense of the word), namely: Nubia or Napata, Darfour, Wadai, Bornu-Kanem, the Houssa states, Kororofa,state

Nupe, Borgu, Gurma, Mossi, Songai, the MandeTheir distinctive qualitydwellsincapitalsis

and

Joloff.

that a State-building, dominant raceinsize,

varyingless

which command the tradewhile

routes of

more or

length and the commercial centres,kindsof

more or less to do withdifferent

differentpolitics

pettyactually

tribes,

having

nothingquite

and

beingtheir;

peasants

whose

languages

prevent

completely

understanding

the

ruling races, live

on the

plains

who

scarcely ever profess

Mahomtribes

medanism, but very primitive religions and tion by the governing nation drains dry.I

whom

their exploita-

Thesesecond

smalltype.

call

" disruptive."itis

They

represent

thea

Asclose

already stated,actuallyexists

impossible to imagine

greater contrast thanlivingin

between

them whileoffices,

frequentlyofall

contiguity.

The

" state-builders "

dispose

the adjuncts toembassies

power, such as government

troops

of

cavalry,

THE SPECTACLES OF ISLAMand bazaars;

355live

the

" disrupters "

are

without towns,

together

only in small settlements and chiefly in places as difficult of access as possible, such as mountain declivities, forests and swamps.

The "

state-builders " are always rich

in their clothing, while the

" disrupters "

cover

their

nakedness

to

the best of their

ability.

Everywhere the former are the effectiveforce

momentum, the

driving

and thegotoin

possessors of

commercial monopoly, while the latter

are mostly the hoers of the soil

and employed

in domestic industry,

only

marketthefear

to

sell

their

agricultural

produce

and

are

universally

most

wretchedof

dependence, even when theywarlike

are held

in

on account

theiris

prowess, whichtypical

is

not

infrequent.of

Theis

difference

especially

when theby

material

speech

compared.

All

the constructors of stateslittle*'

speakdialect.

a

widely

distributed

tongueto

butof the

differentiated

Theso

resources of language

disrupters," however,

none but a few women can understand their neighbours. While it is possible Mande, Houssa, Fulbe with a command of four languages, viz. and Arabic, to hold easy converse with all city-dwellers from the mouth of the Senegal up to Abyssinia, one is compelled, for example, in the Niger-bend, the South Houssa country, or in Adamawa to use a different and fresh mode of speech daily inchangegreatly

from

place

place

that

:

travellingIt

through the settlements of the " disrupters,"however,

has,

been customary in Europe to judge of the

historical

development of the cultural importance of the Soudan by the character of these state-forming nations. It is a common practice to assume the existence of a higher form of civilization

among

these alone, to consider

them alone worthyas

of notice

andto

to observe the population of those countries from the

standpointfails

adopted by themselves.stop shortat this

But,

a

rule,

one not only

intrinsically unjustifiable

mode

of investigation,

but

aggravates the

wrong thus done byasall

listening to these ruling

and state-forming races paying no attention atalthough there still the " policy-creating "telligible

the a friori mouthpieces of Islam, and

to the unorthodox builders of states, " heathens " even among the nations of are

type

!

This

critical

attitude

is

quite in-

centuries Islam itself wasVOL.II.'

and explained by the fact that within the last eight adopted by a great number of theseI*

356

THE VOICE OF AFRICAinfluenced their

aggregations and thisof affairs.

own judgment

of the state

As,

now, explorers in general are inclined to get intostrataI

touch with the upperthe

and adherents of Islam, and,primeoriginatorsof

since

Mahommedans,

as

shall directly

show, are ambitious toculture,

bethe

everywhere

considered

the

explanation of this presents

no

difficulty.

NowI shall

it

is,

among theseparateedition.

Soudanese

however, easy to establish considerable distinctions " state-constructors," with whom alone

be principally concerned in the following pages, because a volume treats of the " disruptive tribes " in the scientific

Speaking

ethnologically,

we may

at

once

assume

although, naturally, the soundness of the assumption needs proof that these " disrupters " represent an older form of civilization. But even among the " state-formers " themselves we may at

once

easily

recognize

historical

development

two and

different types

find

their

expression in

which conform to the two clearly

There is a little map in the text show these movements pictorially. On the one side we see the northerly and westerly streams advancing, carried along by the Mandes, Fulbes, Moroccans, Songai and Djerma pushing southwards. On the other side there is plainly a movement undertaken by the Mossi, the Nupe, the So and the Napata people. The first, according to its historical growth, wevisible streams of(v,

tendency.

p. 449)

intended to

differentiateItis

as

the

Western, the

secondIslamof

as

the Eastern group.

the

former

which{v.

brought

into

the

Soudan,

the

other which represents an older strain

civilization

among the

formers of states

sketch

mapraces,

facing p. 496).

Popular judgment has hitherto been based on the knowledgeacquiredinof

the

Southernus

the

Mahommedan

grouptois

of

which was the material offered the West. It is, then, mostclear

highly important forlight of Islam,

be

about the quality of thisgeneralofa

and whatwithoutlife

the meaning inpreliminary

Islam

in

Africa.

For,

this

elucidation,

proper

account of Soudanese

Expedition in the greatimpossible.

cities of

on the whole and the experiences of an the Mahommedan Soudan will be

!

THE SPECTACLES OF ISLAMTheofits

357

question

before

us?

is,

what did

Islam'sits

regard to the Soudan implyinfluence?

What were

migration with form and the direction

Islamaftera

appearedgreat

withof

its

panoply of war in the Soudaninhabitants

only-

partfaith.

its

MahommedanCrescentAfricaaloft

The Arabianthe

migration,

after

Hedjira

(a.d.

had already joined the which bore the 622) through Northern

and Egypt towards the lands of the Cross, never reached

Islam recruited adherents there only after that the Soudan. tremendous upheaval of nations in which the growing might of the Fatimid dynasty shattered the North. And then Islam camein,

not with alarms and excursions, but crept

its

way

in

through

the back doors ofof

Soudanese palaces in the comfortable slipperslife,

Inner African commercial

which was already thousands

of years old.

must be borne in mind that Islam arose in a nation whose culture was meagre and that its founder was a man so poorly educated as to be unable to distinguish between Judaism and Christianity. It was only after conflict and contact with superior peoples like the Persians, and especially the later Hellenes, Islam acquired a most remarkably higher development that Then, too, its continued growth was and intellectual depth. hindered in Asia, because, on the one hand, lacking its adoption by some great and magnetic personality which could bring to it evaporated in far more civilized Persia, and, on converts, it fell into the hands of the Turkish tribes who were the other,it

Now,

now

for

the

first

time appearing upon the

scenes

in

a

very

primitive way.

Soudan gained nothing whatever from the high state of development of Islam which was specially influenced by later Hellenism and not a little furthered by the Zoroasterism emanating from Persia. It is not at all improbable that in former days, and even in quite modern times, it always produced a fewAfrican

The

eminentlater

intellects

in

the

Soudan,

nay,

it

evenbut

survived

theits

institution

of

universities

and highthereal

schools,

neverAfrica.

in

growth

penetratedit

heart

of

NegroBut

Theso

Soudanese acceptedtively

in its original form, namely, as a

comparaonly

primitive

religion

poor

in

culture.

not

THE VOICE OF AFRICAin

3S8Islam, particularly

the

form

in

whichit

it

reached the Soudan,across thesoil

lacked the vigorous strength which boreof

onward

North

Africa,

based

onof

the state-buildingthis

idea

of

a

race

migration.

The impetusofits

race-dislocation,

whichtheor even

madetre-

the Mediterranean countries

tremble

and

gave

Islamas,

mendous power

infancy, never got as far

near,aits

the Soudan. And for this reason Islam tendency to gain in power where it found growth. Wherever Islamism exists in the

could

only

show

a soil congenial to

pinned by olderundervalued.

civilizations,

the

height!

of

Soudan it is underwhich must not bequestionsenseofsoas

Let

us

whethersolution.

Islam

represents

remember this a growth inof

Thethe

to

spreadeasyof

ing culture

and depth

thought

is

not, however,

an

Yet the general underestimation of established fact, and its existencethe

thisis

older

civilizationIis

is

that

whichIt

havetrue

undertaken to establish in this portion ofthat

my

book.

had to some degree outgrown anew, itself before the appearance of Islam which fertilized it and true also that it was stimulated to a resistance which brought about renewed expression of its reassembled forces. This is of quite special importance for the verdict to be passed on the power of self-development of the so-called " negro " nations. For not only among laymen, but in expert circles as well, it was hitherto believed that it was Islam which had not only given

more

ancient

culture

the negro the greater part of his higher culture, but also that

it

was

the

best

lever

for

raising

the negro race to a higher level

to-day.

This view has even induced various great nations not toin

oppose Islam in the Soudanese coloniesagainst

the African Interior

which nothing canits

at

present

be effectivethus

butof

even toColonial

further

spread

in

every

way.this

And

several

powers have decided to go so faring large

as to

defray the cost of buildis

new mosques.

But

enterprise

full

danger,

not only because the ever increasing number of believers in the Prophet may some day rise up against the Christian Europeanrule a la

Mahdi on the Nile a danger which I consider less but rather because the Islamite morale and ethics must in the long run harm the blacks of Africa, at least in the form in which

THE SPECTACLES OF ISLAMit

359

For Islam carries with it two distinct ideas Soudan: in the first place, it says that all Mahommedans are higher beings than the " infidels " and thus repels the unbelieving, more industrious peoples. Secondly, it also brings in its train the fatalistic creed, or the view that it is right to square the serious problems of life with the practice of a littlethereappears.

throughout

the

ritual

observance,

to

natives

of

already

sufficiently

phlegmatic

disposition.

do not wish to dispute the fact that Islam gave the dusky Africans a few things, although some of these are ofI

certainly

doubtful origin.

We

will

take an illustration orarising

two:

There

is,

for example, a certain

dignity

out of the richer clothing

common, which is inherent in the Oriental But the Soudanese dress is pre-Islamitic they had the prayers in another form before and their gestures cannot be other than inherited from an immemorial past, since the heathen tribes in the remotest districts have them too. Nay, I would even go so far as to maintain that the garb which preceded the advent of pre-Mahommedan civiHzation was more becoming, and assert that the Islamite got his clothing from no higherand outof praying inpoise.;

inspirationintelligible

thanlove

theof

negro.

He

also

brought aorder

simple,

easily

law

and

love

of

with

him.teaches

Butone

famiharitythat theadroitit

with

the

heathen tribes of Africa soon

negro has such a genius for knotty points of law andto

management of things involving legal questions as difficult to see what advantage a Mahommedan Cadi'sbeto

make

decision

canof

him.

It

is

stated

that

Islam

Soudanese empires and thereby furthered

social

founded the great ideas and meansthe records written

communication.

If

in Arabic,

we

always find Arabians setrulers

we go piecemeal through down

at the

head of the

older

dynasticthese

of

that

hadat

already

mighty kingdoms, but we also discover their attained the full growth ofofis

ascendancyCrescent.

the

momentassertion

their

rulers'

conversion

to

the

Another

that

the

Moslem developed theoftrade.If,

commerce and improved the highways

however,

we go through the chronicles we discover that when the Mahommedan merchants came to the Soudan about a.d. iocx3, theyalready

found

a

well-arranged

system

of

commerce

established

THE VOICE OF AFRICAand enteredItis,

360everywhere,built for

the

great

cities

on

roads

splendidly-

traffic.

therefore, easily

proved

fromin

chroniclesfactas

writtenfertihzer

in

Arabic

that

Islam was

only

effective

a

and stimulant. The essential point is the resuscitative and invigorative concentration of negro power in the service of a new era and a Moslem propaganda, as well as the reactionthereby produced.

This

is

all

the

summary

I failed to find showed to be good in any evidence that fostering the Mahommedan spirit in our modern colonial endeavours to speed up the strength of the Soudanese nations and to make them more useful in the work of

what long the Islamic movement.in brief of

years

of

study

the world, can possibly

be

favourable

toall

day.

On

the contrary,

the Islamite influence seems to make

and

capitalists,

but also to enslave

all

adherents into traders " heathen " to an ever theits

increasing

degree

which

is

as

and degrade them to lower classes of labour, dangerous a thing as can be. For the true interests offinallyall

commerce can

be further developed by our negro

own

intelligent;

merchants, since

negro nations are dealers by naturetribes,

but the

fact that the small infidel

who

are the real tillers of

the soil and forces of production, should be fretted, oppressed and extruded, chased from their workshops, and penned in territorially in their habitations (as II

saw in

Adamawa

in particular)a

say

that

to

suffer

this

to

go on, would simply be

policy

fraught with danger to ourselves.

But byitis

this

I

do not wish to cut into the question whether

the Crescent with the feehng of duty imphed in the thought of the Cross, or whether this is not our own civilization's appointed task.

not our business to oppose the fatalism of

Andas

I

am

not evenit.

thinking of baptism, but

only of educationconclusionin

we understandOf great andthis point,is

serious

import

also forI

arriving

at

a

on

the question whether

am

not

right

saying

that the

Moslem movement

has done nothing but revivify forces

also right in maintaining that, even before the advent of Mahommedanism, forms of civilization of equal value and significance must have been operative in the

which are slumbering only, and

Soudan.

THE SPECTACLES OF ISLAMTothesettle this

361

fact thatless

query, I must again place in the foreground up to the present the Soudan has been looked at

more or

through the grey spectacles of Islam.

When,

in the beginning

and middle of

last

century, the

first

celebrated European explorers were travelling through the Soudan,

Mahommedanism wasto-day.

regarded in quite astill

different

lightit

fromof

At

that time the view

taken was that

stood for

an independent, great upward movement in themankind.ture which

civilization

Thein

factits

that

the

mostuse

significant

thing

in

Islam

was by no meansreligious impulse,

religion,

but the mighty migration of culof

Islam

only

made

the

had not been recognized.

power of There was no clearunifyinga

perception

then of Islam's originally being comparatively

very

primitive religion and, at bottom, no

more than an Orientalizalate

tion of the great beliefs of antiquity, of Judaism and Christianity,slightly

tinted

with

the

colours

of

Hellenic

andstill

Persianarticle

culture. of faith;

The

productive power of the Crescent was

an

the African-Moslem historical descriptions were thought

to be truthful.

The

explorers of that period

spoke Arabic, lived

delighted

under one tent on equal terms with their Arabian hosts and were to meet with men of considerable education among

themall

;

and,

as

they constantly travelled

more orheathen

less

in

the

cavalcade of these followers of the Prophet, they perpetually sawthings andall

men,Islam

all

history and

all

tribes,

through

the glasses of an

diluted

with Africanism.

In those days

who would have taken the trouble to whether the wicked heathen, who were very disinclined to pay tribute and hand over slaves to their ostentatious Mahommedan potentates, might not in their hearts retain athere were no travellersraise

the

question

memory

of an older civilization

which wascountries

all

theirstill

ownless

in

spiteit

of the primitive fashion of their garments.

AndIslam

could

enter their heads that in

these

was actually noconditionof

other than a re-christened but more ancient and equally developedculture.Itis

extraordinarily

typical

of

the thenlike

things

that

travellers

coming from the West,

Mungo

Park

362

THE VOICE OF AFRICAlivedin

and Binger,not in theheathenish

thethe

dwellingsprinces

of of

the

Mahommedans andEverythingculturallyas

courts

of

heathendom.being

was

at

that

period

regarded

poverty-stricken and of no account. What these travellers saw and noted was seen and

set

downthat

coloured by the tinted spectacles

of

Islam.

If

I

nowat

askfirst

they bethat

finally laid aside, it

is

certain that our eyes willof

have

to be accustomed to theatfirst

new methodwill

looking

they will perceive only a

flickering,

and unsteady andthingsofoutline.ofI

dim

light inshallis

which forms

be lacking in

firmnessto

We

have to learnoff

howthe

to see.

The

part

come

this

workthis

an attempt to teach others the way in which trammels ofalso to help

slowly

managed to shakeought

historical prejudice,

andlife

the reader to do likewise.is

The

subject to be treated in this half of the bookcivilization.

theof

under pre-Mahommedanmaterial must be

The arrangementI

the

made

clear

at

the outset, and

will therefore

confide

its

entire

scheme to the reader.of theseof livingI

The

first

part of four chapters contains an account:

countries'

method

shallcities;

guide him on the pilgrimage

along the high roads betweenthe courttoof a king;

he

shall

come with meof

into

observe

the

activities

the martin

;

listenlife

popular talk onremarkably

business

and the occurrenceswithofvitality.

the

of

each day, and will gain the impression that existence in the Soudanis

full

andpart

instinct

Thetakenagainst

seconda

has

threeepic

chapters,

thefight

first

of

up withthe

historical

the

foughtthe

which is by Islamthe

Infidel

in

the

central

lands

of

Mande;

second one shows the influence

exercised

by the Libyans upon

by juxtaposed variations of a particularly significant legend and the third tells the story of the revolt of the mighty heathen Powers of the West against the reaction of the stream from the East against the Islamitic advance. Then, in the third part, we shall be occupied with theculture;

Soudanese

philosophies of the nations flowing eastwards, as they appeared in

pre-Mahommedan heathendom;glorious gods of ages primeval at

that

is

to

say,first

we;

shall see

the

work

in the

the legendary

love of an ancient and most remarkable cult in the

second;

and

THE SPECTACLES OF ISLAMthen find the meaning and origin ofchapter.this

363in

religion

the third

And,nation of

finally,

the fourth

partof

willa

describe the downfall of a

heathens, the decay

great

national heathen forceitself

before the onset of Islam, but

which, when victorious, can

achieve

no more than to carry on the whole system of civilized politics possessed by the heathen it conquered. We shall go on to show that even before the advent of Islam along the path of the stream from the East, the Soudanese had already owned a civilization which of its kind had grown into a noble and magnificent power in the formation of states.

Thethese

reader

may

find

some

of the

matter in the course of

narratives

unentertaining,

andis

if

he does, perchance

the

beginnings and ends of each chapter will interestI

him the more.

am

fullyitis

aware thatto a

this

book

not exactly light literature, but

so far

in general the best hitherto offered to help the public

in

judgment about the Soudan based on accounts of I believe that this work will possess some permanent value of its own by its inclusion of documentary evidence which bears on the development ofits

coming

culture as

recorded in history, and

SoudaneseI

civilization.

venture, then, to ask

the

reader to

follow the

marvellous

machinery ofpartly

Soudanese

life

fantastic, partly

racy

and the singular, partly mystical, and also partly unassuming stories ofI

my pre-Mahommedan,if

heathenish blacks.

can assure him that

he will but

stick

to

the

road

in this pilgrimage, his

guerdon

will

not be withheld.

Masked dancer

before our

compound(Drawn

in

Mokwa.

The dancer

is

the Ello-Gara.

by Carl Arriens.)

CHAPTER XVIITHE CARAVAN ROADTreats ofall

which can be heard and seen

in

an ancient Soudanese provincial town lying on an

antique caravan route.

TNhere

describing contretempsset

myatis

travelsIfe.

I

had gotthatis

as far as

the results of the

All

nowtakea

over.

What

I

mustjolly,

down

happy, peaceful

life

town

Mokwa in Mokwa Whoof!

Let us which runs its course Nupeland.idyllic.

peep into the

in the small provincial

ever

heard

of

it

?

This

place

is

neverits

mentionedbe

in universal history.

And

I

greatly doubt whether

name can be found in any geographical index. Who then can expected to know this Mokwa, situate north of the Niger, away from the railway being built between Yebba and Zungeru ?you what and where it way back right away back to thattellis,

To

I

shall

have to gothat

a

long

old, eleventh century

Arabian

traveller,

Senor

El

Bekri,

who

informs

us

there

was

a

mighty kingdom called Ed-Denden, on the Lower Niger, which excluded all Arabians, because its people and its culture were self-contained. Ed-Denden was a complexus of civilizations of364

MOKWAwhich theold

36spart,

Nupein

Empire was

to

whose exploration

we devotedof

ourselves1,

June,

191

from the middle of January to the middle Mokwa, Bida and Lokoja, and with whose

and significance I desire to acquaint the reader in much the same way as I myself entered this peculiar world fromnature

mid-January,

191 1, in the littlelife

country town of Mokwa.in

TheNupe,travela

activeis

of

Nupeland!

general,

andthe

MokwahistoryI

in

particular,

full

of

marvels

Before

mefullI

lies

of

history

wide and

deep and

of

meaning.

can

have gathered such a mass of records, writings and traditions that I can also trace backbackinto

the thirteenth century;

the love of humanity

for

historical

research

in this other corner

of the world no less than other travellers in the neighbouring And all that the old kingdoms of Central Africa before me. Arabian said, with a few words about the ancient empire in thestatutes of the tenth century, corresponds with

my own

notes of

the history of

1275

^^*

ui^^il

the

Fulbe dynasty was victorious

in the previous century.

The

people which created this

Nupean

in

Empire and gave it strength and constitution, were a nation rich culture and in power. Those who, long before the tenth century, fashioned and inspired it with vitality must have beendeepnaturethatI

thinkers

with wellnobler

developedIt

brains,

bearersat

of

a

higher

and

a

culture.

need notthis

once be objectedso.

cannot

probably proveI

that

was

For

in

the

following pages

will say

something to the point.

There is before me, as I write, quite a block of this Nupe Kingdom's history, a row of documents, legends, and ritual And the town of Mokwa is not mentioned in a single songs. one. I shall be asked why, since I must have known this from my previous explorations, I, notwithstanding, went to this tiny Nupe town to begin my studies and lay the foundations of my

Nupeansite?

ethnography there.but

Why,natural!

precisely,

to

this

unhistoric

The question moment whethersystem

is

I

am

uncertain

at

this

I

am

well

advised to refer onceI

more

to the

found so well adapted for getting into closer touch with the native mind. Let me accentuatewhich,as

the

years ran on,

this

principle

again

:

Never

set

foot

upon

a

central

point

in

:

366Africa

THE VOICE OF AFRICAwithout

due

preparation.

And

this

must

be

explained

as follows

Whenexploration

gatheringof

information

necessaryas

and

essential

for

myI

Timbuktu, both

to

its

localities

and people,

got

most important and lucid statements in Bamako from persons who had come from Timbuktu and were prevented by They then spoke of all social reasons from going back again.the

It was they knew without the least fear of their fellow-citizens. in Timbuktu where I obtained a full description of Ife and its

temples as

well

as

of

its

inhabitants,

and

in other

Soudanese

townsthe

from

slaves

native homes.exiles,

who never again could hope to see their They knew full well that none could bring them,social

the

outcasts

and the

lost,

to

book for having

given away some ancient and secret tradition.I

could bring

many examples

to prove that only those

who have

been expelled, are far from home, have run away, become slaves and been purchased and have no real home in Africa, are those

who,tofears

at

a

distance, will

give

any informationtrack.

sufficiently usefulitself

put

one on the properother

In

a

placeof

every

manZoon

every

man.

There;

thethere

terror

public

opinion

squats

besideleers

every

saucepan

the

spectre

of the

Politikon

round the corner at every ethnologist. This is why I made most of my inquiries about Nupeland in general among the homeless Nupeans in Wagadugu and Ibadan and aboutthe bestcityfor

exploration

purposes in the countriesas

betweenI

Timbuktu

and

Sansanne

Mangu

early

as

1908.

chose

Mokwaits

as

the starting point of the Research Expedition because

ancient

independence had beenbecauseprince;

least

affected

by the modern

under the rule of the last it is and because I might there hope to gain the best information about the older, the old, and the new kingdom, and thus of Gbarra, Rabba and Bida. In a word, Mokwa had remained a spectator for centuries of the history Nupeland wherever its despots may have set up their ofnative-borndynastic throne.

Nupe-Fulbe State;

So

I

went

into

a

corner in

a

quarter where

the

riot

of

the modern African while hunting.

metropolitan townI

could

not

disturbI

me

And

fished

with assiduity.

Ought

not to

Mokwa.'

PI.

I.

^^n^w*

'

!-^

.ii

(iii

,.i,j

i

n

i.

i->w-

mI.1

itf\

X

_;.-=&

The

i)ld

Lilli

in

Mokwa.

(Drawn by Curl Arriens.)

iFadngp.

366.

:

MOKWAendeavour to give the readera

367of

sketch

the old, full-colouredeyes in the twilight

andof

magnificent pictures v^^hich herelegendsof old?

met

my

Indeed, one's hearing has got to be strainedof

to

catch

the

melodyin

these marvellous stories, for;

it

was

first

played very, very longto be caught

ago

it

is

but a

slight, slight

echo only

the

whispering trees,

primevally

old,

which

All

bygone day and the markets of old. in the clash and the din of the hundreds and thousands of throats which make up the Here alone, in the orchestra of a modern Soudanese city. emptiest corner, in the most cloistered solitude, the last dying fall comes whispering over the grass of the plains.stand round

the

wells of a

such delicate tones are whelmed

Tobe

expect to hear such things as these in a metropolis would

same thing as to listen for a Robin Hood echo in London, a Parsifal chanson in Paris, or a Kyffhauser ballad in Berlin. Old recorded things and new happenings, learning and wealth and the dazzling palaces of kings may be found in these great hives; but folk-song, folk-feeling, and folkwisdom are swept away from the space round the throne in the There is no folkcommercial turmoil of the modern world. left in London, Paris, Berlin Bida. wisdom or This is what took

much about

the

me

to

Mokwa,

and, settlingall

down

there in front ofall

thetrees

ancient

market-hall, I listenedrustled above me.

day and

night to

the

which

TheNothinglist

oldis

fairy

song of the

Nupe

sounds something

like this

knownyears

of the ancient Arabian, El Bekri, in

Mokwa andtheis

Bokani, and

cannot be added up in these places, butare dead

of the kings;

who

and now of the second dynastyin

rememberedIslam "theat

this

list

was chanted;

song " in the days beforesingers

upon each mighty protectors and extendors of the realm by name, told him the number of years and of months his reign had endured, and blood fell in drops upon his tomb and title. All one has to do is, add up the years of their reigns together, andtheir funeral festivals

the

called

of

arrive at the foundation of the penultimateA.D.

dynasty in the year

1275.

-^^^ what preceded this

?

368

THE VOICE OF AFRICAThereal

was before that year of 1275. ^^ one thousand two hundred and seventythis particular year, viz. five, the Yorubans came into the land from the South, annihilated the ancient Empire stock, and the only good thing they did fostered the new dynasty, which, at first, blossomed modestly inworld offaerie:

the

south-westit

until

it

attained

its?

victorious

growth.

What,placeis

then, was

the Yorubans destroyedof a

No namementioned.all

country or Empiretroubles of the

is

preserved.

No:

The Fulbe

last

hundred years drove

All they know is this Once this out of people's memories. upon a time there was a vast, vast Empire its ruler did not live But that was a in Nupe, for Nupe was only a province of it. very, ve^-y great" while ago, and it was broken up long before the Yoruban incursion. The Emperor lived at a very great distance, so far away that no Nupe, except those who took him the tribute,;

had

ever

seenof

him.

This

took

suchif

a

long

time

that

the

messengers

two

successive years,

they travelled with

speed,

would meet exactly half way on their journey, one company on the way thither and the other on its way home. Then they were able to exchange the writings (the Nupe says " books," and able to say that these " books " were bound in hard ivory is cases). For, on each such occasion the Great King sent his viceroys letters containing his exact commands. They said how much tin, silver, bronze, cut stones and other treasure, was to besent to the Great King.

The old story says that the Great King at that time also commanded that rings of glass from Nupe should be sent to him. But history may perhaps be wrong. For it does not seemimpossible that the art of producing glasswork of this special kind

may have reached

the South from the

East

just

at

that

time

and have been acquired by the people coming from the Great King's country who had immigrated into the South. At least,soI?

suggest.

Why

should

we

expect a fairy tale to be always

true

Whenmany

the envoys sent to the Great King took their departure,take advantage of

people joined them, for they wished to

the opportunity to cross the wilderness with some protection, do

some trading on the way and gather

riches for themselves.

And

MOKWAmanyof

369

monarch if even only once in for this sufficed to make them particularly noted all their lives When the vast and enviable persons for everyone at home. Empire fell to pieces, the Mahommedans came, and many pious Nupe folk afterwards made the pilgrimage to Mecca. But the stream of people was never so full as that which flowed towards the Great King of old. His city and castle and wealth must have been wonderful The city lay by a great water in which there was indeed neither crocodile, nor serpent, nor river-horse, which so easily and On the water so often overturns fishing boats on the Niger. there were only great ships with wings. With wings ? Yes, with like a crane, or a pelican, or some other bird. The town wings rose up at the edge of the water, and its houses and walls were

them yearned;

to see

the

!

!

built of Sui-Lantana (red jasper) stone.

And

the roofs of these

made of straw and of leaves, but of Chinkall (a sort of home-made bronze). They were chased in the same way the Nupes to-day hammer their water jars and food dishes, their various basins and ewers. But the Nupes werestone

houses

were

not

said to be filled

with pride that the people of the Great King'stheart

from themselves, who, in their from Ata-Igara (z>., the Atagara of Here I think the tale makes a blunder it wants to mislead Ida). us; for, even if the supply of bronze may perhaps have come from the South, the greater part of the shapes and the patterns chased on them came from the East or from that very kingdom. But again I ask Why shouldn't a mistake find its way into acity should have learnt this craft

turn, had

acquired

:

:

fairy tale

?

Especially

whencity,

it

is

so very, very

old

and nought?

but the gentlest of whispers in the leaves of the treesIn this marvellousbuilt of red stone

and brown bronze on the water with no beasts of prey, but with boats which had wings, lived the King the Great King! This King had no dogs like other princes. When he went forth, lions went by his side. He went neither on foot, it is certain, nor did he ride, but was carried in a great, long basket, covered with cloth and coloured leather. Round about him gambolled his horsemen, all in padded armour, each of them with a mighty spear; many, many great princes went in procession behind him.

VOL.

II.

2

370

THE VOICE OF AFRICAthere wasina

When

truly greatlikehis.

festival

the

women were

carried

behind himcarried;

baskets

Only,

his first wife

was not so

was young and strong; she rode like a man on a which was white. strong steed A great red cloth canopy, with a handle of gold, was carriedshe

above the King and each of his wives. At his Court none but himself and his spouses were allowed to have such precious thingsas these

above their heads.as

But, because

the

viceroys

in

Nupelearnt

could do the sameto

the King, the

Nupefor

folk in this

way

know the King's canopy. This great. Great King reignedlonger thanas

many, many years andruledfor

muchandto

Edegi (Edegi, however,lived,

68

years

!),

long

as

he

Nupes

of

distinction

longed to

be able

make one pilgrimage to this city grandfather, father, son, grandson, from generation to generation, and this for many hundreds of years. The Nupes grew wealthy. They sent muchvast

treasure

to

the

great Royal City and,

in

return,it

receivedto a

many

things which were strange and new.

But

all

came

sudden end.of

The Great King, after wielding the sceptre for many hundreds years, grew old. Then he quarrelled with his younger brethren.wage war until the died. Now he was one of Issa's sons, and therefore who afterwards came from Mecca hated him and hisa

There was Great Kingthosefollowers.

war.

All

nations

began to

It

was the children ofancient

Mahommed whoLantanacity.

destroyed

the

remaining portion of thethe

The

road was

interrupted; nobody could get there any more.

Nupe have

not

Since that time wandered on the broad ways that lead to

the ancient town.

The man whonotfirst

told

me

this

legend in

Mokwafeeble

was old and

exactlyI

very

intelligent.

Heto

was

a

dotard and at

gave

not

much heed

his little story.

And whowhich

canare

swiftly find his

way through the hundreds

of?

legends

written out fairly in the course of his travels

andonly

all

tooit

easily,

one learns to value whatofthis

is

Very frequently, most importantI

when

has slipped

grasp the

meaning

away unnoticed. legend, whichcivilization,

AndI

only gotas

to

regardedfirst

a

merethe

attempt to reconstruct

a

when the

MS.

of

!

I ;

MOKWAEdegi stoiy had been translated for me.to the effect that thisall

371It

contained a statement

some five-hundred-year-old ruler had spared those who prayed to him for mercy " for Issa's sake." And at the end of my fairy story of the For Issa's sake!

He was a son of and therefore those who came from Mecca hated him and the memory in which he was held.'' Now, in Northern Africa, Issa is the name of Jesus Christ The Cross looms up before us. Athwart the myth of Nupe, the glorious pomp of old Byzantium sends its rays across to us. Whither do you, who read this, think the road will lead ? say no more. We must get accustomed to the thought and ponder it. I follow here the single path of duty. He who is led by a guide is entitled to know the road and its end in thehoary-headed kingIssa,

there are

these

words

:

"

mindfirst,

of this guide at

theof

start.

But the guide should not,to be

at

paint

the

part

the

journey

next undertaken indisillusioned

colours too bright, or the neophyteroad.

may be

on the

Such is the guide's obligation. And by this I want it to be understoodhaving laina

right at the beginning

that, after

at

the

market-place of

Mokwa

with

my

I had an impulse towards a great new came away out of the Yoruba lands of the Atlantic and pushed on with my explorations to the North and the East, but I also wished to declare why it is always, and

comrades for

few weeks,I

goal of

my

wandering.

here in especial, desirable to try to catch the voicesas

of the

Past

they

fleet

by

in whispers in

into the deafening whirlpool of

dreamy seclusion before plunging the more strenuous, more vitaliz-

ing and flourishing Hfe of the Present.

Mokwa!

Arrived

there:

14th

January,

191

1.

Departedtrouser-

thence: i6th March, 1911. At last, the rattle of

the

railway,

the

swarms oflie

wearing

" niggers "us, atlast,

of

alcohol-soddenhateful

Ibadan

at

our

backsof

behind

the

December.VOL.II.

When onnoon,I

entering

made by the end Mokwa with our complementimpressionssociable

of

carriers about^

saw

its

market-place in the shade 2*

372ofof

THE VOICE OF AFRICAgigantic,

old

Lilli,

magnificent trees, and arrived at the the " mayor of the village," formerlyvassal

compoundagnateof

immeasurably at ease and good fellowship and comfort in this sleepy little country town that I gave myself up to it. Old Lilli is one of the best known and most popular chiefOne scarcely knows why, when one sees tains of Northern Nigeria. this quiet, retiring, almost pitiable, tallish man, of no superiority as to mind, but whose amiable smile seems always to show an " Do, for the love of God, let me sit here inclination to say I in peace and quiet with my drop of beer in a corner apart. assure you, I don't want to meddle with history or the fate ofprinces,

now

to

Fulbe,

I

felt

breathed an

air of

such

irresistible

:

Government." A harmless, friendly kind of person, whose popularity is due to the hard knocks Destiny dealt him. And now, in presenting my first friend in Nupeland, I have As late as to think of that awful scourge, the Fulbe invasion. the middle of last century, the scions of the Fulbe priest, Dando, had so set the Nupean princes against each other by fomenting dissension that they began to mangle and rend themselves just like wild beasts. The offspring of Dando looked on and enjoyed the natives' stupidity. Then came the times when they, in fact, were the rulers, but in which the oppressed Nupeans revolted, now here, now there, and once in Mokwa as well. Then all the old people were removed from there and sent to Bida. The Emir of Bida butchered four of the most eminent men, made a sort of table and set up their heads on its four corners. The Lilli stood before it, bound with thongs to a tree. The degradation of the Mokwa rebels was meant to be seen by all the market folk, and everybody saw the violation of this old man's dignity. When the four heads had rotted, old Lilli was set free and all the Mokwa people were hunted forth into Houssaland. Then, a few years later, came the English and brought the Fulbesthetojustice

for

their

atrocious

cruelty

and,

after

that,

the

old

Mokwans wereOldthatLilli'sis

recalled

andso

reinstated.

popularity dates from that time.gentle,

Everybody knowsnot

he

very

gentle,

indeed,off

that

even

the

brutal Fulbe

despots

dared

to

cut

his

whitening head.partof

So

he became

beloved,

but

lost

the

greatest

his revenue.

MOKWABefore then he had

373

wives.

peasants, slaves and and well-filled barns. Much cloth was woven for him and he went abroad robed in the finest dresses. Not only had he goats and sheep and cattle, but fertile farmIt lands and cleanly compounds were his principal possessions. He can scarcely call a single thing his own somehas all gone. times he is even anxious about his beer and so is always a little embarrassed, a little worried and a little depressed when he comes into contact with " big people."

owned many dependent

He had

farms

;

Dear oldonce:

Lilli

came towards

us

across the market-place.!

I

at

man is frightened by our foreign looks " Old felt had made his first acquaintance with the Fulbes as his foes. They had robbed him of his native country and his all. Then came the English, who must have been his friends, for they had restored old Lilli to his native place and his paternal roof; but, as he often told me when we had made fast friends, he had also had to accept the missionaries, those missionaries who had taken away from him and his people their greatest pleasure, namely, the ceremonial of the mask and burned the masks, saying that they were evil and of the Devil. And now, quite suddenly and unannounced, there came a German expedition, and as nobody had been concerned " to make a good reputation for us " in advance, the population, and old Lilli too, were terrorstricken, perplexed, and somewhat subdued, all which things were, more Africano, concealed as far as might be, but could not beLilli

" This

kept entirely secret.

To mywanderings!

rescue,

thengive

!

ye best of companionsbecksof

of

my

African

Come, ye " nods andwill

and wreathed smiles,"offence,

comeLilli?

!

Who

thee

cause

O

venerable

man, will do thee a hurt ? And so he Fear and embarrassment fled from the faces of himself and suite. One Daima, a singular person of ancient princely descent, cunning and sly, reticent and calculating, and, in the Northern sense, not quite sincere, but with the sincerest affection for LilH, had come to my help on the very first day. This Daima's friendship for Lilli was so strong and affectionate that he had given up a very high Court position he once held at Bida to gratify it, and when I left Mokwa he at first came

Which of soon came round.

us, old

374

THE VOICE OF AFRICAwith

on

me

to

Bida,

then

to

Lokoja

up the River Benue.

Directly he saw us he had at once

formed an opinion which didand talked to himskirmishings,in flatter-

equal credit to his

understanding and grasp of the situation.

Daima tookingspeeches,

Bida,

my man,

aside

instructive

conversational

playing;

the

game in the true African roundabout fashion he made mind, retired with Lilli for a very few minutes, and then up his the perplexed old gentleman asked us whether we would like toHstening

no longer had large compounds and houses like others, but that the space of which he still was master might, perhaps, do for us all, with a Httle good-will onshare his African house, saying he

the part of us both.

This was the way in which we took possession of our Httlecorner of dreamland in

Mokwa.

on which Mokwa is built lies about the sources of a stream which runs through a gorge and empties into the Niger near the old capital of Rabba, about two hours' march Mokwa lies on a plateau at the head of this valley to the south.

The

red

earth

onland

red, brilHantly

red

earth.

This and

the

big,

lofty,

dome-

shaped

ant-hills, its situation atits

the river-head

on

a fertile table-

are

distinctiveits

characteristics.

The

parching Harmattanover

wind

blew

greasy

dust

and

ash

clouds

the

barren,

burnt up, horribly desolate tableland, whistled androared around

buffeted

and

which grace the marketand the southern then it roared along its accustomed path from parts of the town East to West and tore across the Mokwa vale and forest without affecting them. It can paint the trees and roofs of the town, the plain and the plateau brown and cover them with stickytheoftall

old

giant trees

place, the site

the

ancient

" castle

ruins,"

;

sand, but

it

sweeps across the unharmed vale unharming.this

It can-

not

injure

luxuriance,

this

plenitude

of

Nature's

power.

leaflet which it colours yellow to-day, to-morrow finds a hundred verdant substitutes, and every evening a sultry, moistureladen steam arises, which, Hke the breath of Gods, in spite of the

Every

harsh and drying Burner

of

the

Plains,

revives

the

ears

of corn

MOKWAand farmlands andgivesall

375

the wards of

Mokwa

town, laves them and

them strength to fight against the might of the suffocating wind which blows with every dawn. How often we went down in this valley towards the evening, when most of the day's work was over, bathed in its dewy moisture, and went back so refreshed that many a further hour could be spent in studying Nupeland. I have still some more tosay about this vale.

ditch

The plan of Mokwa is peculiar. now in ruins includes notwithworks,allits

A

vast rectangular walllittle

and

only the

country townindigo

itself,

" garden suburbs," carefully whitewashedclay pits, forges;

dye

deep

houses

and granaries

no, these

and spinning sheds, slaughter crumbling ramparts of defence;

surround the camping ground of caravans

the valley head both

broad and deepvalley basin;

;

the wells andais

andIt

a goodly portion of the springs few square miles of farmlands to the west and;

otherwards.

erroneousa

to

suppose

that

the enclosing wall

compact and uniform mass of civic dwellings. Mokwa once was no doubt larger than it is; it never, however, took up all the space within its defensive Hnes, but was always the central point of farms and vale and well-sites. The market occupies the middle of the town, and is the tradesman who supplied me with the food wherewith I satisfiedwas everfilled

with

my

ethnological

appetite

in

Mokwa.

We

live,

then,

reasonably

enough near this market in a queer, tumble-down compound of some five-and-twenty huts, one half of which the Expedition occupies, while Lilli and his family dwell in the other. All day long I live in the twenty-feet-wide hut which runs across the compound. When the great exit-door is open to the front, I can see everything that happens on the market square beneath the ancient trees, and at its back can always gaze upon thelittle courtyard where " katamba," as this hut

weis

takecalled,

ouris

afternoon

siesta.

My

with

con'fetantly

changing

broad and spacious, filled ethnological " stuff," such as coffers,apparatus, and

mask-dresses,

photographic

boxesis

which servebeautiful.

as

manuscriptis

and book cases. even ugly and smeary, for,

My

daily, the

its

greasy soot in from the plains,

katamba wicked Harmattan blows no matter whether the gate benotIt

376shutforce

THE VOICE OF AFRICAorits

open, for

it

will

gnaw

at

the

uneven old

clay walls,

the mouse-dirt and vermin, alwaysfiguring

way, disgustingly importunate, through some cracks in ceiling, and then pour down a shower of dust, cobwebs,evilly

intent, of

course,

upon

dis-

myitis

nice, clean, white manuscript.

an old and dreamy nest in which I sit, a hidden whence to spy out the track which ancient history fairy-corner Small wonder if the house whose secrets are being so took. craftily unlocked is shaken and sheds its filth in wrath upon the But be it said that this is only its passive curiosity-monger For if I go suddenly at night into the katamba with resistance.

Yet

!

a

light,

hundreds of cockroaches scuttleoff,

rustlingly

asunder,

rats

scamperstand

and once I persuaded an abominable scorpion to come out from under my manuscript chest. I never could under-

how Martins

could

sleep

soundly in

this hole afterwards,

and took precious good care to hunt up all such bedfellows in my own sleeping-room, from which that wicked fellow, Akelle,tried to stealas bugs, etc.,

myis

cash^box.

The

proper place for such creatures

And, moreover, was not myself a sort of spider, hidden away at one end of my I web, on the eager lookout for some specially longed-for dainty to come into my net, to be wrapped round afterwards and then sucked dry ? Was not this katamba my spider's corner from which I looked from dawn to dusk upon the market square ? And was it not in Mokwa that the most luscious titbitsfell

an old and dreamy corner.

into

the

trap,

whenof

they,

the

pilgrim-wanderers

in

the

Soudan andplaceI?

leaders

the "!

caravans,

who knewlittle

the

ways and

countries, thought they

Yeaas

" harmlessnow

were crossing some

harmless market-

rub

capture

my hands and smirk when I remember many a noble my eye is caught by well-filled books of manuscript.to paint the ethnologicalfly-trapI

Let

me

try

set

up on

Mokwa's market-place.

Anyone wishingand wideas

to

get

to

Atlanticall

Yorubaland, famed

far

being rich

beyond

measure,

from

the

northern

!

MOKWAdistricts

377

Mid-Soudan, which breed enormous flocks of sheep and herds of cattle, or from that singular country, Asben, in the Sahara, or from the desert-cities, Gadames, Moursonk, Ghat, or, finally, from the Osmanli coastlands, say from Tarabulus (Tripoli),of

can

take

many

roads

to;

Ilorin-town,

via

Sokoto,

via

Katsena-

Kano, and Bornu-Bautshi but he will always have to cross the Rabba or at Yebba, and then through Mokwa go he must, because all the other younger or older baiting stations with " good accommodation for man and beast," have beenNiger either atdestroyed for far around.

Now,

every

one of these caravans, which,

day in day out,

camp here from day to day and daily hence depart, takes its way across the market square of Mokwa. Each such caravan pitches its camp on one of the two Songos stretching east and west of the valley head with many wells. Every single member of them comes every morning and evening, and mostly about noonday too, once at least to this square of commerce under the ancient trees in front of myduring the dry season, arrive here," spider's corner."space of time?

What was

it

not that passed before

it

in that

Here there were wealthy Houssa merchants on gorgeous trappings, women from Kano, with neatly knotted loads upon their heads and robed in the ample tobes worn by men. Here were the lean, black Busu-Songai from Adrar, with leathern aprons round their loins, and heavyladen asses, water skins and iron bells, black-skinned men with features of Northern cut, sun-dried, haggard Sons of the Wilderness Here were the Tuaregs with the " litham," or scarf, and an indescribable dignity of manner. Here were the Ringi, mostly a cavalcade of men, with a few women whose nakedness was only clothed with leaves, a primitive people from the Houssa lands,splendidsteedsin!

always

ready

to

have

the

early their

simplicity

of of

their

dress,

the

curves of their buttocks and

mannerfolks

dancingin

at

home,haunts.

shown,

inspected, paidto

for

and

laughed

at

businessof

Here were pilgrims

And what

was

my

joy at once

Mecca and more

from out

Egypt.I

seeing a

and who had come from Ulled-djellal, a with whom I had struck up acquaintance a twelve-month since in the town where he was born. Picture our mutual surprise

knew South Algerian oasis, and

man whom

378

THE VOICE OF AFRICAOfa

truth,

North Africa

is

not

so

impenetrably vast, and

even to day the stream flows backwards and forwards between Byzantium and Atlantis, although the over-population of the Coast has drained some of it away. Most assuredly Mokwa was a good catch, not to say trick, and my katamba peep-hole gave me an opportunity for watching out of which I made very good use. And full preparation had been made. My satellites stood outside and heard my every call and whistle. Many a stranger was stopped by a good-natured word or for a snap-shot. But more especially we had our laboratories working, working on a system. From my own part of the compound, a zigzag road led first to the camp of those stalwart soldiers of science, Arriens and Martins, and then to the interpreters' quarters under Bida's!

inspectorship.

If

there

was

a

moreI

thancould

usually

interesting

individual

worth

knowing,pencil

whomor

notof

catchskill,

hold

of

throughsubmitted

my ownto

impatience

my

wantCarl

he

was

the

and

brush ofas

Arriens, the artist.in colour

Manyas

a typical fellow

was madea

immortal

and form

the hurry of sketching allowed.

WeAttheir

were

living, indeed, atall

milestone on the high road of

antiquity,

and

our doing and being was measured accordingly.in

five

o'clock

the

morning the market women shoutedthejourney,best.

invitation

to

the wayfarers to take a sup of their splendid

porridge

before

theyher

continued

screamedalso

outin

that

own was

the

This

cities,

same tone and cadence in the same in sound and production as the offers to sell of the women of Italy. In France and in Belgium the call is thinner and seems more petulant. When I heard this clamour ringing in the square, I jumped out of bed. I often went and looked at the picture outside. There was a mighty tree which had fallen down in front of our compound, whose great limbs stretched out in all directions. The bark of its trunk had long since gone, and it was smooth and black how long a time it may have lain there How many travellers, coming up from the Songo below, had set their loads down on it in the grey light of dawn to take a last cup of the excellent, famous dishheardthe

one which I other Nupelandeachcall,

and

was

exactly

!

; ;

MOKWA(meal soup) of the

379theira

Mokwa women,colourfor,

before they wentis

ways.

Thisthe

smooth, blackladies

of the " tree of rest "

tribute toso

of

Mokwa,

were

their

sup

of

meal broth not

good, this colour would not here be seen.

From six to eleven in the morning is Then Martius sallies out with his satellites

given

up

to

work.

to survey and

make

plans of the compounds, houses, stables, barns, corn-bins and mosques; then the painter Arriens sits unruffled at his easel; then I assemble my old people, distribute kola (Guru-nuts)

among them, and wethegreatroads,of

talk of the river of

humanity running overthe

the

peacefulseeshis

life

of

Mokwathe

burghers

whom

the

stranger

only

upon the

streets,

mart,

the

Songo, but never, never in

own;

four walls.

The marketgreat

tide

increases

towards

noon.

Now come

the

herds of long-horned beeves riders on over-driven horses round them up and guide them in. Flocks of long-legged sheep and goats, shepherded by women carrying well-packed loads upontheir

heads.

then

the

Then ring the iron Ringi women rattle

bells of

Busus astride on

asses

their

gourds.

And

many

a

wandering musician with lute or flute will quickly try his luck at our " castle gate " in hopes that the " noble lords " within

may

gratify

him witha

a

trifle.

I

never

to

my

knowledge

let

one of these depart in disappointment.broughtInsacks

me manythe

bit

of

For these living journals news of more importance than allleaflet.

the columns of a European local

Songosto

things

begin

to

hum.

From manylittle

sides

the

travellers

begin

congregate.

Curious

caves are built of

and shocks of straw, with a backbone of a donkey's saddle and a carrying pole or two the flocks are watered and driven out to graze the horses tethered and fires set alight. Then men and women saunter back up to the market and gloat upon;;

the dishes which the

Mokwa women,alittle.

red with rouge, are selling

they

haggle

a

lot

and buythetoto

But into the compoundsfolk

and

the

houses

of

old

Mokwasomeis

they

never

set

a

foot

unless

there

happenswill

be

particularly wise

and educated

traveller,

who

go

the

Great

Mallemfrom

of

Mokwa, whoseto

reputation as a learnedlikes

man

known abroad andsalutationa

whom

one

to

do honour and bring

a

friend or piece

38oof

THE VOICE OF AFRICAnews,or

perhaps,

to

get

a

letterits

written

by onethis

of

his

and many a pouch of some venerable pillar of the Church. Yet still more enchanting are the pictures offered by this The caravan-life when night comes on and darkness reigns. flames of many camp and cooking fires shoot up on every hand between the little shelters; many Rebeccas, brown, yellow and red of skin, bring water from the wells below; the cattle are smouldering fires are set driven together by all the people a-going between them, so that the hobbled beasts may be kept as free as may be from the stinging scourge of swarming little asses bray and oxen flies the men and women lie all around low; the fumes of oil and burning wood float up into the starlit winter Above, the clear and shining vault of sky. splendour fantastic silhouettes and shadow-play below. How many a time I let the charm of all these pictures sink into my soul The order of their sequence never varied. At four o'clock, when all the store of sounds I heard became oppressive, I took my gun or rifle on my shoulder and went down with my comrades into the river glades. Wild pigeons, a '^ monkey, guinea-fowl, and many another such small deer " of the woods as well, found their v^ay into the stew-pot. (Yes, indeed, monkey, too!) primeval growth We liked to go into this through swamps and tangled lianas. The air was heavy with the glorious scent of water, woods and moss. It was always a refreshing bath which Nature made. Then we went up anddisciples,

penny

finds

way

like

into

the

;

;

;

;

!

crossed the Songo,flux

andto

this

was just the time whenfro

this constantstriking,

of

folks

boththe

and

appeared

so

verysky,

here

beneath

the

star-strewn,

splendid

dome

of

shadows

and

silhouettes

were

strangely

where mingled in

the the

camp-fire's glare.

When wegotin front of

home and supped

were able to tear ourselves away from this scene, had in haste, there were still two hours of work

selected

us. My interpreters would bring me some stranger on the caravan route, or some ancient settler in the land of Nupe, who might have something worth relating about old times and customs, or, maybe, a legend. And it was in an hour such as this that my old Bokani friend, a none too

MOKWAbrilliant

381senile,

fellow,

but

feeble

andverya

somewhatancient;

who

had

come over

to the funeral of a

memberpart

of the Lilli's family, told

me

the story of

the old,also

nay,

kingdom, of whichstoryof

this distant province

wasthe

the

the

far-off

water, the roofs ofthatIssa

bronze, the

extinction ofpilgrimsof;

Issa's posterity,

of

so

hated

by

Meccacity

the

story

of

the

pilgrimages to the red stonetions

and

the

streaming popula-

Whencethis

which then went back and forth. Was it not probable that did he get this tale ? treasure had been handed down along the road on which

from days of old the black Busus, the leaf-decked Ringi women, the Kano traders and the princes and professors of Tarabulus had thought so, and put no great value on I gone a-travelling ?the song.

But I jibbed when the name of Issa reappeared in the Edegi myth, when everywhere, on articles antique and modern,thecross

of

Issa,

the;

cross of

Jesus the Christ,

the

Byzantine

crucifix,

met

my

on

box-lids,

on saddles

ancechest

withall

my

on the ferry-boats of the Nile, on gourds, but, more especially, when my acquaintNupe friend had ripened, and from his hiddeneyes;

sorts of

marvellous vanities came forthbeads.

:

old book-covers,this

chased

bronze

work, cut

Then

I

saw that

people

had not got it on the highway, not from the fashionable caravans from No all these things were Tarabulus, Adrar, Air and Houssa.were wealthy, rich in their inheritance.yet they

And

here, as the ancient heirlooms of this land itself, the

heritage

of

an age which had really and actually been.holdway.it

Andtheirof

they not onlyart,

as a

dead estate

;

they havepeaceful

it

in

ancient

but

not in

Mokwa, not in As we shall see.all

this

corner

the

great

high-

Like

the thedoors

wanderersagainst

of

this

region,

I

too, naturally,;

saw

nothingstranger.souls.

but

high road, the

caravan routeasI

for

the

Nupestheir

closed theirIt

me, too,legacy course

they dothe the

to

every other

was onlythein

afterwards

saw

treasure of

Bothfoes

inwardthethe

andof of

caravan

road

were

widelythe

separatedofIssa,

children

country

by

this

route after

time, because none but Mecca, travelled into this the Great Empire had had its day.

!

382

THE VOICE OF AFRICAheritageof

whereas the Nupes had never entirely fallen away fromthetheflesh of their flesh

Great King's ancient and bone of their bone.

and empire had becomeIssa,

Theythe great

barred

their gates;

when

a son

of

Mecca passed alongantique

highroad

theyit

put

everything

and precious

out of sight.

And

so

came

to pass that the stream of caravans

flowed on without, however, having any further connection withthe things which lay concealed within thestorehouse ofancient

Nupeantatters,

culture through whichI

it

ran.

Ah, how

loathe

those sons

of

suppressed,

choked

and

annihilated

Mecca, who have torn to much between so

Byzantium and Atlantis

Sham

duel in

Mokwa

market-square.

The secondsArriens.)

to the right

and

left.

(Drawn bf Carl

CHAPTERTHE NUPE-FULBES:

XVIII

OLYMPIC GAMES AND RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYSIN

MOKWA

Arrival and reception of the Fulbe Princesports

and mask-ceremonial

Joy of the Nup6 Elders at the revival of the ancient Our sorrow at leaving Mokwa.notables,

T^VERY morning the old Lilli, with Daima and other ^^ came quietly and in a friendly way to ask howto listen to

we were,

and to have a chat. The Elders threw the ground with their foreheads, murmured all sorts of greetings and, as is their custom, bobbed a curtsey whenever possible. In this country ceremony is hereditary correct behaviour is held in high esteem. and We shared the monarchy during the fortnight with the old LiUi, and, apart fromwishes

my

themselves down, touched

the caravanvery

traffic,

it

wasable

a

very peaceful time indeed.live

It

was

pleasant

to

be

to

alone, for

this

enabled us to

overcome the shyness and timidity of the Nupeans easily, which would not have been practicable with all the " right honourables " on the spot. For the old Lilli was no longer really the

Lord

of the place.fine

One

morning, aboutis

eleven, the

admiring cheers

heard from far away.383

A

sound of drums and crowd arrives with a

384lot of baggage,

THE VOICE OF AFRICAnot abitlike

the goods of travelling merchants

or

like

caravanners.

Then

the

women

clear

a

space

in

the

market square, which they never do when a caravan arrives, and messengers run to and fro. The great Fulbe Prince, the Ruler of the The Benno!

Province, the

Lordterrific.

of

Mokwa Town

is

about to arrivealso

!

The

excitement

is

A

brace

of

messengers

comevisit.

to me,

are formally presented

and announce the forthcominglittle

O Mokwagiveits

!

quiet?

provincialfled

corner,

how!

canst

thouthe

up thy repose

Whither hashuddleThisit

thy peace

Mokwa andasit

people does

not

in a frightened

cluster

does

poultry yard

when the shadow!

of the kite falls

uponis

suddenly.

Oh, indeed, noabout;

is

not

terror

!

Ititself

the

other

wayits

it

wakes

up,

struts, it

preensalike,

and

puts

on

Sunday

suit.

Theyin

all

behavethe

the

ancient

head of theprincely stock

town, the

brokenhere

Lilli,

scions

of

an

ancient

and those who live upon the fame of ancient clanship and not upon what they These Fulbes broke the own or earn. It is very, very strange power of the olden princely houses in all the countryside they they ruined much which Lilli hounded on the folk to civil war and his family possessed and robbed them of the rest all these people enjoy only what these thieves of state and land and men yet, for all left them through whim or accident or ignorance that, they all put on their robes of state in a certain spirit of elation with evident pleasure the moment the representative of this race graciously deigns to enter the gates of the town, welcome him joyfully and meet him without any grudge. It is just " Behold, such a splendid fellow as this as if they would say stands for the nation which destroyed all we possessed and stole See, is it not delightful to sacrifice everything to such It away as this ? a master Ought I not to be proud that such a magni" ficent people robbed my own family of its all ? It seems incredible Yet the negro thinks in this way, this

who

live

exile,

the

comfortable

farmers

!

;

;

;

;

:

!

!

breed ofhistory.

slaves,

these

multiplying beasts

for sacrifice

in

human

want

of

and painful always to experience this pride and proper self-consciousness, this abasement andItis

repugnantplace

this readiness

to

one's

neck

beneath another's heel.

And

Mokwa.

PI. II.

Wrestlers in

Mokwa.

(Photo by Leo Frohe.nius.)

The seconds plucking

the locked duellists asunder.{Facing p. 384.

THE NUPE-FULBESonthis

385Elders

painful

Mokwa, the old Lilli and his They had told me only impressiondayin!

made

a very

the day before

howthem

the Fulbes had hunted them, exterminated them, butchered

with

infinite cruelties in the market-places, driven off their fathers

and brothers into slavery; and to-day a member of this band of murderers and robbers comes along whose fingers are still clammy with the blood of innumerable atrocities, and they feel honoured, Thus the so much as approaches them. if you please, when he " niggerized " Nupes In other ways