Chapter XXIII: Part II

A FEW REMARKS ON THE PROVINCE OF YÁURI, AND ON THOSE OF MÁURI AND
ZABÉRMA.

Mohammed, the elder brother and predecessor of Khalílu, granted imána to Dan-Ay, a Nyffáwi by birth, who ruled Yáuri for thirty years, and was succeeded by Mafóri, who governs Yáuri at the present time.

The annual tribute which Yáuri pays to Gandó consists of 500 shirts, and from thirty to fifty slaves; while that of Núpe consists of 1000 shirts and 300 slaves.

I will here add a few remarks with regard to Núpe or Nyffi. The northern frontier of Núpe or Nyffi is Fáshi; the eastern border towards Gwári is Líffe; the southern one, Kóro, towards Yúguchi and Búnu. The large town Charági, inhabited half by Yorubáwa, half by Nyffáwa, is two days from Rába by way of Karákará. It is the Yorubáwa who call the Núpe people, Tápa. The Nyffáwa themselves call the Háusáwa, Kenchi, and the Fúlbe, Goy. The Háusáwa call the Nyffáwa, as well as some other related tribes, Baibay. The rivulet or fáddama called Kontagóra separates the territory of the Abéwa or Ebbáwa from that of Núpe, while on the other side it borders upon Yáuri. On the Kontagóra is the large town Kúra, belonging to the Kámbari. The Abéwa live especially on the Manjára, are said to have an idiom of their own, and are armed exclusively with arrows. The people of Núpe Proper are exclusively cavalry.

Principal towns and villages in the province of Yáuri, beginning from Bessekúttu:—Shenga, Kákaté, Dukku, B. Yáuri, Gangwo, Sáwasi, Tondi, Funtu-n-dúchi, Fombo, Sombo, Árgidá, Shóbbonó, Rábakó, Bágedé, Mofóngi, Lúchi, Móchipá, Ngáski, Águrá, Óbaká (large place), Berway, Kwéne, Zente, Mojínga, all near to B. Yáuri; Mófiló (domain of the heir apparent or “dan serkí,” half a day E. from Yáuri), Wára (a place of embarcation, “báki-n-makétare,” on the Kwára), Jatáwu, Kawóje, between Yáuri and a place called Dandi Féllani; Bokki-júrurú, Lanne, Sonwuay, Dúchi- or Dútsi-n-Mári. Now follow the islands, or “gúngu,” in the river, all of which are inhabited by Kámbari: Shíshiya, Rópiya, Gabáilo. The principal towns of the independent Kámbari are: Rejó, Béto, Fantandáchi, Áchira, Shébbenó, Rába-n-Kámbari, Ubakka.

I here add the seats of three particular tribes settled in the neighbourhood of Yáuri: the Bangi, between Yáuri and Kotórkoshe; the Shengáwa in Jakwa, between Yáuri and Haúsa; and the Dekérkeri settled in Tabé, Zúru, Bangen-jatáwa, and in Kagaye.

FROM BUNZA TO YÁURI.

(_a._) _Western road._

1st day. Tsáru.

2nd. Állelú, on a river of the same name.

3rd. Dáji, perhaps the word meaning wilderness; no town.

4th. Gangu (gúngu, “the island” [on the Kwára?]).

5th. Yáuri.

(_b._) _Eastern road._

1st day. Bussukúttu, according to this information, a village of Kebbi; but generally regarded as belonging to the territory of Yáuri.

2nd. Kúsará, lying on the other side of a rivulet called Gulbi-n-Chúso; here you sleep, when the river is full of water, the crossing of it occupying a long time; else proceed, and halt in Zángo-n-dúmmia.

3rd. Gangwo.

4th. Yáuri.

I here give, as I have no other place, a short itinerary from Yáuri to Kotú-n-kúra, or rather Kotá-n-koró.

1st day. Rágadá, belonging to the territory of Yáuri.

2nd. A hamlet of the Kámbari.

3rd. Kotá-n-koró, a place larger than Zínder, under the dominion of Kátsena, with a daily market.

ZABÉRMA.

The province of Zabérma, or Zérma (Jérma) is bordered towards the south- west by the Niger: towards the south by the province of Déndina and the district of Támkala; and towards the south-east by the province of Máuri. Its northern, or rather north-western, border cannot be well defined with the insufficient knowledge which we possess of that quarter; although thus much is clear, that the district of Ímmanan, which lies between the former and Kidal, the province of the Debbákal, or the Benú Sékki, is to be sought for in that neighbourhood. It is inhabited by a race of Songhay and Tawárek, but, apparently, of a degraded and mixed character, who give to the country, or at least to the eastern portion of the province, the name Chéggazar, which however seems to attach to one locality in particular; the people of this tract appear to have a chief of their own named Hatta. The country, with the exception of one or two open places, appears scarcely to have any centres of a settled population; and the chief interest attaching to it seems to be the broad valley, rich in natron, which intersects the province. (See Itineraries in the note.[152]) The trees most common in the province are the góreba or dúm-palm, the ákkora, and the gʿaó, and the valley is said to be girt by fine tamarind trees. This province is also famous on account of its rich pasture-grounds, and is for this reason frequented also by a good many sections of the Fúlbe or Féllani, during some months of the year, if the state of the land is favourable, even the cattle of the Féllani-n-Kátsena pasturing in that country.

I here give a list of the sections of the Fúlbe or Féllani who usually pasture here.

Féllani-n-Zabérma:

Jelgóbe, Démbubé, Kurmé, Señínankoye, Módibankoye, Wárbe, Fíttuga, Nibángankoyen, Kúlasankoyen, Jáborinkoyen, Chenbángankoyen, Dárëankoyen, Fármaké[153], Báliyankoyen, Túkankoyen, Kúdurankoyen, Gargánga.

The Féllani-n-Háusa call all those countrymen of theirs who are scattered over these western districts by the nickname Menénnata Háusáre (properly, “I do not understand Háusa”); proving by such a name, which is an opprobrium to themselves, their own loss of nationality, and that they, although Fúlbe, usually address their own people more in Háusa than in their own idiom, the Fulfúlde language.

LIST OF PLACES IN MÁURI OR ÁREWÁ.

Zormakoye (residence of a special governor), Lokoye (the capital of the province in former times), Gíwaye, Dámana or Dammána, Tiwellíje (Séberi), Gómbora, Birni-n-Máuri, Bébe (with caverns), Gálewa, Degéji, Sákari, Báki-n-dútsi[154], Lóga.

[Footnote 150: Yélu, one day from Zogírma through forest, one day W. from Bunza, south of the former road, and about 8 m. S. of Kallíul, on the dallul Fógha.

From Yélu to Gáya, one day S.W., passing through the following places:—Bamba, a large hamlet, Kahínjanáwa, Fatagásu, Rúwa-n-kangwa Zagónji, Póde-bodéji, a hamlet of Fúlbe, or rather Zargábe; then Birni- n-Gáya.

From Yélu to Yáuri, S.S.E., 8 short days.

Foná, formerly a large town, which gave its name to a whole province.

Kúsará.

Windefáda.

Bessekúttu, a hamlet belonging to the territory of Yáuri.

Shenga.

Sáwasi.

Tóndi.

Birni-n-Yáuri.]

[Footnote 151: Between Gáya and Kirotáshi, another town higher up the Niger, about 15 m. S. from Say, lie the following places:—Tara, Sanáfiná, and Bángagá. At Kirotáshi, the ráfi-n-Zabérma, which skirts the east side of Támkala, joins the Ísa, or Niger.]

[Footnote 152:

1.—_Itinerary from Aúgi, along a winding track, by way
of Máuri and Zabérma, to Támkala._

1st day. Kókoshé.

2nd. Dámbugél, belonging to the territory of Máuri or Árewá.

3rd. Dammána.

4th. Karákará, at the western frontier of Árewá.

5th. Fergéza, village of elephant-hunters, the first place (mafári) of Zabérma.

6th. Tembekíre.

7th. Dóso, open capital of Zabérma; residence of Dáúd, son of Hammam Bákara, during the period of my journey independent. Beside him, there seems to be another chief in Zabérma, named Hammam Jymma. From here direction S. or S.E.

8th. Yéni, on the eastern side of the broad dallul Bóso, or Bosso, which comes from Kúrfay, and rejoins the Kwára at Kirotáshi; it is full of natron, but along the border of the valley there are wells of fresh water one fathom in depth.

9th. Támkala.

2.—_Indication of Route from Yéni to Kúrfay, in very long marches in a
N.W. direction along the natron valley._

1st station. Téghazar, or Chéggazar, on the west side of the dallul, at several miles’ distance, and evidently E. or N.E. from Dóso. The data furnished by Mohammed el Másini are of the utmost importance, and fully confirmed. Jérma (Zabérma) _on the right_, probably S.E., of Téghazar, and extending down to the very border of the river Kwára: Téghazar, on the contrary, three days’ from the river, through a barren desert full of wild beasts, and the deep stream running at half a day’s distance.

2nd station. Ímmanan, likewise on the western or rather north-western side of the dallul.

3rd station. Kurfay.]

[Footnote 153: Whether the name of this tribe has any connection with the name of the province Fermágha to the W. of Timbúktu, I cannot say. Mr. Cooley suggests to me that it may have some relation to the Mandingo.]

[Footnote 154: It is very remarkable, that while this town is mentioned in that excellent little geographical treatise of Mohammed Ben Áhmed Másini, appended to Captain Clapperton’s Second Travels, p. 332, as belonging to the country or district of Emanoo, none of the other towns of Máuri which I have enumerated are there named, with the exception of Lokoye (Lu-koo-yow), but in their stead four others of which I heard nothing. But those places which then were the most considerable may have been since either greatly reduced, or even destroyed. There can be no doubt that Mohammed’s Emanoo is the district Ímmanan, mentioned by me as lying between Téghazar and Máuri.]